Delivering Decker

by Kelly Collins

  When the service was over, we walked past the front pew where Decker sat with his mom. His eyes lit up when he saw us. That sparkle gave me hope.

  He stood when I neared. “You look beautiful.” There was more in his eyes than those three words.

  “Thank you.” I looked down at my charcoal gray dress. It was the closest thing to black I could come up with. I never understood the wearing of black at a funeral. In my opinion, a life should be celebrated, not mourned, and celebration came in full color—but I respected the tradition.

  “We need to talk, but this isn’t the time. Can I call you?”

  I swore my jaw hit the floor. “I’ve been waiting for your call for days.” I tried not to let my hurt show, but it was impossible. Love hurt.

  “I know. I have a lot to say, but not here.”

  The line was backing up, so I moved forward to give my condolences to his mother.

  “Hannah, thanks for coming.” Though her eyes were rimmed with red, she looked so put together and composed.

  “I wanted to be here.”

  As I moved to the side, I heard Decker introduce Ryker and Silas. “Mom, you met them once before, but these are my brothers.” Could anything have sounded more perfect? Sadly, yes, but as Decker said, our words would come later. This wasn’t the time.

  We exited the church to find at least a dozen kites in the air. In big letters across the bright fabric were the words family, love, patience, kindness, hope, and others I couldn’t quite make out because they were so high in the sky, skimming the heavens.

  I waited all day and night for a call that didn’t come and trudged into work the next day ready to take my frustration out on unsuspecting diners. They wouldn’t know that the French toast in their lap helped ease my heartache, or the spilled soda cooled my temper. It was way better than sitting in my car and crying.

  Three cleanups into my morning, the bell above the door rang. A large bouquet with a set of legs walked into the diner, and my heart stalled. A head peeked around the blooms. “Delivery for Hannah Banning.”

  “That’s me!” I squealed. I signed for the flowers and slapped some dollar bills into the guy’s hand.

  I searched through the stems to find the card. Tucked in between two red roses, I pulled it free and ran my fingertips over my name on the outside of the tiny envelope.

  I said a prayer and pulled the card from inside.

  You and me

  Dinner

  Tonight

  Six o’clock

  Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse

  I’ll send a car to pick you up at home.

  See you there, Hannah

  Love,

  Decker (The man begging you to love him again.)

  John picked me up in the black town car at precisely five o’clock. My heart raced all the way to Boulder. Dressed in the pink sundress Decker had bought for me in Vail, I felt ready to face whatever this was. In truth, I knew it couldn’t be bad given the flowers and the way he signed the card like he was asking me to love him. How could I not? I’d known I was in trouble the minute he walked into the diner, and once he’d mopped the floor, I was a goner.

  As a backup, I brought a bat. Mona might have been teasing, but I wasn’t beyond beating him upside the head if he led me on again.

  The car pulled to a stop in front of the walkway, and John opened my door. I reached in for the bat that I’d borrowed from Ana. If she thought it odd, she said nothing.

  “You won’t need that.” John pried my fingers from the handle. “If he screws this up, I’ll beat him for you myself.”

  I didn’t know John well, but I liked him. He was a loyal sort—that kind of man you wanted by your side through thick and thin.

  “I’ll hold you to that.” My heels clicked along the cement. Fully bloomed roses scented the air. A nearby stream bubbled in the distance. The tranquil setting put confidence in my step, if not my heart, as I entered the restaurant. If this wasn’t a moment that called for alcohol, I couldn’t name one that did. Since Mom was sobering up, I couldn’t even grab some liquid courage before I left the house.

  I looked around for Decker, but he was nowhere in sight. Figured. And of course, it was my luck that the same girl manned the hostess stand.

  I did an internal eye roll before pasting on my screw-you smile. If she said one cross word to me, I was running for the bat.

  When she looked up, her eyes widened, and her lips formed a smile, albeit a small one. “Hello, Hannah.”

  Her use of my name almost knocked me off my heels. “Hello,” I said with caution.

  The girl looked flustered. “I have to get this right.”

  She pulled a note from under the stack of menus. “Mr. Riley said that he would be honored if you would join him on the patio.” She looked up and smiled as if she’d recited the Constitution by heart. “He says—” She cleared her throat. “—that he’s a stupid idiot and he loves you.” For dramatic effect, she tapped her chest right about where her hollow heart must have resided. “He also says that if you’ll take a chance on a future with him, he’s waiting in the rose garden.”

  I turned around and ran outside. From behind me, I could hear the girl mutter, “So I guess that’s a yes.”

  There was outdoor dining on the left and right. One area was empty, one was full. At the edge of the vacant patio stood Decker dressed in black slacks and a gray Henley. In his arms was another bunch of flowers.

  I raced to him. “Are those for me?”

  “Maybe.”

  I plucked a rose from the top of the bouquet and brought it to my nose. “Maybe?”

  He smiled, and my rib cage ached with the swelling of my heart.

  “It’s a package deal. If you take the flowers, you get me.”

  The sweet fragrance of the petals mixed with his cologne to create the perfect heady scent. It raced through my veins and tugged at my heart. God, I’d missed him. I’d never experienced addiction, but if it felt like this, I knew I’d never beat it.

  Playing hard to get, I walked past him into the patio that he’d obviously reserved for us. A single table sat next to the bubbling brook, and at least ten teapots lined nearby serving trays. All the tea we never tasted on our last failed trip to Dushanbe.

  He trailed behind me. He was like a live wire arcing off me. We sizzled together and fizzled apart. I knew this for certain. I’d tried to talk myself out of loving him, but I couldn’t. I was angry, but I’d never woken up one day without wanting to see Decker again or feel his touch. That alone granted him leeway.

  “A package deal, huh?” I turned around to face him. “I don’t know. It’s a lot to deal with. I mean…” I leaned into his body and whispered against his lips, “What am I supposed to do with all these flowers?”

  He tossed the blooms to the ground and pulled me into his arms. “Forget the flowers.”

  I looked into his blue eyes. So sorry. So sexy. So sincere. “How about you do me instead?” I pressed my lips to his and took every bit of love he offered.

  When we broke for air, Decker raised his hand to the waiter who stood nearby.

  “Check, please.”

  Chapter 27

  Decker-One Year Later

  We took up an entire row at Hannah’s graduation. I sat on the end of the aisle so I could get a good picture when she walked across the stage. My girl had finished her degree, and she was heading back for her master’s right away because she’d found her passion in helping others. My heart was full to bursting with pride, both that she’d come so far, and that I could call her mine.

  Little did she know that I was and would continue to be her most successful patient.

  Mom sat beside me. Next to her was Rachel. The two moms, despite their dissimilarities, had become friends. In the end, none of us were all that different. The only thing that separated us was compassion, and once you opened your heart, there was no limit to the amount of joy people could bring to your life.

  Flapping above me was a kite to ho
nor my father. He had wanted to see me happy, and so I brought this reminder with me wherever I could. It soared above me, always reminding me to look up and to appreciate the moments we had because all too soon they were gone, and you couldn’t get them back.

  I looked down the row of seats to my brothers, who sat with their wives and children. They had run through hell and lived. We had all survived and had come out better people for it.

  Silas held Blue while Grace held an empty bucket in case she got sick. Morning sickness had plagued her for the past few months. In the fall I’d be an uncle again.

  Ryker sat tall and proud. He was the backbone of our family, and Ana was where he got his strength. Little Wren slept peacefully in his mother’s arms. Nate had his arm around Stacey. They were headed to college together this fall with a lifetime supply of condoms courtesy of Hannah. Marty and Mona sat at the other end. Marty nodded off to sleep here and there, but you couldn’t blame the man; by all accounts, he was the stud all of us aspired to be. Mona was all spit and vinegar on the outside, but she was sweetness and light inside. And she still made the best lemonade and hot chocolate in town.

  Pomp and Circumstance played. My skin prickled with excitement. This was the first day of the rest of our lives. I’d sold the flat in Golden and moved everything to Fury. Hannah and I lived above the garage in the house where my life had begun.

  And if I was lucky, I’d be able to bring joy and happiness back into its walls with my own children someday.

  “Hannah Banning.” Her name echoed through the auditorium, and I jumped from my seat. Our group hooted and howled until she blushed with embarrassment. She stood at the edge of the stage and thrust her diploma high into the air.

  At the top of her lungs, she yelled, “This is for my family, the ones I was born to, and the ones I chose.” Her eyes scanned the row and stopped at me. “I love you, Owl.”

  It turned out I had my own bird name, and why shouldn’t I? I was a Savage by birth. I lived in a nest, and I was raised under the wings of people who loved me.

  I was there at the end of the stairs waiting for her. She jumped into my arms, and I twirled her until we were both dizzy.

  “Oh. My. God.” She kissed me hard. “Could this day get any better?”

  “Maybe,” I said before I set her down and dropped to my knees.

  “Maybe?”

  “It would get a lot better if you married me. If you promised to be mine for life. If someday we could hatch our own little eggs.” I held out the ring I’d chosen for her. Not too big. Not too small. Perfect for the perfect woman.

  She stared at the box for a moment too long, and I worried that she’d say no. But Hannah did what Hannah did best. She tapped her invisible bat against my head.

  “I don’t know. It’s a lot to deal with. I mean …” She let me slip the ring on her finger. “What am I supposed to do with you?”

  I pressed my lips to hers and whispered. “Love me.”

  She leaned back and said, “I already do.”

  Chapter 28

  Hannah - Five Years Later

  “Grab the present,” I said as I picked up the cake and headed for the door. Today was a big day. It was Mona’s birthday.

  “Got it,” Decker said. He’d raced inside the house after an early morning ride with his brothers. He lifted our two-year-old son, Ripley, onto his hip and reached for the gift. He never let me carry anything now that I was pregnant again.

  We climbed into the Range Rover and drove under a sign that read Abundance: A Boys of Fury Development. Decker had kept Ripley Realty but had changed its focus from profit to prosperity for all. He was still rich as sin because once the coffers got as full as his did, it was hard to spend it down, but we tried. Our goal was to be broke when we died. The best gift we could leave our kids was memories of hours well spent.

  We drove through the neighborhood once filled with empty, sad, little houses; today, it was bursting at the seams with families and small children. The community park was awash in streamers, balloons, and people waiting for the town’s favorite octogenarian to show up for her birthday party.

  If I knew Mona, she was getting what she called a little bump and tickle before she left the house. Her motto was live until you die, and that was as good as any motto I knew.

  Peggy rushed over to the car to kiss her favorite little man. Not Decker. Ripley. Although our son didn’t share DNA with his paternal grandparents, I swore he favored Decker’s father with his keen eye and his love for the abacus Peggy had bought him for Christmas.

  Wren and Blue played in the sandbox while their little sisters toddled about. Grace and Silas had had a girl four years ago and named her Robin, while Ana and Ryker named their daughter Raven. Ripley hadn’t come out of the naming game unscathed, either: His full name was Ripley Kite Savage Riley. It seemed fitting that a kite was a symbol of Decker’s love for his father and also a bird of prey.

  Nate carried a pot of chili while Stacey waddled behind him. She was days away from delivering their first child. With the size of her, everyone thought it was two, but they promised it was one chubby little boy they would name Cody.

  Even Tanner and Rachel had added to their family by way of a yellow Lab named Beau.

  “Here they come!” yelled Ana.

  Marty thunked his walker across the grass while Mona did her best to not leave him behind. When they got close enough, everyone laughed. Marty was wearing more of Mona’s orange lipstick than she was, and her shirt was on backward. But that was standard for the odd, older couple.

  They were quirky, but they were real, and we liked real. They taught everyone what life was about, and it had nothing to do with money. It was as simple as sharing wisdom over a glass of lemonade or your problems over a cup of hot chocolate. Not the fake kind you get in packets, but the real stuff you find in a green and yellow owl mug.

  Mona’s Lemonade

  There’s nothing better than a wicker chair, a porch, and a cup of lemonade on a hot summer day. I would never use powder, so here’s my tried-and-true recipe. It’s practically a family heirloom, so keep it safe.

  Ingredients

  • 10 wax-free lemons, preferably organic because who needs all that wax in their bodies? If I want to preserve myself, I’ll use whiskey.

  • 2 cups sugar. I like the cane, but light brown sugar will do just fine.

  • 1 ½ cups cold water

  Directions

  Remove the zest but not the white squishy part from the lemons using a vegetable peeler or a zester. Juice the lemons. You need 1 1/2 cups juice. Place all the zest and juice in a saucepan, add the sugar and water, and heat slowly over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved. The liquid should approach boiling but should not actually boil.

  Remove from the heat. Strain the mixture and discard the lemon zest and any seeds. You should have about 4 cups of sweet lemony goodness. Let it cool because it’s lemonade, not hot tea. Although it’s good to add to tea too.

  Pour the syrup into a clean bottle and let it cool. I love to use Mason jars. Syrup will last up to two weeks (or a day and a half during summer in Fury).

  For each serving, stir 1 part syrup with 3 parts water. Add ice. Sit back and watch the pink flamingos on your lawn. In my neighborhood, they seem to reproduce. I think there’s something magic in the lemonade.

  Mona’s Hot Chocolate

  Hot chocolate is a winter staple in my kitchen, but I’d never settle for the powdered brands. It’s all or nothing with this old girl.

  Ingredients

  • 1 milk chocolate or dark chocolate candy bar, chopped, or use those little mini-chips because they melt faster. At my age, I want to enjoy my hot cocoa before I die.

  • 2/3 cup milk, or more to taste. Or be decadent and use half and half. It may send you into a cardiac arrest, but death by chocolate doesn’t sound so bad.

  • 1 pinch ground cinnamon (optional)

  • A shot of Bailey’s if you dare. I sneak it i
nto Marty’s cup when I want some sexy time.

  Directions

  Place chocolate pieces in a saucepan over medium-low heat; add milk and whisk constantly until chocolate is melted and blended. Stir in optional ingredients. (Yes, that means the Bailey’s.) Remove from heat; add more milk if desired or more Bailey’s. Serve in an owl mug.

  Excerpt from The Dean’s List

  Hunger gripped my stomach. Food had become a luxury item I couldn’t afford. When I opened the cupboard this morning the shelves were bare except for the box of microwave popcorn and the remnants of Cornflakes strewn across the soiled contact paper.

  I’m told that sex sells. Tell that to the cheap bastards who come to The Grind and gawk at the bikini baristas. While I froth their coffees and warm their cinnamon buns, they stare.

  I dumped the jar that contained way more quarters than dollars on the table. The change clattered across the worn Formica and plopped onto the pleather bench of my favorite booth. It was here that I tallied my tip totals while the afternoon sunlight slanted in the window.

  Today was a bear market day. Forty dollars would hardly pay my weekly transportation costs. How was I supposed to make my rent and eat?

  Pride had kept me from asking for help, but I was going to have to call Jade. From the little I’d seen of her lately, she appeared to be weathering the economic downslope better than I. She’d have a plan, she always did. I dropped my head to the table with a thunk, closed my eyes, and silently asked the universe for a solution.

  “River, are you trying to knock yourself out?” Jade’s appearance startled me. I’d been asking for a solution and here she was, standing in the center of the dead coffee shop with the smell of stale coffee and burned toast filling the air.

  Without effort, she slid in beside me and dragged me into her thirty-eight double Ds. The way she stayed upright defied everything I’d learned in physics.