Page 51 of Love, Always and Forever
Marlene had yet to taste her tea. Instead, she stared off into the distance. “My son might look big and strong, but he always takes such things to heart. Even if the little girl survives, he’ll be beating himself up over the other two who didn’t.”
That sounded like the man Amy was coming to know so well. Maybe she could offer some comfort to his mother.
“I wasn’t expecting him when he came over this morning and asked me to go out to breakfast with him.” Marlene didn’t need to know that Amy had still been in her pajamas or how much Mikhail had liked them. “He didn’t say what was wrong, but he did look pretty rough when he got here. I can tell you that his mood had improved by the time we got back from breakfast.”
She hoped her smile reassured Marlene that her son was all right. “The poor guy was dead on his feet, though. I took Sarge for the day so Mikhail could sleep.”
“That was nice of you.” Marlene’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “It’s hard not to worry about him even though he wouldn’t like knowing that I do. Misha doesn’t talk about it, but I know he saw and did some terrible things during his deployments. All my boys did, and it’s left its mark on all three of them. If Joe were here to help them…but he’s not.”
The brief glimpse of her bone-deep grief over the loss of her husband was painful to see. What would it be like to have loved someone so much? Or to have lost the one person who had always been there to share life’s burdens? Amy didn’t know Marlene well enough to know what to say about Joe, so she concentrated on the man they did have in common.
“Mikhail hasn’t told me anything about his time overseas, but I’ve seen how it affects him sometimes. That day he came home early from the family dinner at your house was definitely a tough one.” Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to share a little more, especially something that was a bit silly. “That was the first time I fixed him one of my famous banana splits. I believe in the curative powers of all things chocolate, so I piled it high and took two of them over to his place. I told him friends didn’t let friends eat ice cream alone.”
Marlene’s laughter rang out across the small room. “I’ve had one of your banana splits, and they’re definitely a culinary work of art. I’m sure you didn’t have to twist his arm too hard to get him to join you.”
She reached for another cookie. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that Misha has you in his life, Amy. I know you both say you’re just friends, and maybe that’s true. Regardless, I can see a difference in him since you moved in next door. More sunlight and fewer shadows if you get my drift. He’s also taking more of an interest in things like fixing up his yard. For a long time after he left the service, he was just going through the motions.”
At first Amy didn’t know what she should say, so she shared a little of her own truth. “I didn’t know anyone when I moved here. Getting to know Mikhail and the rest of your family has made things a whole lot less lonely for me.”
Marlene finished the last of her tea and set the mug aside. “Misha mentioned he thought that your family lives a couple of hours away from here.”
“They do.”
Not a topic of conversation that Amy was comfortable with. Maybe Marlene sensed that because she immediately changed subjects. “I know you work from home, and I’ve already taken up too much of your time. But if you wouldn’t mind, I’d love to see your greenhouse before I go. Ricky told me all about how hard he worked to build it.” Marlene grinned. “To hear him tell it, he did all of the assembly by himself while Misha merely handed him the pieces.”
Yeah, that sounded like Ricky. “Well, far be it from me to cause you to doubt your grandson’s version of the story. I will say he worked hard the whole time he was here.”
“I’m sure he did. Jack has definitely been a good influence on him. I don’t know how much Misha shared with you about Ricky’s background. Through no fault of his own, he went through a pretty rough patch before coming to live with my son. We’re really very proud of how he’s doing these days.”
Amy would bet Ricky wasn’t the only male in the Lukash clan who had gotten off to a rocky start in life. Mikhail hadn’t shared much about his life prior to coming to live with Marlene and her late husband, but his time in combat wasn’t the only thing that had left its mark on him.
“You should be proud. He’s a great kid.”
She picked up the empty cups and the cookie plate and set them on the counter. “Come on outside, and I’ll show you the greenhouse. I’ve only planted a few herbs so far, but I plan to put in a vegetable garden next year. Come spring I’ll be able to give all the plants a jump-start before transferring them outside.”
Marlene followed her out the back door after giving the dogs a chance to run out ahead of them. “I’ve always planted a lot of flowers and thought a greenhouse would help with that. When Joe was alive, we always talked about adding a small vegetable garden, too. Seems silly now that I’m living alone.”
Amy hated the pain in Marlene’s voice. “You could always share the bounty with your family.”
“Maybe I could at that.” The other woman smiled. “Especially the way my family keeps growing.”
Twenty minutes later, Amy walked Marlene out to her car. She had gifted her with a couple of herbs she didn’t have in her own garden. In exchange, Marlene promised to send Amy a few starts of perennials for the new flower beds she would be putting in the front yard as soon as Mikhail dug up the rest of the sod for her.
Marlene stopped to look at her son’s house. “Tell him I’m sorry I missed seeing him.”
“I will. He’ll be sorry he missed seeing you as well, but he’ll be thrilled about the meatloaf. That man can really pack away the food.”
“Yeah, he can. All the men in my family have healthy appetites. They’re lucky I like to cook.” She got in the car and rolled down the driver’s window. “I’ll see you on Saturday night at the dinner dance.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
She waved one last time when Marlene drove away. As soon as her car disappeared around the corner, Amy turned to face the man who’d stepped out on his porch, looking as if he’d just rolled out of bed. Mikhail hadn’t bothered buttoning his short-sleeved shirt, and his jeans rode low on his hips. He was also barefoot. Good thing she was standing some distance away from him, because his appearance was pushing every button she had. If he’d crooked his finger and asked her to follow him back inside and down the hall to his bedroom, she would’ve come running.
Luckily he hadn’t picked up on her reaction. “So, what did Mom want?”
“She’d heard about the fire and was worried about you. She also brought you a meatloaf, which currently resides in my refrigerator.”
When he didn’t say anything, she prodded him a bit. “I take it was a bad one. The fire, that is. Not the meatloaf.”
