Celebration (12 page)

“I feel like crying. They look so, I don't know, grown-up. Don't they look grown-up, Woodie?”

“Very much so. You promised not to cry.”

“I lied. How can I help but cry? My three children are graduating from college at the same time, at the same college, ahead of schedule. And they did it on their own. I feel such a loss. I can never get those years back. I love them so much I ache with the hurt.”

“Time heals all wounds, Kristine,” Woodie said gently.

“It might heal, but the scars will always be there. Look. Here they come. Oh, God, my babies are graduating!” Kristine clutched at Woodie's arm as her children, eyes straight ahead, followed their classmates down the long aisle.

Ninety minutes later, Kristine stood with Woodie in the warm, spring rain as they waited for the children to find them.

“Mom! Woodie!” the three said in unison.

Kristine turned, her eyes filling. She held out her arms, and her three children stepped into them. “Congratulations to the three of you! I bet you set some kind of precedent at this university. I'm very proud of you.”

Mike's hug was robust. Cala squeezed her mother's shoulders, her own eyes wet. Tyler grinned and clapped his mother on the back. “This means we're adults now! Guess what, Mom! Mike and Cala already have jobs. I don't want you boo-hooing now, but I joined the Marines.”

“Tyler!” Whatever she was about to say, Kristine changed her mind when Woodie's fingers dug into the fleshy part of her arm. “Congratulations, honey. Aren't they the ones who are always looking for a few good men?” she managed to quip.

“You got it! They saw me and snapped me right up. You aren't upset?”

“No. If it's what you want and it makes you happy, then it makes me happy.”

“That's a relief. I thought . . . never mind.”

Kristine turned her attention to the twins. Her eyes questioned them.

“We're off to Sacramento, California. Some guy at the job fair snapped up the two of us. We leave tonight on the redeye,” Mike said.

“So soon. I was hoping you'd come back . . . to”—she was about to say
home
but changed her mind—“Virginia for a week or so. I'd love to show you the pups and the barns.” She would not cry. She absolutely would not cry.

Tyler took the sting out of the bad moment by saying, “Yeah, they're leaving me to clean up the apartment, turn off the utilities and do all that stuff because I have two extra days before I report to Camp Lejeune.”

A lump formed in Kristine's throat. Woodie pinched her arm again.

“I think a big guy like you can handle it,” Kristine said lightly. She thought she heard a collective sigh of relief.

“Now that we've settled all that, I suggest we get on with our celebration. Your mother and I want to hear everything. She has a lot to share, too. Do you want to change and meet us at the restaurant or do you want us to wait?”

“I think it will be better if we meet you there, in say, two hours,” Mike said. “We have to load our bags and stuff we're taking with us into the car. Cala hasn't finished packing and I have a few friends I need to say good-bye to. One in particular.”

“He has a girlfriend, Mom,” Tyler said. “Cala has a boyfriend, too.”

Kristine blinked. “Would you like to ask them to join us?” Woodie pinched her arm as much as to say, good girl. She wondered if her arm was black-and-blue.

“Would you mind?” the twins asked in unison.

“Of course not. The more the merrier. This is your night, and we need to celebrate.”

Mike reached for her, crushing her against his chest. “Thanks, Mom. She's special. You're going to like her. By the way, you're lookin' good.”

Kristine's heart leaped in her chest. Was this the first step in forgiveness? She smiled shakily. “You're looking pretty good yourself. Go ahead. Woodie and I are going to walk around the campus.”

“In the rain?” Tyler said, shock in his voice.

“Yes, in the rain. It's a warm rain, and we have an umbrella. Don't worry about us. Do what you have to do. We'll meet you at six.” Kristine looked longingly at her daughter, waiting.

“I'm glad you came, Mom. I can't wait for you to meet Tom. He's my fella,” she said, suddenly shy.

“If he had the good sense to pick you, then I know I'm going to like him. You look so pretty, Cala. I like the way you're doing your hair.”

“Is all the bad stuff behind you, Mom? I'm asking because I care about you. I want you to be happy.”

“I am, Cala. The bad stuff is ... on a shelf somewhere. If I'm lucky, maybe someday it will go away completely. For now, everything is fine.”

Cala stood back to look at her mother. “You have a
glow.
I've never seen you look like this. Is it that you came to terms with things, or is it Woodie?”

Kristine flushed as she met her daughter's intense gaze. “Both,” she said honestly.

“Good for you, Mom. See you later.”

Kristine watched as her three children ran through the rain to the parking lot. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“That wasn't so bad, was it?”

“No, not at all. The three of them were kinder than they had to be. I don't think it was strained, do you?”

“Not at all. I don't think it gets any more genuine than that. Are we really going to slop around in the rain?”

“Yes, we are. I love walking in the rain. I want to walk every inch of this place that my children walked for the past three years. Besides, I never walked in the rain with a . . . fella.”

“Really,” Woodie drawled. “Then, lady, I am your man. My arm, Madam.”

Kristine linked her arm with Woodie's. “My daughter said I
glowed.
”

“You have a very astute daughter, Kristine.”

“I know.”

 

 

It was ten o'clock when the Kelly clan exited the restaurant. “I hate good-byes,” Kristine murmured to no one in particular.

“We do too, Mom,” Tyler said as he got in line to kiss his mother good-bye.

“I like your girl, Mike.”

“I knew you would. I'll write and call, Mom. I promise. I do love you, you know that, don't you?”

Kristine's tongue felt thick in her mouth. “I wasn't sure... I hoped. Be happy, Mike.”

“You too, Mom. Woodie's a great guy. I don't think they come any better,” he whispered in her ear. “Hey, I'm a college man, I know how to interpret things.” In spite of herself, Kristine burst into laughter.

“You should do that more often, Mom. Laugh, I mean.”

“I will.”

“Mom, thanks for coming,” Cala said. “We weren't sure if you would want to see us. Let's face it, we were a bunch of shits. We needed to grow up. I think we turned out okay. You need to know something, though. We have the papers ready to go if your husband ever comes back. Okay?”

“Each of us has to do what we have to do. I'm okay with it. I like Tom.”

“I like him, too. A lot. I'm glad you like him. I wish Tyler would find someone.”

“Don't rush him. When it's his time, the right girl will find him. Trust me.”

“So Woodie is the man of the hour, huh? I knew that glow had something to do with him. He's a great guy. Don't blow it. I love you, Mom. If it seemed at times like I didn't, I'm sorry.”

Kristine burst into laughter a second time. “I'll try not to.”

It was Tyler's turn. “Give me a really big hug, Mom. I love you. Sometimes I didn't like you, but I never stopped loving you. I just want you to know that. I missed you so much.”

Kristine's throat closed up as she hugged her youngest son. “Not half as much as I missed you. I just want you to be happy, Tyler.”

“I'll be home when I get my first leave.”

“I'll be waiting, honey. You be careful now.”

Kristine stepped back as her children embraced Woodie. And then it was her turn again. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She was almost delirious with joy when she saw her children's wet eyes. Maybe something good would come of this after all.

Woodie put his arm around her shoulder. “There go three great kids. I'm so damn proud of them, and they aren't even mine. I don't know how to figure that one out.”

“They said they loved me. I didn't think I'd ever hear them say that. I had myself prepared for the worst. God, Woodie, I am so happy. Can we go home now? I have sixteen pups I want to cuddle.”

“When I'm here you want puppies!” Woodie said in mock horror.

“They're the next best thing to babies and children. It was a great weekend, Woodie. I loved every minute of it.”

“Are you going to start to cry?”

“So what if I do. Don't you have a broad shoulder?”

“It's yours anytime you want it, Kristine.”

“I want it.”

“Then it's yours.”

They drove in comfortable silence until Kristine spoke.

“Woodie, what do you think about me selling the old Kelly farm? I know it's in ramshackle condition, but it has to be worth something. The acreage has to be valuable. I don't want the money for myself. I'd give it to the kids. Do you know if I can sell it legally?”

“I don't know. I can look into it for you. Is this the first step in ... whatever it is you see down the road?”

“The kids could use a nice nest egg. They might want to buy a house, put down some roots. It will probably take a while to sell it. The house and barns are beyond fixing up. Actually, the whole place is a disaster. The thousand acres it sits on have to be worth money to the right buyer. We might get lucky and net enough profit so the kids can buy houses and not have to carry mortgages. That's the least Logan can do for them.”

“You might have to declare him legally dead, Kristine.”

Kristine's jaw dropped. “Dead? I don't think I could . . . how can you declare someone dead if you aren't sure? Doesn't desertion count? If what was mine was his, why isn't what was his mine?”

“I'm not a lawyer, Kristine. I will look into it, though. You are also going to have to look into finding a good investment counselor. When you turn fifty, you take control of the money in trust for you. I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to listen, Kristine. According to my father, your parents didn't care for Logan, and were afraid that you would marry him. That's the reason they set things up the way they did. It's a very complicated business when you inherit this kind of money. You'll need to set up new trusts, make a new will, hire an estate planner, get a good tax man. You should go to New York soon to start all the paperwork. It's going to take time. I also suggest you put your house into a trust for the kids, with the proviso that you can live out your life there if you want. You need to clear everything up in case Logan does show up at some point. Does Logan know that you stand to take control of the trust at age fifty? Did he ever see the will?”

“I don't think so. I never had a copy of it. To tell you the truth, after my parents' death, I didn't ask any questions. Your father said there would be a check every month. If he said anything else, I don't remember. I really wasn't interested in the money, Woodie. Hard as it is to believe, it's the truth. I was in love, I was young, and I was grieving. All I wanted to do was run as far away as I could. Even if Logan knows, so what? He can't do anything about it. We opened all new accounts with just my name on everything.”

“You're still married, Kristine. If your husband is alive, that gives him certain rights.”

“Beyond stealing my eight million and my eight thousand dollars? I don't think so, Woodie.”

“When can you get away to go to New York? I'll do some checking and put you in touch with some good people. Two days at the most.”

Kristine felt her stomach start to knot up. “Will next week be soon enough?”

“Next week will be just fine. You can't afford to be sloppy now. The last time you were lax, you got taken. Keep thinking about those three wonderful kids of yours.”

“I understand, Woodie. You never told me how much money I'm going to come into.”

“I can't tell you because I don't know. Your grandparents socked all their assets in New York banks. Your parents followed suit at some point along the way. My father was a little perturbed over that. I guess he got over it. I've asked for an accounting on your behalf. While you're in New York, you can go to the banks yourself as long as you have the proper ID. I'll also write you a letter on bank stationery.”

“I don't want to talk about this anymore. Let's talk about the kids. Do you ever regret not having children?”

“Yes. I guess it wasn't meant to be.”

“I'm hungry,” Kristine said.

“Have you ever been on a moonlight picnic?”

Kristine rolled down the car window. “Do you mean the kind with no food and no moonlight and wet grass?”

“Yeah, that's the kind.”

“No, I can't say that I have. I'm one of those people who likes to try new things.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Kristine started to laugh and couldn't stop. In between choking fits of laughter she managed to say, “Then let's go for it.”

“My mother didn't raise any fools either, Kristine Kelly.”

Kristine continued to laugh. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this good. Hadn't her son said she should laugh more often? Oh, yeah. She cuddled as close to Woodie as the console in the middle of the two seats would allow. Woodie's arm moved to cover her shoulder. It felt right, good, and so very wonderful.