Class Reunion (14 page)

Allison nodded, fresh tears bursting and spilling over her cheeks. “Mommy cried when you went away. You made her sad.”

Jennifer lifted soulful eyes to her sister’s, and saw Sally’s tears. Sally laughed, stabbing at her cheeks before kneeling down beside Jen.

“Oh, honey. Jenny didn’t make me cry. I was sad because I love her and I miss her when she’s not here.”

Allison hugged Jennifer again, her hands tucked neatly around Jen’s neck. The two sisters watched each other over the top of Allison’s head, a lifetime of knowing between them.

“I promise, Allison. I’ll come back more often.” Jen hugged her niece again before untangling herself. “And you can come and visit me too. Okay?” She tried to smile as Allison put her fist to her cheeks, rubbing her tears away. Finally, she nodded, satisfied, and Jen uncurled her knees to face her sister.

They stared at each other, fighting laughter and tears all at once, finally falling into a bear hug of emotion.

“I hate leaving. I hate good-byes,” Jennifer managed.

“I hate them too,” Sally growled in return. “Don’t be such a stranger. I miss you.”

Jennifer’s throat ached. “I’ve missed you so much. Thanks for listening. You’ve been wonderful.”

Sally shrugged playfully. “Yeah, well…” She gave her sister another quick hug. “I love you. Call me.”

“Promise,” Jen blinked. “I love you too.” She brushed one sleeve across her cheek and lifted a bag over one shoulder, backpedaling toward the flight attendant.

With one last look, she committed the image of her family to memory before turning on her heel and disappearing around the corner.

The plane was nearly half empty, so Jennifer made her way easily down the center aisle to her seat in row fourteen. Thankfully, no one was sitting in her row, so she placed her small bag under one of the seats and scooted over to the window seat. Granted, her ticket said that she was sitting on the aisle, but with so many empty seats on the plane, she didn’t think it would matter.

She buckled her seat belt and squinted through the window, looking toward the terminal and hoping to see her sister and family there. The Des Moines airport was the only airport she’d been in where you could actually see people inside the terminal, waving to passengers onboard the plane.

But no familiar faces were in the window, and so she settled back in her seat and closed her eyes, waiting for the depression that was sure to settle over her.

She missed her sister already. Sally had been absolutely wonderful all weekend. Jen had forgotten how well they got along, how easily they talked together. If nothing else, seeing her sister had made the trip back to Des Moines worthwhile. They’d had a chance to reestablish their relationship. Jennifer vowed never to let herself put a wall up between them again.

Her thoughts roamed, settling on Heather, and she pushed the image aside. She wasn’t ready to deal with those emotions yet. She thought instead of Diane and Lucy, smiling as she thought of the two of them together. She’d have to track down their address, she decided. She would definitely like to keep in touch with them.

And Sheila. Jennifer sighed, her eyes still closed, and tried to snuggle down in her seat. She wondered what was going on with Sheila and Bobby today. She wondered if Sheila was telling Bobby the truth, or if she’d continued to lie. In either case, Sheila had a tough road ahead of her, and Jennifer didn’t envy her one bit.

Heather’s image floated back to mind, and she held on to it this time, enjoying herself as she mentally traced over her features. She was beginning to drift, close to sleep, oblivious to the carrying-on around her, yet wondering vaguely what was holding up the flight. She was anxious to be home. She missed her animals. The horses. Her dog. She hoped that Georgie and her lover had enjoyed themselves at the ranch. She smiled a bit, thinking how Georgie wasn’t all that wild about her animals.

Somewhere a child was whispering. An image of Tommy came to mind. But no, Tommy wasn’t there. What a sweetie he was …

“Excuse me. I think you’re in my daughter’s seat.” Someone else was talking now, the voice coming from far away, threatening to invade her sleep.

“Mommy said I can sit by the window,” a child’s voice was whispering in her ear. Tommy? No, the voice was too mature for Tommy. Allison. It must be Allison then.

Allison? What was she doing on the plane?

Jennifer’s eyes flew open. Expecting to find Allison’s brown eyes, she was surprised to find wide blue eyes staring back at her. Amy was trying not to giggle.

“Amy?” Jen lifted her sleepy eyes over the top of Amy’s head to see Heather standing in the aisle beside them. She was holding a small teddy bear in one hand as a shy smile hovered on her lips.

“Heather.” Jen struggled to get out of her seat, cursing the seat belt that held her firmly in place. “What are you doing here?” She managed to unclasp the buckle and found her feet. “I thought you were on a morning flight.”

“We missed our flight,” Heather shrugged.

“We missed the plane on purpose,” Amy chimed in. As quickly as Jennifer had vacated the seat, Amy had settled into it and was strapping herself into place.

“On purpose, eh?” Jennifer grinned widely, enjoyŹing Heather’s momentary discomfort.

“Amy’s imagining things,” Heather lied, returning Jennifer’s smile.

They stood face-to-face, with only the teddy bear in between them.

“I suppose you’ll want to sit by your daughter, then,” Jen said, feigning annoyance.

“And I suppose you’ll want an aisle seat.” Heather played along.

“Of course,” Jen said.

“Of course,” Heather replied.

Jennifer watched the lazy smile lifting on Heather’s lips and felt her heart swelling in her chest. Slowly and casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, each stepped forward and into the other’s arms.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Jen whispered.

“I’m so sorry about last night,” Heather’s breath was on her ear. “I shouldn’t have left like that.”

“I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to find you in Flagstaff. I didn’t have your address or phone number —”

The pilot’s voice came over the intercom, asking the flight attendants to prepare for takeoff. Both Heather and Jennifer became aware of their surroundings, and they stepped back and rearranged themselves and their belongings as Heather settled down beside her daughter.

“Can we come to your house now and see the horses?” Amy could barely contain herself as she leaned across Heather’s lap to look up at Jen.

“You’re welcome to come to my house anytime,” Jen smiled. “But I think that’s up to your mom.”

“We’ll see, Amy.” Heather held out the stuffed bear to her daughter. “Jenny and I have a lot to talk about first, okay?”

Amy’s frown lasted only a moment. “Okay,” she shrugged. She took the bear from her mother, pressŹing its nose beside her own to the small window.

Heather turned back to Jen as the plane began rolling backward.

“We have a lot to talk about, do we?” Jen asked. “Sounds ominous.”

“I hope not,” Heather laughed. “But I’ve got you trapped for three solid hours, and I want to hear all about what happened this weekend.” Her blue eyes smoldered as they held Jen’s gaze. “Your version, that is,” she added.

Jennifer cringed. “You may not like it.”

“No,” Heather agreed. “But I want to hear it anyŹway. Maybe you should start back at the beginning.”

“The beginning?”

Heather nodded. “Back in school. Just how did you and Sheila become lovers? How in hell did you end up as her maid of honor? And what did you ever see in her, anyway?”

Jen stopped to ponder the last question. “I don’t know —”

“She was a self-absorbed snob. Pouty. Whiny. And she had you wrapped around her little finger. How did that happen? Why was she worth it?”

Again Jennifer was without an answer, and she shrugged her shoulders lamely.

“I guess you’ll just have to start at the beginning then. Maybe if you don’t leave anything out, I’ll be able to figure out exactly what the attraction was.” Heather’s tone was playful, with a hint of seriousŹness.

Already weary of the story ahead, Jennifer said, “It’s a long story.”

Heather blinked her eyes and shrugged. “You’ve got a captive audience.”

Jennifer sighed as her eyes fell over Heather’s features. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a single braid, exposing a long neck that Jennifer wanted to snuggle into. Her eyes fell to the base of Heather’s throat, her pulse quickened as she imagined its softness against her own lips.

Too late to turn back now. She knew she was already in love. She relished the thought, smiling secretly. Patience, she said to herself. Have patience.

Their eyes met again, and Jennifer cleared her throat. “I swear,” she began, “that this is the last time that I’ll ever tell this story.”

“And I swear,” Heather replied in a slightly mocking tone, “that this is the last time I’ll ever ask.”

“Deal,” Jen grinned. “Deal,” Heather smiled.

1997

It was unusually hot for May, even for Phoenix. It hadn’t rained in weeks, and everyone was feeling the effects of the long heat wave.

Jennifer felt irritable as she pulled a T-shirt over her head. It was nearly eight o’clock, and she’d just arrived home from the pharmacy. She’d had to put in too many hours since Jim had decided to retire.

She stepped into a pair of loose cotton shorts and padded across the bedroom floor. She reached for the screened patio door and pulled it aside before stepŹping out onto the veranda.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned against the wooden railing and looked over the patch of yard that led to the barn and surrounding paddock.

She hadn’t paid attention to the horses or the ranch in weeks, and yet everything seemed in order. The spring grass was green — no easy accomplishŹment in this heat. Four of their six horses were enjoying the shade of the huge oak just inside the fence.

She could hear Banjo barking, apparently from inside the barn. Her eyes turned to focus on the tall young girl who bent over a mountain of hay, gatherŹing up one armful after another and stepping outside to dump it beside the horses. The girl caught her eye and lifted a hand in her direction before picking up a large stick and tossing it as far as she could. Banjo was off in hot pursuit, the game well-known and established. They would go on like that for an hour.

As she surveyed the property, Jen’s eyes fell to a patch of multicolored flowers, newly planted around the cacti and wildflowers to the left of the front porch.

A smile crept to her lips. She wasn’t paying much attention to their home these days, but someone else was. Everything was in perfect order, in spite of her neglect.

The sun was setting, the sky becoming purple where it met the horizon in the west.

She heard the screen door slide open and then shut behind her. Without turning, she felt her lover’s presence behind her.

“Are you hungry? I could make you some dinner.”

“No. I’m too tired and too hot to eat,” she replied quietly, still distracted. Her eyes fell again to the unidentifiable new flowers, and she gave voice to her musings.

“You planted new flowers. They’re lovely.”

Slender arms sneaked their way around her waist from behind, and the warmth of Heather’s body sent a contented sigh through her own.

“Last week,” Heather’s voice was quiet.

A sigh of frustration fell from Jen’s lips. “I’m never here anymore. I’m missing too much. I miss you.”

“I miss you too.” Heather gave her a quick squeeze and rested her chin on Jen’s shoulder. “I need to cut back. Maybe to part-time.” “Good idea.”

“I don’t want to spend another summer behind that counter while you and Amy have the summer off,” Jen continued her rationalizing.

“We’d love to have you here more.”

“Besides, another year and Amy will be off to college. Who will take care of everything around here?”

“You will.”

“I mean it, honey. I’m going to do it.”

Heather paused before replying. “Have you heard even a word of what I’ve said?”

Jen slid her a sheepish look. “No.”

“I’ve been telling you that it’s okay to cut back.” She leaned forward, just enough to catch the corner of Jen’s mouth in a kiss. “How many years have I been suggesting just that?”

Jennifer’s smile grew. “I know. I’m finally ready now, though. It’s kind of scary.”

“Well I, for one, can’t wait.”

They watched as Amy bolted the gate that surrounded the paddock and began walking toward the house, Banjo on her heels.

Watching her approach, Jennifer couldn’t help but think how much she resembled her mother. She was smiling, pulling work gloves from her hands and slapping them against one thigh to shake out the dust. Amy had taken to the ranch as if she’d been born there.

“Hey, Jen,” she called out as she reached the veranda. “Are you going to be around this weekend? I noticed a few splits in the fence out back, and I could use your muscle to help fix them.”

Jennifer chuckled. She felt suddenly old, rememŹbering how many times she had carefully shown Amy how to repair fences, how to feed and groom the horses. At first she had been eager to teach Amy, to draw her in and bond with her. Before long she’d actually needed Amy’s help. And now, it was Amy asking for Jen’s help instead. Times were changing.

“I’ll be here.”

“Great.” She reached down, unconsciously rubbing the top of Banjo’s head. She seemed to hesitate as she cocked her head to one side and addressed her mother.

“Have you told her yet?” she inquired, her voice playful.

“Sh.” Heather lifted her chin from where it rested on Jen’s shoulder. “Not yet.”

“Uh-oh.” Jen slid a look from mother to daughter. “What are you two up to now?” she teased.

“Nothing. Nothing.” Amy tried to hide her grin as she lifted both hands. “I have a final tomorrow that

I have to study for.” She rolled her eyes. “So I’m heading in.” She turned toward the front steps and waved. ” ‘Night, Jen. ‘Night, Mom.” She threw a wink toward her mother before patting her thigh. She turned, and Banjo leaped after her, staying at her side until they disappeared inside the house.