“Of course not, Todd, what are you talking about?”
“Father Jenkins told me… well, he told me, you told him, you were afraid I was becoming a religious freak.”
“A what?” she asked, confused. “Who told him that?”
“Father Jenkins told me you called him, way back…when I asked you if you had a Bible.”
Maria squinted at Todd. “He said I called him?”
“He said you were flipping out….You did call him, didn’t you?”
“I haven’t called Father Jenkins since before we were married.”
Todd glanced down, swirled the mashed potatoes on his plate and looked back. “That’s weird. Why would he tell me something like that if it weren’t true?”
“Why would something like that come up in the conversation?” Maria said. “What were you two talking about?”
Todd’s face went blank.
Maria leaned forward. “You’re lying about something.”
“Why do you think I’m lying?”
“Todd, listen to you. You’re telling me instead of going for snacks, you just decided to go for a drive, came upon Father Jenkins who just happened to be parked on the side of the road, and the two of you have a conversation about me calling him because you’re a religious whacko—”
“Freak,” Todd said, softly scratching his head. “I said freak.”
Maria stared at him for a moment then pushed the palms of her hands out. “No—you know what? I’m sounding like a wife.”
“Ok, look,” Todd said, glancing into the forest, “The truth is, I wanted to talk to Father Jenkins about….” He stopped and shook his head. “I’m afraid to say.”
Maria felt the blood leave her face. She sat silent for a time, reached into a bag and pulled out a roll. “I can't get enough of these rolls," she said, shaking her head. "This chicken place makes the best rolls. They’re always warm. I wonder how they keep them so warm…for like two hours, and their mashed potatoes... are you getting tired of me?”
Todd looked up, shocked. “Of course not, you gotta’ know by now how much I love you. You are…” he fumbled for the right words, “the most beautiful—”
“I know,” Maria said. “You think I’m beautiful. I KNOW! But, are you getting tired of me?”
Todd stopped talking and stared at her.
She put her face in her hands.
He moved from his chair, knelt next to her and spoke softly. “What’s wrong?”
“You wouldn’t understand. No one does.”
He ran his hand down her arm. “Give me a chance; I might surprise you.”
Maria looked up at him, reached for a napkin and wiped the tears from her face. “I’ve always been pretty,” she said softly. “I know how that sounds but it’s true. I always have been. Back at UCLA I constantly had offers to model. I was even offered a few movie spots.”
“I know,” Todd said quietly, “we all knew. One of your offers came from Hefner personally.”
“How did you know that?” she asked.
“We all knew.”
She sighed. “But then, there was always this other thing.”
Todd reached and pulled his chair next to her.
“Men would find out I didn’t know how to feel…sexy…” She blushed, staring into her glass of wine. “Know what I mean? I couldn’t—”
“I know what you mean,” Todd said, finding her a new napkin.
“They’d find out,” she continued, “and then they’d leave. I always imagined it was like winning the lottery and because of that you attract people around you. But when they find out they aren’t gonna’ get anything from you, they lose interest and move on.”
“You’re not thinking that’ll happen to us, are you?” Todd said.
“That’s just it. You’re the only one who ever lo—” Her voice trailed off. “I mean, I know you were the one who broke up with me but somehow I always knew, sex wasn’t all you wanted from me.”
“It was you,” Todd said. “All I ever wanted was you and whatever came with that.”
“Todd,” Maria said, looking deep into his eyes, “when I tell you this, I’m gonna’ feel vulnerable, but I’m gonna’ tell you anyway. Every man I’ve ever known, my entire life, eventually left me. You left me too but… you’re the only one who ever loved me.”
“You’re kidding,” he said.
“Of course I’m not kidding,” she said, tearing up again. “But for how long? How can you love someone who can’t love you back?” She began crying. “And now—”
“Baby, it don’t matter," Todd said softly, gently pulling her to him.
“And—” she interrupted, “I look in the mirror and I’m…and I’m fat. I found a… varicose vein and I think I’m getting stretch marks. And I’m so…needy. Do you think I like being like this? So… needy and scared… all the time.”
“Sweetheart, we’re all getting older. Life is constantly changing us all, but those things don’t really matter.”
“They do if that’s all you are. Sometimes I feel like I’m just…a…mannequin. I look good, but I’m not a real… person. I’m incomplete, and when I’m not pretty anymore…what will I have then?”
“Maria,” Todd said, “I could never leave—”
“And now…even you are starting to change, and it terrifies me…because…I… I have this… b… baby and then the… asteroid. I can’t do it alone—”
“Maria- Maria,” Todd said, gently shaking her shoulders, “I will not leave you and the baby, never, nada; can’t happen. And as far as you getting fat, you’ve never been more beautiful—”
“TODD!” Maria yelled. “Tell me I’m a good person! Tell me I make you laugh, you enjoy my company, you love me just the way I am. Tell me… I tell great stories… Whatever… but don’t say I’m beautiful. Please!”
“Ok-ok, I see your point,” Todd said. He reached and took hold of her hand. “I’m sorry I made you so upset. I wanted this day to be special.”
“And it is,” Maria said, sniffing. “It’s all just perfect.” She smiled and put her hand on his arm.
Todd reached for another napkin and handed it to her.
“It’s a hormone thing I guess. I’m not used to being pregnant.”
Todd gently pulled her out of the chair and onto the blanket he had thrown on the ground. “Don’t bother me any,” he said quietly. “I hope we can always talk to each other this way.”
“What way is that?” she asked, softly.
“You know,open up to each other. I figure it’s what we’re supposed to be doin’.”
“Says who?”
We need to be like…two horns on a goat.”
Maria smiled. “And that means?”
Todd shrugged and pushed a twig around the blanket. “I don’t know,” he said finally. “My dad told me that once. He meant that we need to tell each other how we feel all the time.”
“We do?”
“Yeah, and we always got to be on each other’s side.”
“Hmm,” she said quietly, “are you on my side?”
“Always.”
“What if I’m wrong?”
“Always—and I want you to know,” he said, kicking his shoes off, “I’m fond of those hormones of yours. I think you have good ones, and being a med-school drop-out—I know ‘bout them hormones.” He moved to the tree and propped himself against it.
“Thank you,” she said, as she curled up to him.
They sat listening to the soft sounds of the forest. From time to time, they could hear the sound of trout leaping out of the water.
“Did you do your own nails?” Todd asked, chewing on a piece of grass, “because, I’ve always thought you were a great hand at doing nails.”
“Thank you,” she repeated, throwing a pillow onto his lap. She lay with her head on Todd’s lap looking up into the soft white clouds floating slowly over the forest canopy. “Look,” she said, pointing at a cloud, “it’s a ship.”
“Where? I can’t see no ship
.”
“There’s the bottom and there are the sails.”
“You see what I’m saying?” Todd said, “I can’t see a ship. You have a great imagination. Have I ever told you what a great imagination you have?”
“Stop it!” she barked, punching him in the side.
“You got a hell of a punch. You could be a prizefighter!”
“Oh you wanna’ fight?” she growled, jumping on top of him. “You want some of this?” She began tickling him.
“I didn’t say you were good lookin’!”
“Shut up—shut up—shut up!”
“Stop!” he bawled. You’re too good at tickling—you’re killing me!”
She took hold of his arms and pinned him to the ground. “What ya’ gonna do now smart guy? I’m squashing you with my big fat belly!”
“Oh no,” he groaned, “it looks bad—no normal man could withstand this kind of pressure and live! Lucky for me I’m no normal man!” He pushed her hands behind her and gently rolled her off him. She squealed and giggled. Her laughing face was so intensely beautiful he nearly said something but caught himself just in time. He lay there, looking down into her amazing emerald green eyes. After a moment had passed, he softly asked, “Can I still say I love you?”
“Yes,” she said, “you can say that.”
He gently pushed the hair away from her face and slowly pressed his lips to hers. She responded the best she could. Todd sat back against the tree and found another blade of grass to chew on. He sat thoughtfully staring off in the direction of the slow moving river. “Omaha, Nebraska,” he said, finally, breaking the stillness. “You said you wanted to go to Omaha that night; you haven’t said much about it since.”
“Yeah,” she said, “the baby has to be born in Omaha Nebraska.”
He turned to look at her, “Why Omaha?”
“I don’t know…I just—“
She shifted her gaze, looking past Todd into the forest. “Todd! There’s a man up there on the hill!”
“What?” Todd said, looking up.
“There’s a man up there crouching down like he’s hiding or something!”
Todd turned to look. “Hey!”
The man stood up quickly and began leisurely walking away.
“Hey, what are you doing up there, dude!” Todd yelled, jumping to his feet. He began running up the hill towards the intruder. The man saw him and dashed into the underbrush.
Maria stood up. “Be careful!”
Todd reached the top of the hill and blew into the clearing. He made it to the road just in time to see the man speed away in a small blue car.
~~~
It was summertime in New England and Prescott Park, stretching along the Piscataqua River from lower State Street to Mechanic Street, downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was in full bloom. Pete and Sarah’s hard-soled shoes clicked softly as they leisurely strolled hand in hand down a wide cobbled walkway.
Twin embankments bordering both sides of the walkway were lavishly covered with thick golden-green foliage, plentifully adorned with flowers of every shape and color.
Just ahead, a hearty patch of emerald-green fern flourished in the shade of an old gnarled moss-covered tree. Beneath the tree, shaded by a canopy of tiny silver-green leaves sat an inviting looking bench. The two lovers meandered towards it and sat down.
Sarah pulled the hair away from her face as a cool sea breeze softly rattled the leaves and gently pushed a couple of popcorn kernels back up the path from where they had come.
“Ain’t this perty,” Pete said.
Sarah squeezed his hand. “Everyplace is pretty as long as you’re with me.”
Pete grinned and kicked at a pebble under his feet. He looked out into the sea for a time before turning his attention back to Sarah. “I used to stutter real bad.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you probably wouldn’t have been able to even understand me.”
“I’m sure I would’ve understood you, Pete.”
He blushed. “Why… did you say you like me again?”
“You have to stop acting this way. I love you.”
“But… nobody ever said stuff like that to me before.”
“Maybe it’s because they were shy. I once heard Elizabeth Taylor had a hard time getting dates when she was younger. She was so pretty she scared all the boys away.”
“I don’t think that’s the way it is with me.” Pete turned his attention back to the park. He began whistling strange disconnected notes, leaned back in the bench and threw his arm over her small shoulders.
Sarah grinned.
Pete blushed again. “Do you like Brother Michael?” he said.
“I like Brother Michael a lot.”
“He used to be cuckoo.”
“He used to what?”
“He was crazy. I mean for real.”
“He’s just a very deep man. I can see where he’d be hard to understand sometimes—”
“Use ta’ think he was Jesus,” Pete said.
“He seems better now.”
Pete leaned forward in the seat. “What time is it?”
Sarah looked at her watch. “Maybe we should go.”
“Oh no! what time is it?”
She stood. “It’s okay; we still have plenty of time if we leave right away.”
They made their way to the public docking space on the river. Once there, Pete checked for the familiar boat as they moved from space to space. By the time they finally found it, they had walked two-thirds the length of the wide wooden plank-way.
“What time is it?” Pete repeated. “Are we late?”
“No,” Sarah said, coming up behind him. “We made it here in plenty of time. Look, it’s only five o’clock.”
As they approached, a portly man dressed in an outrageously colorful Hawaiian shirt and cutoff Levis stepped off the boat and joined them on the pier. He stood looking them both over while chewing on a spit-saturated cigar butt. “Where’s Barney?” he said. His voice was raspy and he spoke with a heavy New England accent.
“Brother Michael sent me this time, Charlie.”
“He did huh? Who’s she?”
“This is Sarah. Brother Michael sent her too.”
The big man pulled the cigar butt out of his mouth. “I only do business with Barney.”
“But, I’m always with Barney when he picks up the package. Come on, Charlie…it’s me… Pete.”
“I only do business with Barney!” Charlie growled as he rolled the disintegrating cigar in soy colored fingers.
“But this time Brother Michael told me to come and get the package.”
The big man wiped the sides of his mouth and pushed the cigar back between his stained teeth. “It’ll cost you more money.”
“Why?”
“This is a risky business. More risks, more money.”
“What risk, Charlie? It’s me—Pete.”
“If I have to do business with somebody else, it’s gonna’ cost more money.”
“I didn’t bring anything but the envelope Brother Mi—”
“That’s okay,” Sarah said. “Let’s just go tell Brother Michael Charlie here wouldn’t do business with us.”
The big man looked down at Sarah. “Who put the girl in charge?”
Sarah tugged at Pete’s arm. “Come, Pete.”
Pete looked back at her, confused. “But- Brother Michael—”
“Is gonna’ be very upset,” she said, “but if Charlie won’t do business with us what can we do?” She turned to walk away, pulling Pete behind her.
“Hey, wait a minute,” the big man yelled. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t do business with you. I just said it was gonna’ cost you more money, that’s all.”
“I understand,” Sarah said, walking away with Pete in tow, “and that’s exactly what we’ll tell Brother Michael the moment we see him.”
“Hey, wait a minute!” Charlie bawled.
Sarah continued up the walkway moving quickly with Pete t
agging along behind.
“What’re we doing?” Pete whispered.
“Just keep going,” she said, smiling. “I want to see this guy run.”
“Hey!” Charlie said, running back towards his boat. “Hey! here’s your package! Where ya’ going? Hey, stop!”
Sarah and Pete continued walking back towards the park. Charlie quickly retrieved the package from inside the cabin of his boat and was moving at a full run towards the couple. “Hey, here it is. What ya’ in such a wicked big hurry for?”
Sarah smiled up at Pete before turning to greet Charlie who was coming up quickly from behind.
“Hey, you want the package or what?”
Sarah reached out without speaking and pulled the brown box out of Charlie’s hands.
“Hey!” Charlie hollered. “The Money…THE MONEY!”
Pete pulled a white envelope out of his back pocket and pushed it into Charlie’s hand.
“Man, what’s with you two?” Charlie said wheezing. “What if somebody sees us out here in the open doing business? There’s probably a million bucks worth of rocks in that box.”
Pete looked up, shocked. “What?”
Charlie frowned and backed off. “Is he in the loop?”
“Yeah, he’s in the loop.” Sarah said, staring up at Charlie. “Are we gonna’ do this again?”
“No,” Charlie said. “We ain’t gonna to do this again.”
Sarah turned to leave. “Good.”
“And, uh… don’t tell Brother Michael about this ok? We got a good thing going.”
“You had a good thing going,” Sarah said over her shoulder. “I wonder if Brother Michael will want to continue the partnership now that you tried to rip him off.”
“Look,” Charlie said, stammering, “I was just kidding about the money! You got to have a sense of humor in this business. You know what I mean? I would’ve said the same thing to Barney. He’d a gotten a big laugh.”
“Who knows,” Sarah said, momentarily turning back, “Maybe Brother Michael will think it’s funny too.”
Pete stood next to Charlie, looking befuddled.
“Cripes,” Charlie said quietly. He turned around to face Pete. “You’ll fix it won’t you? Tell Brother Michael I didn’t know who she was. I was just fooling around with you—Ok?”
“Uh yeah,” Pete said, “I’ll try.” He turned and raced up the path, eventually catching up with Sarah. When he finally reached her he was surprised to find her laughing.
“Did you see what I did?” she said. “I’ve never been that bold before.”
“Yeah, you were something.”
“I had him pretty scared, didn’t I?”