Charm and perfection, p.12
Charm and Perfection, page 12
“So, you’ve given me a pet name? Is that from a list on Google? Not too original if you ask me, lambchop.”
I swatted his arm. “I’ll come up with something more original than yours. You wait.”
He laughed. “Let’s warm the lasagna. I’m starving.”
I found the plates, silverware, and glasses and set the table. Blake warmed our dinner and made garlic bread while I tossed a salad together and poured iced tea.
He offered a prayer of thanksgiving and waited for me to take the first bite.
“Oh my. This is amazing.” I delved in again with my fork, savoring a mouthful of goodness. “You were right. I doubt I can compete. How often does he cook for you?”
“Four days a week. I’m on my own Friday through Sunday.”
“I suppose I should cook those three days. Will he share his recipes with me, so we can eat this well all the time?” I served myself another helping.
Blake smiled. “Your Thanksgiving meal was sumptuous. You’ll do fine without Richard’s recipes.”
I chuckled. “Have you been practicing that line since our last lasagna discussion?”
“I love your cooking.” He smirked. “But we can eat out Friday through Sunday if needed.” He winked.
“Funny.”
After dinner, we returned to the great room.
Blake sat next to me on the sofa. “Are you ready to hear about my call with Andy?”
I nodded and snuggled into his arm.
“He answered my call Sunday evening and told me that he was struggling with our upcoming marriage, but he feels better about it now than he did.” He lifted my chin. “That’s progress.”
“But what about a wedding date?”
He wrinkled his nose and narrowed his eyes. “I forgot to bring it up?”
I pulled away. “You forgot?”
“Don’t be upset. He excited me when he answered his phone and talked with me. I’ll try him again after you leave. Okay?”
I snuggled against his arm again. “No problem. Everything will work out.” I stared up at Blake. “Let’s call him now.”
He dipped his head until his lips met mine. “March 2—six weeks from Saturday.”
“But that’s the anniversary week of Cheryl’s death.”
“A time of celebration and newfound joy in the uniting of two couples in marriage. If Andy weren’t procrastinating, we could have made it sooner, but now we have little time before the baby’s born.” He pulled out his phone and looked at the calendar. “March 2 may not work. What if Zoey delivers two weeks early?” He peered at me.
“February 23 may work better.” I stood and snatched my purse from the end table to use my cell’s calendar. “And we should get them here a few weeks before that, so Zoey has time to find a doctor and get adjusted to her new surroundings.”
“I hadn’t thought about a doctor. That’s a priority.”
“Jenny talked to hers and he’s taking new patients. I can give Zoey the information whenever she’s ready.”
“Do you think we can plan our wedding in five weeks?”
“With our daughters’ help, we can do it.” I smiled.
“Let me call Andy.” Blake clicked on his son’s number and relayed our plans. He told Andy that he wanted them to join us for a double wedding or at least be able to attend our ceremony on February 23.
He put his cell in his pocket. “I’m glad he’s willing to talk, but I’m not sure he’s ready to accept our union.”
“I presume it’s the salmon colored rose. Have you talked to him about that?”
“No. Are you ready to take another trip? I’d rather discuss that in person, and it would give you another opportunity to bond with Zoey.”
“Will Allison be joining us?”
“We can ask her since that seems to be the only way I can get you there.” His eyes twinkled.
~
We delighted Allison when we called and gave her our wedding date, and it thrilled her that we invited her to join us on our weekend trip. She rattled off all the things she wanted to do while in Albuquerque. Ride the tram up the Sandia Mountains, tour Old Town, and eat at her favorite restaurants. Blake told her that he doubted we’d do all those things, but he’d try to work at least one of them into our plans.
After he made our reservations, I drove home and enjoyed a peaceful night’s rest.
On Wednesday, all seemed well in my life again. But how long would that last? I chuckled as I climbed the stairs and entered my office.
Jocelyn poked her head inside my door. “I’m meeting with Wes and Robin this morning. I’ll fill you in after.”
“Sounds good, thanks.” I opened my calendar and remembered this was my day to meet with Tauni for lunch. A highlight for sure. My schedule included two applicant interviews for an insurance specialist at 2:00 and 3:30. I planned to spend my time during the morning studying HR laws and policies.
I needed to talk to Blake again about leaving my position and finding another job. My heart wasn’t in learning about HR, anyway. I disliked meeting with Robin and more so meeting with Wes, and I dreaded the thought of pouring over these HR manuals and studying online.
Blake stopped by during break time. “Hi, doll. Richard plans to prepare a roast today. Would you like to join me for dinner?”
“I’m no doll, but that sounds great.”
Blake shook his head. “I’ll stop by and pick you up at 6:30.”
I gave him a thumbs up.
For lunch, Tauni and I walked to a barbeque place. She greeted everyone we met along the way.
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye and nudged her elbow. “Why are you doing that? You’ve never done that before.”
“I love to say hello to strangers now. Maybe it’s weird, but I want them to know someone cares about them.”
“That’s sweet.”
“No big deal.” She shrugged. “I often imagined no one cared about me, but when someone smiled or said, good morning, my day went better.”
“I hope you didn’t feel that way often.” We entered the restaurant and waited to be seated. “We’re all special and important to God.”
Tauni nodded. “I understand now, but sometimes I still struggle.”
“Please reach out to me during those times. I’m here for you.”
After we ordered our lunch, she said, “Blake is the best boss. I like working with him.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Has he asked you to do anything you’ve found challenging?” There were many times he pushed me to where I struggled to keep my cool.
“No, but he asked me to redo the file room. He said he has a hard time finding what he’s looking for in there. Did he ever mention that to you?”
After they delivered our food, I chuckled. “I rearranged things. He didn’t like it, but I never changed it back.” I salted my French fries. “Now. Tell me all about Quade.”
She sighed. “He’s wonderful. Sweet. An exceptional kisser.” She covered her mouth. Her eyes sparkled.
“You’re too funny. I’m glad things are going well.”
“We have dinner dates planned for tomorrow and Friday, bowling and a movie on Saturday, church on Sunday, and I’m meeting him at the ranch again next Monday for lunch.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You might want to slow down a little.”
“Probably, but I’m crazy about him. I want us to spend every free minute together and think he feels the same way. I couldn’t be happier.”
“Please be careful.” I moved my hand across the table toward her. “Remember, it’s only been two weeks.”
She leaned toward me. “Thanks for your concern, but I’m sure he’s the one. The Lord has answered my prayers.” She stabbed her fries with her fork. “How does Blake show his love for you?”
“He shows his love through gifts like the roses and wanting to spend time with me.” I grinned and looked toward the windows. “He loves to hold my hand and be close. He says sweet things to me, and sometimes he does something special for me like making me a café mocha.”
“You forgot one of the biggest ones.”
“What did I leave out?”
“The way he lights up when you enter the room. You’ve captivated his heart. Of that I’m certain.”
Warmth spread up my neck and cheeks. “He does do that, doesn’t he?”
Nineteen
A
fter lunch, I poked my head inside Jocelyn’s door. “How did your meeting go this morning with Wes and Robin?”
“I meant to stop by. Been a wild day.” She stood and stepped toward me. “Everything went well. Wes got a little emotional when he talked with her. He seemed to feel bad about it.”
“How did Robin respond?”
“She felt bad too. She told me afterward she thought of him as a lovesick puppy.” Jocelyn grinned. “I reminded them both of the policy that states people in the same department cannot date.”
“Why did you need to tell Robin? She wanted nothing to do with him.”
“After he apologized, she told him that she was sorry she caused him trouble. At one point I thought she might hug him. If it weren’t for the policy, I think she’d agree to lunch at least.”
“Oh, my.”
“We must monitor this situation.”
I nodded. “And I need to ask for Friday off again this week.”
“Where are you and Blake off to this time?” She smiled.
“Albuquerque to visit his son.” I turned to leave and spoke over my shoulder. “His daughter is traveling with us again.”
“No explanations are necessary.”
~
That evening, Blake picked me up after work and drove me to his place. We chatted while he warmed dinner. “Was Jenny excited we set a date?”
“I’ll call her now so you can listen.”
He spun and faced me. “You forgot to call your daughter and tell her, didn’t you?”
I chuckled. “I’ve been busy, and I wanted to share her excitement with you.”
“You picked on me for not talking to Andy about setting a date, and you haven’t told Jenny we set one?”
“I’ll put her on speaker.” I tried to hide my grin, placed my phone on the kitchen counter, and clicked on Jenny’s number. We listened to three rings. “Hi, Nana. Can I talk to Papa?”
“What about talking to me?”
Blake laughed. “Hi, giggly girl.”
Nicki giggled. “Hi, precious papa.”
I shook my head. “Let me talk to Mommy.”
“Okay. M O M M Y, it’s Nana.” I backed away from the phone and rubbed my ears.
Jenny greeted me, and we chatted about Nicki for a minute.
“We set our date for February 23.”
“Yeah, I heard from Allison this morning.” Sarcasm laced her voice. “Thanks for sharing that important news with me right away, Mom.”
“I’m sorry, Jen. Time got away from me today.”
“I’m happy for you and Blake and hope Andy and Zoey will join you.”
“We’re flying out there this weekend to visit in person and hope they’ll commit.” I pulled plates from the overhead cabinet. “You’re the wedding expert, what should we do first?”
She rattled a paper. “The first thing you should do is contact Manuel to see if he’s available that day and time. Are you getting married at the church or somewhere else?”
I peered at Blake. “The church?”
“We could have it here at my house unless you prefer the church.”
Jenny said, “Beautiful. Mom descending the stairs and waltzing into the foyer. Breathtaking.”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure about breathtaking, but Blake’s foyer would be a lovely location for a wedding.”
“After you get that figured out, you need to stop by and confirm the order at the stationery store and give them the date and time. We must get the invitations back soon so we can get them addressed and mailed out right away.”
“Wait, a minute. Confirm the order?”
“Allison and I got together on Monday and picked out invitations we thought you might like, but you can change them. We ordered our dresses on Tuesday, and Allison texted a picture of a maternity dress to Zoey we felt she might like. I don’t know if Allison’s heard from her yet.”
“Wow.” I glanced at Blake. “Our daughters are amazing planners.”
He smiled. “What about Nicki? We’ll want her as our flower girl.”
“She’ll love that. I’ll take her shopping this weekend.”
“Great. Anything else?” I asked.
“Allison said she’d order the flowers and believed Blake would line up musicians and have his chef prepare the reception food. Does that work?”
Blake agreed. “Thanks for jumping in and being ready to move on this.”
Jenny chuckled. “The least I can do. You’re doing me a big favor by taking care of Mom and relieving me of that immense burden. I owe you my sanity.”
Blake tilted his head back and laughed. “She can be difficult, can’t she?”
I placed my hands on my hips and took a firm stance. “Enough, you two.”
~
After dinner and kitchen duty, Blake took me on a tour of the attic. The only floor I hadn’t seen. “When you pack your things, you can store them here until we move into the new house.” He pointed to an available space much larger than I needed.
I nodded and looked at Blake. “When Andy and Zoey move to Nashville, they’ll need most of my things. I’ll pack up all personal items but leave my cookware, dishes, utensils, and those types of things for them in the condo.”
Blake turned toward me. “I’m sure they’ll appreciate that.”
“I have a trunk in the guest room I’d like to keep. Sam’s mother passed it down to him.” I stared off into a corner of the room. “He kept his toys and belongings inside of it for years. Nicki calls it her treasure chest.” I got quiet and stammered. “Now might be an excellent time to pass it along to Jenny.” I gazed at Blake, my eyes wide.
He wrapped his arms around me. “You should keep it. Nicki will enjoy finding it in our new house. We can put it in the recreation room or on the upper floor where she can fill it with her treasures for years to come.”
We walked further down the hallway to an area at the other end of the attic. Several easels covered with cloths lined the walls. Blake removed the covering on one to show me one of Cheryl’s unfinished projects of a lovely landscape. After he replaced the cloth, he suggested I look at her other artwork if interested when we moved my personal things upstairs.
He took my hand. “Ready to relax by the fireplace?”
We strolled into the great room. Blake played soft music through his home speaker system and we settled on the couch.
His arm rested along the back of the sofa. “Are you looking forward to our trip?”
“I look forward to being with you.” I stared into Blake’s eyes and winked.
“Are you telling me the entire truth?”
I leaned away and gaped at him. “What do you mean? I’ll admit, our working together and living together may be hard on both of us, but I love to spend time with you.”
“Jocelyn told me that you’re having a hard time adjusting to your new position.”
“Jocelyn has a big mouth.” I focused on my hands in my lap.
“Don’t get upset with her. I asked and she shared.” He lifted my chin. “I want more than anything for you to be happy.”
I avoided his eyes. “Tuesday was horrible. That was my fault, but to go into the office and act like everything was fine when I felt my world had crashed down around me was tough. And to know you were right around the corner made it harder because I wasn’t ready to face you.”
“If you suppose working together at the same place could lead to extra difficulties for us, I’m in favor of you looking elsewhere for a job.”
I glanced at Blake. “Great.” I kissed his cheek.
“Nope.” He pointed to his lips. “Right here, penguin.”
“Penguin?”
“They must be the cutest animal in the world. Fits you well.”
“Sweet, but I don’t think so. Wear a black tux with a white shirt for our wedding and I’ll call you penguin instead.”
His face turned serious. “I’ve wanted to ask you something. I remembered it upstairs when you mentioned Sam.”
“Go ahead.”
“Did Sam die at home?”
I shook my head and looked toward the windows. “The hospital. He’d been waiting on a heart transplant.”
“I shouldn’t ask you these tough questions. But I know we share similar pain.”
“You can ask me anything.” I peered into his eyes.
Blake frowned. “Were you with him when he died?”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I’d gone to the cafeteria with Carl. Jenny stayed with Sam. He passed while I was away.”
“I’m sure that was tough.” He squeezed my hand. “I’m bothered that Cheryl didn’t have anyone with her when she died.”
“But she did.” I reached up and wiped a tear from the side of his face. “The Lord was with her.”
“Thank you for reminding me of that.” He placed his arm across my shoulder and pulled me closer. After a few minutes of silence, he said, “You sure are snuggly.”
I gazed into his blue eyes and smiled. “Snuggly. Snuggles. I like it.”
“Do you mean we found a pet name you approve of?”
“Was it on your list?”
He nodded.
“Then keep trying.”
Twenty
Albuquerque, New Mexico
F
riday, Blake, Allison, and I picked up our rental car, a Nissan Maxima, and drove to Andy and Zoey’s apartment.
Blake asked if I’d contacted Andy or Zoey to let them know we were coming to town. I wrinkled my nose. Now I’m his personal assistant regarding his family? Blake then said he tried to contact Andy but hadn’t heard back. Allison and I both texted Zoey, but she never got back with us either.
We chatted about our wedding plans during our drive from the airport. I told Blake and Allison that Manuel was available to perform the weddings, but we needed to talk to him soon about the details. Allison asked about the invitations, and I told her I wanted to wait before I confirmed them because I expected to include Andy and Zoey’s names.
