by Sidney Wood
Ulie’s face illuminated. “He called me!”
She quickly typed a thank you, asking to reschedule. “I’m out of town this week, Phillip. I’d love to have dinner with you a week from Friday, if that works for you.” Send.
“Who are you texting? Is it your friend from last time we visited?” Miranda used air quotes as she said friend.
“What? No. Why do you think it was him?” Ulie’s cheeks turned pink and her mind raced. “Did Miranda see or overhear something?”
“I’m not a baby, Mom. I saw the way the two of you looked at each other.” Miranda pursed her lips and cocked her head to the side as if to say, “Prove me wrong.”
Miranda’s outrageous attitude normally made Ulie laugh, but the careless prodding also opened wounds. “It definitely wasn’t him, sweetie.”
“Another guy is calling you?” Miranda pried.
Shoving her phone into her pocket, Ulie lowered her eyebrows. “That is none of your business, young lady.” She poked at Miranda, making her squeal as they stood up to deplane.
In the concourse, Ulie returned her mother’s call. “We’re here, Mom. Is everything alright?”
“Of course,” her mother said. “I wanted to let you know we had left for the airport. I’m waiting outside of security now.”
Ulie placed a hand over her phone. “Grandma’s here,” she whispered to Miranda.
“Yay!”
For Ulie, this homecoming felt completely different from the last. She had no secret lover to meet and no ulterior motive for the visit. She came home to spend time with her favorite people, her mother and her daughter.
“Grandma!” Miranda shouted, running to meet her. Ulie trailed behind, happy to watch her baby girl get first dibs on Grandma’s hugs.
“Hi Mom,” she said, catching up. She threw an arm around her mom and gave a squeeze. “It’s good to be home.”
“I’m glad you’re both here sweetie,” her mom said. “Now, let’s get out of here and find something yummy to eat. How does ice cream sound?”
“Yummy!” Miranda nodded enthusiastically.
That evening, as they all sat in the living room reading books, Ulie received a text message from Phillip.
“Good evening, Ulie. Next Friday is perfect. I look forward to our first conversation.”
“I do too, and thank you, for taking a chance and talking to me in your office. You make me smile.” Send.
A few moments later, Ulie added, “You know, we don’t have to wait two weeks to have a conversation. I’ll make time to talk with you on the phone, and you can always text me.” Send.
Holding her breath, Ulie waited for Phillip’s reply. Bubbles began to bounce. A familiar surge of excitement zipped through her body.
“I’m not big on phone calls or texts. I hope that doesn’t bother you. I prefer to get to know you in person. I suppose I’m a bit old fashioned that way.”
Ulie deflated.
“I understand, Phillip, and I look forward to our first conversation over dinner.” Send.
Stowing her phone, Ulie re-opened the dog-eared romance novel her mother had recommended. Set in the 1800s, the book predated the instant gratification of cell phones and technology. The developing parallel with Phillip was not lost on her.
Her mom had a quote about love, and it popped into Ulie’s mind.
“Anticipation of something can be as enjoyable as the thing itself.”
Ulie pondered that as she stared at the yellowed pages in her lap. “Maybe this is a good thing. I’ve never had an old-fashioned relationship and trying something different can’t hurt.” She sighed and resumed reading.
Ulie’s mother closed her book and looked over her reading glasses at Ulie. “You know what? You and Miranda should join me at church this weekend. Everyone still remembers you, and of course, I show them every picture of Miranda, so they know her too. What do you say?”
Ulie glanced at Miranda, who nodded emphatically. She chuckled and gave her mom an affirmative nod. “Okay, sure. That sounds like fun. Do I need to buy a dress?”
“No, no, you just wear whatever you have. Things haven’t changed at all since you were younger. People still show up in jeans and t-shirts, suits and dresses… it’s a hodgepodge of styles for sure.” She chuckled, waving a dismissive hand at Ulie’s concern. “Everybody will be so happy to see you that no one will care how you’re dressed.”
“Oh, good! I have an old Marylin Manson hoodie I want to wear.”
“That sounds nice, dear. Marylin Munson…I don’t think I’ve heard of her.”
Ulie rolled her eyes. “I’m kidding, Mom. It would have been funny if you knew who I meant.”
Her mom went back to reading.
Chapter Twenty-Four (Mid-May)
Luke unbuckled Nicky from his car seat and toted him inside. Nicky laughed as his big brother tickled him.
Noah hadn’t asked for Luke’s help, and enjoyed a Proud Dad moment as he watched his boys. Looping his fingers through all the grocery bags, Noah lifted them from the truck bed with a grunt. In true guy fashion, he hauled all the groceries inside in one load.
Luke set Nicky in the living room and trotted toward his dad. “Need help?”
“Nah, I got everything.” Noah tried hooking the door behind him with his foot but missed. “Do you mind getting the door?”
Luke zipped by him and slammed it shut. “Are you sure you got everything?”
“Well, yeah. Your dad ain’t no slouch.” Noah shot Luke a hefty dose of stink eye, followed by a wink. “Thanks for bringing Nicky inside.”
Luke shrugged, “No problem.”
The last few months had been tough for Noah, especially after trying to work things out with Lisa and wrapping his head around having a new son. Barely getting to spend time with Luke made it worse. The little time he did get with Luke, he fought with the boy or with Lisa. On their first encounter, Luke lipped off to Lisa. After that, she had no patience for him, and she forced Noah to choose between them.
When Noah finally cut things off with Lisa, a switch flipped in his son. Luke’s behavior mellowed dramatically and improved with each visit. Choosing not to marry Lisa had sent a clear message to Luke; that Noah loved him and didn’t choose Lisa over him. The change encouraged Noah, and he took advantage of every minute with Luke he could.
At least once a month he had both boys during the same weekend and that’s when the real fun began. Nicky started walking and had enough teeth to eat most of the food Luke and Noah enjoyed. They partied like animals on those “guys only” weekends.
That evening, Noah and the boys ate pizza rolls and popcorn and drank root beer in the living room.
“Dad?” Luke asked.
“Luke?”
Luke gave Noah his version of the stink eye and said, “Can I go to the park tomorrow?”
Noah stopped blowing on the molten lava stuffed pizza roll between his fingers. “You want to go alone?”
“Well, no. I’m meeting a friend there at 2 pm, but I need a ride. Is that okay?”
Noah looked up at the ceiling as if performing complex math calculations in his head. “I can’t promise 2 pm on the dot, but I can drop you off between 1:57 and 2:03.”
Luke blinked.
“Yes, Luke. I’ll drop you off at 2.” Noah chuckled, trying not to get cheese on his chin as he bit into the pizza roll.
Luke rolled his eyes.
“Where did you run off to in the store today?” Noah asked around the still-too-hot bite in his mouth.
Luke shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth. Puffy pieces of popped corn fell to his lap and littered the floor as he munched and answered. “I shaw my friend, sho I went to shay hi.”
Noah nodded, ignoring the mess. On guy’s night there were no rules during dinner.
Nicky burped loudly and squealed with a huge grin. Running over to the coffee table, he took a properly cooled off pizza roll from his plate and jammed it in his mouth with a vicious growl.
&n
bsp; Noah watched as Nicky opened his mouth to show Luke his food, giggling the whole time.
Luke joined in, dropping more popcorn on the floor.
Turning his head to hide his laughter, Noah took a gulp of root beer to wash down the pizza roll he had just swallowed. Not one to waste and opportunity, Noah extended his throat and summoned a belch of Olympic proportions.
The boys immediately gulped root beer, trying to best him.
“Their moms are going to kill me.”
The following morning, as Noah hauled trash out to the bin, he felt an urge to call Ulie. He glanced back at the house. Luke operated the vacuum in the living room, sucking up bits of popcorn from the carpet and couch while Nicky snoozed upstairs. Noah had time and privacy if he wanted to try. He shoved the bag down and closed the trash container’s lid.
“She didn’t return my last call, so she probably doesn’t want to talk to me.” Hesitating, he glanced at his phone. “I could try again anyway… maybe enough time has passed.” Not so long ago, the two of them were actively sending messages and photos to each other.
“I miss those days,” he said.
He recalled her pleasant voice and how effortless it had been to talk to her. Noah sighed, returning the device to his back pocket. It could wait. He had other things to attend to that Sunday morning.
Noah didn’t consider himself a churchgoer, but the idea wasn’t foreign. His parents were regulars at an old church in the Butte, a quiet community sandwiched between the Matanuska River and the jagged, tri-peaks of Pioneer Peak. The Butte got its name from a lone dwarf mountain left behind when glaciers carved the valley. The Butte stuck up like a sore thumb in the shadow of Pioneer Peak.
As a young man, Noah attended the same cozy church, and he thought it would be nice to take his boys there on the weekends they were all together. Heading upstairs for a shower, Noah shouted, “We’re leaving in forty-five minutes!”
Luke groaned as he dumped the vacuum’s collection cylinder in the trash.
Noah recognized the reaction and smiled. “It’s a pretty short service and besides, there might be girls there.”
Luke looked up with a grimace. “Gross,” he said, but raced to his room to get ready.
“Brush your teeth!” Noah called after him.
In the truck at last, Noah glanced at his boys. The two youngest McCormick men wore clean blue jeans and white button-down shirts with the sleeves rolled up to just below their elbows. They each had a brown belt and brown boots, and neatly combed hair. Noah wore a matching outfit except for a light blue shirt instead of white.
“Grandma is going to eat you two up.”
Pulling into the nearly full parking lot, Nicky shouted, “Swing!” A fenced-in playground bordered the parking area and Noah promised they could play on the swings before they left.
Noah found a space at the far end of the lot and parked. As he recalled, the church had never been more than half full, even on Christmas. “There are a lot of people here,” he said. Turning to his boys, he lowered his brow and leaned in. “That means there are probably some pretty girls in there. Do you gentlemen think you can behave yourselves? I’d hate to have somebody’s daddy come looking for me because you married their daughters without asking.”
Nicky returned his daddy’s stare, nodding soberly.
Luke rolled his eyes, but Noah detected a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“All right you, heartbreakers, let’s go inside and find a seat.”
As he ushered his boys through the front door, familiar sounds and smells greeted Noah. Piano music lilted above the chatter of visiting friends and family, and to Noah’s surprise, he recognized several faces from his youth. Old carpet and rich coffee teased his nostrils as the trio walked into the fellowship hall. The awkwardness he anticipated never settled in. Instead, a sense of home and belonging embraced him as he searched for an empty pew.
As they found their seats, the rest of the congregation did the same. A hush fell over the building, and one of the Deacons took the pulpit to start off the morning service.
“I’d like everyone to welcome our visitors from Washington,” the Deacon said.
Noah gulped and joined the rest of the congregation in scanning the room to see who the mystery visitors were. He blinked. “No way,” he muttered. On the other side of the fellowship hall, sitting just a couple of rows ahead of them, he saw Ulie blushing and politely waving. She had one arm around her daughter’s shoulders. Miranda smiled and waved in their direction, and to Noah’s utter surprise, Luke popped right up and waved back.
Ulie turned and froze.
Noah waved awkwardly but stopped when he noticed a dark cloud descending over Ulie’s features. She glared and snapped her head to the front, signaling she had no desire to see him.
Noah and Luke looked at each other. Luke shrugged, helping to soften Noah’s mood. “Do you remember her, buddy?” he asked.
“That’s who I’m meeting at the park today!” Luke whispered.
Noah raised an eyebrow. “Really? How did you know they were in town?”
“I saw them at the store yesterday. When we walked by the candy aisle, I spotted Miranda, and I went over and said hi. You should go say hi to her mom!” Luke became animated as his voice shifted from a whisper to loud hissing.
Noah peered at Ulie again, hoping she might look back. No luck. Throughout the service, he couldn’t help glancing at her, but he never caught her sneaking a peek in return. Toward the end of the Pastor’s message, Noah stealthily took out his phone and quickly typed a message.
“Ulie, I know you probably don’t want to talk to me. I wish I could leave things be, but I can’t. I miss you and now that you’re here…it seems like fate.” Send. Cursing for not making his intentions clear, he typed, “Can we talk after the service?” Noah’s finger hovered above the send button.
“Let us pray,” the Pastor said, concluding his sermon. A hush fell over the fellowship hall, and as they waited for the closing prayer, Noah could hear his own breathing.
Send.
A whooshing sound followed by a shrill “DING!” pierced the silence. Noah grimaced as someone’s phone notified the entire church that they had a new message.
While everyone else had their heads bowed, Noah looked up, hoping the culprit wasn’t Ulie. His heart sank as he watched her, pink faced, digging through her purse to switch her phone to silent.
Another deafening whoosh followed by “DING!” made her jump. Grasping the offending device, her jaw stiffened and the pink in her cheeks flushed deep red as she identified the sender. Silencing her phone, Ulie shoved it violently into her purse and bowed her head.
Noah puffed out his cheeks and exhaled, defeated.
As soon as the service concluded, Noah asked Luke to take Nicky to the swings. He waited by the exit for Ulie. A steady flow of parishioners exited the building as Noah stood guard. When Ulie and Miranda finally came to the doorway, Ulie pushed through with her head down, refusing to acknowledge Noah’s existence.
“Ulie, wait.”
She kept walking, unwilling to hear him out.
“You look nice,” Noah said, his voice trailing off.
Miranda looked over her shoulder at Noah as she held her mom’s hand. She looked puzzled. Ulie led Miranda to a Buick sedan, where an elderly woman, who must have been Ulie’s mother, waited. As the three ladies drove away, Ulie refused to give Noah the slightest glance or to acknowledge that he existed.
Noah used a boot tip to kick the rocks at his feet. His boys’ voices finally wrested his attention away from thoughts of Ulie and got him moving. Noah joined his sons, pushing them on swings as other kids raced around, playing on a jungle gym and teeter-totter.
****
At just before 2 pm, Noah and Nicky dropped Luke off at a wooded park just outside of town. The same Buick from the church occupied a parking spot nearby, and Miranda’s Grandmother sat behind the wheel. As Luke raced for the park, Noah waved politely
at the old woman.
She waved back, smiling warmly the way people in small towns do, even when they don’t know you.
Luke found his friend and waved at Noah, signaling, “I’m okay, Dad. Come back at 5 pm to pick me up.” Luke and Miranda ran up a winding trail to the playground and disappeared behind a wooden fence.
“All right, partner,” Noah said to Nicky. “Let’s get you back to your mom.” Swinging his rig around, Noah exited the parking lot and drove south toward Lisa’s sister’s apartment.
Chapter Twenty-Five (One week later)
Ulie shivered as Phillip walked her to the front door of Altura, the restaurant he chose for their “conversation.” That is how they jokingly referred to their first date. When Ulie returned from Alaska, they conversed briefly over the phone, but their first face-to-face meeting had just begun.
Despite her nervous trembling, Ulie felt flush with excitement. She craved adult conversation, emotional connection, and most importantly, a man’s romantic attention. The admission didn’t embarrass her. She knew it as a plain truth that she only came to understand after being without it for so long. The first two cravings were at least partially satisfied through interaction with her mother and colleagues at her new job. Romantic attention and validation from the opposite sex had been left unsatisfied since losing… him. They were what she craved the most. Though her need included sexual attention, it demanded emotional and sensual devotion as well. The void rooted deep within her begged to be filled. Ulie’s thoughts turned to the only man who had ever touched her that profoundly, the one who masterfully created and lovingly filled the void, Silvertongue.
Ulie stopped herself. “I’m not going there. He’s gone.”
Phillip held a chair for Ulie. She sat gracefully then waited patiently for him to get settled. She looked into his eyes, pleased to see him soften. “Phillip, this is lovely. Thank you for inviting me.”
Phillip smiled, gesturing at the entre menu in front of her. “You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy Italian food. It’s their specialty.”
“I do!” Taking a tip from her mother, Ulie tried something new since Phillip professed to be a bit old fashioned. “Do you mind ordering for me? I’d love to try something you suggest.” She smiled demurely and watched his face light up. “It worked!”