An Ordinary Love (A Christian Contemporary Romance) (Sidney's Sanctuary Book 1)

by Tina Bustamante

  “Sure thing,” she said with a smile.“Candace why don’t you come with me?” Sidney suggested.

  “Okay,” she said.

  Sidney opened the door. Big Dan stood in the doorway with a brand new suit on. It was dark grey and he wore a rich dark blue tie. He carried a bottle of champagne in one hand and a bushel full of autumn flowers in the other.

  He leaned over to Sidney,“These are for you, but I have some other roses I was hoping to put in Betty’s room really fast. Could you help me with it?”

  Sidney grinned.“Sure. I’ll go into the kitchen and you and Candace can get the flowers upstairs.”

  A young man stood behind Big Dan wearing a nice pair of slacks, and a button down shirt, tucked in. He was tall, with sandy blond hair and broad shoulders. From his face, she figured he was college age. He had a hesitant shy smile. Sidney noticed he was looking right past her. His eyes lit up with recognition and then he looked back at Sidney.“I’m Danny. I’m the youngest son.”

  Candace grabbed hold of Sidney’s arm.“I’m going to check on Betty. I think I hear her calling me.” She didn’t wait for Sidney to say anything. She ran into the kitchen holding her small belly.

  Sidney paused for just a moment trying to figure out what happened, and then clapped her hands together.“It’s so nice to meet you. I’m so glad you could come.” They shook hands.“Please come in. Big Dan, you look quite dashing.”

  Danny’s eyes followed Candace as she ran to the kitchen. His face squinted up. He scratched his head. He finally spoke.“We went shopping yesterday with Kell. He took us to Nordstrom's in Seattle.” He shook his head.“My dad’s never been to Nordstrom’s in his life.”

  Big Dan handed the flowers to Sidney.“Thank you so much for having us. I’ll go with Danny and we’ll get the roses out of the Suburban.” His eyes scoured the room like he was trying to keep from being seen.

  She grabbed the bouquet of flowers and breathed them in.“Thank you so much. These are beautiful.

  “Betty’s in the kitchen checking on the turkey. She’ll be out soon. I’ll go keep her busy for a few minutes. She’ll be excited to see Danny. I won’t tell her he came.”

  Danny and Big Dan went back outside to the car.

  Sidney spoke to everyone else.“There’s appetizers in the living room, and I’ve got the game on in the media center. I need to go and check on Betty and I’ll be right back.”

  Jeff said,“That sounds great.”

  Kell went in the opposite direction.“I’ll go see if Big Dan needs a hand with his romantic gestures.”

  “Right,” Sidney said.“I’ll be in the kitchen…stalling.”

  Sidney’s heart fluttered with all the commotion. She took a deep breath and calmed herself as she stepped into the kitchen.“Some of the guests have arrived,” Sidney said to Betty.“Danny’s here too. Where’s Candace?”

  Betty stood with her face in the refrigerator as if she was looking for something, but by her heavy breathing Sidney assumed she was nervous.“She went upstairs, said something about a small bladder.” She shook her head.“Danny came?” she asked, shutting the refrigerator. She brushed her hair out of the way.“I didn’t think the boys were coming home this Thanksgiving.”

  Sidney shrugged.“Well, Danny’s here and Big Dan bought a new suit. He looks good.”

  “Dan bought a suit?”

  “Yep.”

  “The last suit he bought was at our wedding.” She started breathing harder and her face was getting redder.“I’m having a hot flash, I think. My God, what’s come over me?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe we should call it love. What can I do to help? We need to get out there in a few minutes.”

  “Did you like how Jeff and Kell eyed each other over?” Betty asked.

  “That is not what happened. They shook hands.”

  “Which one looks better?”

  Sidney glanced down at the wood floor.“No one looks as good as Kell, ever. But, Jeff looks nice. But it’s awkward. I don’t know what I was thinking inviting Jeff for Thanksgiving. This isn’t exactly the time to talk about getting back together. He’s nice, though. You can always count on Jeff to be nice.”

  “The mailman is nice. Nice isn’t going to sweep up your heart and whisk you into new lands of romance.”

  “I’m not looking for someone to sweep up my heart. I’m looking for a lifetime companion.”

  Betty frowned.“I’m looking for someone who can still give me an orgasm after all these years.” She put her hand over her heart.“Or at least, I want someone who still knows how to kiss. It’s a sign they know how to do other things…” She winked at Sidney.“If you know what I mean?”

  Sidney’s eyes widened.“Gosh, Betty.”

  “Sex is a part of life, my dear. And one of the great pleasures of this world. Don’t make it irrelevant.”

  “I’m not making it irrelevant. Are you telling me your dairy farmer is a good kisser?”

  “Don’t underestimate dairy farmers. Dan is a man who knows what’s going on around him, especially when he’s not on a diabetic roller coaster.

  “Speaking of what’s going on around us. We need to find a place to keep the food that Kell brought warm. Are the turkeys going to be on time?”

  “Yes. They’ll be ready in an hour and then we’ll carve them. Who are we going to ask to do the carving?”

  “I’ll ask Big Dan to do the carving.”

  A few minutes later, Candace came through the kitchen door.“Are you ladies going to be in here forever? Amanda just got here with her sister, Mary, and they’re already trying to figure out where Amanda can sleep when she comes to stay. Betty, you’ve got to come and see your guests.”

  “Big Dan is Sidney’s guest, not mine,” Betty said.“I didn’t invite him.”

  Sidney shook her head.“Yes, but he’s here to see you.” She glanced at Candace.“Are you okay?” she asked.“You ran out of the entryway pretty fast.”

  Candace’s face turned red.“Yeah. I just had to pee is all.”

  ~

  An hour later everyone sat down at the table. Sidney asked Pastor Matt if he would say a blessing for the meal. He nodded and held out his hands. Sidney wasn’t planning on everyone holding hands, but she gave Pastor Matt one hand and Jeff, who sat next to her, the other. She smiled quietly at Jeff.

  After the prayer they all began reaching for the food nearest to them. Kell helped Jake get mashed potatoes and gravy. He took some for himself and then passed them onto his dad. Sidney took the rolls that were next to her and set one on her plate. Betty, on the other end, was quietly talking to Danny and was also reaching for the green bean casserole. Big Dan stood at the head of the table passing out pieces of turkey. Candace remained stone silent. By the looks of her, Sidney could tell something was brewing underneath.

  Amanda didn’t say a whole lot, either. She was busy trying to keep Kell’s attention. Her bracelets jangled as she bit into a roll.“Oh, Kell, these are divine. No one ever said anything to me about your cooking.” She moaned a little and turned to him.“You sure know how to satisfy a woman’s appetite.”

  Kell cleared his throat.“Thanks. I like to cook for my son, actually.” He turned to Jeff.“So, Jeff, Sidney says you did the Ironman?”

  Jeff scooped some mashed potatoes onto his plate.“Yes, I was in Hawaii beginning of last month. It was amazing.” He reached for the turkey that Dan had passed to him and then shot a questioning look toward Kell.

  “The Seattle Marathon is tomorrow, isn’t it?” Kell asked.

  “As a matter of fact, it is. I’m racing in it.”

  “Really. So you’re leaving tonight? Quick trip.”

  The tension between the two men was as real as Sidney’s nervous stomach, but she didn’t know where it was coming from.“Betty, the turkey’s wonderful,” Sidney said, trying to change things up.“Thank you so much for making it. I would have dried it out so bad we would have eaten jerky.”

  Jeff laughed.“There’s a lot of
truth to that. I spent ten years eating take-out with this woman. She could hardly boil water.”

  Kell laughed under his breath.“And now, she’s quite marvelous at cooking. Her pumpkin cookies were delicious. Maybe she just didn’t like cooking for you, Jeff?”

  Sidney tilted her head and gave Kell a look she hoped would strike him dead. She took a deep breath.“Pastor Matt, are you all ready for your Christmas series?”

  He had a mouthful of food and swallowed quickly.“Yes, as a matter of fact, I’m going to be doing a series on faith and courage. On all the different characters in the Christmas story and how they listened to God. The practice of discernment.”

  “I’ve always been amazed at how much courage is in that story,” Sidney said.

  Jeff looked at Pastor Matt.“I’d never have thought much about courage when it came to the Christmas story.”

  Sidney spoke.“But it’s there, isn’t it? The amount of courage it took for Mary to go through with the pregnancy in a society that would most likely have wanted to stone her, was amazing.”

  Danny looked up from his food.“Not to mention that Joseph guy who stuck with her and parented a baby even in a society that was unforgiving.”

  Amanda took a bite of her roll.“I don’t think it’s all that amazing for Joseph to raise a child who wasn’t his. I’d be happy to raise someone else’s child if it was for love. Kell and I have spoken of that very thing.”

  Kell’s face turned white.

  Betty jumped in and cut her off.“I think Joseph was quite the silent hero of the whole story. Getting all those dreams and traveling all over the region trying to keep that baby safe.”

  Sidney glanced at Pastor Matt.“They were all very courageous people. None of them took the easy way out.”

  Pastor Matt cleared his throat.“That’s true, but it was also clear from the angel, Gabriel, what they should do. It made it easy to know what the right thing was. It wasn’t as gray as it is today.”

  Betty shrugged.“Oh, I think gray is over-rated. We like to make everything gray when some things are just plain old black and white.”

  Sidney spoke in a clear voice.“I don’t think love is gray. I think love is courageous. Joseph loved Mary.”

  Matt shook his head.“Joseph was obedient to God.”

  Betty leaned over.“That’s over simplistic, isn’t it? It would have been mighty hard to hear God tell you to marry and take care of a woman’s baby, if you didn’t love her. I’m sure some men have done it for selfish reasons, but I think Joseph was different.” She shook her head and pointed her fork at Pastor Matt.“It was love that gave Joseph courage to take care of Mary. Just plain, ordinary love.”

  Big Dan smiled over at Betty.“Real love goes a long way.”

  Kell turned to Sidney.“Speaking of love, has Henry called you for that date he was hoping to have?”

  Sidney choked on her food. Betty interrupted again before she could say anything.“I’m so glad you could come, Danny. How were finals?”

  “They haven’t happened yet, Mom. Remember? I don’t have finals for a few more weeks.”

  Danny talked about his classes for a few minutes. Sidney noticed that Candace was still unusually quiet. She stared down at her food, unwilling to look anyone in the eyes. Before Sidney had time to think anything else about Candace, Jeff tapped his wine glass with his spoon and cleared his throat. He scooted back his chair and tapped his wine glass again. It’s crystal tone rang out across the table.

  Everyone turned toward him, and Sidney’s face turned to him more confused by the second.

  “I can’t tell you all how pleased I am that I was able to come and see where Sidney has been the last few months. It’s been so hard to be without her. And I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when she offered me a second chance a few weeks ago when we met for coffee. It’s made me reflect on so many important things in my life.”

  Jeff paused for a moment.“This conversation about courage is a sign from God. I have something I need to say to Sidney. And I think it should be said here, amongst her new friends.”

  Sidney face warmed.“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Jeff. Maybe we should wait and talk after dinner?” Her voice sounded fragile, almost frightened.

  Jeff patted Sidney’s hand.“This won’t wait, Sidney. I’ve been such a fool and when a man realizes what a mess he’s made, he has to fix it. As I look back on the last decade of my life, at my races, the track meets at the school, my promotion to principal. Sidney you’ve been in all of them.”

  She hung her head. This was not the place for this speech. She couldn’t believe he was sharing these words with complete strangers. They didn’t even know him.“Thank you, Jeff. Please. We’ll talk later.” Her face was getting hotter.

  He put his hand on her shoulder and pulled something out from his pocket.“I realized at the Ironman, when your face was missing at the finish line, that I can’t live without you. I want you in my life, Sidney Rose.” He kneeled down before her and took her hand.“I was wrong to do what I did. I didn’t realize how good I had it with you, until you were gone. Would you be willing to come back to me and give me another opportunity, to make things right?”

  The room spun out of focus. Sidney started to breathe fast, her heart raced, her faced flushed warmed even more. At Thanksgiving dinner? Why would he do this? She couldn’t humiliate him, she couldn’t slap him in the face. She put her hand over her heart and took her glass of wine and drank the last six sips in three gulps. She set the glass down and grabbed the edge of the table in an attempt to stabilize herself. She took a deep breath.

  Kell’s voice rang out through the silence.“Sidney, are you okay?”

  His voice snapped her back to reality.“Yes. Thank you.”

  She turned her face upwards to Jeff and focused as intensely as she could muster amidst the swirling inside her head.“Thank you, Jeff. I told you, I need to think about it.”

  Jeff’s face grew pale. He pushed up his glasses, which were already quite tight on his nose.“You’ve been thinking about it for over a month. What’s there to think about Sidney? In God’s eyes, we’re married. We were married for ten years. Say yes. Move back to Seattle and we can get on with our lives. It’s time to start that family you’ve always wanted.”

  Her voice came out quiet, gentle, but serious.“I need some more time to think.”

  Jeff lifted her hand and said in a low voice.“There’s nothing to think, Sidney. Just say yes.”

  She’d lost control of Thanksgiving dinner. Betty or Candace or somebody needed to do something. She couldn’t think.

  Kell spoke up.“Sidney, do you mind if I open another bottle of wine? Are there more bottles in the kitchen?”

  Jeff held up his hand and turned to Kell.“This isn’t really the time for that question. I’m sort of proposing to my wife here.”

  Betty scooted her chair out.“I think she’s your ex-wife, isn’t she?” Betty stood up.“I’ll go get another bottle.”

  Kell spoke to Sidney.“Betty might need help figuring out which wine to choose, Sidney.”

  Sidney nodded, her voice hard to find.“Good idea,” she squeaked out.“Thank you.” She scooted out her chair and stood up.“If you’ll excuse me.”

  Candace pushed her chair out.“I’ll come with you.”

  Sidney dashed to the kitchen. Candace went right behind her.

  Sidney stood against the kitchen island squeezing her eyes with her fingers, trying to keep from losing all control and falling into a heap on the floor. Why had Jeff chosen right there, in front of a whole crowd of people he didn’t even know, to propose? She felt pushed, obligated. He was her husband, wasn’t he? She’d vowed to stay with him for better or for worse. Confusion swirled around her. Isn’t this what she’d wanted? Only a few months ago, if Jeff had tried to reconcile, she would have been thrilled. Why wasn’t she relieved?

  Betty and Candace both came near and patted her on the arm. Betty pulled her into an embrace.“Don’t you w
orry” she said, quietly.“You’ll figure it out.”

  Sidney shook her head and took a deep breath.“I’m so surprised. I wasn’t expecting him to be so forward about this.”

  Candace shook her head.“Nobody was. Men are stupid. They have all the timing of starting your period on the first day of your honeymoon.” She rubbed the side of her arm in a tender way.“Jeez, Dr. Kellen sure saved the day.”

  Betty lifted Sidney’s hand and petted it.“I know. I was so speechless I couldn’t figure out what to do. Kell definitely kept his cool.”

  Sidney stood up taller and ran her hand down her blouse in a small attempt to feel more put together.“He was very kind. What am I going to do?” She crinkled her eyebrows in profound worry.“I’m stuck. I have no idea what to do. I love it here, but I wanted my husband to come back to me.”

  Betty patted her on the shoulder.“You don’t have to make any decisions right now. Right now, we need to save this dinner fiasco.”

  ~

  When Sidney, Candace, and Betty came out of the kitchen, Pastor Matt was already starting to clear the table. Kell had pushed back his chair and was gathering up plates.

  Sidney spoke.“There’s fresh coffee if anyone would like some? I’ll bring it out to the living room.”

  Big Dan nodded his head.“I’d love some coffee. Thank you.”

  Sidney and Candace went into the kitchen while Kell and Pastor Matt were still grabbing the plates.“Where did Mr. Proposal go?” Candace asked under her breath as they went into the kitchen.

  Sidney spoke under her breath.“I have no idea, but for right now I don’t care.”

  “I think he proposed like that because he saw the way Dr. Kellen looks at you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Candace grinned.“Dr. Kellen looks at you like you’re the sun and he’s thawing out from a long winter.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Just getting him to be my friend was like trying to dig a well in the desert.”

  Candace smiled.“Well, I’d say you struck water. He’s better looking than Mr. Proposal over there,” she said, tilting her head in the direction of the football game.