*********
If it was possible, Madi was more beautiful as she walked down the aisle this time than she had been when he’d first seen her almost twenty years ago making the same journey. Jaena had already reached the front and was now alternately beaming at her mother and at him. He felt his heart would burst and when Madi reached his side and looked up at him with a smile that radiated love, all he could do was take her hand and turn to face the minister.
His words, if not strong, were filled with emotion. When she slipped the ring on his finger he felt, not a shackle, but utter freedom. She was his! At last, after years of waiting, and he would never let anything or anyone hurt her ever again.
*********
The guests had gone, the caterers had cleared the kitchen, Jaena had gone home with her grandparents and now they were finally alone. In the morning they would leave for their honeymoon, but now it was just the two of them.
“Happy?” he asked, knowing the answer, but wanting to hear it from her lips.
“More than you can imagine.” Her smile gave proof to her words. But then a tiny cloud passed across her face, and because he had loved her for twenty years, he recognised it at once.
“What is it?”
“My only regret is that I’ll never be able to give you a child.”
He lifted her hand to his cheek. “We have a child: Jaena. I couldn’t love her any more if she were my own flesh and blood.”
Madi’s hand reached up to hold his as her other hand traced a line down his cheek. “I am most blessed of all women.”
He recognised the quotation and replied with one of his own: “My beloved is mine and I am my beloved’s.”
And Madi stood and smiled.
*********
When she had finished, Mitch was silent. Suddenly he looked up and grinned. “Come on, I’m taking you home. It’s late.”
She glanced at her watch and realised it was almost midnight.
“Okay.”
The drive home only took a few minutes. As he came around to her side of the car to open her door and assist her out, his eyes looked serious in the dark. He bent his head and for one heart-stopping moment she thought he was going to kiss her.
“Thanks for telling me the rest of the story.”
“Oh. That’s okay.”
He walked her to her door. “Goodnight, Jaena. Sleep tight.”
“Don’t let the bed bugs bite,” she laughed as she let herself into the house. But once inside she stood against the door and waited to hear him drive off. What were these feelings he ignited in her? One minute he could make her as angry as a swarm of bees whose hive had been disturbed and the next minute she felt like throwing herself into his arms. Why could he at times seem like a complete stranger and yet at other times as if she’d known him all her life?
Sighing, she bent down and removed her shoes before tiptoeing up the stairs and to her room. If she thought she would fall asleep due to the lateness of the hour she was sorely mistaken.
Chapter Ten
The semester had ended and Jaena was packing up her belongings to go home for the three-week break when her phone rang. She looked at the number. Mitch. Picking it up she answered.
“Hello.”
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Jaena hoped their conversation was going to be more than single word sentences. She wanted to pack up so that she could leave early in the morning.
“What are you doing?”
“Packing. You?”
“Aren’t you coming back next semester?” He sounded concerned and Jaena’s heart soared.
“Yes, I’m coming back. But my room will be used over the break so I have to pack everything up.”
“Oh. Okay.”
Silence.
Jaena strummed her fingers on her desk and looked at the calendar. Another month and she would be twenty. She didn’t feel that old, but there was no denying it.
“Um, I’m going home tomorrow.” Mitch sounded hesitant and she found that endearing. “And I was wondering if you’d come with me: to meet my grandfather.”
“Your grandfather?”
“Yeah. I’ve told him about you and he wants to meet you – because you’re his friend’s granddaughter.”
“Just your grandfather?”
“Yes. Why?”
“No reason.” Well there was a reason, but she wasn’t about to tell him what it was if he couldn’t figure it out for himself. If he were seriously interested in her then wouldn’t he want her to meet his parents? The fact that he didn’t spoke volumes to her.
“Mum and Dad are in England at the moment on one of Dad’s speaking tours. They won’t be back until next Wednesday. My aunt’s been looking after Pop, but she’s got something else on tomorrow so she won’t be there either. The next door neighbour checks on him regularly, but I just want to make sure for myself that he’s okay.”
“Oh.” Her hopes rose again.
“Can you come tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? Well I was planning on going home, but I guess I can put that off another day. I was going on the bus, but I don’t have my ticket yet.”
“Okay. Great. Pick you up around nine?”
Jaena wasn’t sure what she’d let herself in for the next day as she stood waiting for Mitchell. It was freezing outside, the wind blowing straight off the mountains, and she was glad that she’d worn her new jacket. She knew she looked particularly attractive in it and hoped that Mitch would think so too.
However all he said when he turned up was: “Get in.” She was disappointed.
They rode in silence for a while before Jaena half turned in her seat to study him.
“What?” His eyes were on the road, but he kept glancing at her.
“I’m just wondering that’s all.”
“About what?”
“About Mitchell Gallagher. You’ve heard my family’s story, but what about yours?”
“It’s nowhere near as interesting as yours.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
“Okay. So what do you want to know?”
“Who is Mitch Gallagher? Who is his family? Where was he born? What was his childhood like?”
Mitch laughed. “You don’t want to know much, do you? For a start, you’ll get to see where I was born today. We still live in the house I was born in.”
“You were born at home?” Jaena was amazed.
“On the front porch to be precise. First baby – Mum thought she had heaps of time – but she was wrong.” He gave her a mischievous grin.
“Any siblings?”
“Two younger brothers. Lincoln and Wade. Both born in Hospital after rather long labours, I’m told.”
“How strange.”
Mitch shrugged. “I guess it is. I also have a sister who died shortly after birth. Congenital deformity. We don’t talk about it much.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. These things happen. I was only four or five at the time, but I can remember Mum crying lots. I think she found it particularly hard. Well, that’s only natural, isn’t it? My grandmother died shortly after that, so it was a difficult time for our family all round.”
“I can’t imagine not having both of my grandparents around.”
“I had my grandfather. Of course he missed my grandmother, but he came to live with us some time after that and we became good friends. I admire him a lot.”
“And he’s the one that told you about my family?”
Mitch glanced warily at her. “Yes, but Jaena, he didn’t know the whole story. Now he does and now he wants to meet you.” He paused and then went on, “You know it’s strange how much our family is tied up with yours. My Dad was an accountant – sure he preached occasionally, but it wasn’t until Pop and your grandfather separated that Dad felt a call to the ministry.”
“All things work for good, then?”
“Something like that.”
“So, how old are these brothers of
yours?” Jaena had no idea how old Mitch was. He’d taken a second year paper this past semester, which could put him at her age, but he seemed older than most other twenty-year-old guys that she knew.
“Seventeen and nineteen.”
“So, that makes you?”
Mitch laughed. Obviously she hadn’t been as subtle as she thought. “Twenty-five actually.”
“Really?” Jaena stared at him. “But you were in my class.”
“Only for one paper. I’m doing fourth year papers, but it was one I’d always been interested in and I decided it was now or never. Actually, I’m secretly in love with Jane Austen.” He leaned towards her as he laughed. “I’d met all my other course requirements so I was able to take it – ’though it was probably a silly move given how much work my other papers generated.”
“You’re in your fourth year?” Jaena’s voice reflected her astonishment.
“I thought you knew.”
“No.” Jaena shook her head. “Not that it matters, I guess. So, if you’re twenty-five, you must have worked or done something before coming to Uni.”
“Bible College for two years. Then travelling with Dad for a year. Both Mum and Dad wanted me to enter the ministry and follow in Dad’s and Pop’s footsteps – even gave me the right name for it.” He grinned wickedly. “I’m actually named after my grandfather: Charles Mitchell, but there were already two Charles’s in the family so they decided to call me by my middle name. Anyway, I enjoyed working alongside Dad, but after a time I realised that it wasn’t what God was calling me to do.”
“And what is God calling you to do?”
“Engineering. At least, that’s what it seems like at the moment. And you? Any more idea of what you’d like to do when you’re finished?”
“I’ve enjoyed working in the library to earn some extra cash and I think I’d like to do something like that when I’m done. It would mean doing a postgrad course in library and information studies, but I’m up to it.” Jaena pulled her hair back tightly and held it in a bun with her hands. She tried to look serious. “Don’t you think I’d make a wonderful mean ol’ librarian?”
Mitch laughed. “You’re too pretty to be a mean ol’ librarian, but I’m sure you’d be good at it all the same.”
Jaena didn’t know how to answer. Mitch thought her pretty? Or did he just say that to all the girls?
*********
They’d picked up some fancy bread and fixings for sandwiches before arriving at Mitch’s home. While Mitch made their lunch, Jaena had a chance to talk to his Pop. Mitch didn’t know it if was wise leaving the two of them alone – or fair. Pop was used to meeting and talking to people, but Jaena might find it awkward.
And then there was the history between them. How would the two react? His Pop – he knew his Pop and the long-held antagonism towards Jaena’s family, but he was also aware of his Pop’s change of heart – but Jaena? She was rather touchy when it came to her family – and with good reason.
As he sliced the avocado and smoked chicken, his mind drifted back.
*********
He was six or seven years old and he could hear his grandfather and father talking. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop.
“I just don’t understand it. Stephen Johnstone is my dearest friend – a godly man. I thought I knew him. But when it comes to his own family, he’s turned a blind eye.” It was his grandfather talking.
“Perhaps there’s more to it than we know?” It was his father’s turn to speak.
“What ‘more’ could there be? His daughter has left her husband and Stephen hasn’t insisted that she return. What’s more, he seems to be colluding with her. It’s not what I would have expected of him, but there you are.”
He hadn’t caught his father’s reply, but his grandfather’s words were clear. “Marriage is for life. Life. Stephen has preached that often enough. He knows it. Has lived it. Believed it – until now. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. How can he be a party to this?”
“What do you suggest he do? Turn his back on his own daughter?”
“No, but he should be insisting that she stand by her vows … that she does what is right … that she return to her husband. If she doesn’t …”
“If she doesn’t – what?”
“I fear for my friend. You cannot compromise what you believe and still retain your integrity. Stephen was a man of integrity: I fear where this will lead him. There can be no good outcome. No good at all.”
“And what are you going to do in the mean time?”
“In the mean time? What can I do? I’ve spoken to Stephen about this again and again. He refuses to listen. I’ve had no choice but to cancel all his speaking engagements until this is sorted. And if needs be, I will terminate our friendship. I cannot work alongside a man who no longer practices what he preaches.”
“And Stephen? What did he say?”
“He said nothing. He looked sad – I’d rather he looked remorseful or repentant – but he said nothing. Nothing at all. Doesn’t that prove that he’s wrong?”
Mitchell had crept away then. He hadn’t wanted to hear any more. He only had a vague understanding of what they were talking about and who Stephen Johnstone was, but he understood only too well the sadness in his grandfather’s voice. He hated to hear his grandfather so sad.
He could still remember those days when his sister had died and then his grandmother. His grandfather had been heartbroken and such grief had frightened him. Even his mother’s grief at the loss of his sister had not frightened him the way his grandfather’s grief had. He and his grandfather shared a special bond and what hurt one hurt the other.
Over the years, he heard the same story again and again. Stephen Johnstone had turned his back on all that he believed when his daughter had left her husband and refused to be reunited. His grandfather grieved for his friend, grieved for this loss of friendship, grieved for a partnership that had seen so many blessings, but he never stopped believing that he had done what was right.
Until Mitch met Jaena and everything changed.
*********
Glancing guiltily at the clock, Mitchell realised he’d taken longer than planned. There’d been no bloodcurdling cries from his Pop’s room, but that didn’t mean that the two were getting on like a house on fire. He knew firsthand what reaction awaited those who upset Jaena Hamilton and he didn’t know if his Pop was in a state to handle such icy withdrawal.
But he needn’t have worried. When he returned to his Pop’s room with their meal, Jaena and his grandfather were laughing away as if they were old friends. Over lunch they included Mitch in the conversation and he was thrilled to see how much his Pop had taken to Jaena.
Afterwards, Jaena and Pop played chess while Mitch watched. Well, Pop played. Jaena obviously didn’t understand the finer points of chess and made a lot of what Pop would privately term elementary mistakes. But Pop seemed to be enjoying the game all the same and it gave Mitch the chance to observe Jaena without being too obvious.
When it came time to leave, it seemed that Jaena rose reluctantly. She insisted on clearing away their dirty dishes and making sure that Pop was comfortable. Mitch liked that about her. Funny, but when his mother did it he thought she was fussing, but when Jaena did the same thing, it seemed like concern. Perhaps it was just in his attitude that there was a difference.
Pop also seemed reluctant for them to go. He straightened the blanket covering his knees before looking Jaena in the eyes. “Come again. I’ve enjoyed our talk.”
“So have I.”
“It’s not often I get to spend such a pleasant afternoon with such a pretty girl.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” Jaena teased.
“Only to the ones I can beat at chess.”
Mitch groaned. “Pop, you’re not doing anything to advance my suit.”
His grandfather laughed and held out his hand to Jaena. “You’re welcome any time, my love. With or without this
court jester by your side.”
Jaena laughed. “Even court jesters have their place, don’t you think?”
“I wouldn’t know. But please do come again. And don’t forget what we talked about.”
“I won’t,” she promised and then, to Mitch’s surprise, Jaena bent down and kissed his grandfather on the cheek. “See you next time.”
As they got into the car and began their trip home, he didn’t want to ask what it was that his Pop has asked Jaena not to forget. He guessed that while he’d been out fixing lunch that Jaena and Pop had talked about the past and, in particular, her grandfather. He didn’t know what had been said and he didn’t need to. It was enough that Pop seemed much more at peace and that he obviously approved of Jaena. And that Jaena approved of Pop was also evident and something that he hoped would work in his favour when the time came to show his hand.
*********
Jaena was silent in the car on the way home. Mitch wondered what she was thinking, but it wasn’t until they’d stopped and picked up Chinese takeaway for dinner that he spoke.
“I’ve heard your mother’s story and your uncle’s story and their joint story. What about your story?”
“My story?”
“You must have a story. Raised by a single mother and with an uncle – no, your second cousin – who was like a father to you – you have a story. They are what make you the special person you are today.”
“You think I’m special?”
“Of course I do. Surely, you knew that.”
Jaena looked down to cover her confusion. “No. I didn’t know that. You’ve been so obnoxious at times that I thought you hated me. And my family.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I’d like to meet them one day: your mother and your father … stepfather. Do you still call him ‘Uncle Marcus’?”
“He’ll always be ‘Uncle Marcus’ to me. Somehow it seems more special than ‘Dad’ – at least to the two of us. I thought of him as a father all those years when I called him ‘Uncle Marcus’ and that’s still what I think of when I call him that. So, we decided to leave it as it was. It causes some confusion at times with people who don’t know us well – especially since I have the same surname, so people assume that he must be my stepfather, but then I call him ‘uncle’ and they don’t know what to make of it – but that just adds to it.”
The Scent of Rain Page 14
