Teenage logic, but still his little girl was right. Theo took a deep breath and kissed Vienna’s cheek. “Fine. You can go.” He faced her, his hands on her shoulders. “But wear your seat belt. And if she does anything dangerous, tell her. You have to say something.” Theo shot a look to his wife. “Is that okay? If she goes?”
Alma uttered a single laugh, the silliness from earlier back again. “I was wondering if anyone was going to ask my opinion.” She pulled Vienna close, in a side hug. Then she did the same to Theo. A family huddle, they called it. Something they did all the time. She leaned her head against their daughter’s. “Ditto. To everything your daddy said.”
Vienna kissed Alma’s cheek and then his. “Yes!” She jumped a few times and then rushed for her cell phone on the kitchen counter. “I’ll let them know. They’ll be here in ten minutes.”
The three of them finished the dishes together, something else Theo liked to do. Truth was, he would’ve enjoyed having a full house of kids. Six or seven. That’s what he and Alma had talked about after getting married. But God had given them all they would ever need when He gave them Vienna. Nights like this were proof.
A few minutes later a car pulled into their driveway. Theo and Alma were in the kitchen still, making coffee. They were talking about a student who’d won a national poetry contest at Alma’s school when Vienna breezed in, her purse over her shoulder.
She went to Theo and hugged him. “I’ll get you a scoop of mint chocolate chip!”
Theo smiled. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
“Nothing for me.” Alma pulled their daughter close and kissed the top of her head. “See you soon.”
“Okay.” She hurried toward the front door. Halfway there she stopped and looked over her shoulder at them. The picture of happy. “Love you!”
“Love you.” They responded to her at the same time.
And then in a blur she was gone. From where he was standing, Theo could see out the window, so he watched the car back down the driveway and pull away. He still didn’t feel good about her going out. But the weather was clear and his daughter was right about her friends. They were good girls. Everything would be fine. He sighed and turned to his wife.
Alma took two mugs from the cupboard and set them on the counter. The coffee wasn’t quite ready, so she faced him. Nostalgia filled her expression. “She’s got a point, you know.”
“About what?” Theo leaned against the kitchen island and admired his wife. Vienna was the mirror image of her. “The mint chip ice cream?”
“I love your sense of humor, Theo. I always have.” Her soft laugh filled the space. “Not about the ice cream. About being grown up. I don’t know where the time’s gone.”
Theo felt the same way. He considered telling Alma about his uneasy feeling. But what was the point? Vienna was gone and in half an hour she’d be back. He’d have his mint chip ice cream and they’d be laughing and listening to something funny that happened on the trip.
“God is good, Theo.” The coffee had finished brewing so Alma poured two cups and handed one to him. “What did we ever do to deserve a daughter like her?”
“I was thinking that earlier.” He shook his head. “She’s one in a million.” The warmth of the coffee felt good against his hands. He breathed in the smell of it. “She might be onto something with her foster care idea. At least until she goes to college.” He raised one eyebrow. “Since it matters to her so much.”
Alma took the cream from the fridge and poured some in her cup. “It’s a lot to think about.” She handed the container to him. “I like my job.”
“I know.” He added cream to his mug, too, and put it back in the fridge. “Just something to think about.”
“Which reminds me, the principal asked me to write a grant the other day. For new playground equipment.” She set her coffee down. “I’ll get my laptop. I want you to read it.”
“I’m sure it’s brilliant.” He smiled as she left the room. Their marriage was as real and beautiful and fulfilling as it had been when they said their vows twenty-five years ago. Alma was a go-getter, as full of faith and life and possibility as Vienna.
When she returned they sat down at the table and he read her work. Just like he thought, it was perfect. “You should be an author.” He shook his head and glanced over the grant again. “This makes me want to buy you the equipment. I practically cried reading it.”
Alma laughed. “I’m becoming the school grant writer.” Her eyes sparkled. “I’m working on another one.” She clicked her computer keyboard a few times and a second document filled the screen. “This one’s for the school library. We haven’t had new books in twelve years.”
He was halfway through reading it when he caught the time on the screen: 8:53. The number seemed to jump out at him. His heart skipped a beat and he looked at Alma. “Why isn’t she back yet?”
Fear gripped her face even before he finished his question. “I should’ve asked for the girls’ numbers. Jessie and Sarah Jane.”
“They probably ran into friends at Foster’s.” Theo’s voice was trembling. “Or they got caught in a conversation about dance.” Anything to convince himself this was normal. That she would take twice as long as she had told them and not call to say she was running late.
But the truth was something different, and they both knew it. Vienna would never be late without calling or texting.
Theo stood and walked fast to the counter. “Where’s my phone? I can never find it.”
By then Alma was right behind him. She found her phone on the desk in the adjacent den and called Vienna. After ten seconds, she clicked the screen. “Nothing.” She stared at him. “Do you have Coach Taylor’s number?”
“Maybe.” He was moving faster now, trying to keep up with his racing heart. “Can you call my phone? I can’t find it.”
Alma was pacing, her heels clicking across the kitchen floor. “It’s ringing.”
The sound was coming from their bedroom. Theo ran to get it and then returned to Alma. They faced each other, Alma waiting while Theo searched his contacts. “Here it is. Coach Taylor.”
But before he could tap the man’s name, before the call could go through, there was the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Theo set the phone on the counter and exhaled long and loud. “Thank You, God.”
“She should have texted.” Alma’s irritation was masked with relief.
The two of them went to the front door, but when Theo opened it he didn’t see Vienna skipping up the driveway, waving back at her friends.
He saw a police car.
And in that moment his world stopped turning. Two officers got out of the vehicle and started up the sidewalk. Long before they uttered their apology, the words were written on their faces.
“No!” Alma doubled over, dropping to the floor. “Please, God, no!” Her screams shattered the calm of the night. “Not Vienna! Noooo.”
Theo caught her and pulled her into his arms even while she was still shouting. What happened to our baby girl? Why, God? Why our Vienna? Theo felt the ground shift and as the officers reached the door he and Alma both fell to their knees, crying out, clinging to each other, desperate for this all to be a bad dream.
That was it. Theo held his breath. None of this was real. It was all a terrible nightmare. Vienna was fine. She was just here, dancing in the kitchen and laughing about the encore. Hugging them and kissing their cheeks.
Theo squeezed his eyes shut and held on to his wife, held her with every bit of strength he had. As if by doing so they could somehow turn back the clock. He would heed the bad feeling and tell Vienna not tonight. No one needed ice cream tonight.
And a thought occurred to him. If Vienna was gone, if something had happened to her, then Theo’s life was over, too.
No matter how long his traitor heart kept beating.
• • •
ELISE COULDN’T STOP shaking as she stepped out of Cole’s car that Monday morning. The news was too
tragic to take in. And as she and Cole walked onto campus it was clear something was terribly wrong. Groups of students gathered near lockers and on the stairs. Many of them were crying.
Lately Cole had been picking her up, and this morning on the ride to school he had shared the saddest news with her. Two girls from their school had been killed in a car accident last night. They were on a five-minute drive to get ice cream when a drunk driver crossed all four lanes and hit them head-on.
At seventy-five miles an hour.
Elise and Cole stopped near the science building and three other kids came and stood with them. One boy put his hand on Cole’s shoulder. “Last night everyone thought Jessie was killed, too. Your cousin was supposed to be with them.”
Cole nodded. “We all thought that.” His mom had heard from Jessie’s mother, Aunt Kari, last night. “But at the last minute she didn’t go with them. Too much homework.”
The kid shook his head. “Saved her life.”
A heaviness came over Elise. How could this happen? She knew the girls who were killed. Sarah Jane was in her English class and Vienna sat at the table next to Elise’s during lunch. And of course Elise knew Jessie Taylor because of Cole. Apparently on the dance team Jessie was a special friend to Vienna. Like a mentor.
Something caught Elise’s attention and she turned just as Jessie walked up. Her eyes were red and swollen, empty, like she was still in shock. She set her backpack down as Cole came to her. Jessie stepped into his arms and started crying again. “Cole . . . they’re gone.”
“Aww, Jessie.” He held her for a long time.
There was nothing to say. The group of kids around them grew until fifteen students stood there, silently supporting Jessie Taylor and sharing the pain of what had happened.
Finally Jessie drew back and someone handed her a tissue. She wiped her face and blew her nose, but her tears didn’t stop. She looked at Cole. “I keep thinking about their parents, how awful it must be.”
Elise listened, trying to imagine. She could hear the missing in her own mama’s voice the last time they’d talked. Jessie was right. This would be almost impossible for the girls’ parents.
Like always, Cole was patient. He had no easy response, no promises or explanations. He only kept his hand on Jessie’s shoulder and listened.
This wasn’t the first time Jessie and Cole had suffered a loss like this. Years ago their aunt and uncle and their four girls had been coming to Bloomington for a family reunion when they were hit from behind by a semitruck. The whole family was killed except for Amy, Cole’s cousin. The one who lived with him.
And now this.
Jessie used the tissue again. “I hate drunk drivers.” A sad sort of rage filled her voice. “No parent should have to lose a child. Not ever.”
Her last words landed directly on Elise’s heart. No parent should have to lose a child. No parent. Without thinking, she put her hand on her flat stomach and as she did the baby inside her moved. Stronger than Elise had ever felt it. Truths began shouting at her soul, warring in her mind.
No parent should ever lose a child.
So then what was she doing, placing her baby for adoption? She was a parent, right? And her child was depending on her, bonding with her. The attorney had told her that Randy easily agreed to have his rights terminated. So he was out of the picture. The baby would be hers alone. How could she even think about giving this baby up? It would be a tragedy as great as the one rippling through Clear Creek High today.
Two sets of parents had lost their baby girls.
And in a few months Elise was about to lose her child. Her only child.
Jessie was struggling to talk again. She leaned into Cole and shook her head. “Every parent lives to see their daughter’s dance recital and help her with finals. To be there for her at graduation. And now . . .” Her voice broke. She buried her face in Cole’s shoulder.
“I’m here, Jessie.” Cole ran his hand along her back. “I’m here.”
Elise took in the scene and realized more than ever before that Cole wasn’t only a friend helping her through a hard time. He was the most amazing, most caring guy she knew. She loved him as much as he loved her.
All at once a preview of moments flashed in her mind. Her baby’s first steps and first words, the first day of kindergarten. Walks to the park and sports moments, Elise in the stands cheering at the top of her lungs. High school and dances and yes, one day graduation.
And through it all she could see one person next to her, helping her, holding her, laughing with her.
Cole Blake.
She watched him still hugging his cousin, still comforting her in the midst of this awful morning. She would talk to him later, tell him how this tragedy had changed her. She would tell him how the image of a drunk driver plowing into the girls’ car had made her protective of her unborn baby. Fiercely protective.
Then she would do what she had to do, what her baby needed her to do. She would call Mr. Green and tell him she had changed her mind. She was going to keep her baby.
Because no parent should ever lose a child.
18
They had come to sit and listen, and that’s what they did. Ashley took the spot next to her sister Kari on the sofa across from Theo and Alma Brown while they cried and remembered. At times, they all simply sat there in silence.
The visit had been Kari’s idea. Her daughter Jessie was Vienna’s big sister in dance. She would’ve been driving that night if her homework hadn’t gotten the best of her. The pain hit close to home and Ashley had spent all morning at Kari’s house.
Remembering a different car accident. One that had changed their family forever. And thanking God that this time around they were spared another heartbreak.
But that didn’t make the situation any less tragic for Vienna’s and Sarah Jane’s families. Ashley was thankful friends had gone to sit with Sarah Jane’s parents as well.
Ashley and Kari had arrived at Vienna’s home at two this afternoon and simply knocked on the door. When the Browns realized who they were and that Kari was Jessie’s mother, they welcomed them inside. The couple was still in shock, talking in short sentences, their expressions and voices almost trancelike.
Ashley knew exactly how they felt. There was no easy way to walk through a time like this, no formula. She and Kari had no plan or agenda. They would simply be there, ready and available.
Alma Brown held a framed photo of their daughter’s freshman class picture. The girl’s long dark hair hung past her shoulders, her brown eyes alive with hope and possibility for the future.
“You should’ve seen her light up a room.” Theo, her father, put his arm around his wife. He was staring at the photograph. As if he could still talk to her, his precious daughter. “Vienna was the happiest girl. She never stopped laughing.”
“Even last night.” Alma nodded and leaned against Theo. “Isn’t that right?”
He looked off. “Just laughing and laughing.”
Ashley was sitting so close to Kari she could feel her sister breathing, feel the way the sorrow of this moment brought to the surface their own past heartache. One from not that long ago.
Everyone in Bloomington knew about the accident that took the lives of Erin and Sam and their family. Theo and Alma had lived here all their lives. So it was no surprise when Theo looked straight at Kari and then at Ashley. “How?”
Tears stung at Ashley’s eyes. The man didn’t have to explain himself. “One day at a time.”
Kari nodded. “At first you think time will stop.” Her voice was soft, marked by her intimate understanding of tragedy. “You can’t believe the sun can set and rise again the next morning. Or that people are going about their days like nothing happened.”
“Completely unaware that your whole world just stopped turning.” Ashley took hold of her sister’s hand. She felt sick at the thought of that time right after her sister’s car accident, what it had felt like sitting at the hospital while the news went from bad to
worse.
“I . . . can’t imagine another hour of this.” Alma took a tissue and pressed it to her eyes. “Let alone a lifetime.”
Ashley wasn’t sure of the family’s faith, or what they believed about life after death. But if God would give her the opportunity, she wanted to talk about it. Heaven was the only hope at a time like this.
The opening came ten minutes later. Theo leaned back, his hand on Alma’s shoulder. “Our family, we love Jesus. Always have.”
New tears spilled from Alma’s eyes. “I just can’t understand why He’d take our Vienna now. When . . .” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
“When she had so much life ahead.” Theo pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “I miss her so much. Dear God, I miss her.”
Alma moved her hand around in the space in front of her. “She was just here. She was dancing and talking about an encore and how it was going to surprise everyone.”
Ashley waited, choosing the right moment. After another bit of silence, she sat up a little straighter. “My nieces loved to dance. All of them.”
Theo lifted his eyes to hers. “I keep thinking about something. Since we got the news.” He sniffed and shook his head, like he was trying to find control but couldn’t. His face scrunched up, like the sobs were pushing in from his heart. “Do you think . . . my little girl can dance in heaven?”
Here was her moment. Ashley stood and took the spot on the other side of Theo. Kari did the same, sitting next to Alma. For a while they sat like that, Ashley and Kari surrounding the devastated parents with a physical reminder of God’s presence. The way His people were supposed to do.
“Yes, Theo.” Ashley shifted so she could see the man’s eyes. “There’s dancing in heaven. Vienna is dancing right now. I believe that.”
Two Weeks: A Novel (The Baxter Family) Page 18
