Nathan looked out to the front table, where Kellie sat with
his parents.
Lord, she’s
beautiful—inside and out. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve her.
On
the other hand, he didn’t know what in the world he would do without her. They
were truly one flesh, sharing common interests, common goals and common likes
and dislikes. Not every couple could say that, and he didn’t take it for
granted. He hoped he never would.
I’m not sure
when I’ve ever seen two people more jointly fit.
That’s what the pastor had spoken over them on their wedding
day. And time proved him right. Kellie was Nathan’s equal in every way. In some
ways, her head for knowledge and ability to play the role of chameleon when
necessary gave her an added edge over him. She seemed to be moving up at the
brokerage house almost as quickly as he stepped up the ladder at the firm.
Nathan snapped back to attention as his boss, Marvin
Abernathy, turned to face him and loudly proclaimed, “Please welcome Nathan
Fisher—a man with a head for numbers and a heart for the people. He’s one
of the hardest workers I’ve ever met and he’s our Man of the Year at
Siefert
and Collins.”
Beads of sweat immediately popped up on Nathan’s brow. He
wiped at them with the back of his hand, willing the lights overhead to dim.
As he stood and took the first step toward the podium,
Kellie erupted in applause. Nathan threw a ‘please don’t do that, you’re
embarrassing me’ look, but it did no good. She stood to her feet and applauded
with great gusto. Others in the crowd followed her lead, and by the time he
reached the podium, the whole place was on its feet.
“Congratulations, Nathan.” Marvin
extended his hand. Nathan shook it warmly, and then reached into his pocket for
the speech he and Kellie had written together.
His hands shook and he tried to still them as he spoke.
“Thank you all.” He looked over the crowd as they took their seats once again.
“I can’t thank you all enough for being here tonight. It’s an honor and a
privilege to work for a company like
Siefert
and
Collins, and an even greater honor to stand before you—my friends and
peers—tonight.”
His hands continued to vibrate as he reached to unfold his
notes.
Lord, please help me through this.
You know how nervous I get.
His gaze fell on Kellie, who smiled broadly and gave him a
thumbs-up sign. Her encouragement and support, as always, motivated him. With
Kellie on his side he could do anything.
He muddled forward into his speech, spending a few moments
talking about his transition from Dallas to Houston,
then
diving into the many changes he had brought to the firm. None of the things he
mentioned were fabricated or in any way exaggerated. He had accomplished a lot
over the past several months.
With the Lord’s help, of
course.
But listening to everything laid out in such a succinct,
practical way now floored him, perhaps more than anyone else. It did seem a bit
overwhelming that the Lord had blessed him so much.
By the time he finished his speech, Nathan’s armpits were a
soggy mess.
Droplets of water slid
down the sides of his face and his throat felt constricted by his collar. As he
moved across the stage to take his seat, he fought the feeling that he might be
sick. Still, in spite of the obvious struggles, he couldn’t help but feel a
small sense of satisfaction.
He looked out at Kellie, who dabbed at her eyes with a cloth
napkin. She blew him a kiss and he winked in her direction. In a few moments,
when this nonsense came to an end, he would take her in his arms and kiss away
those tears—even if they were tears of joy.
Nathan mulled over the pastor’s words as he and Kellie left
the sanctuary of the large metropolitan church.
Relationships are like
gardens. They need tending. Leave them to themselves and they’ll be overgrown
with weeds in no time.
Nathan contemplated the words as he made his way
through the mob.
He looked over at his
beautiful wife.
Lord, I know I’ve been
really busy. I can’t seem to avoid it. But I also know that things are changing
in my relationship with Kellie. Even when we’re together, we’re not
really.
. .together.
They reached the
spacious foyer hand in hand and stopped for a breather as the crowd thinned.
“Where do you want to go for lunch?” Kellie tucked a loose blonde hair behind
her ear and looked up at him with those crystal-clear blue eyes of hers.
“I heard some people in Sunday school mention that new
Italian place on the Interstate. We could go with them. That might be fun.”
“I don’t know.” With a
Sunday school class of 100-plus, there could be a potential mob scene if they
all showed up at the same place. Besides, he had been looking forward to some
alone time with Kellie. And it wasn’t like they’d had much time to develop
friendships with others in the class. They were just too busy. In other words,
they wouldn’t be missed.
“What were you
thinking?
I’m totally open.”
“Hmm.” An idea struck.
“I was thinking Jason’s Deli. They’re close, they’ve got good food, and we can
be in and out in less than an hour.”
“Good point.” She gave
him a suspicious look. “Do you have to work this afternoon?”
Nathan drew in a deep
breath, knowing how many things needed to be taken care of today. “We’ll see.
I’m really hoping for some down time.”
“Me too.” She nuzzled
against his arm. “Sounds good.”
“Just a quick lunch
then.” He smiled. “And maybe the afternoon will be kind to us.”
Maybe there will be enough hours to
accomplish everything and still spend some quality time together.
They chatted all the
way across the parking lot as they searched for the car amongst the mob of
other vehicles. It seemed every Sunday they spent more time searching for their
car than listening to the message. One of these days they’d arrive at just the
right time and get a really good spot. Today just wasn’t that day.
Kellie’s eyes lit up
as she spoke. “Since we’re alone, I guess I should tell you something.”
“Really?
What’s that?”
“I’ve really want to talk to you about our financial
portfolio,” she explained. “I’ve got quite a few ideas for diversification.”
“I’m always open to new ideas,” he agreed. “As long as the
payoff is good.”
“Not good.” Her eyebrows elevated playfully. “Great.”
“Speaking of great, I’ve got some great news about one of my
newer accounts. It’s doing really well.” He dove off into a lengthy
explanation, but stopped himself mid-sentence when he realized what he’d just
done.
I’m talking about work. Again.
They both grew silent at the same time.
Kellie broke the
silence with a soft chuckle. “We’re a mess aren’t we?
We don’t know how to talk about anything
but work.” She climbed into the driver’s seat of her new sports car and Nathan
took the passenger seat.
“Sure we do,” he
argued. “We talk about all sorts of things.” All related to the future, of
course. In his heart, he had to admit the truth. They rarely talked about what
they were thinking, feeling, hoping in the here and now. More often than not,
he and Kellie talked about 401k’s and stock options. They discussed the
possibility of one day selling their newly renovated condo in favor of a brick
home. They talked about the what-ifs of one day having a child, where that
child would attend school and what sort of daycare options might be most viable
during the formative pre-school years.
What they did not talk
about, however, was today. But right here, right now, he would change that.
“I’m starved.” He grinned in her direction. “I’m going to order the biggest
sandwich they’ve got.”
“I love their salad
bar.”
They dove into a
lengthy discussion about the benefits of adding fiber to their diets, which led
to a discussion about staying fit, which in turn led to an intense discussion
about the recent stock surge amongst fitness centers on the west coast.
At some point along
the way, Nathan stopped for a belly laugh. They couldn’t seem to win for
losing.
***
“Catch!” Kellie tossed
the keys in Nathan’s direction with a smile.
He caught them and
gave her a curious look. “Is this your way of saying you want me to drive your
new car?”
“If you don’t mind.”
She pulled her cell phone from her purse. “I really need to call my mom. She
left three messages this week and I haven’t had time to get back with her.”
Something about her mother’s messages left an uneasy feeling, one she couldn’t
explain. At any rate, she would feel better after talking to her. Her mind
would be eased and her conscience relieved of the guilt she now
carried—guilt over being too busy to stay in touch with the people she loved
the most.
“No problem.” Nathan
clicked the doors open and climbed inside.
“Whatever happened to
the days when you opened the door for me?” She scooted into the passenger seat,
punching numbers into her phone.
“Huh?”
“You used
to.
. .” Ah, never mind. She wasn’t one of those girlie
girls who needed a man to open doors for her, anyway. And Nathan was far too
busy—and too distracted—to remember a little thing like opening the
door for her.
She finished entering the number and the phone rang once,
twice, three times—and finally shifted to the voicemail.
“Great,” she mumbled.
“You’ve reached the
Conway’s.” She recognized her father’s cheery, south Texas drawl immediately on
the answering machine message. “We’re not here right now. Probably out back
tending to the animals or up to the church singing in the choir. Leave us a
message and we’ll get back with you.”
“Daddy.” She spoke
with conviction. “Daddy, this is Kellie. I’m just calling Mom back. She
actually called me a couple of times this week, but I’ve been swamped with
work. Tell her I’m free this afternoon if she wants to give me a call. I love
you both.”
Kellie clicked the
phone closed and leaned back against the seat.
“Not home?” Nathan put
the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Guess not.” She
shrugged. “I’m a little worried. According to my mom’s latest message, my dad
hasn’t been himself lately. Lots of headaches, that sort of thing.” She closed
her eyes and realized she had a bit of a headache coming on,
herself
.
“Probably just the
change in weather.” Nathan shifted gears and headed toward home.
“Allergies always get to me too.
Springtime is the worst, especially when during bluebonnet season.”
“
Still.
. .” Kellie drew in a deep breath and rubbed at her aching neck. “It’s just not
like her not to be home on a Sunday afternoon. They’re pretty settled into
their routines.”
“Just like us.” Nathan
reached over to squeeze her hand.
Kellie shot him a
hopeful smile. “I hope you’re not saying you’ve decided to spend this afternoon
working after all.”
“
Well.
. .”
She groaned. “Nathan.
It’s Sunday. Even the Lord took one day off.”
“I know, Kellie.” He
focused on the road. “It won’t take long, but I’ve got some figures to go over.
If I want to make partner this
year.
. .”
“I know, I know.” She
bit her lip and fought to keep from saying more. “It’s fine.”
She could probably get some work done, as well. But that’s
not really how she wanted to spend the day. She wanted to spend it cuddling
with her husband. Watching a movie. Eating ice cream.
“Everything okay?” He
looked her way as he shifted gears once more.
“Uh huh. Just lost in
my thoughts.”
“I know things are
crazy right now, Kellie.” He squeezed her hand again. “But we’re going to have
so many chances to make up for it. Someday. We’ll take that trip to Europe.
Just the two of us.
Name the place and I’m there.”
“Austria.” The word
slipped out before she had time to really analyze his proposition. She paused,
thinking. “No. Germany?”
“Anyplace you like.”
He nodded her direction as he headed onto the Interstate. “This will be your
trip—the vacation of a lifetime. Whatever you want to do, we’ll do.”
“
A
boat ride
down the Rhine?
Touring ancient castles?” She smiled, remembering the television travel
show that had triggered such lofty dreams.
“We’ll do it all,” he
spoke with assurance. “And we’ll stay in the best hotels, too.”
Kellie shrugged. “I
don’t care about that. It might be just as fun to find some quaint bed and
breakfasts along the way. I don’t always need the best of everything, honey.”