by LoRee Peery
“I’ve missed you, too, Rob.”
On the return drive to Norfolk, Paisley looked on the evening as a grand success. The blues, pinks, and purples of dusk colored the western sky, gilding a reflection on clouds behind them in the south, spreading to touch the blues in the east. “Mom used to say dusk is God holding His breath between day and night.”
Rob only grunted. He seemed deep in thought, probably over the family photos Oren and Nora had shown them.
In the confines of the rental car, awareness of the only man she’d loved consumed her. What had he done with the chocolate and yellow diamond ring? Rob had designed the gold setting with her in mind, and a friend made it for him to give her.
“Did you mean it when you said you’d like to see what other parts of Nebraska had to offer? You don’t plan to fly back West right away, do you?” he asked.
“I’m starting to think my parents’ rolling stone lifestyle wasn’t the norm. But I grew up moving every six months, so that’s all I know. I’m not real excited to return to California. It’s become so expensive. And I got spoiled housesitting all those gorgeous flowers. I’d be limited in an apartment and confined to container gardening again. Aunt Rainbow claims there are vast opportunities here.”
She wasn’t ready to admit to him that exposure to the expanse of Nebraska made her long for land in the country where flowers grew freely. She was tired of the nomadic way of life.
He only grunted.
The colors of dusk faded. Soon, the ink of night would settle over the land. “Do you miss the millions of people and the fast pace? I sure don’t. Speaking of missing, you didn’t say. Who’s taking care of the lovebirds while you’re in Nebraska?”
“My excitement was temporary. Those birds are a whole lot of messy work. They aren’t my idea of a companionable pet, anyway.”
“How’d you get into it?”
“Seems like there’s a lot of stuff we never talked about. I accepted the first pair of birds in lieu of payment for restoring a giant Victorian birdcage. Then I studied up on lovebirds and grew attracted to the blue and green birds. They were prettier than the ones with the funny eye markings, so I ordered a pair.”
“Where are they now?”
In the dim glow from the dash, she saw his lips thin. “I had a hard time coming to terms with the return of your ring. I sold the blue and green pair because they reminded me of the day they were mistakenly delivered to you.”
“It wasn’t a mistake. That’s how we began.” God’s timing at work again.
“Anyway, the new owner of the birds called a few days later and asked if I knew where she could find more. So I unloaded the others as well, and am no longer the owner of lovebirds.”
They continued through the quiet residential area in silence.
Rob shut off the motor and turned to her, reaching out. “Your face is so soft. The memory of your skin, your smell, keeps me awake at night. Don’t take this wrong. The only thing I can compare it to is the soft, airy lint in the dryer filter. You know, from new towels or warm blankets.”
She laughed low in her throat. “I’m not offended at all. Thank you. I’ve compared soft dryer lint to the downy tickle of play boa feathers. Light and fluffy.”
Your caress make me feel as soft inside as marshmallow fluff.
But she’d tell him another time.
He closed the gap between them.
She met his lips and lost herself in the familiar glow. Her insides dissolved like caramel pudding on her tongue.
The heady swoosh of his touch threatened her control. She went so fuzzy in the head, she had to be head-over-heels again. Reality crashed to the surface, and she gently released her side of the kiss.
As much as she longed to stay in his arms, he had to be content with his life first.
*
Tuesday morning Paisley awakened with a thankful heart and Rob on her mind. Jesus saved them both. She lingered over her honeyed tea in Aunt Rainbow’s orange and brown country kitchen, circa 1970s. Bits of disjointed conversation from the previous evening with Oren’s family and progress on tagging Mark Waverly’s belongings went back and forth in her thoughts.
I wonder what would have happened if Precious had stayed here and Rob was born in Norfolk instead of northern California.
She finished the last of her chai tea and went onto the deck.
Aunt Rainbow’s words wove through her mind. “Love is the only reason I didn’t run off, or I would have gone after adventure myself. I waited for my beloved Frank to finish his tour in Vietnam; however, he came home in a box, and I had no ambition to change locations. Unless you’re the son of a Nebraska farmer with thousands of acres to inherit, most country kids can’t wait to escape the state. Your mom told me how beautiful she thought Nebraska was that short time you lived here.”
Paisley scanned the lingering pinks of the sunrise. “I can see how some people are attracted to the beauty of the Plains. The colors here are amazing, as though God stroked it all with a paint brush.”
“Do you have an invisible friend these days?”
“Yikes! Rob, you scared off five years of my life. What are you doing here?”
“I brought a ream of copy paper. I used up a bunch and probably a lot of toner. So, who are you talking to?”
“I’m going over my conversation with my aunt before she left on her cruise. A confession of sorts from my end.” She leaned her back against the rail. “I left Mom buried in a town I’ll never return to in exchange for married housing on a base with a marine I’d only known a few months. I can’t remember telling you. It happened really fast the summer between high school and college. We got hitched after dating two months. It’s ironic that I didn’t send him a Dear John letter. He wrote and asked me to file for divorce because someone else was waiting for him. I had made the appointment with the lawyer. Then I received notice of his death. Meeting you made all the rawness of that episode vanish. Now it’s like that part of my life happened to someone else.”
“Is that why you handed back my diamond ring? You didn’t want to go through the heartache of another failed marriage?”
“It’s probably one of the reasons.” Paisley let her gaze wander until she settled on the curve of a rainbow sun catcher in the kitchen window. “You struck my heart strings the moment we met. At first, I couldn’t resist your magnetism any more than the mythical sailors could resist the call of the Lorelei. But, as we’ve talked before, you have a darkness inside that’s not as handsome as your outside. Suppose I fear I’m too happy to be dragged down by your somber moods.”
“I’ve wanted you from the first time we met.”
“I never doubted you wanted me, Rob. In fact I know you used restraint, and that’s why we often met outdoors around people.” She gulped the last of her tea, made a face over the sweet hit of honey that hadn’t dissolved, and took her mug inside to the sink.
He followed her and set down the paper. “Did you find out what to do with the knife collection?”
“I checked her instructions and Aunt Rainbow had already contacted a pawn shop owner downtown. He advised to take pictures and advertise online. Oren put a bank co-worker in charge of the whole thing. I haven’t seen the guy around, so maybe Oren has snapped pictures of the knives already.”
“Sounds like a plan. Guess I’ll see you later. I’m on my way to get some real coffee. Edna Mae’s is on the weak side.”
Unfamiliar, twittering birds accompanied Paisley on the jaunt to her tagging job.
Inside the house, she drew in the scent of lemon that replaced the dusty odor as she returned to the bookcases. Now that she’d met Edna Mae, she supposed many of the romance novels on the shelf had originated with Mark’s neighbor. The bookshelves on the left side of the wall revealed more masculine tastes. Familiar western authors, a leather-bound collection of the old West heroes, and volumes on Native American Indians.
Such a shame Rob hadn’t known the man.
Her time with Rob, especially the ride home
in the approaching dark, and their exchange that morning, kept interfering with her work. Thoughts were playing a game in her head. She wanted to tell Rob she still loved him. She prayed for his serious outlook on life to lift. In the meantime, she wouldn’t allow him to pull her down emotionally. Thank you, dear Jesus, for Andria and the clean room I’ve worked in all morning.
Time crawled and flew in turn. She’d worn a skirt just for her lunch with Rob. It was finally time. Paisley gulped a glass of water, wiped her mouth, and painted on red lipstick for confidence. She made sure the Waverly place was still locked.
Rob rounded the corner of the house from the backyard instead of from Edna Mae’s home. The man still tripped her heartstrings.
“Hey. Don’t shut the door, please. I need to wash my hands.”
He filled the kitchen with the shed smell—mixed with the masculinity of sweat. It struck her that if God had ordained it, Rob may have grown up coming in from that shed on a regular basis.
If such were the case, she’d have never met him.
As he drove, she took in the bustling activity along the street. “Looks like you’re getting to know your way around.”
“Thanks to Oren’s good directions. Here we go.” Rob turned the car into a strip mall and parked.
The restaurant was located in the back of a Mexican market. Lively mariachi music gave a bounce to their steps.
Many people wore a red, black, or white Huskers shirts. A sprinkling of men wore Huskers caps, kept atop heads during their meals.
“People in Nebraska do seem to love their college football team,” Rob commented.
“I believe that’s an understatement.”
Large water glasses and menus were already on the table. Paisley knew what she wanted to order. She waited for Rob to make his choice.
“Ma’am, are you ready to order?”
“I’d like a small taco salad without meat. But could you please add extra beans and guacamole?”
“Of course. Sir?”
Rob ordered two burritos and a cola.
Paisley burst out laughing. “Look at those silly scampering squirrels. They’re going nuts out there, racing from one tree to another. Maybe it’s the sunshine.”
Rob turned to the side so he could see out the window. “They remind me of you. Never landing in one spot, but always looking for somewhere else to plant their feet.”
“Or their tails.”
He scowled at her attempt to lighten the moment. She wanted to reach out and comfort his obvious loneliness.
He needed to seek the joyful side of life.
She focused on placing the lime-green napkin in her lap. Even though she’d returned his beautiful diamond ring, in her mind she viewed their break-up as mutual. He blamed his lack of joy on his parentage and couldn’t understand what that had to do with her.
Why can’t I get past the hang-up of his frame of mind?
It slammed into her. She wasn’t responsible for his joy any more than he was the one to change anything about her.
They hadn’t been ready for such soul searching in California.
“You won’t take part of the blame for our incompatibility?” She ventured.
He peered deeply into her eyes.
She felt certain he still longed for her as much as she longed for him.
“I felt like you were pushing me to be someone I’m not. I can’t help it if I’m serious and not a carefree laugh-where-I’m-planted kind of guy.”
“But your mother’s choice is behind you! And you’ve discovered who your dad was. Just look at the wonderful family you’ve found. You have more roots than I ever dreamed of having.”
“Right. My mom loved me so much she told my father about me and we were a real family success story.”
“Sarcasm isn’t attractive.”
They both needed to let go of previous lifestyles to entertain the notion of building a future together.
Paisley squeezed lemon into her water. “As far as my past actions are concerned, for the first time ever, I am thinking Nebraska has the draw to keep me here for a long time. Jobs seem to be in abundance. I haven’t seen the homeless loitering anywhere.”
“That may be temporary. You’ll see them elsewhere if you follow the itch to pack up and move again.”
“I don’t see that in my foreseeable future. There’s plenty of room for me to stay in Aunt Rainbow’s big house. She makes me realize how things could have been if Mom were still around and had all her cookies together. She claims having me around is like having a daughter she never had, something she’s missed out on in life. I’ve even wondered what a white Christmas would be like.”
“Do you plan to work with Rainbow when she returns, or find something of your own?”
“She hasn’t asked specifically. But bunion surgery takes time to heal. She’s thankful it’s still warm enough to wear sandals on her cruise.”
“In Alaska?” Rob shook his head and dipped a nacho chip in sauce.
They finished their meals with nothing resolved.
The sadness and the inborn goodness of the man across the table dug deeper into her soul.
Dear Jesus, guide me, show me if I can help him. If not, I pray the Holy Spirit do a mighty work of healing in Rob’s soul. You reminded me it’s not my job.
Outside, she was enthralled by the beauty of the day. She was so thankful to be alive, she twirled.
She came to a stop and her gaze collided with Rob.
He finally smiled and showed a slight dimple.
His handsome, sexy expression shocked her laughter into silence.
Rob grazed his knuckles over her cheek and then guided her to the sedan. He opened the passenger door, never breaking their connection.
A wild current of excitement flashed through her system. Could she keep him here with her? Would he want to stay? Was there hope for them after all?
6
In the comfort of his new work zone, Rob used a grinder that his father’s hands had held to take the rust from the antique skates. The tedious job freed his mind to wander. He imagined what he’d missed by not being in the shed as a child. Perhaps some of his skills and ability to work with his hands was genetic.
Growing up without a father, he had a different attitude toward life. The beauty in the house across the yard distracted his thoughts and captured his longings.
Paisley, how he wanted her. She was so full of life she made his day brighter. She drove him to want to be the man she was looking for, the man she deserved.
He shut off the grinder.
Someone tapped on the door frame.
“I didn’t want to walk in and risk that thing slipping and tearing your fingers into hamburger. How about water to follow that spicy lunch?” Paisley asked as she handed him a cold bottle.
“I’d say you’re an angel. Thanks. You changed.” He scrubbed through his hair and squeezed the back of his neck.
“Jeans are easier for what I’m doing. That’s an antique ice skate? It sure is tiny.”
“Sure is. Vintage and made of iron. The owner guessed the pair to be early 1900s.” He swilled half the water from the bottle.
“Wow. That’s old. You said there was a part here in the shed you could use?”
“Yes, see this piece? It’s a front clamp. One half was missing.”
“How did the skates keep from slipping?”
“Leather straps. They were bolted to the iron piece here in the back and wrapped around the ankle. Then buckled in the front.”
“I’ve guessed by visiting museums that people were a lot smaller a hundred years ago.” She swung her wealth of unruly golden hair over her shoulder, which enabled him to see her amber eyes. “Where in the world will you get the leather?”
“There’s a shoe repair shop downtown on Norfolk Avenue where I can get leather for straps.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah. According to Oren, farmers and ranchers have their cowboy boots resoled on a regular basis. Not to
mention tack repair for reins and saddles and such.”
“Ah. Horses.” She ambled along the work bench, grazing a hand over the smooth edges of the wood and gazed at the tools hung in precise order.
Out of nowhere, he pictured a child of theirs with coloring like Sara’s. So strange, how Nora so resembled Paisley. Another characteristic the brothers shared—they went for the same kind of woman.
“You never invited me to see where you worked in California. I can’t imagine your things in neat Mark Waverly rows.”
“Unlike my haphazard clothes, tools of the trade need to be accessible in seconds. Sometimes I reach without taking my eyes off the job in my other hand. So, yeah, I have a pegboard and hooks similar to this in my workshop back home.”
“Is the famous milk truck under the canvas? I’m surprised you’re not smoothing fenders or whatever needs attention.”
“As much as I’m tempted, I need to do this job first, since it’s commissioned.”
“Didn’t you say the owner of the toys wasn’t in a hurry?”
“Right, but the truck is personal so I need to get business out of the way first.”
“That’s something that’s always struck me about you.”
“What’s that?”
“Your integrity.”
“Well, a job is a job and fun is fun.”
“I respect your work ethic. Have you figured out how to get the toys to the owner?”
How could he have forgotten how much he enjoyed talking to her? “Once I finish the skates, I’ll ship them home. My housemate has a key to the shop and he’ll take it from there.”
“Have you and Oren made plans for you to stay and work on the truck?”
“I have no jobs waiting for me in California. The truck is a worthy restoration project.” And who knows where you’ll go when Rainbow no longer needs your help.
“Sounds good. I need to get back at it. I’m close to being finished with the second bookcase. I had no idea how much time it takes, but I have to come up with a price and tag it. Mark Waverly left a good collection of sale-worthy books.”
Rob gazed at her until she disappeared from sight. With a headshake, he picked up the water bottle. He finished the water, replaced his goggles, and turned on the grinder wheel.