Matthew had left something precious behind in Chicago. He knew their goodbye would be painful. Even being prepared for it, the reality was worse than he’d expected.
His kitchen was quiet again, the windows no longer rattling from the large fireworks going off, no more of Becky’s college friends raiding the refrigerator. She had managed to talk four of them into coming for the weekend. At least having guests had saved him from having too much time in which to think. Matthew found the mug he was after, poured himself more decaf, and took it with him out to the back deck. The drifting odor of sulfur was still heavy in the air, and it made his eyes water.
He leaned against the patio railing, studied the moon, listened to random firecrackers still exploding around the neighborhood, wondered idly if Shannon had also stepped outside tonight to take in the full moon. It had been three days since he’d seen her, and he thought he was actually moping. At my age, even with her a phone call away, I’m dragging around like a lost puppy.
He glanced over, realized his daughter had joined him. He draped his arm around her shoulders. “When did you get to be so smart?”
“Why don’t you call her?”
“It’s late.”
“But it’s an hour earlier there.” When he simply shook his head at her, she asked, “Is she coming out to Boston?”
“If she doesn’t, we’ll visit her together in Chicago,” he replied, brushing back a lock of her hair, wondering when this daughter of his had turned into a spitting image of her mom. “I’m glad you’re enjoying college.”
“I think it’s a rite of passage to be homesick. I miss home, but mostly I’m enjoying being there.”
He smiled, knowing what she meant. “Home is now for visiting, not staying.”
“You should call her.”
He shook his head. “She’s sad I’m not going back to Chicago.”
“Why aren’t you?”
“She needs to know she’s strong enough to stand without me. If I’m there, she won’t know that. She’s also got family and friends to help her.”
“She’ll think you don’t want her.”
“Maybe. Or maybe she’ll accept that I can’t with a clear conscience let her fall for the first safe guy she finds after she returned.”
Becky took his coffee mug and sipped at it. “You had a really interesting last three weeks.”
The understatement of the decade, Matthew thought. “I did.”
“Do you mind that she looked you up, found you?”
“No, I like that she did. I enjoy being useful.”
“Is that the only reason you like her?”
He thought of the wealth of feelings he had for Shannon and wisely only said, “No. And it’s not a conversation for you and me to have tonight.”
“Okay.” She handed him back his coffee. “I prefer it with some cream.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Oops. I forgot to hang it up. I was talking to Shannon.” She held out her phone. “She probably heard what we said, if you want to clarify any of your remarks.”
He chuckled as he reached for her phone. “Way too sneaky. What are they teaching you at that college?”
“One does what one has to,” she said with a smile and a shrug, then leaned in to give him a hug. “I love you, Dad.”
“It’s mutual, kiddo. Now scat.”
He held the phone as if it were a live explosive and risked asking Shannon, “First, how badly did she just embarrass you with this stunt?”
“I can deal with Becky’s idea of patching up a problem. How are you, Matthew?”
“Missing you, as you no doubt heard. How’s your weekend going?”
“I’m playing cards with Rachel, Charlotte, and Bryce. I think Rachel and I are winning, but bridge isn’t my game. Black is presently sprawled across my feet.”
“Wish you were here.” They both spoke the same thought at the same time and shared a laugh.
“You actually wouldn’t have enjoyed Boston with the sights and smells tonight,” Matthew added, “but the sentiment is real.”
“I’m coming east to see you on the seventeenth, Matthew. The driver John arranged for me is going to fly with me and make sure I survive the flight. Can you meet me at the airport?”
“Sure.”
“Find me a nice place to rent out there. I’m going to sign the lease on one in a suburb of Chicago this next week. I decided I’ve probably got enough income to have two homes.”
“You do.”
“I’m packing my pink dress and those high heels. I want to go dancing.”
He rested against the railing and smiled. “Do you?”
“I’ve also decided that dating a bunch of guys just to discover I still like you more is only accommodating your worry versus acting in my best interests. I’m not dating for a year—I agreed with my counselor on that, so don’t go all honorable on me and say no. You can just take me to dinner and dancing when I visit, the courteous thing to do with an old friend.” Neither of them could resist laughing at her description. “If in a year I don’t like you as much as I thought,” she continued, “I’ll ask to meet some of the guys you think might be a good fit.”
That list would probably have zero names on it, since he wasn’t inclined toward her finding someone else. “I’ll enjoy taking you dancing,” he replied, bypassing the rest of what she’d said.
She laughed again. “Becky said you would be reluctantly accommodating. Is this you being reluctantly accommodating?”
“This is me being aware you’re very amused right now.”
“I like you, Matthew.”
“It’s mutual,” he admitted. “Enjoy your evening, Shannon. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Not too early.”
“Not too early,” he promised.
He hung up and held out the phone toward Becky, aware all along of her watching from inside the patio door.
She rejoined him on the deck. “Mad?”
“No. Hearing her voice made me feel better.”
His daughter hugged him. “I like her.”
“I do too.”
Becky said good-night and headed back inside, looking just a bit triumphant.
Getting married again wouldn’t be such a bad next chapter in his life, Matthew decided. Give Shannon a few years, see if she still thought he was at the top of her list, then ask her the question. When he was young, any number of years would have sounded like an eternity. Now that he was older, the years seemed to be passing by in the blink of an eye.
He understood her problems better than she did, he thought. He’d read most of the journals, would have all of them read soon, and had walked a similar road with Becky. They could make it work, he knew. It wouldn’t be an easy next year or two for Shannon, but she was further along the road to recovery than he’d expected, and it wasn’t such an impossibly hard climb that he wasn’t willing to make it with someone again.
Tomorrow he’d start looking for that apartment. He didn’t have to ask to realize her intentions. She’d be living out here to avoid the press around her brother, to take advantage of being near the ocean so she could swim often. She’d start using her camera in a serious way again, and she’d invade his life however he let her. Matthew smiled. She needed this summer to be light and fun and filled with occasions to show off those high heels. He’d accommodate her. It would be a good summer for him too.