The Marriage Contract (18 page)

“What is that
supposed to mean?” she shot back defensively.

“Simply that I
think this mood you’ve been in will finally pass after your parents move. 
That’s all.”

His explanation
did nothing to assuage her irritation.  Neither did the aspirin she’d taken a
half hour ago. 

“No, it won’t,”
she huffed, instantly regretting giving up precious air as the room began to
spin.  Pressing her fingers to her temples, she added, “And I’m not moody,
either.”

Roger tossed
his shaving kit in his suitcase.  “Call it what you want, but I’ll be glad when
there’s a little distance between you and your family.”

She glared at
him, unable to believe what he’d said. 

Roger cocked
his head to one side and smirked.  “It’s not like you’ve got the normal, garden
variety family, Cara.  Even your brother became a priest to escape the wrath of
Ruthie Dearest.”

“He did not!”

“Let’s face it,
most people have parents that play bingo and squawk about their neighbors at
the parish hall dance.  Your grandmother goes deep sea fishing every chance she
gets, your father is relegated to watching the baseball game at the hardware
store and your mother has been making baby booties for her grandchildren since
you were born.”  He laughed and shook his head.  “You have to admit it’s a bit
odd.”

“What’s wrong
with that?”

His eyes flew
open wide and he propped his hands on his hips as if in disbelief.  “If you
have to ask, then you’ve been around their influence too long.”

Her blood was
like ice flowing through her veins.  How had she managed to push aside his
feelings for her family for so long?  Did he really think she thought so little
of them like he did?  “Their influence is what made me the woman I am today,”
she scowled.

“You’re nothing
like your family, I’m happy to say.”

“I am my
family.  And I’ll probably cry like a baby on the day that U-haul takes them to
Florida.” 

She slammed her
coffee mug on the night stand, sloshing liquid over the rim, and knotted her
arms across her chest. 

“You’re such a
snob, Roger.  I can’t believe I never saw this before.”

“Exactly.  And
you say you’re not moody?”

“I’m
defensive.  And why shouldn’t I be when you talk as if I’ve got The Munsters
for a family?  I’ll admit that they’re sometimes a bit off-”

“A bit?” he
challenged.

“But they love
each other.  They’re committed to each other and they aren’t afraid of that.”

“What’s that
supposed to mean?  What about us?  We’re committed to each other and we don’t
act wacko.”

“Are we?” she
asked, deciding to let the wacko comment slide.  Given her hangover, she only
had so much fight in her and she needed to save it for the important issues.

His mouth
dropped open and he nodded.  “So that’s what this is all about.  You want a
commitment.”

He smiled, but
instead of having its usual effect, Roger just looked smug.  And she wanted to
wipe that self-righteous smirk right off his face.

“If you wanted
to get married, why didn’t you just say something?” he said.  “If you need a
piece of paper to prove to yourself and your family how we feel about each
other then fine, we’ll get married.”

 Cara couldn’t
believe her ears.  This was the last thing she wanted.  She’d been fighting
this demon all week and it still managed to drag her to the ground.

“I, ah, don’t
know.”  Did she really need proof that he loved her?  She thought back on her
behavior these last few days, wanting him to be jealous.  She had been acting
irrational.  She’d tried to reason that she was being overly emotional about
her birthday, seeing Devin... 

She’d foolishly
thought that Roger would show some kind of emotion, jealousy for her being with
Devin.  It wasn’t fair of her to want that, but she couldn’t help it. 
Everything about her relationship with Roger had remained steady.  There’d been
no surprises, no excitement at all.

All Devin had
to do was look in her direction and the earth seemed to tilt on its axis.  Heat
flamed her cheeks with the thought of their kiss.  It pretty much rocked her
world.  If she hadn’t had the good sense to leave, Lord only knows what would
have happened.

Her heart
pounded in her chest.  She knew exactly what would have happened.  She and
Devin would have made love.  And it would have been wonderful.  No doubt about
it.

She felt the
depression on the bed as Roger sat down next to her.  Taking her hand in his,
he said, “Why don’t you take some time to think about it.”

She nodded and
glanced quickly at him.  Yes, she had a lot of thinking to do.  Mostly about
what she wanted and where her life was headed.  “Yeah, we need some space.”

* * *

Devin stood
frozen in the middle of the kitchen floor, holding a tea pot filled with boiled
water in one mittened hand and a plate of Danish in the other.  Devin could
hardly believe his ears.  

“Who’s getting
married?”

“You and Cara,”
Ruthie announced.  She picked up the mug he’d just placed in front of her and
dipped her tea bag in the boiling water, bobbing it up and down.  “Well don’t
act so surprised.  It’s not like I’ve been keeping my intentions a secret. 
When I called you in Manhattan I told you exactly what I was planning.  I don't
know why you and Cara sound so shocked.”

He stood there,
completely dumbfounded, although he was hard-pressed to know why.  This was
exactly the kind of thing he would expect from Ruthie.  But unlike Cara, he
wasn’t immune to it.

Ruthie stood
up, took the tea pot from his hand.  “Let me take that, Devin.  You look
completely unnatural.”

She dropped the
kettle on the stove and swung around.

“Oh, and don’t
worry.  I called your mother to invite her, but...”  She bit her bottom lip. 
“She was a little upset you didn’t call her yourself, so I smoothed things over
and gave her all the details.”

“Which are?”

“You and Cara
are getting married on Labor Day.”

“That’s it?”

“Uh-huh.  Don’t
worry.  She’s just as happy as I am.”  Ruthie sat down and turned her focus to
the steeping tea, squeezing the excess liquid from her tea bag and acting as if
all this was perfectly normal.

Yes, he called
Ruthie to ask for guidance on how to handle this situation with Cara.  Devin
knew she had something up her sleeve, but he’d never dreamed she’d gone this
far.

“And when were
you planning to tell me this hoax of a wedding you've been planning was a real
wedding?”

She looked at
him innocently over the rim of her mug.  “When you were on my side.  Which is,
I hope, the reason you called me here this morning.”

He laughed, a
rolling guttural sound that turned into a deep belly laugh he couldn’t get
under control.  He turned and hunched over, resting his hands on the counter,
trying to compose himself.

“I’m so glad
you aren’t angry,” Ruthie said, smiling brightly. 

Wiping the
laughing tears from his eyes with his palms, he said, “You’re a woman after my
own heart, Ruthie.”

“Yes, as long
as that heart meets up nicely with my daughter’s.”

He sank into
the kitchen chair opposite hers.  A sobering thought clutched him.  “There’s
only one problem.”

“Which is?”

“She doesn't
want me.  She loves Roger.”

Ruthie cocked
her head to one side and rolled her eyes.  “You don’t really believe that, do
you?”

After the way
she’d kissed him on the beach, the way she gazed up at him with those big brown
eyes of hers, he would have sworn she wanted him.  And yet, there was something
wedged between them.  

“I don’t know,”
he muttered.

She clanked her
mug on the table.  “Well, I do.  And the fact that Roger is no longer in the
picture just goes to prove that I am right.”

“Roger's
gone?”  This was getting interesting.

“He packed his
bags and left before breakfast this morning.” 

Although it
wasn’t her kitchen, Ruthie cleared the table of the mugs and Danish and brought
them to the counter.  She turned on the sink’s faucet and added a dopple of
dish soap.

“You don’t have
to do that,” he said, knowing she was going to clean his dishes anyway, because
that was just Ruthie’s way.  Unlike Cara, he didn’t find it annoying, just
amusing.

She shooshed
him with her hands.  “I’ll only be a minute.  You sit and think about what
you’re going to do to bring my daughter around.”

He sank deeper
into the chair.  “I have no idea.  That’s why I called you.”

She smiled her
pleasure.  “Remember, all is fair in love.  Roger has opened a window, now make
it into a door.  Give Cara some space.  But only for another day or two.  Have
you ever been to Nantucket?”

“No.”

“It’s simply
breathtaking.”  She leaned against the counter as soap suds rose in the sink
behind her.  “They have those beautiful quaint Inns along the beaches.  Very
romantic.” 

She turned off
the water and submerged her hands in the basin. 

“Make sure you
get a room with a sunset view.  The morning sun makes it so hard to sleep in
after a long romantic evening.”

He couldn't
believe what he was hearing.  After refusing to let her thirty-five year old
grown daughter share a room with a man she'd had an ongoing relationship with,
Ruthie was practically giving him her blessing to sleep with Cara.

He loved the
idea.

* * *

Three days had
passed since Cara's birthday party.  Two days had passed since Roger had left
for Boston.  But it seemed like another lifetime since Cara had last seen
Devin.  She’d thought of taking a walk by the cottage to see what he was up to,
but always managed to talk herself out of it.  She had a lot to think about. 
She wanted a family.  Her own family was leaving.  But what weighed most heavy
on her mind was Devin and how they would salvage their relationship after the
searing kiss they’d shared.

Instead of
thinking, she found herself engrossed in helping her parents pack for the move
to Florida.  The house had been sold and she was fighting her own conflicting
emotions on a minute by minute basis, trying to imagine some stranger hanging
pictures on the walls and living in her home.  Every memory she had was stored
between these walls.  Each item she wrapped in bubble wrap had a story to it
that she told herself again, as if she had to in order to keep the memory
alive.

And Devin was
there, too.  So much of the memories she’d drawn on in her adult life revolved
around that last summer when Devin was a staple here.  

She tore a
piece of tape out of the dispenser and applied it to the cardboard box she’d
finished filling just as Elsie walked into the kitchen.  Even with her frosted
salt and pepper hair, she looked a lot younger than Cara felt.  She was dressed
in a skin tight coral wetsuit.  Even with her silver-blue hair, she looked a
lot younger than Cara felt.

With a jubilant
smile, Elsie said, “I’m off to go parasailing with Albert.”

“Parasailing? 
I know you really like him, Grandma, but isn’t parasailing a little dangerous
for...you know.”

Elsie penciled
eyebrows stretched high on her forehead.  “Someone my age, dear?” 

That’s exactly
what Cara had been thinking, but not wanting to hurt her grandmother, she
stopped short of saying it. 

Elsie simply
chuckled.  “Never you worry, Cara.  Albert has wonderful aim.”

Cara snorted. 
“I can’t believe you’re having an affair with a man who’s Daddy’s age.”

“Someone around
here ought to be having sex.  It might as well be me.  Why don't you join us?”

“Excuse me?”

“Parasailing.”

Cara sighed. 
“I think I'll pass.”

Elsie's
penciled eyebrows stretched high on her forehead.  “Suit yourself.  But for
heaven's sake don't go moping around the house all day again.  You're much too
young.  Besides, you can't blame it on a hangover forever.”

“I'm not
moping,” Cara shot back defensively.

“Call it what
you like, but you only have a few more days’ vacation.  You said you wanted to
go to Nantucket.  Why don't you ask Devin if he wants to go with you?” 

With the
mention of Devin's name, tears filled Cara's eyes.  

Elsie dragged a
vinyl covered kitchen chair next to Cara and sank into it, taking Cara's hand. 
Her tone was soft and gentle as she spoke.  “Mia Cara, what’s troubling you
so?” 

Cara puffed her
cheeks.  She suddenly felt like a little girl with a skinned knee.  “For the
first time in my life I have no idea what I’m doing.”

Elsie chuckled
long and loud.  “It seems to me the answers have been dropped in your lap.  All
you have to do is pick them up.”

“That's easy
for you to say.”  She puffed her cheeks.  “He asked me to marry him.”  

Elsie smiled
warmly and squeezed Cara’s hand. “That’s wonderful news, dear.”

“I haven’t said
yes yet.”

“Why on earth
not?  You love him, don't you?”

Cara sighed. 
She knew the answer was no.  Although she cared about Roger, she wasn't in love
with him.  She was in love with Devin.

Elsie gave her
a gentle hug.  “If you want to know what I’d do-”

Cara perked
up.  “Yes, I do.”

“Marry him.”

Despite her
foul mood, she felt a smile tug at her lips.  “That sounds strange coming from
you.”

Elsie laughed,
but her eyes held a bittersweet twinkle.  “You were too young to remember your
grandfather.  We loved each other passionately.  There’s nothing you don’t do
to be with a man you love.”

“Yeah, I know. 
Look at Ma.  She gave up everything, her career, her dreams, everything to take
care of us.”

Elsie frowned. 
“Wherever did you get an idea like that?”