Am I?
Kellie bit her lip. In her heart, she wasn’t sure. All of
the work earned a great lifestyle, but what good was a great lifestyle when you
were too worn out to enjoy it?
“What, honey?”
“It’s not that I don’t love my work. I do. I really do.”
“It’s important to have an occupation you enjoy.” Her mother
gave her hand another gentle squeeze. “But I think I know what’s bothering
you.”
“You do?”
Her mother nodded. “Just remember to take time for yourself
and Nathan. Don’t let the work dictate who you are.”
“I hadn’t thought about it like that before.” She’d always
been Kellie the Stockbroker. Not Kellie the woman.
Kellie the
wife.
Kellie the child of God.
Just
Kellie.
. . the stockbroker.
Kellie, the
over-achiever.
Kellie, the one who had to prove something to
everyone.
The
revelation nearly took her breath away.
They finished their breakfast in quiet contemplation then
left for Brenham.
With her mother
behind the wheel of the small sedan, Kellie took the opportunity to call
Nathan.
He sounded thrilled to hear her voice. “Is that really you?”
Kellie felt the edges of her lips curl up. “Do you miss me?”
“Like crazy. I’ve been
really.
. .”
he hesitated, then spoke in hushed tones, almost sounding embarrassed.
“.
. .lonely.”
Kellie felt the familiar lump in her throat and fought to
push it down so that he wouldn’t notice the pain behind her words. “Me too.”
His voice softened a bit more, but carried a hint of
mischief. “I miss sleeping in the same bed with you.”
“Me too,” she whispered.
“I miss you curling up next to me on my side of the bed,
crowding me out.”
Me too.
“But most of all,” he spoke a bit louder now, “I miss your
snoring. I haven’t slept a wink for days, it’s been so quiet.”
She groaned. “Hey, what’s up with that?” She shook her head
in disbelief. “I don’t snore.”
“Sure you don’t.” Nathan chuckled. “But really, the nights
have been the hardest.”
Kellie sighed. “I agree.”
“We’ll make up for it tonight. I’ll be there by seven-thirty
at the latest.”
“Why so late?”
“I’ve got a lunch appointment and two afternoon meetings. I
should be able to get out of here by five, but then I’ve got to swing by our
place and load up the car.”
“Ah. Speaking of which, did you get that list of things I
need from the condo?” Kellie thought back over the email she’d sent the night
before. Had she left anything out?
“I almost ran out of ink printing up the list. And I’ll have
to rent a moving truck to get it all to you.”
She sniggered. “Very funny. It’s just a few things.”
His voice changed a little and
a
seriousness
took hold of the conversation. “How is your dad?
Any changes?”
“
Nothing.
. .” she glanced at her
mother and chose her next word carefully. “Nothing significant.”
“I don’t know when I’ve ever prayed more in my life.”
“Same here,” she confessed. In truth, she had devoted hours
of each night to prayer.
Nathan sighed.
“I was really hopeful he’d be awake by now.”
“I know.” She checked on her mother out of the corner of her
eye. “Me too.”
“Well, I’m
certainly bringing enough stuff for you to stay at least a week or two.” He
paused. “Did you talk to Mr. Weston about getting some work done from up
there?”
“I did.” Not that she really wanted to talk about—or
think about—work.
“What did he say?”
“He told me to take a couple more days to see how my dad’s
doing. Then, if it looks like I’ll have to stay longer he’ll give me the
go-ahead. I think he’s really more worried about me than the business, to be
honest. At least, he sounded like it. And he knows that Bernie can take care of
my people while I’m gone. If you don’t mind the fact that I’m not picking up any
new clients, I’m certainly content to stay awhile longer.” Truth be told, she
had barely missed her life at the brokerage. If only she and Nathan could be
together, she would almost be at peace here for a while longer.
“Of course I don’t mind. And I’m glad Weston wants you to
take a little more personal time. You need it.”
“I know.”
“Things are a little more complicated here.” Nathan’s voice
seemed to tighten as he talked about his job. “Tempers are rising and problems
are escalating. Nothing I’m in the center of, thank goodness, but just the
same, it’s been pretty tense around the office ever since I got back. I sure
don’t think I could get away with being gone too long.”
Kellie tried to focus on the good. “I understand. But you
can stay all weekend. That’s all that matters.”
“Yes.” He paused then rushed through the next few words.
“That’s my other line. I’ll call you when I get on the road, okay?
I love you, Baby.”
“I love you more.” She whispered the words then snapped the
phone shut. With tears she could no longer disguise Kellie leaned her head back
against the seat and turned her face to the window. She began the arduous task
of counting the minutes until she would see her husband again.
Just as she began to lose herself in the emotion, Kellie’s phone
rang out. Her hands trembled the moment she recognized the number on the Caller
I.D. With a fresh sense of fear gripping her heart, she glanced across the
front seat at her mother then spoke the necessary words. “Mom, it’s the
hospital.”
***
Nathan drove toward Brenham in
a frenzy
.
Kellie’s rushed call from the hospital had been enough to cause him to cancel
both afternoon meetings and come right away. He had quickly put together a bag
of clothing items from her list, but felt sure he’d left something out.
Not that it mattered.
All that mattered right now was getting to Brenham. He pulled off of the
highway at a quarter till four. Five minutes later, he drove into the crowded
parking lot of the hospital. By four o’clock straight up, he was standing at
the door of the I.C.U., preparing to go inside. Kellie stood alongside him,
hand tightly gripped in his own.
“When did they call
you?” he asked.
Her fingers twisted
nervously inside his palm. “It was just after I hung up from talking to you this
morning.”
“And what did they say
again?
Tell me every word.”
“
They.
. .” She started to explain as the doors to the I.C.U. opened and a nurse
ushered them inside. Nathan followed along behind Kellie and her mother to his
father-in-law’s bedside. From outward appearances, nothing appeared to have
changed.
And yet, everything
had changed.
“Daddy?” Kellie spoke
softly at first, then a bit louder. “Daddy, you have visitors.”
Nathan watched in
stunned silence as his father-in-law’s eyelids fluttered open, then
shut—open, then shut again.
“Can you hear me,
Kenton?” Norah implored. “If you can hear me, squeeze my hand twice.”
They all looked on in
shocked amazement as he slowly squeezed her hand two separate times. Tears
rushed down Kellie’s cheeks and Nathan felt as if his heart would leap from his
chest.
It’s true. He’s really awake.
For nearly twenty
minutes, with tears in every eye, they celebrated the quiet victory. Nathan
watched it all in awe. Though his father-in-law couldn’t seem to formulate words,
the older man’s mind was clearly at work. Moisture brimmed his lashes as each
person communicated their love and well wishes.
By the time they left the I.C.U., Nathan had little doubt
his father-in-law would recover. The only question now was how long it would
take. Regardless, he would do all he could to lend support, knowing that’s
exactly what any one of them would have done for him.
They drove back to his in-laws’ house to spend the night.
All along the way, Nathan couldn’t drop the nagging feeling that he’d left
something at home—something important. It wasn’t until they arrived at
the house and Kellie asked about her laptop that he realized what it was.
Kellie opened the front door to her condo and tentatively stepped
inside. For some reason, she expected it to look different—more inviting,
maybe. Instead, it felt oddly cold.
I’ve
just been away too long.
Ten days, to be exact.
Ten long, exhausting days - days filled with prayers and fear, conversation and
hope. Days filled with more time to think clearly than she could remember in a
long time.
She dropped the stack
of mail on the kitchen countertop and stepped back to look over her home.
Sooner or later she would feel right about being here again. In the meantime,
something felt off, odd.
“What’s that smell?”
She looked around, nose wrinkled. Ah. They must have exterminated while she’d
been away.
No doubt, many things
had happened while she was in
Greenvine
. The first
thing to tackle would be the monstrous stack of mail on the kitchen counter.
She gave it a quick glance-over. Bills. Ads. Junk, mostly. One caught her eye,
however. She ripped open an envelope and glanced at her bank statement
inside.
Her heart lifted as she
took in the total. “Not bad, not bad.”
“Everything okay?” Nathan appeared at the door, her luggage
in hand.
She set the envelope
back down. “Yep. Thought I’d lost you.”
“After I dropped you
off up front, I headed to the parking garage. But I had a whopper of a time
finding a spot. If you can believe it, I had to park on the top floor.”
“Again?” She groaned.
“Who took our spot?”
“The guy in 712. Want
me to report him?”
Kellie sighed. “It
won’t do any good.”
“You’re right.” He
smiled. “I see you got the mail.” Nathan gestured toward the countertop.
“Should we sort through it tonight?”
“I already did.
Nothing that can’t wait till morning.
I’m too tired to mess
with bills tonight, to be honest.”
“I hear
ya
.” Nathan carried her
luggage into the bedroom and lifted the larger suitcase onto the bed.
Kellie followed behind him and opened it right away. “I’m
sure my clothes are a wrinkled mess.” She couldn’t help but groan as she pulled
out the soft green designer blouse on top.
Ninety
dollars—and look at it.
“I need to make a run to the dry-cleaners anyway,” Nathan
said. “I’ll be glad to drop off your things too.”
“You’re awesome.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he
drew her close.
“You know, you could do this in the morning,” he whispered
as he gestured toward the suitcase. “I can think of a lot of things I’d rather
do than unpack laundry.”
Kellie tried to avoid his gray-blue eyes. “I know. It’s been
awhile.”
“Two hundred sixty-three hours, eleven minutes and
. .
.” Nathan glanced at his watch. “Sixteen seconds. But
who’s counting?”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Wow. Somebody’s been keeping
track.”
“I estimated the eleven minutes part,” he confessed. “But
the rest is pretty close.” He whispered in her ear. “I’ve missed you, Kellie.
It just hasn’t been the same without you.”
“I know.” She planted tender kisses on his cheek. “It’s been
awful.
Our first time apart.
It almost killed me.”
“I don’t know how people manage,” he said. “I could never be
one of those husbands who had to travel all the time. It would drive me crazy
to be away from you.”
She sighed. “It couldn’t be helped. I needed to be there.
And I’m going to have to go back—at least on the weekends. As long as
daddy’s in the rehab, my mom’s going to need me. It could be weeks. Even
longer, maybe.” Her heart twisted with the words. Even now, she longed to get
in the car and head right back to where they’d come from.
“I know. And I’ll be there with you as much as I can,” he
said. “But your mom had a long talk with me. She’s concerned that you’re
missing so much work. I think she feels a little guilty about it.”
“I hope I didn’t make her feel that way.” Kellie pulled back
a step, deep in thought. “It probably didn’t help that Mr. Weston called so
much. He was an ever-present reminder, I’m afraid.”
She sat on the edge of the bed and contemplated this
revelation. To stay away much longer could potentially put at risk all the
well-laid financial plans she and Nathan had settled on. If they didn’t meet
their financial goals, they would have to put off their dreams of buying a
house—and having a child—even longer.