The Empty Nesters

by Brown, Carolyn

  Chapter Twenty

  Eight long days passed.

  There had been lighthearted banter between Luke and the ladies all week. But underneath, awkward tension still prevailed when Diana was alone in the room with Luke. He was such a good man, and he deserved more out of life than she was willing to give. But with each passing day, she wanted to be with him more and more. To be held and kissed like he’d held and kissed her on the back pew of that church, to know that feeling of closeness, of breathlessness—she wanted it so badly.

  They’d just finished breakfast when Diana’s phone rang. She squealed when Rebecca’s picture appeared on the screen, and answered it on the second ring. “Can you talk longer than a minute this time?”

  “Maybe all of five, but don’t put it on speaker, Mama. We know about the divorce. Daddy spilled the beans when I talked to him this morning. I called to say happy Veterans Day like we always do on this day, and he told me. Zoe and I decided it was best to tell Natalie,” Rebecca said.

  “Happy Veterans Day to you,” Diana said. “I never would have believed that I’d be saying ‘Thank you for your service’ to my daughter, but I am. And is Natalie going to call her mama tonight, too? I’m right here with the rest of the folks. Should I put it on speaker?”

  “Just tell them all hello for me,” Rebecca said.

  “So what’s going on in your world today?” Diana asked.

  “Well, I wanted to talk about this Luke fellow you mentioned. I kind of remember him from Smokey’s funeral. Handsome dude. Is he there in the room with y’all, too?”

  Diana sneaked a sideways glance over toward Luke. “I want to talk about you. It’s only about four more weeks until basic is over. Any idea at all where you might be going for training?”

  “So Luke is there, too,” Rebecca giggled. “Okay, then, we’ll talk about me. Natalie and I both tested high in the intelligence field. I’m really hoping and working toward eventually getting into the cyber program, but that’s later on down the road, like after officer training school. Still don’t know where I’ll go for training, but I’m ready to dive into it,” Rebecca said.

  “And where’s the AIT located?” Diana held her breath.

  “Goodfellow Base at San Angelo,” Rebecca giggled. “I signed up to see the world, and I get sent to a base only a couple of hours from home. But after twenty-four weeks of training, we’ll both probably be sent overseas, like maybe Germany.”

  Six months. At least Diana would have her close by until summer. “How do you feel about that?”

  “Well, you could drive down and see me once in a while there, and I enlisted to serve, Mama, so wherever I’m needed is where I’m willing to go, just like Smokey was. And I’ll get to see the world.”

  Scratch any grandchildren for a long time, Diana thought.

  Carmen’s phone rang, and she took it upstairs, answering it on the way up to her room. “I’ve been sitting in the living room eavesdropping on Diana’s call and hoping that you’d call.”

  “Rebecca’s dad told her about the divorce, Mama, and she told me and Zoe. I was mad as hell at first, but I’m over it now. Are you all right?”

  “I’m working through it. This trip has helped.” Carmen sat down with a thud on the floor beside her bed.

  “I saw it coming this summer when he was home. I just didn’t say anything because I wanted to be wrong,” Natalie said. “He was all the time taking phone calls outside or in the garage, and I heard him whisper ‘Love you, too’ one time. I convinced myself that he was talking to Grandma.”

  The lump in Carmen’s throat was at least the size of an orange, maybe even a grapefruit. “I agonized over telling you. I didn’t want the news to upset you so much that you had trouble in basic.”

  “I’m just worried about you, Mama. What are you going to do? Can we keep the house? Will you get a job? I can send money home, but it won’t be enough to . . .” Natalie paused for a breath.

  “Honey, I’ve already got a job offer, working on the base with children, and we can keep the house. You aren’t to send a dime home. You take care of you and enjoy life. Now tell me what’s going on with you other than this. Do you know anything about AIT yet?”

  “Well, me and Rebecca have been singled out to probably go to . . .” She talked on nonstop about the possibility of training for her job at Goodfellow. “And you can drive down and see me on weekends the six months I’ll be there.”

  “What about Zoe?” Carmen asked.

  “She might get a chance at being a combat medic and will be getting part of her training, if not all of it, right there at Bullis. She’ll be coming right back to where she started for the training, and her folks are moving to Virginia. Go figure how fate works,” Natalie giggled.

  “We’ll all help take care of her for sure, but that is kind of weird.” Carmen laughed with her.

  “Give everyone my love, Mama, and tell Tootsie the next time I call we’ll put it on speaker so I can talk to her, too. That will probably be next Sunday, if all goes well. It’s just great to hear your voice, and please don’t worry. We’ll be fine. After all, we’ve spent most of our lives alone. This isn’t anything new. Don’t get me wrong. I love Daddy, but he’s a son of a bitch for the way he’s acted,” Natalie said. “Love you. See you.”

  “See you. Love you more,” Carmen said.

  Since she was a little girl, Natalie had refused to tell Eli or anyone goodbye. She said that was a bad word that made her cry, so she just said, “See you.” She’d even whispered those words to Smokey as she walked past his casket at the funeral.

  Carmen put her head on her drawn-up knees and took several deep breaths. Natalie knew and wasn’t hysterical. That brought her more closure than anything else had until now, including splitting a shed full of wood.

  Joanie took her call in the dining room and was just hanging up when the rest of the family joined her around the table. “I guess y’all know about everything I do. Can you believe my kid could be coming right back to Bullis, not twenty minutes from our house, and we’re selling it and moving to Virginia?”

  “I’ll take good care of her. Don’t you worry one bit,” Tootsie said.

  “Thank you.” Joanie smiled. “One year ago today, we were all having Veterans Day dinner at Tootsie and Smokey’s place. I’m wondering what we’ll be looking back on one year from today.”

  “Well, every one of us has been touched by a veteran in some way, and we never know, when we’re part of a family like this, what the future holds,” Tootsie said.

  Joanie cocked her head to one side. “The way you loved Smokey, I’m surprised you didn’t enlist full-time, Luke.”

  “My stint in the National Guard was enough for me. I used the money to pay for my education and start up my business,” he said. “I could’ve gone active duty, but they wanted me to use my techie knowledge for something other than building games.”

  “And now you’re a millionaire and retired at thirty-two,” Tootsie said.

  “Not until November twenty-eighth.” He grinned. “Are we having a party?”

  “Of course,” Tootsie said. “With turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce, and all that Thanksgiving dinner means. But we’re having one in four days that will involve birthday cake and wine for Diana.”

  “Hmmm.” Luke held up four fingers. “Joanie cooked today. I get kitchen duty the next day.” Two fingers went down. “That means Carmen is next in line, and Diana is right after that on her birthday. A beautiful woman should not have to work in the kitchen on her birthday, so I’ll take her day. It’ll be my birthday present to you, Diana.”

  “And I’ll take it with gratitude, so thank you.” Diana nodded.

  “I’ll bring the liquor,” Joanie offered. “I stopped at a vendor and bought three quarts of moonshine. I’ve got apple pie, blackberry, and smoky peach.”

  Where would Zoe be next year at this time? For that matter, where would Joanie be? She knew she wouldn’t be in Sugar Run, but would she and Bret
t fly or drive to wherever their daughter was for the holiday? Or would Zoe be able to come home for a few days?

  “This party is sounding pretty good.” Diana smiled.

  Carmen pushed back her chair and headed to the kitchen. “Tootsie and I’ll do decorations. Anyone want a glass of tea?”

  “Not me.” Luke stood and waved over his shoulder as he left. “I’ve got some work to do, so I’m leaving early tonight.”

  “And I’m going up to my room and getting some of my projects done early so I don’t have to work on Friday, since it’s my birthday.” Diana got up and headed for the stairs.

  Joanie reached out and grabbed her hand as she passed. “It’s been over a week. Have y’all talked yet? The longer you wait, the tougher it is to get the words out.”

  “I think the whole attraction is going to die in its sleep,” Diana said.

  Carmen shook her head slowly from side to side. “From the way he looks at you, I don’t believe that it will.”

  “Talk to him. Do it this week; promise me.” Joanie let go of her hand.

  “I promise.” Diana hurried out of the room.

  “You believe her?” Tootsie whispered.

  “She’s never gone back on her word, so yes, ma’am, I think she’ll do it,” Joanie said. “I don’t like this tension between them. They were teasing and bantering until Halloween. I had high hopes that something would come of it. I haven’t seen her like this in years.”

  “What will be will be,” Tootsie said.

  “And to finish it like Smokey always did, ‘What won’t be might be anyway.’ Remember him saying that all the time?”

  “Yep, I sure do, and he was always right,” Tootsie agreed.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Saying anything about children had been a stupid thing to do. They had exchanged only a few kisses—hadn’t even been out on a date—but Luke had never been good with women. Knowing when to open his mouth, when to keep it closed, and, above all things, how to be romantic had never been his strong suit. He laced his hands behind his head and stared first at the ceiling and then out the window. Dark clouds occasionally obliterated part of the twinkling stars trying to throw a little light on a moonless night.

  A howling coyote, a hoot owl, and the steady beating of his heart were the only sounds he heard until there was a light rap on the motor-home door. He glanced at the clock as he jerked on a pair of pajama pants. Seeing that it was one o’clock in the morning, his first thought was that something had happened to Tootsie. He flipped on the porch light and peeked out the narrow door window to see Diana standing there with a worried expression on her face. That put a knot the size of a basketball in his stomach—she was there to tell him that Aunt Tootsie had joined Uncle Smokey in eternity.

  He flung open the door and said, “Give me time to get dressed.”

  “What for?” She shivered as she stepped inside. “You don’t have to wear a shirt for us to talk, but it might be a little less distracting if you did.”

  “Is Aunt Tootsie all right?” He could hardly get the words out.

  Diana leaned against the cabinet. “Of course. Oh!” She threw a hand up over her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Luke. I should have led with that. Of course that would be the first thing you’d think about at this hour. She’s all right. I’m here to talk about us, and I came at a crazy time because I couldn’t sleep for thinking about it.”

  He flipped on the overhead light, took her by the hand, and pulled her over to the booth. “Shall I make a pot of coffee or pour us some wine?”

  “I’d rather have a beer,” she said as she sat down.

  He went to the fridge, took out two longneck bottles, twisted off the lids, and set them on the table. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  It took him only a few seconds to pull a shirt over his head, but he took a minute longer to check his reflection in the mirror. “Don’t do anything stupid, Luke,” he whispered as he ran a comb through his unruly hair.

  “Thank you for the beer and for putting on a shirt.” Diana smiled up at him when he slid into the booth beside her. “I’ll go first since I woke you up and scared you.”

  “You did give me a start, but I wasn’t asleep,” he said.

  “That makes me feel a little bit better. I like you a lot, Luke, but getting too serious might be putting the cart before the horse.” She turned up her beer and took several long gulps.

  He scooted around the U-shaped booth until their hips were touching. “This seems a little anticlimactic after the awkwardness that has been between us for the better part of a week.”

  She laid her hand on his thigh. “Smokey told me when all that went down with Gerald to go to a quiet place where no one would bother me for at least ten minutes. I was to think about living with Gerald without being able to trust him for five minutes—to get the full emotional effect of how that would feel. Then I was to turn it completely around and think about raising Rebecca alone. Whichever one brought me peace, then that was my answer.”

  “That’s a great way to look at things.” He reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s like touching strands of silk.”

  “That’s pretty romantic,” she whispered.

  “Just statin’ facts.” He cupped her chin in his hand and leaned in for a kiss. One kiss led to another and another until finally he slid out of the booth and held out his hand.

  She put hers in it and pulled him toward the bedroom.

  “Are you sure about this, Diana?” he asked. “Seems like this shouldn’t happen until a third or fourth date event, and maybe in the penthouse of a fancy hotel, not a motor home in Scrap, Texas.”

  “As long as we’re together, it doesn’t matter where it happens. If one time proves we’re very wrong about what we’re feeling, we might as well find out now,” she said.

  “That may be the most unromantic thing I’ve ever heard,” he chuckled.

  She tugged his shirt up over his head and tossed it on the floor. “Maybe so, but it’s the truth. If either or both of us . . .”

  He scooped her up in his arms like a bride. “Like the song says, we need a little less talk and a little more action,” he said as he kicked the door shut with his bare foot.

  Diana awoke and for a single second wondered where she was. Then she felt Luke’s soft breath warming the tender spot under her ear. She’d thought when she’d impulsively taken him to bed that she’d feel remorse and shame when it was all over, but not in the slightest. She wanted to purr like Dolly when Tootsie rubbed her neck.

  “Good mornin’,” she said when she realized his eyes were open.

  “Mornin’ to you.” He strung kisses from her neck to her lips. “I don’t think it was a flash in the pan.”

  “Not yet, anyway.”

  “Are you saying that we’ll have to spend more nights together to figure it out?” He propped up on one elbow and looked deeply into her eyes.

  “Maybe so.” She snuggled down closer to him, liking the way their bodies fit so well together.

  “It’ll be a trial and a chore, but I’ll do my best to endure,” he teased.

  “Dear God!” she gasped.

  “What’d I say? I was only joking,” he said.

  “It’s not you. Look at the clock. We slept longer than I thought. It’s almost five, and Tootsie gets up early. I’ve got to get back over to the house.” She threw back the covers and started getting dressed.

  “Ashamed of me?”

  She flipped on the lamp beside the table so she could see him better. His broad chest with its soft sprinkling of light-brown hair called to her. His grin and twinkling eyes said that he was teasing.

  “Darlin’, I’m not one bit ashamed of us, but I don’t want to answer a gazillion questions when the others wake up. I’d like to bask in the glory of what we have for a little while before we go public with it,” she said as she jerked on her pants and socks and then her shirt. “I couldn’t find my bra. Can you bring it to me when you come to t
he house?”

  “Or maybe I’ll hold it hostage until you come back,” he joked.

  In one fluid movement, she was sitting on top of him, leaning forward to kiss him one more time. He was right—this was more than a onetime thing. She could flat-out feel it in her heart and soul.

  “Why don’t we just hang a tie on the door? I think there’s one of Uncle Smokey’s in the closet.” He wrapped his arms around her and rolled with her so that he was holding her close to his body again.

  “Sounds tempting, but I don’t think so.” She unwound herself from his arms and slipped her feet down into her shoes. “See you in an hour or so. I believe it’s your day to cook.”

  He sat up in bed and propped his back against the headboard. “Seems only right that I make you breakfast after that amazing night.”

  “I’ll look forward to it.” She blew him a kiss and hurried outside.

  She didn’t breathe easy until she was in her bedroom. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to go to sleep, she sat down and wrote Rebecca a letter. She didn’t mention a word about Luke but told her how much she’d miss their tradition of going out to dinner on her birthday. Then when she heard Carmen and Joanie rattling around in their bedrooms, she gathered up a clean pair of jeans, underwear, and a shirt and went to the bathroom to take a shower. When she finished and was dressed, she peeked out the door, hoping that Carmen and Joanie were both already downstairs. She heard Luke’s deep twang and Tootsie’s southern drawl coming from the living room. Then Carmen’s high-pitched voice piped up, and they all laughed.

  “Good mornin’,” Joanie said, coming up the stairs. “I forgot my phone. It’s got pictures of Dolly and the kittens on it, and Luke said I can use his printer to make a paper copy of them to send to Zoe.”

  “Hey, I didn’t think of that. We can send the girls pictures of this place and some of the festivals we went to, and I’ve even got a few of Halloween,” Diana said, glad that Joanie hadn’t taken one look at her and demanded to know why she was glowing.