Faith couldn’t wait to Facetime Natalie, but she didn’t answer. “This is Tuesday and it’s ten in the morning. I bet she’s in school.”
“Probably,” Josh said. “We can call again tonight when they’re all home.”
“Are you glad Brian died?” she asked.
“What?” he gasped. “That’s quite a question. What do you mean?”
“I guess I mean, are you glad he doesn’t live here?”
“Yes.”
“Has anything changed for you?”
“No,” he said. “Well, maybe. He’s less of a threat. You used to talk about Brian this and Brian that and sometimes it irritated me. I was sensitive. Maybe because I tried so hard to love you and to get you to love me. Now, I don’t feel that way. You are going to be my wife, and you are not his wife anymore. Do you want to talk about him?”
“No, not really.” She twisted the ring on her finger, raised her hand to show it to him and then put it back down. “Yes. I was really shocked when he died. Almost as if he’d been killed in a car crash. I swear I didn’t see any opiates.”
“Can I say something without being offensive?”
“Sure, what?”
“This came from Natalie. You sometimes don’t get the main idea. Your dad said that too, once. I’m thinking it could have been going on and you might not have caught on. It is amazing that you can be so observant and perceptive at work, but in your private life you seem clueless. Sometimes. I’m just saying.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Natalie has told me that a lot of times, and the last time had to do with a yellow rose. I was clueless.”
“The yellow rose. I couldn’t believe you.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m going to watch you like a hawk. I am not going to miss opiates or anything else that could take you away from me.”
“You’re sweet. I love you and I always will.”
“I love you too.”
“I love you too, Cori.”
Chapter 42
The noisy little storm had passed, bringing a few gusts of wind, spectacular lightning, and only a sprinkle of rain, all typical for early summer in West Texas. The air was clean, the breeze cool, and flowers in the back of the Pernitelli home ablaze with color. The setting was perfect for the backyard picnic.
On the grill, Jim roasted chicken, tended potatoes wrapped in foil, and seared zucchini planks. Josh stood next to him, watching the master turn the sizzling meat, the sparkling potatoes, and the soft vegetable, aromas awakening noses and raising expectations.
“Thanks for bringing Faith out here,” Jim said. “We have been dying to see her.”
“I’m sure it was awful,” Josh said. “You couldn’t visit her, even when she was so sick. I’m just thankful for the electronic magic we have.”
“Her ring is beautiful. Where did you get it?”
“I don’t know if I should tell you,” Josh said. “I don’t need it widely known.”
“I can keep a secret.”
“Sam’s.”
Jim coughed and said, “I never would have guessed.”
“Yes. I had been to all kinds of places, Jared, a shop in Old Town, a shop near the airport, Shane Company, Zale’s. They were all ugly and all the same. They just didn’t pop. Then I went to Sam’s for other things and walked past the jewelry display and that one just about jumped out of the case and into my pocket. I just liked it.”
“She didn’t help you pick it out?”
“No. I got it while she was still in the hospital.”
“Didn’t you have to quarantine?”
“I tested negative while she was still in ICU. I was just thankful that Emily didn’t insist I come back to work.”
“Natalie was impressed by the ring,” Jim said.
“I showed it to her in Sam’s that day, and she approved. I proposed and put it on her finger about noon the day I got her home from the hospital. Then we called that night and you all got to see it.”
“It wasn’t as impressive on Facetime as it is in person. You did a good job.”
“How did you buy yours?” Josh asked.
“She helped me pick it out. In fact, that’s how I found out she wanted to marry me. Up until then, I wasn’t sure.”
“Did you just tell me you sometimes don’t get the main idea, Jim?”
A unique smirk answered the question. Jim poked on the grilling food. Then Faith’s change-the-subject face appeared on Jim. “Brian was a shocker. But I guess I’m not surprised.”
Josh said. “It sure took me for a loop.”
“There are people to whom life happens. I used to think that it was because they didn’t want to make life happen, or that they were too lazy. But it’s not true. There are people who just cannot make life happen. They are just not able. In my experience, bad things happen to that kind of person.”
“I had not thought of that before. Peggy said something about us making life happen, but I had not thought about people who don’t make life happen.”
“Yes. There are plenty of them.” Jim motioned toward the door. “I don’t think there are any in this house. At least I hope not.”
Natalie and Faith emerged onto the patio to set the table, adorned by a vase with flowers brought by Josh, a lively tablecloth to complement the weather, and Saguaro cactus place mats. Plates, silverware, and condiments found their places.
The family sat to eat. “I’m so thankful to be together,” Jim revealed. “I realize that it might not have turned out this way. It’s hard for me to explain my relief that I still have two daughters.”
“We’re going to have a son-in-law,” Marianna added. “I’m happy we have Josh, that he didn’t get sick, and that he took such good care of Faith.”
Neither Josh nor Faith could speak. The restored health, the closeness of family, and the peace of home was enriching and rejuvenating, but at the same time overwhelming.
Natalie said, “Yes, I’m happy I still have a sister,” but she couldn’t avoid the stinger, “I guess.” There were giggles. “But I’m even happier that I’ll have a brother-in-law who I can depend on to take care of Faith. We get to plan a wedding.”
That lifted the timber of the conversation, bright smiles emerging on faces. “Yes,” Marianna said, “it will be fun to plan a wedding. When were you guys thinking this should be?”
“I don’t know,” Faith responded, speaking with her raspy voice. “We’re going to have a baby on September 22. Either we need to get a move on and get it done quickly, or we need to wait until October.”
“The weather is nicest in October,” Jim said. “July doesn’t strike me as the time to have a wedding in New Mexico or West Texas.”
“I think it should be outside,” Natalie said. “Then it doesn’t matter where we have it or how many people come.”
“We could have it in Angel Fire, or Cloudcroft, or—”
“Mom,” Faith said, “we need to have it where the people we invite can come. We weren’t thinking of a big crowd. We have to remember the Clinton half of the family, and all our friends in Albuquerque.”
“Are there others we should consider?” Marianna asked Josh.
“No. We don’t have a big family.”
“What about us, Jim?” Marianna asked. “My sister and her kids might like to come. We haven’t seen them in a couple of years. Their kids have all grown like ours.”
“Oh, gross,” Natalie said. “Julian and Devon? Creeps!”
“They’re family, Natalie,” Marianna said.
The talk wandered to talking about the residency. “It seems like your residency is hard work,” Jim observed. “Will there be time off for this?”
“We hope so,” Faith answered. “We hope we still have vacation time despite our long absence. Supposedly we only have five sick days per year, and we both used up a whole lot more than that.”