Abound in Love (3 page)

“Watch
it, or we just might,” he teased.

Laura
followed her brother down the stairs and into the country kitchen.  “Need any
help?” she asked.

When he
shook his head, she dropped wearily onto the bench seat of the old picnic table
the family had used for years.  With her finger, she traced several of the
initials and pictures she and her siblings had engraved into the tabletop.  Her
parents had been furious each time they found additional graffiti on the
family’s dinner table.  Looking back, she couldn’t blame them.

Laura
turned to the back door when she heard it close with a bang.  Macy, Thomas’
fiancée, stepped into the kitchen.

“Laura!”
she cried, “it’s so great to see you again.”

“You
too, Macy,” Laura said, meaning it.  She had always liked Macy, who was three
years older.  The freckle-faced brunette was a down-to-earth girl who dearly
loved Thomas.  Laura knew he couldn’t do better as far as a future wife.

“How’s
Linette?” Laura asked of Macy’s younger sister, who had been a good friend to
Laura during their school years.

“Doing
great.  She’s married, living in Portland, and has three little kids.”

Laura
gasped.  “Wow, three?”

“Two
boys and a girl.”

“So
she’s living in Portland?  I didn’t think she’d ever leave the country.”

“Surprised
us, too,” Macy admitted.

Thomas
left the stove briefly and gave his fiancée a quick kiss on the lips.  “And now
you’re the country girl,” he said, smiling affectionately.

“Hard
to believe, isn’t it?”

Laura
chuckled.  She remembered Macy had talked often about moving off her parents’
twenty-acre farm and residing in the city.

“How do
you like Georgia?” Macy asked.

“Love
it.  I’m already missing that blue, blue sky.”

“Is it
cold there this time of year?”

“It can
get chilly, but we see quite a bit more sunshine than you do here.”

“Well,
that’s not saying much,” Macy laughed ruefully.  “Our last summer didn’t arrive
until after mid-July, and held on until about mid-August when the rains came again. 
I do get tired of the grey skies,” she acknowledged.

“But
this is some of the most beautiful country in the world,” Thomas observed. 
“I’ve traveled quite a bit and I always want to come home.  As much as I enjoy
basking in some tropical sunshine, I just can’t see leaving the beauty of our
own—”

“Uncle
Thomas!”

His
words trailed off when he heard his nephew calling him from the front of the
house. “In the kitchen, Kenny!” he called back.  Soon, the children burst into
the kitchen.  “Where’s your mom?” Thomas asked, frowning.  “Why didn’t she come
in?”

Krissy
gave a shrug.  “She dropped us off.”

“Well,
obviously,” he said, smiling at his niece, but Laura noted the slight narrowing
of his eyes.  “She didn’t want to come in and say ‘hi’ to...”  He let the words
hang in the air.

“She
said she couldn’t,” Krissy told him, but her attention was focused on her aunt.

“Mom
was running late,” Kenny volunteered.

Laura
rose from the table.  “Hey, you two,” she said, spreading her arms.  “How about
a hug for your Aunt Laura?”

A wide
grin creased the little girl’s face and she stepped into her embrace.  “I can’t
believe you’re actually here,” she said.

“Yeah. 
Did you just get here?” Kenny asked.

Laura
took a step toward him and tugged him into her arms.  “You’re not too big to
hug, young man.”

The
eleven-year-old grinned sheepishly, but allowed her to hold him.

“Hey,
thanks for the gift certificate for my birthday,” he said, as he stepped away. 
“That was awesome.”

“And
thank you for mine too,” Krissy said.  “I bought two dolls with it.”

Kenny
made a face.  “Waste of money…”

“And
what did you do with yours?” Laura asked him.

“I put
it in the bank,” he informed, sounding very grown up.

“Good
for you,” she praised him.  “Now sit down you two.  We’ll all visit while your
uncle fixes us dinner.”  She made a face and whispered, “I just hope he doesn’t
poison us.”

“Uncle
Thomas is a good cook,” Krissy said in his defense.

“So I
hear.  Krissy, when he was your age, he couldn’t manage to make a sandwich. 
Did you know that?”

“I’m
not surprised,” Kenny said, and Thomas shot him a mock-angry look.  “Mom said
the same thing.  She said he was pathetic, which is why she’s making me learn
to cook
and
sort laundry.”

“Hey, I
can sort laundry too!” Thomas bellowed with mock-offense.  “But now that I know
you know how, I’m turning the job over to you.”

“No
thanks,” Kenny save with a dismissive wave.  “I’d rather play video games.”

Thomas
pinned him with a look.  “Did you finish your homework?”  He sounded like the
middle-school teacher he was.

Kenny
made a face.  “Yeah, even the stuff
you
assigned us.”

“Good,”
Thomas said crisply, and turned to Krissy.  The eight-year-old quickly averted
her eyes.  “Krissy,” he prompted in a firm tone.

“Math
is hard,” she moaned.  “I’m not smart like Kenny.”

“Hey,”
Laura cried, “you’re both smart.  You both write wonderful e-mails to me.  If
you weren’t smart, you wouldn’t be able to write so expressively to your ol’
aunt.”

Krissy
grinned.  “I’m going to be a writer like you, Aunt Laura.”

Laura
pulled her into a hug.  “That’s terrific.  I know you can do it.”  She nudged
Kenny.  “How ‘bout you?  What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I’m
going to be a cop, like my dad,” he said proudly.

“You’re
not going to be a teacher like me?” Thomas said, his voice incredulous.  His
sparkling eyes belied his surprise at his nephew’s announcement.

The
little boy shook his head briskly.  “Sorry, Uncle Thomas.  But I want to be
just like my dad.”

Thomas
pretended to grumble, as he turned back to the stove and picked up a wooden
spoon.  He waved it mock-threateningly at his nephew, and then began stirring
the pot.  Finally, he took the large pot off the stovetop.  “Chili,” he
announced proudly.  “Just like Mom used to make.”

Laura,
Macy, and even the children couldn’t help the grimaces that marred their
faces.  Their grandmother was a notoriously bad cook.  Thomas laughed.  “Okay,
well, not so much like Mom used to make.   My chili actually tastes pretty
good.”

“It’s
true,” Kenny said, nodding his head.  “Uncle Thomas makes really good chili.”

“Okay,
you’re back in my good graces,” Thomas told the boy.  “Will you grab the
bowls?”

Kenny
hurriedly retrieved them from a cabinet and set the table, while Krissy jumped
up from the bench where she’d been sitting and pulled spoons out of a drawer. 

Soon,
the group was enjoying the chili, and reminiscing about old times.  The kids
sat back, listening, and smiling at the adults’ recounting of their adventures
and misadventures.  On several occasions, as Thomas spoke, Laura covered
Kenny’s ears, lest he get any ideas about following in his uncle’s footsteps. 
Laura remembered Thomas had been a notorious prankster.

When
they’d finished eating, and the dishes cleared and washed, the group retired to
the living room.

“May I
play video games upstairs for an hour before bedtime?” Kenny asked his uncle.

Thomas
nodded, and directed his attention to Krissy.  “It’s time to get busy with
homework.  Do you need some help?”

“I do,”
she groaned.  “I’m having trouble with long division.”

“Well,
you’re in luck,” he announced.  “That’s my specialty.”

After
excusing himself and promising his fiancée and sister he would return shortly,
Thomas led Krissy back into the kitchen to work on homework at the table. 
Laura found herself alone with Macy.

“It
really is good to see you again, Laura,” she said.  “It’s been too long.”

Laura
nodded.  “It has been a long time.”

“Thomas
really misses you, and so does Candace.  She talks about you all the time.”

Laura
was taken aback.  “Candace … talks about … me?”

“All
the time.  She often says how much Krissy is like you, and how glad she is that
she seems to have your talent for writing.  She’s even remarked a time or two
that she’s glad she has your sweet nature and tender heart.”

Laura
was stunned.  It was difficult to fathom that Candace viewed any of Laura’s
traits in her daughter with pride.  In the past, she had laughed at her
attempts at writing.  Once, she had even found her diary and read it aloud to a
group of visiting girls.  That particular incident still stung.  She still
heard the girls’ laughter, and biting sarcasm as each had taken a turn reading
passages of that very personal journal.

To this
day, she wondered if any of those girls had told Dalton about her heartfelt
longing for his attention and affection.  She reddened at the prospect, but
forced the thoughts away.  “I guess I’m surprised Candace said such nice things
about me,” she admitted.

Macy
reached for Laura’s hand and gave it a squeeze.  “Candace is having a hard
time,” she said softly.  “She’s changed, Laura.  I wish there was something I
could do for her.”

“Do you
have any idea what happened between her and Dan?”

Macy
sighed.  “I believe their problems started after her miscarriage, but I could
be wrong.”

Laura
gasped.  “Candace … was pregnant?”

Macy
appeared stricken.  “I’m so sorry.  I thought you knew.  Candace didn’t tell
you?”

Laura
collapsed against the too-soft cushions of the well-worn couch.  She shook her
head. 

“Laura,
forgive me.  Candace probably wanted to tell you herself.  I shouldn’t have
assumed you knew and blurted it out like that.”

She
only nodded in reply, but her heart was breaking.  Both for her sister’s loss,
but also for the sad reality that Candace hadn’t bothered to tell her about
something so important.  If Candace hoped to rebuild a relationship with her,
keeping her out of the loop about a traumatic, life-changing event seemed to
suggest otherwise.

Laura
noticed Macy looked sick with worry.  “It’s all right, Macy.  I’m sure you’re
right.  She probably intended to tell me in person.”

L
ater
that evening, after the children had gone to bed, Laura and Thomas sat together
in the living room.  Macy had gone home, and Laura was relaxing, while Thomas
had a pile of papers splayed out in his lap, grading them.

“Wouldn’t
that be easier at a table,” Laura observed.

He
looked up and grinned.  “This works fine.  And, I’m almost…”  He briskly wrote
something on a paper with a red pen.  “Done.”

He
hurriedly straightened the sheets into a neat pile and put them aside.  When he
scrubbed a hand over his eyes, Laura knew he was exhausted.

“Are
you all right?” she asked.  “You seem tired.”

He
forced a smile.  “I’m all right.  Just have a lot on my mind, I guess.”

“You’re
worried about Candace.”  It was a statement, not a question.

He
nodded.  “Macy told me she told you about Candace’s miscarriage.  She feels
awful.  She figured you already knew.”

“Why
would Candace tell me?” she said sarcastically.  “I’m only her sister.”

“I know
she meant to tell you.  She told me she wanted to tell you in person.  She
mentioned ‘needing’ to talk to you.”

“Did
she say why?”

He
pinned her with weary eyes.  “She said something about ‘atoning’ for her
sins.”  He sighed.  “Our sister is in a bad way, Laura, and for the life of me,
I don’t know what to do for her.  Dan is at a breaking point himself, wondering
what happened between them.”

“How
long have they been separated?”

“Oh,
several months, I guess.  Not long after Candace miscarried.”

“Had
they been trying to have a child for some time?” Laura asked.

“That’s
my understanding, though neither Dan nor Candace is particularly communicative
these days.  I don’t know—Macy thinks maybe Candace is experiencing a sort of
depression…”

“I can
imagine,” Laura cut in.

“But to
be honest, I think it’s more than that.”

She gave
him a questioning glance.

“Our
sister may be a lot of things, but one thing she is, is a wonderful mother. 
I’ve always been proud of her for that.  Young mothers don’t always have that
natural maternal instinct—particularly when they’re barely nineteen when they
have their first child.  Candace always loved and cared about her
children—first and foremost.  These days, she rarely spends time with them. 
She’s taken a job at a store at the mall and works six days a week.  Then, at
night, she takes off, and none of us knows where she goes.”