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“Oh. I’m sorry,” Peg said. “But it’s good that it’s not cancer.”
“That doesn’t mean...” Brook said.
This time Solstice interrupted her. “Mom, can we talk about football? Or something else?”
Every face around the table, even Jimmy’s, who hadn’t said a word the entire meal, looked immediately guilty before turning their attention to their plates and eating in silence.
It took several uncomfortable seconds of chewing before someone spoke. “Let’s hope the game tonight is a good one. The one on Thanksgiving, like the Super Bowl, always seems to be one of the least interesting games of the season.”
All the guilty faces turned immediately to Jimmy with relief in their eyes. “I think the Christmas game is the worst, because the Lions are never good,” Dennis said.
And the debate was on. Nothing serious was said for the rest of the night. As predicted, the football game was boring.
* * *
THE FRONT DOOR had shut behind Dennis and Brook hours before, but Peg and Jimmy had stayed up late to watch television and help clean up. Levi was almost ready to go to his house and fall into his own bed when they finally said good-night and headed to the guest room.
After the tension of dinner, Levi opened his arms to Mina before he remembered that he was supposed to go home and think, without her to distract him. But she accepted the invitation, and he missed the feel of her, so he gave in to the chance to envelop her. As they hugged, all the stress of the night melted away. He didn’t forget Brook and her pain and the damage she and Dennis were doing to themselves and their kids, but with Mina in his arms, neither it nor his need to take time apart seemed to matter so much.
“Your sister is in a lot of pain,” Mina said, as she pulled away from him.
“They both are.” His sister and his best friend seemed to be bent on killing each other, and Levi didn’t know why. Or how long it had been going on. He’d been too intent on staying hidden up in his house to notice. “I don’t know what to do for them.”
That was the worst. He couldn’t fix them. He’d tried serving as the go-between, but that seemed only to make Brook suspect him as much as she suspected Dennis. Like Dennis was having an affair instead of applying for jobs and going to the doctor. Maybe his brother-in-law should have talked to Brook sooner, but her insistence that she should continue to punish him wouldn’t help anyone.
Mina patted him on the shoulder. “I don’t think there’s anything you can do.”
“I know. And that’s horrible, too.”
She laid her head back against his chest. “It’s hard to watch someone you love struggle and know the only thing you can do for them is care.”
“You’re being awfully nice, especially given how terrible Brook has been to you.”
“She means something to you, so I can be patient for a little while.”
“I hope a little while is all it takes.”
It was late. He was tired. But when Mina suggested that he stay over at her house instead of walking the short distance home, he shook his head.
Her face fell. “Still thinking?”
“I’m not the only one who had thinking to do,” he said, his fingers trailing down the soft skin of her cheeks as he pulled away. “We don’t want to end up where Brook and Dennis are, and both of us have to make that commitment.”
“You have to be able to say it. No question and no hesitation.” A part of his heart snapped when he lost the last bit of contact with her. But he walked toward the door, because he had to trust that she would find her faith.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
A WEEK LATER, Levi slid into his bench at O’Reilly’s bar, facing Dennis and missing Mina, who seemed to be thinking just fine without his presence in her life, because she hadn’t yet come over to talk with him about their relationship.
He’d been assuming she would realize that she could trust their relationship. Realize that she did.
Maybe he’d been assuming wrong.
There wasn’t enough alcohol in the world to make him feel better if that were the case.
Mary brought Levi a beer, and he must have been looking particularly thoughtful because she said, “Moose Drool Brown Ale,” as she set the glass in front of him. And she said the words with a smile. And a pat on the back.
