Shortly after 7:00 a.m., Liberty’s soft coos filter through the monitor on my beside table. Although I am exhausted, I need to see her little face. I peek into the crib loving the instant excitement on her face at seeing her mommy. I bid her good morning as I lift her. While I change her diaper, she mumbles around the chubby fist in her mouth. I like to think she is filling me in on her day alone with Alma. I place a kiss on her chubby cheek as we make our way to the kitchen.
Alma sips coffee while reading the Sunday paper in the breakfast nook enjoying the late-May sunlight through the bay window. She smiles at the sight of us then asks what time I got in last night claiming she didn’t hear me.
I grab a bottle of formula from the refrigerator, place it in hot water to warm, and grab a diet cola before joining Alma at the table. Liberty continues sucking on her little fist and cooing as I answer Alma. As I take long drinks from my cola, I internally wish the caffeine to rapid-fire into my blood stream. I’m going to need more than one caffeinated beverage this morning.
“I loved the photos you texted me. Adrian was a lovely bride.”
“It was…” I search for the perfect word that comes close to describing Adrian’s special day. “It was a stress-free, magical day. Simple plans carried out by her large family and friends allowed everyone to enjoy the day.
I enjoy another drink of my diet cola, test Libby’s bottle on my wrist, then offer it to her. She sucks the bottle as if she’s gone days without eating. Even after two and a half months, I still giggle at the little piglet sounds she makes while eating. I blame her unladylike appetite on her father. I lovingly gaze at her while I continue my conversation with Alma.
“The sun’s rays were like a halo behind the barn during the ceremony and just as the vows ended twilight began. The fairy lights inside the barn illuminated perfectly. I’m not sure I want bridesmaids in cowboy boots and a country wedding someday, but I hope it can run as smoothly and everyone enjoy themselves just like Adrian’s wedding.”
“And Hamilton?” Alma doesn’t allow me to ignore the elephant in the room. I’m certain she spotted him in the group photos I texted her.
I share my shock in finding him in the barn before the ceremony. I explain my attempts to busy myself with maid-of-honor duties to avoid him all evening and I share in detail his every word and touch at the reception. Then as Alma furrows her brow, I tell her everything that happened at the stop sign before we drove away from each other into the pitch-black night.
I take a gulp from my beverage waiting for Alma’s words of wisdom. In the past twelve months I’ve benefited from her wealth of knowledge and lessons learned in her sixty-five years of life. She’s raised two daughters and a son while active in her church and community, it seems she’s experienced it all.
I remove the bottle from Libby’s lips with her immediately protesting. “Patience sweetie, patience,” I croon as I pat her back in search of a burb from her little belly. Alma and I laugh when the loud belch sounds and I kiss Libby on the cheek before returning the bottle. Alma uses Libby’s distraction to ponder all I’ve shared.
“I don’t know Hamilton, except from what you have shared, so I am just spit-balling here.” Alma begins. “He’s alone and far from home in Chicago. He spends endless hours on busses, on airplanes, and in hotel rooms. He’s in the public-eye and commentators are hyper-critical of his performance on the mound. He’s a small-town farm boy very far from his element. I’m sure he misses Athens and you.” Alma pauses to sip from her coffee mug with its words ‘grandma’s go-go juice’.
“In an unexpected twist of fate, his schedule changed at the last minute, and he was permitted to spend mere hours surrounded by everyone important to him. I bet he didn’t plan to constantly touch you, to kiss you, or to confess his love for you. I think the sight of you rekindled his feelings and the brevity of your time together spawned him into action.” She fiddles with the corners of her newspaper. “If his feelings for you are like your feelings for him, he may have found himself powerless to fight them. Perhaps the thought of going eleven more months without physically being in your presence drove him to act.”
Reaching across the table, Alma squeezes my free hand. “I agree they don’t seem the actions of a best friend. I think he has feelings for you. Now what he plans to do going forward, I don’t dare speculate. You have two options. You can discuss this with him the next time you speak over the phone, or you can sit back and wait for him to make the next move.”
Her words help. I worried I had read more into Hamilton’s actions exaggerating them in my mind. Alma interprets the same as I. Where I go from here, I don’t know but I have time to contemplate it for a day or two before I speak to him next. For now, my insides are toasty warm with a flicker hope.