Loving Miss Libby (15 page)

He smiled her way again.  “Have a great day,” he
said, as he reached for the doorknob. 

Libby watched as he paused at that knob, as he
stared at it for several long seconds.  Finally, he turned.  “Libby, about
Saturday night…  I…”

The radio on his duty belt crackled to life,
interrupting him.  “I’m sorry,” he said, as he tugged it off his belt.  

“Control, one ‘D’ seventy-one…”

“Go ahead.”  He sighed and gently touched Libby’s
arm.  “I’m afraid I have to go.  Can we … talk later?”

She nodded.

He smiled and then pulled open the door and jogged
to the car, speaking into his radio as he went.  He leapt into the patrol car
and left the neighborhood.  She heard him activate his siren when he reached a
main roadway.  She listened until the siren receded into the distance.

She closed the door and headed for the family room. 
She dropped onto the couch and tipped her head back.  She was tired too, having
slept fitfully all weekend.  She felt alongside the chair and found the lever
that lifted the leg rest.

She tipped back with a sigh and closed her eyes. 
She wouldn’t fall asleep, but only rest her eyes…

Libby woke hours later to Kate and Marky standing at
the foot of the chair.  “Wow, she must have been tired,” Marky said.

Kate nodded.  “I hope it’s not our fault she’s so
tired.”

“It’s not your fault, Kate,” Libby murmured, and
then yawned, as she reached for the chair lever and lowered the leg rest. 
“That is one comfortable chair,” she remarked.

“I’ll say,” Marky said.  “You slept past noon.”

Libby jumped out of the chair.  “I did
what
?!”

Kate, being bright, understood Libby felt as if she
had neglected them.  “It’s all right, Miss Libby,” she soothed.  “We just woke
up too.  We only let you sleep a few more minutes because we wanted to make you
lunch.”

“You did?” she said, her heart bursting with pride
and love.

“Peanut butter sandwiches,” Marky said, nodding his
head up and down. 

“That sounds delicious,” she said, allowing each
child to take her hand and lead her into the kitchen.

She smiled when she saw the dinette table.  The kids
had picked flowers and arranged them in a pickle jar.  “We couldn’t find a
vase,” Marky explained, frowning.

“It’s beautiful,” she gushed.  “Where’s my phone.  I
have to have a picture so I can look at these flowers long after they wilt.”

“I’ll get it for you,” Marky said, and hurried to
retrieve it from her.  She always left it on a small table by the front door.

Libby took several photos and then patted the
phone.  “Thank you, kids.  I love my flowers.”

Libby noted they had put down paper placemats that
they had colored themselves.  “The placemats are beautiful,” she said, and then
narrowed her gaze.  “Are you sure I was only asleep a few minutes after you
woke up?”

Marky nodded eagerly.  “We promise.”

Libby looked dubious.  “I don’t know how you managed
to create such beautiful place mats in such a short time.”

“We did it, though,” Marky said proudly.  “I drew
that one.”  He pointed at a mat on which he’d drawn several intertwining
circles of various colors.

“It’s perfect,” Libby said.

She picked up a plastic spoon and gave them a
questioning look.

“We figured we’d have ice cream for dessert,” Kate
said, giving her a shy, but hopeful glance.

Libby shrugged.  “Why not?  It’s summer!”

“That it is!” a voice boomed from the doorway to the
kitchen.

The threesome glanced up and spotted Mary and her
husband. 

“Grandma!  Grandpa!” the kids shouted, and hurried
to greet them with hugs and kisses.

“I’m sorry we interrupted lunch,” Mary said,
admiring the table setting.

“We did it ourselves special for Miss Libby,” Marky
said.  “And you should have seen how much she loved the flowers.  She took
pictures so she can look at them anytime she wants—‘cause they’re gonna wilt.”

“The flowers are gorgeous,” she enthused, drawing
out the word, and then smiling at Libby.  “Oh, by the way, Libby.  This is my
husband, Luther.”

He extended a hand to her, which she accepted.  “I’m
Libby.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said, smiling
mischievously.

“I hope it was good,” Libby said, returning his
smile.  “Can I get you both anything?”

“We can make you lunch too,” Kate volunteered.

“Oh, thank you, honey,” Mary said, “but Grandpa and
I have a few things to do before Grandpa’s surgery tomorrow.”

Kate wilted before their eyes.  “That’s right.  It’s
tomorrow.”

The little girl looked so miserable, Libby felt her
heart break in two.  She reached for her, to comfort her, but pulled back.  Her
grandparents were here.  Surely it was their place to hold and comfort her.

But to her surprise, Kate came to her and Libby
pulled her onto her lap and held her close.  She stroked her back.  She sought
Mary’s eyes, relieved to see the woman smiling kindly.  “Sweetie, your grandpa
is going to be just fine,” she soothed.  “He’s tough.”

“That I am,” he said.  “Kate, Grandpa is eager to
get this surgery over with, so a month down the road, I can play with you and
Marky again.”

Kate lifted her head and met his eyes.  “You’ll be
the same old grandpa?”

“Heavy on the old,” he teased, and when she didn’t
get the joke, said, “Yes, sweetheart.  Your granddad will feel like a new man.”

She smiled and rose from Libby’s lap.  She rounded
the table and wrapped her arms around his neck.  “I love you, Grandpa.  I’ll
come see you at the hospital if you’d like.”

“That’s great news,” he told her. 

Marky rose and moved into his granddad’s lap.  “I
love you too, Grandpa.”

“I know, honey.  I love you both very much.”  He
smiled, and then perked up, as if he’d just had the greatest idea come to
mind.  “I know what!”

“What?” Marky said eagerly.

“Why don’t you two finish up those peanut butter
sandwiches and Grandpa will take you out for ice cream?”

Both kids grinned and dove into their sandwiches. 
They devoured them and declared they were ready to go.

“We won’t be long,” Luther said, and left with the
children.

Mary watched after them and sighed.  “I wanted them
to have a fun memory of time with their granddad, in case…”  She began to cry.

Libby rose and draped an arm over her shoulder. 
“Mary, try not to worry.  Medical procedures are so advanced these days, and
doctors have done them thousands of times…  Luther is going to be fine.”

“Oh, I know.  It’s just…”

“What?” she asked, positioning a chair beside her
and taking her hand. 

“It’s just…”  She sighed.  “One minute, things can
be going along just fine, and the next…”  She glanced off into the distance,
deep in thought, but finally turned back to Libby.  “When my daughter-in-law
became ill, the doctors initially said it was nothing.  They were dismissive,
almost cavalier.  And then…”

“I know…” Libby soothed.  “It’s horrible to lose
someone so young.”

Mary nodded.   “I loved Brianna.  She was a wonderful
mother.” 

Libby nodded. 

“I couldn’t bear to lose Luther.  Not yet.  It would
kill the children.  Particularly Kate.  She’s so sensitive and caring.”  She
burst out crying.  “I just hope tomorrow goes the way it’s supposed to.”

Libby squeezed her hand and reached for her other
hand.  “Let’s pray together,” she suggested.

Mary glanced up and smiled through her tears.  “I’d
like that.”

Libby led her in prayer, her words eloquent as she
asked for God’s protection, and for Him to guide the doctor’s hands as they
repaired Luther’s aneurysm.

“Thank you, Libby.  I feel so much better.”

“I hope so.  If I can do anything for you, will you
let me know?”

“You’ve already done so much,” she said.  “You have
no idea.”

Dan
arrived home early that evening.  Dark circles framed his lids and Libby knew
he was operating on empty.  He caught her searching his face with concern.

“I know.  I look like the walking dead.”

“You look worn out,” she said.  “That’s all.  Your
hours would take a toll on anyone.”

He searched her face this time, as if trying to
discern if the remark held a deeper meaning.  Was he wearing her out with his
demanding schedule?  Lord, he hoped not.

“You’re home early,” she said.

He nodded as he pulled off his duty belt.  After
tugging his revolver out of the holster, he turned and said, “With Dad’s
surgery tomorrow…”

She nodded with understanding and watched as he
disappeared down the hallway.  She knew he was locking the gun away from
inquisitive children.

He returned, having shed his work shirt and was
wearing a bright, white t-shirt.  He’s also taken off his work pants and was
wearing a pair of knit shorts.  Tall and powerfully built, he oozed
masculinity, and she had to force herself to look away.

Standing in his home, as he went through his
after-work routine within close proximity to her, it felt intimate.  It felt …
right.

But it was all wrong.  Was she living in a fantasy
world, deriving fulfillment out of mothering his children?  Convincing herself
she was an integral part of his life—that he couldn’t get along without her
contribution to it?

Was she as pathetic as she sounded to her own
ears?   She was young—thirty-one, yet, she had no life to speak of.  Her sole
enjoyment these days was spending time with another woman’s children, and
imagining what it would be like to be married to the childrens’ father.

She emitted a long sigh.

“Are you all right?” Dan asked.

“I’m fine,” she told him, attempting a bright
smile.  “But I’d better go.”

“I was hoping you could…”

She shook her head before he could finish speaking. 
“I really have to go.”

Did she see a flash of hurt in his eyes?  If so, he
rallied with a smile.  “I understand.  We’ve been awfully demanding of your
time.”

She smiled awkwardly yet again and headed for the
front door.  To her surprise, he reached it before she did and pulled it open
for her.  His eyes caught hers and lingered.  She felt the pull of attraction,
but abruptly severed it by looking away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”  She started off, but
paused when he called her name.

“Tomorrow is Dad’s surgery,” he said.

She nodded.  “Yes, I know.  I’ll keep him in my
prayers.”

“Thank you.  Uh, I’ve taken the day off, but…”

“You’ll need help with the children while you’re at
the hospital?”

He nodded.  “Can you come by about seven?” he asked
with a wince, as if he knew he was imposing on her time.  “I’m picking my folks
up at seven-thirty, and they check in at the hospital at eight.”

“That sounds fine.”

“You’ll get an extra hour of sleep,” he pointed out,
smiling.

She nodded and started off.

“Libby, thanks for everything.”

“Sure.”

***

Dan closed the door behind Libby and dropped onto
the couch.  He clutched both sides of his head as he relived the conversation
he’d just had.  He knew he’d sounded like an idiot, pointing out she would get
an extra hour of sleep the next day—as if he were doing her a favor.

He well knew she’d be probably be getting a whole
lot more sleep if she’d never gotten involved in his messy existence.  And now
that she had, he and his family had come to depend on her in a way that really
wasn’t fair to her.

He had to acknowledge that not only had he come to
depend on her, he’d developed feelings for her.  A couple days ago, Saturday
night, when he’d found himself so affected by the death scene around him while
on the job, all he’d wanted to do was get home to his children, and … Libby. 
He’d wanted to take her in his arms and hold her and kiss her.  He’d wanted to
hear her soothing voice, and if truth be told, hear from her that ‘everything
was going to be all right.’

Who was he kidding?  There were no guarantees in
life.  God made no promises that life would be easy—only that He would remain
close by for the duration.  But he’d known that hearing Libby’s voice was the
one thing that he could count on to make him feel better.

“Daddy!  Are you home?” Marky called from upstairs.

He’d heard Marky making noise upstairs and wondered
what he was up to.  He knew he should check on him, but he felt bone-weary. 
He’d never felt so tired.  Wait!  Where was Kate?