And finally Sunday morning came. The bags were packed, Art had breakfast with them before heading down to the river to fish, and Sean was ready to take his mother to the airport. He’d drive her to Sacramento and put her on a plane to Phoenix, then he would make the trip back north to Beale AFB where he was stationed.
Luke took a mug of coffee out onto his porch. The sun was shining, but it had gotten cold. He had a morning fire blazing in the hearth. It wasn’t long before Maureen came outside, wearing her jacket, holding her own cup of coffee.
“All set?” Luke asked.
“Ready. Sean’s using your shower. He should be done in ten, fifteen minutes. I thought maybe you and I could have that time. We haven’t really talked.”
“We’ve been together for five days,” he said with a shrug. “Almost a record.” But he knew that wasn’t what she meant.
“It’s been a long time since Felicia, Luke,” she said gently. And she lifted her cup to her lips.
“Long time,” he agreed. “I’m over that.”
“She was the exception, not the rule,” Maureen said. “You shouldn’t assume relationships can’t work just because you were treated badly by one woman.”
Luke said nothing, but what he wanted to scream was Badly? Badly? I thought she was having my baby and I came back from a war to find out it wasn’t mine!
“Shelby is a wonderful young woman. You’re good together.”
“Mother…”
“It isn’t just her. Oh, it’s obvious she loves you. But it’s also you. The second she’s near you, all those tense lines in your face relax and you soften up. That grumpy, self-protective shield drops and you’re warm and affectionate. She’s good for you, she brings out your best, makes you fun. You have something special with her.”
“She’s twenty-five.”
Maureen shook her head. “I don’t think that’s relevant. It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with how you two communicate…”
“There are things you don’t understand about Shelby,” he said. “She’s not just young, she hasn’t had many relationships. She’s been taking care of her mother and hasn’t really looked at the world. In a lot of ways, she’s a child.”
“I know all about her mother, but she’s no child,” Maureen said. “It takes maturity and courage to do what she did. So she didn’t have a lot of relationships with young men, it doesn’t mean she lacks worldly experience. And your age doesn’t matter to her.”
“It will. I’m too old. I’m not going to stand still while she gets older. She’ll be thirty-five and I’ll be almost fifty. She’d find herself with an old man.”
“At fifty?” She laughed. “I liked fifty,” she said with a dismissive shrug. “Fifty was good. I was only twenty-three when I married your father and I never thought of him as too old for me. To the contrary, it made me feel better in so many ways, to be with a mature man, a man of experience who didn’t have doubts anymore. He was stable and solid. It brought me comfort. And he was awful good to me.”
Luke straightened his shoulders. “I’m not getting married. Shelby will move on, Mom. She wants a career. A young husband. She wants a family.”
“You know this?” Maureen asked.
“Of course I know that,” he said. “You think we haven’t talked? I didn’t lead her on. And she didn’t lead me on. She knows I don’t want a wife, don’t want children…”
Maureen was quiet for a long moment. Finally she said, “You did once.”
Luke let go a short laugh that was tinged with his inner rage. “I’m cured of that.”
“You have to think about this. The way you’ve managed your life since Felicia hasn’t exactly brought you peace. I suppose it’s normal when a man gets hurt to avoid anything risky for a while, but not for thirteen years, Luke. If the right person comes along, don’t assume it can’t work just because it didn’t work once, a long, long time ago. I know this young woman as well as I ever knew Felicia. Luke, Shelby is nothing like her. Nothing.”
Luke pursed his lips, looked away for a second and then took a slow sip of coffee. “Thank you, Mom. I’ll remember that.”
She stepped toward him. “It’s going to hurt just as much to let her go as it hurt you to be tossed away by Felicia. Remember that.”