by Barrett
“Zeke, what’s wrong?”
“I’m okay. That was strange. I haven’t had nightmares or flashbacks for months. I just saw the campground.”
“Baby, I’m sorry. You were talking about being safe . . . I guess I can see the connection. That was the one time you weren’t.” Anne rubbed the back of Zeke’s neck. “Do you want to stop somewhere?”
“That’s a good idea. In fact, I wanted to show you one of my favorite watering holes on the north side.” She shook off the residual tingly-crawly sensation and drove down to North Avenue. She turned onto a side street as she pointed to the bar on the corner. “O’Halloran’s pub. Most of Chicago’s finest prefer an Irish pub, and the fibbies aren’t far behind. The sandwiches were good and the beer never stopped flowing. C’mon I think a pint o’ Guinness will do us both good.”
“I’d love to. How much time do we have?”
Zeke checked the dashboard clock. “Probably half an hour.”
Chapter Four
THE WESTBOUND EISENHOWER expressway moved at a good clip. Anne was glad Zeke wanted to drive. Her last trip to Chicago was probably fifteen years ago, and she was beginning to feel the same anxiety she always felt in six lanes of traffic. Zeke navigated easily but remained attentive in such heavy traffic.
“Why did they choose Maywood?” Anne refocused her attention to Zeke.
“We haven’t ever talked about it, but I think it was mostly because T.J.’s school was in the district. Cheryl works at one of the banks out here in the suburbs.” Zeke gave her a melancholy smile and chewed her lower lip. “It was so nice the last time they invited me to dinner. They seemed so . . . comfortable or settled. Before that, they moved around a lot because of one or the other’s jobs. There’s a big difference between an apartment and a house.” She laughed. “I guess I don’t have to tell you that. Before I moved in with you, I’d never lived in one place that I owned.” She offered her hand, and Anne grasped it. “There’s a wonderful sense of security and comfort in a home—especially our home.”
Anne glanced out the window at the hundreds of urban streets with nearly identical houses and thought about the American dream of owning a home. So many millions of people around the world had no idea what that was like, the joy and the responsibilities. She’d taken it for granted until the divorce. Once she was responsible for the house she’d won, it became so much more important as a refuge, a cocoon, and a fulltime job. She pulled Zeke’s hand to her chest. “I know what you mean. My house became my most valuable asset when I was fully responsible for it. But when I found you and fell hopelessly in love with you, it became an almost sacred space for the two of us. The time we spend together there is precious to me.”
Zeke parked the car in front of a small Cape Cod house. “You are home to me.” Zeke kissed her.
Anne touched her cheek. “Are we here?”
“Yes we are, let’s go meet my crazy friends so I can show you off.”
The front door opened as they got out of the car. “Cabot! Welcome. Cheryl they’re here. ”
“Hi T.J. It’s good to see you. Annie, this is T.J. Montgomery my oldest friend, and her partner, Cheryl Dodd. Ladies may I introduce you to Anne Reynolds, the love of my life.”
Anne offered her hand. “I’m so glad to meet you . . .”
T.J. wrapped her in a bear hug. “Shoot, I’m not shakin’ your hand. I can’t make Cabot jealous with that.”
Anne laughed. Clearly, the teasing had started.
“Who’d like a glass of champagne? We’re celebrating the woman who tamed our wild Federal agent,” Cheryl called from another part of the house.
Zeke wrapped an arm around Anne’s waist protectively. “I’ll just have one with dinner, I’m the designated driver.”
“Honey, I don’t mind driving if you’d rather.”
Zeke’s eyes glistened slightly. “This weekend is all about you, and I want you to enjoy every moment.” Her tender expression released a wave of warmth to Anne’s body.
“Okay, lovebirds, rein it in. I’d tell you to get a room, except you already have one.”
Cheryl set a plate of appetizers on the coffee table. “Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes. I hope this will tide you over.”
T.J. leaned over. “I love these little bacon-wrapped things, what do you call them?”
Cheryl laughed. “Rumaki. Next time I think I’d better put a little card on the plate. T.J. finds the word impossible to remember.”
T.J. wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Who the heck would remember a name like rumaki? It doesn’t have anything to do with bacon.”
Cheryl just shook her head. “I was thrilled when Zeke called to tell us you were coming to Chicago for the weekend. We wanted to meet you so badly, and there just never seem to be a good time. Have you enjoyed your stay?”
Anne glanced at Zeke. “I was blown away when Zeke showed me the tickets. We hadn’t even talked about Christmas.” She put her hand on Zeke’s leg. “This is been delightful. I grew up in the suburbs and never really had a chance to spend any time downtown over Christmas. I vividly remember the few times my parents took me down to see the windows at Marshall Field’s. For this adventure, Zeke, very thoughtfully, got us a beautiful room at the Ritz Carlton at Water Tower Place with a breathtaking view of lake.”
T.J. crossed her arms. “Harrumph. And when she comes to see me, she takes her best friend to a saloon for hamburger.”
Zeke choked on her champagne and started to cough. “Here it comes, the poor me’s. Teej, best friends forever . . . but I’m crazy in love with this woman.” She stroked Anne’s cheek then kissed her.
“I will gracefully surrender to your smoking-hot lady from New Mexico. Anne, tell us the true story of how you met, my buddy was a little vague with details.”
Anne paused. Memories from fourteen months ago floated to the surface. “I guess you could say I bowled her over.” She winked at Zeke. “I was mesmerized by a shiny new car in the grocery store parking lot. I never looked up and walked right into her. When I looked up at her face, I . . . she took my breath away.” She felt a warm flush crawl up her neck.
“Not one to take hints easily, we crossed paths the next day, and finally, she threw herself off a mountain so I would have to rescue her.”
They all laughed as Zeke feigned indignation. “I was nearly killed by a gigantic reptile, it’s not funny.”
T.J. waved her off. “Just ignore the wimpy agent.”
Anne smiled. “She really was hurt, and I was worried about a head injury. In hindsight, I should’ve been more worried. Anyway, she spent a couple of days under my care, and the more I learned, the more fascinated I became. I had never felt such a powerful attraction to anyone in my life. We’ve had a few bumps on the royal road to bliss but I wouldn’t trade a single one.”
Cheryl sniffed. “That’s beautiful. Zeke’s version was a little more clinical. But just seeing you together, it’s clear how happy you are. I, for one, am thrilled. We’ve waited a long time to see Zeke happy and, looking at that silly smile on her face, I can see how in love she is.” She lifted her glass, and they all drank.
Anne felt a little relieved. Maybe she passed muster. She wanted Zeke’s friends to like her, and it made her happy to see how deeply they cared for Zeke. As many times as she had tried to extract information, Zeke was tight lipped about friends and family. She understood part of her reluctance because they both worked in jobs that required confidentiality and that had created a conditioned response to sharing information—about anything.
“Let me check on dinner.” Cheryl disappeared into the kitchen.
When they had first arrived, Anne had noticed the tantalizing bouquet of smells coming from the kitchen and now the variety of foods on the dining room table astonished her. Cheryl had outdone herself. The table looked beautiful and very festive.
“Please come and eat. T.J., will you help me?”
Zeke pulled out a chair for Anne then sat across from her. “
I hope you’re hungry because Cheryl is a phenomenal cook.”
“You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble,” Anne said.
Cheryl set down two covered dishes, and T.J. carried a platter with a perfectly-roast turkey, and served each of them in turn.
Zeke passed the mashed potatoes to Anne as Cheryl handed her a covered dish.
“These greens smell just like my grandmas.”Zeke said.
Anne could’ve sworn Zeke swooned as she helped herself.
“It’s all about the bacon grease.” Cheryl smiled. “It also plays a vital role in the corn bread stuffing.”
“Thank you both for going to all this trouble to make our Christmas so memorable,” Zeke said.
Anne lifted her glass. “I’ll second that and toast good friends.”
ZEKE OFFERED TO help Cheryl clean the kitchen. Anne saw her chance to interrogate T.J. She settled on the couch and stretched. “I don’t think I have room for one single drop of anything right now. That was an incredible meal, you both outdid yourselves.”
“Cheryl loves to entertain and to cook, so it’s a labor of love for her. Besides, she was tickled that you guys were coming to Chicago. Over the years, Zeke has become so important to both of us, and we really worried about her. Seeing her today, it’s like seeing the Zeke I remember from years ago. Happy, enthusiastic, and best of all, in love. We’re grateful for you.”
“Thanks, that means a lot to me. I’ve heard so much about you that I feel like I know you. Don’t underestimate how much your strength has helped her.” Anne leaned forward and used her most conspiratorial voice. “So, are there any deep dark secrets you can tell me?”
T.J. chuckled. “Hang on a minute.” She left the room, and Anne could hear her running upstairs. She returned with a book in her hands. “This is our high school yearbook. If she sees it she’ll kill me.”
“Here’s our graduation pictures.” She ran her finger down the page and pointed. “There she is, Zarathustra Cabot, age seventeen.”
Anne took her reading glasses out of her pocket. “You have got to be kidding. Really, look at all that hair, and braces.” Still there was no mistaking the smile or those eyes. “She looks so young.”
T.J. looked over her shoulder and flipped a few more pages. “This was the year the girl’s basketball team went to state . . . there she is in the back row, and here’s one of her shooting a free throw. Damn that girl had moves. Even as a tall, scrawny teenager, she could move like a cat. You know, just a natural athletic ability. I mean she practiced a lot, but so did we all. She was just a natural.”
“Why didn’t she pursue it?”
T.J. lowered her voice. “She could’ve gotten a full-ride basketball scholarship, but her dad said no.”
“Was she disappointed? I sure would have been.”
“She was heartbroken. The Coach was furious and had a huge fight with their dad in front of everybody. It was embarrassing. Z took off and didn’t talk to her dad for weeks. I wasn’t allowed anywhere near the house but I don’t think she would have talked to me anyway. You probably know how she gets when she doesn’t want to talk.”
Anne chuckled. “Oh boy, do I. She has a pretty strong stubborn streak.”
T.J. nodded. “You can say that again, I can’t tell you the number of times I wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled. But it never does any good. She won’t talk until she’s ready.”
Anne stared at the photo of the familiar, but much thinner young woman, and marveled at the look of determination on her face. She recognized that focus—she had seen it dozens of times. There was something reassuring about that seventeen-year-old girl, and she ran her finger across the photo.
“Oh my god, you did not drag out our yearbook. Is nothing sacred?” Zeke slipped in between T.J. and Anne.
T.J. threw both hands in the air. “Hey, she asked.”
Zeke shook her head. “There goes my strong, sophisticated reputation.”
“If memory serves,” Anne said, “you might have lost that when I found you ass over tea kettle, bleeding, and pointing a gun at me.”
“Not fair, I was in survival mode.”
“From a little rattlesnake . . .”
“It was huge and threatening my life.”
T.J. and Cheryl were doubled over, laughing.
“All right. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on that one. But I do have an image of you in a pair of cowboy boots and—”
“Don’t you dare.”
“And nothing else but a threadbare tee shirt.”
T.J. howled with laughter. “I can just see it.”
Zeke glared at Anne and pulled her into an embrace then smiled. “Do you really want to do this?” She grabbed Anne’s waist.
“I surrender. Please don’t tickle me.”
Instead, Zeke kissed her and kissed her again. “I think it’s only fair that I get equal time.”
The lively banter continued through coffee and eventually pumpkin pie. Anne sat comfortably in her corner of the sofa, watching three old friends tell stories. Mostly it was about sports. Odd, she thought, since Zeke rarely mentioned any particular sport, and they never watched games on TV. Maybe it was a phase she wanted to forget, except with T.J.
When the subject changed to food, Zeke became more animated. Her voice softened when she spoke about her grandmother.
“Some of the Sunday dinners my brother and I had with my grandma are still the happiest memories for me. There was a gentleness about her that I always admired.”
T.J. laughed. “That’s funny, the thing I remember best was that leather shaving strop she hung by the backdoor. It still gives me shivers.”
“It’s your memory giving you shivers. She never did any more than threaten you with it.”
“It’s a threat I took very seriously.”
“And you are a better woman because of it. Remember, you made one smart-ass wisecrack, and she reached for that strap. You never did it again. Why, she used to tell my parents Talia Jay Montgomery was one of the sweetest little girl she had ever met.”
T.J. tossed a nearby magazine at Zeke. “Knock it off Cabot. I’m pretty sure Anne doesn’t want to hear any more ancient history.”
“No, don’t stop. I want to know more about Zeke’s family. Come on T.J. Tell me about her mom and dad.”
Zeke shook her head and looked at T.J. “Be nice.”
“I’m always nice.” T.J. sat up in her chair, crossed her legs, and clasped her hands under her chin. “Let me see . . . Mrs. Robert Cabot, the beautiful wife of the master sergeant.”
Zeke groaned and covered her eyes. “We may be here for hours.”
T.J. laughed. “All right, but I’m telling the truth. Zeke’s mom is incredibly beautiful. She’s tall, has really pretty blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes. I think she’s the gentlest, most positive person I ever met. I always felt like I could tell her anything, and she’d know just what to do. Really wise. You remember how she tried to teach me piano? I was impossible, but she never gave up. Talk about patience.”
T.J.’s face clouded over, and she swiped at one eye. “She’s like another mother to me.”
Nobody said anything. Anne guessed they were thinking about her worsening health. She had no way of knowing, because Zeke seldom visited the topic of her mother’s health.
Anne took Zeke’s hand. “She sounds like a wonderful woman, and I can’t wait to meet her.”
T.J. put down her coffee cup and cleared her throat. “When you do, you will also meet the master sergeant. As kids, we used to call him Sarge. I think he’d have been happy if we called him a Master Sergeant Sir. He’s still a good looking man, and you’d never believe he was retired. I’ll bet every piece of clothing he owns is still starched and pressed. Zeke won’t tell me, but I’ll bet his shorts are too.”
“T.J., I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Cheryl said.
Zeke just glowered. “And it’s not true.”
“I’m just kidding. Her dad is o
ne of the smartest guys I’ve ever met, and he’s really strict. But he’s fair, and both Zeke and her brother have turned out really well because of that. Her brother, James, inherited a lot of his good qualities.”
“I think Anne has endured enough this is your life for one night. And we’d better head back to town,” Zeke said.
“Thanks, T.J. I enjoyed your stories, and I’m a little jealous of the long history you share with Zeke.”