Page 22 of Then Came Love
“Being nervous is normal. The month before Rosa and I were married, she was so caught up in the preparations, I thought she’d lost her mind, running here and there, worrying over every little thing. But I loved her even more for it.”
Some days she wondered if Todd even noticed the little things she did. He used to call to ask how she was, but now he usually just called to pass on information or returned her calls hours or days after she left messages, and always did so with due haste. “How long were you married?”
“We had fifty-two wonderful years together before God took her from me. And you want to hear a secret?” They stopped outside the recreation room. “Before she passed, we looked back at our life and realized we never needed any of the hoopla of our wedding, birthdays, or any of that stuff. All we needed was each other. But I think all that hoopla was important. It was a way of telling the world that we held each other’s hearts, and there’s value in that. I was proud to be her husband, and I’d give anything to have her back by my side and hear her scold me for leaving the toilet seat up or leaving a dish in the living room.”
She and Todd had lived apart for so long, she no longer missed him. How could that be when this man had lost his wife years ago, and he still missed her? Last night she’d realized that she’d shared more with Jax about her family in one day than she’d shared with Todd about her life in the last year. But she’d made a promise. Her wedding was on, and when she moved to New York, their relationship had to get better.
“I know you miss her. I’m glad you have Bess to keep you company.”
“Bessie is wonderful, but my heart will always belong to Rosa.”
“Does Bess know that?” she asked carefully.
He smiled. “Yes, she does. It’s all about perspective. Bessie wants to be loved, and I have love to give. Not like I did at twenty-five, but I bake for her, and we talk, and sometimes talking is better than all that other stuff anyway. Life is much shorter than you think, Jordan, and it goes by quickly. Rosa would want me to have friends and spend what little time I have left being happy, and as long as Bess knows where we stand, there’s no harm done.”
And there it was, the answer she hadn’t realized she’d needed. All she had to do was keep perspective and maintain a friendly, professional relationship with Jax, so as not to lead him on. “Well, I think Rosa and Bess are two lucky women.”
“And your man is lucky as well. Hang in there, honey. Once you get past the jitters, you’ll be starting a family and building a full, happy life. Just don’t leave us all behind.”
Jordan felt a pang of guilt. She liked the people she worked with so much, she hadn’t found the courage to tell her boss or the residents that she was moving to New York after the wedding.
Three vivacious besties, Ruth, Gloria, and Sophia, came out of the recreation room giggling up a storm in matching red cardigans. They were members of the crochet club, the Crafty Crocheters, and they were known for stirring up trouble. But they also made the cutest hats for newborns, which they donated to a local hospital.
“Hello, ladies,” Jordan said. “I’m glad to see you’re having so much fun this afternoon.”
“We were just torturing Jacob Castello.” Ruth, the leader of the pack, with short white hair and a wild sense of humor, said with another giggle.
Sophia, a pistol at eighty-two, said, “He blushes so easily, we couldn’t help ourselves.”
“Ari, how do you like our shirts?” Gloria, the youngest of the three at sixty-eight, opened her sweater, and the other two ladies followed suit. They all had I’M A KNOTTY HOOKER emblazoned across their chests in pink. Below that were two crochet needles that formed an X and two balls of yarn.
Mr. Lexington laughed. “You do know how to make a man blush. Jordan, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll be on my way.”
As he shuffled down the hall, Ruth called after him, “Come to the next Knotty Hooker meeting! We’ll show you how to handle your balls!”
“Ruth!” Jordan chided her. “You cannot shout that here. You’ll get reprimanded again by HR.”
“Ha! At our age, we’ve got to make our own fun while we still can.” Ruth exchanged a confident nod with her friends. “Please be sure to put our new club name on the board.”
They stripped off their sweaters and turned around, showing her the backs of their shirts, which read PROUD MEMBER OF THE KNOTTY HOOKERS CLUB.
Jordan tried not to laugh. “Oh my. I…Ladies, you know I can’t put that on the board.”
“Come on, Jordan. Take a risk,” Sophia urged.
Thinking of her meeting with Jax, she said, “I’m taking enough risks right now, thank you. Please put your sweaters back on. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“Trouble is our middle names. But for you, we’ll cover up.” Ruth nodded to the others, and they put their sweaters back on. “One day we’re going to reel you into our mayhem, and you’re going to thank us by teaching us all about style.”
“You’re the swankiest woman we know.” Sophia eyed Jordan’s outfit, which happened to be one of Jordan’s favorites.
“With the exception of those naughty shirts, I think the three of you always look nice. I’d be happy to chat fashion with you, but let’s skip the mayhem.”
“We’ll think about that,” Ruth said. “Shall we, ladies?”
As they strutted away, Jordan felt another pang of longing. She was going to miss them when she left.
She updated the program board and went back to her office to gather her things. As she grabbed her purse, her cell phone rang. She was surprised to see Todd’s name on the screen. They’d texted briefly after she’d gotten home last night, and he’d said he was going to be tied up in meetings for the next two days and may not have a chance to check in.
“Hi. Did your meetings end early?”
“No. We just got a short break, and I thought I’d check in. I had lunch with my mother today, and she’s thrilled that you’re working with that Braden guy. Apparently he’s a big deal. You tell him that money is no object and have him make a dress fit for a queen.”
She chewed on the fact that he’d made time to have lunch with his mother but had told her he may not have time to touch base. But she kept that to herself, because she wouldn’t want him to think she was trying to come between them. She’d learned early on in the relationship that his mother was very possessive of her time with Todd. “You know I don’t want a fancy dress.”
“Jordan, you only get married once.”
It made her happy that he had so much faith in their marriage.
“I’m so glad you’re finally ready to move forward with our lives,” he said warmly. “But you didn’t want to have the wedding in the city, which means I can’t invite my clients because they don’t have time to travel, and my parents can’t show us off to most of their friends because they live in the city, too. I am trying to respect your decision, but my family is kind of a big deal, and when clients come into my office, or into my father’s office, or my parents’ home, I want them to see pictures of my beautiful bride in her extravagant designer gown, so they know how they can expect to be treated. You live in that Podunk town, but once you become a city girl, you’ll realize how important all of this is. I hope you’ll reconsider and wear a fancier gown.”
Appalled, she tried to figure out in what world that made sense, and she wondered when he’d gone from protecting her and helping her make decisions to telling her what was best regardless of her feelings.
“I have to go, but I know you’ll make the right decision. Thanks, babe.”
The line went dead.
And so did a piece of her heart.
