Solemn Oath

by Hannah Alexander

  Lukas would speak to Personnel. Hadn’t Estelle told him just the other day that she wanted the staff beefed up? “Give it a couple of days, then come back in, Buck. I think they’ll add some shifts to your schedule. Have you spoken with Kendra?”

  “Oh no. No way. I’m not going to go crawling back to her. She didn’t want me as a fireman, and she won’t get me as a part-time EMT. I’m done begging. Besides, she’d probably believe everything they’re saying.” He straightened from the counter and swung toward the exit. “See you later, Doc.”

  “Wait a minute. Buck, where will you go? Why don’t you come and stay with—” But Buck was out the door, striding away from the hospital as if he’d received a call about a fire.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  At eleven-thirty Wednesday morning Mercy and Tedi passed the burned, collapsed shell of Little Mary’s Barbecue on their way to lunch. The half-bricked face of the old storefront café was all that remained intact. Cleanup had begun the day after the fire, and now all the shattered glass was cleared from the sidewalk and the debris pushed into a blackened pile in the center of the spot where the cooks had smoked their meat and shredded their country-wide-famous coleslaw for so many years.

  A charred and broken wooden floor pointed ragged, helpless fingers at the sky between the scorched walls of the neighboring buildings—and those buildings that surrounded the space served as a reminder that in a small town like Knolls, where walls and lives were intimately connected from the outset, nothing could happen in isolation. When one life was affected by tragedy or joy, others could not remain unaltered.

  Mercy glanced sideways and caught sight of tears shimmering in Tedi’s eyes. “Honey, you okay?”

  “Yeah. It just looks so sad.”

  Mercy felt a loving pang at her daughter’s tender heart…. Of course, she might also be thinking about the chocolate pecan pie and the best smoked chicken in the Ozarks, but her first thought would be for the people.

  “How are the ladies who got caught in the fire, Mom?”

  Mercy suppressed a smile. Yes, Tedi would think of the people first. She could make a good doctor someday. “They’re going to be fine. I saw one of Little Mary’s waitresses yesterday, and she told me both the cooks will be okay. Little Mary is going to rebuild with the insurance money.” Mercy drove a half circle around the courthouse and parked in front of the Mexican restaurant, then turned to look at Tedi, whose eyes continued to shimmer. “Everything’s going to be as good as new.”

  Tedi shrugged, letting the tears spill. She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, then reached up to finger the scar at her throat. “As good as new doesn’t mean as good as old. I like it the way it used to be.”

  Mercy reached across and placed a gentle hand on Tedi’s shoulder. “We can’t look at it that way. We have to see how we can make things better for the future.” Which was exactly what she was doing here today.

  After making the lunch date with Theo for this Saturday, she had realized that she was already scheduled for a Pediatric Advanced Life Support recertification class. This had given her a wonderful excuse to cancel the date, and the temptation to use it had been powerful. But Tedi needed a more normal life, and that included a relationship with her dad.

  “Are you hungry?” Mercy asked, punching the unlock pad for the doors with a snap-click and reaching for her purse.

  “I guess.”

  “Good, because your father knew I wouldn’t have much time today, and he already ordered for us. He should be waiting inside for us. He got soft tacos with guacamole and sopaipillas for you. Your favorite. And you’d better enjoy it while you can, because next time we’re going to eat healthier. I already told him that, and he agrees.” He’d been very agreeable lately. It was not in his character to be this nice for this long. Was it possible that there truly was an inner change?

  Tedi hesitated, her solemn gaze finding Mercy’s. “I wish you and Lukas could keep seeing each other.” The tears once more spilled over.

  “Oh, honey.” Mercy reached across the seat again, this time to feel her daughter’s forehead for a temperature. Tedi wasn’t usually this weepy. But she didn’t feel hot. “I know, so do I.” How could she have been so blind to Tedi’s feelings of loss? Had Lukas even considered who else would be hurt by his rejection? How many times could a child’s emotions spring back from losses like this?

  She drew her daughter into her arms. “Honey, you must feel as if the whole world is falling out from under you.” Mercy certainly did.

  Tedi squeezed back and held on for another moment, burying her face against Mercy’s shoulder. “Grandma had me memorize a verse from the Bible where Jesus says He will never leave us or forsake us.” Her voice came out muffled by Mercy’s sweater. “He took care of me when the bee stung me, because those people found me just in time. He took care of me when Dad hit me. I know Jesus is watching out for me.” She drew back enough to look up at Mercy.

  Mercy took a deep breath and let it out and forced a smile. “Then I guess we’ll just wait a little longer and see what happens, okay?”

  “Okay.” Tedi glanced toward the front window of the café. “Dad’s watching us from a front table.”

  “We’d better get in there.”

  They got out of the car and walked toward the glass-plated front door, but just as Mercy reached for the handle, Tedi tapped her on the arm. “Mom?”

  Mercy hesitated and turned back, frowning at the continued serious tone of Tedi’s voice. “What is it, honey?”

  “Are you and Dad going to get back together again now that you and Lukas aren’t going to be seeing each other anymore?”

  Mercy caught her breath. The door opened and two people stepped out of the café and Mercy and Tedi had to move out of their way. Mercy saw Theodore talking and laughing with a man at the table next to his, then he glanced their way. She raised a hand to signal to him that they would join him shortly. She had to make this explanation fast and firm.

  “No, Tedi. That isn’t something that will ever happen. Don’t even think about it, don’t worry about it, and please, please don’t ever suggest it to your father. He will always be your father, but he will never be my husband again. If Lukas and I…Well, I may never get remarried. I’m sorry if you have hopes that your dad and I—”

  “I don’t, Mom.” Tedi glanced toward Theo’s image through the glass, then lowered her voice. “I just wondered.”

  “Don’t wonder any longer.”

  Lukas pulled as close to Ivy Richmond’s front porch as he could without destroying the blooms on her rosebushes. Until Clarence healed completely from his injured muscles, he shouldn’t walk any more than necessary. Lukas glanced across at Clarence. The big man’s expression was lit with the excitement of a child on his birthday. He’d come a long way from the rude, cantankerous patient Lukas and Mercy had first visited last spring, and even though he still had an independent spirit that kept him from accepting help easily, he also had a logical mind. He knew staying here with Ivy Richmond was the best chance Darlene had for a healthy future, since she would never abandon him. He still struggled with depression, some days worse than others, but he had a desire to get better.

  “You say Darlene’s already settled in here, Doc?” Clarence reached up to open the passenger door.

  Mercy had wrapped Ace bandages around his massive legs for better support while he healed, and had given him crutches to assist with walking while he continued to lose weight. He had lost three more pounds while he was in the hospital, and when he heard the news, he’d whooped loudly enough for the nurses to hear him at the other end of the hallway.

  “Not only settled, but ready to get back to work on her computer.” Lukas grabbed the crutches that he had placed in the backseat, then got out of the car and rushed around to Clarence’s door. The scent of the roses filled the air with sweetness. “Smell that, Clarence? Ivy Richmond has a green thumb. She just started growing flowers over the summer, and she keeps them all over
the house. Plus she has an indoor garden. You’ll love it here.” He reached forward to help the big man out.

  As expected, Clarence waved him away with a gesture of impatience, heaved himself to his feet with a firm grip on the door frame, then took the crutches. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt that actually covered his huge stomach. Ivy had enlisted the skills of a friend who did seamstress work, and she had presented the clothes to him three days ago.

  An aide at the hospital knew how to cut hair and trim beards and had worked a miracle with Clarence’s bushy mop. He was more completely groomed than Lukas had ever seen him. In fact, Lauren had remarked that as Clarence continued to lose weight, he might become one of Knolls’ most eligible bachelors…of course, not counting Dr. Bower.

  Lukas and Clarence made their ponderous way up the walk as the front door opened and Darlene stepped out. She greeted him with a broad grin, the lines around her eyes fanning out in a frame of excitement.

  “Clarence, you look great!”

  He stopped halfway up the walk and gazed at her, his breath already coming in deep, whooshing puffs from the exertion. “So do you, sis. How do you feel?”

  She came down the walk and gave him a hard hug and a smack on the cheek, taking care not to overbalance him. “Better now that I’m out of the hospital.” She turned to lead the way back toward the house. “I can’t stop wondering about the bills, though.”

  Ivy stepped out of the house, her long graying hair floating over her shoulders. “Now, Darlene, none of that.” She came over to join them. “I told you I’ll take care of it, and you can settle with me later. Lots later. Concentrate on getting well, both of you.” She held the door open and stood back, allowing the scent of pine cleaner to waft out at them. “I’ve been scrubbing corners that haven’t been scrubbed in weeks.”

  Clarence huffed his way past the threshold and peered into the house, leaning hard on his crutches. An expression of awe spread across his face as he looked up at the knotty wood beams that arched across the cathedral ceiling of the foyer and front parlor.

  “Knew you had a nice spread,” he growled and moved back slightly, as if afraid to go farther and mess anything up.

  “Step on in there, Clarence.” Ivy poked him in the back with her fingers. “You’re going to have to learn to make yourself at home.”

  Clarence continued to hesitate, then turned back to look at Ivy in deepening alarm. “I can’t sit on those flimsy chairs. What if I break something?” He shook his head. “I don’t think you know what you’re getting into.”

  “Of course I know. Now, get on in there and I’ll show you to your apartment.”

  Clarence hesitated a moment more, then looked down at the small hump of the threshold, pushed forward with his crutches and eased himself inside.

  “There you go,” Ivy said with satisfaction. “Darlene, you go with him and show him around. Clarence, turn left at the hallway and go to the end. There’s the door to your apartment.”

  As Darlene and Clarence explored further, Ivy turned to Lukas. “I had the doorway built extra wide to make room for Mother’s wheelchair when she lived with me.” Her eyes reflected the same dark beauty Lukas remembered from Mercy’s last smile. “It sure did help when I had their furniture brought in yesterday. Darlene’s going to have a bedroom next to mine here in the main house, but her computer’s in an alcove of the apartment so she can be close to Clarence. That way neither of them will feel alone.”

  Lukas strolled down the hallway alongside her. “You sound like you’re enjoying this.”

  “I am. Mercy told me all about Clarence, and I knew the moment I heard about his problem that this was something I could help with. I just didn’t realize how involved I would get. Mercy knows how fanatical I’ve been about healthy cooking and exercise, and that’s exactly what Clarence needs.”

  Her steps slowed, and her eyes narrowed at Lukas. “Mercy and Tedi miss you,” she said in her usual forthright manner. “I guess you know Mercy’s devastated by your breakup.”

  Mercy couldn’t be any more devastated than he was. “I’m sorry. I should never have let it go on so long, but I guess I just didn’t realize—”

  “You don’t have to tell me. I know. I just wish it could have been different. You would’ve been a great addition to the family. You’d be good for Mercy and Tedi…and for me. I could use a good son-in-law for a change.”

  Warmth spread up Lukas’s neck, but before he could think of something to say, Clarence gave a shout from the apartment, then turned and limped his way back out to the hallway.

  “Hey, you brought my bed!”

  Ivy grinned and clasped her hands together. “Welcome home, Clarence.”

  Tedi leaned back from her empty plate, watching Dad finish his ice cream and sopaipillas. He’d offered her some of his, but she had already eaten two desserts, and her jeans felt as though they might squeeze her in half.

  Mom was crunching the ice from a third glass of lemonade, and she and Dad had just finished discussing the weather, Tedi’s grades and the most recent fire. It seemed as if they’d run out of topics to talk about. Tedi didn’t feel like trying to keep the conversation going this time. She had more important things to think about. What was she supposed to do about Abby? Would Abby really do the strange things she talked about doing? She’d already cut her arm.

  Tedi cleared her throat. What would Mom or Dad do about something like this? She watched Mom crunch the ice in her glass and glance around the crowded room. She watched Dad put the last forkful of sopaipillas in his mouth and look everywhere but at Mom.

  “Mom,” Tedi said, trying to sound as if she had just suddenly thought of this subject, “if I was doing something that would hurt me, and I made a friend of mine promise not to tell anyone, do you think she should tell?” She picked up her fork and slowly, casually ran the tines over the sweet-smelling leftover honey on her dessert plate. She did not look up.

  “Of course she should,” Mom said. “I would want to know.”

  “Even if she promised not to?” Tedi still didn’t look up.

  The ice crunching stopped, and Tedi felt Mom’s attention focus on her. “You already asked me this the other night.”

  Tedi looked up at her. “Yeah, and the other night you told me it wouldn’t be ethically correct to break a promise.”

  “I was not discussing the subject of your safety the other night. I was discussing a story in a book.”

  “What’s the difference?” Tedi asked. “Isn’t right always right? If someone makes a promise, shouldn’t they keep it no matter what? If they don’t, doesn’t that mean they’re a liar?”

  Mom put her glass down and leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “Tedi, why is the subject so important to you all of a sudden?”

  Tedi bit her lip. Uh-oh.

  Dad put his fork down and pushed his plate away. “What’s going on?”

  Tedi blinked up into his blue eyes, keeping her expression as innocent as possible. “Mom and I are reading a book called Another Chance, where this girl, Gordy, goes out to meet another girl, Chrissy, late at night, because she’s afraid Chrissy is going to do something stupid and get hurt. Gordy makes her boyfriend, Smitty Joe, promise not to tell anyone, but he tells anyway. She almost drowns, but her father gets there in time to save her. I think it was wrong for Smitty to tell on her, and Mom did, too, at first, but now she’s changing her mind.”

  “What kind of parents would name their kids Gordy or Smitty Joe?” Dad interrupted.

  He wasn’t getting the point. “Dad, you named me Theadra. What could be worse than that?”

  “I don’t think Tedi’s talking about a book now,” Mom said. There was a soft suspicion in her voice. Her gaze broke from Tedi, and she looked across the table at Dad. “Something’s up.”

  They both turned their attention to Tedi.

  Rats. This had never happened before.

  Tedi tried one more time to bluff. “Mom,” she said with a long-suffering sigh, �
�don’t you think a promise should be a promise, whether it’s in a book or in real life?”

  Mom opened her mouth to speak, but Dad answered. “Tedi, what would you have thought about the book if Gordy had died?”

  Tedi put her fork down and sat back in her chair. “It would’ve been awful.”

  “What would you have thought of the boyfriend with the stupid name?”

  “I guess I would have thought he was a loser.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he didn’t do all he could to save Gordy.”

  “So you’re saying you think a human life is more important than just words?” He glanced at Mom. “What do you think?”

  For the first time Tedi could remember, Mom smiled at Dad. “I think you put it well.”

  Tedi sat in silent surprise for a moment. She had always wanted her parents to get along. It was something she had dreamed about, but why did it have to start right now?

  “Is it Abby?” Mom asked.

  Tedi couldn’t keep her mouth from dropping open.

  Dad laughed. “Face it, Tedi, you never were a good bluffer.”

  “Is she upset because her parents split up last weekend?” Mom pressed.

  Tedi blinked at Mom. “How’d you know about that? They didn’t want anybody to know.”

  “Get real, Tedi,” Dad said. “Even I knew about that.”

  Mom sat back in her chair. “Tell us what’s wrong with Abby.”

  Tedi picked up on the “us” word. She saw that Dad did, too, because he blinked and then shot Mom a surprised look across the table. They shared a very brief look of understanding, then turned back to their daughter.

  Tedi sighed again. She might as well get this over with. Mom would drag it out of her sooner or later. “I’m just afraid she’s going to hurt herself. Remember when she cut herself with barbed wire?”

  “Barbed wire!” Dad exclaimed. “On purpose?”

  “No, it was an accident,” Mom told him. “Abby was proud of those stitches.”

  “Too proud,” Tedi grumbled. “And she keeps talking about how that accident brought her parents back together for a little while. She talks about how Dad changed after he came out of detox. She thinks her parents will do the same thing.”