Page 82 of Stolen Kisses
Chapter 18
“A whole new hot water heater?” Noah asked the repairman on Monday afternoon.
The repairman, a nice guy in his fifties who Noah had used often and trusted, nodded. “Yep. I wish I had better news for you, buddy. And with Thanksgiving on Thursday, I won’t be able to change it out for you until this weekend. Maybe next week.”
This weekend was when Grace and Jack were getting hitched. They’d be heading to the Sawyer cabin and Noah supposed that Jack wouldn’t mind him staying at his house. He didn’t like cold showers and he didn’t like his home falling apart one thing at a time. A couple months ago he’d had to have the kitchen area rewired.
“Okay. Well, thanks for trying. And I’d appreciate you getting it done as soon as your schedule allows.”
The repairman pulled a little book out of his front pocket, scrawled something on the paper, tore it off and handed it to Noah. “That’s the cost from today.” He pointed at the first number. “And that’s only the approximate cost if I replace your system.” He pointed at a much higher number. “Could be more depending on the hours I put in. Houseboats aren’t as easy as houses.”
Noah stared at the numbers. Geez. He just needed to cut a hole in the boat and start leaking a portion of all the money he made out the back. This place was slowly becoming a money pit. “I understand.”
He walked the repair guy to the door, then grabbed his keys and wallet to go for a drive. Krista was staying late at work today to help with a caregiver support group that met at the hospital. Adam’s mom was one of the attendees. Krista had told him she’d talked a few more of her patients into going as well. He admired the heck out of that about her. That wasn’t part of her job, but caring for people was what she did best. All he did was catch fish so someone down the line could eat them.
He had no idea where he was driving as he circled around town. Then he found himself turning into several of Blushing Bay’s neighborhoods and looking at the houses. Even though he’d grown up in a very nice house that some might describe as a mansion, he’d always viewed houses as little jail cells that kept people tied down. His houseboat was becoming a jail of sorts, too, though. He couldn’t even take a hot shower right now or move around without banging his knee on a windowsill.
He circled cul-de-sacs and then pulled to a stop in front of a house that piqued his interest. It had aFOR SALEsign in the front yard beside the mailbox. The house was different from a lot of houses. In a way, it was very similar to the Sawyer cabin. It was wood-sided and came to a peak at the front center. There was a large front porch with a swing that he immediately envisioned Krista sitting on. With him.
Noah stepped out of his Jeep and walked up the driveway, then headed around to the back of the house. The yard was shaded by pine trees and led down to a narrow creek that he knew ran into the Neuse River, then dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. He jogged back to his Jeep, got a fishing pole out of the back and took it back behind the house that didn’t appear to be occupied. He had a childlike yearning to fish this creek and see what he could pull out. There was an old, rusty chair at the end of the small wooden pier that jutted over the creek. The pier looked in need of repair, but it was nothing his brother Jack couldn’t fix with his new coastal building business.
Noah sat in the chair and dropped his line in the murky water. Yeah, he guessed he was trespassing a little bit. Hopefully the seller wouldn’t mind. There was a familiarity to this place that he wanted to explore, and it seemed like a good spot to catch his thoughts, which had been all over the place lately. He had no idea what the next step with Krista was. At the same time, he was terrified that they’d effectively skipped a whole bunch of steps the other day when the condom had broken.
He closed his eyes and attempted to shake the thought away. He absolutely did not want the old Noah poking his squirrelly head. He also didn’t trust himself not to let that happen. Not completely, at least. And that was what terrified him most.
—
Krista was filling in for the regular facilitator of the caregiver support group tonight. She wasn’t a licensed therapist, but she’d taken classes to help with mental health and group therapy in nursing school. There was a circle of nine women and one man seated around her in the large downstairs conference room. Some had children they supported. Others had older parents, grandparents, and relatives they were caregivers for at home.
Krista had run to purchase coffee and doughnuts from the Blushing Bay Café before the group started. She wanted everyone to feel comfortable, and sugar and caffeine had a way of loosening people up. “All right,” she said, smiling brightly. “I’m Krista for those of you who don’t know me. I’m a nurse on the pediatric floor. I’ve been here at Blushing Bay Memorial for going on ten years now and I’ve witnessed a lot of caregivers who are afraid to take time for themselves.”
“I’m not afraid,” the man in the group said. He was probably in his early twenties. A single father. “Truthfully, I’m a little angry.”
Krista’s heart picked up pace. “Why are you angry?”
He wrapped his hands around a cup of coffee, his eyes darting from one person to the next in the group. “Because my wife died and left me with twin daughters to raise. I’m only twenty-three and I have no idea what I’m doing. I have no family support. It’s just me, and honestly I’m a little pissed about it. And that makes me feel like a bit of a jerk. I didn’t sign up for this, though.” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong. I love my daughters, but parenthood’s hard. And I’m losing myself. I don’t have time for any of the things that used to make me me anymore.” His whole body was rigid in his seat.
The older woman next to him placed a hand on his forearm. “It’s okay to be angry.”
Others in the group agreed with vocalizations and nods of their heads.
“And you came here. So you must know what you’re doing. Talking things out tempers the anger,” Krista said.
The man relaxed a little. “I’ve been here twice now and I usually do feel better when I leave. I don’t want to resent my kids or my wife, God rest her soul.”
Krista’s heart ached for him. She’d never been a caregiver for a loved one, but she carried the burdens of her patients and their families with her. She suffered caregiver burnout, too, and it was good to hear the stories of others. It felt good to offer advice or just an ear to those who needed it.
Over the next hour, everyone who wanted to talk was able to. Krista felt light and airy as she closed up the session and said goodbye to the group. “Please take some doughnuts home with you,” she told the man as she cleaned up. “Your girls will love them.”
“Could serve as breakfast in the morning.”
Krista bit her tongue. Doughnuts weren’t a nutritional breakfast, but that was the nurse in her objecting. Tonight she was just someone’s sounding board and she truly thought this father was doing the best he could.
“Thanks for being here tonight,” he added, taking a napkin with a handful of doughnuts with him. “Hope to see you here next time, too.”
Krista shrugged. If the facilitator needed her to, she wouldn’t hesitate to fill in. She’d enjoyed facilitating the group tonight. “We’ll see.”
When everyone had gone, she headed home, exhausted. She hated that she couldn’t see Noah tonight. She crawled into her bed and pulled out her cellphone to text him good night.
