Her Lifelong Dream (10 page)

"I understand," Deanna giggled. "Did anyone call?"

"Some boy named Chris," he said. "Who's Chris? Have
I met him?" But Deanna had already dashed into the house.

Terry jerked his thumb at her and then looked at Leedy
helplessly. "Help me," he said. "Stay and have dinner with
us.,,

Leedy looked at her watch. She had planned on stopping
by Mr. Hobo's, but now it suddenly seemed unnecessary.
"I suppose I have a few minutes to spare," she said. "And
I'm a little bit hungry ..."

"Great," he said. "Come on in."

He led the way through the front door, and Leedy was
immediately struck by how well the house suited him. It
was a pale yellow Cape Cod nestled on a quiet street in an
old but well-maintained neighborhood. The house itself was
small, and except for the multitudes of pictures of Deanna
in all stages of her childhood, it had the unmistakable feel
of a male's presence. The furnishings were minimal. There
was a black leather sofa in the living room, along with
some Scandinavian-styled tables. A shelf that squatted
against the wall held an impressive stereo and television
system. A big picture window that overlooked the front
yard had fat wooden blinds but no curtains. The house was
masculine except for some scattered decorations Leedy
sensed had been added for Deanna's benefit. A stack of
denim floor pillows were piled in a corner of the room in
case teenagers stopped by. There was also a large framed
photograph of a daisy and a few scattered pencil sketches
on the walls. The fireplace mantle was full of basketball
and swimming trophies.

"This is very nice," Leedy said, and she meant it. Terry's
house was as comfortable and relaxed as the family that
lived there.

"Thanks," he said.

"I'll give you the grand tour," Deanna said, appearing
from the kitchen. She took Leedy's hand and led her down
the hallway. She showed her the house while Terry went
to the kitchen to fix them all drinks.

As Leedy suspected, the rest of the house was much the
same decor as the living room. Except for Deanna's room,
which was decorated in pastel blues and purples with
strings of plastic beads in the windows and a beanbag chair
in the corner.

"This is Uncle Terry's room," Deanna said, taking Leedy
into the furthest room in the hallway and lingering there.
His bedroom was bigger than Deanna's, but not by much.
Still, it was also remarkably neat and held an expensive
bedroom suite. Leedy hoped she would somehow be provided with more insight into the man who occupied the
room that smelled faintly of his aftershave. Leedy was
happy to see that there was no sign of feminine influence,
other than more photographs of Deanna that were strategically placed around the room.

"This is nice," she commented. "And so clean."

"Did you expect piles of underwear on the floor?" Terry
asked. He had caught up to them, holding two glasses of
iced tea.

"There are in my apartment," she joked. There were not,
of course, but she found his neatness endearing and she
couldn't resist poking at him.

"I'd like to see that," Terry said softly as he handed her
the glass. "Remind me to stop by unannounced one day.
What would you two like for dinner? I could call in a
pizza ..."

Deanna and Leedy looked at each other and laughed.
"How about Chinese food tonight, Uncle Terry?" Deanna
asked. "Leedy and I had pizza for lunch."

"Chinese food sounds good to me," he said. "I rented an
Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. We could. . ." He stopped
in mid-sentence and eyed his niece suspiciously. "Do you
have homework?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I did most of it earlier."

"Most of it?"

"I just have a little reading to do," Deanna said. "But I
don't have to ..."

"You better get to it then," he said, his eyebrows raised.
"I'll order from Lee's Flying Wok and Leedy and I will go
out on the patio so that you will not be disturbed. You can
take a break from your homework when the food gets
here."

Deanna groaned but went to her bedroom, dragging the
bookbag she had worn on her back most of the day. "Okay,
okay," she grumbled. "But there better be some egg rolls
left when I come out."

Terry led Leedy out to the back yard. There was a stone
patio and a small wrought iron table and chairs. The landscaping was as neat and uncluttered as the house. The lawn
was mowed and there was a small garden.

"Is it too chilly out here for you?" he asked. "I could
put on a pot of coffee if you're cold."

"No," Leedy said. "The iced tea is fine."

She supposed she should feel out of place, coming to
this house and sitting on this patio sipping tea. After all,
the house belonged to a man who was practically a
stranger. But somehow she didn't feel at all uncomfortable.
Somehow Terry's house felt as cozy to her as her own
place. And somehow, sitting outside with him in his yard
sipping iced tea was as easy as slipping on a well-worn,
flannel robe.

"Thanks again for bringing Deanna home," he said after
they had settled down across from one another at the table.
"She talks a big game, but I think college is a big adjustment for her. I'm sure a day of shopping with you did her
a lot of good."

"I don't know about her," Leedy said. "But it was good
for me. I had a great time at the mall with her. It was like
a day out with one of my old friends. She's a great kid."

"I think so, too," he said. "But I may be biased. Not
everyone takes time out for teenagers, and Deanna needs
special attention sometimes. Thank you again."

"Don't mention it," Leedy said, taking another sip of her
drink. "It was my pleasure."

"And I'm glad you came here," he said, looking at her
with an expectant, longing look in his eyes. She fell into
the gaze almost immediately, as if she was drowning in his
eyes.

"You're home early, aren't you?" she said, at last. "I
thought you would still be at your desk working out new
ways to foreclose on some poor little old lady's home."

"I slip out early every Wednesday," Terry said. "I meet
Deanna here and we have dinner together. Besides, I handle
commercial loans, not residential. A woman by the name
of Paula Jefferson handles the little old lady foreclosures."

The sun was quickly slipping down into the sky, and
their conversation stalled as they watched the end of the
day. The effect of the sunset cast a strange shadow over
the patio. It held a soft, pink warmth that floated over her.
It gave her a soft, dreamlike feeling and filled her with a
sense of anticipation and delight. The soft colors played
across the sky as dusk approached. It also did wonders for
the color of Terry's eyes. They seemed to almost glow in
their blueness. Leedy felt a gentle stirring within her, a
stirring that was becoming all too familiar when she was
near him. A feeling of longing and awe and desire all at
the same time.

"You look very pretty in this light," he said, his voice
dropping to almost a whisper. "But then again, you look
pretty in any light."

"Thank you," she said. "You're making me blush."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I can't help it. I find you attractive,
Leedy. Very attractive ..."

She said nothing. She found him attractive too, of course,
but she did not know how to tell him. He was watching
her with a new expression on his face. An expression that
hinted there was more he wanted to say. An expression of
breathless desire and aching passion. It was a look that
warmed her all the way down to her toes and made the
butterflies in her stomach take flight all over again.

He leaned across the table and brushed a loose hair back
into place. "You have the most beautiful hair I've ever
seen," he said in a hoarse voice. "It's so soft and shiny.
It's like silk." Leedy still said nothing, but the sound of his
deep, sexy voice was sending shivers up her spine. She
looked into his face and was immediately lost again in his
blue, blue eyes. Her heart was pounding and her breathing
was uneven.

"Leedy ... I ..." he began. "You're absolutely gorgeous
and ..."

She thought she heard the sound of a doorbell from far
away and then, before Terry could finish his sentence,
Deanna was calling them from inside the house.

"The food is here, Uncle Terry!" she shouted as she
yanked open the sliding glass door. "Cough up some cash
for the delivery guy! And I get first dibs on the Egg Foo
Young."

Terry blinked his eyes and then shook his head. "Rotten
kid," he whispered to Leedy. "She sure knows how to kill
a moment. Remind me to tell her that she's grounded."

"I guess we better go in," Leedy said, her voice shaking.

They reluctantly went into the house. Terry pointed
Leedy to the kitchen, then excused himself to pay for their dinner. She found Deanna setting the table. She had already
piled the food cartons onto a lazy Susan that sat in the
middle of the table and was now laying out chopsticks and
napkins.

"Oops," Deanna said when Terry reappeared, looking
dazed. She gave him a look of apology. "I hope I didn't
interrupt ..."

"That's okay," Leedy said. "We were just watching the
sunset."

"It was beautiful," he said, looking at her. Then he remembered Deanna. "You must be starving, kiddo. I know
what an appetite all that shoe shopping can create." He
pulled a chair out for his niece and then for Leedy. He
lightly touched her elbow as she sat down. His hand was
gentle against her skin, but underneath the pressure, she
felt a tremble to his touch.

Deanna piled food on Leedy's plate, but she barely
noticed. She couldn't stop thinking about Terry on the
patio ... and the way his fingertips felt against her skin. No
one had ever touched her that way. No one had ever made
her feel like this.

Deanna was telling Terry about their day. She had a way
of speaking that was rational and dramatic all at the same
time. She told him about the shoe store and the rows of
"way sweet" shoes she had stopped herself from buying.
She also told him all about lunch with Leedy and how it
was the most fun she had since last May's spring break.

"I had fun too," Leedy said. "We have to do it again
soon."

"Okay," Deanna said, excited. "How about next Wednesday?"

"Deanna," Terry scolded.

"Wednesday is good," Leedy said. The words came out
too quickly and for a moment she felt ashamed of herself.
She didn't want Deanna to think she was trying to get to
Terry by forming a relationship with her. Which she would
never do!

Would she?

No. Of course not. She was genuinely fond of Deanna.
There was a quality to the girl that was captivating. She
had touched a spot in Leedy that she had not realized existed. Leedy felt an almost overpowering need to take care
of Deanna. To mother her.

"Great," Deanna said. "Can you meet me at the coffee
bar? Let's say noon."

"Sounds good to me," Leedy said, smiling broadly.

"Try to keep her out of the shoe stores," Terry said. "But
what am I saying? It's like sending the wolf in to guard
the hen house, isn't it?"

"I'll try to control myself," Leedy said.

They talked and laughed and dawdled over dinner. Terry
made a pot of decaffeinated coffee and they sat around the
kitchen table, telling stories and drinking the whole pot.

"Oh my gosh!" Deanna said, suddenly jumping out of
her seat. "It's after nine o'clock! I'm late! I gotta get back
to the dorm!"

"Late for what?" he asked. "What's your hurry? You
don't have an early class tomorrow. I thought we were
going to watch the movie?"

"I'm sorry, Uncle Terry," Deanna said. "But I've got a
ton of homework left to do!"

"But I thought you said you only had a little reading."

"It's more than I thought.... Can you give me a lift?"

"I can give you a ride," Leedy offered, getting up from
the chair. "I should be leaving myself."

"I'll drive her," Terry said, a note of disappointment in
his voice. "And you could come with me. Then we could
come back here and watch the movie ... if you'd like?"

Leedy almost accepted the offer, but just then the telephone on the wall began to ring. He answered it, absent-
mindedly. "Hello," he said, distracted. "Oh ... um ... hi."

Something had changed in the tone of his voice that
made Leedy's ears perk up. She didn't know who was on
the other end of the phone, but whoever it was had a visible
effect on him.

"No," he said, his voice dropping to a low murmur. "Not
tonight. Deanna's here and we're ... fine. Tomorrow
would be better." He hung up the phone and looked at
Deanna and then at Leedy. He then smiled warily. "Work,"
he said, with an unconvincing shrug. "They don't know
when to call it a day sometimes."

Terry had a look on his face that Leedy immediately
recognized from her last few months with Brian. It was the
same look of deception and guilt that she had told herself
was only her imagination.

"I better be going," she said, pasting a smile on her face.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to watch the movie?"
he offered. "You can stay here, if you'd like. I'll take
Deanna back to her dorm and be back here in no time. . ."

"I have to work tomorrow," she said. "I better not." It
was true she had to work the lunch shift at Mr. Hobo's the
next day. But she didn't have to be there until ten o'clock.
She endured the tempting image of spending the evening
curled up on the sofa watching an action movie with Terry.
But the effect of the phone call determined her decision.

"No, thank you."

"Okay," he said. "But I don't want to impose on you.
I'll take Deanna back to her dorm."

"It's no trouble," she said. "In fact, it's right on the way.
It will give me the chance to thank her for the shopping
trip."

Deanna appeared carrying her bookbag, and Leedy bade
a quick goodbye to Terry at the front door. "See you in
class tomorrow, Professor," she said. "And thanks for a
lovely dinner."