Chapter Thirty

Two hours later, Charles had not returned and Lori had done
everything she needed to before leaving: stacked her packed suitcases and large black duffle bag along the living room wall, put new sheets on Charles’s bed and washed, dried, and folded the others.

As she wiped off the kitchen table and counters one last time, Lori called Serena to tell her good-bye. After expressing her sympathetic disappointment, Serena offered to drive her to the Salt Lake airport.

“Thanks. I’ll have to call to see when the earliest flight is . . . and I’d like to stop at John’s house first.”

“I’ll drive you wherever and whenever you need to go, amiga. You call and let me know what time you want to leave, and I’ll be there.”

“Don’t you have classes?”

“Don’t worry about my classes and my schedule. I want to be there for you, so I will be there.”

“Salsa girl to the rescue, huh?”

“You’d better believe it, chica de calabacín. That’s ‘zucchini chick,’ in case you don’t know.”

Thankful for her new friend’s support, Lori called the airport and made a reservation for the five o’clock flight. That gave her a couple of hours before she’d need to leave for the airport. She called Serena back with the info.

Hanging up the phone, she went into the living room to wait for Serena to arrive. Her belongings filled the two suitcases, the duffle bag, and four big boxes stacked and ready to pack in Serena’s car.

Looking out the window, she saw Charles walking slowly back from Agatha’s house. It had begun to drizzle.

Surprised, she saw he carried Fluffy in his arms. And she wondered what on earth Agatha had said to him—or he to her—to put such a smug smile on his face.

~

“Land sakes, girl. Come in out of the rain.”

Lori stepped into Agatha’s living room, her clothes barely damp. The details of the room stood out as vividly as they had the first time she’d been here—the wicker love seat and chairs, the soft flowered cushions, the knickknacks—but for a totally different reason. Today, she was nostalgic, and she still had the good-bye ahead.

“Would you like some lemonade, sweetie? You look a little peaked.”

Lori smiled. “That’s what you asked me the day I arrived.”

“Well, I do like a good glass of hand-squeezed lemonade.”

“So do I. Thanks, I’d love one.”

Agatha bustled from the room, and soon was back with two glasses. Lori took one and sipped. “Fabulous.”

Lori no longer believed her first impression of Agatha as everyone’s grandma. No, Agatha was a savvy woman who kept herself spry and active, both physically and mentally.

As Agatha settled herself on the love seat, setting two coasters down on the glass-topped, wicker-based table, Lori tried not to think about Dawn, the beautiful, redheaded fertility goddess waiting in the wings to marry John and give him a passel of kids with red hair instead of blonde.

Lori forced a smile. “I came over to tell you good-bye. With Charles back, there’s no reason for me to stay. I’m going home.”

“My dear, what about John? He seems like a pretty good reason to me.”

Lori didn’t want to go there, not even with Agatha. “I’m curious—what did you say to Charles? He chatted with me and was super nice—but he didn’t seem overly happy when he left my place . . . his place. But when he returned, he was smiling.”

Agatha’s smile was luminous. “I don’t suppose I ever brought up the subject of Charlie with you, did I?”

“His recipe. His silliness in going to China. Things like that.”

“Ah, but there’s a story behind all of that.”

Lori chuckled and tilted her head. “I would love to hear this story.”

“Charlie came over here today to keep his part of a bargain we made two years ago.”

“Why do I think this isn’t going to be any normal kind of bargain?”

Agatha laughed. “Because you are incredibly perceptive, my dear. No, this is definitely not the normal kind of bargain because ours has not been the normal sort of courtship.”

Lori raised an eyebrow. “Courtship?”

“He came over today to ask for my hand in marriage. And I accepted.” Agatha sighed deeply, putting her hand to her heart melodramatically. The older woman was obviously enjoying every moment of the story. “Romantic, isn’t it?”

Surprised, Lori said, “Charles proposed?”

“It was about time. We’ve known each other all our lives. Went to school together. And we started dating three years ago. ”

“Really.”

Agatha just smiled.

“He seemed upset when he left my house.”

“He was pretending to be a tad angry when he reached my door, too.” Agatha smiled. “But as you can tell, it all worked out for the best.”

“I am so happy for you. I guess that trip to China made him realize what was really important to him.”

Agatha shot her an amused look. “Actually, we’re back to the bargain now.”

“Ah, the not-so-normal bargain. I can hardly wait to hear the details.”

Agatha took another slow sip. “Well, after the man had courted me for a year, and had not had the decency of offering a proposal, I told him it was high time he got around to it. In return, he got a trifle snippy and told me that he would not be pushed.” Agatha motioned to Lori. “You might want to put down your cup, dear.”

Not sure why, Lori did as Agatha suggested.

Agatha continued. “Charlie told me he loves a resourceful woman, and so—here comes the bargain—if I could get my hands on a certain zucchini chicken curry recipe of his, then he would propose. I was too proud to go looking for it until you came. But it seems he’d hidden it in plain sight, hoping I’d find it, or that someone would. And, two years later, you came along to help us.”

Glad now that she’d put down the cup so she didn’t spill the lemonade as she started to laugh, Lori said, “You are so very sneaky, Agatha McCrea. You used me to get that recipe. You played me like a Stradivarius. And so did Charles. I love it.”

“You merely helped me keep my side of the bargain.” Agatha settled back into the cushions with a satisfied smile. “And so Charlie, being a man of honor, if not of great speed, came over this day to keep his.”

Lori couldn’t stop laughing, and Agatha joined her with a few chuckles of her own.

Finally, Lori wiped her eyes. “Oh, thank you. I needed that today. At least one of us is going to end up with a happily ever after.”

“You’ll have yours, too, my dear. And you and John are young enough to have it all. You’ll get married, have a family, enjoy many years together. All Charlie and I will have is our cats. Well, and our passion for gardens. And our romance novels.”

“I’m giving John back his ring.”

Agatha gasped. “Young lady, tell me what is wrong between you and your young man. You changed the subject before, and I expect you not to do so again.”

The laughter seemed to have opened any barriers between the two women, not that there were many left, and Lori was relieved to share her burden.

“I didn’t tell John the truth about me. I didn’t tell anyone. But after seeing John holding his brother’s baby, well, I told John what I should have told him when he proposed.” Lori’s voice trembled. “I can’t have children. Not ever.”

“Oh, I am sorry, Lori. I didn’t know or I would never have said anything about a family.” Agatha frowned. “What did he say?”

“He said we’d get through this together, but he needed time to think things through. He called to tell me he was going to the Uintah Mountains to fight a fire.” Lori shook her head. “But I saw the look on his face when I told him the truth. He’s going to want his ring back. He won’t get over this.”

“Oh, land sakes, no, sweetie. He’s a good man. Give him a few days to work things through in his man’s mind and he’ll be back with flowers in his hand.”

“I wish that were the case.” But it had been three days already. Surely he could call from the mountains, if he really wanted to. Lori had no hope left. She shrugged. “I couldn’t wait two years, anyway.”

With a sad smile, Agatha said, “If the man is the right man for you, you’d be surprised how long you can wait. But it won’t take John two years. He’s obviously crazy about you. He’ll work his way through this. Trust him. Give him a little time.”

But Lori didn’t see how he could ever forgive her. She’d seen the hurt, betrayed look in his eyes when he’d left.

She suspected it was similar to the hurt, betrayed look she’d given her father, and she’d never been able to forgive him.

She was going to free John from his obligation to her. It was the only gift she had left to give him.

~

An hour later, Lori’s heart pounded as she stood before John’s door.

A note seemed so impersonal, so she tried his cell phone number one more time. When she reached his voicemail again and heard his warm, deep voice, she fought back tears. This time, she left a message: “John, this is Lori. Charles came back early and I’m flying home today. I . . . I think it will be best for both of us to get on with our separate lives. I wish you happiness, John.”

Only after she hung up did she whisper, “I love you.”

Pain like barbed wire coiled within her, pricking her heart each time she moved. She pulled out the envelope she’d brought with her, the note she’d hoped she wouldn’t have to leave, the note that said pretty much what her voicemail had said.

Looking down, the sun glinted off the large diamond John had insisted be set into her engagement ring. With a sigh, she pulled the note out and added one more line: P.S. I’m giving you back the ring. It’s beautiful, but you gave it to the wrong woman.

Pausing, she looked at the ring—her last real link to John, to her hopes about their marriage, to her chance at true happiness. With a painful sigh, she slipped it from her finger, placed it in the envelope, licked and sealed it, and taped it to the inside of his screen door, down at the bottom so other people couldn’t see it.

“Good-bye, John Wayne Walker,” she whispered. “It was great while it lasted.”

Then she made the long walk back to the car and let Serena drive her to the Salt Lake airport.