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Elizabeth could picture it--picture him--perfectly. "He was probably mad because the corn didnt get planted this year. "
Anita set down her fork. "I dont think thats it, actually. I think he was talkin about me. "
Elizabeth took a bite of her French toast. "This is sinful its so good. So, what did he mean?"
"Its time for me to go home," Anita answered gently, "time for me to get on with my new life. Ive been hiding here long enough. I had a long talk with Mina that night at the meeting. She convinced me that I need to start living again. We talked about going on a cruise together. "
Elizabeth set down her fork. She was surprised at how much she wanted Anita to stay. "Are you sure youre ready?"
"I left Sweetwater because I couldnt stand to be so alone. But now I have you. "
"Yes," Elizabeth answered slowly, "you do. "
"Will you be okay alone?"
"Yes. I guess thats something we both learned. Its okay to be alone. But Ill miss you. "
"Do you love Jack?" Anita asked suddenly.
Elizabeth was surprised by the question, but the answer came easily. "Yes. "
Anita smiled broadly. "Well, honey, Im not one o those women who hand out advice as if it were hard candy, but let me say this: True love is a rare thing. We lean on it for years without botherin to look at whats holdin us up. It lasts forever, as the poets say, but life doesnt. One minute youre in bed with your husband, and the next second youre alone. Youd best think about that. "
Elizabeth knew her stepmother was right. In her months away from Jack, shed been waiting for her new life to unfold in a line that was straight and true. No hairpin t
urns, no sudden drop-offs. Shed wanted certainty.
But life wasnt like that.
I love you.
Those were the words that mattered. Shed been six years old when shed learned that you could wake up one sunny Sunday morning and think that everything was right in your world, and then find out that someone you loved was gone.
She loved Jack. Needed him, though not in the desperate, frightened way of before. She could live without him. She knew that now. Maybe when all was said and done, that was the truth shed gone in search of.
She could make her way alone in the world, but when she stared out over the rest of her life, she wanted him beside her, holding her hand and whispering to her that she was still beautiful. She wanted to watch his hair turn white and his eyes grow dim and know that none of it mattered, that their love lived in a deeper place. Whatever else she would search for in life, he would always be at the center of it. The place she came home to.
Anita was watching her closely.
"Ill miss you," Elizabeth said again, feeling her throat tighten.
"The planes fly east, too, you know. " Anita stabbed a piece of French toast and popped it into her mouth. "Now, what about your painting?"
"What do you mean?"
"You wont give up, will you?"
Elizabeth smiled. "Because of one little old failure? No. I wont give up. Thats a promise. "
Years ago, when Jacks life had been falling apart the first time, hed been called on the carpet by his network boss. Hed begged for a second chance, but it hadnt worked.
Hed been young then, still swollen by his own importance. Begging had felt unnatural and vaguely unnecessary; it wasnt surprising that hed done it poorly.
Now, all these years--and losses--later, he knew better. Some things, once lost, were worth dropping to your knees for. Even if your knees were made of glass and might shatter on impact.
He sat in his rental car, thinking about all the mistakes hed made in his life. Of this extensive list of wrongs, nothing had been as bad as taking his family for granted.
He got out of the car.
