After All These Years

by Sally John

  “Yes, Isabel,” she called back.

  She was a polite little thing, with big blue eyes that always unnerved him because it appeared there was a lot of activity going on behind them, but he couldn’t imagine about what. What in the world could nine-year-olds have to think about? He remembered that night he ate dinner at Lia’s. Chloe had giggled and even hugged him goodbye. Since then, he hadn’t really noticed her much.

  Except to realize that she was an awkward obstacle in Lia’s life.

  No, that wasn’t it. Lia was devoted to her well-being and enjoyed her immensely. Her stepmother role came naturally. Even when she talked of not being married because the guy would have to accept Chloe as a daughter, there had been no trace of complaining or self-pity.

  He was the one who found Chloe an awkward obstacle.

  What an idiot!

  Chloe was nearer to Lia’s heart than anything. The way to Lia’s heart was nothing less than through her niece.

  But she was a kid! She was everything Cal was determined to avoid. He had never been around kids, had no desire to be around them. He remembered being one: he remembered the best times were when he was with his dad. And then his dad died.

  What was it Lia had said? They’re just short people, Cal.

  He cleared his throat. “Do you like soccer?”

  “I like gymnastics.”

  “We can probably find some of that.” He picked up the remote and began flipping. “I’ve got a gazillion sports channels.”

  “Isabel doesn’t have cable. Do you like cartoons?”

  “Can’t remember the last time I saw one.”

  “Aunt Lia only lets me watch two on Saturdays.”

  “Have you watched your two today?”

  “Yeah. I mean, yes.”

  “Well, you’re in my house now. I think I want to watch a cartoon.”

  Chloe giggled, slipped off her shoes, pulled up the recliner’s foot rest, and settled back.

  Lia parked in front of Isabel’s house and muttered aloud to herself, “This isn’t working.”

  Cal lived way too close for comfort.

  And he had started an ongoing Chinese checkers tournament with Chloe. He wasn’t leaving his house much yet, which meant Chloe went over there, which meant Lia had gone to collect her three times in six days. Not to mention the night before when he baby-sat while she and Isabel went to Club NEDD.

  As long as she didn’t have to see him, she was fine. Well, as fine as one could be living with a friend, sleeping in her living room, dispensing drugs from an oversized storeroom, and wondering how much money she was going to lose when all was said and done.

  But when she had to see him and look into those green eyes and sense his teddy bear presence, still strong and yet weak from the recent ordeal, then she felt overwhelmed and inundated with conflicting emotions. Anger, sadness, joy, confusion. Floating gossamer tickling…

  Well, not tonight. It was Friday. A father-daughter/mother-son date night for fifth graders was being held at the school. And she had to deal with Nelson’s visit. Chloe had called and invited him. He was due to arrive in ten minutes.

  Lia hurried inside the house and stopped short just inside the door. Across the living room she spotted Cal sitting at the kitchen table, arranging marbles on a playing board.

  He looked up and grinned. “Hey, Aunt Lia.” It was his recently acquired mode of addressing her.

  “You left your house!” She dropped her coat and bags where she stood. The mail she had picked up at the post office fluttered to the floor.

  “Yeah. I even walked to the Center today. Of course I was too exhausted to work out, but I got there. Isabel was called to the station for some emergency, so I came over about five to keep Chloe company while she gets ready for her big date.”

  “Cal, she’s nine years old. She can stay by herself for an hour.”

  He shrugged.

  Chloe emerged from the hallway and twirled around the front room, grinning. “What do you think?” The red party dress and black patent-leather shoes her grandmother had bought sparkled in the lamplight.

  Lia clapped. “You’re beautiful!” She smiled to herself, noticing the slightly askew barrettes in Chloe’s black hair. “Absolutely perfect.”

  “Chloe, you’ll be the prettiest one there.” Cal stood in the kitchen doorway.

  “Do you think so?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Is my dad here yet?”

  Lia hugged her. “Not yet, sweetpea. It’s still early.”

  Cal said, “Hey, how about some checkers while we wait? You’re still beating me. I gotta catch up.”

  The two of them laughed and headed into the kitchen. They paid no attention to Lia’s sigh.

  Forty-five minutes passed. Chloe grew quieter. Lia dropped a pan, an onion, a fork, and cut a finger. She didn’t know what would be worse. Dealing with Nelson or dealing with his no-show. She gave up cooking dinner and sat down at the table.

  Cal stood and patted Chloe’s shoulder. “Well, I better go. I’ll beat you tomorrow, though, Chloe. You have a good time tonight. See you, Aunt Lia.” He sauntered through the kitchen and out the back porch.

  “Chloe, he probably got hung up in Chicago traffic. You know how that happens.”

  She nodded, her eyes on the marbles, her little forehead pinched.

  “Do you want a snack?”

  She vehemently shook her head and then flew from the table and down the hall.

  Lia listened to her sobs until the bedroom door slammed shut. Then she stood and marched to retrieve her handbag from the floor by the front door. She dug out Nelson’s cell phone number. If necessary, she would beg him to get here as soon as possible or make it up in some extravagant way. He wasn’t going to get away with this. He would not break Chloe’s heart and get away with it.

  She returned to the kitchen, yanked the phone from the wall, and punched in the numbers. No answer. Not even a voice mail. Oh! She would kill him!

  Her thoughts echoed in her head. Kill him?

  What was wrong with her? She sank onto a chair. The world had grown ugly and she with it. I don’t even like myself anymore!

  Lord, I’m sorry.

  How long since she had prayed? Sincerely prayed and listened for His leading? She was too wrapped up in her troubles. Too determined to take care of business and not feel anything. She knew how to do that. She was an expert at that. It was how she had turned her back on a normal life, adopted Chloe at the age of 21, and bought her own business. Except this time she had even turned her back on Chloe and her heavenly Father.

  She laid her head on the table and prayed. Knowing she invited a dreaded crying fit, she told God everything and asked Him for everything. The tears came, but they cleansed this time. She sensed the beginning of a healing.

  A noise outside on the darkened porch startled her. She looked up. Isabel had told her to keep that door locked! Her heart pounded in her throat as the kitchen door opened.

  It was Cal. Relief flooded her. “What…” Her jaw locked open halfway through the one-syllable word. Deputy Sheriff Cal Huntington was wearing a black suit.

  He shut the door. “Sorry, I knocked. Guess you didn’t hear.” His shirt was white and his tie red, the same bright red of Chloe’s dress. His light brown hair and beard appeared shinier and even combed. He must have showered.

  Lia managed to close her mouth. She had never seen him dressed up before. The man was…gorgeous.

  He smiled sheepishly. “I figure every little girl needs a dad, even a temporary one.” He pointed toward the living room. “Did he show up?”

  “Who?”

  “Chloe’s dad.”

  “N-no. She’s in her room.”

  “Okay.” He strode past Lia, a scent of Polo trailing behind him.

  Holy smokes!

  And he’s here to mend Chloe’s broken heart.

  “Whew!” It was a loud expulsion of what little breath she had left.

  Chloe burst thro
ugh the front door, a tiny red teddy bear clutched in her hand. “Aunt Lia! We went to the Pizza Parlor for ice cream and everybody was there!”

  Lia set aside her book on the couch and stood. “I wondered where you were!” She hugged her niece. “It was getting so late!”

  Cal shut the front door. “Sorry. We should have called.”

  “Oh, goodness. I wasn’t worried. She was with you.”

  Chloe rattled on about the evening. “Cal had pizza too because when we got to the school most of the tacos were gone so he didn’t get to eat much. But we got to play games, and we won this teddy bear. Cal said I can keep it. And—” A yawn interrupted.

  Lia hugged her again. “I want to hear all about it, but we’d better let Cal go home.”

  Chloe giggled and ran over to him.

  He knelt and caught her in a bear hug. “Thanks for letting me go with you, Chloe.”

  “Thank you!” She reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a piece of gum. “That’s where he keeps it, Aunt Lia. Bye, Cal.” Again she giggled and raced toward the hallway.

  “Isabel’s sleeping!” Lia turned back to Cal. “How can I thank you?”

  “My pleasure.” He sounded sincere. “She wore me out, but it was worth it to see her laughing again.”

  “And I thought kids scared you.”

  “They did.” He smiled, those beautiful green eyes of his crinkling. “Goodnight, Lia. See you tomorrow.”

  The guy sounded pretty sure of that.

  Except for attending the morning church service, Isabel spent much of the weekend with Lia unpacking inventory and stocking shelves at the freshly painted pharmacy. Countless others had also offered their assistance. Most of the Chamber of Commerce members had helped move things. Cal hauled stuff in his truck. All the Club NEDD ladies pitched in at the store, preparing it for the next day’s grand reopening.

  Now, late Sunday night back at the house, Isabel and Lia were beyond tired and feeling slaphappy. After Chloe had gone to bed, they polished off a plate of cookies someone had left at the store. The house was in total disarray. Isabel refused to do anything that resembled putting something away. She plopped on the couch, content to digest all that butter and sugar from a prone position.

  Lia got down on her hands and knees. “Isabel, I can’t let this mess go any longer. You’ve done so much for me. The least I can do is pick up a few things.”

  “Lia, stop!”

  “Oh, good grief. There’s mail under the couch. I must have dropped it here Friday night.”

  “There’s no mail delivery on Sundays. Leave it until tomorrow!”

  “Look at this. You’ve got something from a missions board, and I have something from that insurance group.” She sat cross-legged on the floor, her eyes wide.

  “Lia, we won’t sleep tonight if we open those.”

  “Don’t be silly.” She ripped open her envelope and her jaw dropped. “They’ve rescinded their decision to cancel me and the other independent pharmacies. They will continue to pay for Agstar employees’ prescriptions. They’re even making it retroactive, to cover from November 1 last week.”

  Isabel sat up and cheered. “Yea! How’s that for answered prayer and petitions and Alec and Anne Sutton pushing their weight around?”

  “I…I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know? Doesn’t this mean you can stay put and not sell?”

  “I don’t know anymore if that’s what I want to do.” She shrugged. “I guess this will make it easier to sell the business.”

  “Lia, what’s going on?”

  “I’ve already talked with a broker. He has a couple of interested parties.”

  “But what about your life here?”

  Again she shrugged. “You’re leaving. The back room still gives me the willies. And I do not want to live in that upstairs apartment. Chloe wants to live closer to her grandparents, which of course I knew in July, but you know what they say about 20-20 hindsight.”

  “You have other friends. You can live in this house as long as you want; the landlords are the best. And Chloe’s only nine. You can have a life of your own, Lia. Keep going after your dream.”

  “That went up in smoke, figuratively and literally. The shop can be fixed, but not my trust.”

  “You didn’t really think Cal had been a perfect saint his entire life, did you? When I first met him he was a nice guy, but our paths didn’t exactly cross.”

  “It’s not that. The whole incident reminded me that getting involved is simply not worth it. I think it’s best that I focus on raising Chloe and just work for someone else. I can find a niche in Chicago and send her to a small, private school.”

  Isabel didn’t respond. She disagreed, but sensed that Lia wasn’t about to reconsider at that moment.

  “Open yours, Izzy.”

  At this point whatever it contained couldn’t make the evening more somber than it was. She opened her envelope. Then again, maybe it could. “They can take me on immediately.” She blew out a breath. “I can be in Mexico before Christmas.”

  “That’s wonderful! It’s exactly what you wanted. Right?”

  “Right.” It felt as if something shifted, as if some subtle piece of herself broke away. “I guess so.”

  Bundled in her winter jacket, Isabel drove along the two-lane county highway, passing vast, open farmland toward the radio station. Though the corn had been harvested, brown soybean plants remained in some fields. Here and there patches of trees filled a hillside. For the most part, they raised stark limbs toward a gray sky. Oak trees clutched crispy brown leaves. Some deep yellow leaves still brightened the landscape. The midwest remained true to form. It was November.

  She was not going to miss the cold winter.

  She glanced down at the passenger seat again, making sure the letter was there, reminding herself that it was the right thing to do.

  Writing the letter of resignation ranked right up there with telling her mother about her plans to move. Anguish met her in every direction.

  She knew the station needed at least two weeks notice to replace her. By quitting now she could give that to them and still have time to move out of the house and store her things…and tell her family goodbye.

  Lia would take over renting the house. After figuring in the cost of redoing much of the apartment and replacing many things, plus heating it during the winter, the price of the small house seemed affordable. There was enough insurance money left over to help.

  And, she thought, it gives Lia time to reconsider. Cal is so in love with her. Not that he had told Isabel, but it showed. It especially showed in his kindness toward Chloe. Cal was not one for spending time with kids.

  Last but not least, the timing gave the Chicago station four more weeks to decide. She had called them back once. They hadn’t resolved some issues yet.

  Now it was all in God’s hands.

  Forty

  “Cal,” Lia pressed the phone to her mouth and stretched the cord to its limit as she walked between the drug shelves. There were customers in the store. “I thought you weren’t supposed to work yet.”

  “The doc said no patrolling. Tonight I’m filling in at the desk. That’s why I won’t make it to the checkers game with Chloe.”

  “I know you’ve been spending a lot of time with her, but you just can’t promise a little girl you will do something and then not do it.”

  “I’m sorry, Lia. It can’t be helped. She’ll understand. You keep telling me how responsible she is for a nine-year-old.”

  But this is different! “All right. Thanks for calling.” At least.

  “Tell her I’ll try—”

  “Cal, don’t. Just don’t. You’ll only set us all up for disappointment. I have customers. Goodbye.”

  “All right. See you.”

  Lia scanned the store. No one needed her just yet. Anne had the front covered.

  It was Friday, two weeks since the father-daughter date night. Cal had become a fixture at Isabel’s house.
Lia grew weary of the effort to ignore him. He didn’t try to romance her. He hadn’t even brought the subject up again. And that wore down her defenses, allowing his friendship wiggle room.

  Isabel would be leaving for Mexico in about two weeks. Her absence would create empty hours. Lia would automatically turn to their neighbor and that wiggle room would expand. And then one day, like today, he wouldn’t show up. Why complicate their lives?

  She pulled a business card from her pocket and dialed the broker’s number. It was time to pursue the sale of the pharmacy.

  Tony sat at his Tribune desk and phoned Izzy’s radio station.

  “Good morning,” a chipper female voice answered. “This is WLMD. How may I help you?”

  “Hello. I’m a friend of Izz—Isabel Mendoza. I’d like to send her a fax. May I have your number?”

  “Sure. Let’s see where is that? Oh, here we go.” She gave it to him. “Isabel is here now. Would you like to talk to her?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “You almost missed her. Tomorrow is her last day working here.”

  “Really?” His chest constricted. Should he ask? “Where’s she going?”

  “Actually, I don’t know. I’m filling in for the secretary. Isabel said something about not being cold this winter. Sorry. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to her?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks. Goodbye.”

  “Goodbye.”

  He sat at his desk, transfixed, imagining Izzy stringing Christmas lights around a crude dwelling under a hot Mexican sky.

  It was out of his hands. Is this where God came in? God, please let it make sense to her. He typed in the fax number on his computer and sent the article on its way.

  After leaving the station Friday afternoon, Isabel stopped in the library, plunked down some change on the counter, and went to the copy machine. A few minutes later she was back in her car, making a mental checklist, choking back tears.