First Class Farewell (14 page)

Salad and soup with Panini sandwiches were spread over the
kitchen island, with mothers plating food for their children. The men stood in
small clusters, patiently waiting for their turn to pile their plates high with
the fuel that would keep them playing all afternoon on the beach; building sand
castles, swimming, and some beach volleyball or football, possibly both.

With the children happily eating, and most of the women
congregating with plates balancing on their laps on the massive sectional sofa
in the great room, Shelby watched as Peter led the male assault on the kitchen.
But mostly, she watched Adam. He was talking to Tim as they scooped up the
spinach salad and piled it on their plates. She hadn’t made eye contact with
him yet – there were too many people blocking any possible interaction. She sat
in a chair by the doors that led to the pool. Janie and Maureen were sitting
close by, engrossed in a conversation about planning another family cruise the
following year, so she just watched Adam as he sat at the table and ate his
lunch, unaware of her across the room and the battle her emotions were waging.

As she’d stood in the shower earlier that morning, the
realization came that she’d longed for a partner, an equal, a soul mate. The
knowledge that Adam was offering a long-buried desire had emotions bubbling to
the surface that she was sure she’d rid herself of years before. At the ripe
old age of fourteen, Shelby had made some life decisions that she hadn’t
questioned once…until last night.

She didn’t hate men, although she had good reason to, but
she was wary of most of them and never allowed herself to be in
any
situation where she might be made to feel vulnerable. She didn’t criticize
marriage, although she’d decided it would never be for her, and she knew many
couples, especially Katy and Mark, who were deeply in love and had made it a
successful institution. She didn’t ridicule motherhood, even though she knew,
without question, that she would never have a child, and was genuinely grateful
to the Lathem women who trusted her with their children, giving her an opportunity
to rock a baby to sleep and play dolls and build Lego spaceships, time she
truly treasured. She had never put herself in a situation where she’d
questioned her resolve…until now.

It wasn’t on purpose, but somehow Shelby and Adam’s paths
hadn’t crossed ‘til late afternoon. The men had played football on the beach
and Shelby had been roped into going into town shopping with several of the
women and a few of the children. By the time they returned, the afternoon was
almost gone and it was time to think about dinner preparations.

A tradition at the Lathem vacation home was what Christopher
called Garden Movie Night. Matt and Bob had constructed a pulley system to
hoist a white screen into the air at one end of the lawn, allowing the family to
lay on pillows and blankets and watch a movie in the lush garden after the sun
had set. Christopher had reminded his father while on the beach earlier in the
day that they had yet to enjoy the family ritual on this trip. “Okay,” Matt had
agreed. “Tonight, then.” He and Bob had spent the better part of an hour
rigging up the screen and hauling the sound system from the storage room to the
garden and Adam had offered to help running wires for the speakers.

“Shelby?” Janie called through the great room. “Would you
please run these out to Matt?”

Happy to help, Shelby left the little girls playing Candy
Land on the floor and took the pliers from Janie and headed through the French
doors, around the side of the house to the lawn area designated for movie
watching. Spotting Matt crouched in front of a speaker, she handed him the
pliers. He looked up at her with confusion in his eyes.

“Janie said you needed these,” she explained.

To the left of Shelby, a movement caught Matt’s eye. Adam!
Nicely
done, Janie.
He was impressed with his wife’s
prodding
skills, even
though he didn’t actually approve of her meddling.
Okay, I’ll play along
.
He stifled a grin. “I think Adam needs them.”

“Oh, right,” Shelby replied, unaware of the scheming that
had taken place in the kitchen, and now in the garden. She walked over the
green grass to where Adam sat attaching wires to the back of a stereo receiver.
“Here,” she said and offered him the tool in her hand.

Adam looked at the pliers and then up to Shelby. “And I need
those, why?”

Shelby shrugged. “Your mom said to bring them out and Matt
told me to give them to you.”

“Oh, well, thank you, then,” he said as he took them from
her and placed them on the ground beside him. After a moment or two of silence,
he asked, “Do you know what movie the kids have picked?”

“The girls want Tangled and Joseph has the Cars Blu-ray in
his hand and is refusing to put it down, so I’m thinking that one just might be
the winner,” she smiled.

Adam chuckled. “Probably. How was your trip into town?”

Shelby sighed. “I know that women are supposed to like
shopping, but, I just don’t get a kick out of it like everyone else. Although I
did find a couple of things that I ended up buying.”

“Like what?”

“A swimming suit and a sarong.”

“We’ll have to go swimming then so you can wear it before we
head home.”

Shelby smiled. “I think that can be arranged.”

Adam finished plugging in all the speaker wires to the back
of the receiver and turned it on to test it. As each speaker came to life, the
set-up was complete. “I do believe we are ready for the Lathem Garden Movie
Night,” he grinned.

“You didn’t need the pliers?”

*****

“We should draw straws,” Nic repeated. “It’s the only way
it’s going to be fair.”

“But if Dad wins, we’ll be watching an ancient John Wayne
movie,” whined Tim.

“And if Sophia wins, it’ll be anything with Daniel Craig in
it,” Ben teased his wife.

“That’s better than a Jane Austen movie,” Matt chimed in.
“And we know if Janie wins that’s what it’ll be.”

“Just get the damn straws,” Peter interrupted.

Mark jumped up and rummaged through the kitchen draws ‘til
he found some wooden skewers. Snipping one so it was considerably shorter than
the others, he gathered them in his hands and headed back to the adults, each
pulling a straw from the cluster he held tightly in his fist.

“This is a ridiculous way to choose a movie,” Maureen
muttered as she took a skewer from her son. “Damn!” she frowned as she pulled
out a long one, knowing her choice of Breakfast at Tiffany’s was now out of the
running.

By the time all the skewers were picked, it was Rory who’d
won the right to select the movie the adults would watch after the children
went to bed.

“Oh, God knows what he’s going to pick,” sighed David. Matt
and Paul muttered in agreement, suddenly not very excited at the prospect of
watching a movie under the stars.

Rory, however, was gleefully jumping around announcing to
everyone that he’d won, as if they didn’t already know. Andrew shook his head,
his lips pursed. “My bet is that it will be English,” he said. “And Jane Austen
is still
definitely
on the table.”

*****

The kids were wired. Chaos ruled as dinner was coming to an
end. All children had to be bathed and ready for bed before movie night could
begin. It was one of the few times Joseph had gone willingly into the bathroom,
still clutching the Blu-ray tightly in his hands.

The kitchen was tidied and the dishwashers loaded and
started. Mark and Matt began the task of carrying pillows and blankets out to
the garden. Adam collected a couple of wicker chairs from the patio for his
grandparents and carried them to the lawn, Maureen advising him when he got too
close to the bushes….or the gate…or any of the flowers. Safely arranged at the
side of the lawn, Peter and Maureen settled in with an iced tea and a folded
blanket to use if it became chilly.

If you were going to sit in a chair, it had to be positioned
off to the side of the lawn so that those lounging on blankets and pillows
wouldn’t have their view obstructed. Sophia and Nic, too pregnant to sit on the
ground for very long, opted for chairs, along with Matt and Janie, but everyone
else brought bundles out with them to spread on the grass and make themselves
comfortable.

At the rear of the garden, a small wooden fence separated
the lawn from the herb garden and Adam decided it would make a great back rest,
so he pulled a couple of cushions from the sofa in the pool house and arranged
a comfy little spot that he graciously offered to share with Shelby. She
accepted and settled in next to him with a bowl of popcorn, a bag of M &
M’s and two cans of Coca Cola.

“We make the perfect pair,” Adam grinned. “I claimed our
spot and you provide the refreshments.”

“This is quite comfortable,” Shelby admitted, as she sat on
the quilt Adam had laid down and settled back against the pillow.

“Your comfort is my number one priority,” he smiled, and
meant every word.

As everyone knew he would, Joseph won the right to pick the
movie. Cars, it would be. Even though Isabelle and Amanda all but cried because
they wouldn’t be watching Tangled, once the movie began, everyone settled in
for an exhilarating race with Lightning McQueen and Flo, Mater and the rest of
the gang.

The sky shone brightly with billions of stars overhead and
in the dark of night, children fell asleep one by one, heads resting on dads’
laps wrapped in blankets. As the ending credits began to roll, parents
whispered to each other as sleeping babies were to be carried into the house
and put to bed.

Shelby watched as husbands and wives sent silent
communication back and forth to each other as children were gently lifted into
loving arms and carefully moved from the garden into their beds. The scene was
brilliantly choreographed, with each father moving gracefully through the gate
without any traffic jams and not one child stirred from their peaceful slumber.
There rose in her an odd wistfulness. If she wasn’t careful, the impregnable
barrier she’d built around her heart would be at risk. The stirrings in the
depth of her soul…the beginnings of envy she felt as she watched the blissfully
happy little families all around her were threatening her peaceful existence.

It’s not that she didn’t want a family, she just couldn’t
risk screwing it up, and she was sure she would. How could she not? Her destiny
was to be alone. It as the safest way to be. Yet, the picture in front of her
made her heart feel a yearning she had held at bay…’til this very moment.

*****

“Eat Pray Love,” Rory announced once all the children were
in the house.

“No,” was the consensus of the group. Not even the women
wanted to watch it.

“Fine,” he muttered. “We can watch my number two pick, but I
am not compromising any further!” He messed around with the laptop hooked up to
the projector and the screen exploded with color as the movie began. The red
velvet curtains instantly gave it away.

“I love this movie!” Shelby declared.

“Me, too!” exclaimed Sophia.

“What is it?” asked Katy.

“Only one of the best films ever made,” Rory explained.
“Nicole Kidman and Ewan MacGregor…two of the best actors of our generation!”

“Star Wars?” asked Mark.

Beth all but fell off her chair laughing. “No, silly. It’s
Moulin Rouge!”

“A chick flick,” Matt groaned.

“I’ll give it ten minutes and then I’m going to bed,” Peter
grumbled.

“Hey. I’ll sit through it if it means my wife is in a
generous mood when it’s over,” David grinned and kissed Lindsey on the cheek.

“Shhhhh,” Rory hissed. “It’s starting.”

As promised, fifteen minutes into the movie, Peter and
Maureen announced they were retiring for the evening. They were not enjoying
the movie and it was after their bedtime anyway. Tim helped them through the
dark ‘til they were safely in the house and then returned to snuggle with his
wife. When Rory paused the movie thirty minutes in, because he needed to use
the bathroom, Derek and Tyler stood and said they’d decided to head into town.

“There’s gotta be a club or somewhere we can go,” Tyler
yawned, obviously bored with the movie selection.

“Anybody wanna join us?” Derek asked, looking right at Adam.

“I will!” Alex accepted the offer.

“You certainly will not!” Ben exclaimed.

“Aw, come on, Ben. Please?”

“No!” His voice told Alex there would be no more discussion.

“I’m gonna go and play a video game then,” he pouted.

“Fine,” Ben said, hiding a grin from his step-son.

“You wanna go?” Tyler asked Shelby.

“No, thanks. I’m gonna stay and watch the movie.”

“Me, too,” added Adam.

Derek smiled, a knowing smile and gave Adam the slightest of
nods. The two men said goodnight and left the garden. As Rory returned from the
house, he brought a bucket with cans of assorted beverages for everyone and
settled back down at Andrew’s side and the movie continued.

But over the course of the next hour, silently, several
couples left the lawn, Matt and Janie the first to tiptoe out of the garden and
up to their bedroom, hand in hand. Tim and Beth left next, with Ben and Sophia
closely behind them.

As the hour got later, a slight chill was in the air and
Shelby was grateful that Adam had brought an extra blanket, as she wore just
shorts and a tank top. She grabbed it at the corner and pulled it across her
legs.

“Cold?” Adam whispered. She nodded. He scooted a little
closer, wrapped his arm around her and pulled the blanket over both of them,
giving her the warmth of the quilt and his body. It felt so natural to have her
in his arms. He knew it was where she belonged. Within minutes he heard her
steady, deep breathing and realized she’d fallen asleep. Content, Adam watched
the movie with a smile.

Even the intense critique of the film by Mark and Katy as
the credits rolled didn’t wake Shelby. She was curled into Adam’s side and out
for the count. As several members of the family offered their assistance to
help him get her up to her room, Adam shook his head and shooed them away,
leaving them in the garden alone.

He kissed her on the top of her head, enjoying the sweet
smell of her shampoo and tilted his head back and gazed at the stars. Her head
rested on his chest, over his heart, his arm wrapped around her protectively,
his hand resting on her hip. He could stay like this forever, with the woman he
loved at his side.

He ran his fingers through her hair and pulled the blanket
over her shoulder. The he settled back, closed his eyes and drifted off to
sleep.

*****

The sun rose early and with it, the birds. Chirping happily
high in the trees, Adam’s eyes fluttered open, grateful for the bush next to
the house that was giving his eyes some relief from the bright sun glaring down
on him. At some point, he’d kicked off the blanket, the morning dawning warm.

However, Shelby was no longer curled beside him. She was
nowhere to be seen. Rubbing his neck and stretching his back, Adam scrambled to
his feet and yawned. He picked up the pillows and blankets and walked to the
pool house. There wasn’t a sound coming from the house. It was still very
early.

Falling onto the bed, Adam closed his eyes and quickly fell
asleep.

*****

Shelby watched Adam shuffle into the pool house, still half
asleep, from behind the curtain in the great room. She’d awoken just a few
minutes earlier to find her hand caressing his chest. It had felt wonderful and
had scared her wide awake.

The last few days had sent her into an emotional tailspin
and every time she attempted to check herself, there was something else that
unbalanced her…made her question the decisions that had managed to keep her
sane all these years.

Being held by Adam had given her an overwhelming sense of
calm and safety…something she sorely lacked most of the time. Yet, she’d slept
more deeply in his arms than any time in the last twelve years, and her dreams
didn’t wake her in a panicked sweat.