Waterfalls (9 page)

Shelly looked at her watch and then placed the test stick on top of the box. “Seven minutes.”

“Are you sure?” Meri said, trying to offer hope.

“Yeah. Seven minutes,” Shelly said with a sad sigh. “There’s definitely only one line.”

They were quiet for a moment. Shelly gathered up the instructions and put all the pieces back into the box.

“It’s probably all the stress you’ve been under lately,” Meredith suggested. “You’ve had a lot of strain on you getting ready for this grand opening.”

“You’re right. I’m sure that’s it. Besides, we really aren’t ready to have a baby. We talked about trying in a year or so. We have a lot going on right now, you know, with the opening of the conference center and everything.”

Meredith spotted a solitary tear on the rim of Shelly’s eyelid.

“Don’t be so brave. You were almost pregnant, and you have every right to be emotional about that.” Meredith opened her arms, and Shelly received her comforting hug.

“And who knows,” Meredith said as Shelly pulled away
and wiped her tears. “You still could be pregnant, but you’re just not pregnant enough for it to show up on the test.”

“That’s true. Except I don’t think I can stand the suspense of doing another home test. If I haven’t started by the end of next week, I’m seeing a doctor.”

“Good idea. Are you going to tell Jonathan?”

“Yes, of course. I eventually tell him everything. Do me a favor and don’t say anything to Mom, though, okay?”

“I won’t,” Meri promised. “Do you want to get back to your lodge full of guests now?”

“I suppose I should. There aren’t that many people left, I don’t think.” Shelly tossed the remains of the home test into the bathroom trash can. “I’m sorry you missed the dedication ceremony while you were at the drugstore. It was really wonderful. Dad prayed, Kyle said some very nice things about Jonathan, and I cut the ribbon. Wish you could have been there. But I appreciate your going to the pharmacy for me, even though it ended up embarrassing you.”

“That’s okay. I was glad to do it for you.”

Shelly opened the bathroom door. Bob Two was sitting there, panting and waiting for them. Scooping up the little fur ball, Shelly said, “For now you’ll be our baby.”

He licked her cheek, and Meredith cringed. “How can you stand to have dog saliva on you?”

“Haven’t you ever heard how clean a dog’s tongue is?”

“You have to be kidding. No offense, Bowser, but I saw you licking around the kitchen trash earlier. You’re a big ole slime-ball, you know that?”

“Don’t talk to my baby that way!” Shelly said, putting Bob Two down. “You stay here, Bob Two. We’ll be back later tonight. I can’t let you out because too many sweet old ladies are around here, and you might scare them to death.”

“Yeah, right,” Meredith muttered.

Bob Two barked as they slipped out the screen door.

“He doesn’t like you,” Shelly said.

“Of course he doesn’t. He’s a male. Tell him to get in line,” Meri said.

“You know, I was thinking. Why don’t you call Jake?” Shelly suggested as they walked back to the central lodge.

“Why? And I thought you weren’t going to mention him again.”

“Well, I changed my mind. I think you should call him to tell him the pregnancy test was for me and you promised not to say anything. It doesn’t matter now because I’m not pregnant.”

“You don’t think you’re pregnant.”

“Same thing at this point.”

“I don’t think my calling him would change anything,” Meri said. “It wasn’t just the questionable appearance of my buying a pregnancy kit. I terrorized the guy all day long. He doesn’t want to hear from me again; I can guarantee that.”

“Terrorized? What did you do?”

Meredith cautiously described the early morning encounter with the avocado face and blue bonnet. Shelly burst out laughing.

“There’s more,” Meri said and proceeded to share the part about the puppet show, the smashed muffin, and the immature outburst in the parking lot.

“You know,” Shelly said after she managed to control her laughter, “if nothing else, you made a lasting impression on the guy.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Meri muttered.

They stopped just outside the lodge and beyond the hearing of the dozen or so people sitting on the front porch visiting. “You know what I think?” Shelly said. “I think your picnic must have been a refreshing experience for Jake after battling
the attention he’s gotten ever since
Falcon Pointe
came out. No one expected that movie to become such a big hit. He was a no-name, out of nowhere, and now he’s suddenly famous and being assaulted in parking lots and drugstores. It must be frustrating. I can see why he didn’t want you to know who he was for as long as possible.”

“I wish I could turn back the clock and start this day over.”

“No, you don’t. This is life. This is your crazy, amazing life, and nothing happened to you today that didn’t pass through God’s fingers before it came to you.”

Meri smiled. She used to be the one who was quick to offer spiritual insights and encouragement to her sister. Now Shelly was the one counseling her.

“If God is really in control, then I think he must be in a very strange mood today,” Meri said.

Shelly looked serious. “Do you really think God has moods?”

“I’m kidding,” Meri retorted. “Let’s go inside. Do you suppose any food is left?” Then she remembered the candy bars. “Oh, I bought all those Milky Way bars. Where did I put them?”

“You left them on the counter in the kitchen. They’ll be fine there. Jonathan will thank you profusely. You’ve brought him a two-week supply, you know.”

“Just so your mutt doesn’t get to them.”

“Don’t worry. Bob Two hasn’t figured out how to climb up onto counters yet.”

“When he does, you’re in big trouble.”

They walked up the front steps together, and Shelly warmly greeted all the people on the benches and in the rocking chairs.

“Your mother was looking for you, Meredith,” one of the older women said.

“I bet she was,” Meri muttered under her breath. Then she
smiled and said, “Thank you.” Something inside of her started to shrink down to junior high size all over again. She knew the minute she saw her mom she would be lectured about missing the dedication ceremony. And what would she tell her mother? “I was at the pharmacy, but I can’t tell you why”?

Fortunately, Mom was busy in the kitchen and didn’t pay much attention to Meredith until the long day came to a close, and Meredith and her mom and dad drove back to Kyle and Jessica’s after nine. Mom nonchalantly said, “I didn’t see you at the ceremony, Meredith. Where were you standing?”

She took a deep breath. “I had to run an errand in town. I didn’t get back in time.”

“What kind of errand?” Mom wanted to know.

“Whose car did you take?” Dad asked.

“I took Shelly’s Jeep, and it was nothing. A quick errand to help out Shelly. That’s why we came down, isn’t it? To help out? Well, I was helping out.”

Mom turned around and gave Meredith a disapproving look. “I only asked a simple question,” she said. “You don’t need to be so defensive.”

Meredith thought about that line as she washed her face and prepared to crawl into her comfy bed in the Patchwork Room.
But I do need to be defensive with you, Mom. How can I tell you that? Don’t you see how much you’ve changed in the last few weeks? You’re trying to tell me what to do all the time, and you’re not treating me like an adult
.

Meredith placed the warm washcloth over her face and drew in the steamy water with a deep breath.
Maybe she’s treating me like a child because I let her. I turn into a little girl whenever I’m around her. Why am I doing that? I didn’t used to
.

Slipping into her nightshirt and heading for bed, Meredith noticed something on her pillow. She had taken out her contacts and couldn’t make out what it was. Greenish in color, it
definitely wasn’t a mint. Was it a bug? She picked up the closest weapon, which was a book of poetry on the night stand. Cautiously she approached the intruder with the book in position, ready to smash at any moment. Meri squinted her eyes. Was it? It was!

“A grape,” she said aloud. “How did one lonely grape get in here?” A smile spread across her face. She picked up the green grape and laughed. Even Meredith felt better when she heard her own laughter. Jake must have put it there when he came back to the house to make his phone calls.

Crawling under the covers, she held the lone grape between her thumb and forefinger, rolling it back and forth. She smiled contentedly to herself.
So, the man has imagination
.

A
week later, Meredith was sitting at her cluttered desk in her home office when the phone rang. She jumped before picking it up on the second ring. The phone’s ringing in the middle of the day shouldn’t have surprised her. It rang all the time. But at the moment she was lost in a dream.

“This is Meredith,” she said after she pushed the button on the speaker phone.

“It’s me,” Shelly said. “You busy?”

“Not really. What’s up?”

“I started,” Shelly said.

It took Meredith a moment to catch her meaning. “Oh. Are you okay?”

“Sure. I’m fine. A little bloated, but you know how that goes. I think you were right. I got all messed up because of the crazy schedule and the stress. Things should even out now.”

“Good. I hope they do,” Meri said. “What’s happening with you guys?”

“Kyle and Jonathan are working on clearing the meadow today. It’s been so hot all week everything dried up, and Kyle thinks it could be a fire hazard. I hated to see all the wildflowers go.”

“I can imagine,” Meredith agreed. “It’s a beautiful meadow.” She picked up a pen and began to doodle on her desk mat’s corner. Only a week ago she had compared herself to the wildflowers in that field: fresh and charming one day and plowed under the next. Her own prophecy had come true for herself. She had waited all week, but Jacob never called. He didn’t e-mail, and he didn’t write. All hope had dried up, drooped, and withered. Certainly any man with enough imagination to leave a grape on her pillow was capable of contacting her within a week’s time if he wanted to.

“I talked to Jake last night.” Shelly said.

Meredith didn’t respond.

“I told him about the pregnancy test. I told him it was for me.”

“I’m sure he was vastly relieved,” Meri said.

“That sounded pretty sarcastic.”

“Why did you feel the need to tell him?”

“I wanted him to get a more accurate opinion of you.”

“Oh, well, thank you very much, Shelly, but I think it’s too late for that. My brief encounter with that unsuspecting man was so much larger than life, you know? If he and I had met under other circumstances, in another lifetime, on another planet, there may have been some hope for your endeavors.”

“He said he enjoyed meeting you,” Shelly divulged.

“Are you sure he didn’t say it was ‘memorable’? If I were he, I would use other words than ‘enjoyed.’ ”

“He said enjoyed.”

“How gracious of him.”

“Meri, don’t you even want to know what else he said?”

“I don’t think so.”

There was a pause. “I’m going to tell you anyway. Jake said he enjoyed meeting you because you’re so original.”

“Original!” Meredith hooted. “Oh, that’s good. That’s terrific. I’m original. That ranks right up there with ‘She has a great personality.’ ” Meri shook her head and scribbled out the sunflower she had been doodling. “How sad. He thinks I’m ‘original.’ ”

“Meri, you’re so funny when it comes to men. I never have understood you. You have all these guys clamoring to go out with you, but you never act interested in them.”

“So?”

“So now here’s one you’re interested in, and you won’t admit it.”

Meredith felt frustrated with her perceptive sister. This was not Shelly’s usual role, which made the situation even more uncomfortable. Shelly had never pushed her to a higher opinion of a guy before, except when they were in high school and Dennis Trammel asked her out to a Christmas banquet at his church. Meri turned him down because she thought he was a loser. Shelly had scolded her and told her it wasn’t nice to write him off so quickly. She had told Meri she should be willing to date a few guys she wasn’t entirely interested in because, if nothing else, she could practice her dating manners. Then, when Prince Charming came along, she would be all practiced up.

Meri went to the Christmas banquet, had a terrible time, and then Dennis tried to kiss her when he walked her to the front door. She pushed him away, slammed the door in his face, and marched upstairs to her room, where she announced to Shelly that she would never again “practice her dating manners.”

The sad part was, during the years that followed, very few potential Prince Charmings came along, but a long line of guys
to practice manners on did. Meredith used to joke that she was a “jerk magnet.” Every walking jerk in Seattle seemed to be drawn to her.

“Okay, so I’m interested in Jacob Wilde. There, I admitted it. Now I can get in line with half the women in America. We’ll form a line of ‘original’ women interested in Jake. Does that make you happy?”