The Reluctant Bride

by Anne Marie Duquette

  Two days earlier, Jeff had finally admitted to Karinne that it was time to move. She recalled the conversation…. “I’ve been holding on to the house all these years because of the memories. Now…” He’d sighed shakily, and Karinne had realized how old her father had become. “I’m tired of rattling around in this big house. It was never the same after you left.”

  “Do you want to stay in Phoenix, Dad?” she asked.

  “No. If you’re going north with Max, I’d like to find a place there. Unless…unless you and Max would feel I’m crowding you.”

  “Dad, I could never feel that way! Nor Max, either.”

  Jeff’s voice quavered slightly. “You should’ve married him years ago. I held you back, Karinne. I’m sorry.”

  Karinne grasped her father’s hand, his arthritic fingers safely within her own. “I held myself back, Dad. You’re not to blame.”

  “You always had a big heart, Karinne. Can you—” Jeff broke off.

  “What, Dad?”

  “Can you forgive your mother? She ran out on you—again.”

  “I know. But she left me a long time ago. And she can’t do Jon any good if she’s in jail, Dad.”

  “Hard to believe Margot has a son. And now Max is trying to get the charges against her dropped on compassionate grounds.”

  “But I thought that was your idea, too!”

  Jeff sighed again. “I’m ashamed to say it wasn’t. It was generous of Max to say so, though. He’s a better man than I am.”

  Karinne studied her father—the wrinkles on his face, the gray hair, the blue veins that stood out under the skin of his hands. She couldn’t bear to see him so defeated.

  “As a father, you have nothing to be ashamed of, Dad. I think Mom’s disappearance was even worse for you than it was for me. I had you, Grandma and Max and Cory and their parents. You had no one except Grandma.”

  “Wrong, Karinne. I had you.”

  They both smiled, still hand in hand both letting go of the past and the bitterness. Jeff finally wiped his eyes.

  “What comes next?” he asked.

  “I get married,” Karinne said simply.

  “Is your mother coming? If you want her there, I’ll be all right with it.”

  “I don’t know what’s going on with Margot. I haven’t heard from her since she left. But I’m going to the hospital tomorrow to be tested as a possible donor. Max is driving me.”

  “Max told me what you said to Margot, that she should put Jon on the anonymous donor list first. If she finds a match there, I hope that isn’t the last you hear from her. If you don’t see her again, will you be okay?”

  Karinne glanced around at her old home, childhood memories of Margot clinging to the familiar walls. Ghosts of the young Jeff and Margot and a little girl rose up, a happy family that had suddenly gone wrong.

  “If she doesn’t come back here, I’ll go see her and Jon in Mexico. She’s my mother. I Iove her, Dad. I know she still loves me.”

  He nodded. “I have one thing to be grateful to Margot for—you.”

  “Now it’s my turn to ask you, Dad. Are you going to be okay?”

  “Of course I am,” Jeff said brusquely. “I’m planning on dancing at your wedding and spoiling my grandchildren. You are going to give me grandchildren, aren’t you?”

  “It’s definitely in the future.” Karinne smiled. “Tomorrow, Max and I are getting our blood tests for the wedding.”

  Max and Karinne went to the hospital lab the following day. In addition to the routine lab test required for marriage, Karinne’s lab work included the donor compatibility test and a full scan. Margot had brought Jon’s file to the transplant department before running south. Karinne was upset that her mother hadn’t made time to say goodbye, but managed to drop off paperwork before her departure. She kept quiet about it. She stared at the bandage over her vein and wondered how Jon was doing. She’d had far too little time with him. But Max had bought Jon the promised cell phone and Karinne had the number. She planned to stay in touch.

  “When will the results be in?” Karinne asked the lab tech.

  “A few days.” He threaded the labeled tubes of blood through the holes in the carrying tray. “There’s a number you can call. They’ll give it to you at the front desk.”

  “Thank you.”

  Max took her other arm. “Ready?”

  “I am.” Karinne pictured Margot and Jon. I’ve done all I can.

  “Where now?” Max asked.

  “I thought we could get something to eat, then I should go see my boss. I need to extend my medical coverage, do my exit interview, and say my goodbyes.”

  “Want me to come along?”

  Karinne shook her head. “It won’t take me long. But I’d like to go alone, if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not. You can drop me back at your apartment,” he said.

  KARINNE’S BOSS was regretful but resigned. “We’re going to miss you, Karinne. I hate to see you give up a good career for marriage. It seems so…old-fashioned.”

  “I’m a photographer. I’m not giving that up,” she said. “Just changing locations and settling down, that’s all.”

  “Well, if you’re sure…”

  “I’m sure.”

  Her boss sighed. He rose from his desk to shake her hand. “Good luck. And you can always come back if living up north doesn’t agree with you.”

  “Thanks.” She shook his hand, then spontaneously hugged him. “I’ve enjoyed working here.”

  After a number of emotional farewells, she made her way outside to the parking lot and her car. She felt sad, but mostly she felt exhilarated, ready to face a new future. Perhaps she and Max should go out and celebrate tonight. Fresh starts should be marked like the milestones they were.

  Her plan didn’t happen. Max rose to meet her as soon as she walked in the door, his voice urgent. “You didn’t answer your phone.”

  “I set it to voice mail when I went in to work. I guess I forgot to turn it back.” She rummaged in her purse and pulled up her cell. “Yep, it’s still on—”

  “I think you’d better sit down,” he said.

  “Max? What’s wrong?”

  “Sit down,” he repeated. She took a seat on the couch, and he sat beside her. “Remember when we first got engaged and you authorized me as your emergency contact?”

  “Yes. What’s up?”

  “The hospital called. It’s about your tests.”

  “Already?”

  “The doctors want you to go back for more tests.”

  “Oh.” She digested the news. “I guess I can do that. I’ll go first thing tomorrow.”

  Max shook his head. “They want you to go there today, as an inpatient.”

  “What?”

  “They think you have the same kidney disease your brother has, Karinne. Chronic kidney disease can run in families.”

  “I…I feel fine.”

  “You look fine. But so did Jon. I packed you an overnight bag. They’re waiting for us.”

  Karinne swallowed hard. “You didn’t tell Dad, did you?”

  “No. But I did call Jon and asked him to tell your mother.”

  Transplant Surgical Ward,

  Deserette Hospital, Flagstaff

  A MONTH LATER, Max and Cory waited quietly outside the room while Karinne had one last pre-op exam by her doctors. Margot and Anita were in the room with her, the brothers outside with Jeff.

  “I still can’t believe Karinne needed the kidney transplant,” Cory said, shaking his head. “Or that Margot would end up being her donor. If she hadn’t come back…”

  Max said nothing, but his face reflected the strain he’d been under ever since discovering the news.

  “Good thing Jon’s a candidate for that new treatment program,” Cory said. “That and occasional dialysis will keep him out of surgery. And your work kept Margot out of jail. If you hadn’t…”

  Max nodded. His lawyer had been successful in getting the insurance company
to drop charges on compassionate grounds. Shaken by the news of Karinne’s illness, Jeff had helped with some of the transactions himself.

  “She would’ve come back to Karinne even if the charges hadn’t been dropped. And donating a kidney—I guess that makes up for some of the past. I just wish I’d been able to do more,” Jeff said, for while Margot and Karinne were compatible tissue matches, Jeff and Karinne were not.

  Jon and Karinne had not been donor matches, either, although one of Jon’s cousins had shown both compatibility and a willingness to help if Jon needed it in the future. Karinne had the same progressive kidney disease as Jon did, moderate on the left side and heavily advanced and necrotic on the right. Unlike Jon, she hadn’t responded to medication. Margot had immediately volunteered one of her own to replace Karinne’s right kidney, which had to be removed. Today, she’d receive one of Margot’s healthy organs.

  Max and Karinne had talked last night, the night before the surgery. The couple had walked hand in hand to the hospital patio outside, the fierceness of the sun gone, the air flooded with desert moonlight.

  “You okay about tomorrow? Not feeling guilty about taking Margot up on her offer?” Max had asked.

  The doctors had told Karinne that a single healthy kidney could take over ninety-five percent of the function of a healthy pair. With only her one remaining kidney, she wouldn’t be one-hundred-percent fit, but she wouldn’t be an invalid, either. And she could still have children.

  “I guess I’m still in shock about everything. It was one hell of a vacation, wasn’t it? My mother comes back from the dead, I get a new brother, I end up in the hospital and Mom gets to play heroine, after all.”

  Max smiled. “Everyone else already had their turn, including you.” Max had then told Karinne more about the events after she’d bravely left to go get the raft—Cory and Anita’s strength, Jon’s courage and, most of all, Margot’s actions despite her despair.

  “She never stopped looking for both you and Jon, Karinne. Cory said she kept those binoculars glued to her face during the whole time. She still had them when she went under. That’s why she was trapped. Cory said the leather strap saved her….”

  Karinne’s lips parted. “He didn’t tell me that.”

  “Without them, she would’ve been swept away. Cory wouldn’t have found her.” He paused. “Margot acted very selfishly, but it seems she never stopped loving you, Karinne.”

  Karinne had her own revelations. “She told me she came back to Arizona to see me during holidays, birthdays. To watch me from a distance… She even came to my graduation. I never guessed…I wish I’d known. And now…this. But Max, you don’t seem surprised by my mother’s about-face.”

  “Not now. I never would’ve believed she’d be your donor. Like your father, I was ready to write her off forever.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because you bring out the best in those around you, including me.” Max pulled her closer. “You always have. It’s a rare gift. You have a most positive effect on those around you. You’re unselfish, so they are, too. Margot gives you a kidney. Jeff puts aside his rage and opens his home to Margot and Jon. Cory nearly drowns rescuing Margot. Jon went after you in a storm to prove himself a true member of your family….”

  “Like you and Cory are,” Karinne murmured.

  “And even Anita goes on a rafting vacation with you, and the woman can’t swim a stroke.”

  “I didn’t know,” Karinne said ruefully. “Besides, her husband was the main attraction, not me.”

  “She was your roommate and friend long before she married Cory.” Max turned her in his arms. “You’re a cut above the rest of us. I almost missed seeing that myself lately.”

  “Now, that I don’t believe,” Karinne said with a smile. “I made sure you noticed me as soon as I was out of school.”

  “I’m not talking about college days. I’m talking about this past week.”

  “I almost lost you. I thought I’d lost you all.” Her voice cracked.

  “But you didn’t. In fact, you’ve gained something. I had a lot of time to think, floating in the water with Jon. I want children, Karinne. Our children. Adopted or biological. Whatever works out for us.”

  “Me, too. You’ll make a good father, Max.” The stars shone crisp and clear, but in Karinne’s eyes they blurred for a moment. Beyond them, the desert night grew cooler. The owls and bats came out to soar and mate above the saguaros, while the coyotes howled to one another, like calling like. “Mom as a grandmother—now, that’s a scary thought,” Karinne said with a grin.

  “I wouldn’t worry.”

  “She and Jon are going back to Mexico after my surgery and the wedding—which is right after we check out of the hospital. No more rescheduling. I’m wishing for the fastest recovery on record.”

  “You’ll both be all right,” Max assured her. “By the way, Margot said she held nothing against me for lying to her all those years ago—because it would’ve been wrong to take you away from your home and Jeff.”

  “I’m glad.” Karinne smiled. “I would never have had you if she had. Now kiss me.”

  And he did.

  Chapter Nineteen

  One year later,

  Havasu Falls, Grand Canyon

  The azure Arizona sky blazed above Havasu Falls as Max peeled off his shirt and tossed it over his backpack on the ground. A pair of golden eagles glided on the thermals above as he and Karinne shed the rest of their clothing to their swimsuits beneath. Max appreciatively took in Karinne’s figure. The surgical scar had faded enough that she wore a two-piece suit instead of a maillot. Max thought her even more beautiful than before.

  “And to think you wanted to spend our first anniversary in Hawaii,” Karinne said as she unbuttoned her blouse.

  Since their wedding at the Grand Canyon a year ago, Karinne had never wanted to leave, just as Max had always hoped. The magic of the canyon—or Max—had worked its spell on her. She and Margot had come through the surgery successfully. By the time both had recovered, Max and Jeff had arranged for the wedding to be outside at the rim of the canyon, at Karinne’s insistence.

  “Your home is my home now, Max. It’s beautiful, more beautiful than any professional decor could be. I have my dress and veil—that’s all I need. I don’t want us to be apart again.”

  “But you’ve been planning a big church wedding for years,” Max protested.

  “Yes, I have, but I’m done with planning. Now all I want is to get married—at our new home.”

  Karinne got her wish.

  With Anita and Cory as their witnesses, she and Max spoke their vows with the stunning colors of the Grand Canyon behind them. For Karinne, “family” now meant people she truly loved, not just blood kin. Cory and Max’s mother was in that group. Like Max, they’d loved her since she was a child, while Anita had shown herself to be a true sister.

  Jeff, Margot and Jon were also present. Afraid that Karinne and Max might elope, Jeff had agreed to Margot’s presence, and was genuinely friendly to the young Jon.

  Having the people she loved around her made her wedding complete, but it was Max who made her complete. He always had, and always would.

  Now, emerald and turquoise water danced before them—the hot springs bubbling up from smooth, many-colored rocks. Hand in hand, they walked barefoot from pool to pool, the tiered levels gently stepping down in easy levels. Some levels lay above the main cascade. In the lower regions, a few teens swam in the deeper water, frolicking in the cascade’s spray. “What does Havasupai mean again?” Karinne asked.

  “Pai is people, Havasu means blue-and-green waters. I told you earlier, remember?” Max asked.

  “No. Next time you share any cultural facts, make sure I’m paying attention, okay?”

  “I’ve tried,” Max replied, “but you keep changing anthropology into anatomy lessons. My anatomy, to be specific. Not that I’m complaining, mind you…”

  Karinne blushed. Romance in the great outdo
ors instead of a bedroom was decadently new for her—and something she especially enjoyed. But then, much of her life was new. She’d left behind the old after Max had rescued her from the raft that July day when she’d seen Margot and fallen in. She’d emerged a different woman.

  Karinne was exploring new horizons as a photographer. She’d assembled a portfolio of Colorado River and Grand Canyon shots. She now worked for the government, documenting geographic changes for river conservation efforts. Karinne had proudly become the latest photographer to carry on the photographic work started by Powell and his explorers. As long as the Colorado River continued to reshape the Grand Canyon, her future employment was ensured.

  The waters of Havasu Falls, still Native American land smack in the middle of the canyon’s national park, remained unchanged and pristine for their first anniversary. The prehistoric rocks parted deep below to give birth to hot springs. There, steaming water made its way up to the surface, heated by the earth’s core. As the spring rose, it mingled with minerals from the deep crust. Instead of silt-colored red waters, or the clarity of clear, lake-bottom dam water, Havasu Creek bubbled up in waves of brilliantly colored blues and greens that danced and spilled over smooth curves of smooth boulders. The three rainbowed waterfalls gently scooped a network of tiered pools that led down to the Colorado.

  “This is my favorite spot,” Max said, taking her hand and leading her toward the Havasu waters.

  “It’s so beautiful.”

  Max drew Karinne into his lap, and they sat in waist-high water, his chin resting on her shoulder.

  “What are you thinking?” Max asked, stroking away wet hair from her forehead and tucking a strand behind her ear.

  “Now that Jon’s doing so well, he wants another vacation with us according to Mom. I guess that includes her, too.”

  “They were here just six weeks ago,” Max said, a bit impatiently. “Your mother can’t expect to make up for lost time all at once. We’ve only been married a year!”

  They’d all come a long way since the flood more than a year ago. Following Karinne’s example, Anita had decided to stay permanently in Grand Canyon Village. Both couples ended their long-distance relationships in favor of much closer proximity and planned for children in the future. Cory and Max argued over who’d be the most capable father. Max stoutly swore it would be him.