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“It’s okay.”
From the way he was beaming, I knew there was something more he wanted to tell me.
“What is it?” I said. “You do look like the cat who swallowed the canary.”
“Your father offered me a good job at the local Heaven-stone Store.”
“What sort of job?”
“Assistant manager,” he said. “I have to say, I think Lucille had a lot to do with it.”
I knew he was waiting for my excited reaction, but it was as though Cassie were replicating herself all over my room. First she was in the right corner nodding, and then she was in the left. She was directly behind Ethan and then next to him.
“Aren’t you pleased?”
“Yes, of course I am. When would you start?”
“Right after the wedding,” he said. “I’m kind of excited about it. It’s like getting a promotion before you even begin.”
“Is it really what you want to do, Ethan?”
“What sort of a question is that? A managerial position in the Heaven-stone Corporation? I know at least a dozen MBAs who would die for this.”
“Then I’m really happy for you,” I said.
He looked at his watch. “I’ve got to get on the road. My suitcase is in the car. I hate to rush out, but I need to make this early flight. There’s a lot for me to do back home now.”
I brushed back my hair. “Okay, let’s go down.”
“Your father and Lucille left a little while ago.”
“Of all the mornings for me to oversleep.”
“There’ll be plenty of mornings for us, Semantha.” He took my hand, and we descended the stairway. Mrs. Dobson stepped out of the kitchen when she heard us to tell me she had put up everything fresh for my breakfast.
“I’ll be right there,” I called back, and followed Ethan out to his rental car.
“I’ll be driving back in my own car,” he said. He took my hands into his and kissed me softly. “I know things have been difficult for you, Semantha. I hope I can bring some happiness into your life. I know you’ve brought it into mine.”
“Thank you, Ethan. I’m sorry I don’t seem as excited as I should. Everything just seems to be happening so fast.”
“Tell me about it. My head’s spinning.”
“Just drive safely, Ethan.”
He kissed me again and got into his car. After he started the engine, he rolled down the window and blew me a kiss. I watched him drive away until his car was out the front gate and gone.
“How much of all that do you believe, Semantha?” Cassie asked.
I didn’t reply. I turned and went back inside to eat my breakfast. Daddy called later to tell me he and Lucille had forgotten they were attending a charity event in Lexington. I waited for him to tell me about his hiring Ethan, but he didn’t. He just apologized for having to be away another night and day and my having to eat alone. I told him I was fine, and then he was drawn to deal with another important phone call and had to hang up. I wondered if he had ever had a phone call that wasn’t important.
The house was so quiet now that Ethan was gone. He had truly come in like a wonderful ray of sunshine, sweeping me up in the warmth. Doris had already gone into the guest bedroom and begun redoing it. It wasn’t long before it looked as if no one had been in it.
Later, after I had some lunch, I wandered out to the pool to read. The monotonous sounds of the landscaping machinery droned me into a daze, and I dozed off and on until some heavy dark clouds moved in from the northwest and the breeze grew stronger. I could feel myself sinking into a depression and, like someone falling into a dark, deep well, struggled to grasp and claw at anything that might keep me in the light.
Apparently, some sparrows had built a nest in the eaves of the cabana. Maybe because the breeze was coming from that direction or maybe because they were finally old enough, I heard the pleas of baby birds crying for something to eat. I watched as their mother made frequent trips to and from the nest to feed them. She was tireless, and they were seemingly insatiable. It captured my attention for a while, and then out of it was born a thought I had never dared think.
Instantly, I rose and hurried back to the house to change. Mrs. Dobson heard me going up the stairs and called up to tell me her plans for dinner.
