The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection (29 page)

Was it her fault? Had she lost her touch? Or
was it simply a lack of conviction on her part? It truly was time
for younger people to start taking over. Joanie and her sister
Sophie seemed to have a real handle on the younger ones, and
normally that was the age group that had the problems. Maybe it was
time to change things up and feature only the little ones.

About halfway to their destination the bus
made a stop so that people could stretch their legs, use the
facilities, and purchase coffee from a diner located right off the
highway. Donna stayed on the bus, but Helen got off to walk around
a bit. When she got back on the bus she felt better.

Her fingers kept working, and her scarf got
longer. And while she worked, she dreamed. In her dream, all her
troubles were gone.

Well, maybe not gone. She’d never want to be
a fairytale princess. But it would be nice if they would just… ease
up for a while. Her life wasn’t hard, by any standards. She had a
roof over her head and food to eat. She had two sons and two
daughters-in-law who looked out for her. She had friends. What more
did she need?

Someone to share my
burdens.
Someone to talk to after the sun
goes down, after the fun is over.

The bus pulled off the highway into Mackinaw
City, and soon she saw the pier where they would board the ferry to
the island. Gathering her things, she helped her seat mate
disembark. Donna walked with a cane, so Helen carried both purses
and her tote bag over one arm and took her friend’s elbow with the
other. Their luggage would be loaded onto the ferry for them, so
the tour guide led the entire group to board. They’d almost reached
the ramp to the boat when she heard a familiar voice, one that made
her toes curl.

“
Let me help
you.”

She acknowledged him with a smile and a nod
then lowered her face, not wanting her friend to see her
excitement. With her on one side and Mike on the other, Donna made
it up the ramp and into a seat on the lower level of the ferry
boat. Others made their way to the open top level, but Helen was
happy to stay below where the windows protected them from the
breeze and occasional spray from passing watercraft.

Once the boat cast off, Donna started
peppering Mike with questions. “You’re Pastor Sikkema’s brother,
aren’t you? Are you joining us on the tour? Did you miss the bus
this morning?”

Mike answered in good humor. “Yes, I’m Mike.
The tour bus was full, but I called the hotel and was able to book
myself into the Murder Mystery weekend. I’ll be able to join you
for all the activities.”

“
That’s wonderful. Too bad
you had to drive all this way on your own.”

“
I don’t mind. It works out
well, because now I’ll be able to stop on my way home and check out
some other tourist destinations, like Traverse City and Pentwater.
I haven’t been in Michigan for quite a while.”

“
Mike writes for a travel
magazine,” Helen explained.

“
Really?” The woman
brightened. “Write an article about Zutphen. If people see what a
great town we have, maybe more people will move in instead of
moving out.”

“
But, Donna, there aren’t
many jobs for younger families or places for seniors to live in
Zutphen.”

“
So let’s build a seniors’
complex. I’d move in right away. And that would provide jobs for
the younger people.”

“
That sounds like a great
idea. How can we get something like that to happen?”

Their discussion continued until the ferry
landed at the island.

“
What would you
like to see first?” Mike asked.

They’d checked into their rooms and taken a
tour of the hotel. After a light lunch, the travelers were free to
shop or tour the island until dinner. Donna chose to rest in their
room. “I’ve been here enough times to know I don’t need to go
shopping,” the older woman had insisted.

“
I-I don’t know. It’s been
so long since I’ve visited. The last time Joe and I came here, the
boys were small. We rented bicycles and rode around the entire
island. The scenery was beautiful. But I don’t think I want to do
that now. It’s been way too long since I rode a bike.”

He laughed. “If you like, we could get a
tandem bike.”

She perked up and gazed at him, those bright
blue eyes sparkling, and he thought he’d drown in their depths.
“Really? I’ve always wanted to ride on one of those.”

“
Let’s do it.” They walked
to one of the many bike centers, and within twenty minutes, they
were off on the trail. The path was gentle, the way she remembered.
Mike rode in front, doing most of the work, leaving Helen free to
pedal with very little effort. They went counter clockwise around
the island, so the water was on their right. It was so lovely to be
able to just take in the scenery and not worry about two small boys
riding along behind her. Occasionally they would have to gravitate
to the side to pass a horse drawn carriage or some joggers, but
otherwise their path was pretty much unobstructed. The leaves had
already finished changing colors, earlier than in the southern part
of the state.

The road going around the island was around
eight miles. Mike had rented the bike for two hours, so they rode
at a leisurely pace. They made a few stops to take pictures of the
Mackinaw Bridge and the boats making their way from Lake Michigan
to Lake Huron. Helen couldn’t resist taking one or two of Mike when
he wasn’t looking. She’d just file those for later, when she was
alone.

Good grief, I sound like a lovesick
teenager! What on earth are you thinking, pining after a younger
man?

“
Something wrong?” Mike
appeared at her side.

“
Hmm? No, not at all.” Had
she said the words aloud?

“
You were wearing a
ferocious scowl. I thought maybe we’d overdone it on the bike
ride.”

“
Oh no, I’m fine.” Seeing a
buzzing insect, she swatted at it. “I was just irritated at this…
this
bug
.”

He laughed. “Well, if you’re not too sore,
maybe we’d better head back. Maybe we can outrun the bugs.”

They got back on their bike and rode another
few miles. Just as they turned a corner, the most stunning sight
she’d ever beheld came into view. How had she missed it before?

Mike heard her gasp and brought the bike
over to the shoulder. “Is something wrong? Are you okay?”

She smiled to reassure him and pointed.
“Isn’t that the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen?”

High on the rocky hills above them, it
looked as if someone had bored a hole through the rocky cliff. The
setting sun shone through the arch as if threading a needle, and
the rays pointed down on them. A sign nearby identified the place
as Arch Rock, and they could see several bikers and walkers making
their way up a road leading up the hill toward the arch.

“
Do you want to ride up
there?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Just riding this flat
road around the island is enough exercise for me. If you want to
go, I’ll wait here.”

Mike unpacked his camera. “I’ll see if I can
get some good pictures from here.”

~~~~

Mike took pictures
from several angles, climbing up a little way but
not wanting to get too far away from Helen. He knew he could always
come back later if he wanted close-ups.

“
You seem to know your way
around a camera,” she observed.

“
Comes with the job,” he
said. “When I travel, I don’t always have a professional
photographer with me. And you can’t have travel articles without
pictures.”

“
I used to love to travel.”
She sighed, her face wreathed in a wistful smile. Mike held tight
to his camera to keep from wrapping his arms around her.

“
Used to?”

“
My husband and I traveled
a great deal after the boys left the house. After Joe sold the
business we’d start planning our next vacation almost as soon as we
got home from the last one. It became a game. First, we had a goal
of visiting all four corners of the country. Then, each continent.
After that, we were going to dip our feet in each of the
oceans.”

“
Sounds like a fun way to
plan your vacations.”
And it sounds like
the perfect way to approach a series of articles.
The wheels started turning in his head as he
packed his camera back in its case.

“
It was. We didn’t quite
make it to the Indian Ocean. Joe got sick very suddenly and was
gone before we could even make plans to go.”

“
Well, maybe someday you’ll
make it there. And you can dip two toes in — one for you and one
for him.”

She laughed, and he couldn’t stop staring at
her beauty. How could this woman possibly be a grandmother? Her
face was still unlined… and the rest of her wasn’t bad either.

He shook his head, trying to cast away his
errant thoughts. He’d wanted to hug her, to reassure her, to
promise he’d take her to that last ocean. But it was too soon for
that. So he’d cracked a joke and made her laugh.

And now he wanted her more than ever.

He didn’t realize he’d made
a conscious decision. Maybe he didn’t. His arms reached out and
wrapped around her, enveloping her in a hug.
A brotherly hug,
he thought. Or maybe
not. He squeezed.

Her arms reached around him and squeezed
back. “Oh, thank you so much for taking me around the island, Mike.
I never would have seen this awesome sight if you hadn’t suggested
the tandem bike. I’ve missed this the most, I think. I can live
without luxuries and new clothes and furniture, but I miss the
adventure. The looking for new things to see and do. Thank
you.”

Being with you is an adventure.

But he couldn’t do that. If she was still
mourning her husband, she wasn’t ready for a relationship.

Relationship? Where did
that come from?
He wasn’t looking for a
relationship of any kind. They were worlds apart. She’d never fit
into the big city life in Chicago. His time in her world was only
temporary.

He patted her shoulder and let go. Best to
keep things friendly. He still had a job in a different city —
hopefully.

They got back on the bike and continued
their ride around the island.

But he couldn’t dismiss the vision she’d
created with her face tipped upward, her smile shining with
happiness and joy, her hair floating in the wind. She could rival
any movie star. For the first time, a woman had broken through and
created an ache, a longing in him, a part he’d long forgotten.
She’d reached his soul.

What am I supposed to do? Could this really
work? Is this the real thing? Or has it been too long since I’ve
had a… connection with a woman?

Behind him, Helen shouted something and
pointed to the right. He looked in the direction she indicated,
where two ferry boats cut across the water. They traveled toward
each other, one heading south to the island from St. Ignace, and
the other going north to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

He pulled over to the shoulder and stopped
again. “Are you okay? Or did you want to stop and watch the ferry
boats?”

“
Oh, I’m fine,” she
insisted. “I just thought those two ferries looked like they were
going to run into each other!”

“
I’m sure it’s just the
angle we’re seeing them from. They won’t run into one another. But
we can watch for a few minutes.”

Sure enough, the two ferries slipped by each
other without incident and continued toward their destinations. He
turned to her, intending to tease her about her worries, but he
noticed her shiver.

“
Are you cold? Would you
like my sweater?” She wore a light coat. Maybe she needed another
layer.

She shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine if we
keep going. When we stop the wind starts to cut through all the
layers I’m wearing.” She looked at him with a teasing grin. “But
when you’re riding in front, you block all the wind. So let’s get
back on the road.”

He couldn’t help it. He reached out and
tweaked her nose. At her shriek of surprise, he turned and started
pedaling. He wasn’t sure if he was hurrying back to the hotel or
racing away from his feelings.

Helen dressed
carefully,
taking special care with her
hair and makeup. Tonight the tour group would go ballroom dancing
inside the Grand Hotel. She felt like she was getting ready for a
high school dance, and for a moment she panicked. High school
dances had not been fun. She’d always stood on the side of the
room, waiting for someone to ask her to dance. And it had never
happened. Would this be the same?

Still, it would be fun to see all the ladies
in their fancy dresses and the men in their suits. The Grand Hotel
had a strict dress code. Thankfully, Helen was able to fit into the
dress she’d worn for Paul’s wedding ten years ago. The midnight
blue satin gown was fancier than anything else she owned, and the
matching lace jacket added elegance as well as a little warmth.

Would Mike be there? He’d said he’d joined
the tour group for everything except the bus ride. She couldn’t
wait to see if he would come. Would he dance? More importantly,
would he dance with her?

As she and Donna made their way through the
halls of the historic hotel toward the Terrace Room, the sounds of
the musicians tuning their instruments reached her ears, and her
excitement rose. She wanted to move more quickly, but as Donna
relied on her cane to move about, they walked at a sedate pace. She
slowed her steps to stay with her friend, humming along with the
music.