A Chance of a Lifetime, page 26
“Oops. I think I’ll make my escape before I put my other foot in my mouth. Are we all done here?”
Everyone looked to Patricia, who nodded. She hugged Bennie’s neck. “Thanks for coming. It means a lot to Lucy.”
“Being asked means a lot to me. Give her my love.” Bennie located her purse on a storeroom shelf, slung the strap over her shoulder, and said, “All right, Calvin. Show me this incredibly smart gorgeous dog who shares my name with me.”
Chapter 16
Calvin had been restless when he got up this morning. Bennie had texted that she was helping out at her friend’s, and his parents had taken Gran and Diez to Tulsa for shopping and a movie. Since it was likely one of the last mild days they would see for a while, Calvin had wanted out of the apartment, and after breakfast, it had just seemed normal to head to the animal shelter. When he’d mentioned the idea of a picnic to Angela, she’d asked if he’d be willing to take Nita along. The more exposure she got to people and to different aspects of life, hopefully the sooner she’d be ready for adoption.
She’d said the last with a hopeful look at him. I can’t have a pet, he’d warned, and she’d acknowledged him with a bob of her head before helpfully pointing out, But you’re not going to be there a whole lot longer.
He wasn’t. Once his team declared him fit to resume life, his medical board would be completed and his final transition from the Army would take place. Two months ago, even a month ago, the idea had scared him spitless. What would he be if he was no longer a soldier?
Truthfully, he wouldn’t be much worse off than a lot of people his age who’d never been soldiers. He had a college degree he could use, only he’d gotten his without going eyeball-deep in debt. The Veterans Administration would pay most of the cost of getting another one if he wanted. He could go to work in his father’s tile business.
He could be a husband, a father, a son, a grandson, a sorta brother.
He could do or be anything—almost—because he was a survivor.
Could he survive the next few hours with Bennie?
They walked around the building in silence. When he’d arrived, there’d been no sign to indicate he was at the right place, but finding the employee lot of an apparently abandoned building full of cars, he’d guessed he was, then Mariah had confirmed that this was the place cakes are born.
Bennie stopped short, a startled laugh coming from her. “She’s definitely an improvement to your clunker.”
Nita stood in the driver’s seat, her front paws on the steering wheel, staring at them, her tail up and quivering. In the time Calvin had been spending with her, she’d made some big strides, but her confidence came and went. As long as it was just the two of them, she was fine, but when anyone else came around, she took cover behind Calvin.
“Why don’t you wait here? I’ll get her out so she can meet you in the open.”
Bennie stopped, lowering herself to the curb. Calvin opened the driver’s door, scooping up the leash as Nita jumped to the ground. At first she ignored Bennie, sniffing a trail across the lot to the sidewalk that ran the length of the bakery, then with an air of nonchalance, she walked back to circle Bennie cautiously.
“If I’d known I would have to charm a dog, I would have sneaked a cupcake out in my pocket,” she said dryly.
Nita completed her circle, tail wagging, and propped her front feet on Bennie’s knees, then stretched out to give her a thorough check. After a moment, she pulled Calvin back to the car, jumped inside, and planted herself firmly in the passenger seat. He closed the door, then returned to offer Bennie a hand. “No signs of aggression,” he said.
Bennie bared her teeth at him. “Am I going to have to wrestle that dog over the right to sit in the front seat?”
“I don’t know. But I think you could win.”
“When we get those T-shirts, Nita, we need to get you one that says, ‘QBit. Queen Bitch-in-Training,’” Bennie murmured as she let him pull her up. Her fingers tightened around his for an instant, and her gaze, all soft and sweet, met his.
“Are you saying bad things about your namesake?”
“Of course not. I can see we share things in common. We’re smart, pretty, and we both like being the alpha.” Still holding his hand, she tugged him to the passenger door. “Where are we going for this picnic?”
“I’ve got a place in mind.”
When he opened the door, Bennie shooed Nita away. The dog stood her ground for a moment, eyeing Bennie with a challenge, before hopping into the backseat and stretching out as if she preferred having the large space. As he pulled out of the parking lot, Bennie talked about how well Lucy’s bakery was doing, given that there hadn’t been a formal opening yet, and she discussed all the incredible food they’d made that day. One whiff of the air around her confirmed that if the food tasted half as good as it smelled, it would be outstanding.
When he turned into Gran’s driveway, a smile stretched across Bennie’s face. “Aw, I haven’t been to the pond in ages. It’s a perfect day for it.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Calvin shut off the engine, took Nita’s leash in one hand, then went to the trunk to get the food and a quilt. Bennie came alongside him. “Want me to take QBit?”
“Nita,” he corrected. He handed the leash to her, balanced the basket of food and the quilt, and closed the trunk. It popped back up, requiring another forceful slam before the latch caught. A great burst of laughter came from Bennie, but she didn’t say anything, just laughed and shook her head.
The path to the pond entered the woods behind Gran’s cabin and meandered through thick growth of blackjack oaks, red cedars, and sumac bushes. It came out on the other side into a clearing, the pond in the center and wide swaths of neatly mowed grass all around. The dock that had been platform to their dives and bellybusters, home base for games of water tag and baseball, and generally a safe spot to rest had been replaced over the years, rickety boards gone, now wide planks sealed to prevent warping and fading.
Two Adirondack chairs sat on the dock, a recent coat of white paint spiffying them up, and neat beds of flowers extended from the dock on both sides.
“When it was just us kids coming out here, the only place to sit was the ground,” Bennie commented, “and we were always getting splinters from the dock. Now that Miss Elizabeth comes out every pretty morning to read her Bible, it’s got comfy chairs and flowers and looks like a picture from a book.”
“What can I say? My dad is way more interested in providing creature comforts for my mom than for us wild kids.”
“As he should be.” Keeping an eye on Nita, Bennie walked onto the dock, gave one chair seat a halfhearted swipe, then sat down, tilted her face to the sun, and closed her eyes. “What a wonderful place for Bible study. So peaceful and beautiful.”
Peaceful and beautiful. The words applied to Bennie even more than their location. Her face was softened, her curls gently framing it. She didn’t mind pointing out that she was round, but any weight she’d gained since high school had gone to all the right places. She didn’t seem aware that she was gorgeous enough to take men’s breath away. She didn’t seem to think of herself much at all. She was too busy with life and appreciation and the people she loved who loved her back.
Nita ventured to the edge of the dock, feet spread wide apart, and looked over into the water, her nose twitching. After a moment, she retreated, curled up on the sun-warmed boards near Bennie but not too close, and closed her eyes.
Calvin set down his load, stepped past them, settled in the second chair, and cleared the emotion from his throat. “I thought Mom still did her Bible study at the kitchen table.” How many thousands of mornings had he gotten up sleepy-eyed and stumbled into the kitchen in his pajamas to find her there with a cup of coffee, her worn old Bible, and her prayer list?
“She does when it’s cold or rainy. The rest of the time, she likes to read and say her prayers amidst the beauty God provided.”
That sounded like his mom. And God knew, Calvin had given her plenty to pray about in his lifetime. He wished he’d asked her to say an extra prayer for him today. The way his insides were knotted, he would need it just to get the words out. He was trying to think of a way to start when Bennie unexpectedly gave him another of her dazzling smiles.
“Let’s spread that quilt out, sit on the ground as proper picnic etiquette requires, and eat. All I’ve had today is carbs, and my body is demanding protein like a whiny child three hours past her naptime.”
Relief went through him. It was a temporary reprieve; he knew that. But right now, he would take what he could get.
* * *
Lucy’s house was quiet. Wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt, she lay on her side on the sofa, face pressed into the pillow, throw pulled to her chin, breathing evenly. She hadn’t tried faking sleep with her mother in years and had never been very good at it, but this time it seemed to be working.
“I’m going to run some errands,” her mother murmured to Joe in the kitchen doorway. “Walmart, the drugstore, Whole Foods, oh, and Java Dave’s. If I go home without their coffee beans, Lucy’s dad will pout for a week.”
Lucy imagined that conversation: Our only daughter’s had a heart attack. And her dad: Would you bring back some Java Dave’s coffee? The grin almost ruined her sleep pretense.
“She had a good lunch, and there’s nothing she should be doing but rest.” Her mother paused, and Lucy peered just enough to see her hug Joe. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you’re here with her. It’s such a relief to the whole family.” She dabbed her eyes and stepped back. “I’ll have my cell, so if you need anything at all, call me. I can be back in five minutes.”
“We’ll be fine, Robbie. Just go, enjoy the weather, and take your time.”
It took a few moments for Mom to get out the door. Once the car door slammed, then the engine revved to life, Lucy let her muscles relax. She was waiting for the motor noise to fade completely when Joe said, “Okay, possum, she’s gone.”
Chagrined, she pushed the throw aside and gave him a crooked grin. “I love her dearly.”
“But she’s driving you nuts.”
Sitting up, she propped her feet on the coffee table and combed her hair with her fingers. “She makes me shower with the bathroom door open while she hovers just outside. My second day home, I had to beg to go pee by myself, and she insisted on putting my shoes on for me until this morning.”
Joe slid over the back of the couch, bouncing Lucy a bit as he settled in beside her. “You’re her baby.”
“I know.”
“And you had a heart attack.”
Lifting her hand, she held her thumb and forefinger a half-inch apart. “A baby heart attack.” The cardiologist had said it was an uncommon event. Everyone at the hospital called it an event, as if it were somehow a milestone she’d marked or something to celebrate, though a tear in the plaque in the left anterior descending aorta was neither a milestone nor a celebration, even if it had already begun to resolve itself by the time they took her to the cath lab.
Before she’d managed a huge sigh of relief that it was just a fluke, the doctor had added the fact that she’d had this uncommon event meant she was susceptible to it. They’d be trying to prevent a recurrence the rest of her life.
Thank God she had a “rest of her life.”
“It was a small one because you were smart enough to tell us before it became a big one. You scared her, Luce.” He slid his arm around her shoulders, hugging her tightly. “You scared all of us.”
Her head rested against his shoulder, sending pure satisfaction through her. There was no other place she wanted to be right now, no other person she wanted to be with. As long as Joe was there, she was okay. He would always make her okay.
After a moment, she asked, “How long do you think she’ll be gone?”
“Walmart? On a Saturday? Almost the first of the month? At least a couple hours.” His blue eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Take me for a walk. Walking’s good—the cardiologist said so—but Mom only lets me walk in the house. Please, I just want to go around the block a time or two. I want to feel the sun and smell the fresh air.” She gave him her best pout. “Please don’t make me whine and beg like Norton.”
“She’ll be pissed if she finds out.”
“But I’ll be unhappy if you don’t.”
“Yeah, but you don’t scare me. Your mom does.”
She frowned. “Then I must be doing something wrong. Mike was always afraid of me when my eyes turned red and my hair caught fire.”
“Aw, I’ve never seen you even mildly ticked off.” He grinned. “It gives me something to look forward to.”
He leaned forward, and Lucy thought for a moment that he was getting up to leave her on the couch. Instead, he handed her first one shoe, then the other. “Lace those up and let’s get going so the flush in your cheeks and the fresh-air scent have time to fade before your mom comes back.”
She shoved her feet into the shoes and tied quick, sloppy bows before wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Joe.” The romantic aspect of their relationship was still new enough that in the instant he took to hug her back, insecurity bubbled in her stomach. With his arms holding her close, his scent fragrant and comforting, the bubble burst and the nerves slunk away, leaving a tingly, giddy, girly sensation in their place.
As they headed for the door, Norton looked up from his snoozy spot beneath the coffee table, a yawn crinkling his eyes into narrow slits. He moved as if he was thinking about joining them, but Sebastian, curled against him, protested, and Norton sank back down.
“Lazy dog,” Lucy muttered, walking out the door ahead of Joe.
“I take him for two runs a day,” Joe protested. “Besides, he keeps Sebastian so happy that it’s not really like you have a second pet.”
Joe was right about that. The two of them were Norton’s humans; Norton was Sebastian’s. If the dog could learn to operate the can opener, the kitten would have no use for anyone else.
At the top of the steps, Lucy stretched her arms to the sky, breathing deeply. She’d been a prisoner for the last week, first of the hospital, then of her mom. Like she’d said, she loved her mother dearly and appreciated that she’d dropped everything, including Thanksgiving with the family, to come and be with Lucy, but Robbie was so cautious, and Joe hadn’t been much help reining her in. He’d spent all his free time at the house, helping Robbie, taking care of the animals, and pampering Lucy way beyond reasonable.
Though the definition of reasonable was certainly subjective. If their places were switched and it had been Joe who’d suffered a heart attack—as if his heart would ever betray his gorgeously healthy, fit body—she would be hovering in constant panic mode. But there were little voices inside her that wanted to shriek, I’m okay!
“This is just a stroll,” Joe reminded her, catching her hand and tugging her back to his side. “You don’t want to overdo it before rehab. Wait until you’re hooked up to the monitors and under supervision before you try to show them how far you’ve bounced back.”
“What do you know about cardiac rehab?” she asked, hands shoved in her pockets. They really were just strolling. She’d been outstripping this pace for all but the first week of their exercise program.
“I used to take my grandfather to rehab after school. And I talked to the nurse who came by your room to tell you about it.”
Lucy had listened to the nurse, a sweet woman named Debbie, but she’d still been in worried mode. How the heck could she have had a heart attack? How would it affect all the plans she’d made for life? Would she have to give up Prairie Harts? Was she going to die younger than all her family and friends? Could she have children? Could she live long enough to see them graduate and get married? Could she have sex?
She hadn’t learned much about rehab.
“You’ll go in a week from Tuesday for an evaluation,” Joe went on. “Your mom wanted to stay to go with you for that first appointment, but I persuaded her I could be trusted to get you there and back.”
Saved from another week and a half of her mom’s worry. “I owe you.”
Joe squeezed her fingers lightly. “I intend to collect.” At the end of the block, he steered her to the right and across the street. “The rehab staff has two RNs, Debbie and Tina, and Jill is an exercise physiologist. You’ll have classes on medications, nutrition, weight training, diabetes, reading food labels, good stuff like that. You’ll go Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for twelve weeks, and when you finish, you get a cool T-shirt.”
So far, nothing he’d said had made Lucy’s ears perk up. Of course she would complete the course of rehab. She would work out and learn even better eating habits and everything else. She would do her best to keep the very scary heart attack thing from ever happening again.
But the idea of being rewarded with a cool T-shirt made her grin. “I will work for cool T-shirts,” she announced.
“And if a longer, happier, healthier life is a benefit of getting cool T-shirts, so be it,” he added dryly.
After a moment, they turned to the right at the next corner. A few blocks straight ahead, and they would be standing across the street from Prairie Harts. She hadn’t asked if they could walk that far—she was just thrilled to be outside and moving—and she wouldn’t. If she had to give up the shop after all her dreaming, if it was the stress factor that had pushed her into the event, maybe it was better that she start getting used to the idea now before the doctors came right out and said so.
But Joe didn’t turn around at the next intersection, or the next. He kept heading east, and then there it was, looking exactly the way it had the first time she’d seen it. The front windows were still grimy, the parking lot still rutted. She’d thought it a wonderful place that first time and still thought so now. Her mind could so clearly see the bright paint and the cozy chairs, could smell the fresh baked goods and the rich coffee, and could hear the crowds waiting in line for breakfast pastries and after-dinner treats.
