“Hmmm…looks like hamburgers or sloppy joes tonight.” The girls chose sloppy joes and they ate, cleaned up the kitchen and pulled out a game of Monopoly.
“This thing is ancient,” Lacy laughed. “He must have had this since he was young.”
Lacy knew it was going to be hard to teach Ting how to play an American game. Especially since it was all about owning property and money because both were scarce where the girls came from.
An hour later the girls grew tired of the long game. Besides, Kew took every dollar they had. She was obviously gifted in finance decisions. Ting, thanks to Kew’s translating, was beginning to understand the game a little better.
Suddenly the door flew open and Thad stumbled in, carrying a large chair over his head.
Lacy noted the big smile on his face. The scars flashed red at her and she felt a moment of sadness. She wondered why he had hardly mentioned them. They had changed his entire life.
“Got a really big guy coming and none of my chairs will hold him.” He shrugged.
“Really?” Lacy was putting the game pieces away, waiting for Steph to come in behind him.
“Hey, somebody shut the door, please,” He hollered as he muscled the chair downstairs.
Kew took care of the door and informed Lacy the girls were going to bed. They were worn out from the long day and lack of sleep from the night before. Lacy left the game on the table and followed them, hoping to have a few moments with each alone. So much healing had happened these last few hours.
Lacy spent time with each girl. Kew was in her shorty pajamas and in bed with a book, the lamp on her side table pulled up close. Kew set her book aside and talked a short while. Then Lacy went to Ting’s room and sat on her bed. Ting understood English but did not speak it well. The conversation was stunted, but the eye contact Lacy made with a 15-year-old girl who had cried out her pain and won was worth it. She admired Ting and told her so. Ting reached out shyly for a quick hug.
Lacy left with tears streaming down her face. She had cried more in the few days than she had her entire life.
The house was quiet and only the small kitchen light on the upper level was on. She finished putting the game away and made a cup of tea, turned around to get the sugar and saw Thad leaning against the doorway.
“Whoa…Why didn’t you say something?” Her hand went to cover her heart. “I was so deep in thought, I didn’t see you.”
“I was waiting for you to look up. Mind if I join you?”
“Of course not. It’s your house.” She reached for the sugar in an upper cupboard then took a seat at the table. “So how’s the plan for the Bible study coming along?”
“All set up. Reality is a big church, so there’ll probably be close to fifty people here.”
“That’s great, Thad.” She stirred in the sugar.
“I hear you’re leaving Saturday.”
“Yes, Al got our tickets.”
“I can’t talk you into staying?”
She hated disappointing people, especially Thad since he’d been through so much lately. “I have to get back.”
“What for Lace?”
Lacy looked up and he was looking her straight in the eye. His hair was blonder from being in the sun, his brown eyes, dark. Her heart did a double flip when she remembered his kiss. She grabbed a paper napkin and mindlessly began to fold it in squares. What could she say? She tried to form the right words in her head.
“Thad you don’t need me here. You have your church, your friends, you have to find a new job. All of that. And I, well, I have the girls and my life is in Michigan.
“So you don’t see us working things out?”
Lacy pretended to misunderstand. “Of course. We’ll be fine. You’ve got a chance to get into acting again, after your plastic surgery. I’m sure you’ll be better looking than before.” She laughed nervously and died a little inside. Wishing she hadn’t been so flip, she picked up her tea and sipped.
Thad stood up and left the table without another word.
She ran after him and touched his shoulder. “Wait. I didn’t mean to sound so…so …
“Full of yourself.” He finished for her.
“Right. You’re right.” She cringed at the hurtful truth. “That and the fact I can never say no to someone and when I do, it never comes out right.” She backed away.
“I don’t know how else to show you I want you here, Lace.”
His voice was low and firm.
“I don’t know how to tell you that you will be happier here, Thad. I live on a farm, for goodness’ sake. You live here.” She waved her arm toward the view of the ocean. “There’s no comparison. None.”
“So you think that looks, money, houses and views are the qualities of a good life?” He stared her down.
“No…no…I’m not saying that. It’s…”
“Then what are you saying, Lace?” He interrupted.
“I don’t know.” She shot back, feeling stupid tears coming.
“Then don’t tell me what life is about, okay? Because I don’t think you know.”
And with that he walked away.
She heard his bedroom door shut. Hard.
The kitchen lights off, she went to the windows and stared out at the ocean, the lights from the house leaving long bars of light on the sand.
She and Thad were at an impasse. And she hated losing his friendship after all they had shared. Especially when she remembered how he had held her when she was falling apart. Saturday couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter 51
Stephanie called early the next morning asking for Thad.
“I haven’t seen him this morning,” Lacy answered.
“We’ve been working on a project. Just wondering. So I hear you are leaving Saturday? Sure you can’t stick around? Really hoped you could talk to some of the families I mentioned. Those that are interested in adoption. You have a wonderful story, Lacy.”
“Thank you Steph, but I really am not into this enough to know very much. I’m just learning myself.”
“No problem. I don’t want to press you. If you see Thad would you give him a message?”
“Sure.”
“Tell him everything is set. I’ll try his cell phone again.”
“Oh you won’t reach him, Steph. He left his phone on the table. He must have forgotten it.”
“Really? No wonder. Okay, thanks. I’ll find him.”
Lacy hung up and pushed a huge puff of air out of her lungs, glad she didn’t have to worry about speaking. A speaker, she was not! And anybody who knew her knew she hated being on stage, up front, in charge, or anything related. For once in her life she wanted to feel good about refusing to do what everyone else wanted, when she knew in her heart the life she wanted to live.
The girls went down to the beach by themselves while she made potato salad. Thad had brought hot dogs and hamburgers home and she recalled him saying they were supposed to grill out tonight.
She hoped they could iron out their misunderstandings in the next couple of days because she knew she would have a hard time leaving with Thad angry or hurt. She peeled the boiled eggs and chopped onion and celery and thought about what she could say.
When the salad was finished, she made her own version of raspberry flavored iced tea and put it in the fridge and then made a Jell-O Cake for dessert. Strawberry Jell-O poured into a poked yellow cake with creamy Cool Whip on top. Thad’s favorite.
About the time the cake was coming out of the oven she heard the Jeep pull in and the whir of the garage door as it closed. Her stomach flip-flopped.
The girls came in talking and headed straight to the showers.
“Hey, how’s it going?” She called out when Thad walked in.
“Great. Smells good in here. What’re you making?”
“Potato salad. Jell-O Cake. She turned. Whoa, where have you been?” He looked like he’d been playing in the dirt.
Thad looked down and started to dust his pants off, grass
falling from his knees.
“Hold on I’ll get the broom. You look like a walking dust-bucket. Better go back out and shake off.”
“Right.” He went out brushed himself off and came back in, then headed downstairs.
“We eat at six.” She called after him but didn’t hear an answer.
Fifteen minutes later he walked back in the kitchen shiny clean, face red.
Lacy walked up and looked at his cheek.
“What’s the matter? Am I bleeding again?”
“No, but Thad your scars are getting sunburned. I don’t think that is good. You’d better check with your doctor and stay out of the sun. It could damage your skin.”
He let her rub her soft fingers over his cheek and forced himself not to grab her up and brand her with a kiss. No matter how mad she made him he just couldn’t get enough of this woman. And, he reminded himself, she’s about ready to walk out of your life, bud. He turned and went to the fridge and grabbed a bottled water and chugged it down. “Did you remember we’re cooking out tonight?”
“Yep, everything’s ready as you can see. Except the burgers and dogs.” She had her hand on her hip to make the point.
“Yeah, well, maybe you should have a little patience. I’ve been running around all day.”
“Fine and good. But meat won’t cook itself and me and the girls have been waiting all day.”
“Fine.” He snatched an apron from the food pantry and tied it around his slender midsection and dug in the fridge for the meat.
“Looking pretty good there.” She laughed from the kitchen sink.
Keep your hands to yourself, bud. He growled and stomped down the stairs with the meat and utensils and headed out to the deck. He lit the two gas grills and made patties. Before long one was full. He shut it down to keep it hidden and went back in for hot dogs.
“Lace you have time to chop some onion?” He called and went back outside, hoping she’d stay busy inside.
“Got it.” She answered.
“I’ll be back in to get it.”
Hot dogs on, hamburgers cooking, he stared out at the ocean. After a while he heard her coming and slammed the lids down on all three grills.
“You about ready?” She said and brought out several paper plates and forks.
“Yep. But you’d better chop more onions and do we have mustard and ketchup?”
“More onions? There’s quite a lot there already.”
“We need more.” He called back over his shoulder. “What time is it anyway?”
“After six.”
Thad smiled.
Chapter 52
The girls whispered and rustled around their bedroom. Lacy wondered what were they up to as she headed toward the bedroom. Kew’s room was strewn with papers and scraps.
“You girls doing some art?” She laughed.
Ting’s eyes grew big, but Kew answered nonchalantly. “Yep. Art project.”
“Well it’s time to eat. Wash up and come out to the deck. Thad’s almost ready. Hurry up now.”
A soft click behind her as she walked away told her the girls had closed their door. Something was up. But she vowed not to intrude. They deserved their privacy.
Lacy ran into Thad in the kitchen. She noted he wore a half-smirk on his face, but chose to ignore it.
“You about done with the meat out there. We don’t have all night.”
Thad’s smirk turned into a frown.
“Don’t look upset. I was just kidding. I’m hungry enough to eat a horse.” She said, untied her apron and tossed it over a chair. She was so glad they were on more friendly terms. It would make it much easier to leave.
“Well, good, because …” He stepped to the door leading to the garage and opened it.
People began flooding in.
Lacy gave him a look. “What’s…”
Lacy’s face turned ten shades of red, wondering why everyone was looking at her, big smiles on their faces. She forced a smile and wrung her hands at her waist. Thad was going to get a huge piece of her mind later.
The awkward feeling of standing alone and exposed disappeared as Thad rescued her by walking up beside her. “ A going-away party.” He smiled down at her. “Steph and I have been working on it the last couple of days. It’s good to have people in the house. Got any more paper plates?”
Lacy, glad to be doing something besides standing there the center of attention, ran to the cupboard. Before long, everyone was taking whatever she handed them. She wondered how long the potato salad would last. Hamburger and hot dogs buns and chips and all sorts of dishes magically appeared on the counter. The guys pulled together three glass tables on the wide deck and arranged chairs.
Thad took her hand and walked her outside, opened the grill lids and said, “Let’s eat!”
There were dozens of hot dogs and hamburgers. Lacy’s heart warmed from the inside-out as chaos reigned. She saw Kew and Ting whispering at the end of the table. Something was definitely up with those two. They were in on this too. She was glad they had each other to conspire with.
Someone brought a “goodbye” cake—layers of chocolate, rich fudge filling and whipped cream frosting—and by the end of the night there was not a trace of that cake nor her own Jell-O cake left.
When time permitted, Thad introduced her to several people she’d seen on Malibu Mansion. Not that she watched it all the time, but when he first began, she got to know the characters. She discovered they were all quite nice. And she’d judged all actors to be full of themselves and too rich for their britches were the words she’d used. Now she regretted her assumptions.
The evening ended early. Some of the people had to get up for work. She thanked them and when the last person walked out the door, she turned.
“Surprised?” Thad asked, a wicked smile on his face.
“Entirely.” She answered breathless.
“Happy?”
“Very.”
“There’s one more thing.” Thad whistled to Kew and Ting who came running.”
She looked at him. “Whistling?”
“We found that worked when we were out and about and got separated.” He shrugged.
“Ladies.” He bowed at the waist and gave them their cue.
Kew stepped forward and brought something from behind her back. A small package. Ting did the same.
Lacy glanced at Thad who obviously knew the secret. “What’s this for?” She asked.
“Because we are glad you came for us.” Kew said firmly.
Lacy was sure she saw a slight sheen over Kew’s eyes and when she looked at Ting, saw a flood over hers.
Lacy took the package and unwrapped one. She pulled out a necklace made of shells and hugged Kew. Then quickly looked at Ting and opened the other box. It was another necklace with different shells.
“I love these. Thank you.” She hugged each one.
Kew said, “We made them.”
“You made them?” Lacy looked at them again.
“Yes, and…” Kew looked to Thad who handed her another box.
“This one is for our new girl.”
Lacy couldn’t help it. She wept as she hugged the girls again. The entire day had been enough, but these gifts were more meaningful than the girls could have imagined. This was what she had been waiting for her entire life.
“Surprised?” Thad smiled down at her.
The girls were talking in Chinese as they rushed off to their rooms, satisfied.
Lacy put the boxes on the table, let her hand rest on them for a moment with a silent prayer that God would show her the way and did what she knew to do in times like these. Started cleaning up the kitchen.
Thad began loading the dishwasher. About midway through he turned to her and said, “I want you to know you’re free to go. You need your space, I’m giving it to you.”
Lacy stuffed used paper plates into the trash compactor and looked up. What did he mean by free to go? She had not been a prisoner. She rather resented his statement.
“Thanks, Thad,” she managed to spit out
They finished cleaning up the kitchen without conversation.
Once everything sparkled and the dishwasher hummed quietly, Thad kissed her cheek and went to bed.
She shut off the kitchen lights. And walked slowly down the corridor, peeked in on the girls and went to her room. Quiet and introspective, she thought about home. Her sewing machine was waiting, there were projects to remodel in the farmhouse, papers to fill out for a new girl, meetings to attend at church; she was anxious to see Al and Dario, and … her mother and dad rested nearby.
And she would be doing it all without Thad.
Chapter 53
Thad spent a couple of days with the girls, promising he would come back to Michigan for a visit. He took them out for last-minute mementos while Lacy packed. She spent the last evening on the beach, taking in the fresh saltwater air, watching the soft white caps slosh onto the sand and enjoyed one last rose and gold sunset over the ocean, memorizing each scene.
Thad drove the three women to LAX. As they rode along Lacy had time to think of all that happened in the short two weeks they were there. Ting shared her life story, Kew talked a little more about her family. She and the girls experienced the ocean and enjoyed Thad’s beautiful Malibu home.
Thad’s two surgeries were scheduled in the next six weeks with promises of excellent results; she noted the dates in her cell. Steph said she and a couple other friends from Reality would be there for him. Lacy was thankful for his caring friends.
Lacy swallowed hard as Thad made sure they were checked in. He bought the girls’ lunch; Lacy wasn’t hungry. She hated goodbyes. Thad walked with them to security, kissed her cheek and said something so out of character Lacy wondered if she’d heard right.
“I’ll pray for you, Lace.”
“Thanks.” She searched his eyes, not sure what she would find. All she noticed was sincerity. She took her carry-on from his hand and reached up to hug him and felt his arm tighten around the back of her waist as he held her close for a long minute, then let her go.
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