He nodded. “He t-told me about the f-fight and asked me to f-forgive him. I asked him to f-forgive m-me too.”
My face grew hot and I worked hard to blink away the tears. They came anyway, burning a line down my face. “That’s wonderful, honey,” I said, squeezing his hand.
“Yes. F-family is im…” I waited for as long as he needed to finish the word and smiled when he did. “Important.”
***
When I wasn’t at the rehab center, I turned my attention to the farm. Over the years, I’d found a continuity within nature that pulled me back from the brink. The horses welcomed me, and the exercise stimulated my blood. For the time being, I set aside relationships and problems. As I was learning, these were often resolved on their own and didn’t require my interference.
One such example was Brandon and Lily. I wasn’t even sure that Brandon still had a law practice as his days were spent at our farm. He and Lily were a common sight, and I was amused to hear they had even begun to bicker a bit. This was always a sign of people being comfortable with one another. They no longer worried about making good impressions. At that point, relationships were like worn-in jeans or shoes — no matter how they appeared to the outsider, they just felt right.
Lily confessed to me one day that they’d become quite attached to one another and was feeling me out about how I felt on that topic. I had a feeling where all that was headed. Sure enough, Brandon proposed and Lily accepted. They both still wanted to have a family, and that clock was rapidly winding down. Lily asked whether they might be married in the high pasture that fall. I not only told her that would be wonderful but opened the hotel to her and her guests for the reception and in case of inclement weather. It felt good to have some positive spirits around the place.
Hawk and Liane continued to visit often when Worth was scarce. Liane was growing heavier and was even more beautiful than before. She was blossoming in many ways. So was Hawk. Their love for one another showed in every gesture, every sentence they spoke. Love was truly in the air.
Marga was getting ready for her senior year and all that had to offer. In a strange way, Mark’s accident seemed to calm her down and made her accept life more maturely. I’d heard stories about cases wherein one of the conceptual twins doesn’t survive, and the healthy fetus absorbs the other. It almost seemed as if she had absorbed Mark’s calm and common sense at the accident. Perhaps it was how she paid tribute to him.
She visited him nearly every day. Often, she’d drag her friends with her, which always cheered him up.
Worth, it seemed, had grown numb. He functioned mechanically, going to work each day and coming home as regular as clockwork. He didn’t drink but neither did he smile. He slept next to me in the bed at night, but he may as well have been a ghost. I knew eventually something would burst and hoped that I’d be there to help him through it.
Liane’s girlfriend threw a baby shower for her, and it was held at the vicarage. I was invited and looked forward to being around excited young women. I arrived a bit early and brought bowls of salads that Letty had contributed. I found Liane’s father sweeping the step outside the church when I pulled in. He had been very kind during the first few days after Mark’s accident and had visited him several times in the hospital. I’d never thanked him properly for that.
“Good afternoon, Rev. Coventry,” I shouted from the parking lot. “I’ve got quite a bit of food here that needs to be refrigerated. Where shall I take it?”
He motioned me in to the church and showed me the commercial refrigerators in the kitchen. We stowed the bowls there and settled into his office for a chat.
“You know, I never thanked you properly for your kindness,” I began.
“That’s not necessary, but you are most definitely welcomed, and I include you all in my prayers daily,” he said, holding a match up to his pipe. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all. When I was young, my dad smoked a pipe from time to time, and the scent brings back pleasant memories.”
“So, Mrs. LaViere, how are you faring? Is Mark continuing to get better?”
“Please, call me Auggie.”
“Only if you’ll call me Ben.”
“That’s much better. Thank you, Ben. We’re all sort of caught in perpetual motion. Mark is making progress daily, but he still has a long road ahead of him. Marga has settled down, which is a good thing. Worth is pretty numb. And me? Well, perhaps I’m the hub of all that motion.”
“Liane speaks so well of you. I know that she’s glad you’re nearby, her not having her mother and all through this pregnancy,” he said kindly, puffing and blowing the smoke in the direction of an opened window.
“She’s like a daughter to me. She stayed with me almost all the time, immediately after the accident. And she visits Mark every day and I think he looks forward to seeing her the most. She’s a very special young lady. You should be very proud of her.”
“I am,” he nodded, “I am. What you see is her mother, though. Her mother was a gentle soul. She had the knowing, the same as Liane, but I think Liane’s is stronger. Judith was never very strong, however. We waited a very long time for Liane to be given to us and after she was born, the doctors warned that Judith shouldn’t have any more children. It had simply taken too much out of her.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Ah, no, no reason to be sorry. We had Liane and who could have asked for a better blessing? To think that today we’re celebrating her child about to be born, well…” his voice trailed off as he lost himself in a memory.
I sat quietly, allowing him his moment.
“May I be frank, Auggie?” He snapped back from his reverie and looked to me.
“Of course.”
He drew upon his pipe, forming the right words. “This, this difficulty between Hawk and his father. I must admit that it troubles me. Liane is very sensitive, as you know. I’m a bit concerned that their hostility is less than healthy for her and for the child. We’ve always had a peaceful house, you see. Liane has never learned to deal with an ongoing tension. I’m not sure how well she’s handling it.”
I nodded. “I understand. I wish they would settle their differences, but they are both the same, and that’s where it begins. They tend to almost cherish resentment, as though it’s necessary to their mental being and self-respect. I have no idea what to do about it,” I confessed.
The bells in the church steeple rang out the hour then, and the sound was peaceful and restorative. How much joy and misery had that church bell known?
“I don’t suppose going to church would…” he let the sentence trail as I shook my head.
“I’m afraid not, Ben. Neither one would be very regular, I’m afraid.”
“Counseling?”