Page 33 of Sing with Me

“What did you buy?” Diehl made his way to the kitchen.

“What we’re cooking for lunch and dinner today—plus the bacon you wanted for breakfast.” Skye put away her car keys and donned her apron.

“Where’s Marlo?”

“He called in sick this morning and it was too late to replace him.” Skye washed her hands at the sink and started to take things out of the grocery bags.

“Then may I assist?” Diehl asked.

His eyes were earnest.

A wispy wind ruffled his hair. Skye turned toward the direction of the wind and saw the windows above the breakfast nook open. The screen prevented insects from coming in.

“You don’t have to pay me.” Diehl waited.

“Ah, well… You’d be the first client who offered to help cook.”

“It’s just breakfast.”

“Right. I’ll have an assistant with me at lunch.”

“I can do breakfast. In fact, I’ve cooked breakfast for…” His voice trailed off into silence.

“Your wife.” Skye put away the cookie mix in the pantry. She had thrown that in as an extra because she knew from their conversation at church the day before that Diehl’s kids were coming to town today. “Again, I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sure you loved her very much.”

“Love?”

Skye was surprised by the answer.

“She was pregnant, and her parents didn’t want the child to be born out of wedlock.”

“Oh.”

“So it was a marriage of convenience. We decided we’d raise the child together but we didn’t have to live together, necessarily. However, after we married, we lost the child. Stillborn.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I think the episode drew us closer to each other as husband and wife. We started to grow on each other.”

“That’s good, isn’t it? A husband and wife should have feelings for each other.”

“She wanted stability, and I wanted all her business contacts.”

“Are you serious? My personal life doesn’t revolve around my professional life.”

“Ours did. Isobel needed money and a place to stay, and I needed her to keep up my appearances among my peers. It was a transactional marriage.”

“I cannot believe I’m hearing that, especially from a Christian.” Skye put away fresh produce in the refrigerator, leaving out potatoes on the island counter.

“Well, in retrospect, I wasn’t a practicing Christian.”

“You don’tpracticebeing a Christian, Diehl. Either you are, or you’re not.”

“Then I was backsliding. Or was I even a Christian at all?” Before Skye could respond, Diehl kept going. “I’m saying that Isobel and I made a decision. Do you think everyone marries for love?”

“Isn’t marrying for love the best kind of marriage?”

“Yes, but that wasn’t what we had.” Diehl hadn’t touched the groceries since he helped bring them in. He simply stood on the other side of the island.

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