The Plan (37 page)

“That's awful. I'm so sorry.”

Patrick turned and looked at Claire, a softness in his eyes, but no tears.

“My mother never recovered from the loss. She didn't live much longer after that. Not even ten years, and I believe most of those were spent in bed. The loss of a child, her baby, was more than she could bear.”

Claire closed her eyes. She could feel Patrick's mother's agony. It was her own.

“I was never the same after that, either. I'd lost the person I loved most in the world. You never get over that, do you?”

Claire shook her head.

“I'm not telling you this to be morbid. I'm sorry if I've put a damper on your day. I just want you to know I saw what losing my little brother did to me and especially to my mom. It destroyed her. Completely.”

“I understand that feeling.”

“You are a remarkable woman, Claire. Not only do you make my son happier than I've ever seen him before, and love him for who he is in a way I've never seen him accepted by anyone else, but the fact that you're here, today, talking to me and laughing with our family, making a new life for yourself, I want you to know how much I admire you.”

“That's sweet of you to say.”

“I'm not just saying it to be kind. My mother couldn't do it. And
before Tomas's death, she was the strongest person I knew. No nonsense. But losing him was a blow she couldn't get back up from. I wished, year after year, she would somehow find the strength to carry on, but she never did. She didn't have it in her. When he died, for all intents and purposes, she did, too. You have done what is nearly impossible, Claire. Every day you move a step forward, you honor your family. Your husband and children must be so proud of you. I'm aware you don't know me all that well, but I want you to know, I'm proud of you, too.”

Claire's eyes welled with tears. She wasn't sure why knowing Callum's dad was proud of her meant so much. She barely knew him. But somehow, she was honored by his words.

“So, now that I've nearly ruined the happy mood of the day, let's try to salvage it by going inside and helping ourselves to some of Nora's biscuits. She's been baking all day.”

“Because I haven't gained enough weight on this trip?”

Patrick stood and patted his belly.

“Nora shows her love through her cooking, as you can see. She's loved me in abundance all these years. She loves you a great deal, too. We all do.”

With a smile, he put his arm around Claire's shoulders as together, they walked toward the house.

•  •  •

Claire said good-bye to Ireland much too soon. She'd never before been so sorry to leave a place as she was to leave Callum's home country.

“Oh, stop your crying,” Nora had said to Claire as they hugged good-bye. “You'll be back. And we'll be in the States to visit all of you in no time. I hear Mitch has a craving for my biscuits,” she said, winking at Callum over Claire's shoulder.

“He was so disappointed when you had to cancel your trip last fall
'cause Dad got the flu. He says he loves visiting with you, both, but I know he was after Ma's pastries.”

“As he should be,” Patrick had said, hugging Claire next. “Your ma is the best cook in Ireland.”

Claire had agreed with Patrick. Nora was a spectacular cook and baker. There had not been a single biscuit or meal she'd prepared that Claire had not devoured in an instant.

Except for the black pudding.

There was no way Claire was going near that black pudding.

“So,” Claire had said, when she first laid eyes on the round puck on her plate. “This is blood?”

“Aye,” Callum had said, cutting into his.

“Like, real
blood?”
Claire had asked.

“Yes.”

“Pig's blood?”

“Uh-huh,” Callum had said, putting a forkful in his mouth. “But, you know, it's mixed with a few other things. Oatmeal, pork fat, an onion.”

“But mostly it's blood,” Claire had repeated.

“Yes,” Callum had said, cutting off another piece.

“There is no way I can eat that,” Claire had said, resisting the urge to gag.

“That's fine.”

“And I need you not to eat it, too.”

“What? Why can't I eat it?” Callum had asked.

“Because, if I see you take one more bite of that, I'm going to throw up all over your mom's table and that won't make any of us happy.”

Callum had muttered something under his breath, but he'd put down his forkful of black pudding and not eaten it again on the visit. At least, not while Claire was around.

Other than being repulsed by the popular Irish delicacy, the trip to
Ireland had been the best journey of Claire's life and she was definitely sad to see the time there end.

As soon as they returned to the States, though, Claire was too busy preparing for their next excursion to even think about Ireland. The team would be in America for less than a month before heading over to Europe and then the northern part of Africa. They'd be gone for two full months.

There was plenty to do. Callum was busy working on the seminars, tailoring them so they were appropriate for the foreign countries and the needs of those people, in addition to lining up local speakers and leaders to conduct sessions. Wyatt occupied his time ordering wheelchairs, walkers and canes and arranging to have them shipped to their destinations so they could be dispersed to those who needed them in each country. Alison was making sure flights and hotels and transportation were in order. Mitch was working to ensure they knew, in advance, which locations were designed to be handicapped accessible and which were not. Many European, and especially African, countries were not as wheelchair-friendly as America. Claire and Frank were busy selecting and rehearsing new music, songs that would work best so that the meaning was well understood in each country. They were also tasked with lining up translators for their music and Callum's talks in numerous languages.

To say the team was working at peak capacity would have been an understatement.

They were so busy, Claire almost forgot Gia was coming for a visit the week before they left.

“Hey, love. Don't you need to leave for the airport?” Callum asked.

Claire looked at the clock on the desk. She'd been busy corresponding, via email, with a translator who spoke both French and Hungarian.

“Damn,” Claire said, jumping up from her chair. “If I don't hurry, Gia will be standing at baggage claim, wondering where I am.”

“Drive safely,” Callum said, as she leaned down to his chair to kiss him.

“Always.”

Claire was careful to maintain the speed limit as she drove, but it wasn't easy. Not only was she aware Gia's flight had landed twenty minutes earlier, but she was so incredibly excited to see her best friend. It had been close to six months since they were together and Claire couldn't believe it. On one hand, the time had flown by. Claire had been so busy and often barely had time to sleep, but on the other, she'd missed Gia terribly and couldn't believe she'd had to live without her closest friend for so long. The two had never been apart for more than a couple weeks, ever since they roomed together in college.

Claire sped through the airport's arrivals' lane and prayed no cops were hanging around, waiting to meet their speeding ticket quota for the month. Gia had texted Claire and told her she was waiting outside, having already picked up her bags.

Claire came to a hard stop in front of where Gia was standing, quickly threw the car in park and jumped out. Running, Claire practically jumped on Gia in the excitement to get her arms around her friend.

“Whoah. Whoah,” Gia said, laughing. “It's not like we've been apart for years.”

“Just six months,” Claire said, letting go, but grabbing hold of Gia's hand. “Six long months. I've missed you so much.” She felt the tears well up in her eyes. She'd known she missed Gia, but she hadn't realized she'd missed her friend this much.

“No crying. No crying,” Gia said, laughing. “Or you'll make me cry, too.”

“Okay,” Claire said, wiping away the tears. “No crying. This is a happy day. I'm so glad you're here.” She picked up Gia's small carry-on bag and swung the strap over her own shoulder.

“I can tell!” Gia said, an enormous smile on her face. “But it's not like you've been pining away for me in your hotel rooms. Rumor has it you've been busy with a certain man.” Gia's voice faded, her tone teasing, her laughter light.

“I might have been a little bit preoccupied,” Claire said coyly. “Come on; let's get to the car and back to my place.”

“I wish you could stay longer,” Claire said, when they were finally on the highway.

“I know, but I could only get one day off work. At least we have the full weekend.”

“True. I'll take what I can get.”

“So, when do I get to meet him?”

“Meet who?” Claire asked, though she knew.

“Callum, of course! When do I get to meet this man who seems to walk on water?”

“Actually, he doesn't do much walking at all,” Claire joked.

“So what
does
he do?” Gia asked, her voice sly and knowing.

“We haven't actually done that yet,” Claire admitted.

“You haven't
done
that yet?” Gia said, her shock permeating the car. “How long have you been together now?”

“Long enough,” Claire moped.

“What's the deal? Is it because of…you know…” Gia waved her arm around her whole body, which Claire took to indicate her limbs, or, more likely, Callum's missing ones.

“Well, not in the sense of him not being able to complete the act. I've been reassured that all things are in working order.”

“So, then, what's the deal? After he said that, did he say any more about putting those working parts to actual work?”

Claire sighed. She wanted to laugh. Gia was trying to be funny, but it was a topic that had begun to trouble her quite a bit. She and Jack hadn't had sex until their wedding night. She'd been young and
viewed sex as sacred. She still viewed it that way. She'd wanted to wait to lose her virginity as a bride.

But, she really had no plans to marry Callum. She had very little desire to ever marry again. It wasn't that she didn't love Callum. She loved him deeply, with a love she hadn't known she was capable of feeling, or giving ever again. But she'd already been married and the end of that marriage had devastated her. She couldn't bear to experience such a loss, ever again.

That didn't mean, though, she didn't desire a physical relationship with Callum. She was incredibly attracted to him and though she was still nervous about seeing all of him at once, that fear was lessening over time. Claire wanted, and it was bordering on needed, something more. Something deeper. She wasn't sure, though, why Callum didn't seem to be moving in that same direction.

“Honestly, I don't know. I mean, I really, really don't understand,” Claire said, glancing away from the road for a minute. “We're pretty serious about each other. We're together all the time. He's very passionate when he kisses me.”

“And then?”

“And then he's not. He's not rude when he pushes me away. There's no out-and-out rejection. He just eases away when I try to do more, or he changes the subject. It's weird. A little awkward,” she said. “Okay,
very
awkward.”

“Have you asked him about it?”

“No.”

“Why not? I thought you've said you two talk about everything.”

“I guess I should have said ‘almost' everything.”

“Well, you need to add this to your list of things that need to be discussed pronto,” Gia said. “I mean, come on, Claire. You must be horny as hell!”

Claire shook her head and glanced over at her friend. “Nice, Gia. Nice.”

Gia laughed. “Okay, well, maybe I'm projecting my sexual frustration onto you.”

“Are you kidding me?” Claire asked in exasperation. “You're single again? What happened to the mechanic?”

“His hands were too dirty.”

“But this one didn't touch dead people. Didn't he get extra points for that?” Claire sighed loudly.

“Maybe you can introduce me to someone here,” Gia said. She was clearly joking. She knew Claire was not a skilled matchmaker and Claire had given up even trying. She'd set Gia up on three dates over the course of their friendship and none of them had made it past date one. There had been no fettuccini alfredo for them. Claire had stopped trying after that.

“Yeah, okay. I'll think about that.”

Claire turned the car into the parking lot of her apartment complex.

“Home, sweet home.”

Gia scanned the large brick building in front of them.

“Is it weird living in an apartment again?”

“No, it's fine. Easy to keep clean.” She knew Gia was thinking about the large home Claire had waiting for her back in Florida. Claire thought about it, on occasion, too. Though she tried to minimize the time she spent dwelling on it. That house, though full of happy memories, was also a great source of sadness for Claire. She hadn't yet decided what to do about it. She realized she'd probably sell it, in time. She just wasn't ready for that yet.

Claire glanced at the clock on the dashboard.

“Okay,” she said. “We have about an hour until we're meeting Callum for dinner. Let's go in, you can shower and get all freshened up, and we'll head out. And I wouldn't mind taking a thirty-minute nap.”

•  •  •

The two women were dressed and ready to go exactly one hour later and a short time after that, were walking into the restaurant
where they were to meet Callum. He'd texted Claire, ten minutes earlier, to say he was already at the table.