“He touched you?” Dar guessed, and got a tiny nod. “And you liked that.” Another tiny nod. “All right.”
Finally, Jack looked up, fearfully peeking into her blue eyes. “You don’t think that’s sick?”
Dar reached out and put a hand over his. “That would be incredibly hypocritical of me.”
Dead silence. Jack blinked at her. “Bu…” His brows knit. “You?”
Blue eyes met his evenly. “Do you think that’s sick?”
“Dar, that’s insane. You could have any guy you wanted. I don’t…I mean…you’re gorgeous. I…” He spluttered, winding down.
Dar waited. Finally she sighed. “No, I don’t think it’s sick, and you shouldn’t either.”
He thought about that. “We were both kind of…we were pretty weirded out.” He sighed. “But after a while, it just seemed okay.” He paused. “Until I thought about telling my father.”
Dar exhaled. “Yeah.”
“Dar, it would kill him.” Jack looked up at her. “I’m his only son. He wants grandkids. Jesus, he’s given me everything, done everything in his power for me. I…” His blond head shook back and forth. “I can’t do that to him. I love him too much.”
What a problem.
Dar felt for both her friend and for Gerald Easton. Who, certainly, would be devastated at the news. She didn’t really blame Gerald; he was a prisoner to his generation, his upbringing, and his lifelong devotion to the service. “Tell you what, just put it aside for a few days. Let me think about it. Maybe I can come up with an idea,” she told him sympathetically.
He looked up at her pathetically. “If you can find a way out of this for me with honor, I’ll owe you for the rest of my life, Dar.”
She ruffled his hair gently. “That’s what friends are for, Jack, and I don’t have many, so I take care of the ones I do have.” She gazed at him. “You know, I told your father if I was going to marry anyone, it’d be you.” He blushed a deep, fierce red. “You know…” she kidded him gently. “Worst comes to worst I’ll bear you a grandkid for your dad.” He turned a color so dark, his eyebrows stood out in stark whiteness. She ruffled his hair and chuckled again.
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KERRY CLOSED THE phone and went to find Angela. “You ready?” she asked her sister, finding her in the living room.
“Mmm-hmm, let me just get my bag. Hang on.” Angela nodded, leaving the room and returning a moment later. “Let’s go. They’re having a choir recital at the downtown church, I thought maybe you’d like to hear it.”
Anything.
“Sure,” Kerry agreed readily, following her out the door. They got in Angela’s car and drove onto the parkway, passing endless rows of tall, thin, bare trees. “This place is depressing, Angie,” Kerry said softly.
Her sister eyed her. “You’re just now noticing that?”
“Guess I never had a contrast before. You have to come visit me sometimes in Miami,” Kerry responded. “It’s so different. I could take you out to Bayside, or the Grove, maybe down into the Keys. I think you’d like it.”
Angela sighed. “Maybe if Brian and I end up running away from home, we’ll end up down by you,” she told her sister wryly. “Is there a market for earnest lawyers down there?”
Kerry gazed at her a long time. “Have you talked about that, or are you just razzing me?” she asked. “Of course there’s a market for lawyers, are you kidding? He could make a living alone just representing one of our politicians on voter-fraud charges.”
Her sister exhaled. “We talked about it,” she admitted. “A lot had to do with how you…I mean, you know.”
“Reacted to the news?” Kerry smiled.
“Mmm, more or less, yeah. I don’t know, it’s such a huge step, but if I try to separate or divorce Richard legally, you know I’ll never get out of here.”
She navigated an interchange. “You know he’ll demand custody, and you know Father will just go crazy.”
“Yeah,” Kerry acknowledged softly. “I don’t know, that seems really drastic, Angie. But I won’t lie to you and tell you I wouldn’t be glad to have you down there.” She smiled at her sister. “In fact, I know a nice apartment in Kendall that might be available sometime soon.”
Angela darted a look at her. “Oh, really?” She signaled and turned off the expressway, heading into town. Low, brown brick buildings began to travel by on either side of the road. “That’s moving kind of fast, isn’t it?”
Kerry leaned back and braced a knee against the dashboard. “It was just something Dar said, before I left. She said next year we’d have Thanksgiving on the Island. It surprised me, because she’s someone who really values her privacy, you know?” She exhaled. “But when we’re together, it’s like there’s no…personal space, if that makes sense. She doesn’t get on my nerves or make me uncomfortable to be around, and I don’t make her that way, I don’t think.”
She paused reflectively. “I know that when I woke up this past Sunday, I realized I wanted to wake up with her next to me for a long time to come.”
Angela slowed to turn into the church. “Well, don’t take things too quickly. I know you guys really like each other, but that’s a big step, Ker.”
Kerry laughed gently. “I have to wait for her to ask, you know? It could take months, and I was trying to figure out how she’d do it. Probably really matter-of-fact… ‘You know, Kerry, it would be more cost efficient to use one car to go to work, and my place is closer. What about it?’ ”
Angela laughed. “Really?”
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“Oh yeah, that’s Dar—no flowery speech or anything. She’s very practical and straightforward,” Kerry assured her, then paused. “Though I did come back from lunch to find a rose on my desk once,” she amended thoughtfully.
Angela parked the car and sighed. “Sounds pretty darn romantic to me, Sis,” she commented wistfully. They got out and walked across the parking lot, joining several groups of other people heading for the church’s entrance.
It was a tall, brick building with inset stained glass windows and mahogany pews burnished to a rich glow. Kerry joined Angela in greeting several long-time neighbors, and took some good-natured kidding about her suntan before they seated themselves to listen to the choir. The room featured a huge organ and a triple semi-circle of singers, who delivered a more than creditable performance of some old and well-known hymns. Kerry felt the familiar sounds relaxing her, and she was able, for a few minutes, to forget her surroundings and simply enjoy the music.
“Nice recital,” Kerry murmured as it ended, the last booming tones of the organ echoing softly against the building’s interior. “I liked that last piece a lot.”
Her sister smiled. “Me, too. C’mon, let’s go talk to Pastor Robert.” She edged out of the row and headed back towards the administrative part of the church, waving a little at several friends who waved back and called out greetings to both her and Kerry. She led Kerry to a small door and knocked on it.
“Come in,” a soft, vibrant voice answered.
Angela pushed the door open and poked her head in. “Pastor Robert?”
“Angela. What a nice surprise, come in.” The pastor waved at her.
She opened the door fully and pulled Kerry in with her. “Look who I brought.”
The pastor stood. “Kerrison!” He smiled at her.
Kerry moved forward, smiling back. Pastor Robert was a huge bear of a man, easily six and a half feet tall and perhaps two hundred and fifty pounds.
His bearded face took on a look of delight as she came closer. “Hello, Pastor Robert.”
“Kerrison, goodness, let me look at you.” He took her by the shoulders and beamed at her. “You look wonderful. I can hardly believe it.”
Kerry smiled. “Thanks, you look great, too.” She patted his arm.
“Um, I’m going to get some recipes Mrs. Van Ardyn owes me. I’ll be right back, Ker.” Angela was gone before she could even turn around, and she spared her sister a wry roll of the eyes.
“Sit down, sit down,” the pastor was saying, motioning her to a bench next to the one he’d been sitting on, arranging sheets of music. “Are you home then for good?”
“Just for a visit.” Kerry shook her head. “I’m…very happy down in Miami.”
“Oh.” He seemed surprised. “But I thought your mother…well, never mind.” He sat down and patted her knee. “How are you doing?”
“I’m doing fine. I got a new job, that I really like, and a whole group of really good friends. It’s been great,” Kerry answered quietly. “How about you?”
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He lifted a large hand and let it drop. “As always, the seasons turn, it gets colder, gets warmer, but it’s my favorite time of the year, so I can’t complain.”
He sighed and leaned back. “Things are good in the congregation—prices are steady; we’re not at war. All in all, not bad.”
Kerry regarded him. “That’s good to hear.” She hesitated, then searched his eyes. “Pastor, can I ask you something?”
He nodded. “Yes, of course. Are you having trouble finding a community down there? Can I help? You know you’ve always been one of my favorite people, Kerry.”
She settled her elbows on her knees and interlaced her fingers. “I remember when you used to preach on Sundays, every once in a while you’d talk about…um, something you called soulmates.” The word rolled around her tongue in utter familiarity.
“Yes. In fact, I discussed it at pulpit just last week,” he agreed. “The old fable of each person being born with two heads, and four arms and legs, then being split in two to roam the world ever after looking for the other half.”
“Mmm, yeah.” Kerry rubbed her thumbs together. “Do you believe in that story?”
He paused a moment before answering. “Yes, I do. If what you mean is, do I believe in that special kind of love in which two people seemed to be destined to be a part of each other, yes. Not that I’m rewriting the creation history, you understand.”
Kerry smiled wryly. “I understand.” She patted his arm. “But, how do you know if you’ve been lucky enough to find someone like that?” she asked.
He reached over and tipped her chin up, gazing into her eyes somberly.
“Because when you look at them, you see everything you need in this world to complete yourself.”
Kerry closed her eyes. “Oh,” she uttered softly.
“Have you found someone like that, Kerrison?” His voice was very gentle.
She opened her eyes. “Yes, I think I have.” She exhaled. “It’s someone I met not too long ago, but who I’ve become very close to. And it’s like you said, when I look at them, it’s like I feel their hands closing very gently over my heart.” She paused. “Holding it safely.”
“I never knew you for a poet, child.” A slow, sweet smile crossed his face.
“But it’s not my friend Brian, is it?”
“No,” Kerry replied softly. “He’s one of my best friends, and I love him, but…no.”
Pastor Robert blew a long breath out. “And you haven’t told your parents, I take it? No, of course you haven’t. Your mother still thinks… Ah, what a web of tangles we have here.” He pondered. “Well, perhaps you should consider explaining as you have to me. I’m sure your parents, once they get to know this person, will be happy for you.”
Kerry shook her head sadly. “No, Pastor Robert, they won’t. They won’t accept this person.” She looked down again. “Except for my sister, I’m not close with my family, but this will put something between us I don’t think any amount of time will heal.”
He sighed. “God has a way of healing even the worst of wounds, my 410
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friend. How bad can this person be, that they would give up a daughter?”
Kerry hesitated, then took a deep breath. “She’s not a bad person at all,”
she stated simply and let the comment fall between them.
He went quite still for a few breaths, then reached up and tugged on his beard. “Ah.” His voice was quietly reflective. “That’s a toughie.”
Kerry found herself smiling in reaction. “You have any advice? I’m willing to listen—half of me wants to just get it over with, and the other half is scared to death to even start.”
“Hmm.” He cocked his head. “Well, it’s the coward’s way out, I suppose, but what I’d do is wait until you’re ready to leave to go…home.” He smiled at her. “And just tell them then, just a flat statement, and then leave. Get someone else to take you to the airport and just go.” He clasped her hand.
“The holidays are a very emotional time; it’s hard for people to cope with situations while they’re under that kind of stress. Especially on Thanksgiving, which is so family oriented.”
She considered that. “You know, that’s good advice,” she admitted. “Just play along until then, it’ll make the weekend a lot more pleasant.”
He nodded. “That’s what I did,” he told her softly, then put a finger up to his lips.
How had Angela known? Kerry blinked at him in mild shock. “Oh.” She got a pat on the cheek. “I see.” Her eyes darted around the room.
“But…you…”
“Yes, and if they knew, I’d be out of a job,” Robert said quietly. “So I know what it is to live with a secret, Kerry, but there are things in life worth risking that for.” He paused. “A soulmate is one of them.”
Kerry slowly nodded. “It’s worth risking everything for.” She let out a breath. “Thank you, Pastor Robert.”
He gazed at her fondly. “I wish you all the joy in the world, my friend. I’ll pray for you, and for your parents’ understanding.” He stood and waited for her to stand as well, then hugged her. “Be well.”
She smiled and patted his side. “You, too.” A knock at the door made her look up, and it pushed open to reveal Angela’s face. “C’mon in.”
“Silvia Cessnes wants to know if we want to sit down and have coffee with them. You up for it?” Angela asked.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” Kerry agreed. Silvia Cessnes was one of her favorite high school teachers. “Happy Thanksgiving, Pastor Robert.”
“Same to you, Kerry…and you too, Angela. Thanks for stopping by.” He led her to the door and waved at them before closing it at Kerry’s back.
“Everything okay?” Angela asked in a whisper.
Kerry smiled. “Everything’s great. Come on, I bet they have fresh Linzer tortes at the coffee shop.” She tugged on Angela’s sleeve and led her down the corridor.
Never seeing the tall, dark form that watched her go, then walked off in the opposite direction.