by Nancy Adams
Kylie forced a smile. “Right, you're right,” she said. “That could be just about anybody, and maybe the smile was because she helped him figure something out about the funeral. Or something like that, anyway.” Kylie trailed off, feeling lame.
Neither of them said anything more until they got back to the house, and got inside.
“Kylie, do me a favor,” Katie Lou said. “Let's not mention that we saw Rob, not to anybody, okay? I wouldn't want Mom or Dad to get any wrong ideas.”
Kylie nodded. “No problem, I won't say a word to anyone.”
* * * * *
“What surprised me the most,” Julie said, “was how quickly you kept bouncing back after each surgery. Your doctors would tell us that you might be pretty miserable for two or three weeks, but it seemed like it was never more than a few days before you were raring to go again.” She made a face at him that he recognized, the one that said she was feeling a bit naughty. “Remember, I think it was the third or fourth operation, the one where—where certain things started working again?”
Rob blushed, knowing exactly where she was going. “Oh, yes, I remember,” he said. “And I remember you walking in on me, while I was, shall we say, checking out how well it worked? I was so embarrassed.”
Julie laughed, and lifted a hand to rub his cheek with the backs of her fingers. Rob reached up and caught her hand in his, and pulled it back down. He was still smiling, but it was a nervous smile.
“You didn't stay embarrassed,” Julie said. “At least, not for long, once I offered to help.”
“Okay, you know what? I'm not going to say I don't have a lot of wonderful memories of those days, because I do. But, Julie, I'll be honest, and talking about it right now is making me a little uncomfortable. I don't want to be rude, but I'm pretty serious about Katie Lou, and even though we’re not really doing anything wrong, talking about this sort of thing just feels like I'm being disrespectful to her. Can you understand what I'm trying to say?”
Julie smiled, and shook her head in wonder. “Of course I do,” she said, “and I'll stop. I wonder if she knows what a true treasure she's found in you. I can guarantee you, if I had really understood what I was losing, I never would've given Jerry a second look. I would have waited for you, and if you'd been willing, I would have married you as soon as you turned eighteen.” She looked at their fingers, intertwined once more, then let go of his hand. “You need to go after that girl with everything you've got, Rob, but like I said, if for any reason it doesn't work out—please, please let me know. I guarantee you that I would do anything in the world to make you happy, if you ever decide to give me that chance again.”
Rob smiled, then started the car and backed out of the Super Burger parking lot. He hadn't seen Katie's car when it stopped at the light just in front of him, and he pulled out and headed back towards his house without realizing that the scene he and Julie had just played out could have looked like anything other than two old friends laughing about old times.
Anna was back home by the time they got there, and Rob helped Julie carry in the bags of groceries they’d bought, but it was Anna who helped Julie put them away. The two women were alone in the kitchen for a few moments, while Rob sat down in the living room to begin making the calls he had put off from earlier.
“Listen, I didn't mean to sound bitchy a while ago,” Anna said. “I mean, whatever you and Rob did way back when, that's your business and not mine. I just—I've been watching him for the last few weeks, and he is so in love with Katie Lou that it's just obvious, it's written all over his face whenever she's around. I don't want him to get caught up in memories, and end up losing her.”
Julie smiled. “Anna, relax,” she said. “Rob has made it very clear that he doesn't intend to do anything that could ruin whatever he's got going with Katie Lou. And I respect that, believe it or not, because I remember the young man who used to be that way about me. Even though we couldn't really let people know how serious things had gotten between us, we still knew. He always respected my feelings, and made sure that I knew it. Now he's giving Katie Lou that same respect, and I completely understand. I'm not out to ruin it for him, I promise you. I just want him to know that if things don't work out there, I'd certainly be willing to give it another try. Can't blame a girl for that, now can you?”
Anna grinned at her. “Of course not,” she said. “Trust me, I know just how special my brother is. So, he says you're going to make us spaghetti tonight? Believe it or not, I really do remember your spaghetti, and it was delicious. You're making the meatballs, right? We've got to have the meatballs.”
Julie laughed, and Anna joined in. “Oh, yes, I remember you and the meatballs. You used to try to steal the meatballs out of the bowl and eat them right off your fork. I bought extra hamburger, so I can make sure to make extra meatballs just for you.”
9
Katie was sitting in the living room, flipping channels on the TV, when her phone rang. She glanced at it, and saw that it was Rob calling. For a brief moment, she considered refusing the call, terrified of what he might be calling to say, but then she shook it off and hit the answer button.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Katie Lou,” Rob said. “It's me. How are you doing?”
Just hearing his voice made her feel better, and she smiled into the phone. “I'm okay,” she said. “The real question is, how are you and Anna doing?”
“We're getting through this,” he said. “An old friend showed up this morning, a lady who used to help us take care of Linda, back when I was in a wheelchair. She's come into town and offered to help in any way she can, and that's taking some pressure off of me.”
That must be the blonde lady, Katie thought. Wait a minute, didn't he just tell me the other night that he used to have a crush on the woman who used to take care of Linda? “That's good,” she said aloud. “Is—is this the one you told me about, that you used to have a crush on?”
She could hear Rob's smile in his voice. “Yes, I'm afraid it is, but don't worry,” he said. “I've been telling her all about you, and she's happy for me. She lives up in Kansas City, but I emailed her yesterday about Linda, and she came down to see if she could help. She's actually been very helpful, already. You'll like her, I'm sure.”
The fact that Rob was so honest with her about this woman, and seemed so sure that there was nothing to worry about, made her relax. “I'm not worried,” she said. “If she took care of Linda, she probably knew her better than anyone except you or Anna, so it makes sense she could be helpful. I think you know that if there's anything I can do, I'm ready and willing.”
“I know, and I appreciate it,” Rob said. “I'm hoping that you and Kylie, and the rest of your family if you want, will attend the funeral. It's set for two PM, the day after tomorrow, at the Christiansen Funeral Home on Montrose Street.”
Katie Lou caught herself nodding into the phone. “Well, Kylie and I will be there, for certain. I'll talk to my parents, and see if they can make it, too.”
“Thanks, Babe,” Rob said, and Katie Lou gasped. It was the first time he'd ever used a term of endearment, and she didn't think he even realized he'd done it. “I know they didn't know her, and they've only just met me the other night, but—well, it would just be nice to have a decent crowd there.” Katie could hear the sound of tears in his voice, even if he was holding back the sobs. “Anyway, I got a lot of calls to make, but I wanted to call you first. I may give you a call again, later this evening if that's okay?”
Katie hesitated for just a second, then said, “Baby, you can call me anytime you want to. You don't ever have to ask if it's okay.”
“Okay,” Rob said, with the sound of that smile shining through the receiver. “I'll talk to you again later, then. And Katie Lou, thank you—thank you for helping me get through it the other night, and thank you for understanding that I had to take care of Anna.”
Katie smiled back. “I'll do anything I can for you,” she said, “and for Anna. If things turn out the way I hope
, one day she'll be my sister, too. I'll talk to you later, when you can. Bye for now.”
“Bye, Katie Lou.” The line went dead, and she put down her phone. She heard a slight sound behind her, and glanced around to see Kylie standing in the doorway.
“Was that Rob?” Kylie asked.
“Yep, and just so you know, that blonde lady was the girl who used to help take care of Linda, back when Rob was still in a wheelchair. She's like an old friend of the family, and just came to see if she could be helpful.”
Kylie rolled her eyes. “Just so long as she isn't trying to be too helpful,” she said. “Maybe there was nothing to it, but that looked like an awfully affectionate caress I saw in the car.”
Katie Lou shrugged. “Rob was open and honest with me about her, and I don't think there's anything to worry about. I'll get to meet her at the funeral, and so will you. It's Wednesday at two, and I told him we'd be there. He said to invite Mom and Dad, too, and see if they want to come.”
Kylie smiled, but Katie Lou could tell that her sister was reserving judgment on the blonde. Well, that was okay, because Katie wanted to get a good look into that woman's eyes, herself. The eyes, they say, are the windows to the soul; that might have been true, but they were certainly a window into the heart. If that blonde had any designs on Rob, Katie Lou was fairly sure she would see it in her eyes.
“Hey,” Kylie said suddenly. “Do you think it would be inappropriate to bring a plus one?”
Katie's eyebrows shot up. “You mean Pete? I—all Rob said was that he'd like to have a decent crowd, so I don't think he would mind. I gather you kind of like spending time with Pete?”
Kylie grinned. “He's actually a pretty sweet guy,” she said, “and yeah, I kinda like him.”
“Well, I guess I don’t see any harm in it. Like I said before, just be careful. I mean, after all, he's still Greasy Pete.”
“Um, well, not quite,” Kylie said. “How long has it been since you saw him?”
Katie thought about it for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders. “I'm not sure,” she said. “Probably three or four years, at least.”
Kylie grinned. “Well, in that time, he managed to get his degree in marketing, and he's now running a pretty successful little company that sells something he invented. It's got something to do with fertilizer, that's all I know about it, but he's got several offices around the country, already.”
Katie grinned. “Well, good for him,” she said. “And good for you, if he turns out to be a good catch. You think there's any chance things will really get serious?”
Kylie rolled her eyes again. “Give me a chance to find out,” she said. “I mean, I've only been out with him once. We'll have to see where it goes, that's all.”
Katie smiled and nodded, then looked at the time. It was only mid-afternoon, but she was in a very good mood after talking to Rob. “Hey, I've got an idea,” she said. “Why don't we take Mom and Dad out to dinner, tonight? My treat, don't worry.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Kylie said. “Someplace fancy? Do we need to let them come home and change first? Or should we just go collect them, or meet them somewhere?”
“I don't feel like getting all fancied up,” Katie replied. “Why don't we just meet them at Hungry Jimmy's? We all like eating there, and nobody has to get dressed up.”
“That sounds fine, but you'd better call Dad and give him fair warning. He's probably greasy as all get out, so he'll want to clean up, first.”
“Good point. I'll call him now.” Katie picked up her phone again, and dialed her father's number.
“Hey, Dad? Listen, Kylie and I want to take you and Mom out to dinner tonight. Can you manage to clean up there at the shop, and meet us at Hungry Jimmy's, say around five thirty?”
“Hungry Jimmy's? Honey, what's the occasion?”
“No occasion,” Katie Lou said. “Just feeling like it. Come on, it's my treat.”
“Honey, I appreciate it and all, but I've actually had a pretty rough day. Can we do this another night?”
Katie blinked. “Oh—okay, I guess so. Hey, listen, Rob wanted me to ask you and Mom to come to Linda's funeral, that's Wednesday morning. Maybe we can go out for lunch after the funeral, okay? Maybe Rob and Anna would want to go with us. We can do dinner another night.”
“I'm sure your mother and I would be glad to go to the funeral, so that would be fine,” he said. “Thanks, Honey, I'm just really not up to going out tonight.”
She hung up from talking to her father, and told Kylie about the change in plans. Kylie was okay with it, and decided that she would pop the big frozen lasagna into the oven for dinner at home, that evening.
Katie went back to flipping channels, and found a movie that sounded appealing. It was about a girl who convinced a friend to pretend to be her fiancé, and then realized that she really was in love with him. Love stories always appealed to Katie Lou, and always left her feeling wonderful.
* * * * *
Dinnertime at Rob's house was surprisingly pleasant that evening. He and Anna and Julie were gathered around the dining table, with a large bowl of spaghetti and meatballs sitting in the center. According to Anna, Julie had outdone herself, and the spaghetti was better than any she remembered from the past. The meatballs, she proclaimed, were to die for.
They sat and talked about Linda, and shared their memories of her. Each of them had their favorites, memories that evoked laughter, or just made them feel good, and all of them were able to relive those moments in the retelling.
“One of the hardest problems we had to deal with in the beginning,” Julie said, “was trying to make Linda understand about her menstrual cycle. That was among the things she no longer remembered, so the first time it happened after she came to live here, she went into an absolute panic. Your aunt and I spent the whole afternoon trying to explain it to her, but we never were able to make her really understand what was happening. We finally gave up, and just told her that whenever it happened, we'd give her a candy bar if she let us know about it as soon as it started. Then it was just a matter of convincing her to use a pad, and that wasn't easy in itself.”
“That's not really funny,” Anna said, “except that it is. I mean, it wouldn't be funny to her, and probably was pretty scary, but I bet it was hilarious watching you and Aunt Kay trying to explain it to her.”
“For me,” Rob said, “it was the day she saw the cooking show on television, and decided she was going to cook dinner. I don't know what it was she was trying to make, but she threw about a dozen eggs into the pan, shells and all, and a whole bag of egg noodles and I don't know what all else, then filled it up with a gallon of milk and put it on the stove and turned on the heat. If you hadn't caught her when you did, there's no telling what might've happened.”
Julie was laughing. “I remember that,” she said. “That was the day I had decided I was going to try hanging the clothes out to dry, instead of using the dryer. I always liked the way clothes smelled after they had hung out in the sunshine, but when I came back in and saw what she had gotten into—and for the record, she had been in bed asleep when I went outside—I decided I wasn't going to bother, ever again. From then on, I used the dryer. There was no way I was going to take a chance on letting her out of my sight for more than a few seconds at a time.”
“I can understand that,” Anna said. “I left her in the bathroom alone for a minute once last year, and all of a sudden I heard gagging and coughing, so I rushed back in. She had found Rob's shaving cream, and I guess she thought it was whipped cream, because she shot a big ball of it into her own mouth. She made a noise that sounded like what I imagine an elephant would sound like if it ate a hedgehog, so I went running to see what was wrong, and she was trying to get her face under the sink faucet, trying to rinse it all out of her mouth. It took me a couple of minutes to convince her to try using a cup, and by that time she was turning green.”
Julie nodded. “She did the same thing with dish soap, once, said she thought it
was Kool-Aid because it was red.”
Rob suddenly sobered. “It's amazing how much I miss her already. I keep looking around the house, waiting for her to come running up to me, and then I remember that she won't. She's gone, and nothing can bring her back.”
They sat at the table for quite a while after dinner was done, just talking and leaning on each other emotionally. Julie was a much bigger help in that regard than Rob had expected her to be, making it a lot easier to accept that Linda was gone by being more than willing to talk about her with them. It was the therapy they needed, and Rob was grateful that she had come when she had.
Anna, who had not really slept since Linda's passing, started yawning early in the evening. She apologized to Julie, but said she had to go to bed early. It was almost eight by then, so Julie suggested that she should leave, as well.
“You don't have to go just yet,” Rob said. “We could go watch some TV, or something. Would you mind? I don't think I really want to be alone, right now.”
Julie smiled. “I don't mind at all,” she said. “Let's go see what's on.”
They flipped through some channels and found a comedy that sounded appealing, so Rob put it on. He sat on one end of the couch, while Julie took the other. The movie began, but they kept talking even as it played.
“I remember when we used to sit here and watch movies together,” Julie said, “late at night after your aunt went on to bed. I was always scared to death she was going to catch us.”
“Well, as I recall, there weren't that many times when we would've gotten into trouble, or at least not anything serious. I don't think she would've really freaked out if she caught us kissing, or playing a little touchy-feely. She was a lot smarter lady than we gave her credit for, back then.”
Julie chuckled at him. “Touchy-feely? Is that what you called it?”
Rob turned pink, but he nodded. “Yeah, well, I didn't want to call it feeling you up,” he said.
“Why not? That's what it was, and we were both enjoying it, weren't we? Sometimes, being naughty just feels good, what can I say?”