Chapter 37

Second Chances

“Lord God, these are your people. I commit them back into your hands. Guide them, protect them and keep them in your care as they leave this place. Amen.”

Prodigal talked with some of the other church members as they made their way through the crowd.

“That was a great service wasn’t it?” One of the members said to Prodigal.

“Sure was. Pastor makes his messages so plain and clear.”

“That’s one of the main reasons I like Unity Church.”

“I’ll second that. Well, it was nice talking to you. Have a great week,” Prodigal told the gentleman before going in the direction of children’s church to pick up the boys.

Arriving home, the boys rushed inside.

“Daddy, I’m hungry,” Kaleb whined as they entered the house.

“Go look in the fridge and grab a fruit. We’re going to Captain James Landing for dinner a little later.”

“Yes sir,” he answered before racing into the kitchen.

Several months had passed. The conversation about Teary moving to Bonsai Bay hadn’t been mentioned between Prodigal and Teary. It wasn’t that he had forgotten, he just didn’t want her to think he was pushing her to make such a big move. Events, however, turned out so that the decision was made for the both of them.

For the past several weeks, Prodigal had been having problems with his amputation. Excruciating, pain, swelling and redness ran from the point of amputation up to his hip for no apparent reason. His prosthetist was afraid infection had settled in his good tissue because the skin around his hip area was discolored and it was difficult for him to wear his prosthesis. Because of this, Prodigal was told to see an orthopedic doctor. Until then he was advised to spend more time in his scooter. He would much rather do that than drop the heavy dose of painkillers that were always at his disposal.

When the pain and swelling became unbearable, Dr. Walker, an orthopedist, decided to put him in the hospital and run some tests. When he made it home from the doctor’s office, he sent Teary an e-mail and informed her about his situation.

Instead of e-mailing him back, she picked up the phone and called him instead.

“Hey, what’s going on?" she asked concerned. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just need to have some tests done,” he explained.

“What kind of tests? Why didn’t you tell me you were having problems with your leg?” she yelled.

“Whoa, wait a minute, woman. One question at a time. I’m not going to tell you every time I have an ache or pain. I’m a big boy who’s fully capable of taking care of himself. My doctor just wants to rule out some things, that’s all. I don’t think it’s anything serious. I’ll only be in the hospital a couple of days.”

“The hospital? Who’s going to take care of the boys?”

“The Richards, so don’t go worrying about us.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Richards are too old to be trying to take care of two rambunctious boys and you know it. When are they planning on doing the tests?” She shot off.

His reply was sarcastic mixed with a hint of laughter and amusement. “Let me see. How do I answer these third degree questions? Well, they want me to have the tests done right away. But I told Dr. Walker, there’s no way I can do it right now. I have too much to get done. I just can’t up and check into the hospital at the drop of a dime. I have my sons to think about. After all, I don’t know what the tests are going to reveal, so I have to get things in order on the home front first. So to make a long story short, I told him I’d do it in a couple of weeks. Why do you want to know all of this stuff, my nosy little friend?”

“Because I’ll be there. I’ll work things out with my job. This time I guess I’ll probably have to bring my four-legged babies along if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t want you to do this. I’ll be fine.”

“It’s not you that I’m worried about. It’s the boys,” Teary told him.

“I guess we’ll see you in a couple of weeks then huh? And since you’ve made up your mind to come, take my credit card information and book the flight for you and your mini-zoo.”

“I’ll talk to you later. I have plans to make,” she said, excitedly.

The next day Teary went into her boss’s office. This time she requested an extended leave of absence. Her boss hated the idea because he had a strange feeling that she might not come back this time. Nevertheless, he approved a three-month leave of absence and gave her some connections at a couple of newspaper offices in Bonsai Bay in case she wanted to do some freelance work. Teary made arrangements for her pets to travel, and informed her friend Patricia of her plans. She went to the post office and had her mail forwarded to a post office box. Patricia agreed to check the box once a week for Teary. Everything was working out just fine.

♦

Prodigal pulled back the Velcro holding strap on his prosthesis and carefully placed it next to his scooter then eased himself into the king sized bed. Though he hadn’t had the tests done yet, the anti-inflammatory medications the doctor prescribed had helped to alleviate some of the discomfort he had experienced over the past few weeks. Knowing Teary would be arriving in a few days lifted his spirits too

Repositioning his head on the pillow and placing his hands underneath the back of his head, Prodigal laughed out loud suddenly. His thoughts were on the blind date he was about to go on tomorrow night. How could he have allowed Glen to convince him to go on a blind date, of all things? Man, what was I thinking when I agreed to meet his wife’s cousin? Prodigal thought while laughing at himself.

He called and told Teary about the blind date set up, hoping she would tell him that it wasn’t such a good idea. But much to his surprise, she’d done just the opposite by encouraging him to go. She said that she wished she was in Bonsai Bay to see him go on his first date, as she put it. But Prodigal was nervous enough already. This time tomorrow night, he would be sitting across a dinner table from God knows who just because Glen couldn’t find a way to entertain his wife’s cousin who’d recently moved to Bonsai Bay. Teary gave him some ideas on how to dress fashionably so he wouldn’t come off as a geek.

♦

Tomorrow arrived way too soon for Prodigal. He took his shower then began to get ready for his date. He was never the kind who loved to dress up, but if the occasion called for it, he had no problems doing it. Tonight was one such time. Of course, Teary had insisted that he buy something new.

After putting on his ensemble he surveyed himself in the mirror and was quite pleased at what stared back at him. Fresh haircut. Black and cream, Sean John, dress shirt. Black, tailor-made, slacks. Black, Cole Haan, square toed shoes. Spot of jewelry on the left hand. Movado on the right wrist. Definitely not bad, Prodigal said to the man staring back at him in the mirror. Not bad at all. By the time he finished getting dressed it was time to take the boys to the sitter’s.

Prodigal grabbed the boys’ jackets and they headed outside.

“Come on, hurry up. I’m going to be late,”

He led them across the street. Mrs. Richards stood in the doorway patiently waiting on them.

“Good evening, Mrs. Richards.”

“Hello, Prodigal. Hi boys, come on in,” Mrs. Richards told them. “I just made a batch of chocolate chip cookies.” Kaleb and Kevin ran inside without saying goodbye to their father.

“Have a good time, Prodigal,” Mrs. Richards said in her always pleasant voice.

“Thank you, Mrs. Richards. I’m going to try.”

He went back across the street, climbed into his SUV and within ten minutes he was pulling up in front of his blind date’s house. I must be the biggest fool.

Twenty minutes after leaving home, he pulled up in front of his mystery date’s house. Before he could get out of the SUV, he saw a woman standing in the doorway.

“Don’t bother getting out because I’m ready,” she said as she approached the vehicle. “I was looking out for you.”

He leaned over and opened the door for her just in time to get a peek at the camisole she wore underneath her fringed boucle’ blazer. He liked what he saw. Her fuchsia wide leg pants were accented with a satin sash that highlighted her svelte figure. She eased into the car and he smelled the freshness of her skin. Leather beaded slides revealed perfectly pedicured feet. He allowed his eyes to visit the contours of her curvaceous body.

“Hi, I’m Prodigal,” he said. “And you must be my lovely blind date.”

“Yes, I’m Sheerah Samuels,” she smiled, extending her hand to him

“You are a gorgeous blind date,” he responded, shaking her hand gently.

“Thanks. What a nice thing to say.”

“I call it like I see it.”

Sheerah blushed and closed the door.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yep, I’m ready. Let’s get this party started,” she laughed.

The two of them laughed and talked with relative ease on their way to the restaurant. The conversation continued when they arrived and were seated at their table.

“Tell me about yourself, Sheerah.”

“I’m a recent divorcee with a daughter who’ll be fifteen in a couple of weeks,” she started. “She can’t wait to get her first cell phone.”

“I guess that’s the latest fad for teenagers. At least I don’t have that to worry about that for a few years.”

“How many children do you have?”

“Two. Six-year old twin boys who love action figures and video games.”

Prodigal felt relaxed the more he talked to his date. It felt good to be out with a woman. He hadn’t realized how much he missed the companionship of the opposite sex. In addition to being easy to talk to, Sheerah was definitely good on the eyes.

“Your turn,” she said to him.

“Let’s see,” Prodigal said as he appeared to be in thought. “I’m a widow. My wife died a little over two years ago,” he informed her.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks.”

“What happened to your leg?”

“Wow, you’re not shy are you?”

Sheerah looked directly at him. “I believe the only way to find out what you want to know is to ask. And if you don’t want to answer then that’s fine too.”

“No, it’s just that I’m not used to people being so upfront. Usually they just stare at me when I walk. Now that’s when I get pissed. But to answer your question, I’m a firefighter. I had some complications after getting injured in a pretty big blaze.”

“I see,” she nodded.

“Since we’re asking all of these deep questions, now it’s your turn.”

Sheerah smiled. “Let her rip.”

“What caused the breakup of your marriage?”

“Well me and my husband had a great marriage for almost twenty years.” Sheerah twitched in her chair. “We were high school sweethearts and best friends. He worked hard, made a good home for me and our daughter, but somewhere along the way he got lost.”

“Lost? What do you mean?”

“He’s a trial lawyer. A good one at that. But with his career came long hours. As for me, I dabble in real estate a little bit, but mostly I was at home playing the part of the good wife and mother. I don’t know when things changed. It’s like I woke up one morning and we had grown apart. I didn’t know who he was anymore.”

Prodigal saw the pain envelop her face as she spoke. “If you can’t go on, then don’t. I didn’t mean to drudge up unpleasant memories.”

“No, its okay,” she responded, continuing her story. “We were invited to the Mayor’s Ball. We would attend every year. I was busy socializing at the ball, not really noticing that I hadn’t seen him for at least an hour. When I finally did miss him, my initial thought was that maybe he was somewhere conducting business, which wasn’t unusual for him. About thirty more minutes passed and I still didn’t see a sign of him anywhere. I walked to the outer lobby. He wasn’t out there so I walked down the corridor toward the balcony. As I approached the balcony, I heard muffled sounds. The voice became clearer as I got nearer. ‘I love you.’ The voice was not that of a stranger. I felt a sickening sensation in the pit of my stomach. I tiptoed closer until the two of them were in my eye view. He held her up against him, the way he used to hold me. They were sharing a deep, passionate kiss. I stood frozen, watching as his hands took free reign over her body. I listened to her sounds of obvious pleasure.”

Prodigal stopped her. “Don’t go any further, Sheerah.”

Sheerah met his gaze. “It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt so much now.”

“I didn’t mean to pry. Really, I didn’t. And I’m sorry you had to go through something like that. To see your husband in the arms of another woman had to be devastating.”

“It was. And I knew her too. It was one of the partners in his law firm. I never suspected a thing.”

“The two of you couldn’t work things out?”

“We tried, but eventually I had to admit that he just didn’t love me any more. So we got a divorce. I needed to make a new start. And here I am.” Sheerah smiled, raising her hands.

“I’m sorry about the divorce, but I’m glad you came to Bonsai Bay. Come on, let’s have a toast.”

They raised their glasses of red wine up in the air. Prodigal proposed the toast. “To the future and all good things in life.” They clinked their glasses together and laughed as they each took a sip.

“The halibut was good wasn’t it?” remarked Sheerah.

“It sure was. And the cheese biscuits. I could eat a dozen of them. ”

“I think you did.” she joked.

“Wait a minute now. Are you trying to call me greedy?”

“If the shoe fits.” They laughed.

Deciding not to have dessert, Prodigal paid the check. The two of them left the restaurant.

Once inside the car, Prodigal began talking to Sheerah about Teary. “We’ve been friends since we were kids,” he explained. “The woman has always been there for me. And I’ve tried to be there for her as well.”

“It’s good to have friends like that. My best friend is in Denver, though we haven’t been friends as long as you and yours. But really, my best friend was my husband. Which is one of the reasons I could never hate him or dislike him. I was hurt by his act of betrayal, but once my heart began to heal, I realized that he and I would always share something special. Out of our love our daughter, Alexis, was born.”

“Yeah, that’s a blessing in and of itself,” remarked Prodigal as he stopped at the traffic light. “Anger and hate saps our strength and sucks away at our lives. When Faith died, it took a while before I was able to let go of the anger and bitterness. Once I let go, then I felt my heart begin to heal.”

“I’m sure Teary was there for you, huh?”

“Yeah, she was. And she still is. The woman is remarkable. She’s going to be here in a few days; maybe you two will get a chance to meet.”

“Yeah, maybe we will.”

Arriving at Sheerah’s house, he pulled up into her driveway and turned off the engine.

“Would you like to come in and have a cup of coffee before we say goodnight?”

“On one condition.” Prodigal said.

“What’s that?”

“If you let me make it.”

“You won’t get a fight from me. Follow me,” she ordered.

Prodigal followed Sheerah inside. He complimented her taste in decorating her house. Sheerah led him into the kitchen, showed him where everything was for the coffee, then she sat down at the breakfast nook. When Prodigal finished making the coffee, Sheerah retrieved two mugs from the cabinet and brought them over to the table.

Prodigal took pleasure in Sheerah’s company. Sitting down in the chair across from Sheerah, Prodigal sipped on his coffee before setting it on the table in front of him. Slowly, Sheerah removed her manicured hands from around her cup and sat it down next to his. Encircling her slender fingers between his, he brought them to his lips and kissed them lightly. Their eyes locked simultaneously. Without resistance, she welcomed the warmth of his moist kiss before pulling back.

“I think you’d better go,” she spoke.

“I think you’re right,” he agreed. Prodigal stood up and Sheerah walked him to the door. For the first time since he picked her up, they remained quiet until reaching the front door.

“Goodnight, Sheerah.”

“Goodnight, Prodigal. And thanks for a wonderful evening,” Sheerah replied before closing the door.