Arcineh got home from an especially tough day in the last storage unit to find chaos at the house. It was just past mid-April, and she had not expected the pool work to start so soon. Parking on the street and going in by way of the kitchen, Arcineh found Violet at the stove.
“Did you know about this?”
“Of course I knew about this.”
“But you didn’t tell me.”
“I just do what I’m told,” Violet said.
“Since when?” Arcineh teased before making her way to the family room and the patio doors. She looked out at the hole being dug and spotted her grandfather, wrapped against the cool temperatures, enjoying the show from a chaise lounge.
“Surveying your kingdom?” his granddaughter asked.
“No, just thinking that I chose the wrong kind of work. I really want to run that backhoe.”
Arcineh had a good laugh over this and pulled up a lounger of her own.
“How did it go?”
“I found this,” she said, passing an eight-by-ten photo to him. “I thought Gage might enjoy seeing it, but I’m hoping you can tell me about it first.”
“Ah, yes,” Sam said, looking at his son with a group of other men, all standing next to bicycles. “This was in college.”
“I didn’t know he ever rode. I never saw a bike.”
“He was too much like me after he graduated—all work and little play. I guess I’m glad he didn’t have a bike. You would have seen even less of him.”
Arcineh had forgotten about that. Her mother had been home the most and made it such fun that she hadn’t always noticed his absence.
“Was it a school team?”
“No, but the young men were all from the university. This man right here,” Sam pointed, “was your father’s roommate.”
Arcineh grew thoughtful. “There aren’t a lot of questions you think to ask when you’re eleven. I wonder if I even knew my parents.”
“In all fairness, Arcineh, that would be their fault. They lived around your world. Do you remember how long it took for you to dance after the accident?”
“A long time.”
“Yes. You’d never done it without your mother. She didn’t have a life outside of you and Trevor, and because Trevor worked a lot, much of the time it was just you.”
Arcineh had to think about this. It was not something she had thought about very much. Gage worked a lot. With the legal business over and the new lineup coming out, he worked late most nights. If they ever got married, would he work just as much, leaving her and their prospective children alone?
“What’s going on in that head?”
“What are the right hours for a man to work, especially men like you and Gage who own your own companies?”
“You have to ask the hard ones, don’t you?”
Arcineh waited, but Sam didn’t answer. His granddaughter didn’t press him, but the question stayed on her mind.
“This is a great photo,” Gage said, having studied Arcineh’s father for a while, “and comes at a very appropriate time.”
“How’s that?”
“Come this way,” Gage invited, taking Arcineh out her front door and down the sidewalk to his house. He had her stand in the driveway while he ran inside and put the garage door up.
Arcineh had to smile. Gage came out to get her like a kid on Christmas morning. Parked next to his car was his bike, the one he was currently riding. Next to it was a smaller bike, a woman’s bike.
“My sister got a new bike for Christmas. This is her old one, and she said you could use it.”
“That was sweet of her,” Arcineh said.
“Wasn’t it? And if you’re free, we’ll go biking this Saturday. It’s supposed to hit 74.”
Arcineh had to smile again. He made it sound like a heat wave.
“Am I being laughed at?”
“No,” Arcineh lied, working to school her face.
“So you’ll go?” he double-checked.
“Yes, but I’m not in shape like you are. Will you remember that?”
“You’re in great shape,” he argued.
“For dancing,” Arcineh tried to tell him, but he was already asking her to sit on the bike so he could adjust the seat and check the pedals.
A day with Gage. Arcineh was looking forward to it already. She only hoped she would be physically up to whatever he had in mind.
“This is the most adorable baby on the planet,” Arcineh said, holding two-week-old Emilie in her arms. “How do you get anything done?”
“You can look at this messy apartment and ask that?”
“It looks fine.”
“It’s picked up, but not dusted or vacuumed. Don’t look in the corners.”
“Does Will care?”
“No,” Jalaina smiled. “He comes in the door looking for one face, and it’s not mine.”
Arcineh laughed with her friend, and then laughed again when Emilie started. She didn’t cry, however, and Arcineh cuddled her close and kissed her downy soft head.
“What changed for you?” Jalaina suddenly asked, and Arcineh looked at her friend, knowing just what she was talking about.
“Seeing Sam. You remember everything I told you—how he favored my cousin? All that is gone. He’s working very hard to be close to all of us. And he doesn’t fight with his daughter anymore,” Arcineh added, “but my Aunt Tiffany hasn’t changed a bit.”
“So that did what for you?” Jalaina asked, taking her now-fussing daughter and letting her nurse.
“Well, he gives all the credit to God, but he never believed in God. I went to church with him just to see what it was like, and Gage went with us and then Gage had all these questions.”
“Did Gage already believe in God?”
“Yes, but not in a personal way like Sam, and Gage wanted that.”
“How is it personal?”
“Well, one verse I know about is in John 15. It says, ‘You are My friends if you do what I command you.’ Jesus says it.”
“You know the Bible?”
“Just a few verses, but I’m learning more all the time.”
“Could Will and I go with you Sunday?” Jalaina asked.
“Yes. I’d like that.”
Jalaina stared at her. “What are the odds that you, an atheist, now know more verses than I do?”
“But you could know them too, Jalaina. I’m sure of it.”
“Thanks, Arcie,” the new mother said quietly, her eyes still searching Arcineh’s, the yearning in her face unmistakable.
Arcineh didn’t even know what to pray right then. She just asked God to help them both.
Arcineh read the verses in Genesis 16 a second time, her mind trying to take it all in. Sarai had actually sent her husband to be with another woman in order to have children. Arcineh read about Hagar and Abram and had all she could do not to shake her head.
It was early, but she knew Sam would be up. Bible in hand, she went looking for him and found him in the four-season room, his own Bible open.
“Can I bother you?”
“No bother,” he said, looking over the top of his glasses.
“Why would Sarai encourage Abram to take another wife?”
“Because she didn’t trust. God had made a promise, one that seemed impossible to her, and so she ran ahead of God’s plan, thinking this was the way Abram would bear a son.”
“What kind of woman was Sarai to do such a thing?”
“As a matter of fact, Sarah, as she’s later called, is very special. That’s not to say that she didn’t make mistakes, but she was the perfect mate for Abraham, again, a name he came to be called later, and God blessed her repeatedly for her faith.”
“He’s so forgiving, Sam. I can’t believe how much He’s willing to forgive.”
“It’s true, isn’t it? Whenever I lose sight of what went on on the cross, I forget what a huge, saving God He is.”
Arcineh was quiet as she thought about this. It was almost more than she could take in.
“What time do you go with Gage?” Sam asked.
“Not until 10:00.”
“Do you want to read together for a while?”
Arcineh was very pleased with the idea. Sam answered questions as she continued in chapter 16, and then they prayed together. It was a perfect start to the day.
“Are you okay back there?” Gage asked, clearly having the time of his life.
“Yes,” she shouted, thinking she could get used to this in a hurry. He had taken them along the lake shore park, and the day was gorgeous. Arcineh, wearing the new Rugby Shades Gage had given her, was having a blast.
Gage had brought a lunch for them, and they would be stopping in an hour to eat. Arcineh could have eaten then—she’d had a small breakfast—but she pressed on. However, some 30 minutes later, when Gage suggested an early lunch, she was all for it.
They sat on a grassy area. It was a bit cool but dry, and Gage trotted out a lovely feast of deli sandwiches, fruit, cheesecake, and plenty of water. They were eating in companionable silence when Gage surprised her with a question.
“Have you ever been overweight?”
“No, why?”
Gage touched a part of her upper arm that extended from the sleeveless top she wore. “These stretch marks.”
“Dancing,” Arcineh explained. “Years of dancing.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“I guess I don’t think too much about them. They’re part of dance, and I’ve been in that world for so long—” Arcineh shrugged, letting the sentence hang, but she had a sudden horrible thought. “Are they gross to you?”
“No,” Gage said, his face showing his surprise. “I just didn’t realize dancing would do that.”
Arcineh brushed at her arm a moment, suddenly wishing her skin were perfect. Just as suddenly, she found her jaw in Gage’s hand. With a gentle movement, he brought her eyes to his.
“They’re not gross.”
Arcineh nodded and relaxed, knowing that pleasing Gage was more important to her all the time. Her grandfather said she was falling in love, and Arcineh knew he had to be right.
“Tell me something,” Arcineh said, knowing she had better think about something else before she grabbed this man and kissed him. “What’s the biggest change for you, Gage?”
“My thought life. I was pretty distracted by women’s bodies, and I wondered if that was always going to be the case, but now I catch myself and know that my thoughts can’t go there. It actually feels better not to look, to fight through the temptation.”
Arcineh had not expected this.
“In fact,” he went on quietly, “that’s why you’re riding behind me or beside me and not leading.”
“That’s thoughtful of you,” Arcineh said, very impressed that he had planned ahead.
“What about you? What’s the biggest change for you?”
“It’s probably the lack of fear and resentment. I didn’t think I was the type to feel sorry for myself, but I blamed a lot of things on my grandfather and feared being left alone all the time. I still think about those things, and I’m tempted to fear, but there’s no panic. I know I’m not alone now.”
“The peace is amazing, isn’t it? I talked to an old friend on the phone this morning. I tried to tell him about my peaceful heart, but I don’t know if he caught it.”
“What about Luke and Erika? Any talks there?”
“No, but I’ve been putting in a lot of hours at work lately, and I haven’t had time to see them.”
Arcineh didn’t comment. He had been working a lot lately, and she didn’t know how she felt about that. Pushing it out of her mind, she determined not to let such thoughts ruin their wonderful day.
“Oh, Sam,” Arcineh said when she came from the downstairs shower, “I’ve done it now.”
“Come in here and relax,” Sam encouraged, leading the way to the four-season room. “I’ll see what Violet has.”
Arcineh made her way slowly to the comfortable wicker furniture in there. Sitting took an amazing effort, and Arcineh shuddered as her muscles reminded her of the long bike ride.
Violet came with ice and muscle rub. Arcineh sat on the ice for a while, but when she told the older woman where she hurt, they didn’t use the muscle rub. Sitting very carefully, and not at all comfortably, Arcineh only hoped she would be on her feet for church in the morning.
“I think Gage is here,” Sam told Arcineh about an hour later.
“Oh, no!” Arcineh whispered in a panic. She had taken over the four-season room; climbing the stairs had been too painful. “Don’t tell him.”
“Why not?”
“Just don’t. Just tell him I’m resting, and I’ll see him tomorrow.”
Arcineh could tell that her grandfather was not happy, but it never once occurred to her that he would tell Gage where she was. When that man showed up, she didn’t even want to look at him.
“Too tired for company?” he asked, sitting down across from her.
“No,” Arcineh said, her voice not convincing at all, her eyes not meeting his for more than a moment at a time.
“Sore?”
“Yes,” Arcineh admitted.
“How sore?”
When Arcineh didn’t answer, Gage had another question.
“Why didn’t you say something on the ride?”
This was the toughest question of all. Arcineh wanted to be honest, but that was going to be hard.
“What are you doing this evening?” Arcineh suddenly asked. “Big plans?”
Gage laughed. He couldn’t help himself.
“You know, you’re amazingly smart, with every sign of maturity, but when you don’t want to answer a question, you very swiftly turn into a four-year-old, thinking that distraction will work.”
Arcineh frowned at him. She didn’t care that he was right. It still made her mad.
“Why didn’t you say we had gone too far on the ride?” Gage pressed.
“To what end, Gage?” she snapped. “I don’t see that much of you as it is, and then you find out that I can’t even take a day of bike riding.” Well and truly angry now, Arcineh gazed out the window. If she could have walked, she would have stormed out, but the effect would have been lost in all the moaning and groaning that would have had to accompany such an action.
Gage looked at her, debating his next move. He wanted to talk about this, but clearly she was not in the mood. Gage opted for honesty.
“Can we talk, or do you want me to leave? And before you answer,” he cut back in, “I’m not going anywhere.”
Arcineh frowned at him, her voice tight as she said, “I hurt in places I didn’t know existed.”
“Then I’ll ask again, why didn’t you say something?”
“By the time I realized it, the damage was done!”
“And you were afraid I wouldn’t ask you again, so you thought you’d keep this quiet,” Gage put in, Arcineh’s face telling him how closely he’d come to the truth.
Both people let the room get very quiet. Arcineh was on the wicker sofa, her legs stretched out. She had to go to the bathroom but wasn’t willing to have Gage see her move. At the moment, it was not a graceful process.
Without warning, Gage began to move furniture. Arcineh watched as the wicker-and-glass coffee table was shifted out of the way and Gage pulled his chair close to the sofa, facing her.
“How sore are you?” he asked gently.
“I can’t get upstairs,” she admitted.
“Have you taken anything?”
“No. I wasn’t hungry, and Violet won’t give me ibuprofen without something to eat.”
Gage stood. He bent long enough to kiss her forehead and said he’d be right back. When he arrived, he had a glass of milk and ibuprofen tablets in hand. Arcineh took the pills and drank all the milk. She even found the courage to tell Gage she had to be excused. He helped her to her feet and all the way to the powder room door.
From there, they went to the family room and joined Sam. Gage stayed and talked to them for the next two hours. They ended up having a good time, but no one was surprised when Arcineh—who was forced to sleep downstairs—wasn’t up to going out the next morning.
“How’s the soreness?” Gage asked on Wednesday after work.
“Much better, thank you.”
“I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Okay.”
“Any chance you could work for me at the office for maybe a week or so?”
“Sure, what’s going on?”
“Patrice’s mother had a heart attack, and she’ll be gone for a little while.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Do they think she’ll be all right?”
“It’s a little iffy right now.”
Arcineh nodded, and then remembered something from the past.
“I thought you said one time that it would be too distracting to have me at the office.”
To her surprise, Gage didn’t laugh when he said, “I probably won’t get a thing done.”
“Oh, Gage,” she said, clearly not believing him. “I was only kidding.”
Gage looked at her, his eyes wandering a bit. “I’m not.”
Arcineh still didn’t believe him, but she was good at her word and presented herself to the fourth floor the next morning. The women had been warned of her arrival and were genuinely pleased to see her.
“How have you been?” Arcineh asked Mallory.
“Doing well, thanks to you.”
Arcineh blew that off. She didn’t think it was her at all and decided not to waste time getting to work. In little time at all, she was finding out what needed to be done. Things came back to her swiftly, and before she knew it, she was walking down to the second floor to have lunch with Mallory.
The women visited about everything under the sun, including Mallory’s boyfriend, who she suspected was getting ready to pop the question. Arcineh loved seeing everyone from the past and had good visits all around. Not until she arrived back on the fourth floor did she doubt her actions. Gage asked to see her, and when she got to his office, he wanted the door shut.
“Where did you eat lunch?” he asked.
“In the cafeteria.”
“Why didn’t you come and eat with me?”
“I didn’t know your company policy on relationships. And I didn’t want to assume.”
He had come to the front of the desk, sat on it, and stretched his legs out. His arms crossed over his chest, he began in a long-suffering tone, “I behave myself all morning, concentrating on my work, even when you’re in the room, telling myself I’ll see you at lunch, and then lunchtime comes, and no Arcie.”
Arcineh had her hand over her mouth, working not to laugh.
“Oh, yes, it’s so funny.” His tone had gone sarcastic. “Let’s torture the boss with his beautiful girlfriend in the building but not let him get near her.”
Arcineh kept her hand over her mouth but still managed to say, “I told you, I didn’t want to assume.”
“Let me sum it up for you in two words, Miss Bryant: tomorrow—assume.”
Arcineh’s laugh could be heard in the outer office. Mallory, sitting at Patrice’s desk, couldn’t wait to tell Victoria that things were progressing quite nicely.