Now & Forever 3 - Blind love (3 page)

Johnny Novacek, a young man born in America from immigrant
Czech parents, was their landlord. Johnny bought several small houses in
disrepair, fixed them up with the help of his father, Jakub, and rented them
out to support his wife and two young children.

When she got home, Marcia put “Let It Be” by The Beatles on
the CD player and made herself a strong vodka and tonic. Some days, Marcia
pulled out their wedding pictures or pictures of wonderful, sexy vacations on
the island of St. John where she and Jay made love on deserted beaches and swam
in the clear aqua waters of the Caribbean. When Jay first got sick, Marcia
started scrapbooks to help her hold on to their life together.

The longing for her old life with Jay became an ache in her
chest. He was so full of joy in the old pictures, always smiling. They used to
laugh all the time, because everything is funny when you’re young, healthy and
madly in love. She couldn’t laugh anymore so she put away the pictures and
scrapbooks and poured herself another drink.

Even picking up a lamb chop, Jay’s favorite meat, at the
grocery store reduced her to tears, or hearing his favorite songs on the radio.
She cried when she awoke in the middle of the night, reaching for Jay in the
empty bed. She cried when she opened the closet and saw his clothes there.
Marcia had cried for months. She couldn’t cry anymore.

She watched only sports on television because she didn’t need
to concentrate. It took a supreme effort simply to get the bills paid each
month. Sometimes when an attractive man with brown hair and warm eyes came on
the television, she remembered how much she adored making love with Jay and
touching his strong swimmer’s body. He was a good lover, frisky and mad for
her. But they hadn’t made love in almost three years. She didn’t remember the
last time and at the time hadn’t realized it would be their last.

* * * *

Back at the house, Peter took a piece of paper with a phone
number on it out of his pocket. He picked up his cell phone and hesitated.

“Who do you still know here?” Callie asked.

“Bianca Trieste. An old girlfriend.”

“How old?” Callie unpacked a box of books, lining them up in
an empty bookcase.

“From eight years ago.” Peter put the phone down and instead
pulled shirts out of a suitcase and put them in a pile on the sofa.

“Serious?”

“We were almost engaged.”

Callie stopped what she was doing and listened.

“She was the first woman I ever loved. I asked her to marry
me and she turned me down to go to Europe on a modeling trip.”

He opened another box and took out a fistful of notebooks.

“And you still want to talk to her?” Callie asked, moving
several books onto a new shelf.

“I think so,” Peter said, stacking the notebooks on the
credenza behind the sofa.

“Haven’t put it to rest?” Callie said, unloading another box
of books.

“Guess not.” Peter collapsed a box and placed it on the
floor, then took another.

“Is that why you’re not married?”

“Maybe. Maybe I haven’t met the right woman yet.” Peter sat
on the floor, sorting a third box of books into two piles.

“Have you been in love since Bianca?” Callie handed two empty
boxes to Peter.

“Love? No.” Peter laughed but his smile didn’t reach his
eyes.

“Call her. Eight years is a long time to carry a torch.”

“There have been plenty of women to replace her…can’t seem to
move on,” Peter said, standing up and collapsing boxes.

“You’re a chick magnet, if ever there was one.” Callie
blushed at the frankness of her statement.

“It has its downside too. For once I’d like to start off
differently with a woman.”

“What do you mean?” Callie put another empty box aside and
stopped to look at him.

“I’d like to meet someone who didn’t…who wouldn’t…” Peter
waved his hand in the air, unable to produce the words.

“Someone who wasn’t attracted to you by your looks first?”
Callie finished for him.

“I’m not God’s gift to women or anything, but I’d like to be
me first.”

“Good luck, Peter.”

“When do we get to see the Caldwell Mansion?”

“Right after we pick up a rental car for you and…Sam.” Callie
stacked a handful of books on the coffee table.

“Call him Dad, or you’ll make him feel like a stranger.
Rental car? Crap. You drive on the right here.”

“Don’t you?” Callie raised her eyebrows.

“The left. Crap, means I’ve got to drive. Dad’ll get us
killed.”

Sam and Mac followed the children in the house.

“I’m driving, Dad.”

“Good, ’cause I haven’t driven on the right in years.
Wouldn’t want to kill everyone on my first day,” he said with a chuckle.

Peter shot Callie a knowing glance as they herded the
children back to the car.

After picking up the rental car, Peter and Sam followed
Callie, Mac and their kids to their house for dinner. It was nine-thirty p.m.
before Callie and Mac got the kids settled in and gave directions to Sam and
Peter as they ventured back to their house on their own. Callie stood at the
living room window, holding the curtain open a little to watch them drive away.

“It’s wonderful to have Sam and Peter here. I already feel
like they’re my father and brother.”

“I’m glad.” He came up behind her and put his arms around
her.

“You must be happy.”

Mac kissed her neck, then brushed his lips lightly up to her
earlobe.

“I’m glad to see Dad and Pete. But now, I’m happy to see you.
In fact, I’d like to see more of you,” he said, easing her shirt up.

Callie turned around and fell into his arms for a passionate
kiss.

“I’d like to show you what an absolute pistol I am in the
bedroom,” he whispered in her ear, cracking a big smile.

“Mac Caldwell! A pistol? You were listening in today?” Callie
smacked his shoulder lightly.

“I came back for the car keys.” He shrugged innocently.

“You heard our whole conversation?” Color flooded her cheeks.

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Callie.”

“But you overheard me talking about you.”

“The things you were saying…” Mac said, reaching under her
shirt unfastening her bra, “…were soooo nice,” he said, sliding his hands
around to cradle her breasts.

“Mac…” she said, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead
against him, her breath coming faster.

“What, baby?” he said, his eyes closed.

“It’s all true…you are my lover,” she said, unbuckling his
belt.

They undressed and left their clothes in a heap on the living
room floor. Callie ran her hands up his hard chest, through the soft black hair
and around his neck. His hands slipped down her back to rest on her firm behind
and pull her closer to him. She kissed him, opening her lips to his tongue. Mac
picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, pushing the door closed gently
with his foot so as not to wake the children.

Chapter Two

Mac stuffed the family, including Sam and Peter, into their
SUV and drove to their small place on Lake Onondaga in Pennsylvania for the
weekend. The house had one wall of glass overlooking the water and connected,
through sliding glass doors, to a deck which jutted out far enough to double as
a dock. With a big sectional sofa surrounding a large fireplace in the living
room, their home was comfortable for a crowd both in summer and winter.

Sam had given the house to Callie and Mac for a wedding
present. He and his late wife, Ellen, spent several happy summers there before
she died. When they arrived, Sam was the first one out of the car. He stood
looking at the small building as tears pricked his eyes.

“This was Ellen’s dream house,” he said to Callie. “She’d be
so happy to see us all here together…and with grandchildren. A wish come true…”

She gave his hand a squeeze, then stuck the key in the front
door lock and turned it.

“It’s our dream house too…Dad,” she said.

He smiled at her as he reached for his handkerchief. After
wiping his eyes, he took Callie’s hand and held it as she opened the door and
they walked in together.

“Dad’s become a bit mushy in his old age, Pete,” Mac
observed, hiding his mouth with his hand.

“He’s always been mushy, Mac.”

“God, I hope we don’t get mushy at his age,” Mac whispered to
Peter.

The kids ran into the house. Jason took possession of
Grandpa’s left arm while Kitty hung on his right.

“What about Uncle Peter? Who wants to show him the lake?”

Kitty, who’d flirted with Peter most of the way in the car as
she’d claimed the seat next to him, piped up, “Me!”

“It figures,” Mac muttered.

“Mac!” Callie said, punching him lightly in the arm.

Jason took Sam’s hand and Kitty took Peter’s hand when they
all went down to the lake. Sam pointed out the landmarks he remembered on the
way, like the tree where he and Ellen watched a hawk nesting and a field where
deer grazed.

“We go fishing here all the time but never catch anything. Do
you know why, Grandpa?”

“No idea, Jason.”

“Uncle Peter, Uncle Peter,” Kitty called, motioning with her
hand for him to join her wading into the lake.

Peter took off his socks and shoes and rolled up his pants.
Kitty kicked off her sandals and took his hand.

After dinner, when both kids were tucked in bed, the
exhausted adults sat down on their deck and opened a bottle of wine and lit
candles.

“I’d like to make a toast,” Sam said. “To Callie and the
kids. Mac, your wife and children exceed my expectations by a mile. Long life
and love to all.”

They all raised their glasses. Callie teared up and started
to cry.

Sam, Mac and Peter all reached into their pockets and pulled
out handkerchiefs for her at the same time, which made her laugh.

“It’s a Caldwell male tradition, Callie. Ellen insisted we
all carry handkerchiefs,” Sam said, smiling.

“Callie cries when she’s happy, so I’m always ready,” Mac
said.

“Especially in the bedroom, right, Mac?” Peter teased.

“Don’t go there, Pete,” Mac warned.

“Boys!” Sam threw a stern look their way. “They’re always
teasing each other. I hoped they’d have outgrown it by now,” Sam said to
Callie, looking pointedly at Peter.

“What? I’ve got to show him I missed him, don’t I?” Peter
asked with an innocent shrug.

“I’m so happy you’re all here. Peter, what was Mac like as a
boy?”

“Well, Callie…”

“Don’t believe a word he says. He was jealous of me,” Mac
said.

“Jealous? Of what? A nerdy guy who couldn’t talk to girls?”

“I didn’t waste my time
talking
to girls.” Mac sat back, taking a sip of wine.

“Like you were some big make-out artist or something?” Peter
made a face at his brother.

“I did all right.”

“You did? At what age did you do all right with girls?”
Callie asked.

Mac blushed and clammed up. Peter laughed.

“His first girlfriend was Jenny Simmons. He was fifteen,”
Peter volunteered.

“What happened between you and Jenny?” Callie raised an
eyebrow.

“Pete, keep quiet. You don’t know Callie, she’s like a
private detective and prosecuting attorney rolled into one. You give her a
little bit of information and she’ll dig out your entire sexual history.”

“She can’t with me. It’d take a hundred years,” Peter said,
laughing.

Mac laughed too. “If Callie wants to know something about
you, she won’t stop until she has it…and then some.”

“You make me sound like a bloodhound,” Callie said.

“Well, babe, sometimes the resemblance is uncanny,” Mac said,
laughing.

“Looks like you’re not going to need any handkerchiefs in the
bedroom tonight, Mac,” Peter snickered.

Mac got up and punched Peter playfully in the arm. Peter
grabbed him in a headlock and the men started to wrestle.

“Mac! Peter! Cut it out!” Sam yelled.

Callie got busy pulling lamps and tables out of their way as
the two tall men rolled around on the floor.

“Boys! Stop!” Sam yelled and got up. He pulled at Mac, then
Peter. Finally they separated, breathing heavily and looking at each other. Mac
was rubbing an elbow and Peter was stroking his temple. In a minute they both
burst out laughing.

“After all these years, it’s still a draw,” Sam said, shaking
his head.

Peter went over to Mac and gave him a bear hug.

Mac smiled at him and ruffled his hair. “Welcome home, shrimp.”

“Shrimp? He’s taller than you are, Mac,” Callie said.

“Now he is, but he wasn’t always. It took him years to catch
up,” Mac said.

“These two were a handful, Callie.” Sam laughed. “I guess
they still are.”

“I can handle them,” she said, smiling.

Saturday became a busy day at the lake with fishing and not
catching anything, looking for bear tracks, coloring, reading and swimming with
Jason and Kitty. Peter fit right in, playing with the children and helping cart
food in and out of the kitchen. The children charmed him and kept him laughing,
much to Callie’s delight.

Callie worried the physical affection she shared with Mac
might make Peter feel left out or jealous, but he smiled when he caught them
exchanging a quick kiss or loving embrace.

* * * *

“Can’t get enough, huh? Don’t you ever pass her without
touching her?” Peter asked his brother.

“If you had a woman like her, would you?” Mac piled plates
together.

“Guess not. You’re lucky.” Peter picked up the salad bowl.

“Damn right.” Mac carted the plates into the kitchen.