“You are.”
“I just wish—” Wish you were staying home. “I’m going to cry when you leave, but I refuse to start now.”
“Ah, Pudge.” He held her even tighter. “It’s not that long. We can do this.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “But I’m going to miss you terribly. I get so scared sometimes. Mia’s here, and I love Frank and Claire, but it’s not the same.”
“We’ll talk every night. I promise.” He pressed his lips to her temple, holding tight until she couldn’t feel the difference between his flesh and hers. Breathing deep, he placed his hand on her tummy.
Move, Beanie Baby! Move! Maybe, if Sam felt their baby kick, she could believe God was looking out for them all. Sam believed in her, but he didn’t know how badly she struggled to believe in herself, and how weak her faith in God really was.
Come on, Beanie Baby. Please.
Nothing. Not even a flutter. Sam breathed a sigh, and they eased out of each other’s arms. He resumed packing, and Lucy sat on the bed until he zipped the duffel shut and faced her. This was the last time they’d be alone for over four weeks.
Chin raised, she offered a wobbly smile. “You stay safe, Soldier Boy. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He kissed her again to prove it. Long and slow, hard and demanding. Everything a kiss between a husband and wife could be. She clung to his shoulders, kissed him back, and wished again the baby would kick so they could share that moment.
Sam kissed her again and again, until the clock ran out on them. “I have to go now.”
Her throat slammed shut. She would not cry. She wouldn’t. He slung the duffel over his shoulder and strode out of the bedroom. Lucy followed him down the narrow hall and through the front door. In the yard she saw Jake waiting by his truck.
Sam stopped on the deck, cupped her jaw, and kissed her one last time. “I’m proud of you, Luce.”
“No. I’m proud of you!”
He stroked her cheek with his thumb, hiked the duffel on his shoulder, then marched down the steps. Jake opened the door to the crew cab, Sam slung the bag inside, and the men climbed in the front. As Jake backed away, Sam held his arm out the window in a final salute.
Lucy blew him a kiss, smiled hard, and rested a protective hand on the baby. And then it happened. Beanie Baby kicked so hard Lucy lost her breath.
“Sam!” she shouted. But the truck was a hundred yards away.
Lucy knotted her fists. Why, God? Just five minutes. Was He punishing her? Sam would say no, but he didn’t know how far away Lucy felt from God. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the feeling of not being good enough. Or at least not as good as Mia.
Tears flooded her eyes. Lord, I can’t do this. I can’t! I need Sam. But he wasn’t here.
Mia was here, but Lucy didn’t want to lean on her sister. She wanted to be her own strong person, and she especially wanted Sam and Mia to be proud of her. All her life Lucy had leaned on other people. For the next four weeks, she was on her own.
“It’s you and me, God,” she murmured as she walked back into the house. “I hope you’re listening, because the baby and I need all the help we can get.”
Chapter
13
The days passed quickly for Mia. She saw patients at a pace that seemed leisurely after Dr. Moore’s hectic practice, and she spent a lot of time at the Tanner house with Lucy. She and Jake saw each other often, but Mia made it a point to avoid being alone with him.
Before she knew it, late July turned into mid-August. The interview in Dallas—and her thirtieth birthday—were next week. Lucy was nineteen weeks along and keeping busy with Claire. Sam would be home in less than two weeks, and Jake was juggling Tanner Vending, Claire’s needs, and politicking for Camp Connie.
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and Mia was headed to the Tanner house for a surprise activity Lucy refused to reveal. Driving with the window down, she relaxed with the knowledge that Jake and Frank wouldn’t be home. They were servicing accounts in the Springs, then stopping by Westridge Acres to check Claire’s status on the waiting list. A phone call would have sufficed for most people, but Frank, admittedly old-fashioned, preferred to do business face-to-face.
As Mia pulled into the driveway, the rescue dogs barked a greeting from the kennel. Later she’d visit Peggy McFuzz, but Lucy and Claire were waiting with that surprise activity. A cookie bake-off? A walk in the woods to collect pine cones? Or maybe she’d pass out coloring books and new boxes of crayons, the big ones with sixty-four colors. Coloring was one of Claire’s favorite pastimes now.
Mia enjoyed coloring with her, but she disliked surprises, even small ones. Lucy, however, delighted in them. Not knowing what to expect, Mia climbed out of her car and slung her purse over her shoulder.
Lucy waved to her from the porch. “Oh, good! You’re here. We can get started.”
“On what, exactly?”
“You’ll see.”
Mia walked up the wide steps and gave Lucy a hug. “How’s my niece or nephew?”
“Great. That blog I follow says he’s about the size of banana now.”
Mia grinned as they stepped into the living room. “That’s wonderful. And how are you?”
“I’m—wait here, okay?”
“Sure.”
While Mia waited by the couch, Lucy stole a peek at Claire in the kitchen. “Just had to check,” she explained in a low voice. “I don’t want Claire to hear anything negative about the pregnancy. It confuses her.”
“Negative?” Mia’s stomach dropped to the floor. “Tell me.”
“No cramps or anything. I feel great. But I wish the spotting would stop.”
“Is it any worse?”
“No. It’s the same. Maybe lighter. But I’ve been reading more about placenta previa. I’m scared I’ll need a C-section.”
Mia let out the breath she’d been holding. “You might, but there’s still time for the placenta to move up. You’ll know more after the next ultrasound.”
“Two weeks,” Lucy said with a sigh. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
“What’s the matter, Luce? Is it Sam being gone?”
“A little.”
“The pregnancy?”
She tried to smile. “That’s a lot of it.”
“And what about Claire?” The repetition unique to Alzheimer’s made Mia want to hide in a closet. “If taking care of her is too much for you—”
“Oh, no! I love Claire.” Lucy took another glance into the kitchen. “Sometimes, when she has a good day, we talk about when her kids were babies. She has some great stories. I get tired of hearing the same ones over and over, but that’s okay. It’s all she has right now.”
Mia’s heart swelled with pride in her sister for her compassion, and pain for Claire because she needed it so badly. And a little shame for herself, because for all her training, she couldn’t do what her baby sister did every day.
Lucy glanced sheepishly at her feet. “Do you want to hear something I never thought I’d say?”
“Tell me.”
“I’m really good at taking care of Claire. At first I didn’t understand, so I started reading blogs, medical articles, and message boards for caretakers. It fills the evenings with Sam away, but mostly I did it for Claire. Do you remember how I wanted to be a preschool teacher?”
One of Lucy’s many goals, along with trying out for a reality show and starting a jewelry business. “You were pretty serious about it.”
“Being with Claire at this stage isn’t all that different. We color together and play simple games. It’s kind of great, actually. She’s losing language, but we still talk, usually about the past. Did you know she was an elementary school teacher?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“She loves to watch the birds that come to the feeders. She’s really special, Mia. Come with me.” Lucy motioned her forward. “I’ll show you what we’re doing today.”
&n
bsp; Claire called from the kitchen. “Lucy?”
“Here I am.”
Lucy went straight to Claire and admired the picture she had colored, leaving Mia to survey the most recent changes to the kitchen. In addition to the knobs missing from the stove, Post-it Notes with words like Plates and Cups clung to every cabinet. A pocket-size photo album called My Family sat on the table, and a dry erase board by the refrigerator announced the important details of the day.
Today is Saturday
Mia is coming over
Mia is Lucy’s sister
The changes were simple yet brilliant, and they were all Lucy’s doing. Mia spun toward her. “I am so proud of you!”
“You are?”
“Yes, I am.” Lucy didn’t need a college degree to meet Claire’s needs. She just needed love, and Lucy’s heart brimmed with it in ways Mia envied.
She turned her attention to Claire, now coloring a different picture in the My Little Pony coloring book. Her colors of choice were pink, purple, and blue, perfect for a carousel horse if not reality.
“Hi, Claire,” Mia said.
Startled, Claire glanced at the white board first. “Mia!”
“How are you today?”
“I’m just fine.”
Mia and Claire shared a long hug. Even with Alzheimer’s disease, or maybe because of it, Claire gave the best hugs. As they separated, sunlight streamed through the window, throwing shadows on a table covered with a plastic cloth. Markers, glue, and an open tackle box full of sparkly doodads sat in the middle.
“What’s all this?” Mia asked.
“It’s for the surprise.” Lucy stepped into the laundry room and came back with a big white box, the kind that held copy paper, and set it in front of Claire. “Would you open it for us?”
Surprisingly serious, Claire raised the lid, saw the contents, and lifted out a small wooden house with a sloped roof, a round hole, and a feeding tray. “Birdhouses!”
“For chickadees,” Lucy said. “We’re going to decorate them.”
Claire lit up. “I love chickadees.”
Mia didn’t usually enjoy crafts, but who could resist brand-new markers and sparkly doodads?
The three of them sat around the table, went to work with the markers, and glued on trinkets, oohing and ahhing over every bit of beauty. When they finished an hour later, Lucy lined up the houses in a row, put out a plate of cookies, and they talked about nothing but the birdhouses. Of the three of them, Claire’s was the most flamboyant, with purple and yellow stripes; Mia’s house was the most natural, with green sides, a brown roof, and gold stars; and Lucy’s house, colored red, white, and blue, belonged in a Fourth of July parade.
“I miss Sam,” she said quietly.
Claire’s eyes brightened like the sun pressing against fog, lightening it but not removing the mist entirely. “I know you do, honey. I miss Frank all the time.”
“He’ll be home soon,” Mia offered.
“Will he?” Claire blinked back a sheen of tears. “Someday I won’t know him.”
Lucy gripped Claire’s hand in both of hers. “He loves you, Claire. You might forget his name, even who he is, but he will always love you. So will Jake. I love you too.”
“I’m such a burden!” The cry burst from Claire’s throat, and she hunched forward, sobbing so hard her shoulders shook.
Lucy came around the table and pulled Claire into a hug, her face pinched to fight tears of her own. With her own eyes moist, Mia snatched a packet of tissues out of her purse. After several seconds, Lucy straightened. Mia took a tissue for herself, then offered them to Claire and Lucy.
“Okay, ladies,” Lucy said in a voice close to steady. “We’re going to play a game.”
Fresh confusion washed over Claire’s face, as if she couldn’t remember why she was crying. “I like games!”
Lucy snapped her tissue like a magician. “On the count of three, we blow our noses. Whoever honks the loudest wins.”
Claire laughed, then honked before Lucy even started to count.
“Claire wins!” Lucy declared. “She gets to pick what we do next.”
A pleased expression crossed the older woman’s face. Who didn’t like to be in charge now and then, especially a former teacher? Thinking hard, Claire tapped her chin with her index finger until her gaze landed on the coloring books.
“It’s coloring time,” she announced like the teacher she’d once been. “You girls pick your favorites, okay?”
Lucy picked the Frozen coloring book, and Mia went for an adult book full of geometric shapes. They were deep into the project when one of the rescue dogs barked in the distance. The others joined in a raucous chorus that didn’t let up.
Mia and Lucy ignored the noise, but Claire leapt to her feet. “The dogs—I forgot to feed them.”
“They’re fine,” Lucy replied. “They probably heard a squirrel.”
“No—” The barking intensified into a warning, maybe panic. Claire headed for the door. “Something’s wrong.”
Lucy laid a hand on her arm to stop her. “You stay with Mia, okay? I’ll check.”
“No way.” Mia was already on her feet. “You’re pregnant. Stay here with Claire.”
Lucy smiled her thanks. “It’s probably nothing. You know how the dogs—” She stopped in midsentence and sniffed. “What’s that smell?”
Mia smelled it too. “Smoke!” Dashing through the living room, she shouted over her shoulder, “Call 911!”
She flung open the front door, saw smoke pluming from the far side of the kennel, and charged across the yard. Because of the angle, she couldn’t tell if the building was on fire, or if the flames were coming from the woodpile behind it. Either way, she needed to get the dogs out of the kennel before the fire spread. She knew better than to run into a burning building, but a quick assessment of the smoke told her the fire was small, even containable if she could work the fire extinguisher mounted by the door.
As she rounded the corner of the building, she saw the door gaping wide. It should have been closed, so who had left it open? With no time to think, she filed the thought away as she stopped at the threshold, breathing heavily as she took in the sight of a glowing electric heater too close to a box of rags, now on fire and sending fingers of flame up the back wall. Instead of fleeing to the yard through the flaps in the back of their kennels, the frightened dogs were huddled in corners or barking crazily.
Mia yanked on the fire extinguisher. Once. Twice. But a clamp held it tight, and she couldn’t break the grip. Instead she snatched a towel off a hook by the sink, pressed it to her nose, and opened the first stall door.
The boxer named Shadow charged past her. The second and third dogs followed his lead. Chico, a feisty Chihuahua, snarled and bared his teeth. Mia ignored the growl, picked him up, and tossed him squirming and yapping out the door.
Only Peggy McFuzz remained. The smallest and most vulnerable, she occupied the stall closest to the back wall. The smoke was thicker now, more pungent and swirling. Coughing in spite of the towel pressed to her nose, Mia approached, expecting to see Miss McFuzz cowering in a corner, but the little dog was nowhere in sight, and the gate to her stall was open at least six inches.
Had she fled or hidden? Flames licked higher on the wall. Smoke stung Mia’s eyes, blurring her vision with murky tears.
“Fuzzy?” Her voice shook in spite of her effort to stay calm. “Come on out, honey.”
Off to the right, a tremulous whine pierced the whip and crackle of the fire. Mia whirled, straining to see through the smoke. “Fuzzy!”
She heard another whine, more of a whimper, but she couldn’t locate the dog. Any second the flames would reach the ceiling. She called Fuzzy again. Each time the dog yapped in terror, until finally Mia realized Miss McFuzz was in a corner much closer to the flames than Mia wanted to be, hiding behind tools and a metal ladder leaning against the side wall.
Mia knew the rules. Get out of a burning building. Don’t go after a pet
. Leave it all to the professionals. But she was already inside, and Peggy McFuzz would burn alive if Mia didn’t take a chance.
Chapter
14
Jake glanced at the clock on the dash of his truck. With a little luck, Mia would still be at the house when he, Pirate, and his dad pulled into the driveway. They were returning earlier than expected, so maybe he’d see her before she dashed off. After the visit to Westridge, he needed a little TLC himself. His parents were still number 5 on the waiting list. Not good news with his mom losing more of herself every day.
Frank yawned in the passenger seat, blind to the beautiful drive he’d made a million times, often with his wife at his side. Jake couldn’t begin to fathom his dad’s heartache. Nor could he imagine his dad without his mom, but that day would come. Feeling melancholy, he followed the river, driving slower than usual because of a broken vending machine strapped to the bed of his pickup.
They were about three miles from home when a plume of smoke caught his eye. “Do you see that?”
Frank strained against his seatbelt for a better look. “Either some crazy fool is burning trash in August, or something’s on fire. I don’t like it.”
“Me either.”
The smoke thickened in front of their eyes. Dark and dirty, the boiling column was close to Tanner property. Way too close. Jake stomped on the gas in spite of the vending machine. It lurched, but the truck hugged the asphalt. Behind him, Pirate sat up and whined. The truck ate up the miles, but not fast enough for Jake’s peace of mind. He took the final curve at maximum speed, squealed into the long driveway, and knew with utter certainty a building on his family’s property was ablaze.
He floored the gas pedal, not caring about the gravel spitting beneath the tires. A hundred feet away, flames shot to the sky from the back of the kennel. At the end of the driveway, he slammed on the brakes and leaped out of the truck.
“Get Pirate,” Jake called to his dad. “Put him on his leash, or he’ll follow me.”
“Will do, son.”
Lucy and his mom were on the porch. Mia’s car sat off to the side, but there was no other sign of her.
The Two of Us Page 14