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“What’s this all about? What’s wrong?”
“I almost lost you before I had you,” she said. “For some reason something like the marriage vows just went through my head.”
He gathered her in his arms. “Lila, I love you. I want to marry you and live with you for the rest of my life. For better, for worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.”
“What about through thick and thin?”
“That’s if your wife gets fat, you still have to love her,” he answered. “It’s not part of the vows, thank God.”
“That’s terrible,” she said, laughing, but at least she’d stopped crying.
They went back outside. The landscape lighting was on and the sun had set. The lights spread out in the valley below them prevented the view from being a black void.
“The only thing missing from my house in the Ranch is a view,” he said, gingerly sitting down while Lila held his chair.
It had become force of habit taking care of him, but it was okay. He’d let her know when he didn’t need her help any longer, and he wasn’t about to take her for granted now.
“How do we go from caregiver and patient to lovers?” He looked at her intently, waiting for an answer.
“I think we’ll go back and forth like this all of our life, if we stay together long enough. I watched my parents, and there were times where my dad had to forgo the comforts Elizabeth provided for him and take care of her. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, the dynamics of the household completely changed.
“I remember he’d wear a towel around his waist while he stood at the stove and stirred water into a can of soup for her. Whenever this happened, he made grilled cheese for dinner. I found out later that it was the only thing he knew how to cook.”
“My father cooked every weekend,” Charlie said. “It was always the same thing, too.”
They laughed together. And then Lila got serious. “Trust me, there are no parallels in our lives. There’s something missing in mine. I keep thinking of buried memories, like maybe my dad abused me and I blocked that out. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure it’s responsible for some of the issues I’ve struggled with.”
“Why do you think your dad might have abused you?” he asked, appalled.
“I can’t really describe it. It’s just a feeling I have when I’m around him. It’s always been that way. It’s like he’s threatening me not to say anything with his eyes. And this trust fund they set up, well, that he set up, he went without new cars and luxuries that other successful men usually collect, and made it possible for me to never have to work. Almost like he was buying my silence.”
“Does your mother know? I mean, do you think she knows about it if it really happened?”
“When I accused her of putting up with him, she apologized for the part she played.”
“Ugh, so that’s part truth, then. My gut feeling is that you need to confront them both. Even accuse your father if it’s necessary to get to the bottom of it.”
“We’re the secret keepers,” she replied. “I’m not strong enough for confrontation.”
“I hear you. I don’t like it, either.”
“We’re a great match,” she said, shaking her head.
He reached over for her hand. “We are a great match, in all honesty.”
“I love the way we toss words like truth and honesty around. I hope we will be truthful and honest with each other. I don’t want to live out my life under a cloud of suspicion like I’m doing with my parents.”
“Aside from the drinking, what other issues do you feel your relationship with them affected?”
“This is embarrassing.”
“Aw, I’m sorry. None of my business, then.”
“No, it’s not that, Charlie. I’ve been afraid to seek a committed relationship. How’s that for cleaning it up? In the past, I only went out with men where there was no possibility of a lasting relationship.”
“Were they married?”
“I hope not, but it’s possible. Oh God, do we really need to do this?”
