by Loc Glin
“I’ve met someone. He’s asked me to marry him.”
“How did you two meet?” Susan asked.
“Well, that’s where things get hazy and a little weird.”
“What do you mean by ‘hazy’?” her mother asked.
“And weird?” her father added.
Shamika was at a loss for words. She looked at her parents and her aunt. How would they react to the tale she was about to tell them? She’d stopped trying to figure it out logically. Instead she’d decided to be thankful.
“Do you know the saying, ‘The Lord works in mysterious ways’?” All three of them nodded. “Well, that is the only way I can describe what happened to me.”
“What happened?” her mother asked. Her father and aunt were looking at her expectantly.
“I’m going to warn you, this is pretty unbelievable.” Shamika’s finger went to her mouth. She began to nibble on the cuticle. Her forehead wrinkled in a frown. She took her finger from her mouth and shook her hand. At this rate she wasn’t going to have any skin left.
“It’s a miracle that I’m alive. I’m inclined to believe in such things now. Spit it out, Shamika,” her father coaxed.
She took a deep breath and clasped her hands in her lap. This was the first time she was actually saying this out loud. “One night, about six weeks ago, I was in Minerva’s Mystic Museum.”
“I remember you always did like that sort of thing,” her mother said.
Shamika smiled at the memory of her mother taking her to the museum in town. It held mostly local stuff, but she’d enjoyed it immensely. “Yes, I did. I still do, but that is beside the point.”
Ann patted and then squeezed her fingers on Shamika’s shoulder. “Sorry, honey, go on with your story.” She removed her hand and waited expectantly.
“I was going to meet someone there. I couldn’t find him, so I started to look around. There was a picture on display. The picture depicted a long deserted road stretching endlessly into the distance. Except for the road it was all brown, gold, and yellow tones. There was a road sign in the lower portion of the picture. The sign read, ‘End Detour.’”
“It sounds like an odd picture to be hanging in a museum,” her father commented.
“I thought so, too, but that’s not the half of what made it odd. The curator of the museum spoke to me about it. The next thing I knew, I was standing on that deserted road, next to that road sign.”
Her eyes touched on her parents and then her aunt.
“I have no idea how I got there. It has to be magic of some sort. At first I didn’t believe it was happening. I thought it was dreaming and having some kind of nightmare.”
She twisted her fingers together, trying to relieve some of the nervous energy she was feeling. Would they believe her?
“It was hot and I was stranded, in the middle of nowhere. To make matters worse, I was wearing my working clothes.” She hung her head low for a moment, slightly embarrassed to have to admit that to her folks.
“Apparently not too many vehicles used the road. Very few came by, and those that did refused to stop.”
“People have no heart, nowadays,” Aunt Susan said.
“Looking the way I did, truthfully, I don’t blame them.” Shamika shrugged. “By the time an old man driving a beat up pickup truck pulled over, I was really pissed off. I am ashamed to say I was very rude to him.”
She smiled at the memory of how she’d met Hugo.
“He didn’t take kindly to my foul mouth, and very quickly put me in my place. He reminded me of you, Dad.” She stopped to smile because she knew her next words were going to surprise and hopefully please her parents.
“Rightfully so, I’d say.” Her father nodded. Jim Adams couldn’t abide a man with a foul mouth, never mind a woman.
“Then you will be pleased to know, if I’m lucky, that man will be my father-in-law. His son Harold has asked me to marry him.” In a whisper she added, “I hope he will still want me when I get back there.”
She stomped down her fear of being rejected. It would be easy to convince herself he didn’t care for her. She had to fight against those insecurities. Old habits are hard to break.
“He would be a fool not to want you. I want to meet this boy of yours. If you think he may not want you, maybe he’s not good enough for you.”
His face was pulled into an angry scowl.
She almost laughed. She and her father had been estranged for years, and here he was, being all fatherly protective after only a few hours. It was good to be with her parents again.
“If he doesn’t want me, I will come home and plague you while I figure out what I’m going to do with my life.” She chuckled at his hopeful expression. “I pray everything will be all right between us. I’m looking forward to marrying him and living on their farm in Idaho.”
“So, he’s a farmer? I’m beginning to like this boy already. Idaho is pretty far away. I hear it’s a farmer’s paradise.” He seemed to reflect inward for a moment. “Shamika, I am serious about meeting him, you know.”
“That makes me happy. I would love to have you give me away, Dad. I can arrange transportation for all of you if you’ll let me.” She didn’t want their pride to get in the way of them attending her wedding. Who knows? Maybe they would like it in Idaho and would consider relocating when Aunt Susan sold her house. Her heart was beginning to fill with hope and dreams of a future with her family around her.
They talked into the afternoon. With each passing hour she realized she really had missed her parents. For a long time she’d ignored the empty void their absence had created. It had taken years, but she’d learned to appreciate the simple life of her childhood. There is no going back, that is what the saying implies, well, she was sure as hell going to try. She remembered scorning that life publicly when she left. She would have to visit some of those people she’d offended and apologize.
Two and a half weeks later, she started the long trip to Idaho. She’d finally remembered the name of the town that Hugo had mentioned was close to the farm. She’d head there. She was reasonably sure someone would know where the Turner Spread could be found.
Chapter 11
“It’s been more than a month, Mother. If she was coming back, don’t you think she would have contacted us by now?” Harold stood looking out of the kitchen doorway, his arms spread out, and his hands leaning on the doorjambs.
Nadine tsked. “So you’ve given up on her already?”
“No, I haven’t given up, but it’s really hard to keep up the faith when there has been no contact…no phone calls, no mail, nothing.” He turned his head to look over his shoulder at his mother.
“What does your heart tell you, Harold? You have to listen to your heart. Do you believe she loves you? Do you love her?” Nadine sat at the kitchen table. Worry for him coated the lines on her face.
“Don’t look so sad, Mom. I love her. I believe she loves me, and I think she will come back as she promised. I’m just impatient, I miss her.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, a motion that made him feel like a ten-year-old child.
“We all miss her.” Nadine sounded sad and looked frail.
“Do you think she’s coming back?” Harold moved from the doorway and sat down opposite his mother. He searched her face, needing to hear it from her. Maybe it was childish, but he wanted to have his mother reassure him the way she had when he was just a boy.
He’d been driving himself crazy with his doubts and mistrust. He’d visited Cecily’s grave again yesterday and poured his heart out to her. After spending time there he always somehow felt better, his heart less heavy, his hope renewed.
Cecily had caused his trust issues in the first place, it was only fitting that she was helping him now.
“She’s coming back. I feel it in my heart.” Nadine reached for her son’s hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.
“So do I.” Harold put his free hand over his mother’s and squeezed back. He smiled. “Thanks, Mom.”
Billy ran into the kitchen shouting, “There’s a car coming up the road.” He was jumping up and down in his excitement.
“Do you recognize the car?” Nadine asked.
Billy shook his head. “Nope. Who can it be?” He started pulling on Harold’s shirt sleeve. “Come on let’s go see!”
“Settle down, young man. Give your uncle a chance to stand up before you pull him out of his seat.”
“Sorry, Uncle Harold. We never get company. I want to see who it is, that’s all.”
“I know, Billy. You’re excited.” He put his big hand on top of Billy’s head and mussed his short, number one buzz cut.
“Get a move on, Harold. I want to find out who it is, too.” His mother was smiling when she said it, but he knew she meant business. Nadine slowly pushed herself out of the seat. She had postponed the surgery on her knees.
“We’ve got company,” Hugo said as he opened the kitchen door.
“So I’ve heard,” Harold replied. “Are you expecting anyone?”
“I’m not. I thought it might be for you. They drive like a young person.”
Hope began to build up in his chest. He’d never asked Shamika if she had a driver’s license. She lived in a big city, she didn’t need one. Nate didn’t have one, so he just assumed that Shamika didn’t either. Could it be her?
He rushed past his father. By the time he reached the open space where they parked the truck, his heart was beating so hard it moved his shirt. He stood there staring into the tinted windows as the car approached.
He couldn’t see inside the vehicle. The wheels of the car stopped turning, dust puffed up into the air.
Harold felt as if life had shifted into slow motion. Every fiber of his being knew this was Shamika coming home. Shamika home, how wonderful that sounded.
It seemed an eternity before he saw her smiling face rise above the window of the opened car door. Then life resumed real time as he scooped her into his arms and twirled her around in circles. Her laughter was music to his ears.
When he set her feet onto the ground he held her in his arms, refusing to let her go. “Lord, how I’ve missed you,” he whispered as he buried his face in her neck and repeatedly kissed the pulse he found there.
“Harold, I’m—”
Billy ran up and threw his arms around Shamika’s waist, forcing Harold to loosen his hold on her.
“Shamika, you’re back!” Billy squealed in delight. He tilted his head up. His face was shining with happiness. His smile was sweet enough to make an angel sing.
Harold wanted nothing more than to whisk Shamika away, smother her with kisses, and then wring her little neck for worrying him so.
Looking down at Billy’s face, he realized that wasn’t going to happen, there were other people that had missed her, too. He caught her chin between his fingers and kissed her on the lips. “We’ll talk later.”
She nodded then gave her attention to Billy. “Yes, I’m back. Did you miss me?”
She hugged him to her. “Because I missed you. Do you have a kiss hello for me?”
She knelt down to his height. He threw his arms around her neck and kissed her cheek.
“That’s better,” she said as he released her neck and grabbed her hand.
“Come on, Mika, Nana and Pop-pop want to see you, too.” He tugged on her, almost pulling her off balance.
“Hey, careful there, Billy,” Harold said. “We don’t want her all dirty. You know how Nana feels about that.” He laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Yeah, she doesn’t like it.” Billy dug his toe into the dirt.
Harold wrapped his arm around Shamika’s waist. Shamika was holding Billy’s hand as they walked toward the house.
He felt whole again.
Harold reluctantly released Shamika when they entered the kitchen. He stood back, leaning against the counter near the sink. He watched her hug and kiss both of his parents.
Nadine brushed tears away from her eyes. Hugo slipped a hanky into Nadine’s hand and she blew her nose.
Hugo smiled at the dainty little sound it made and so did Harold.
Shamika had some tears of her own. Harold wished he had a hanky for her.
“Now, where have you been, young lady?” Nadine scolded. “What took you so long to come home? Sit yourself down. I want an explanation right now.”
He liked the way Shamika smiled as she obeyed his mother. Shamika folded her hands together and rested her forearms on the table. He used to do the same thing when his mother was reprimanding him.
“I’d like to know why you didn’t call,” Harold said, and then folded his arms across his chest as he tried not to scowl.
“I lost my phone, and I didn’t have the numbers written down anywhere.”
Shamika eyes locked with his and were filled with regret.
“I tried long distance information, but they were no help. I’m sorry if you were worried.”
Harold nodded. It had been an explanation that he’d explored and his distrustful anxiety had dismissed. The number listed for their landline was unlisted.
“I thought it was something like that, I even told Harold so.” Nadine looked at Harold and nodded her head in an I-told-you-so manner.
Harold frowned, at which his mother smiled.
“Why were you gone so long? You said you’d be back in a couple of weeks. It’s been over a month.”
Harold asked the question before his mother could.
“When I got home there was a note from my mother, a card actually. The post mark told me it had been there for two weeks. It must have arrived the day I ended up here.”
“I thought you said you weren’t in touch with your family.”
Harold was confused. Nadine nodded in agreement. Apparently she was under the same impression.
“I did say that, and I wasn’t. My father had had a heart attack. My mother wanted me to see him before he is gone. They want to mend our differences and be a family again, only this time all they want is for me to be happy. They don’t care where I live. It’s ironic, now that I’m not living in New York anymore it doesn’t matter to them. All of those years we wasted.”
“I’m happy for you and for them. Family is just about the most important thing in the world as far as I’m concerned.” Nadine reached across the table and squeezed Mika’s hand.
“I’m beginning to feel that way, too.” Shamika smiled, but her eyes were filled with what looked like sadness.
Harold stiffened. Did that mean that she wasn’t going to stay here? Was she going to live with her parents now? If that was the case, he didn’t want to hear it. He stormed out of the kitchen. His bedroom door slammed closed behind him.
Chapter 12
“What was that all about?” Nadine asked.
“I’ll go and see,” Billy said as he darted out of the kitchen after Harold.
Shamika caught the waistband to Billy’s jeans as he was passing. “No, Billy, I think I’d better do that.”
Billy sighed. “Nana, can I go out and play now?”
“Of course you can. Give Mika a hug before you go.”
Billy whispered in Mika’s ear as he hugged her. “I’m glad you’re home, Mika, but I’m not so sure about Uncle Harold. He seemed mad when he left. I wanted to tell him to be nice to you.”
“Well, I thank you for your concern, Billy, but I will have to handle Uncle Harold on my own. I think he was very worried about me.” She captured Billy’s eyes with her own. “Remember, you should always let the people you love know what is happening to you.”
Billy nodded solemnly. “I’ll remember that. I was worried about you, too.”
Shamika patted Billy’s little rump. “Now, you go and play. Don’t worry about me. I can handle your uncle.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Okay.” Billy skipped to the kitchen door. He flashed a childish smile, opened the door, and took off running. The screen door slammed closed. Billy’s “I’m sorry, Nana” was hea
rd immediately afterward.
“Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. T., I’d better find out what’s bothering Harold. I hope he can forgive me.”
“Mika, there is nothing to forgive,” Hugo said.
“I hope he can see it that way.”
As she walked to Harold’s room, Mika tried to think of what she would say. She took a deep breath before she knocked on his door. Her mind was still going in circles trying to find the words that would calm him.
“Who is it?” came Harold’s snarling voice.
Shit, he is angry. “It’s me, Harold. May I come in? I’d like a chance to explain. I know you’re upset with me for not calling.”
Harold opened the door.
“There’s nothing to talk about, I understand. Your parents come first, you should be with them. They need you now.” His expression was so forlorn. Her heart twisted for him. He continued, “I’m not upset because you didn’t call, although I was.”
He looked at her with eyes that were full of hurt and sadness.
“I’m upset because I love you, and I’ve lost you before we ever had a chance at happiness.”
Shamika’s mouth dropped open. Men! It amazed her how they could be so stupid and blind and still manage to take care of themselves.
But he’d said that he loved her and wanted a chance to be happy. Those words had put her mind at ease and thrilled her to her core. He still wanted her, she hadn’t destroyed his trust. She had to smile about that.
Hope for a future with him blossomed in her heart. She put her arms around his neck. “I was afraid that I’d lost you to our trust issues, that you’d be so angry with me that you wouldn’t want me anymore.”
She looked up into his eyes.
“It would have been so easy to let my fears keep me away, but I love you too much to let that happen. If you were going to break my heart, I wanted no doubt in my mind that you didn’t want me. I was going to hear it from you before I let myself believe it. I had to push myself not to give up on you. Old habits are hard to break.”
“I did a little pushing of my own. Those first two weeks I was a mess. I felt betrayed. I started to fall back into the funk I was in after Cecily died. It’s really easy to go back to what makes us comfortable isn’t it?”