Down by the River (19 page)

“Well, I’m not living out of a suitcase anymore,” he said, and pulled June into his arms. “I’m all domesticated!”

Sadie, a little excited by the teenagers, barked her approval and madly wagged her tail. “Go, Uncle Jim,” Mo cheered.

Deep in the night, finally abed, June and Jim lay close and whispered. “It was the best Christmas Eve of my life,” she said. “I wish my mom were here.”

“She’s watching, don’t worry. Mothers are not only tenacious, they’re very nosy.”

“Then you better put some clothes on,” she giggled.

“Forget it. I’m not moving.”

“I love your family,” she said. “Annie’s the best.”

“She’s bossy.”

“I love her. I like it when she bosses you.”

“It’s a conspiracy.”

“The kids are awesome. Whoever heard of such nice, funny teenagers? They don’t even fight!”

“Yes, they do. Just wait.”

“Mike’s a jewel.”

“He’s a good guy….”

They lay there listening to the sounds in the house. Sadie had abandoned them to go up to the loft where the teens were camped. They lured her with doggie treats, then put her between them where she shamelessly rolled onto her back so they could rub her stomach. Every so often there would be a thump and a giggle from up there.

“Do they ever sleep?” she asked.

She was answered with a snore, so she began to doze. She was having a pleasant dream in which a youngster in his early teens with the same curly brown hair Jim had was talking to her in the kitchen
of her little house. She was somewhere between imagining life with her son and dreaming about it. And then the young man said, “What do you mean you didn’t know Dad very well?” and her eyes flew open. She bolted upright in bed.

“What was I thinking?” she said aloud.

“What? What? What is it?” Jim asked through groggy semiconsciousness.

“Jim, we have to get married!”

He shook his head sleepily. “What?”

“We have to get married right away!”

He would never understand pregnant women. “What brought this on?”

“Teenagers,” she said, starting to get out of bed. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back. Bright-eyed, she stared at him. “Jim, what are we going to tell our son about why we didn’t get married?”

He frowned at her for a moment. It was like it was her job to keep him off balance. Confused. She drove him crazy sometimes. And he was mad about her. “We’ll just tell him the truth, that by the time his mother was ready, it was Christmas Eve, we didn’t have a license and the town preacher was on the lam.”

She considered this half seriously for a moment and then grabbed her pillow and whacked him in the head with it.

J
une’s family and friends gathered at Hudson House for Christmas Day, where presents had mysteriously appeared for Annie, Mike and the kids. It seemed that Jim had been planning this with his sister for quite a while. Elmer, June and Annie did all the cooking, in fact brought all the food, and the Barstows were invited and treated like special guests. Mo and Tracy kept Myrna busy showing them the house and her millions of collectibles all day long. They appeared at Christmas dinner in full costume, Tracy in a ball gown and feather boa, Mo in an old tuxedo and top hat.

When they all gathered at the table for the Christmas feast, Jim clinked his glass and stood. “I have an announcement and a toast,” he said. “First, for all ye of little faith, June Hudson has consented to be my wife at the earliest possible convenience.” Cheers went up around the table, and everyone, one at a time, got up and made their
way to kiss and congratulate the couple. When they all settled back in their chairs, he said, “I would like to toast family, large and small, old and new—” he looked down at June “—carefully planned and out of the blue!”

Around Grace Valley, families celebrated in their own personal ways. At the Mulls’, Clarence was present again. This time he came for Christmas Eve and stayed over for Christmas Day. It was obvious he was much improved and he talked of coming home permanently very soon.

Erline and the little ones were at the Mulls’ table for dinner, but didn’t overstay, for at her house—her very first house—there was a tree with presents for the children, and it was a great comfort to be there, warmed by the wood stove. Sam checked in, bringing yet more gifts, and so did Ricky Rios, bringing a greater gift than she could have dared hope for. Corsica had managed to get a voucher for electricity repair and appliances for the house. With a home she could heat, work she could learn and friends whose generosity she could never possibly repay, her life had officially turned around.

Sam took his holiday meal with Standard Roberts and his daughters. The Toopeeks were just their family without visiting aunts, uncles and cousins, but even on their own they were a formidable group. Leah Craven was able to put a nice meal on the table and a few welcome gifts under the tree, thanks to a Christmas bonus from George. George, of course,
provided free meals for both Christmas Eve and Day. There was nothing that made him happier. And the Stones celebrated with the Dicksons, a very loud and happy affair.

Judge and Birdie were with Chris, Nancy and the twins. The boys were getting around well in both wheelchairs and on crutches, and they were getting antsy, too. Their cabin fever was evidence of their improved health. Another month would have them back at school.

Late on Christmas Day, when Judge and Birdie had gone home and the twins were settled in front of a video, Chris migrated back to his wood shop. Nancy followed. She found him sanding down a coffee table. She wondered if someone had ordered that from him or if he had just decided to whip one up and see if it could sell.

“I thought I might find you here,” she said. “Can’t you even spend Christmas with us in the house?”

“I spent Christmas with you. All day.”

“Can’t you put this aside for one day?” she asked.

“Why?” he asked. “What difference does it make? You’re not going to talk to me, anyway. I might as well be out here.”

“It just drives me crazy,” she said, running a hand through her thick brown hair. “I can’t deal with it.”

“It?”

“This,” she said, sweeping an arm wide, indicating the workshop. She’d tried to think of it in terms of what was good for Chris, but she kept coming
back to what was good for the marriage, the family. It seemed so irresponsible to her that she couldn’t take him seriously.

“I remember a time you really believed in me. It was a long time ago, but I remember.”

“Chris, I still believe in you. It’s just that—”

“Nancy, do you still love me?” he asked her.

“I’ll always love you, Chris,” she said, the sound of tears creeping into her voice. “But how can you just blow off your job for…for…
this!
” She took a steadying breath, trying not to cry. “Do you even have a plan?”

“Yes, Nancy, I have a plan. It’s to take one day at a time and take every job related to building that I can get. Is that enough of a plan for you?”

She couldn’t believe he was proposing something as ridiculous as that. Just go day to day? Pick up odd jobs? “What if there’s another accident, Chris? What if someone gets sick? Where’s the medical coverage going to come from?”

He wiped his hands on a rag and leaned a hip up against his worktable. “The kids are making great progress. Pretty soon, you could get a regular job. We’d be all right.”

“I could never make the kind of money here that I made in San Diego!”

“Fortunately you don’t need to. I got this house for just about the cost of renovation, which I used my IRAs for. It’s almost paid for. And around here people barter for things all the time. Plus, come
spring, I plan to get a good-size garden going and maybe get some chickens or even a cow….”

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” she swore, completely beside herself. Returning to the small town of her childhood was one thing, but becoming a subsistence farmer, living from day to day, was another. Was she supposed to milk the cow, gather the eggs, pull up a few carrots for lunch and then trot off to her job as a waitress at one of the oceanside bars? What was to become of all her suits? Her pumps? Her tennis clothes? This was Nancy Forrest, who had risen to the executive assistant to the senior vice president of a large brokerage firm!

Chris had turned back to his sanding, taking long and meticulous strokes. “It’s a different kind of life here, I know. But damn, Nancy, it can be good. These people aren’t a bunch of hicks. They’re talented. Professional. Smart. Your new best friend is a doctor. We could be happy here.”

“Not if we’re always hungry, Chris.”

“We won’t be hungry.”

“How do you know that!” she shouted at him. Why was he so dense? Did he think he could just keep sanding things and everything would work itself out?

“Because life is simple here. If we sold the San Diego house, we’d have a couple hundred thousand to put by and—”

“Chris, you dope! We were living on about eighty grand a year in San Diego!”

“That’s just it, Nancy, you bigger dope,” he yelled
back. “It doesn’t take that in Grace Valley! It doesn’t take half that!”

“But Chris, I like making money, even if you don’t. I like the challenge of a difficult job. I like to be busy, to be in a position of accountability! I don’t know that Grace Valley has any of that for me!”

He just looked at her for a long time, his hands still. “Well, Nance, that’s something you’ll have to work out for yourself. Because, see, here’s something I just barely found out. San Diego was way too much for me. No one there would ever have appreciated a couple of chairs, a sideboard with leaded-glass accents. No one needed me to lend a hand there. It was all about working to earn a buck, then another buck, then another.

“But don’t get me wrong, Nancy. I don’t think Grace Valley is a good idea because here I can work with wood, have a garden and chickens and volunteer. I think it’s a good idea because it might be the best place for the boys. Now, at least. Now that I almost lost them.”

It was impossible to argue with that. Of course it was a good place for them. It was clean and wholesome and pretty safe, considering. “But what will we use for money when they want to go to college?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but I bet it’ll work out somehow.”

Give it up, she told herself. He’s always been like this. He never worried about the money too much, he left that to her. And he didn’t worry about earning it much, either.

“I took a leave of absence from my job. I have to make a decision about whether or not I’m going back.”

“I wish you wouldn’t,” he said. “I love you.”

“You do? You really do? You can blow off a paying job for this and still say you love me?”

“Actually, I love you more now than I did last year. I finally realize what a bad husband I was. What a bad father. You know why, Nance? I wasn’t happy. I was miserable. Every day was another rotten day of insurance…and because I wasn’t happy, I was a screwup. Because I never felt good enough, I was a self-fulfilling prophecy.” He smiled a melancholy smile. “Now that I’ve found something that makes me feel good enough, makes me look forward to each day, am I going to lose you?”

Tears gathered in her eyes. “I don’t know,” she said in a whisper.

June stood in the doorway of the nursery. Two walls were painted yellow, the other two hung with yellow-and-blue wallpaper with carousel ponies dancing on ribbons…or so it seemed. Jim had managed to finish and install the white plantation shutters for the window, and she wondered how much help he might’ve gotten from Chris.

The crib was in place, but all the others things—from shower gifts to Christmas gifts—were scattered about. Lots and lots of clothes. Little-boy clothes. She felt a pang. She was thrilled about her son, and left with a longing for a little girl. She
wondered if she would feel so if she hadn’t thought for so long that this was a daughter.

“I can wash the clothes and put everything away for you while you’re at work,” Annie said from behind her. Then she felt her future sister-in-law’s hand on her shoulder. “Or I can leave it all as it is and help you with it tonight.”

It took her a moment. “Leave it for later,” she finally said. She had to go to work until at least early afternoon, but she didn’t want to miss any more of this process. And then a sudden tightening caught her attention and her hand went to her swollen abdomen. “Whew,” she said, amazed.

From behind her Annie reached around and felt the hardened mound.

“Braxton Hicks,” June said.

“A pretty solid one,” Annie said. “You sure about that?”

“Worse than sure. I already went running to the hospital once, certain I was in early labor. John hooked me up to a monitor and ultrasound. I felt pretty stupid. I’m a doctor. I should know better.”

“When are you due, exactly?”

“We’re not sure. I wasn’t paying attention. But judging by the progression of the baby, it looks like early February.”

“Just a month, then,” Annie said, smiling. “It’s always nice to get to the point that the baby can come perfectly safely.”

“I could use another week or two,” June said,
though in truth she’d grown tired of wetting her pants with every sneeze or laugh. And her lower back was beginning to ache. “I’d like to get married.”

“All that holding out,” Annie said, “only to be in a big hurry.”

“Well, I thought I was being rational. I didn’t know I was being an idiot. I’ve noticed that pregnancy kills some otherwise healthy brain cells.”

“In case you were wondering, you don’t get them back, either. Your son will be sure to remind you of that often. So, when is the big day?”

“I thought we’d better dash off to Lake Tahoe or Reno, have a Nevada wedding quick, but that’s not intelligent. One, I’m not up to the long drive. Two, my town is obviously as into this as I am. They won’t be happily excluded. My being married is not nearly as important to most of them as being invited to the wedding. So Jim and I are going to drive to the county courthouse today at lunchtime and get a license. Then we thought we’d get a preacher from Rockport to come over here on New Year’s Eve. We’ll open up the church, have a little party after.”

“New Year’s Eve. Nice idea. We have to get back on the second.”

“No one ever has anything fun to do on New Year’s around here. Maybe it’ll start a tradition.”

“A marrying tradition. How long are you planning to work?”

June shrugged. “Well, if I don’t know when I’m due, how do I know when to quit working? I feel perfectly
fine, except for the backache, swollen ankles, weak bladder, heartburn and this broken rib from someone’s foot. I guess I’ll quit when my water breaks.”

“Oh, you young moderns,” Annie said, shaking her head.

Later that morning June made a phone call that she never in her wildest dreams thought might take place. She called Nancy Forrest and asked her for two favors. “First, will you help me find a dress to get married in? A nice cream muu-muu, perhaps?”

“Sure.” Nancy laughed. “We’ll get you fixed up. Pregnant women are much better taken care of by the designers than they were when I was imitating a water buffalo.”

“Thanks. And another thing. If you’re free on New Year’s Eve, would you be my matron of honor?”

“Oh, June!” she exclaimed in a rather weak breath. “Oh, June!”

“I hope that was a yes.”

“Oh, June, yes!” And then she wept into the phone.

“Stop it!” June commanded. “This is supposed to be a happy occasion.”

“You couldn’t possibly honor me more,” Nancy said.

“Isn’t it odd,” June said, “the way things come around?”

Jim was at the café at the agreed-upon time, but no June. They were going to get a marriage license,
so he wore a tie but not a jacket. He had a cup of coffee, then a second. Sam wandered in, then Tom.

“That a tie?” Sam asked Jim.

Jim lifted one brow. “Been that long since you’ve seen one?” he returned.

“Going to a funeral?” Tom asked, smiling.

“Nope.”

“Then he must be getting married,” Sam reasoned.

“Not exactly,” Jim said, not wishing to say more.

“You want a grilled cheese to go with that coffee?” George asked him.

But Jim hoped he would get something to eat with June after they got the license. “No, thanks.” He glanced out the window toward the clinic and saw June coming toward the café, but most certainly not to meet him and drive to the courthouse. She wore her white lab coat, stethoscope around her neck, no jacket. “Excuse me,” he said to the men, going out the door to meet her halfway.

“I’m so sorry,” she said as she neared him. She reached him and put her hands on his cheeks to kiss his mouth. “John had to go to the hospital for an emergency and Dad and I are swamped over there. I think everyone held their Christmas colds until after the holiday.”