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Gerri felt her eyes well up. “Thank you, Muriel,” she said softly.
“Don’t thank me for making sense. I just hope he finds a way to win you back because if he loses you, he will have lost the best thing that ever happened to him. And don’t make it too easy for him.”
“Believe me—”
“All the same, think carefully,” Muriel said. “I know he’s not perfect and now I know he’s also not that intelligent, but do think this through. It will be hard for you to find a man who’s truly your equal and while I don’t know anyone more capable, life alone can be dreary. And sad. Very sad. Punish him as much as you need to, but dear girl, don’t be hasty.” Then she took a breath and muttered, “The ignorant fool!”
“It’s already pretty dreary,” Gerri said. “Muriel, thank you for not blaming me. Thank you for not saying I should just get over it, since it was years ago.”
“All I have to say to you, darling, is thank you for letting the stupid fool live. I hate him at the moment, but he’s still my son. No longer my favorite son, but I think I’ll probably go on loving him even though he apparently doesn’t have a brain in his head.”
“Oh, Muriel, I do love you.”
“Do you need me? Should I come?”
“No. I think we should try to carry on this way for now. He’s spending some time around here, in close touch every day if not always present, and he’s doing everything he can. We should let things simmer awhile. I have things to figure out and I can’t be distracted. But thank you.”
“If you need me, you have only to call. I’ll come at once.”
Gerri laughed into the phone. “That would serve him right,” she said. “His mother and his wife on his case.”
“Yes. I can’t think of anything more likely to make him wish he were dead.”
* * *
Bob was already at work in Andy’s kitchen when she got home from school at five o’clock. She positively sparkled when she saw him. “Hey,” she said brightly. “You’re getting an early start!”
“I’m laying down the ceramic tonight. You’re going to have to stay off it for twenty-four hours. It could slide the grout.”
“Okay. Did you have dinner?”
“I grabbed something on the way over,” he said.
“I’m starting to think you’re afraid I might poison you.” She laughed. “I offer every night, but you’ve always already eaten.”
He stood straight and grinned, patting his firm, round stomach and treating her to that hypnotic grin of his. “Look at me, Andy. You think I’ve missed many meals?”
“You look healthy,” she said.
“That’s not what the doctor says.”
“What? Is your doctor worried about you?”
“Everything seems to be holding, but he’s convinced I’m overweight and headed for a coronary. That’s why I try to stay away from him. I feel fine most of the time.”
“Most of the time?” she asked, suddenly stricken with worry.
“Doing the work I do, my back and knees kick up sometimes. I’m fine. My age, you get aches and pains.”
“Do you mind if I ask—just how old are you?”
“Fifty-three. Getting up there.”
“Well, you’re just a few years older than me,” she said, opening her takeout carton on the dusty table.
“Not possible,” he said, getting down on his knees again. “You look like a young girl.”
“I’m a forty-seven-year-old girl. Can I get a glass of wine before I’m closed out of the kitchen?”
“Sure. You have plenty of time. But it’s going to go real fast now. After the tile, there’s not much to do. Just the appliances, countertops, baseboards, touch up. Do you still like the new cabinets?”
“Gorgeous,” she said. “What am I going to do with myself in the evenings when you and Beau aren’t here?”
“Oh, I’m sure you have plenty to do without someone making noise and messing up your house.”
She’d have to try to remember. This routine had given her so much comfort that she dreaded the kitchen renovation being finished. At first she thought it was just having someone around the house, but soon she noticed it was more than that, it was the quality time they spent together. Bob was there almost every day and she spent at least an hour just talking with him. Then she’d take Beau to her bedroom to lie beside her on the bed and she’d catch up on the day’s paperwork or just relax. Sometimes Beau would curl up next to her and she’d nod off; sometimes he’d roll over on his back and she’d idly scratch his belly while she watched TV. She hadn’t had a dog since she was a child. She realized more attention should be given to the serenity that came with scratching a big old dog’s belly.
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