“We got this,” Nattie said. “You relax.”
At one point, Nattie moseyed up to Kelly. “By the way, do you eat tomatoes?”
“Cooked in spaghetti sauce? Absolutely,” Kelly said, then wrinkled her nose. “But raw? Only if someone threatens me with utter and complete destruction.”
Nattie pumped her right fist. “Yes!”
Carrying the sauce to the table, Jack caught her eye. “You have no idea what kind of bond you just created.”
Kelly made a what can you say? gesture with her hands.
Once everything had been transported to the dining room, Nattie and Jack stood back from the table, surveying their display. “Perfect,” Nattie announced.
Kelly took the same place as Jack’s other dates, to his left, with Nattie to his right, across from Kelly, and dinner progressed without much assistance from him. Nattie and Kelly carried on as if they were long-lost friends.
But there were times during the meal when he would catch Kelly looking at him, and she’d actually twinkle. It was unsettling how little control he had over his feelings.
“Do you like salad?” Nattie asked Kelly.
“I do,” Kelly said between bites, “but only if drenched in ranch dressing.”
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Nattie exclaimed, and then took a deep breath, forming her next question.
Oh boy, Jack thought. Here comes the big test.
Nattie’s tone was hushed and momentous. “Also . . . what do you think of green beans?”
Kelly dropped her fork. “Seriously? Why do they even grow those things!”
“I know!”
Jack had to chuckle. Green beans and tomatoes. What was next?
Dessert didn’t go badly, either. Nattie led the charge. “We have peach pie, ice cream, or . . .”
“You pick,” Kelly said. “I have a feeling I’ll like whatever you like.”
Nattie looked as pleased as punch. She picked the pie, and Kelly reveled in it. Afterward, Nattie told Kelly, “Sit tight while Dad and I clean up.”
In the kitchen, however, once the table had been cleared off, Nattie pushed Jack back into the dining room. “I got this. Don’t let her get lonely,” Nattie warned. “She might wander off or something.”
Later, they gathered in the family room. Nattie finally opened her gift from Kelly, an anniversary edition DVD of Babe, and Nattie squealed with delight. “I don’t have this one!”
But when Kelly asked to see one of their famous photo albums, Nattie declined. “Sit and talk to my dad,” she said. “I’ll leave you two alone.” She scampered upstairs to play.
Kelly laughed. “Does she always play matchmaker?”
“Only with people she really likes,” Jack replied.
Kelly bit her lip. “I like her, too.”
At the end of the evening, Jack escorted Kelly out to her car. Lingering for a moment, he kissed her for the second time in their lives, and this time she paid attention.
“I could get used to this,” Kelly whispered dreamily.
He kissed her again, and she said good-bye.
The evening had been a resounding success. Kelly and Nattie had gotten along famously, and yet after Kelly had left, and during the tuck-in, Nattie seemed strangely subdued.
“Did you have a good time?” Jack asked her, pulling the covers up to her chin.
She shrugged.
“It seemed like you did.”
Another shrug, more regretful.
“Did something go wrong?”
Nattie made a face and shook her head. “I wish it had.”
Jack considered this. “You’ll see Laura tomorrow.”
“Can I tell her about Kelly?”
“It might be too soon.”
Nattie nodded. “Yeah.”
“And . . .” he began, gingerly. “We don’t know for sure if Kelly is going to stick around.”
Nattie’s expression dimmed. “Are you kidding me?”
“I mean . . . I hope she does, but she might decide she doesn’t like me as much as she thought, or hoped . . . or . . .”
Nattie looked at him skeptically. “I see how she looks at you.”
“You do, eh?”
“It’s in the bag, Daddykins.”
“Daddykins?”
“That’s new,” she informed him. “I can’t exactly say Dad-a-Lantern, you know. Or Dad in the Beanstalk. I have to think up new stuff.”
“I’m sure Auntie San will help.”
After praying, mostly about Laura and a little about Kelly, Jack kissed Nattie good-night and traded stuffed animals, acquiring Nattie’s gray monkey with the long, skinny striped limbs.
Jack shut out the lights. In the master bath, he was brushing his teeth when the phone rang. It was Kelly.
“I forgot something,” she said apologetically.
Jack was already heading downstairs to find whatever it was that Kelly had left behind, thinking purse . . . keys . . . earrings . . . when she clarified. “Nattie asked me to take her to the park next Wednesday.”
“Oh.”
“I’m taking the day off, actually—I have to since I’m working tomorrow—and I happened to mention this to Nattie—”
“And she invited you down,” Jack finished.
Kelly chuckled sweetly. “Is she still up? I’ll just let her know that it’s too soon, you know, to nudge myself into your lives. I shouldn’t have said yes, but she caught me by surprise.”
“Can’t you make it?”
Kelly hesitated. “Well sure, but—”
“Then no problem.”
“But still . . .”
“We could grab fast food afterward,” Jack offered.
Kelly went silent.
“Kelly, I think things are going well between us.”
“Yes, I think so, too.”
“Then, if you want to take Nattie to the park, it’s fine with me. Just the two of you.”
Kelly paused again. “I guess I’m nervous.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s the most important person in your life, Jack. And I don’t want to blow it.”
Jack sat down on the couch, and she sighed. “I was just thinking maybe things went too well tonight.”
“Nattie won’t raise the bar,” he replied, “if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Maybe I am.”
Jack opened his mouth to make some kind of promise, give her some kind of assurance, but it didn’t seem right. Everything was still too new, too uncertain.
“I know I’d like to see you,” Jack suggested.
“Well, then. That settles it.”
Chapter 27
Nattie sat on the dryer the following Tuesday, thoroughly entertained by her father’s confusion as he tried to decipher the detergent requirements for a half load of washing.
“Cold is for colors,” she reminded him.
Moments later, the phone rang and Laura called in sick with the flu. She must have felt pretty bad, as Jack couldn’t remember the last time she’d canceled for illness. The small farewell cake, decorated with a photographic image of the three of them in the booth at the Mexican restaurant, taken by San on Jack’s birthday, would have to languish in the freezer until Laura was well.
“We could deliver it to her,” Jack offered.
Glumly, Nattie shrugged. She trudged to the kitchen, poured milk on her cereal, propped her elbows on the counter, and hovered over the bowl, dejected.
Jack came up behind her and kissed her cheek. She sniffed softly; then the dam burst. Jack hugged her, and a few minutes later, when Jack reminded her Kelly was coming tomorrow, she stopped crying. She stared up at Jack through damp eyes. “Does she swim?”
Jack figured she probably did. Nattie asked him if he had to fly today, a not-so-subtle “Please stay home with me,” and he offered to skip the morning. While Nattie went upstairs to wash up, Jack called in, much to Mick’s glee. “Fair disclosure: We gotta couple of live ones.”
They went swimming at the local neighborhood club, and Nattie’s mood improved dramatically. They dove for coins, had underwater breath-holding contests, and when a couple of Nattie’s friends arrived, they played Marco Polo and Keep Away with an orange ball.
Finally exhausted, Jack lazed out on a lawn chair in his old good-enough swim trunks and sunglasses, slathering on sun block and watching them play, now and then admiring the hazy rainbow that appeared whenever someone dived into the pool.
Nattie, of course, knew the best way to get his attention: “Hey, Dad, watch this!” Because in his experience, nothing good happened after “Watch this!”
The next day, after dropping Nattie off next door with Livy and Diane, Jack headed to the airfield, if only to check in. Diane was tickled to spend a little time with her “two favorite girls,” and Jack could tell Livy was excited to prove herself a capable sitter.
“Wow, aren’t you getting tan!” Livy chimed, holding out her own sun-browned arm for comparison.
A little after three o’clock, Jack was confirming the latest FAA compliance issue for his 182 with Neil, his mechanic, when Nattie buzzed him. Kelly had arrived.
“We’re going to the park now!”
He could hear Kelly in the background. “Hello, Jack.”
Nattie giggled. “When are you coming by?”
“A little later, munchkin.”
“Not too soon, okay? We have some serious girl talk to do.”
Jack chuckled. “Don’t scare her away.”
“We’ll probably talk about you.”
“Just wonderful.”
Nattie grabbed Kelly’s hand as if they’d been walking to the park for years, and she jabbered away, telling Kelly about her friends, her favorite movies, and her favorite music, all of which, she informed Kelly, were catalogued on meticulous lists safely stacked in her bottom drawer.
As they walked, Nattie pointed out each neighbor’s house, providing a tiny tidbit about each one, such as Mrs. Guilfoyle, “who is twice my dad’s age and still mows her own lawn with a push mower, which is a lot harder than a gas mower, according to Dad.”
In turn, Kelly asked her questions about school, and Nattie responded by telling Kelly about her dad’s dinner date with Karen Jones. “It didn’t go too well.”
“By the way my real name’s Natalie,” she continued. “But when I was a kid I couldn’t pronounce it, so Nattie stuck.”
Kelly had to smile. When I was a kid.
“Do you like Nattie better than Natalie?”
Nattie shrugged. “I like ’em both. But Laura prefers Natalie.”
Eventually, Nattie divulged a few family secrets. “My dad isn’t very good at dating.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “He only started because he thought I needed a mother.” She grimaced. “He doesn’t know I know that, so I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
Kelly touched Nattie’s hair. “It’ll be our secret. Okay?”
“Okay,” Nattie agreed. “My dad says I talk too much. I think he’s right.”
“Talking’s fun, though.”
When they reached the playground, Kelly offered to swing with Nattie, but Nattie seemed pensive at first.
“What, honey?”
“I was just thinking about Laura again.”
Kelly took her hand and motioned to the bench. “I heard she’s really special to you. I’d love to hear more about her, if you have time.”
Nattie shook her head. “I think we’d better play first.”
“Okay, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Wanna see who can get the highest?” Nattie asked, pulling Kelly over to the swings without waiting for an answer. Before long, they were both pumping their legs furiously, hair flying behind them, laughter filling the park. “I’m nine, but I still love swinging!” Nattie shouted to the sky.
Things played out naturally after that, with Nattie showing Kelly the ropes around “the biggest playground in the world,” which it certainly seemed to be. Kelly had never seen such an extravaganza of playground delights, and when a couple of Nattie’s friends showed up, Nattie politely scampered off, but not without checking with Kelly first to make sure she wasn’t lonely.
Kelly assured her otherwise and continued to watch from the bench, as Nattie flickered from one place to the next. Kelly felt her heartstrings drawn tighter and tighter. No wonder Jack loved this girl. At such a young age, Nattie had an unusual regard for others’ feelings.
Kelly had a love-hate relationship with parks. Over the years, she’d gone to stare at the children, noting the ones who would now be Emily’s age, and imagine she was watching her child play.
Some people used to tell her, in effect, to get over it. “Just trust God that she’s safe and move on. Meet another nice man, have another child! Time to heal, Kelly!”
But she couldn’t, of course, and today, this park, watching Nattie, made Kelly wistful. This could have been my life, she thought. This is what I’ve missed out on.
Not anymore, she thought. I’m here now.
But what if Nattie wasn’t hers? The next thought surprised her. It doesn’t matter.
And yet the question nagged at her like a festering thorn in her finger. I can put this all to rest, she thought. One little test.
She fidgeted nervously at the bench, suddenly feeling uneasy, if not a little nauseous. But then where will we be?
“Dad thought I needed a mother,” Nattie had just told her.
Kelly smiled wryly, uncertain Jack would see her entrance as a brilliant answer to prayer. She was still lost in her world of wistful what-ifs when Nattie came running over with a friend. They pulled up in front of Kelly and stood there like statues, grinning. “This is Katelyn. She’s my best friend.”
Katelyn was also a brunette, wearing an adorable denim outfit and sequined sneakers.
Nattie leaned close and whispered in Kelly’s ear. “Do you have any magic tricks?”
Kelly nodded. Nattie stepped back and crossed her arms dramatically. The two girls looked at Kelly as if she could hang the moon. “I have a couple, in fact.”
Katelyn’s eyes lit up.
“Told you,” Nattie replied, elbowing Katelyn.
Kelly dug in her bag, her heart thumping wildly, and removed the magical lollipop.
Nattie’s eyes widened. “That’s a new one.”
This is different, Kelly told herself. Nattie’s not a stranger anymore. She unwrapped the lollipop, and Nattie popped it into her mouth while Katelyn observed. The trick went off without a hitch.
An hour later, Jack stopped by and saw the two of them, Nattie and Kelly, digging in the sandbox. Nattie squealed when she spotted him and went running over. “Guess what? Guess what?”
She sprang into his arms. “Kelly has a scar just like me!”
“Amazing,” Jack replied, grinning at Kelly, who was holding a plastic shovel, digging between her splayed legs, her jeans covered in moist sand.
“We’re digging to China,” Nattie exclaimed, giggling at the notion, although a couple years earlier she might not have found it so humorous.
“Whoa,” Jack exclaimed. “Then I’d better come back later. You’re gonna need another hour. At least.”
Nattie pulled on his shirt. “But we’re hungry, too. China can wait.”
Kelly wiped her dirty forehead, though little good it did. “I second that notion. Can’t dig to China without nourishment.”
Jack knelt beside her and brushed her forehead free of offending particles while Kelly smiled up at him.
“Am I decent now?” She laughed.
The three climbed into Billy Bob with Nattie in the middle and Kelly on the outside in Laura’s old spot. Along the way to the nearest burger establishment, Nattie updated Jack on their activities and close calls.
“And Kelly did a trick for Katelyn!”
“Really?”
“A new trick.”
“Well, Kelly will have to show me that later.”
Kelly grinned at Nattie, putting her arm around her and pulling her close. Nattie beamed.
They chortled their way to downtown, changing their mind halfway, discarding the fast-food idea in favor of a locally owned, retro-fifties café, its floors covered with black-and-white-checkered tiles, the walls filled with posters of Elvis and James Dean and President Eisenhower.
Once there, Nattie led the way while Jack held the door for Kelly. Nattie found a red booth along the front windows, and then she and Kelly slipped into the ladies’ restroom to make themselves presentable.
When they came out, Nattie bit her lip expectantly. “Can I sit with Kelly?”
Jack pretended to be disturbed. “Where am I going to sit?”
“Over there,” Nattie said, pointing to the other side and sliding in next to Kelly. “Girls stick together.”
They ordered burgers and shared more park stories, and Nattie recounted every moment of her “splendicious” time with Kelly.
“So tell me about that magic trick,” Jack asked.
Kelly leaned forward. “I’ve got a better idea.”
Nattie squealed. “Another one?”
Kelly nodded, pulling out a deck of cards from her purse.
“Cool!” Nattie exclaimed, and for the next few minutes Kelly entertained them with one card trick after another, pausing after each one to let them figure it out. They rarely could.
Time flew quickly. Later, at the truck, Kelly kissed the top of Nattie’s head and winked at Jack, and in turn, Nattie hugged Kelly tightly, burying her face into Kelly’s blouse. When Kelly climbed in, Nattie cuddled close to her while Jack drove them back to the house, where Kelly’s car was parked.
Kelly got out, and Nattie followed her to the car. “When are you coming back?” Nattie asked.
Kelly pressed Nattie’s face in her hands, smiling brightly with reassurance, rubbing Nattie’s nose with her own. “Very soon.”
“Promise?”
Jack touched Nattie’s back. “Can we get a moment of privacy, please?”
Grudgingly, Nattie agreed and headed up the sidewalk to the house.
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