Laura's Big Win (36 page)

The chant started as a roar and grew
ever louder by the second: “Say yes, say yes, say yes…..” so loud
Ryan could barely hear her reply and she had to shout it out over
the crown noise. “Yes, yes, yes you crazy man; I’ll marry
you!”

The chant dissolved into general
applause and cheering. In retrospect, it was unclear if everyone
was really that happy for Ryan and Laura, or if it had something to
do with the hot pepper omelets that morning; regardless, the people
had spoken, and now wanted to hear more.

“Okay. With every deal, there is a
plan, and we have that all worked out, with the help of some of
you, probably a lot of you. You are invited. We know the time. My
job is to find the place and things like that. I’m a manager, and
you all know what that means: I know what to say, but have no idea
how to actually get it done; that’s why all of you have jobs, and
partly why all of you are here. We gonna need a little help here
with this. Okay? Big picture: the ceremony will be in a tent on the
grounds, weather permitting or not; we have no backup plan. The
reception following that will be in the Great Room of the White
House; dinner will be served somewhere in here eventually. Open
bar. Any questions?”

The hall that had been noisy before was
now very, very quiet. Finally Franz, in his halting speech, broke
the silence. “Did you say the White House Great Room? We are to
open the White House, is that right?”

“You are right my friend; open the
White House. It’s been closed too long and needs some sunshine, and
probably a lot of dusting. I know you and Dennis have been taking
care of it the past couple of years, and I thank you for that. You
know, it isn’t exactly easy to disguise footprints as big or deep
as his. Let me assure you; you did the right thing. So, that’s it.
I have a bride to be, I have a time, and I have a place, and I have
all of you. My job here is done; anyone for seconds in the kitchen?
I believe this meeting is adjourned. Okay Roger?”

“You got it. I need a brief chat with
the travelers please, just a couple of minutes.”

And with that, the meeting broke into
small chat groups of friends, some with Roger or Cal, others just
as friends. Ryan and Laura made their way around the room greeting
people and receiving their congratulations. Wandering back into the
kitchen for the moment, Laura noticed Leslie standing to one side,
enjoying another cinnamon roll and a cup of Windmere’s finest
coffee, but without a baby on her arm.

“Les, good to see you this morning, but
aren’t you missing someone? I’m not used to seeing you empty
armed.”

“Oh, Laura, no, he’s here, just not
right here. There he is; see? But mom, I think maybe I screwed up
this morning.”

“What happened, Les?”

“Cindy had to work and Jason came over
to bring me here. I cooked breakfast for him and all that, then
told him I had to feed my baby before we could leave. He asked if
he could watch, and I said okay. I mean, I know I’m nursing; how
could I forget that? I guess I wasn’t thinking or maybe just
wanting to have him stay around. Anyway, I do my feeding in the
rocker, so I went on in, unbuttoned, unhooked, and plugged in;
simple as that. What was I going to do, tell him no at that point?
Anyway, I promised.”

“How did he react? He didn’t know
before time you were breast feeding?”

“No, he’s just never been there and I
guess I never mentioned it. But, mom, it gets weirder. He seemed a
little embarrassed at first, maybe more than a little, but after a
few minutes he said in a real funny sounding voice it was the most
beautiful thing he had ever seen and he’d wait in the kitchen. It
sounded like he was all choked up, and I cried after he left the
room. No one has ever said anything like that to me before, not
ever. How bad do you think I screwed things up?”

“Les, not at all. I think you got to
see a side of him most women never get to see in their men, and I
do think he may be your man. I wouldn’t go around doing that little
act a lot in public, but it is certainly nothing to be ashamed of,
and I think he very much respects that you are a good mother. Is
this him coming now?”

“That’s him, and thanks mom; I feel
better about things now.”

“And don’t call me mom.”

“Okay, mom.”

Laura had noticed the tall, well built
young man only from the side, and knew he looked a little familiar
but was not someone she actually knew. Now that he approached face
on, Laura could see that the facial resemblance to Cindy Jefferson
was unmistakable, as much as the baby in the new front carrier
resembled Leslie. The look on Leslie’s face summed things up pretty
well; like Laura, she had gone from somewhere below zero, to
regaining her pride in herself and what she wanted to
be.

“Mom…I mean Laura…this is Jason
Jefferson, Cindy’s brother. He’s a fireman and teaches some of the
EMT classes I take. I don’t know why, but he likes wearing babies
around his neck….. this one anyway.”

“Pleased to meet you ma’am. Les has
told me a lot about you, and what you’ve done for her. I sure
appreciate that, not that it’s any of my business, but it sure
seems nice of you to do, you know, like that.”

Laura intervened before he ran out of
oxygen trying to thank her. “Look, someone helped me, and I think
it’s right to help someone else, sort of pass it along. Les just
looked like she needed a hand up, that’s all. Besides, she’s a
great employee, and we’re proud of what she’s doing with her life.
She told me about you, too, working on Cindy’s house. Sounds like
you’re a great brother to have around. And you’re welcome here
anytime, preferably not in an official capacity though.”

Jason laughed. “I see what you mean.
Anyway, I do plan to be around, as least as long as Les is around.
I just sort of standby in case she needs any more help all of a
sudden, you know.”

“Come on Jason; I’m not old enough to
be your mother, but I can read a man’s face, and I like yours. Les
seems to like you, and if you like her back, that’s a good start.
We’re sort of like a family here; once you’re in, it’s hard to get
rid of us.”

“You’re not kidding. That big guy over
there saw me come in with Les and watched me all the way though the
room. Sort of scared me, he did, not that I can’t handle
myself.”

Laura followed his gaze, and landed on,
Dennis Anderson. “Not to worry about him. Dennis will only mangle
you into bits if you don’t treat Les right. He has a bad temper
about things like that. Les, you need to introduce them, so Dennis
doesn’t worry.”

“Okay, mom.”

“And quit calling me mom. Next thing
you’ll be wanting tuition money from me.”

“Nope. You already got that for me.
Thanks, mom. Come on Jase; time to meet Dennis the Menace.” And off
they went.

By the end of the day Laura was
convinced there was some sort of plot working toward having her
marry Ryan, not that she minded. Things just seemed to fall into
place, and Ryan adding the White House was totally unexpected. She
knew what it meant to him, and when they had time to sit and feel
each others’ warmth and presence, she finally decided she had to
know. “Ryan, you didn’t have to include the White House; I know the
history and how deeply ingrained in you that history is, and I can
sense how difficult that must have been for you. But I already love
you, and you don’t have to prove anything.”

“It’s not that I’m trying to prove
anything, unless maybe to myself. You’re right about the house
holding a special place for me, but you’re in that special place
now. I told Jack that things get better, that we shouldn’t ever
forget the past, but that we shouldn’t let the past control us. My
memories of things past don’t change things present. Truthfully,
when Mary died, I wanted to die too, but I didn’t; and now I see
that I had a lot left to do. I don’t know why she had to go, but I
had no power over that, and it’s over and done. Much as I loved
her, and miss her, I can’t have her back. But, I need someone to
love me for being me, and I need to love them for being who they
are, and that’s why I love you. As much as you are like Mary in
many ways, you are so opposite in many others; you’re two different
people. I loved her very much in the there and then; I love you
very much in the here and now. Does that make sense at
all?”

“It does. You are who I believe you
are, and I understand that, and love you the more for it. This has
been one crazy day. Think things will calm down a bit after we’re
married?”

“I hope not. But just in case we ever
have a fight or something, I think we should practice making up,
you know, sort of a rehearsal, in case we ever have to know that
sort of thing. Maybe if you just sort of turned around so I could
get both arms around you…..there, that’s much better. Now, where
were we…..?”

Sometime in the small hours, after they
awoke and found their interlocked arms totally asleep and had a
good laugh about it, they parted for the day, looking toward a
future that promised to hold as much organized chaos, and love, as
they could stand.

Chapter 20 – Alice’s
Return

The ensuing weeks between their date
setting and the actual day of the wedding flew like the wind. Guest
loading business actually increased, which kept the home facility
itself very busy. It had become apparent to some companies that
having a holiday party in a controlled environment away from the
office would generate the desired familiarity between managers from
different branches, but would avoid the pitfalls so often seen
where familiarity and alcohol generated unacceptable behavior.
Then, too, there were the Thanksgiving Holiday festivities to deal
with thrown into the mix, not to mention school events involving
Jack and Amanda. It was during a quiet evening repast with just the
four of them when Jack mentioned the school activities in the
upcoming weeks. The Conyerville school district had neglected to
keep up with the times, in particular where keeping religion out of
holiday activities came into play. It wasn’t that they flaunted
their violation of state school policy, they simple disregarded it
as a matter of course, and people came to like it that way. It was
a very fine line they toed, but they managed somehow to continue
flying under the governmental radar. And so it was that both Jack
and Amanda had events for parents to attend. After talking about
what they would be involved in, Jack asked his mother if she
thought maybe she could come to see him.

“Of course Jack, I wouldn’t miss it,
you know that. And I’ll get to yours too Amanda. You kids are
pretty high up my list you know.”

What caught Laura by surprise was the
deep male voice next to her saying “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.
You know, some of our travelers are getting on in years. I need to
start looking for some good actors to replace them. Besides, if
you’re anything like your mother, you’ll look great in a
spotlight.” Richard had never ever attended anything for either
child, regardless of what it was, and here was a man to whom she
was not yet married taking time from a hectic schedule to spend
time with two little kids. It was true that she was sure he was
developing a love for them as his own, but to actually take that
step was a notable milestone. But just to be sure, she turned to
face him and asked for a little assurance it was all
true:

“Can you go, really? The kids would
love it, but I thought you were out of town that day and wouldn’t
be back until later. Really, if you can’t, just the thought you
would try to be there would mean a lot to them.”

“Can’t miss my first opportunity to see
them perform. Besides, I overheard Marie the other day talking
about it, so I called the school and checked. They were a little
reluctant to talk to me, until I told them I planned on coming with
you. Guess I sort of invited myself, if that’s okay. I reassigned
my travel to someone closer to the site; they needed a break from
routine, and so did I. Did I do good?”

“You could not have done better. I know
we haven’t been through any ceremony or anything like that yet, but
right now you are a better dad than these kids have ever known.
Where have you been all my life?”

Jack had been listening and watching as
the adults turned toward each other: “Look out Mandy, I think it’s
gonna get mushy in here and….eeeahhha!

Laura had gathered Jack up and was
planting little kisses all over his face, while he wriggled
mightily to get free and Amanda went into the giggles. “Mushy,
mushy, mushy. I’ll show you mushy.” Laura intoned, while Jack broke
down in gales of laughter. Not to be left out, Amanda jumped into
Ryan’s lap, wound both arms around his neck, and asked if he would
come see her as well. Assured that he would, peace finally ensued,
and they returned to a little quieter time; Laura would remember it
later as the most “family” thing she had ever seen in her married
life, at least where she and her children were concerned, and she
wasn’t even married to this man, yet.

Later in the week when they actually
attended the school activities, Laura learned something else. She
thought about it later and decided maybe her senses were a little
keener with Ryan at her side, or maybe she was getting territorial
about him. She didn’t catch it at first, walking through the
corridors, but when she paused for a moment to look aside at a
display, she realized several women they had just passed had slowed
and turned enough to look back at them. Laura was sure they were
not looking at her, or her children, but solely at Ryan. At first
she dismissed it, but involuntarily checked over her shoulder the
next time they passed some women, and sure enough, they looked
back. They had been walking along more or less as a group, but now
Laura moved closer to Ryan and interlocked her arm around his,
almost as a defiant gesture to the other women around. In his
maleness, Ryan simply enjoyed her closeness, never realizing the
stir he was causing.