Rocky Road

by Josi S. Kilpack

  Papa Hendricks rose to give an opening prayer. He asked for comfort and compassion and healing for all who were in attendance and for peace to accompany the service. Sadie was glad there was a religious flavor to the service and wondered about what Lori had said about his attending church in the months prior to his disappearance. Had he reconciled with his faith or was he simply seeking solace in light of the brush with mortality Anita’s diagnosis created for him?

  After the prayer, Dr. Hendricks’s brother Richard read the obituary. He also looked a lot like Dr. Hendricks, but a few years older, Sadie guessed. Seeing the resemblance to his brother as he read the tribute was touching. Richard’s voice shook with restrained emotion, and a chorus of sniffling began to sound throughout the room. When Richard finished, he shared some brief memories of his brother, including a time when they had shaved a neighbor’s cat with their dad’s electric razor, and how Dr. Hendricks—Trent, his brother called him—had used Richard’s ID to cover up his troublemaking as a young man. The audience chuckled at the stories and Dr. Hendricks became even more real in Sadie’s mind.

  Sadie looked at Anita and saw that she was still dabbing at her eyes with that handkerchief. Sadie’s gaze slid to Lori, seated half a dozen seats away from Anita. Lori was a contrast to Anita in every way. While Anita was dressed in traditional black, Lori was in red with gold shoes. Anita’s hair was conservative and elegant, while Lori’s was an unnatural color in a punk-like style. The contrast seemed to echo what Lori had said about Anita playing the part of a doctor’s wife to perfection, while Lori had never fit that role.

  Lori had one arm around the shoulders of each of her children, who were both crying, but she stared straight ahead, not even looking at the speaker behind the podium. Her expression was intent, and very different from last night when she’d had a few emotional moments and spoken with such depth and honesty. While Sadie watched, Lori removed her arm from her daughter’s shoulder in order to pull her phone halfway out of her jacket pocket again.

  “What’s with the phone?” Caro whispered to Sadie. Apparently she was watching Lori, too.

  Sadie leaned over to make sure they weren’t overheard. “I don’t know. She seems really tense, doesn’t she?”

  “What are you talking about?” Tess whispered from Caro’s other side. Sadie suppressed a sigh but refused to dwell on her annoyance as Caro turned to her right and quietly explained their conversation to Tess.

  Sadie tried to remember if she’d sensed any apprehension from Lori last night in regard to attending the memorial. She was quite certain, however, that Lori had felt comfortable and confident about being there. Watching her now, however, she seemed to be wrestling with some very intense emotions.

  Richard Hendricks sat down, and Anita stood and made her way to the small podium at the front of the room, just to the right of Dr. Hendricks’s portrait. Her pencil skirt fit her trim frame perfectly, and her heels—three inches at least—sculpted her calves. If she’d lost weight with her cancer treatments, she’d bought that suit recently—it fit her like a glove. Once she faced the crowd, Anita smiled sweetly. Sadie judged her to be in her thirties. She looked every part the doctor’s wife and the grieving widow.

  “Trenton would be touched to see so many of you here today,” she said with a tremor in her voice. Sadie glanced at Lori, who once again was not looking at the speaker. Instead, she looked from the floor to her children beside her and, now and then, at the portrait of her ex-husband. She showed no emotion but maintained a stoic presence that Sadie sensed was taking a great deal of effort to hold on to.

  Sadie looked back at Anita Hendricks when she began speaking again. “One of the things I most admired about Trenton—and he had so many admirable traits—was his ambition.”

  Ambition? Sadie thought to herself. It seemed an odd lead-in to talk about her husband.

  “In fact, you could say that’s how we met. Our ambitions aligned, so to speak, and from that first conference forward I knew that he was the man I would spend my life with.” She raised the handkerchief to cover her mouth as emotion got the better of her. The sniffling throughout the room doubled. Caro elbowed Sadie and nodded toward Lori.

  For the first time, Lori was looking at the speaker but with a look Sadie couldn’t quite define. Had Anita said something that upset her? A moment later, she looked back at the floor, and her tension seemed to increase. Sadie could almost feel the heat of it, and she was several yards away from where Lori sat. She discreetly scanned the room and noted that no one else was looking at Lori. Would they have noticed Lori’s reaction to Anita’s words if they had been watching her?

  “I honestly don’t know how I will continue on,” Anita said, her voice a squeak. She took a breath and put her handkerchief to her chest. “But I know that I must because without Trenton here, I know that it falls to me to carry on this legacy and continue to bless lives the way he has blessed so many.” Lori continued to stare at the floor. Sadie couldn’t tell if she was holding in emotion or was just ... angry? Sadie rewound Anita’s words in her mind to see if she could determine what it was that had upset Lori. Could it be that Lori did still have feelings for her ex-husband and hearing about Anita’s affections was upsetting to her? Lori’s inability to control her response now, however, was very different from the way she’d had control of herself the night before. Then again, at one point the night before Lori had mentioned loving Dr. Hendricks, and Sadie had wondered if she meant current feelings or had intended the past tense.

  When Sadie tuned back in, Anita was explaining Dr. Hendricks’s commitment to his patients and the foundation. The foundation had donated a record amount the previous year, and they hoped to increase that amount at Friday’s cancer walk. Anita talked about her own cancer and how frightening it had been but how it strengthened both her and Dr. Hendricks’s resolve to fight the disease even more. Something didn’t feel right about this message, but it wasn’t until Anita was concluding her remarks that Sadie figured out what it was. Sadie’d been to a lot of funerals in her day, and a few memorial services, but this sounded more like a speech than a tribute to her husband’s life. There was an arrogance about it that was out of place and a lack of sorrow that was even more unusual.

  Sadie glanced around the room, but no one else seemed to share her confusion at Anita’s message. Perhaps it was because each of them knew Dr. Hendricks—perhaps he was equally passionate and would appreciate the fervor behind the words. Sadie and Caro might be the only people here who were strangers to him, and maybe that gave them some objectivity. Sadie saw that Lori was now clutching her phone at her side so tightly that her knuckles were white. She continued to stare at the spot of floor in front of her feet, and Sadie felt sure she was forcing herself to remain calm. The speech wasn’t necessarily objectionable, it just wasn’t ... appropriate. Lori, however, seemed very upset by it. Barely holding on to her calm.

  “ ... And so, thank you,” Anita said, hand to chest once more as she scanned the room with a loving gaze. The white handkerchief was a stark contrast to her black suit. “Thank you for being a part of Trenton’s life and for honoring all that he has done with the time he had. I am touched by your love for him and thank you all for this remembrance of the man I love.”

  She sat down and Caro leaned over to Sadie. “Not a word about his two children sitting in the audience?”

  Sadie hadn’t noted that, but she knew Caro was right. Was that why Lori was so upset? A quick glance confirmed that Lori was still solid as a statue, clutching her phone and staring at the floor.

  Dr. Hendricks’s mother, Ruth, stood to speak. In contrast to his widow’s, Dr. Hendricks’s mother’s tribute was heart-wrenching and deeply personal. Sadie had to get a tissue from the pack she always kept in her purse when, with tears streaming down her soft cheeks, the doctor’s mother talked about the father he was to his children. Mrs. Hendricks spoke directly to her grandchildren, reminding them of how much their father loved them, how proud he had been of
them, and how sorry she was that they had to face such a tragedy. She talked about him watching over them from heaven and reminded them that this life is only part of the journey each of them was making.

  Looking up at her ex-mother-in-law, Lori finally melted, her tears overflowing as she wiped frantically at her eyes. Nikki handed her a tissue over the seats between them, and Lori smiled a weak thank-you. Nikki squeezed her arm before sitting back in her chair. Sadie shifted her gaze to Anita, who continued to dab at her eyes in the same cadence Sadie had noticed when she first walked in.

  There wasn’t a dry eye in the room by the time Mrs. Hendricks declared her final devotion for her son. After she sat down, a male quartet stood and sang a hymn Sadie didn’t recognize. The beautiful harmony and tender lyrics had Sadie reaching into her purse for another tissue. By the end of the song, Lori was composed, though her face was splotchy from emotion. Her son’s head was now resting on her lap, and her arm was around her daughter. Both of the children were still crying but had calmed some. It was hard for Sadie to look at. She had sat through her husband’s funeral, and had tried to comfort her children, even though they were so young they had only a limited understanding of what was happening. Was that all that Lori’s behavior signified? An extreme reaction to what was happening today? Could reality have hit her so hard that she lost all the confidence she’d had the evening before? Tess did say Lori could be high-strung. Still, it just didn’t feel right, and the more Sadie watched her, the less right it felt.

  Chapter 14

  A closing prayer was offered by someone Sadie didn’t take note of, and then the memorial attendees either rose to their feet or turned to talk with those sitting next to them. “Beautiful service,” Sadie heard one woman say. “Poor Anita,” said another. Sadie agreed with both sentiments, but her eyes were on Lori, who was on her feet a moment after the “Amen.”

  “I’m going to talk to Lori,” Tess announced. Sadie was annoyed that even though she’d missed her first opportunity, she still considered herself in charge. Teamwork stinks, she thought.

  “I’ll go with you,” Caro said, and she began following Tess out of the row. A woman sitting behind them called Tess’s name, and Tess turned toward her.

  “How are you? It’s been ages, hasn’t it? How are you doing?”

  Sadie muffled an exaggerated sigh at the delay as she watched Lori move toward the door with her children. She’d gone the long way around, skipping the family and friends who were congregating at the front of the room. Sadie looked back and forth between Lori, Tess, the woman Tess was still talking to, and the door Lori was heading toward. Lori was leaving. Now. Sadie tried to take comfort in the thought that Lori would still be at the luncheon, but somehow she didn’t feel very sure of that.

  If Tess weren’t going to make talking to Lori a priority, Sadie would. But Tess was blocking one end of the row, and on the other end, an elderly couple were taking their time as the woman looked through her purse. Sadie was trapped. A middle-aged couple stopped Lori near the back of the room, which bought Sadie a little more time. Judging from the polite but tense smile on Lori’s face, however, it wouldn’t be a very long delay if Lori had anything to do with it. She’d kept a hand on one shoulder of each of her children as though to make sure they didn’t leave her side. Was she afraid of someone?

  Sadie had to step up her game plan if she were going to intercept Lori before the couple ended their conversation with her. She adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder and moved a chair in order to step into the row behind them, but she still couldn’t get out of either end. She moved another chair and then another, making a path to the back of the room as quickly as she could, but she didn’t move as unobtrusively as she would have liked. Luckily, Caro was following behind her and replacing the chairs as soon as she got around them—she must have felt the same urgency Sadie did. Despite her attempts to hurry, by the time Sadie reached a row with a clear way out, Lori was gone, and the couple she’d been talking to had engaged someone else in discussion.

  Sadie hurried out of the room, scanning the foyer on her way to the front doors. She was just pushing them open when she saw that Lori was already on the sidewalk in front of the building. She was being detained by yet another older woman, who had her hand on Lori’s arm. Thank goodness these St. George people were so determined to talk to her. The woman seemed to be sharing her condolences, and, although Lori was being polite, she was turned toward the parking lot, likely counting the seconds before she could continue to her car. Sadie used the opportunity to plan how she would approach Lori when this woman was finished.

  Suddenly, Caro stepped in front of Sadie and pushed through the doors, causing Sadie to step to the side to get out of her way. Caro pulled her phone from her pocket and put it to her ear as she walked toward Lori. Sadie had no idea what Caro was doing. Caro accidentally bumped into Lori from the side, pushing her into the woman she was talking to. What on earth ... ?

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Caro said, grabbing Lori’s arm as if to help her maintain her balance. If Sadie hadn’t been trying to figure out what Caro was doing, she might never have noticed how Caro’s hand slid into the wide pocket of Lori’s jacket and emerged with Lori’s phone. Sadie felt her eyebrows go up in surprise, and then she quickly schooled her expression so no one would notice. She glanced around quickly, relieved that no one else was paying any attention to Caro’s hijinks. Lori looked quickly over her shoulder to see who had bumped into her, but Caro was already a few steps away. Lori turned back to the woman she didn’t want to be talking to. The kids looked toward Caro longer than Lori did, but then they, too, turned back to their mother and the other woman.

  The woman talking to Lori had barely stopped for a breath. Caro kept walking, pressing the stolen phone to her side, and then turned sharply to the left. She cast Sadie a quick look before disappearing around the corner of the building and nodding in Lori’s direction as if to say, “You’re up.” It took Sadie a split second to move forward again, just as Lori finished her conversation with the woman. The woman headed toward the parking lot, and Lori moved toward the street as fast as her heels would allow. The parking lot had been nearly full when Sadie, Caro, and Tess had arrived, and Lori must have had to park farther away. But luck was on Sadie’s side in catching up with Lori—she’d worn flats.

  “Lori!” Sadie called when Lori reached the sidewalk that ran parallel to the street. She tried to ignore the heat that assaulted her when she stepped out of the shaded entryway of the building, but it took her off guard all the same. Lori looked over her shoulder to see who had called to her, but she didn’t slow down when she saw Sadie. In fact, she may have even sped up. She urged her kids to hurry ahead of her.

  “Lori!” Sadie called again, and she broke into a jog when she also reached the sidewalk, her sandals sounding like gunshots as they slapped the hot pavement with each step. She caught up to Lori in just a few steps and grabbed her arm as gently but firmly as she could. Lori turned toward her, an expression of frustration on her face. “What’s wrong?” Sadie asked, a bit breathlessly. The kids stopped a few feet away, looking confused and unsure of whether to continue or not. There was no time to beat around the bush. “Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Are you still going to the luncheon?”

  “I can’t stay. I’ve got a family emergency,” Lori said quickly, pressing her keys into her daughter’s hand. “Go start the car, Kenzie. I’ll be right there.” Her daughter looked at them both before hurrying to a dark blue sedan parked a few car lengths ahead. Joey followed her.

  “What’s happened?” Sadie asked, choosing boldness over the possibility of not getting a straight answer if she tried to dance around things. “You seemed to want to be involved last night, and now you’re leaving as fast as you can. What made you change your mind?”

  Lori looked toward her kids, who were punching a code into the keypad on the driver’s side door. “I told you. I have a family emergency.”

  “This morning you
said it was a school assignment. What’s going on?”

  Lori looked back at her, and for a moment she looked as though she might say something. Her eyebrows pinched together and she took a deep breath, but then she looked past Sadie’s shoulder. Sadie heard the sounds of clicking heels coming toward them, and she looked over her shoulder, too. Caro was approaching them. Really bad timing, Caro, she thought to herself. Really, really bad.

  “Lori?” Caro said sweetly, holding Lori’s cell phone out to her as she approached. “Is this your phone? It was on the floor by your chair.”

  Lori’s hand went quickly to her jacket pocket, and her eyes widened in surprise as she stepped past Sadie and snatched the phone from Caro’s hand. If she recognized Caro as the woman who had stumbled into her a few minutes earlier, she didn’t show it. She looked at the phone for a second before returning it to her pocket and then kept her hand in her pocket as though to make sure the phone didn’t disappear again. Sadie was impressed by Caro’s skills—she’d never seen Caro put on such an act before, but she wished Caro had waited a few more minutes to return the phone. Sadie hadn’t had much time to talk to Lori.

  “I’m glad I caught you,” Caro said.

  “Yeah,” Lori said, still seeming a little confused. “Me, too. Uh, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Caro said innocently. She looked back and forth between Lori and Sadie. “Everything okay?”

  “Fine,” Lori said, attempting a tight smile. “But I really need to go, and I think you should just ... stop everything you’re doing. I ... uh, just don’t feel good about what you guys are doing.”

  “Did someone talk to you? Did someone tell you not to be involved?”

  Lori straightened, and Sadie knew she’d pushed too hard. “Just leave me alone,” Lori snapped, taking a backward step toward the car.