Page 19 of Remembering You
4
It only took ten minutes for Yvonne and Marty to settle on a slate gray wrap dress that Marty had for years and never wore. It wasn’t that she didn’t like it… she loved it. But there was never an event fancy enough to wear it to. However, it took another 40 minutes of them arguing over shoes. Marty thought her low kitten heels were just fine, but Yvonne wanted her to wear black stilettos with a pink sole that flashed just the tiniest bit of color with each step.
“I might break my neck,” Marty muttered.
Yvonne grinned as she stood up behind her. “Nah. If anything, you’ll break an ankle. Nothing that won’t heal quickly. Besides, then he can carry you home.” Yvonne winked with what was meant to be a simple statement. But Marty froze, swallowing and kicked off the shoes. It was too close. Too close to her other story. A story Yvonne had never heard.
She clutched her left hand, twirling her wedding ring.
“What’s wrong?” Yvonne asked. “What did I say?”
Marty cleared her throat. She’d gotten really good over the years pretending she was fine around her kids. And Yvonne was practically one of her daughters now. “Nothing,” she said, plastering a smile on her face. “I’ve got an hour until he comes to get me. No need to risk breaking my ankle before he gets here, right?”
Yvonne gave her a skeptical look, but Marty changed the subject quickly. “What about this?” she asked, holding up her hand with the simple hammered white gold band Jim had bought for her. There was a small diamond inlayed in the center of the band. And on the inside, he had blue ribbon soldered on. “Do I leave my ring on? Take it off?”
Yvonne’s brows creased in thought. “I-I don’t know. What are you comfortable with?”
Marty sighed and slipped the band off her finger, gently placing it in the silver dish that was also a wedding gift. In truth, she was used to not wearing it all the time because of her job working at the hospital.
Yvonne looked closely at the ring and smiled. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “And unusual. I’ve never seen blue satin lining on a ring before.”
Marty chuckled softly, dragging her fingernail across the inside of the ring. “That’s a long story,” she whispered. “But in the meantime, don’tyouhave to get ready for tonight? I’m sure Steve is taking you somewhere lovely.”
She smiled softly. “Greico’s. Where we had our first date.”
Marty tilted her head toward the door. “Go. Go get ready. Bolt and I will be just fine.”
Yvonne headed down the stairs, grabbing her coat and sliding her arms through. “You sure?”
“Positive.”
“Good night, Marty,” Yvonne said and leaned in to give her a hug. “Call me tomorrow with the details.”
Marty closed the door behind Yvonne and made her way back through her little lake cottage into her living room, falling onto the couch.
Marty smiled, leaning her head back and looking over to Bolt who was now on his rock, sunbathing. “What do you think of your new home, buddy? It’s got a good view of the lake, huh?”
It was nice having an animal around… another living breathing creature to share her home once more. Callie popped in and out, staying here at the cottage from time to time as she needed to. But right now, she was off, living with friends north of here and doing God knows what to make money. All Marty’s other kids had their paths in life figured out. Except for Callie. She was one of those women who allowed her life to be guided by which direction the breeze was blowing.
With another glance at the clock, Marty sighed. Well, now what was she supposed to do? She had over an hour until dinner and she was already dressed and ready. Nerves fluttered in her belly and she stood, boiling a cup of tea, hoping to calm her jitters.
The cup was steaming as she dipped a teaspoon of honey in, watching the syrup dissolve. Then, grabbing a blanket, she wrapped it around her shoulders and walked out onto her back porch, overlooking the ice-covered lake.
Jim had built this home from the ground up, just for her. She lowered onto her porch swing and let the momentum rock her forward and back again in a hypnotic, rhythmic movement.
It was everything she ever wanted in a home—and he perfected every detail, even the carvings on the front porch, making it look like a gingerbread house with the lattice work.
She closed her eyes against the frosty chill of early evening and took a sip of her tea, letting the steam billow around her face.
* * *
Jim pulledhis car into the residency center parking lot and scrambled out of the car after putting it into park. He grabbed my crutches from the back seat, then helped me onto my feet with his free hand. The residency center was massive, set in the middle of a giant wooded area. I stood, leaning on the crutches and took a deep breath in of the crisp winter air staring up at the massive building. My new home. Blue moonlight illuminated the large building in the center while several other smaller buildings surrounded it.
Jim pointed to the largest. “This is where most of the classes are,” he said. “Lectures and art studios are in there. It’s also where most of the first-year students live. It’s sort of dormitory style living for first years.”
“So, that’s where I’m staying?”
“That’s where youwouldhave been staying,” Jim grinned. “Lucky for you, you know a guy.” He hitched his thumbs, pointing to himself.
