“As long as you don’t mind playing nursemaid as well as babysitter, we’ll be fine here without him.”
“Hey,” I said with a smile, “I’m happy to be that and more. Nursemaid, babysitter, gardener, pool boy, soufflé maker, taxi driver, valet, caddie—”
“You can probably scratch caddie for now,” she interjected, and we laughed.
“Well, whatever you need, I’m happy to do it.”
Her eyes took on a grateful expression, and then, to my surprise, they suddenly filled with tears.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she said, using her good hand to wipe the tears away. “I’m sorry, Tyler. It’s just everything hitting all at once, you know? I’ve kept it together since this happened, telling myself Just wait until you get home, just wait until you get home. Now I am home, and I’m getting stupid.”
My heart swelled with a surge of compassion, an emotion I doubted I’d ever felt for my stepmother before.
“You military types,” I scolded softly. “Always so tough, always ready to soldier on no matter what. Give yourself a break, Liz. You’ve been through a lot.”
That made her smile. Which made her cry again. With a groan, she once more wiped away her tears, laughed, and said, “Please get on out of here and call that girlfriend of yours.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Just be sure to come back when you’re done,” she added, her voice sounding almost vulnerable, something Liz had never, ever been with me before.
TWENTY-THREE
The weather was still so beautiful that I decided to call Rachel back from outside rather than in my room. Settling onto a patio chair next to the pool, I pulled the cell phone from my pocket and pressed the speed dial for the buggy shop. Thom answered and we spoke for a few moments, and then he handed the phone to Rachel.
“What’s going on?” she asked as soon as she came on the line. “Are you okay?”
Despite all the background noise—the whir of a pneumatic drill, the pounding of a mallet, the lilting cadence of the men speaking Pennsylvania Dutch—the sound of her sweet voice came through loud and clear. How wonderful to connect with her at last.
I assured her that I was fine. “It’s Liz,” I added. “She was injured down in Central America and had to cut her trip short and come home.”
“What?” Rachel exclaimed. “She’s there?”
“Yeah, can you believe it? I didn’t even know. I was out most of the day and just came home so I would be here in time for your call. To my surprise, when I walked inside, there was Liz, lying on the couch, all bruised and banged up and bandaged. A friend had brought her home from the airport.”
Of course, compassionate Rachel immediately began peppering me with questions about Liz’s injuries, her condition, her prognosis. I answered them all and assured her that things were fine on this end for now, that Liz was currently nestled into the couch pillows with an ice pack, waiting for her Advil to kick in.
“I don’t know, Tyler,” Rachel insisted. “Why don’t we plan to talk some other time so you can get back to her?”
I smiled. Despite all that she and I had both gone through to make this phone call happen at last, she didn’t think twice about giving it up for the sake of one in need.
“Actually, Liz doesn’t even want me in there at the moment. She’s on the phone with dad, breaking the news to him.”
“Ah. Okay. I can see why she might need a little privacy.”
Having convinced her at last, I settled more comfortably in my chair, took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “So how are you? Gosh, it’s good to hear your voice.”
“Yours too,” she said. Her tone was so formal that for a moment I feared there was something wrong, that her feelings for me had somehow begun to cool. But then I realized she was just self conscious.
“Hey,” I said, smiling to myself as I pictured her there on the phone, in the buggy shop. “You’re surrounded by a bunch of guys all pretending not to listen, aren’t you?”
“Ya. Exactly.”
“So you’re not free to say all the things you’d like to say. Like how much you miss me. How much you love me.”
“Ya. Exactly.”
“This could be fun,” I teased, “especially because I’ve got all the privacy in the world out here. Right now, it’s just me and you and this phone. I can say whatever I want.”
“I’m listening,” she replied, and I could hear the smile in her voice as well.
“I miss you so much. Do you miss me?”
“Ya.”
“I love you so much,” I told her. “Do you love me?”
“Ya.”
“I’d give anything to kiss you right now. Would you like to kiss me?”
“Ya.”
“How much?”
She was quiet for a long moment. “Think of a horse in the morning, once the stable door is unlocked and opened, and how eager it is to run out into the field. About like that.”
I laughed aloud. “I hear you. Okay, I’ll stop teasing.”
“Danke.”