“It’s reflecting the color of the sky. Look at it.” He pointed. “I’ve seldom seen the sky so blue.”
He motioned for Amy to stand with the lake behind her. “A portrait?” He leaned down, looking in the viewfinder. “Smile. Look happy.”
Amy laughed and Drew fired three shots in succession. As she turned back to the lake, she gasped. “Look. It’s a bald eagle.” She pointed to a tree across the lake. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
Drew turned his camera and framed the bird, then took the shot. As he pushed the shutter, the eagle took flight. He followed with his camera, the clicks of the shutter sounding like the rapid fire of a repeating rifle. The eagle circled, then dove into the water directly in front of them.
“Terrific shot,” Drew screamed as the bird hit the water, seized a fish, and then mounted into the air. “Look.” He held out his camera so that she could see as he flipped through the pictures.
“Stop, Drew. Let me see that one.” Amy took the camera to study a picture of the eagle just as it left the water, the fish in its talons. She enlarged the image. “Wonderful shot. Just terrific.”
They sat beside the lake, and Amy pulled out a thermos of coffee and two granola bars.
Drew looked concerned when she handed him his. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong.” She forced a smile.
“You’ve been unusually quiet all morning.”
“I generally talk a lot?”
“Your words.” He laughed. “You’ve hardly spoken since we left Charleston.”
“Just nervous,” she sighed, “about meeting Jennifer.”
“Why? She won’t bite. She’s a very nice person. So is her husband, but don’t tell him that I said so.”
“I’m just worried about what she will think of me.” Any sipped her coffee and watched a fish jump for an insect.
“Jennifer will think you’re wonderful.”
“Weren’t you nervous when you would meet a girl’s parents? When you met Di’s mother and father? It’s the same thing. Jennifer will want to protect you.”
Drew put his arm around her. “Do I need to be protected from you?”
“No.” Amy leaned over and kissed him. “But she doesn’t know that. I could be a crazy woman who will cut your throat in your sleep for all she knows.”
“I considered that possibility,” Drew teased.
“I’m serious. What should I do? I want to make a good impression.”
“Since it’s a special occasion, perhaps you should avoid hot liquids. Order iced tea.”
“Drew, don’t be silly. Help me,” Amy pled.
“Be yourself.”
“Easy to say.” She sighed. “I’m not even sure what that means.”
“Jennie wants me to be happy, and you make me happy. If you’ll just forget that she’s my daughter, meeting you for the first time, watching everything that you do…”
“You’re not helping.”
“I’m teasing. Act as you normally would—clumsiness and all. She will understand that you make me happy, and she will like you for that.” He kissed her again. “We’d better start back.”
***
“Grandfather!” A little boy bounded down the walkway and threw himself into Drew’s arms. “Did you see any alligators in the swamp? I saw one when my class went last month.”
“See?” Amy whispered.
“No alligators, Lucas. Too cold, I think.”
Lucas squealed as Drew hugged him, flipped him over, and placed him, right-side-up, on his feet.
“Do it again. Do it again.”
Drew did it again. “Where are your mom and dad?”
Lucas pointed down the walkway, where his family waited in front of the restaurant. His father lowered his camera and waved. “Good shot.”
Holding Lucas’s hand, Drew guided Amy toward them.
“Hi, Dad.” Jennifer hugged him. “Sarah is asleep.” She motioned toward the carrier on the table. “She’ll awaken before long.”
Drew introduced Amy to Jennifer and Ben.
Jennifer took her hand and smiled. “You know that Dad’s not the most talkative person in the world, but we’ve certainly heard a lot about you.” She looked directly into Amy’s eyes. “Did you really toss a cup of scalding coffee at him to get his attention?” She appeared to be completely serious.
“He tells that story to everyone, and no,” Amy said.
Drew held up his hands in innocence. “I’ve never said—”
“I did not toss it. A little coffee spilled on him.” Amy punched Drew’s arm. “If I had a cup now, though, I’d throw it.”
“Jennifer has a vivid imagination.”
Jennifer started to laugh. “I’ve heard that story three times and it becomes more dramatic each time it’s told.” She patted Amy’s arm. “He likely deserved it.”
They were shown to a long table by a window. Jennifer, Ben, and Lucas chose seats on one side, with Drew and Amy on the other. Jennifer was directly across the table from Amy, and Sarah slept in her carrier, perched on a highchair beside her mother. It was almost as if they had chosen sides and lined up for battle, Amy thought.
The waiter took their orders and left, then Jennifer leaned back, arms crossed, and looked at her. “Tell me about yourself, Amy. Where do you live? Are you originally from Charleston?”
“I live in Mount Pleasant. We bought our house there almost twenty years ago, in what was, then, a brand-new neighborhood. Lots of couples our age. Lots of children. Not too far from the water, if you were up for a little walk.” Amy sipped her iced tea. “I’m originally from Davidson, North Carolina. You may be familiar with Davidson College.”
Ben looked up from his entertaining Lucas, drawing pictures with the crayons the waiter had left. “I’m a graduate of Davidson.”
“Ever have Dr. Wilson for math? He’s my father.”
Ben’s face lost some of its color. “Dr. Wilson had a family? That man lived and breathed math and IT. I never once heard him talk about any other subject. Even his jokes. He had a family?”
“Be nice, Ben,” Jennifer warned.
“One theory held that he was a robot.”
“Ben.” Jennifer eyes flashed.
“It’s all right, Jennifer.” Amy was laughing. “Dad’s not a robot, Ben, and he’s very much alive, by the way. He turned eighty in June. I do understand that he was a terror at school. Totally different at home, though.”
She turned back to Jennifer. “Back when I was a teenager, Davidson was a little town, and life revolved around the churches. Today, it’s suburban Charlotte.” She looked at Ben. “Dad used to invite his students to our house for parties. You must not have been a math major.”
“No. Business and finance. I had your father for freshman math.”
“Yeah, that’s how most of the students knew Dad. The math profs hated that class and, at one time, I think Dad was the only one willing to teach the course.” She squeezed a lemon wedge into her tea and then stirred it around. “He would have a party for the math majors near Christmas each year and another one in the spring. I loved the parties.” She turned to Jennifer. “Davidson was a men’s college when I was young, so I was the only girl there, except for my mother. I thought the odds of twenty guys to one girl were terrific.”
***
As dinner progressed, Lucas became restless. His attempts to interrupt the conversation had been ineffective. Finally, he stood up in his chair. “I want to go outside,” he said in a loud voice.
“Not right now, Lucas,” his father said quietly. “We’re still eating.”
“Can I have my crayons back?”
“When you finish your dinner. You’ve barely touched it.”
“I want them now.”
People at the next table turned to look and Ben spoke in a hushed voice. “Do we need to go outside to talk?”
Lucas didn’t reply.
“Okay, let’s go.” He started to stand.
“No!”
“Lucas can sit with me,” Drew offered.
“No, Dad. You’re still eating,” Jennifer said.
“I’ve finished.” Amy ran her napkin across her mouth. “Will he sit with me?”
“That’s not fair, Amy.” Jennifer shook her head. “You’re our guest, and we haven’t had dessert yet.”
Amy waved her away. “I’ve tons of experience eating dessert with a sleepy child on my lap, and I have a grandson just about Lucas’s age.” She turned back to him. “Lucas, you look sleepy to me. Come sit in my lap.”
Lucas looked down.
“Come here, Bubba.” She held out her arms.
“My name is Lucas. Andrew Lucas.”
“All right, Andrew Lucas. Come here.”
He climbed out of his chair and wandered around the table.
“Up you go, Bubba.”
“Lucas.”
Amy lifted him up. He snuggled against her and closed his eyes.
As the others were finishing, Sarah awoke and began to cry.
“Oh, it’s time for her bottle,” Jennifer said.
“I’ll take her.” Drew lifted Sarah from her carrier. She was suddenly quiet, smiled at him, then began to cry again. Drew took the bottle that Jennifer handed him and held Sarah while she drank. “I don’t get to do this very often.” His eyes cut toward Jennifer. “Now, if you would have the good sense to move home to Charleston…”
“Don’t start, Dad.” Jennifer laughed. “Like a broken record.”
As the waiter cleared the table and they ordered dessert, Jennifer folded her hands, resting them on the table. She looked Amy directly in the eyes, and Amy suddenly felt like a witness, facing a hostile attorney.
“You’ve been married before.”
“Yes. My husband, Jack, died in an airplane accident about six months ago. His Cessna crashed into the median of the interstate, just north of here.”
“I remember it.” Jennifer looked down at the table and bit her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. It was the same night that Mom died. Ben was driving home from Greenville and he passed the wreckage.”
“It was ruled accidental,” Amy added, not knowing why she felt it necessary to say anything more.
“But you’re not sure?”
“No.” Amy hesitated. Why was she doing this? This was not anyone else’s business. Still, she took a deep breath and continued. “I had served him with divorce papers earlier in the day.”
“You must feel awful.”
“I did.” She shifted Lucas to her other arm. “But I finally realized that Jack was the one who pointed the nose of his plane toward the ground, not me.”
Jennifer nodded. “True.”
The waiter brought dessert, and Amy took a bite of her key lime pie. She smiled. “I’ve never understood how this pie can taste tart and sweet at the same time.”
“You put the lime juice in the filling and the sugar in the crust. Or so I was once told,” Ben said. “In any case, it’s delicious.”
Amy took a second bite of pie.
“So,” Jennifer asked, “are you now one of the idle rich, or do you have a job?”
Amy’s head snapped up as she choked on the piece of pie.
Drew’s fork hit his plate with a clank. “Jennifer, you’re out of bounds.” Drew shifted Sarah to his other arm and reached for Amy’s hand.
“Why? I was just asking if Amy has—”
Amy cleared her throat and squeezed Drew’s hand. “I’m a programmer, Jennifer. I worked part-time for about thirty years. I took a full-time job last spring.” She paused, but her eyes remained locked on Jennifer’s. “What you really want to know is whether I have enough money so that I could choose to sit on my porch twiddling my thumbs, or whether I need to work and am interested in your father so that I can have that choice.”
No one spoke for a moment.
“I’ve no idea how much money your father has. I suppose that his house would sell for two or three million dollars, but he may be land poor, as they used to say. He could have barely enough money to keep the house up.” Amy paused, again, still looking at Jennifer. “I’ve been seeing your father because I like him. We have a good time when we’re together. I enjoy being with him, talking to him, walking on the Battery with him.”
Again, no one spoke.
Finally, Ben chuckled. “I’ve seldom seen Jennifer speechless, but twice in two minutes? Well done.” Everyone burst out laughing, then the tone grew serious again.
“Jennifer, I know that you’re concerned about your father. You don’t want anyone to hurt him. You don’t want anyone to take advantage of him. It’s so easy for that to happen when you find yourself suddenly alone.” Amy reached across the table and took her hand. “My children are concerned about me too. After our third—after we saw each other for the third time—my daughter, Elaine, warned me not to tell your dad about her father’s life insurance policy.” She looked at Drew and smiled.
As she turned back, there were tears in Jennifer’s eyes as she looked at her father. “I do worry about you, Dad.”
“Of course you do, Jennifer. You love him.” Amy squeezed her hand. “It’s good he has someone to look out for him. My daughter, Cathy, always takes care of me.”
Jennifer wiped her eyes with her napkin and looked back at Amy. “I just wanted…I’m sorry. I was out of line.” She bit her lower lip. “I…I hope we can be friends.”
Amy smiled. “I’d like that.”
Lucas stirred. “I like you, Amy.”
“Thank you, Lucas.” Amy kissed him on the head.
“Bubba.” He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.
They talked for another half hour, Jennifer asking about Amy’s family, her job, where she went to church, things she liked to do. Then, as they prepared to leave, Ben took the sleeping Lucas from Amy’s arms to carry him to the car.
“One more question, Amy.” Jennifer’s eyes twinkled. “Does Dad kiss well?”
Amy felt her face begin to burn. “I, uh, I…”
Drew and Ben began to laugh.
“What’s funny?” Lucas mumbled.
Jennifer laughed too. She reached out and squeezed Amy’s shoulder. “Just checking. Mom told me he did.”
“Jennifer,” Drew began.
“If you have no sense of humor, Amy, you’ll never make it with the Nelsons.” Ben laughed again as he carried Lucas toward the car.
Amy smiled. “I have no complaints about your father—in any department.”
***
As they pulled out of the parking lot, Amy sighed in relief.
“Are you all right?” Drew looked across the car, concern on his face.
“Fine. Finally able to relax.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea she was going to say the things she did. Was it that bad?”
“No. Not really.” She took a deep breath. “I hope I passed.”
“You did fine. She likes you.” He reached across the seat to take her hand. “I could tell.”
“I think she could write my autobiography now.”
“She was pretty thorough.” Drew chuckled. “I didn’t know you went to boarding school.”
“Oh yes. Five hundred girls. No boys. I told you that Davidson was a men’s college back then. My father said it balanced things out.” She stared out of the window. “Jack was the first guy to pay me serious attention. I’ve wondered if that is why I fell for him.” She looked back at Drew. “Jennifer will ask anything, won’t she?” She shook her head. “Does her father kiss well? I almost choked.”
“She does not have a shy bone in her body. Her mother and I always wondered where it came from.” He paused, looking ahead. “I need to stop for gasoline. You know, we’re probably lucky she only asked about kissing. She once asked her mother how often we slept together.”
Amy’s mouth dropped. “What did Di say?”
“No idea. I was in the kitchen getting a glass of water and I decided that my time could be better spent
on the porch.”
They stopped for a traffic light.
“Drew, does it upset you to talk about Di?”
He hesitated. “Sometimes. Not as often as it used to.” He shook his head. “It’s strange, though. I never know what will make me sad. How about you and Jack?”
“Different situation, of course, but I do know what you mean. Sometimes, out of the blue…”
Drew pulled into a service station and filled the tank. He left his cell phone in the car, and as he stepped away, it rang. Jennifer’s picture displayed on the screen.
“Hi, Jennifer, this is Amy. Your father ran in to pay for gas and to pick up some Cokes. I’ll tell him you called.”
“Amy, this is Bubba. I was asleep and didn’t get to say good-bye. My Mom said I could call.”
Amy smiled. “I enjoyed seeing you today. Maybe we can visit again.”
“Uh-huh. Amy, are you going to be my grandmother?”
She almost dropped the telephone. “Your mother’s mom is your grandmother.”
“Grandma Di. She died.” Lucas’s voice was soft. “She was really nice. I loved her a lot.”
“I know you did, Lucas. I’m sorry she died. Your grandfather has told me a lot about her.”
“Are you going to marry my grandfather?”
“I…I don’t know, Lucas. I suppose we’ll see.”
“My mom thinks you will.”
“She does?” Amy’s heart began to pound.
“Uh-huh. She told Daddy that Grandfather would be dumber than dirt if he didn’t marry you.” He paused. “Grandfather’s not dumb, Amy.”
Amy suddenly felt warm and her eyes began to water. “No, Lucas, your grandfather is not dumb.”
Birthday Party
“Mom, it’s for you.” Cathy carried Amy’s cell phone into the den where Amy was sitting.
“Amy? This is Jennifer Richards, Drew’s daughter. How are you?”
“Hi, Jennifer. I’m doing well, thanks.”
“Good. Good. I was calling…you know that Dad’s birthday is this week. We’re having a party on Saturday night, and I wanted to invite you.”
There was a pause and Amy could hear Jennifer talking to someone.
To Fall in Love Again Page 11
