Bridges

by Janice McLeod

  July 10th had been selected as the date for the announcement dinner at Fernando’s Italian Bistro. The intimate, small restaurant had been totally reserved for the Walker family that night, who had been neighborhood friends of the establishment for the last twenty years. Anna and Marco Angelino, the owners of the Bistro, had known Robin since childhood; Marco being the one who taught Robin at the age of eight to eat her spaghetti by twirling it on the end of her fork. Anna was elated to be included in the Walker’s plans for dear Robin, as she selected special linens for the occasion, and glowing globes surrounded with sweet, white Gardenias and pale, pink Hibiscus that would come from her own garden. Gary knew he could not endure the evening as the anxious, adoring groom with a heart full of deceit. With the announcement night just a week away, the time to come clean had arrived. As he called Robin and made arrangements to come by and discuss their wedding plans with both she and her parents, he prepared to walk a gauntlet of his own making, praying that divine intervention would prevail where he could not. At half past seven that night Gary paced up to the Walker’s door and rang the bell. He felt as if his heart was in his throat and he could barely exhale from the nervous tension he felt. This was the most important make or break moment of his young life; his entire future and happiness was now riding on an outcome uncertain.

  After Gary rang the bell, Mr. Walker appeared at the door, a broad smile on his face as he welcomed Gary in with a warm, manly bear hug. Joyful greetings were made all around as Gary saw Robin in her chair in the living room, with out—stretched arms beckoning his embrace, her heart light glowing in her eyes. A tray with large glasses of iced tea and fingers of short bread was placed on the coffee table of the comfortable room and cozy chairs had been pulled up snug for easy conversation. As everyone settled in a seat, Gary took an end of the sofa next to Robin’s chair and reached for her hand. She smiled her warm response as the casual banter of conversation followed. Mrs. Walker was the first to inquire as to what concerns or ideas Todd may have regarding the wedding, indicating they were all interested in receiving his input. Readjusting himself in his chair, Gary looked intently into the eyes of all assembled and with a silent plea for mercy, began. His first comments were of a reassuring nature, explaining his total commitment to Robin whom he regarded as an extraordinary and wonderful young woman and how he was so fortunate to have her in his life. He described that what had started out as a congenial friendship had developed into so much more. He then rushed on to the beginning, describing his feelings at first seeing Robin, comatose and bedridden; and then it came, with a pained look on his face he told them he had initially been so interested in Robin because he was the man driving the white SUV that had plowed through the intersection that fateful Saturday morning and had nearly taken Robin’s life. Immediately the air was sucked out of the room as a moan came from Robin who was now bent over in her chair, hiding her face with her hands as she began to weep. Mrs. Walker, with a stricken look on her face immediately ran from her chair to comfort her daughter as Mr. walker got up from his seat putting both hands in his pockets and walked to the front window gazing out in total disbelief and shock, overwhelmed beyond words. Gary moved on telling of the horror and fear he had felt when he saw the extent of the damage one careless act had caused and he had used the cover name of Todd Harmon in order to see Robin and monitor her progress; the heavy weight of his responsibility in this matter soon became his primary focus, with a deep desire to help right the wrong that had been done if that were even possible. Gary paused to wait for this sad information to be fully digested. The tension in the room was palpable, oppressive, hanging in the terrible void of silence. Finally, Robin wiped at her eyes, fingers trembling, as her mother moved away and taking Mr. Walker by the arm, they quietly left the room. Two hearts and souls that had been slowly mending, healing through the bond of their common suffering now found new depths of sorrow never intended or anticipated. Love had caught them off guard and a simple convenient deception had now become an arrow to pierce the heart. For the next hour Gary spoke in hushed tones to Robin, explaining in detail his true identity, his life with Sheryl, and the unhappy divorce. He told her about the terrible argument he had with her on the cell phone the morning of the accident when he angrily pushed through the yellow light never seeing her car move into the intersection. He told her about his business and home, while he patiently answered every question she asked. Toward the end of their exhausting session riddled with accusations, countered with pleading for forgiveness followed by more tears concerning issues of trust now shattered; the two were spent. Everything had been laid bare on the table, unembellished for a closer look. But the one resounding theme through it all was Gary’s total love and unwavering commitment to Robin the woman he loved and would always love, no matter what she decided to do. He now reached for her hand again that she only tentatively allowed him to touch, her sober expression speaking volumes about the condition of her battered heart. It was decided that a few days separation to think things through was warranted and that she would call him when she was ready to discuss things further. He gently kissed the limp hand he held and without another word rose to leave. Out in the street he wandered to his car where he sat paralyzed and wounded, wondering how he was going to live without her.

  * * *

  The next week was a torturous time for both Gary and Robin, each was caught up in their individual world of doubt, fear and anxiety. For Robin, the revelation that the man she had befriended, then came to know and love, was indeed the very man who had irresponsibly changed her life forever, was totally horrific. She spent her days weighing the deceit and awful truth against all the love and tenderness she had been shown; all this by the same man she thought she knew and trusted. Robin had long discussions with her parents and a very best friend whom had been sworn to secrecy about the betrayal. In her sleepless nights she tossed and turned, her restless heart plagued with conflicting emotions and indecision. Finally, in her total exhaustion and despair, she turned to prayer and begged God to help her take the right course; one that would affect the rest of her life. Eventually, on Thursday evening, just two days before their announcement party at the Bistro, Robin came to a place of peace in her heart and mind as she picked up the phone to call Gary. She needed to have this conversation with him, to put things into a rational perspective so she could move on with her life.

  When Gary picked up the phone he was thrilled to hear Robins voice. He had been so afraid she might never chose to speak with him again. However he did notice that her speech was very somber and businesslike as she asked him to drop by on his lunch hour on Friday and that what she had to say would not take long so he could return to work. Her cool resolution shot a pang of grief through his body as he agreed to the meeting and hung up the phone. Gary paced his house until the wee hours of the morning wondering what Robin was going to say and if there was anything left for him to tell her that could make a difference now. In the blush of dawn Gary sat in his kitchen staring into the deep void of his coffee cup asking himself, how it had all come to this. With elbows planted on the table, he clasped his hands together, and lowered his head and began to implore God for help, along with expressing his need for mercy and forgiveness. He also prayed for the grace to accept Robin’s verdict concerning the future of their relationship if there was to be one. He knew he had done the right thing by confessing his deception and now had to be prepared to accept the consequences of his actions no matter the outcome.

  Friday at noon Gary appeared at the door of the Walker’s home. He rang the bell and as he stood waiting he nervously fidgeted with something in his left pocket while trying to put on a pleasant, calm demeanor. It was Mr. Walker who opened the door, his face expressionless as he invited Gary in and announced his arrival to Robin who sat in her chair in the living room, where they had all sat together just a few days before to hear Gary’s news. With pale light from the window bathing Robin’s figure and serene countenance, Gary thought he
had never seen her look more beautiful and radiant than she did at that moment. All of this tore at his broken heart. As he neared her chair and shyly said hello, she looked up at him, her soft, brown eyes searching his face, as if really seeing him for the first time. Mr. Walker watched Gary get settled then quickly left the room giving his daughter privacy to deal with the matter at hand.

  Gary sat on the edge of his seat facing Robin. He leaned forward resting his elbows on his spread knees and webbed his fingers together as he studied his feet for a few moments then looked up to meet her gaze. She began to speak slowly, never loosing eye contact with Gary as she described in detail the tumultuous week she had endured and the pain of working through her emotions, sorting them out, measuring them against the facts as she knew them now. The more she spoke her gentle eyes began to brim with tears that further pierced Gary’s soul. Robin explained that she had prayed for wisdom that God would show her what would be best for her in the long run and she felt sure that God had given her a clear answer. With a pleading heart Gary then asked her what she and God had decided. As one single tear escaped her eyes and rolled down her soft cheek, she reached out to him with both arms open wide and said, “I love you, I need you, I want you”. Gary instantly fell to his knees before her chair and was wrapped in the warmth of her embrace as they then clung to each other and wept with relief. God had stepped into the breach once more with these two young lives and performed another miracle, one of forgiveness, tenderness and restoration. Seeking Gods face, they sidestepped the misery of a life lived in sorrow, full of regret and had instead chosen love, that God has told us through his word, is transforming and transcendent. Robin and Gary chose to take that path.

  Now freed from their position of eavesdropping, around the corner in the dining room, Robin’s parents quietly emerged walking into the living room they moved toward the reunited couple, placing their arms around them, kissing away their tears. After composure was regained by all, an announcement was made by Mrs. Walker that a special lunch had been laid on the dining room table and that they should move that way and be refreshed. Later as the dishes were cleared and a light dessert was served, Gary stood up and said he had planned something for Saturday night at the Bistro, but under the circumstances he didn’t want to wait. From out of his left pocket he pulled a beautiful, diamond ring and placed it on Robin’s slender finger accompanying the gesture with a tender kiss. Through the joy of clapping hands, and a few ooh’s and aah’s, more hugging ensued.

  Saturday night at the Bistro was in every way a delightful celebration of the triumph of love over circumstance. The happy couple seemed more infatuated than ever before, as all the usual pre-wedding congratulations were expressed. All the women gathered around Robin to inspect the dazzling brilliance of her gorgeous ring while the men engaged in back slapping and inquiries about their honeymoon plans. The restaurant glowed in soft candlelight, beautiful, quiet music played in the background and the sweet fragrance of fresh cut flowers rose from the center of each table. The warmth of love and friendship filled the air at this special gathering that almost did not happen. In the following month of August, the balmy summer weather with its slight breeze off Tampa Bay was perfect for their evening wedding. The Walker’s garden had been completely transformed with a look of elegant enchantment. Yards of soft lavender bunting tied up with bright green fern, white roses and lavender satin ribbon framed the isles of seating and arched around the central trellis where the pastor stood ready to pronounce Gods holy ordinance on their behalf. As the couple completed their vows each added their own personal pledge of devotion to one another. The food, fun and toasting went on as the bouquet was thrown and caught and the cake was cut; the flung garter landed in the pool while all laughed and no bachelor offer to go in and claim it.

  Later that night as the couple made their getaway, family and friends waved them off, wishing them well. Gary’s sedan that had been decorated earlier in the day with a just married sign and colored streamers now moved through the darkened street and out of sight toward a future the happy couple just claimed for their own. As Robin nestled next to Gary, her head on his shoulder, they talked and laughed quietly about the day neither of them would ever forget. The only people who knew where Robin and Gary were going were Robin’s parents, who were touched by the irony of their destination. When Gary had asked Robin where she might like to honeymoon, she responded with a quizzical smile on her face and said she would really like to stay at her favorite bungalow at St. Pete Beach, a place she had always loved and was headed for the day of their accident. And so it was, that Gary’s car glided north in the moon light, up the Gulf Coast road toward the beach. Late in the afternoon of their first day alone together as man and wife, Robin was on the beach adorned with her hot pink visor, sun glasses and a tumbler of ice tea. Soon Gary plopped down beside her and after stealing a kiss, announced that the shrimp kabobs she had been dreaming of would soon be ready.

  Later that night as they lay in each other’s arms on the deck of their bungalow, under the starry sky listening to the rush of the surf pushed by the incoming tide, they discussed plans for their immediate future. They would live in Gary’s house that they would remodel to accommodate Robin’s needs and she would be given Cart blanch to decorate it to suite her good taste and sense of style. Robin expressed her gratitude for the great company she had worked for, whose senior management had stayed in contact with her all these months, monitoring her progress. They told her they fully appreciated her talent and skills and would love to have her back whenever she felt ready. As the two held each other tight and reflected on all that had happened to them they were truly amazed, that out of the deepest darkest moments of their lives, God had brought two unlikely souls together in an unimaginable way and through their struggles had blessed them both with each other. They had matured through their ordeal of suffering and come to a hard won wisdom that would serve them well the rest of their lives. God placed before them life and death and they had chosen life.

  Tess Harper, with her passion for anthropology and professional expertise, inadvertently leads her vacationing family on a quest for adventure and the prospect of solving a mystery associated with an ancient Indian legend. Follow Tess and meet the surprising stranger who helps her decode the secrets hidden in the windswept echoes of time chronicled in, “Legends and Legacy”.

  LEGENDS AND LEGACY

  He leaned in to kiss her, a final gesture of tenderness, holding her brown weathered face in his two hands. Her face was etched with deep furrows; a trail for her tears to follow that had been formed by the recent years of struggle that marked her passage. The astonishment at her circumstances had over time dissolved into anger, then into fear, and ultimately taken their toll on her tired, worn body and soul. Now hunched down near the open fire, her dim eyes beheld ghostly images of loved ones; ancestors who had gone on before; rising in the curls of smoke and sparks that circled in a high column above her head then disappeared into the dusk. First, there had been the assault on her people and then the decimation of their traditions and very culture. They were driven from their home lands and force marched out into the desolate prairie in the late fall of the year, with few of their own possessions and scant food provisions. He was now dead, her dear mate Nahan. They had left him strapped to his litter in the dry ravine of an ancient riverbed just two days past; where at sunrise they had torched his pyre and then moved on. The memory of his last kiss would linger in her mind, brushing her cheeks in the soft whisper of the rushing wind never seen only felt. The old Indian woman Awkeen now sat alone; separate from the other migrants making their beds among the sage brush and wild cedar. As she peered into the setting sun, she clutched dried prairie grass in her bent, gnarled hand and began to rock and sing in low haunting murmurs as she fanned the flames of her fire and called on the great spirit of creation to swoop down on majestic eagle wings and carry her away to the place of rest, beyond the moon and stars, to the land of no sorrows.<
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  Tess Harper lowered the book she had been reading based on the eastern and central Indian tribes of the US that had been driven on to reservations during the great western expansion of the 1800’s. As she placed the book on her lap, she gazed out the windows that revealed a sweeping panoramic view of the desert that stretched for miles and the red sand stone ledges of the Mesa beyond. Tess had lived her full life of 82 years in this region of the four corners area in the west, where you can stand in one spot and look into Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona all at once. As an anthropologist she had always been interested in indigenous peoples, their cultures and traditions and so had become enamored with this unique area so rich in Indian history. As Tess removed her glasses and stretched a bit, she realized by a glance at her watch, she had been reading for almost two hours. She had been so absorbed by the narrative about the Indian woman Awkeen that she failed to notice the deepening purple shadows that now painted the steep orange ledges on the horizon. Dusk in the desert was a special time, Tess’s favorite part of the day. She got up from her chair in the sunroom and headed to the kitchen where she poured a glass of iced tea and proceeded toward the open deck of her pueblo style home to enjoy the light show now in progress. The tips of the blue sage were drenched in gold while the east side of each bush was awash in a deep shade of hunter green. The ground at their roots was a striation of browns, reds and burnt umber. The mountains to the west of the valley, now cast deep shadows over the edges of the desert, their fingers crawling over the landscape, devouring rocky crags and cedars in blue and purple hues. The sky was a contrast of a deepening void with a pale moon rising and a streak of crimson fire that now lit the horizon. As she made her way to a rocking chair near her running fountain surrounded with bright pink bougainvillea, she reflected on God’s greatness and his fabulous creation. Tess felt such a sense of gratitude for the life she led here in the splendor of her surroundings. Her thoughts were momentarily interrupted by the hoot of an owl as it settled on the arm of a tall cactus over the dune. Yes, this was God’s country and she was glad to be a part of it.