Celebration

by Fern Michaels

  “And you want more?” Pete asked.

  Kristine frowned. “Someday more would be nice. Right now I don’t deserve more. The children don’t think I deserve more. Their opinion is the only one that counts.”

  “I hear Woodie’s horn. You better get cracking, Kristine. Drive carefully and don’t worry about anything.”

  “Okay, Pete. You’re in charge. I’ll see you when I see you.”

  The young vet watched his boss sprint out to the road. She was too nice a person to have so many problems. He hated the unseen Logan Kelly, hated him with a passion. He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t think he liked the Kelly children either. “Good luck, Kristine,” he murmured as he started his preparations for the new day. “Okay, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, addressing the sixteen new pups, “listen up. This is the way it’s going to be for the next two days . . .”

  “I hope you don’t mind that the top is down. Are you one of those women who worries her hair will blow all over?” Woodie asked. His tone said he didn’t care if she was one of those women.

  Kristine laughed. “I have it pinned up pretty tight. If it gets too bad, I can always cut it off.” Logan had always loved her hair. “A crowning glory of hair isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I’ve been thinking of getting one of those wash-and-wear dos. You’re a man; what’s your feeling on women’s hair?”

  Woodie grinned. “Is this one of those trick questions?”

  “No.”

  “Good. I like hair. Period.”

  Kristine giggled. “I want to thank you for making the trip with me. You’ll be good moral support when the kids stare through me.”

  “That isn’t going to happen, Kristine.”

  “Of course it is, and I’m okay with it. This is the way it has to be for now. Things . . . the situation might change someday, and then again, maybe it won’t. I just had this same conversation with Pete a little while ago. I want to leave right after dinner if that’s okay with you. I don’t want the kids to feel uncomfortable.”

  “That’s fine with me. For today, I thought we’d just kind of mosey along. My housekeeper packed us a picnic lunch. It’s a beautiful day, and we’re in no hurry. It would be nice if you’d smile.”

  Kristine grimaced. “Is this where you give me pep talk number forty-three? You know the one, life is wonderful, life is good, life should be lived?”

  Woodie guffawed. “Yeah, that’s the one. Life is whatever you make it. Life will go on, with or without you. I’m very fond of you, Kristine. I think you know that.”

  “You’ve been a very good friend, Woodie. I truly don’t know what I would have done without you. I literally owe you my life.”

  “I don’t want you to owe me your life. I want you to share your life with me. It’s time.”

  Kristine’s heart started to pound in her chest. “Are you saying . . . do you want . . . I’m married. I can’t . . . do you expect . . . ?”

  “What I would like, Kristine, is for you and me to have a relationship. I’m in love with you. I knew you never wanted me to say the words aloud. I know you have feelings for me. Feelings you stifle. If I wasn’t in your life, if I left, moved away, how would you feel?”

  Kristine didn’t have to ponder her response. “I would be devastated, Woodie.” A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

  “I’m retiring from the bank at the end of the year. The way I look at it, twenty-five years in any job is long enough. I’ve made some wise investments over the years that will allow me to retire with the lifestyle I want. I just want to enjoy my life and do all the things I never got to do with a nine-to-five job. I want to do all those things while I’m still young enough to enjoy doing them. I guess I’m trying to say I’m going to start planning for my future. I’d like to know if I can include you in my plans.”

  Kristine loosened her seat belt so she could turn to face Woodie. He was such a dear, sweet person. And she did care for him. What would life without him be like? She depended on him in so many ways, as did her children. Right now his shoulders were tense. She wished she could see his eyes, but the dark glasses and baseball cap were shielding the upper portion of his face. However, the grim set of his jaw told her this particular discussion was one that needed to be resolved. She’d often fantasized about him, then felt so disloyal with her thoughts she would run to take a cold shower. Life without Woodie. Unthinkable. No one had ever encouraged her the way Woodie had. No one ever smiled at her the way Woodie did. He was always there, in the daytime, in the middle of the night, holidays. And he loved her. He was probably the only person in the whole world who loved her.

  “What are you thinking, Kristine?”

  Kristine gave voice to all her thoughts and added more. “I don’t know if I’m ready, Woodie. I have thought about . . . us. Lately I’ve been thinking about . . . a lot of things. I’ve never been with another man. That’s a king-size fear right there. Then there is the disloyalty aspect of it. I know you don’t understand that. When I got married I really did believe in till death do us part.’ I had all these hopes and dreams. I thought Logan and I would grow old in rocking chairs on that big old front porch. I still have trouble with that. I’m not sure what I feel for Logan. I still have feelings. I know the way things look. There wasn’t a page in the book about how I should deal with this. I need some kind of closure. There has to be closure before you can move on. Mentally, I think I’m in a pretty stable place, thanks to you. I have thought about a divorce. I’ve thought about it a lot lately, but somehow I can’t make myself go to an attorney. It’s that loyalty thing, I guess.”

  Woodie took his eyes off the road for a moment to stare at Kristine. His voice was sad and gentle when he said, “Where does that leave us?”

  “With me afraid to take off my clothes in front of you. I’m forty-five, Woodie. I’ve never been with any man but my husband. We’re talking fear and trepidation here.”

  Woodie took his eyes off the road a second time. “I could rip your clothes off. How about that?”

  “Yeah, how about that? That strategy might work. I thought about it, too.”

  “Me too. We could sort of have a dry run when we stop for our picnic.”

  Kristine licked at her dry lips. She thought about all the strange places she’d made love with Logan. If they’d ever made love on a picnic, she couldn’t remember it. “What does dry run mean exactly?” she asked breathlessly.

  “It means we go for it. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t work, we’ll try again later. Dry runs are something to think about.”

  Kristine looked at her watch. Lunch was three hours away. Thinking about something as wonderful as making love for three hours would be hell. “What’s your feeling on an early lunch?” She imagined her friend Sadie saying, “Go for it, girl!”

  “I’m starved. Hold on.”

  Kristine reached for the strap over the door and held on as Woodie careened off to the side of the road, where he waited for a break in traffic on the secondary road. The moment traffic cleared, he crossed the road and barreled along until he came to a dirt road. “I have no idea where this road goes. It’s a kidney crusher, that’s for sure,” he said as they bounced along. Five minutes later he pulled into a small clearing. The moment he cut the engine, Kristine undid her seat belt.

  “Should I bring the picnic basket or is that just window dressing?”

  “Yeah. No. There’s food in it but . . . I think we just need the blanket.”

  “The blanket. Yes, yes, the blanket. The food . . . The hell with the food,” Kristine said.

  The moment Woodie spread the blanket, Kristine said, “You said something about tearing off my clothes.”

  “I thought the word was rip.”

  “Rip, tear, same difference. I’ll rip yours, and you tear mine.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I haven’t done this in a long time,” Kristine said.

  “Me either,” Woodie said. “It�
��s like riding a bike or swimming. It will come back to us. I read that somewhere.”

  “My God, you talk a lot,” Kristine said, sliding her slacks down over her hips.

  They were like two first-time teenagers as they groped and prodded one another before they toppled to the blanket.

  Along time later, Woodie rolled over. Kristine thought his eyes were glassy. She said so. “Yours look like mirrors.” He laughed.

  “That was a hell of a dry run.” Kristine laughed. “Aren’t you supposed to whip out the potato salad and hard-boiled eggs about now?”

  “Wait till you see the real thing tonight. Are you saying you’re hungry?”

  “I’m starved. You said this was a picnic. So, feed me. I think we should sit here, buck-ass naked, and eat all that food in the basket. It will make for a delicious memory.”

  Woodie tossed Kristine a hard-boiled egg and a chicken leg. He watched as she munched contentedly. “You okay with this, Kristine?”

  “I’m okay with this, Woodie.” She was, she realized. She really was. Oh, Sadie, if you could only see me now.

  “Good. Me too.”

  “We should probably get dressed and get going,” Kristine said.

  “Yeah, we probably should.”

  Kristine crooked her index finger under Woodie’s nose. Her voice dropped to a husky purr. “On the other hand, one can never have too much practice.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw a hard-boiled egg sail over Woodie’s shoulder as he pounced on her. “I’m expecting big things tonight with all this practice,” she managed to gurgle before Woodie’s lips clamped down on hers. When she managed to come up for air she gasped, “Really big things.”

  “And you say I talk too much! Shut up so we can practice.”

  “My mother didn’t raise any fools,” Kristine said as she clamped her lips shut.

  “Aahhhh.”

  “I feel like crying. They look so, I don’t know, grown-up. Don’t they look grown-up, Woodie?”

  “Very much so. You promised not to cry.”

  “I lied. How can I help but cry? My three children are graduating from college at the same time, at the same college, ahead of schedule. And they did it on their own. I feel such a loss. I can never get those years back. I love them so much I ache with the hurt.”

  “Time heals all wounds, Kristine,” Woodie said gently.

  “It might heal, but the scars will always be there. Look. Here they come. Oh, God, my babies are graduating!” Kristine clutched at Woodie’s arm as her children, eyes straight ahead, followed their classmates down the long aisle.

  Ninety minutes later, Kristine stood with Woodie in the warm, spring rain as they waited for the children to find them.

  “Mom! Woodie!” the three said in unison.

  Kristine turned, her eyes filling. She held out her arms, and her three children stepped into them. “Congratulations to the three of you! I bet you set some kind of precedent at this university. I’m very proud of you.”

  Mike’s hug was robust. Cala squeezed her mother’s shoulders, her own eyes wet. Tyler grinned and clapped his mother on the back. “This means we’re adults now! Guess what, Mom! Mike and Cala already have jobs. I don’t want you boo-hooing now, but I joined the Marines.”

  “Tyler!” Whatever she was about to say, Kristine changed her mind when Woodie’s fingers dug into the fleshy part of her arm. “Congratulations, honey. Aren’t they the ones who are always looking for a few good men?” she managed to quip.

  “You got it! They saw me and snapped me right up. You aren’t upset?”

  “No. If it’s what you want and it makes you happy, then it makes me happy.”

  “That’s a relief. I thought . . . never mind.”

  Kristine turned her attention to the twins. Her eyes questioned them.

  “We’re off to Sacramento, California. Some guy at the job fair snapped up the two of us. We leave tonight on the redeye,” Mike said.

  “So soon. I was hoping you’d come back . . . to”—she was about to say home but changed her mind—“Virginia for a week or so. I’d love to show you the pups and the barns.” She would not cry. She absolutely would not cry.

  Tyler took the sting out of the bad moment by saying, “Yeah, they’re leaving me to clean up the apartment, turn off the utilities and do all that stuff because I have two extra days before I report to Camp Lejeune.”

  A lump formed in Kristine’s throat. Woodie pinched her arm again.

  “I think a big guy like you can handle it,” Kristine said lightly. She thought she heard a collective sigh of relief.

  “Now that we’ve settled all that, I suggest we get on with our celebration. Your mother and I want to hear everything. She has a lot to share, too. Do you want to change and meet us at the restaurant or do you want us to wait?”

  “I think it will be better if we meet you there, in say, two hours,” Mike said. “We have to load our bags and stuff we’re taking with us into the car. Cala hasn’t finished packing and I have a few friends I need to say good-bye to. One in particular.”

  “He has a girlfriend, Mom,” Tyler said. “Cala has a boyfriend, too.”

  Kristine blinked. “Would you like to ask them to join us?” Woodie pinched her arm as much as to say, good girl. She wondered if her arm was black-and-blue.

  “Would you mind?” the twins asked in unison.

  “Of course not. The more the merrier. This is your night, and we need to celebrate.”

  Mike reached for her, crushing her against his chest. “Thanks, Mom. She’s special. You’re going to like her. By the way, you’re lookin’ good.”

  Kristine’s heart leaped in her chest. Was this the first step in forgiveness? She smiled shakily. “You’re looking pretty good yourself. Go ahead. Woodie and I are going to walk around the campus.”

  “In the rain?” Tyler said, shock in his voice.

  “Yes, in the rain. It’s a warm rain, and we have an umbrella. Don’t worry about us. Do what you have to do. We’ll meet you at six.” Kristine looked longingly at her daughter, waiting.

  “I’m glad you came, Mom. I can’t wait for you to meet Tom. He’s my fella,” she said, suddenly shy.

  “If he had the good sense to pick you, then I know I’m going to like him. You look so pretty, Cala. I like the way you’re doing your hair.”

  “Is all the bad stuff behind you, Mom? I’m asking because I care about you. I want you to be happy.”

  “I am, Cala. The bad stuff is ... on a shelf somewhere. If I’m lucky, maybe someday it will go away completely. For now, everything is fine.”

  Cala stood back to look at her mother. “You have a glow. I’ve never seen you look like this. Is it that you came to terms with things, or is it Woodie?”

  Kristine flushed as she met her daughter’s intense gaze. “Both,” she said honestly.

  “Good for you, Mom. See you later.”

  Kristine watched as her three children ran through the rain to the parking lot. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  “No, not at all. The three of them were kinder than they had to be. I don’t think it was strained, do you?”

  “Not at all. I don’t think it gets any more genuine than that. Are we really going to slop around in the rain?”

  “Yes, we are. I love walking in the rain. I want to walk every inch of this place that my children walked for the past three years. Besides, I never walked in the rain with a . . . fella.”

  “Really,” Woodie drawled. “Then, lady, I am your man. My arm, Madam.”

  Kristine linked her arm with Woodie’s. “My daughter said I glowed. ”

  “You have a very astute daughter, Kristine.”

  “I know.”

  It was ten o’clock when the Kelly clan exited the restaurant. “I hate good-byes,” Kristine murmured to no one in particular.

  “We do too, Mom,” Tyler said as he got in line to kiss his mother good-bye.

/>   “I like your girl, Mike.”

  “I knew you would. I’ll write and call, Mom. I promise. I do love you, you know that, don’t you?”

  Kristine’s tongue felt thick in her mouth. “I wasn’t sure... I hoped. Be happy, Mike.”

  “You too, Mom. Woodie’s a great guy. I don’t think they come any better,” he whispered in her ear. “Hey, I’m a college man, I know how to interpret things.” In spite of herself, Kristine burst into laughter.

  “You should do that more often, Mom. Laugh, I mean.”

  “I will.”

  “Mom, thanks for coming,” Cala said. “We weren’t sure if you would want to see us. Let’s face it, we were a bunch of shits. We needed to grow up. I think we turned out okay. You need to know something, though. We have the papers ready to go if your husband ever comes back. Okay?”

  “Each of us has to do what we have to do. I’m okay with it. I like Tom.”

  “I like him, too. A lot. I’m glad you like him. I wish Tyler would find someone.”

  “Don’t rush him. When it’s his time, the right girl will find him. Trust me.”

  “So Woodie is the man of the hour, huh? I knew that glow had something to do with him. He’s a great guy. Don’t blow it. I love you, Mom. If it seemed at times like I didn’t, I’m sorry.”

  Kristine burst into laughter a second time. “I’ll try not to.”

  It was Tyler’s turn. “Give me a really big hug, Mom. I love you. Sometimes I didn’t like you, but I never stopped loving you. I just want you to know that. I missed you so much.”