by Rae Walsh
Katie blinked at her for a moment, then grinned and said. “We’re going to have a baby.”
Dorothy screamed so loud that Maddie came skidding out of her room looking scared, then annoyed as she saw everyone laughing and hugging each other. Sofía and Theresa did a little dance around the kitchen island, pulling Maddie into it.
“What?” Maddie kept saying. “What?”
And when Katie finally took pity and told her, she was ecstatic, in her old mild, Maddie way.
“Finally,” she said. “I’ve been waiting forever to have a cousin.”
Sofía had come along because she was going to a different national forest for a while. Theresa stared at her, embarrassed and sad.
“We didn’t talk about you,” she said. “Everything was about me and my stalker, my art show…”
Sofía burst out laughing. “That’s hilarious,” she said. “Well, keep your phone charged, because I’m going to tell you everything. You’ll be sick of how much I tell you by the time I’m done.”
Theresa grabbed her friend in a hug. “I’m so happy to hear it,” she said. She had not even dared to dream that she could have Sofía back like old times. They had argued so much about what to do about the night of the forest menace, and Theresa had started to believe they could never get past it. And now it seemed that just like that, they were back to the days before Cam. Life was becoming something that Theresa could only barely recognize, because it made her so happy.
Chapter Forty-Nine
When the doorbell rang, Sheldon left what he was doing and ran downstairs, nearly slipping down the steps in his hurry.
Calm down, he told himself. She told you she needed time, this is just dinner as friends.”
It was hard to be calm.
Theresa had agreed to come over for dinner at Sheldon’s apartment. It was the long-awaited baby blue suit dinner that she had bargained with, back when Sheldon showed up at her house to work in the garden, and Theresa told him to go home and change. And they needed to celebrate. Despite the chaos of the opening evening, the gallery owner from L.A. had decided to feature Theresa’s new show. Theresa’s art agent was over the moon. The gallery was highly sought after, and the agent could hardly believe Theresa had landed the gig on her own.
“So what does that mean,” Sheldon had asked Theresa as she sat cross-legged on the studio countertop.
“It means I have to make more than twenty sculptures for the show, which is in March,” she had told him. “That’s a lot of pieces. But I’m excited.”
That was when Sheldon had invited Theresa over to celebrate and fulfill their baby blue suit agreement. “The night before the Christmas play starts,” he had suggested. To his shock, she agreed.
Sheldon paused on the stairs and wiped his clammy hands on his suit lining where marks wouldn’t be visible. Then he slowly opened the door, trying to keep calm and collected, to show a demeanor as poised as a man in a shampoo commercial.
This lasted for about two seconds.
Theresa stood outside the door to his upstairs apartment, looking glorious, but cold. Sheldon stammered as he invited her in, and she followed him up the stairs. His apartment was warm from being in the sun all day, so Theresa pulled her jacket off. He took it from her, his mouth falling open. Theresa wore an ankle-length red dress and had her hair up in a knot on top of her head. She was wearing the slightest hints of makeup around her eyes, and she had a long beaded necklace on. She was the most exquisite creature he had ever seen.
“Can I say it?” he asked.
She wrinkled her nose but nodded. “Yes,” she said. “I’ve been working on this.”
It took him a minute to realize she was talking about receiving compliments.
“You are stunning beyond belief,” he said. “You are more beautiful than a pod of dolphins. You look as though you could heal nations. You...”
She held up a hand, laughing. “Thanks, Tazzy,” she said. “I’ve never been a big believer in immersion therapy, though.” Her face was bright red. “You don’t look too bad yourself,” she went on. “I like that suit. A lot.”
“Thanks,” he said, trying not to blush at the phrase, ‘a lot.’ “Are you hungry? The food is ready. We can eat.”
“Sure,” she said, “but first, can I have a tour of your apartment?”
“Haven’t you been here before?” he asked, the picture of nonchalance. He knew very well that Theresa had never been there before. Her presence in his apartment would have changed it for good, as it was doing right now. When they dated, Sheldon had still been living in a friend’s basement suite.
He led Theresa through the apartment, and she admired his treasures, picking them up gently, bringing them to her nose to smell, the way she always did, smoothing her hand across the tapestries.
“You’re so good at collecting things,” she said. “Why do you think that is?”
He shrugged.
“Do you think it has something to do with being homeless when you were a kid?” she asked.
Sheldon grinned at her. He loved the way she was always so blunt.
“Yes, probably. I felt like I had to do an actual study on what a home was, and how to make one.”
“Have you figured it out?” she asked softly, looking into his eyes. He couldn’t help himself— he had to brush the line of her jaw with his fingers. Theresa’s eyes drifted shut, and she drew closer to him.
“I’ve figured it out halfway,” he said. “There’s also the matter of the people who make a home.”
Her eyes flew up to his face. Very gently, he leaned forward and put his lips against hers. She pressed into him, making a soft sound in her throat. Sheldon pulled away, and Theresa blinked at him. ”Let’s eat,” he said.
He led her to the little table he had set for two in the dining area. Music played softly in the background. Reesey listened for a minute, then grinned at him.
“Is this The Cure?” she asked. “Are you trying to evoke old memories?”
“I live old memories,” he said. “I don’t need to evoke them. I just thought you might appreciate an old favorite.”
She picked up the glass of wine he poured for her and swirled it, sniffing appreciatively. She took a sip and made another soft moan.
“I could get used to life with you,” she said. Sheldon froze. Her eyes were on the wine, but then she shot him a devilish glance. “Wine, good music, amazing collections of fine objects from around the world. What else do you offer?”
“Don’t toy with me,” Sheldon said, his voice hoarse.
“Oh, I’m not,” she said. “Just appreciating you.”
He brought the food out, taking a moment around the corner in the kitchen to press his hand to his sternum and take several deep breaths. What was Theresa saying? Sheldon picked the plates up from the counter and carried them to the table.
“Tazzy!” Theresa exclaimed as he set her dish in front of her. “Did you make this?”
There were mint-infused potatoes, a tomato coulee, and pork medallions, arranged beautifully on the plate.
“No,” Sheldon said, grinning at Reesey’s expression of shock. “I’m a pretty good cook, but I wanted us to celebrate today. So I hired Katie to cater for us.”
“Wow,” Theresa said softly. “She’s amazing.”
“Looks delicious, doesn’t it?”
Theresa sighed happily as she took bites of her food. Sheldon felt that he would be perfectly happy to eat across the table from Theresa forever, but he wanted to wait for her to be sure. He wondered for a second, whether he would ever be entirely sure of her, or if she would make him wait forever. She wouldn’t, would she?
He gazed at her, her dark hair tied messily on the top of her head. He thought of how this delicate, precious person fought to understand the world, and how every day was an effort for her. She had been stalked and threatened for years without anyone knowing.
Sheldon could wait for her to be ready. He bent to eat.
“Where do you
get all this stuff?” Theresa asked, suddenly. When he looked up, she was gazing around his apartment. He had collections of masks, clay bowls from around the world, carpets, and art. Lots and lots of art. His apartment was almost entirely open plan, with tall shelving units creating divisions if needed, so she could see a lot of his collections from where they sat.
“I follow small trails,” he told her. “I find where the most interesting handicraft trails are, and I take a trip every year to find new things.” He took a sip of water. “I also go to a lot of flea markets.”
She smiled at him.
“I’ve been meaning to travel,” she said. “I need to see more pottery from around the world.”
Sheldon stood abruptly to fetch dessert from the kitchen. This had been a mistake. How could he go on without knowing whether they would ever be together? When she said she wanted to travel, he immediately imagined the two of the in Istanbul, but maybe it was a pipe dream.
Sheldon turned at the sound of a footstep behind him, and suddenly Theresa was right there, her arms tight around his waist, her face pressed into his chest. She hugged him tight and didn’t let go for several minutes, and when she did, it was only to stand on tiptoe and kiss him. He sighed, feeling the ache of tears behind his eyes. His heart beat fast at the feel of her in his arms, her warm lips on his. They kissed for a long while, and at one point, Sheldon opened his eyes to find that they were on his sofa, Theresa curled into him like she never wanted to let him go.
“That feels better,” Theresa said, and he smiled at her. His Reesey had come back. Nothing better had happened to him, yet he was tortured by not knowing. Would she come back to him, finally? Would he get another chance to have a family?
She gazed into his eyes, and Sheldon felt lightheaded from her beauty, removed from him for so many years and now suddenly before him, sitting right here with him. Would he wake up and find that it was all a dream?
“I won’t keep you waiting long, Taz,” she said. “Thank you for tonight. Part of my .... taking time... is needing to know if the spark is still there.”
He tipped his head back and laughed. “Is it still there?” he asked.
“It’s very much there,” she said, touching the side of his face. He shook his head at her when she reached to kiss him again. “Nope,” he said. “I’m drawing my own lines now. I know the spark is there. It’s a roaring fire, actually. But I need to know, Reesey, before I commit more of my heart and kissing power to this. Let’s have dessert, beautiful temptress. We should clear our heads and have some sensible discourse. You can tell me how much you’re looking forward to seeing my play tomorrow.”
Chapter Fifty
Three nights later, Sheldon was backstage at the church, guiding the cast through the final performance of the Christmas play. When he had first started writing this play, Sheldon had no idea what a momentous few months he would have leading up to the performance. Reesey coming home. A new pottery studio. Slurs scrawled on his beloved storefront. A kidnapping and arrest. And was he the world’s biggest idiot for pushing Theresa away the other night?
But no, Sheldon knew he had done the right thing, even if he kicked himself when he thought about Theresa’s kisses. Sheldon needed to know whether he would have a family again, finally, or whether he would be buying a one-way ticket to Mali. He had always wanted to see Mali.
Everyone seemed on edge tonight. The first act was over, and it was just about time for the second.
“What’s up with everyone?” he muttered to George. “Is it just nerves?”
George grinned unexpectedly at him. “Probably. And maybe a bit of ebullience, since we caught the racist vandal and our town menace is gone.”
“You know that’s not quite true,” Sheldon said. The refugees would arrive in the spring, and Sheldon knew it wasn’t the last time they would experience push back about the new families.
George shook his head. “You know I know. But it’s still good to celebrate the small victories.”
“True. Okay, second act. Let’s finish this with a bang,” Sheldon said.
“Hear that, Maddie?” George called. “Sheldon wants this play to be memorable.”
“I’ll do my best,” she said wryly.
It was Sheldon’s favorite part of the play. Four homeless guys with dogs were his modern take on shepherds, and he loved the scene where the angel choir sang to the guys, who were sitting around a barbecue pit in a park, trying to stay warm.
“You should watch from out there,” Francisco said, coming up from behind him. “Nothing left to do back here. Go on, get the full effect.”
So Sheldon went and found a seat between Ani and Dorothy, in the front pew. The choir sang even more beautifully than they had on either of the two previous nights. Sheldon was impressed. At one point, Dorothy grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He turned and saw tears in her eyes.
The angels finished the song, and the men ran to find Jesus in the shelter.
Sheldon lost himself for a few minutes, then, in memories of shelters he had spent time in. He and his father had switched shelters so many times that Sheldon had lost count. And for the first time, maybe ever, Sheldon remembered the pile of things his father had brought to each facility. He carefully unpacked at every new space, making Sheldon’s bed with the blanket his mother had made for him, putting Mr. Rumple, Sheldon’s stuffed dog, on his pillow. There were Sheldon’s favorite books, and a framed photo of the three of them—Sheldon, his mom, and his dad— back when they were happy together.
“You’re so good at collecting things,” Theresa had said. “Why do you think that is?”
And it occurred to Sheldon that he was good at making a home because his father had been good at making a home. And his father was trying to continue what Sheldon’s mother had always done before she got sick. They had both tried so hard to make a home for him.
He blinked. The play was over. Sheldon started to get up to go and take a final bow with the cast. But instead of lining up, the choir was standing. Dorothy pulled on Sheldon’s arm, and he sat. And then Wanda, the church soloist, started to sing, At Last, by Etta James.
“At last
My love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song...”
What on earth? Had they all lost their ever-loving minds? This was outrageous! It wasn’t part of the play.
“I found a dream, that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own”
Sheldon glowered at the stage, then looked around to see if anyone else found it as odd as he did. But wherever he looked, people were either smiling at the choir or looking at Sheldon. He kept accidentally meeting the eyes of people who were looking at him meaningfully. He frowned.
And then Sheldon saw Reesey, standing just behind the choir, and the blood drained from his face.
“You smiled, you smiled
Oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine...
At Last”
No. What?
She came forward as the song ended, taking the mic from Wanda.
“I hope you don’t mind me using this moment,” she started, “to tell someone a very important thing.” She frowned at the sheet of paper she was holding. “Actually, it’s okay if you mind. I’m still going to do it.”
Ripples of laughter ran through the audience.
“I could tell you all I love Sheldon in a million ways,” she went on. Sheldon’s heart was thudding so hard he thought it might actually stop. “But I thought I would say it in a way that is most understandable to him, and that means—because, as you know, he is very odd—that you might not understand it all that well. I’m okay with that too because this is really for him. You can ask him what it means if you don’t understand.” She took a breath, looking around, obviously searching for him in the crowd.
Beside Sheldon, Dorothy stood up and waved her arms back and forth. Theresa gave a ti
ny thumbs up.
“This is for you, Tazzy. Here’s your answer:
‘Don’t go far off, not even for a day, because—,’
Sheldon was going to faint. He was going to faint because Theresa was standing on a stage reading the Neruda poem to him.
‘Because -- I don’t know how to say it: a day is long,’
She was reading the poem he had held forever in a particular place just for her. She was reading the words that meant more to Sheldon than...
‘And I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station,’
He couldn’t bear it, not in front of all these people. He got up and started walking toward the stage.
when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.”
Reesey finished and looked up, expectantly, but Sheldon was already almost to her. He bounded up the steps faster than he could have imagined this tired, heart weary man could move, and he had Reesey in his arms, off her feet.
Vaguely he heard the roaring of the people-packed sanctuary as friends and family hooted, cheered, and stomped, but he was only focused on her face laughing into his. Theresa had given her answer. Sheldon bent to kiss her.
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