Long Time Coming (13 page)

"You chose to rear David."

"And I'd choose to again. I love him. I would have fed him from my own breasts if I'd had milk. I've made thousands of sacrifices to give him a quality life."

She held up a hand to stave off the comments she could see rising to his lips.

"Everything I've done, I've done gladly I neither want nor expect his gratitude. I know I have his love. I just want you to understand how much I resent your coming into his life now and trying to lure him away from me."

"I'm not, Marnie."

"You already have. He's living with you, not me. You gave him a young man's fantasy car and I gave him—"

She broke off and turned her back to him, clutching the small box between her hands.

"What?"

"Just go. Wait for David outside. I don't want you here. I'm furious with you for undermining me."

"What's in that box? Another present?"

"Go, Law." He reached around her and snatched the box out of her hands. "Give me that." She lunged for it, but he held it over his head, way beyond her reach. He opened the box. A set of ignition keys dropped into his hand.

"A car." Swearing savagely he closed his eyes and dug into the sockets with his thumb and middle finger.

She rubbed tears off her cheeks and faced him defiantly "A
used
car. Not new, not flashy not cool. Just dependable transportation. He would have been doing back flips over it if you hadn't bought him that four-speed, rolling stereo!" She made a disparaging gesture toward the driveway.

"Marnie, I'm—"

"No!" she said harshly backing away from his touch. "I don't want your apology or your pity. I don't want anything from you. I never did. I can't deny David the advantages you're able to give him, but I won't take anything from you personally."

"I never meant to interfere. It certainly wasn't my intention to hurt you."

"Well, despite your good intentions, that's exactly what you've done, Law. Now just please leave." She could feel her control slipping. To contain it, she wrapped her arms around her waist. "I don't want you to come here again. David may choose to live with you permanently. If he does, he and I will work out times to be together, but I don't want to see you anymore."

She aimed a finger at the center of his chest. "Never, never, tell him about the car I bought for him. It would only make him feel terrible and lay a guilt trip on him."

Bending at the waist, she picked up the set of new clothes and carefully refolded them.

"Here, he might want to wear these before I see him again." She passed them to Law.

She ran upstairs and barely got her bedroom door shut behind her before she succumbed to a torrent of tears.

The following morning when she entered the kitchen to brew coffee, she was surprised to find that it was spotlessly clean. The dining room, too, had been cleared of all evidence of the birthday dinner, though the floral centerpiece was still on the table. Apparently Law and David had cleaned up before they left.

Sipping her coffee, she wondered how she should go about selling the car shed just bought. Perhaps the dealership would take it back and give her a refund. While brooding on the unlikelihood of that, her telephone rang.

"Miss Hibbs?"

"Yes."

The caller identified himself as one of the doctors on staff at the rest home. "Your mother suffered a severe stroke a few minutes ago. She's being transported by ambulance to the hospital now.

Chapter 15

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I
t was twilight when she turned onto Law's street. She parked in front of his house and for a moment just sat behind her steering wheel, too tired and dispirited to move.

Finally she garnered enough energy to push open the car door and walk to the front door. She heard the doorbell peal and Venus's suspicious growl before Law opened the door. All he had on was a wet swimsuit. He seemed shocked to see her.

"Hello, Law. Is David here?"

"No."

"Oh." She hadn't thought beyond driving here and seeing David.

"Come in."

It took less energy to do as he said than it did to think of an alternative. She stepped inside and he closed the door. Venus regarded her closely then moved forward to nuzzle her knee. Automatically she reached down and patted the animal's head.

"Beats all I've ever seen." Law commented, running his hand through his wet hair.

"Even though Labs are characteristically docile, Venus nearly eats alive every other female."

"She realizes I'm no threat." Then, without giving him any warning, she said, "My mother died this afternoon."

Law's smile collapsed. He lowered his hand to his side. She watched him swallow. He glanced away then back. "I'm sorry, Marnie. What happened?"

"She had another stroke this morning. The worst yet. I arrived at the hospital just a few minutes after she was brought in. I was with her all day in the ICU."

"All day? Alone? Why didn't you call us?"

"There was no reason to. She never regained consciousness."

"But you were conscious and shouldn't have endured that by yourself."

She shook her head. "The hospital would have made David uneasy. He couldn't say goodbye to Mother, so his being there would have been obligatory and pointless. It was best this way. She had a very peaceful death. I guess that's the most any of us can hope for. Although," she said, finding it more difficult to speak, "she died an unhappy woman."

"Marnie."

Law reached for her, taking her narrow shoulders between his strong hands. She resisted, but he stubbornly held on, refusing to let go. Finally Marnie surrendered and let herself be pulled against him. She rested her cheek on his bare damp chest. He plowed the fingers of one hand into her hair. His other moved consolingly up and down her back.

"I'm sorry, Law. So sorry."

"Sorry?" He let her cry quietly for several minutes, then whispered, "Tell me about it."

She sniffed noisily. He'd got her front all wet. His swim trunks had left a large dark patch of wetness on the front of her skirt, but she didn't even notice.

"One day this week while I was visiting her, I asked why she'd sent you those letters."

"Did she try to deny it?"

"No. As you guessed, she had wanted to get caught. That's why she put my return address on the envelopes. She said she knew you would track us down."

"How did she know I was David's father?"

"She suspected it all along and said that she would have to be stupid not to know.

Mathematically your affair with Sharon fit with the date of David's birth. Then the older David got, the more he grew to look like you."

Marnie raised her head and looked up at him. "Law, she didn't send you those letters on David's behalf. She wasn't thinking about him at all. She was being spiteful."

"You don't owe me an apology for her, Marnie."

"I feel like I do. The more we talked the more vindictive she became. She asked me why you should be allowed to go on living a charmed life when her whole family had been broken apart because of you."

She tipped her head forward, resting her forehead on his sternum. "Mother seems to have forgotten Sharon's rebelliousness and deviousness. I saw no point in arguing with her. Besides, I was afraid to. The doctor had warned me that her blood pressure was high."

"I'm certain you handled it the best way possible. And for the record, my life has been much more charmed since David entered it." He set his chin on the crown of her head.

"Did you tell her that he was spending time with me?"

"Yes, and she laughed maliciously. She wanted to believe that he would be an inconvenience to you. A liability." She tilted her head up. "I'm sorry for any mental anguish you suffered because of those letters, Law."

"Not anguish. Annoyance, maybe. And it was temporary. Don't worry about it anymore, Marnie. It's over. We can all be glad."

It felt good to be held in his arms, to have his hands loosely propped on each side of her waist. Because it felt so good, she forced herself to step out of his embrace.

"Where is David? Will he be back soon? I need to tell him about his grandmother."

"He went to an all-nighter at a friend's house. Don't worry," he said when he noticed her concern, "I called the boy's parents before giving my consent. The Moores."

"Oh, Jack Moore. He and David have been good friends for ages. Nice family."

"I concluded that and let him go on the condition that once he got there he stay until morning. I didn't want him cruising on a Saturday night."

"I agree. Well, I guess I can find him at the Moores then. Good-bye, Law. Thank you for letting me cry on your…" Rather than say the word chest, she finished on a lame smile and turned toward the door.

"Whoa, whoa." He caught her arm and brought her around. "May I offer a suggestion?"

She cocked her head inquisitively. "Why don't you let David enjoy his party? There's nothing to be done tonight, is there?"

"No. The arrangements have already been made."

"Then tomorrow morning's early enough for David to get the sad news. This is an end-of-school bash. All the Pepsi, pizza, and Playboy they can handle, he told me."

"Well…" She combed her fingers through her hair several times. "I guess you're right.

Why spoil his night? Give me a call in the morning when he gets home and I'll come back then."

She reached for the doorknob. Law bracketed her shoulders with his hands again.

"May I make another suggestion?" Again she gave him an inquiring look. "Stay here tonight."

Her mouth dropped open. "What?"

"Considering your emotional state, you'd be a menace on the freeway. Besides that, I doubt you've got the stamina to drag yourself to your car. And regardless of your physical limitations, I don't think you should be alone tonight."

"I'll manage."

"But why should you merely manage? I've got several bedrooms that have never been slept in."

"Although the beds have certainly been used."

He winced. "Don't you ever forget anything? I promise that no half-clad couples will bother you tonight. My friends all know that I've got a teenager living here now and that that kind of behavior is taboo."

"What'd you tell them?"

"That they'd have to find someplace else."

"I mean about David."

"I haven't told them anything."

"Because you don't want the scandal."

"Because I don't owe anybody an explanation for an erection I had seventeen years ago!" He reigned in his temper and continued more calmly. "Explaining him means explaining you, the lady he calls mom. Explaining you gets too damn complicated. So I've let people draw their own conclusions."

"And?"

He gave an eloquent shrug. "I don't know. Nobody's dared voice an opinion on where he sprang from. But he's got everybody eating out of his hand. He's gone with me to the center several times. I'm amazed by how much he knows about the space program."

"He's been interested in it all his life."

"An interest which you cultivated. Thanks." He encircled her wrist with his strong fingers and gave it a slight yank. "Now, are you going to come peacefully?"

"I'm not going to come at all."

His lips twitched, heralding a naughty smile. "Ever?"

She spun around and reached for the doorknob again.

"Okay, okay, sorry. Poor joke and even poorer timing. See, in the astronaut office, when we're not jabbering about flying, we're jabbering about sex. That's why these little double entendres just naturally pop out sometimes." He closed his fingers around her wrist tighter. "Nearest shower is this way."

"Law, I can't," she protested as she stumbled along behind him toward the bedroom wing of the house.

"David would never forgive me if I left you alone tonight. He thinks you hung the moon."

"But you walked on it."

He shot her a retiring look. "You're confusing me with Neil Armstrong. I've never even been to the moon. In here." He pulled her into a sumptuous bedroom that was so immaculate it did indeed look like no one had ever been in it. "Bathroom's through there.

Take a shower. I'll fix you something to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Well, I am. Come on, Venus. Let's give the lady some privacy."

He went out, Venus tagging along behind his bare footsteps. Marnie pivoted slowly getting her bearings. Sighing heavily she realized she was actually glad Law had made up her mind for her. She was exhausted and a shower sounded marvelous.

The bathroom was as beautifully decorated as every other room in the house and had been designed with self-indulgence as a priority. The hot jets of the shower spouting from nozzles strategically mounted in all four corners massaged some of the fatigue from her body.

She dried off, briskly rubbed her hair with a fluffy towel, and slipped back into her clothes. Barefoot, she padded toward the kitchen where Law was carrying on a conversation with Venus.

Seeing her out the corner of his eye, he turned his head. "I was just asking Venus if you looked like a broad who would prefer mayonnaise or mustard."

"This broad prefers mustard."

"Good."

"The hot variety."

His eyebrows shot up. "Even better."

He liberally smeared two slices of French bread with spicy mustard and piled on slabs of ham and cheese. Before he was done, he had constructed two huge sandwiches with all the trimmings.

He straddled the seat of the chair and pointed her into another. He had changed from the wet swimsuit into a pair of cutoffs and a Naval Academy T-shirt. The casual attire made Marnie feel less self-conscious about her wet hair and bare feet.

"Beat it, Venus. You'll get the scraps." Tail drooping, the dog slunk into the corner.

"David's spoiled her. He feeds her from the table."

Marnie attacked the food, though she didn't realize she was eating so ravenously until she caught Law smiling at her. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Last night. It's good," she said, nodding down at her plate. "Obviously you're very handy in the kitchen. You cleaned up mine better than I do."

"With David's help. We thought it was the least we could do after all the hard work you put into that birthday dinner."

She took a long drink of iced tea. "What, uh, what did you tell him about my disappearing act?" She was ashamed of her behavior now. Throwing a tantrum then retreating upstairs seemed a childish and irrational stunt, though at the time she couldn't control it.

"I told him that you'd worked so hard on the party and were so emotionally overwrought, you'd had a crying jag and begged to be excused and left alone."

"And he believed you?"

"I made veiled references to 'that time of the month.' That ailment always carries with it a certain hush-hush, mysterious aura that effectively intimidates men from asking any more questions."

"How sexist."

"How true."

She frowned at him. "I don't usually throw fits even at that time of the month."

"Well, I exercised parental authority and didn't give him a chance to second-guess me. I began assigning KP chores. Before we left, he wanted to go upstairs and see about you, thank you for the dinner and new clothes, etcetera, but I told him that I had learned from vast experience that when a female is in that kind of mood, she's best left alone."

"You're right in one respect. Last night I was better left alone."

He reached across the table and laid his hand over hers. "About that damn car, Marnie."

"Never mind, Law."

"Uh-uh. I'm not going to let this fester until it becomes as painful as a boil. Had I known, I would
never
have spoiled your surprise."

"I didn't think it would be necessary to tell you what I was planning."

"I didn't buy the sports car as a lure. I swear that to you. I even thought you'd be excited for David." He gave a crooked smile. "I just wanted to do something very special for him."

"So did I!" she cried earnestly, splaying her hand on her chest.

"I understand and I'm sorry. It was bad judgment on my part. That's all I can say at this point, except" – he paused and gazed at her imploringly — "you've had him his whole life. You've been with him for fifteen other birthdays that I missed.

"Maybe I did go overboard by giving him that car. But don't condemn me for it before you think it through. I'm new at this. I'm bound to make a few mistakes. Be patient, okay?"

"Okay."

She felt very small, and very embarrassed for her behavior the night before, and very sleepy. In fact, she could barely hold her head up. When she focused her slumberous eyes on Law, he was watching her closely. "Did you give me something?" she asked on a burst of clarity.

"In your tea."

"You put a narcotic in my tea?"

"Not a narcotic. It's a little capsule that can't hurt you and will guarantee you a good night's sleep."

"Law!" She put all the strength she could muster behind the protest and it still sounded as weak as a new kitten's mewing.

He came around the table and scooped her out of her chair, lifting her against him.

"Time for beddy-bye."

"I'll never forgive you for this," she mumbled against his chest. "No wonder you're so successful with women. You drug them first."

"Only the ones who give me a hassle." He set her down in front of the bathroom door.

"Take your clothes off."

"That isn't necessary."

"It is unless you want me to take them off for you."