All she remembered was the magnificent colors blazing around him, colors that she recognized as passion, joy, generosity, confidence. And endless, boundless, unlimited love.
She saw that love shining in Nelson’s eyes as he slid the ring on her finger, and she felt it on his lips when the pastor said, “You may now kiss the bride.”
EPILOGUE
THEY LAUGHED THEIR WAY through a fast number, and then the music slowed. It swirled around them, soft and romantic, and he drew her close.
Portia floated in Nelson’s arms, and he thought how well they danced together, like one organism whose four limbs moved in perfect synchronicity. His hip ached like fury, but exercise was good for it.
“This has physical therapy beat to hell,” he murmured in her ear. “And I’ll bet it’s like sex. The more we do it…”
She rolled her eyes and laughed with him. His breath caught in his throat at her beauty, at the amazing fact that she was his wife.
He’d planned every detail of this evening. It was their third anniversary. They’d been married three weeks.
He’d hired Charlie to chauffeur them around. They’d had dinner at the restaurant where they’d first eaten together, and then he’d brought her here to Flashbacks, to dance.
She’d forgotten the tickets he’d given her so long ago, the promise he’d made to waltz the night away with her in his arms. He hadn’t. The surprise and pleasure on her face when they walked into the popular club had delighted him.
The medley ended and he led her back to the table. The band took a break. Nelson had ordered a bottle of champagne, and now he poured them each a glass.
“To your new job,” he toasted. The week after their wedding, she’d met with the doctors starting the clinic that specialized in alternative medicine. They’d offered her a job, and she’d accepted. The clinic would open in two weeks, and Portia would be there, using her psychic abilities instead of trying to ignore them.
“Is that what you’re so excited about?” Portia sipped her wine and gave him that look, the one that he’d come to recognize. She was seeing his colors. He couldn’t get away with a damn thing around her. He pulled the envelope out of his pocket and slid it across the table to her.
“What’s this?”
“It’s my mission statement,” he teased. The envelope held copies of the ad material he’d had drawn up as a first step toward starting his new career as a business consultant. It would run in major magazines, and he was excited about it.
She opened it, glanced at the photo and then at the copy, and grinned. The picture of him had been taken just before a race, although he wasn’t recognizable. He was climbing into the Ferrari, wearing a padded blue jumpsuit and a crash helmet. The copy read; “With Gregory as your business consultant, no way are you heading down the same old road. Courage to innovate, skill to execute.”
“It’s perfect, Nelson. I love it.” Her eyes telegraphed that she loved him, too. “Did you talk to Bernardo about the zippers?”
“He’s making up samples. We’ll take them to rehab places and see what happens.”
“Charlie and her limo, Bernardo and his zippers. Your first customers are a result of your accident. But Joanne always says there aren’t any accidents in life, that everything’s for a purpose.”
“She’s right.” He pulled another envelope out and handed it to her. “This came today.” It was from the Department of Genetics at the university. “You were right, too, Portia. I don’t have it. Our kids won’t have it, either.” It was a peculiarity of Huntington’s. If he had inherited it, their children would have had a fifty percent chance of inheriting it from him. Because the genetic weakness wasn’t present in him, their children weren’t at risk.
Her eyes widened, and then glimmered with tears. “I won’t say I told you so.” The smile she gave him was luminous. She lifted her glass and toasted him. “Here’s to the gift of time.”
He looked at her and wished there were a bigger word for love.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-5177-2
INTENSIVE CARING
Copyright © 2001 by Bobby Hutchinson.
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