A Fine Mess

by Kristy K. James

  “So you forgive me?” He smiled a lopsided smile. “Your Bible says you have to, you know.”

  “Yeah, it does, doesn’t it. I suppose I’ll have to then.” She squeezed his hand. “Will you forgive me for being such a shrew?”

  “Of course I will.”

  “Hmm,” she said, after a moment. “I think you were supposed to be magnanimous just then and tell me that I’m not a shrew.”

  “Well, if the shoe fits-” Ian shrugged nonchalantly, and then grinned like a mischievous little boy.

  Annie laughed, quickly withdrawing her hand from his.

  “If we want to get anything done tonight, we’d better finish up here, don’t you think?”

  “Whatever you say, Dear.”

  ~~~~

  It turned into a very long night. Their first stop, after the restaurant, had been at a trendy little store that sold linens, draperies and kitchen supplies. And that’s exactly what they purchased. For nearly two hours.

  They’d measured all of the windows the previous evening, and because of their efforts, each one would be tastefully covered. The linen closets would be stocked with monogrammed towels and sheets. And the kitchen cupboards would be filled with every gadget any woman who loved to cook could ever desire.

  Then it was to the house, where they unloaded everything and finished cleaning the two and a half bathrooms.

  “I’m glad that’s done,” Annie sighed, as Ian let them back into the apartment.

  “Me, too. Now all we have to do is finish packing this place up and be ready to move Friday after work.”

  They both sighed at that thought. Only three days. And between now and then, one of them had to meet one furniture company or another so their new things could be delivered.

  “I think we’re going to need a vacation when all this is over,” he said, yawning loudly as he flipped on the hallway light.

  “Can we have room and maid service and a massage therapist? Because I’ll tell you what. My muscles hate me tonight.”

  “Wimp,” he teased, stopping outside her bedroom door.

  “And who did I hear groaning when he got out of the car downstairs?”

  “Couldn’t have been me. I’m a macho kind of guy.”

  “So you want to go out for a jog, Mr. Macho?” Annie tried her best to stifle a yawn, and yawned all the more.

  “Oh could we? Please?”

  “Let me just grab a jacket-”

  She turned as though she might actually go and get one, but was stopped in her tracks when Ian grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him. When he didn’t let her go, she looked up at him. He looked tired, she noted. He also looked serious.

  “What?”

  “You’re not a shrew,” he said quietly, kissing her forehead softly. “Goodnight, Annie.”

  ~~~~

  Ian planned on just hiring a moving service to load and unload a truck, but Pastor Caldwell had nixed the idea the previous Wednesday. He’d round up some help and save the McCann’s the expense. And he’d been as good as his word.

  At six o’clock Friday evening, thirteen men, including the pastor, showed up at the apartment with three pickup trucks and a van. One man even brought a flatbed trailer that he used for hauling snowmobiles on. It came in very handy for moving Ian’s king size waterbed and the antique dining room set he’d inherited from his grandmother, a heavy table that seated eight, along with an ornately carved hutch and buffet.

  Annie had gone on ahead to the house, where heaven only knew how many women would be there to help her unpack.

  “So how are you liking married life?” Max Caldwell asked when Ian climbed into his truck.

  “I’m liking it just fine,” Ian told him truthfully. Not that he’d expected to, but Annie was not all that hard to live with. She knew how to be quiet, she had a wonderful sense of humor, and the girl could cook. Something that hadn’t escaped her pastor, who was saying,

  “Well, I’ll tell you what. You got blessed with one of the best cooks in the county, that’s for sure.”

  “You’re not telling me anything I haven’t already figured out,” he agreed wholeheartedly.

  “Yup. She’s quite a special woman. I can tell you that there were more than a few guys at church whose hearts were broken when they found out she was no longer available.”

  Ian glanced over at him. Max was a big bear of a man, with bright red hair and a neatly trimmed beard the exact same shade. A nice man from what he’d observed thus far.

  He wondered why he’d been the recipient of that little bit of news. He also wondered why that little bit of news annoyed him.

  “Well I guess they’ll just have to get over it because I have no plans to put her back in circulation,” he said a little stiffly. At least not in the near future. Max laughed a big booming laugh.

  “Don’t worry about it, son. They know she’s off-limits now. And if they forget, I suspect that you won’t hesitate to remind them.”

  “You’ve got that right,” Ian managed to say through clenched teeth. He sure hoped he didn’t have to chase anymore men away from his wife. Especially not ones who attended their church.

  His wife?Their church? He shook his head, as though to clear it. Talk about getting possessive over a woman he basically had a five year contract with! He’d have to watch himself. When that contract was up he was going to be footloose and fancy-free again.

  In four years, eleven months, two weeks and one day.

  ~~~~

  “I can’t believe it,” Ian was saying as they stood on the front steps waving at the car loads of helpers who were headed home. “It’s not even nine o’clock and we’re not only moved, but everything is unpacked and put away. They even took the boxes.” He sounded so stunned that Annie had to laugh.

  “I told you they were going to be a lot of help,” she reminded him as they stepped inside their immaculate foyer with its pretty cherry wood Queen Anne side table.

  “You did. But I had no idea they were so good at this.”

  “Now you do. Although I should warn you. Max will probably be calling us to help the next family that needs moving.”

  “Given what they just did for us, I don’t think I’ll be complaining if they do.” Annie laughed again, linking her arm through his and leading him toward the kitchen.

  “You might change your mind. The last time I helped with a move, it was a family of six with eight rooms of furniture. Not even counting all the boxes of dishes and clothes and toys and knick-knacks. We had about the same amount of volunteers but it took us a day and a half!”

  “Even so, it would have taken us the weekend to settle in so, no, I won’t mind helping someone else,” he told her. It sounded like he sincerely meant it.

  “You really are a nice man, Ian McCann.”

  “’bout time you noticed. Now are you going to feed me before I starve? Those sandwiches we had at five didn’t last very long.”

  “Have a seat and I’ll get you a plate. Fiona Hansen dropped off a crock pot of stew and dumplings. Although you might have trouble sleeping if you eat too much.”

  Annie quickly filled two plates and joined him at the round wooden table, set in a small glassed in alcove in the corner of the kitchen.

  They ate in silence, which allowed her to admire the place she would prepare many meals over the next few years.

  It was a dream kitchen, bright white with white appliances and lemon yellow accents and flooring. Long counters would give her more than adequate work space for making pies and other baked goods, the most important feature in her opinion.

  “Max said you had quite a few admirers at church,” Ian said suddenly.

  “He did?”

  “Said you broke all their hearts when you married me.”

  “I think Max was exaggerating,” Annie said, wondering what would possess her pastor to tell Ian something like that.

  “Were you involved with someone?”

  “What?”

  “Were-you-involved-wit
h-someone?” he repeated slowly.

  “From church?”

  “From anywhere. I guess we never got around to talking about that when we decided to get married.”

  “No. I wasn’t involved with anyone.”

  “Good. Neither was I, in case you were wondering.”

  An awkward silence filled the air as they finished eating. What an odd conversation to be having their first night in the new house, Annie thought. She wondered if Ian was doubting her vow of fidelity.

  “You know that I meant it when I said there would be no one else for the duration of our marriage, don’t you?”

  “Yes. I’m just hoping I won’t have to have any heart-to-hearts with any guys from church. I don’t imagine I’d be too popular for giving out black eyes.”

  “I don’t think it’ll come down to that. Now, do you want seconds before I put the rest of the food away?”

  “No. I think I’d rather turn in so I can get up early and mow the lawn. Besides, your folks are planning on bringing Jack over at nine, right?”

  “The last I knew, yes. Mom’s pretty excited about seeing the house.”

  “Then shall we call it a night?”

  “In a few minutes. I’ll just clean up here first.” The last few words came out in a yawn. “You’re right. It’s been a long day.”

  “Then let’s just rinse these and put them in the sink. They can wait until morning.”

  “But-”

  “But nothing. I’ll rinse the dishes. You can put the stew away. It‘s been a long day, Annie, so don‘t argue with your lord and master.”

  ~~~~

  Ian let loose of the handle that had to be held in order to keep the lawnmower running and wiped the sweat from his brow with his shirtsleeve. Although he’d been at it for about an hour and a half, only about two-thirds of the acre the house sat on was finished. As he crossed the lawn, rubbing his tingling palms on the legs of his jeans, he decided that a riding mower was going to be the number one priority when they went on sale next spring.

  “Good morning,” Paul called as he opened the door to help his wife out of the car. “Looks like you’re hard at work already.”

  “Growing grass waits for no man,” Ian sighed, walking over to his mother-in-law and kissing her cheek. “How are you feeling today, Maddie?”

  “Excited,” she answered, slipping her hand in the crook of his arm. “Your house is lovely! I can’t wait to see inside!”

  “Then let’s not keep you waiting,” he said, grinning down at her.

  “Where should I put Jack?” Paul wanted to know, opening the back door.

  Jack.

  Ian still wasn’t sure how he felt about having a dog. From what he gathered, Jack was an inside dog, as opposed to one that could be kept in a dog house outside. But Annie loved him, and already had beds set out in her room and the kitchen for him, so what could he do?

  “Bring him in, I guess. Annie’s been about beside herself waiting for him.” Realizing how that might have sounded, he added, “And the two of you, of course. She’s making breakfast for all of us as we speak.”

  “Do we have a few minutes?” Maddie said enthusiastically. “I’d like a tour before we eat.”

  The short trek to the front door was a slow one. Maddie didn’t seem to have an abundance of energy that Ian had ever seen. But then again, from what he understood about chemo treatments, they tended to drain the victims. And victim was the only word he could think of to describe the people undergoing the treatment. Maddie was nothing but skin over bone with dark shadows beneath eyes that seemed to large for her face.

  “We have all the time you want, Maddie.”

  Ian glanced down when he heard her gasp as they entered the foyer, relieved that it was from pleasure and not something else.

  “Oh! It‘s beautiful,” she breathed, looking at everything from the louvered closet doors stained to match the honey colored railing on the stairway. Which matched all the hardwood floors and woodwork throughout the rest of the house.

  “Shall we start upstairs first?” Ian asked, smiling gently at her pleasure. “Paul, you could take Jack out to Annie and then join us. The kitchen is straight down this hall.”

  “I’ll be right there then.”

  “Okay. Now, Maddie, if you don’t mind-” Ian quickly, and far too easily, lifted her in his arms and started up the first five steps, turning to the right and continuing up the rest of the way to the second floor before setting her gently on her feet.

  “Thank you, Ian. I was wondering how I was going to manage,” she said, flushing.

  “As your personal tour guide, it’s my duty to see to your every need,” he said suavely, bowing at the waist. “Now, if you’ll give me your hand,” he tucked into the crook of his arm again, “we’ll continue. To your right you will note the linen closet. Probably built sometime after the completion of the first floor, it is more than adequate to store all of the sheets and blankets required by the residents of the house…”

  ~~~~

  From the kitchen, where Annie was kneeling on the floor to welcome Jack, she heard her mother’s laugh and wondered what Ian might be up to now. He had, over the course of the past three weeks, made it his mission to bring as much joy as he could into Maddie’s life. Something he seemed to excel at.

  “She sounds happy,” Paul said softly, a tender look in his eyes as he looked toward the doorway.

  “I know. It’s hard to believe how well she and Ian get on together.”

  “Tell me about it!”

  “Jealous, Dad?” she teased, getting to her feet and showing Jack where his feeding dishes were before washing her hands and checking on how the bacon, egg, potato and cheese casserole was faring in the oven. Close enough to done that she slipped a pan of biscuits in beside it.

  “Not me. Anything that makes your mother happy is fine by me.” Something in his tone made Annie look at him closely.

  “What’s wrong, Dad?”

  He sat down at the table and sighed and Annie’s stomach clenched, waiting for news she knew she didn’t want to hear.

  “I took her in to the clinic for another follow up yesterday. Just to make sure that cold was gone.”

  “I know.” She leaned back against the counter, wrapping her arms around her waist, as though anticipating a blow. “And?”

  “And the x-rays showed a small tumor in her right lung. Nothing in the left, so that’s good. And this one isn’t very big, so it’s not as bad as it could be.”

  “What are they going to do about it?” Annie whispered, squeezing her eyes shut.

  “They think a few radiation treatments may get rid of it.”

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

  “Do they think more will develop?” It was the question she hated to ask.

  “Honey, I don’t know. They don’t know for sure.”

  “So what do they think?”

  “They think it’s a good possibility there’ll be more. The nutritionist is working on reformulating her vitamin and herbal therapy, and they’ll just keep a closer eye on her.”

  “Does Mom know?”

  “Of course she does. But you know your mom. She’s trusting God and she’s trusting the doctors. And that’s what we’re going to do, too. Aren’t we?”

  “Yes. Yes we are,” she agreed, blinking back tears. “Now- Why don’t you go up and take the nickel tour while I finish up down here, okay?”

  “Are you going to be able to pull yourself together before we get back?” he asked sternly.

  “Of course.”

  And she would. It was the one thing Maddie had demanded of them both from the start. No long faces. No tears. No fear. She and her father both made it their policy to comply with those rules. In her presence anyway.

  In private was another story.

  ~~~~

  “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Ian finally asked at dinner that evening.

&nb
sp; “Wrong?” Annie asked absently, moving her food around on her plate.

  “You’ve barely said ten words since your folks left,. And I’ve had to practically pry each one of those out of you with a crowbar.” At least she smiled a little at that. “Come on, Annie. What’s the matter?” Her sigh sounded like it came from the soles of her feet.

  “Dad had some news about Mom’s doctor’s appointment yesterday. It’s not very good.”

  Ian closed his eyes, sorry he’d asked. He didn’t want to hear that Maddie Blake was having more problems than she already had. He didn’t want to hear that she might be worse. Or that she might not make it at all. Because he’d truly come to care for her. And kind of look upon her as the mother he hadn’t had since just after his tenth birthday.

  “How bad is it?”

  He lost his appetite, too, as she told him what her father had said that morning. How much more could this family take?

  “Your mom seems to be holding up well,” was all he could manage to say.

  “Mom’s held up better than Dad or I either one since this all started. Emotionally anyway. Physically-”

  “Yeah, I know.” He was pretty sure that Jack, who was currently snoozing on his bed in the corner near the table, weighed more than Maddie. “She’s an amazing woman.”

  “She is. I only hope she has whatever it takes to beat this.”

  “We’ll have to make sure she does, won’t we? Do you think tempting her with an after Christmas cruise would help?” Annie managed a laugh.

  “Probably not. I think she saw too many shark and ship disaster movies in the seventies and eighties because she told me once that it would take an act of God to get her to even put her little toe in the ocean.”

  “What about another trip to Israel?”

  “Now that might do it. As long as I can stay here.”

  “Are you telling me you wouldn’t care to fly in another airplane?” he teased, trying to lighten the moment.

  “Pretty much.”

  “Well, we’ll have to come up with something that you can do, too, then.”

  “Okay. I’ll let you think about it though. I’m going to start cleaning up here so I can take Jack for a walk.”