His
heart twisted with that revelation. Now that her father was doing better,
perhaps he and Kellie could begin to talk about going home again. Hopefully,
she would carry some of this joy with her.
***
Kellie didn’t know when she’d ever had a better night. As
she looked around the now-messy room, her heart swelled with joy. In one night,
everything she had hoped and prayed for this past month had finally come to
pass. Her father had returned home. Nathan
was able to
be here, relaxed and well rested. He’d visited with everyone in the room, from
young to old. And
she.
. .
She felt a sense of
anticipation, as if some private door to the world had opened up just for her.
She couldn’t quite figure out why. In years past, she might have attributed
this feeling to something going on at work, but this time things felt
different. This time her wants and wishes had changed. Substantially.
Occasionally she would
catch Nathan’s eye from across the room. He seemed more himself
tonight—certainly more so than last Sunday morning. Something had
happened that day—she suspected exhaustion had driven him to a point of
frustration. But his countenance had certainly improved by mid-day. And now,
nearly a week later, he seemed a new man. Reformed.
She watched as he
popped a cookie into his mouth, and then chatted with Frankie at length. They
were surely discussing his car—all of the latest gadgets and gizmos he
hoped to add to it for better performance. Or perhaps they had slipped off into
a conversation about the city’s financial woes. She hoped not. Why ruin a
perfectly good night?
On the other hand, she
had hoped Nathan would take an interest in the town’s plight, hadn’t she?
With his brilliant mind at work, they might
stand a chance at turning things around.
Kellie looked at the
men with a more discerning eye. Frankie had a broad smile on his face.
“Having a good time?”
Kellie turned as she
heard her mother’s voice. “
Mmm
-hmm. I’m just so glad
Daddy’s home. I know you are too.”
Her mother’s eyes
filled with tears. “I am. To be honest, I’m a little nervous, though. I hope I
can take care of him.”
“You’ll have a nurse
stopping by every day, right?”
Her mother sighed.
“Yes. She’ll be a big help. But he’s taking so much medicine and he’ll have to
be driven back and forth to physical therapy every day. It’s just a lot. I hope
I’m up to it.”
For the first time,
Kellie noticed the extent of the weariness in her mother’s eyes. She reached
out and touched her arm as she said, “I’ll be here with you, Mom. I’m not going
anywhere. You won’t have to go through this by yourself, I promise.”
Her mother nodded and
her short gray curls bobbed up and down a bit. “I appreciate that, Honey. I
don’t know how I could have made it through any of this without you. I’ve
thanked God every day for sending you back. And I know your father has, too.”
“I wouldn’t have done
anything differently.” She embraced her mother,
then
gestured to Nathan. “And it looks like he’s really starting to fit in.”
“I’ve spent a lot of
time praying about that. Her mother’s brow wrinkled. “He’s been so patient with
all of us. But I’d imagine he’ll be happy to get back home again before long.”
Home
. For the
first time in awhile, Kellie thought about her life in Houston and cringed.
Lord,
please don’t send us back just yet. Give me a few more weeks—just a
little more time here.
She looked up as
Julia’s familiar laughter rang out across the room. Little Madison made a face
as she bit into a large dill pickle. Everyone nearby watched her with broad
smiles.
“That little girl is a
doll,” Kellie said.
“She is,” her mother
acknowledged. “And Julia is such a great mom.”
Kellie grew silent and
allowed her thoughts to roam as her mother moved on to talk to a friend. The
desire for a child had come on Kellie gradually since arriving in
Greenvine
. What was it about this place that made her think
she could settle down—give up everything she had worked and planned
for—and live a simple, uncomplicated life?
She found herself
almost envying Julia and Frankie. True, they didn’t have much in the way of
financial things, but they clearly shared a love and faith in their future. In
some ways, they seemed better prepared to face the days ahead than she and
Nathan were, though they had certainly given it their best effort.
Kellie continued to
watch Madison from a distance. She felt the familiar pangs of desire, but
pressed them down. It simply didn’t make any sense to dream about such things.
Not yet, anyway.
Everything in God’s time.
Oh, how she wished she
knew more about His timeframe!
Kellie startled as Nathan slipped an arm around her waist.
“You’re mighty quiet tonight,” he whispered.
“Am I?” She turned to face him with a smile. “I don’t mean
to be. Just so happy.”
“Me too.” He pressed
kisses onto her forehead and she melted into his embrace with a happy sigh.
“I love you Nathan.”
“I love you too.”
She pushed back the
lump in her throat. “I’m so grateful to you. I don’t know how I can ever thank
you for giving me this season with my dad.”
“I’m just so happy
he’s doing better. Maybe things will be back to normal before long.”
Back
to
normal.
Kellie gave him a weak smile. “Right now I’m
just happy to be with all of the people I love.”
“Me too.” He pressed
another soft kiss on her brow. “You, especially.”
She blushed a little,
but allowed him to give her a warm kiss in front of the whole room. Who cared
if others knew they loved one another?
She wasn’t ashamed to show her affection for her husband. Not here,
among friends and family.
After a brief moment
alone, Kellie and Nathan made the rounds to say their goodnights. Then, as the
crowd thinned and her father retreated to the quiet of his bedroom, they made
the drive home.
Once there, they enjoyed a beautiful, intimate
night—one that reawakened a passion they had almost allowed to slip away.
Here, in this quiet country place with no distractions, Kellie could think more
clearly, give more freely and even love more deeply.
With the taste of her husband’s kisses still sweet on her
lips, she eventually drifted off to sleep, completely content.
Over the next two weeks, Kellie
settled into a happy routine. She awoke each morning, had her quiet time with
the Lord, spent a few hours on the Internet and the telephone then went to her
parent’s home.
Along the way, the enjoyed the flowers that
bloomed in every yard and noticed the variety of trees.
She waved to
now-familiar neighbors and rolled down the windows in the car so she could
enjoy the fresh air.
Once she arrived at her parent’s
place, she helped her mother with everything from cleaning the kitchen to
driving her father to physical therapy. Their hours were spent telling stories
of days gone by, listening to music together and discussing the prayers needs
of friends at church. Occasionally, they would go out to lunch at the cafeteria
in Brenham, and stop off at the outlet mall on the way home.
By the time she got back to the
house, Kellie had just enough time to decide what to cook for dinner and tidy
up a bit. Then, when Nathan arrived home, they talked about their day, ate
together and spent some quiet time watching television or cuddling.
Occasionally,
they’d have dinner at Frankie and Julia’s place. Kellie marveled over her
friend’s ability to balance everything—her workload at the school, her
activities at the Civic Center, her daughter and her marriage.
Or was it the other way
around?
As she watched, it became
clear that Julia put her family well above her work. In fact, she spent more
time talking about the people in her life than the things in her life.
Kellie took careful notes.
And she observed something else,
as well. Just in the past week, her friend’s waistline had begun to expand a
bit. Kellie watched it all in amazement.
How wonderful, and
how frightening all at the same time.
Julia’s cheeks carried a rosy glow
and she beamed like a ray of sunshine when the ultrasound revealed the baby’s
sex. A boy. Their little family would be complete, at least for now.
Kellie couldn’t even imagine what
it must feel like—or what she would look like, when her time came.
If her time came.
She tried not to spend much time dwelling
on the pangs that gripped her heart each time she held a baby in her arms.
Instead, she fought to ignore them. But a seed of hope had secretly begun to
grow, one she’d have to share with Nathan soon, or push to the back once and
for all.
On
Thursday afternoon, as she arrived back at the little wood framed house, Kellie
looked the place over with an inquisitive eye. In her somewhat overactive
imagination, she could see it developing into a beautiful home. Knock down a
wall here, put up a wall there.
Install new windows
,
replace the tub and tile
. She could envision it all. And
with the size of the property, they could certainly expand when the time came.
She
spent a moment reflecting. Something about this tiny place continued to
captivate her. What was it? Perhaps it was the idea that a family had once lived
here. Children had played in that yard—chasing one another and throwing
balls. A wife and mother had cooked in the tiny dilapidated kitchen. A loving
father had cradled his child in that living room.
Kellie
thought about Mr. Henderson specifically now. She prayed for his health and his
treatments. In short order, she would see him again. But in the meantime, she
couldn’t help but wonder what his life had been like in earlier days as he
resided in this very
spot
. Had he watched his children
swing from the tire hanging in the front yard?
Had he watched his daughters grow into
young women, entering the front door with beaus on their arms?
Had he cared for his ailing wife in the
bedroom they had once shared?
Had
he eventually watched the rooms grow empty as, one by one, his life became
solitary?
A
little shiver ran through Kellie and she prayed for him once again. How sad, to
live to such an old age and be alone. She thought about her own
parents—how rich and full their lives were. What made the difference?
Relationships.
Family. Friends. These things they all took for granted. And these were the
very things she would sacrifice when she left
Greenvine
and moved back to Houston.
“Don’t
think like this,” she scolded herself. “It’s not going to make things easier.
Pretty soon you’ll be going back home.”
Home.
She
could scarcely remember what the condominium looked like. How could she ever
feel at home there?
And yet she must prepare herself
to return. Tonight, when Nathan arrived home, she would open the door to that
conversation. She had put it off long enough. Now that her father’s physical
therapy sessions were dropping to twice a week, Kellie’s list of excuses for
staying in
Greenvine
had dwindled rapidly. She must
come to terms with it.
But
would the brokerage firm take her back full-time?
She’d been assured it wouldn’t be a
problem, but situations weren’t always what they presented themselves to be.
Regardless, she must do her best to begin to shift her thoughts in that
direction. Already, Kellie had given the matter over to prayer. Now she must
begin to remove her hands from it altogether. Surely God was big enough to
handle the pain this decision caused. Surely He could deal with her broken
heart.
***
Nathan pulled his car out onto Highway 290 West in the
direction of
Greenvine
. He’d fought traffic for the
past thirty minutes, but things seemed to be thinning out now. For the first
time all day he could relax, spend a little time thinking and planning. And
with so much on his mind, preparing for the future came naturally.
Joy filled Nathan,
coupled with a sense of anticipation. The Lord was surely at work in his life.
All of the pieces to his puzzle seemed to be coming together. Things at work
were finally slowing down; he and Kellie would soon be headed back home to
Houston. And the best surprise of all—he had spoken with a travel agent
about possibly booking a trip to Europe for late summer. He could hardly wait
to tell her. She would be thrilled.
Nathan let his mind dwell
on the details for a moment. They would fly into Frankfurt and take that
much-anticipated boat ride up the Rhine. They would tour ancient castles and
stay in several quaint bed and breakfast places along the way.