The Matchmakers

by Janette Oke

  “If it happens I will be thrilled,” she said simply.

  “What do you mean, ‘if’? When.”

  “I’m still not interfering, Jude, even though I might wish to.”

  Judith nodded.

  “And you’re no longer concerned with your father being involved with the mother of Sober Preston Weston?”

  Cynthia’s cheeks flushed. She stirred uneasily. “You were right,” she finally admitted, facing Judith. “I judged too quickly. He’s really not like that, at all. He’s—” The color in her cheeks deepened. “Cal was right. He is fun. He does have an appealing sense of humor. And he’s—you know, I was upset with him for not wanting his mother in his life. But he’s really very sweet with her. Honest. In fact”—her color intensified again—“he’s really very thoughtful … with everyone.”

  Judith said nothing, but Cynthia noticed a knowing look in her eyes.

  “Okay,” she admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. “You were right. I’ve said it. Are you going to make me crawl? I’ve learned my lesson. One should never, ever, prejudge another.”

  Judith smiled.

  “And, by the way, he’s going by ‘Carl’ now. I… I sort of suggested it.”

  Judith smiled again.

  Fall came and their excursions shifted to accommodate the change of weather. When winter arrived, they shifted once again. From picnics and ball games they went to bowling and sleigh rides. Sunday dinners were usually spent together, from time to time including Judith, Cal, and the kids. Judith began to make little remarks. “As I’ve said before, I’m always Wright,” she stated pointedly more than once.

  Cynthia just smiled. It was good to feel like one large family. She had needed that sense of belonging. Of being family again. Cynthia made sure she kept the Saturday morning date for coffee. She still needed Judith’s friendship even though she no longer felt so lonely.

  No one even lifted an eyebrow when Carl, as he was now known, and his mother changed location in the church sanctuary. They now joined Paul Standard, his daughter, Cynthia, and her two boys over on the right side.

  And no one seemed a bit surprised, though many expressed great delight, when the announcement came that there was to be a Christmas wedding. Judith hugged Cynthia warmly, the tears on her cheeks mingling with Cynthia’s own.

  But of all the people who rejoiced, no one did so more enthusiastically than young Justin.

  “Now you’ll really be my grandma,” he exclaimed as he threw his arms around the older woman’s neck. “We won’t even need to have new papers made, will we?”

  She hugged him close, the tears brightening her eyes. “No papers necessary. God has His own way of working things out.”

  Justin nodded, his head close up against her. “It’s the very, very best way,” he said with great assurance.

  “I quite agree. The very best way,” she said as she squeezed him tighter.

  Todd crowded close to be included in the embrace. “And you’re my grandma too,” he reminded her.

  “Your grandma too.” Her arm reached out to encircle him and draw him close.

  “I like it,” he said. “I like being real family.”

  Cynthia blinked back joyful tears. Todd had spoken her heart as well.

  Chapter Five

  A Match Made in Heaven

  “It turned out rather well, don’t you think?” he said.

  “Wonderfully!”

  He chuckled softly. “Had me worried for a while. Sort of dragged their feet.”

  She was still smiling when she replied, “Well, they had to be sure. I think, all in all, it rather caught them both off guard.”

  “Didn’t take them long once they’d made up their minds.”

  “Three weeks.”

  He chuckled again. “ ’Course they knew each other pretty well by then, and the boys were pushing for it.”

  “They’re so excited, aren’t they?”

  She reached to pour him another cup of coffee.

  “Funny how these things work sometimes,” he noted as he added a touch of sugar.

  “Would be funny, if one didn’t realize that God has His plans.”

  He nodded.

  “It was a lovely wedding, didn’t you think?” she continued.

  “Awfully small.”

  “Yes—small, but so … so intimate and sweet.”

  “She had a big, big church wedding the first time. I don’t think she wanted any reminders of that,” he commented.

  They were seated in Cynthia’s kitchen, the winter sun brushing past the frilly curtains to illuminate the soft yet rich colors of the almost-new wallpaper.

  “I like to think that God had just a bit of help from us,” he grinned teasingly.

  From the room beyond came the chatter of the two boys as they busied themselves with their new Christmas toys. It all seemed so homey.

  She sipped at her morning coffee. “When did you know? I mean, when did you think that they might finally be interested in one another?” She smiled softly.

  He gave it some thought. “I guess that time she slipped on the icy sidewalk and he reached out and—you know—sort of held on to her.” He demonstrated. “I thought to myself that he could have let go much sooner than he did.” His eyes twinkled.

  “I first noticed it that time we all went to play tennis in the fall, and he was showing her how to hold the racquet.”

  He nodded. “I thought that seemed a little fakey,” he said with a snort, then a smile. “True, she hasn’t played tennis for a while, but she used to play. I didn’t think she could have forgotten that much.”

  “Well, he didn’t seem to mind giving her a lesson.”

  “And she wasn’t catching on too soon either.”

  They both laughed.

  “You should have seen him when he told me they were planning to be married,” she said. “I’ve never seen him so … so alive. He said, ‘I’ve found the one with whom I want to share the rest of my life.’ I didn’t have to ask any questions.”

  “And she walked around here in a daze. Thought her feet would never come back to ground. The boys were silly-excited. Yelling and hollering and calling up friends. I don’t know when I’ve seen two kids more thrilled about anything.”

  She looked thoughtfully out the window, then added, with a warm big smile on her face, “It’s been fun watching it happen, hasn’t it?”

  “You think everything is fun.” His eyes twinkled appreciatively.

  With misty eyes she said, “I’m beginning to—again.”

  “Grandma Dee,” said Justin, entering the room munching on a sticky bun. He paused a moment, then said, “When will Mama and Dad be back from their—the moon thing?”

  “Honeymoon.” Todd yelled the correction from the room beyond.

  “Honeymoon,” repeated Justin.

  “Sunday. Your … your father has to be back at work on Monday.”

  “But Mama’s not going back to work?”

  “No. Your mama will be staying home now.”

  A big grin lit his face. “Good,” he said.

  He leaned up against her, and she reached up and brushed back his hair.

  “But you’ll still be here?” he asked with some concern in his voice.

  “Oh my, yes. You’ll never get rid of me now.”

  The boy’s grin broadened.

  “Not right in this house,” she went on to explain. “Not like I am now. I’m just here until your folks get home. Your grandpa dropped by for breakfast to make sure you were okay. But I’ll be close by. You can be sure of that.”

  The youngster seemed satisfied. He gave her a quick hug and left to resume his play, calling over his shoulder as he went, “Boy, I can hardly wait to have my own real daddy at home.”

  The two returned to their coffee in silence, a musing smile playing on both sets of lips. Paul shifted and spoke. “What are your plans, Dee? Will you stay on in P.C.’s—Preston’s—Carl’s—whatever his name is—?” He waved a hand a
nd rolled his eyes, and she laughed.

  “It is rather confusing,” she admitted. “But I guess we’ll get used to it.”

  “Anyway, will you keep his apartment?”

  “No. I won’t live there. It’s much too … too masculine and austere. Nothing homey about it, as far as I’m concerned. It was all I could do to manage over the last months. If it hadn’t been for our little secret mission, I think I would have moved out to a place of my own.”

  “Well—‘mission accomplished,’ as they say. Guess you can make your own plans now.”

  “I have. And I feel at rest that I’ve done the right thing.”

  There was a pause while he waited for her to go on.

  “I’ve already signed up for a new senior condo in Meadowdale.”

  “You have?”

  “Oh they are nice. Have you looked at them?”

  “No.”

  “You should. You might like them. And there are all sorts of special facilities there. Swimming pool. Lawn bowling. Exercise room. It’s nice. You might decide to sell your house and—”

  “I’m not quite ready to sell—not yet. Got a lot of fixing up to do. It’s been rather neglected the last while. It seemed to take all my time to keep things up for Cynthia.” He sighed. “And I admit—I didn’t feel much like hanging around an empty house or fixing things.”

  She nodded understandingly.

  “My new apartment’s not ready until March,” she continued.

  “So what will you do until then?”

  “I’ve given it a lot of thought and I think that—well, it would be better if—they should have some space. There will be adjustments. Bound to be. Cynthia doesn’t need a mother-in-law looking over her shoulder in the next few weeks.”

  He nodded. “I should make myself scarce too,” he agreed.

  “I’ve decided to take a trip,” she explained. “Three of the ladies from the church are going on a little tour of Europe. I’ve decided to go along and make it a foursome.”

  “That will be nice.”

  “I’ve always wanted to travel. I figure now is a good time to get started. Carl and I had planned …” But she let the sentence go unfinished. “What about you?” she asked instead.

  His mouth began to work slowly and a twinkle glinted in his eyes. They had become such good friends over the last months of engineering things to get their offspring finally together and settled that they could share just about anything. And now they were family.

  “I haven’t told a soul,” he admitted, “but I have—sort of—been seeing Evie Winguard.”

  Her eyes widened. “When on earth did you find time for that?”

  He shook his head. “Hasn’t been easy.”

  She laughed then, a soft, delighted sound.

  “Haven’t been able to pay near as much attention as she deserves, but now that the kids are settled I feel—well, I plan to…” He actually turned red.

  She reached out and took the hand that rested on the table. “I think that’s just wonderful, Paul,” she exclaimed. “I really like Evie. She’s a sweet, thoughtful lady.” Then she added with just a hint of tears in her eyes, “And a very lucky one too. I wish you both the best.”

  He squeezed her hand. He knew she was sincere.

  “Maybe someday you’ll find—”

  “Oh, don’t even say it. I’m not ready for that yet. Maybe I never will be. But anyway, I’m quite—what does one say?—quite content. Now that Carl is married, now that I finally have my daughter—and grandsons—life looks pretty good. I’m actually excited about it. I’m finally ready to settle in and enjoy it—again.”

  They exchanged a smile, now both blinking back the tears of joy. He nodded, a silent prayer of gratitude swelling within his heart. “Like you said—with just a little help from us, it all turned out rather well.”