A lot of people in the neighborhood knew his history, ever since his wife had almost thrown him out of the house because he’d been sneaking around at night, visiting a girlfriend on the other side of the neighborhood. Cathy had been so hurt. She had been five months pregnant at the time, and as her stomach had swollen ever bigger, her paranoia and distrust of her husband had also grown. If not for the outage and the fact that they had no place else to go, Deni wondered whether the marriage would be over by now.
“I’ve tried to make friends with Cathy,” Chris whispered. “She’s there all the time, watching him like a hawk. It almost makes me think I should quit the job, but I really need it and I’m helping a lot of people. I don’t want to quit.”
“Maybe you need to try to be less cute when you go to work,” Deni said on a giggle.
“Yeah,” Mark said. “Blacken out a tooth, pull back your hair, wear some coke-bottle glasses.”
Chris laughed. “I don’t think you have to be particularly attractive for Derek Morton to hit on you. He’s just that way.”
“So — is he hitting on Judith?”
Chris sought out the black nurse dancing with her husband. “No, she’s a little old for him. He doesn’t seem interested. I think Cathy feels safe with her too. I feel like I should tell Cathy she doesn’t have to fear anything from me. I’m not after her husband. I think he needs to straighten up and take care of his wife. But I can’t really say that to her. Hopefully when the baby comes, it’ll change his attitude and he’ll start taking a little more responsibility for his family.”
“He’s a good doctor, though,” Mark said. “Most of the neighbors don’t know what they’d do without him. My mom had strep throat, and he helped her a lot. Could have gotten really bad if we hadn’t had him here. And poor Eloise might have died by now.”
“And that’s why I haven’t quit my job. That, and the fact that it’s helping my family survive.”
“Your family’s already rich,” Mark said. “How much did you make off those apples you sold at the football field?”
“Enough to buy a horse and a goat.”
Deni’s eyebrows shot up. “You got a goat? Does it give milk?”
“You bet it does.”
Deni sighed. “You’re so lucky. Who knew investing in apple orchards would have such a payoff?”
The music moved from a country theme to slower love songs, and that sad feeling started to creep over Deni again. Chris got up to talk to some of the neighbors, and Deni was left with Mark, who noticed the change in her mood. Leaning back on two legs again, he asked, “You okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, just a little sad.”
“About Craig?”
“Isn’t it always about Craig?”
He gazed at her. “Am I going to have to read your letter and interpret it again?”
“It would take a lot more imagination than you have, Mark, and it would be pure fiction.”
“I doubt that.”
She forced a smile. “I think it’s really sweet of you to try to make me feel better about him, but you don’t have to do that anymore. I wrote him the other night and broke up with him. He’s probably gotten the letter by now, so I guess it’s official.”
His chair fell to all fours, and all humor drained from his face. “Oh, Deni. I’m sorry.”
She swallowed the knot in her throat. “It’s okay. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
“How do you know?”
She combed her fingers through her hair and pulled it off her damp neck. “The outage has clarified a lot of things for me. This is just one of them.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say.”
He looked so shaken, she almost felt sorry for him. “Come on, Mark. Surely you have an empty platitude or two.”
He smiled then. “Let’s see. It’s better to have loved and lost … If you love them, let them go.”
“Yeah, love that one,” she said. “How about, absence makes the heart grow fonder? That’s a real winner.”
He thought for a moment. “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
She laughed. “Can we stay on the subject of love and leave the poor birds out of it?”
She loved the way his laughter transformed his eyes. “See there?” he said. “You’re gonna be all right.”
Her smile settled softly on her lips. “So are you gonna dance with me or what?”
Still grinning, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
The band was playing “Unchained Melody,” drawing dozens more dancers to the street. Zach Emory, Jeff’s friend, stood like Elvis on the edge of the truck bed, belting out the lyrics.
Mark’s hand was rough and big as he pulled her among the dancers. Hers felt small inside it.
Craig’s hands had been soft.
He turned and pulled her close, and for the first time she was aware of the height difference between them. He stood a good eight or nine inches taller than she. He held her right hand out and put his other hand on her waist, and danced the way their grandparents had danced at the USO in pictures she’d seen years ago. There was something charming about that.
They swayed to the rhythm of the music, and she enjoyed the pleasure on his face. He didn’t gaze into her eyes or make her feel uncomfortable. Instead, he spoke softly, which made her move closer to hear.
“Look at the Huckabees dancing,” he said. “Did you know they’d been married thirty years? They celebrated their anniversary last week.”
“Is that right?” she asked. “I didn’t know that. You know, my parents have been married twenty-five this year.”
“It must be nice, having parents that have stayed together.”
She knew he was thinking of his own parents’ divorce. “How long has your mom been married to your stepfather?”
“Thirteen years,” he said. “They have a great marriage. I’m proud of that.”
They danced for a while, and she realized that they had gotten even closer. She moved her hand up to his shoulder and felt his breath on the side of her face.
“You look really pretty tonight,” he said against her ear.
The words sent a jolt through her heart, and she felt her cheeks blushing pink. This was crazy. She used to be the biggest flirt in town. If a guy had said that to her before, she would have had a ready comeback … She would have tossed her hair back and said something bordering on suggestive. But her heart felt so fragile …
“Thank you,” she whispered. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
They were quiet for the rest of the song, and she found herself feeling at home in his arms. That surprised her. They’d been such close friends in high school, buddies who hung around at football games and went out to eat after youth group. He had dated some of her friends, but there had never been any chemistry between the two of them.
Not until now.
As they danced, her depression over her breakup began to lift, and joy fluttered like a butterfly breaking free of its cocoon. When the song ended, they stayed on the street. She didn’t want to sit down.
As the band launched into an acoustic rendition of “When a Man Loves a Woman,” Mark pulled her toward him again. The crowd pressed in around them, dozens of others cheek to cheek. She felt his breath in her hair, his hand on her back.
Something was happening in her heart, and she didn’t know quite how to feel about it.
When the song came to an end, Mark took her hand in his and led her back to their chairs.
“I’ll get you a drink,” he said.
She nodded and watched him walk toward the table where the water pitchers sat. A slow smile curled across her lips.
Chris came and sat down beside her. “Well, well.”
Deni tried to banish her grin. “Well, well, what?”
“Is something going on with you and Mark?”
“I don’t know. But it’s over with Craig. It’s time for me to move on.”
Chris couldn’t hide her smile. “I n
ever would have pictured you and Mark together a few months ago, but now it seems like the perfect match.”
“Well, don’t jump the gun,” Deni said. “I don’t really know how I feel.”
He turned back toward her, one of the lanterns lighting his face as his eyes caught hers. She looked away. “All I know is he’s a good dancer. And a good friend.”
He came back toward them, carrying three cups.
“Here you go, ladies,” he said in his best Rhett Butler voice.
Deni accepted the cup — and the reprieve from her broken heart. Things were beginning to look up.
DENI STAYED LATE TO HELP CLEAN UP AFTER THE PARTY WHILE MARK helped the musicians break down. Perhaps the neighbors were beginning to warm up to Mark a little. She hadn’t noticed as many whispers tonight.
It was hard not to notice how hard he worked for the good of the community, but he kept a low profile, humbling himself and not trying to force the issue.
When he’d finished helping the musicians, Deni folded up the last of her own family’s lawn chairs and started to carry them home. He jumped down from the truck bed and came to rescue her. “Here, let me help.”
“Thanks, Mark.”
He took all six chairs and walked with her on the dark street around the block to her house. “That was really fun tonight,” he said.
She slid her hands into her pockets and watched the street in front of her. “Yes, it was. I’m glad we did it. We had a lot to celebrate.”
“Did you hear that Tate Osbourne got drafted? He had to register today, and he’s waiting to find out where he’ll be assigned.”
“He’s a mechanic? I thought he went to college.”
“No, he worked for the Toyota dealership before the outage. He’s hoping they’ll let him stay in the area, since he’s got a girlfriend here. Man, I wish I knew more about fixing cars. I’d love to help with the effort.”
She smiled as they turned up her driveway. “You do help. You’re the busiest guy in Oak Hollow.”
“Yeah, well, I have a lot to prove.” He set the chairs down in her garage and leaned them against the wall.
“You don’t have to prove anything, Mark. If people don’t see what kind of person you are, then it’s their loss. Not yours.”
He leaned back against the dead Expedition. “Yeah, well. That says easy, and does hard. But your endorsement means a lot.”
She hadn’t thought of her friendship as being an endorsement, but she supposed there was power in that, since she’d nearly been one of his father’s victims. She wished it helped more.
“So are you okay about Craig?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Yeah. Tonight got my mind off him.”
“Good.” He smiled. “You’re an awesome dancer.”
She nudged his shoulder and looked up at him. “So are you.”
Their eyes met, and she was struck at the paleness of his in the darkness. She had always liked his eyes.
Her heart pounded as she looked up at him, and her mouth suddenly went dry. She felt her face flushing under his gaze.
That shyness flushed over her again. “Thanks for carrying the chairs. You’re my hero.”
She saw him swallow, felt him turning to her. Then he was in front of her, hands in his pockets, his gaze feathering across her face.
He was going to kiss her — but he hesitated, giving her the chance to pull away, to make some excuse, to hurry inside.
Instead, she stood where she was, looking up at him as her heart stumbled.
Slowly, he lowered his face to hers. His hand came out of his pocket, and he touched her face, tipped her chin up to his. She closed her eyes as his lips touched hers. Her fears and grief melted away.
The kiss was sweet, soft, undemanding. But her heart slammed against her chest. She pulled back and looked up at him, surprised at her own reaction. He gazed back, his eyes probing, as if wondering if he’d made a mistake.
She smiled, and that hint of fear in his eyes faded. He grinned back at her.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he whispered.
She tried to think of something pithy to say, but came up with nothing. Swallowing hard, she whispered, “Good night.”
“Lock up,” he said as he left her garage.
She pulled the door shut and locked it, then stood in the dark for a moment, reliving that kiss, relishing the thrill of it. Knowing better than to think about it too much, she touched her heart and headed inside.
forty-six
KAY SPENT HER TIME AT THE PARTY ATTENDING TO ELOISE, who had become so ill that her skin had a deathly pallor. She was skinnier than Kay had ever seen her.
Eloise had trembled as she flirted with Sarah and Luke. When Eloise pulled Luke into her lap, Kay feared her bones would splinter under his weight. Yet there was joy on Eloise’s face as she laughed with the children.
As she helped clean up after the party, Kay found Derek talking with some of the neighbors. She pulled him aside. “Derek, tell me about Eloise’s cancer. She’s getting worse, isn’t she?”
He glanced at Eloise, talking with friends from her wheelchair. “I can’t do any of the usual tests without an MRI and CT scan, but it’s clear to me that her cancer has spread. She’s got a lot of pain in her head, which tells me that it’s probably made its way into her brain, and she’s having chest and abdominal pains. From the sound of her lungs, I’d say it’s there too. We haven’t been able to do the chemo treatments every three weeks like she needs because we can’t get enough in. The companies who make it have had to slow production, and they haven’t been able to transport it. Then there’s the money issue. No one can afford it. I’m hoping the government will do something about it soon.”
Ironic, Kay thought, that the illegal drugs were getting in more easily than the lifesaving ones. Too bad Tamoxifen wasn’t sold on the streets.
“But Kay, even if we could get the chemo, I doubt it would help her now. She’s advanced stage four. The best thing I can do for her now is keep her comfortable until she dies.”
Kay was stunned. “So she needs hospice care?”
“Frankly, yes. But the outage has put most of the hospices out of business.”
She blinked back her tears and looked across the way to the frail woman. “How long do you think she has?”
“It’s really hard to say, but I’d be surprised if she’s still with us a month from now.”
The news hit her hard, even though she had expected it. When Kay wheeled her home, she stayed and helped Eloise get ready for bed.
Eloise was grateful. “God has blessed me so much to have friends like you,” she said. “Just think what this outage has done for us. Before, we didn’t know each other well. Now we’re like family.”
As the woman got into bed, Kay pulled her blankets over her. Though it was still muggy and hot, Eloise seemed constantly cold.
“And those precious children you’ve taken in. What a joy to have them around. They’re just precious. And that poor little Aaron has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I’ve been praying that he’ll let God shoulder it with him. I can’t wait to see what God makes of him.”
Kay sat down next to her on the bed. “Eloise, how do you always have such a sunny outlook when things are going so badly for you?”
Wisdom twinkled in the woman’s moist eyes. “Because so much is going right. I have twenty-five dollars that I didn’t have a few days ago. Brad and Judith got me to the disbursement and kept me in the shade the whole time we were in line. Tonight we had a lovely celebration. And you’re here now, ministering to me. How can I complain?”
Kay laughed softly. “I don’t know, I always seem to find a way.”
“Well, then, you need to sit down and make yourself a list.”
“A list? What kind of list?”
“A list of things you’re thankful to the Lord Jesus for. You’ll see how many good things he’s given you.” She took Kay’s hand and gazed into her eyes. “God told us to give him thanks
in all things, and to praise him continuously. Even in our trials. There’s power in that praise, Kay. You need to teach that to your children.”
She smiled. “I have to get it through my own head first.”
Eloise patted her. “Don’t feel bad. I didn’t teach my son that, either. Didn’t know it then. But oh, if I had it to do over — I’d do so many things differently.”
Kay felt as though she sat at the feet of someone who knew God so intimately that she should record every word. “What would you do differently, Eloise?”
She thought for a moment. “I would have made my son understand that I didn’t need this big house and all the fine furniture. But I guess that’s the mark of success in child-rearing — if they don’t need you anymore.”
Kay inclined her head and frowned at her friend. “Is it?”
She breathed a laugh, and that sadness fled. “No, it isn’t, but like I said, what do I have to complain about? He’s healthy and happy and has a life of his own. He’s a good, good boy, Clark is. A trial lawyer up in Boston. He’s very busy, you know.” Her voice faded out. “I wish I could see him one more time. I think I have things yet to teach him.”
Kay couldn’t imagine dying without her children.
“Besides,” Eloise added, her eyes growing moist. “I miss him an awful lot.”
“Does he know how sick you are?”
Eloise dabbed at her eyes. “No, I didn’t want to worry him. And I’ve only gotten one letter from him since the outage. I can see that God’s working in his life through this. Maybe the Pulses have brought him closer to the Lord. God may be answering my prayers for his salvation, even as we speak.”
When Kay left Eloise for the night, she started writing a letter to Clark. Doug came into the kitchen and peered over her shoulder.
“What’s this?”
She told him what Eloise had said.
“She’s so wise,” he whispered. “Makes her seem richer than the rest of us. Even when she’s losing everything … even her life.”
Kay sighed. “I don’t want her to be alone, Doug. Either we need to bring her over here, or one of us needs to stay with her at night.”
“We don’t have any extra beds,” Doug said, “but I suppose we could give her our room, since we couldn’t get her up the stairs. One of us would have to sleep on the couch so we could check in on her at night.”