Tennessee?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it.”
“Fortunately, you don’t have to. I have an old school chum in Nashville. Call him. It’s a must.”
Hoppy scribbled a name on a notepad, tore off the page, and handed it to him. “I don’t think you’ve ever realized how serious this can be, even with the dive you took a few years back.”
“Maybe not. I’ve tried to stay with the exercise, but lately I haven’t felt up to it.”
“That’s when you need to push yourself to do it, of course.”
“Of course.” Maybe he was tired because he was old. Age ought to count for something in this deal.
“Wretched thing, exercise,” said his doctor. “Thank God diabetes is missing in my gene pool. Our crowd has other problems.”
“Like what?”
“Prostate cancer. My father, two uncles, a cousin.”
Father Tim shook his head. “Sorry,” he said, meaning it. Who didn’t have a cross to bear? “Tell me about Lace. Is she home from school?”
“Came in yesterday, went straight to visit Harley, said she’d try to see you and Cynthia before you go. You won’t believe how gorgeous she is, Timothy. Dumbfounding.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“Dean’s list, to boot. Olivia and I can never thank you enough for bringing us together as a family. It hasn’t been easy, but she’s the light of our lives.”
Father Tim grinned. “I’m not the one, of course, who brought you together, but I’ll pass your sentiments along in my prayers tonight. What’s she up to next year?”
“University of Virginia.”
“Good. Terrific.”
“How’s Dooley?”
“Handsome. Smart as a whip. The light of our lives.”
They laughed together comfortably, the two who had prayed for Olivia Davenport to find a heart transplant. In the process of finding a heart, his good doctor had a found a wife.
In the evening, he pulled on his sweat suit, put his good dog on the leash, and ran.
It wasn’t working. At the top of Church Hill, he wanted nothing more than to sit and stare down at the village. Just sit; not run, not travel to Tennessee, not even go home for dinner.
In the evening, he took his glucometer out of the box to check the number of strips he had left. He fumbled the thing, somehow, and dropped it on the floor. While searching for it in the unlit bathroom, he heard it crunch under his heel.
“Good riddance!” he said, switching on the light to do the cleanup.
CHAPTER FIVE
A Sudden Darkness
He sat at the kitchen island, pulling together a list of winter gardening chores for Harley.
Should the leaves remain on the lawn, or be raked and worked into the compost heap? There were clearly two schools of thought on the subject; he had a history of swinging back and forth between them. But why worry about it in June when Harley didn’t need to know ’til the end of October?
Cynthia trotted in and climbed onto the stool beside his.
“Lace Harper called. She’ll be here at four o’clock!”
“Aha! Good news.”
“I’ve made lemonade and pimiento cheese sandwiches. We’ll have afternoon tea.”
“ Scratch pimiento cheese?”
“Timothy! Is the pope a Catholic?”
Chuckling, he kissed his wife and looked at his watch. Maybe he could catch Dooley. He bounded to the phone by the sofa in the study.
“Jessie!” he said when Dooley’s ten-year-old sister answered the phone.
“Hey, Father Tim.”
“How are you?”
“I’m OK. Dooley gave me a whole box of candy from the drugstore, it has nuts. Do you like nuts?”
“I am nuts,” he said, grinning.
“Why?”
“Because I’m going somewhere I…don’t really want to go.” He couldn’t believe he’d said that.
“I have to do things I don’t want to do.”
“Like what, may I ask?”
“Washing dishes and homework.”
“Both very popular in the category of what people don’t like doing. Is Dooley around?”
“Yeah.”
He heard Dooley in the background. “Say yes, sir !”
“Yes, sir, do you want to speak
“I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it.”
“Fortunately, you don’t have to. I have an old school chum in Nashville. Call him. It’s a must.”
Hoppy scribbled a name on a notepad, tore off the page, and handed it to him. “I don’t think you’ve ever realized how serious this can be, even with the dive you took a few years back.”
“Maybe not. I’ve tried to stay with the exercise, but lately I haven’t felt up to it.”
“That’s when you need to push yourself to do it, of course.”
“Of course.” Maybe he was tired because he was old. Age ought to count for something in this deal.
“Wretched thing, exercise,” said his doctor. “Thank God diabetes is missing in my gene pool. Our crowd has other problems.”
“Like what?”
“Prostate cancer. My father, two uncles, a cousin.”
Father Tim shook his head. “Sorry,” he said, meaning it. Who didn’t have a cross to bear? “Tell me about Lace. Is she home from school?”
“Came in yesterday, went straight to visit Harley, said she’d try to see you and Cynthia before you go. You won’t believe how gorgeous she is, Timothy. Dumbfounding.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“Dean’s list, to boot. Olivia and I can never thank you enough for bringing us together as a family. It hasn’t been easy, but she’s the light of our lives.”
Father Tim grinned. “I’m not the one, of course, who brought you together, but I’ll pass your sentiments along in my prayers tonight. What’s she up to next year?”
“University of Virginia.”
“Good. Terrific.”
“How’s Dooley?”
“Handsome. Smart as a whip. The light of our lives.”
They laughed together comfortably, the two who had prayed for Olivia Davenport to find a heart transplant. In the process of finding a heart, his good doctor had a found a wife.
In the evening, he pulled on his sweat suit, put his good dog on the leash, and ran.
It wasn’t working. At the top of Church Hill, he wanted nothing more than to sit and stare down at the village. Just sit; not run, not travel to Tennessee, not even go home for dinner.
In the evening, he took his glucometer out of the box to check the number of strips he had left. He fumbled the thing, somehow, and dropped it on the floor. While searching for it in the unlit bathroom, he heard it crunch under his heel.
“Good riddance!” he said, switching on the light to do the cleanup.
CHAPTER FIVE
A Sudden Darkness
He sat at the kitchen island, pulling together a list of winter gardening chores for Harley.
Should the leaves remain on the lawn, or be raked and worked into the compost heap? There were clearly two schools of thought on the subject; he had a history of swinging back and forth between them. But why worry about it in June when Harley didn’t need to know ’til the end of October?
Cynthia trotted in and climbed onto the stool beside his.
“Lace Harper called. She’ll be here at four o’clock!”
“Aha! Good news.”
“I’ve made lemonade and pimiento cheese sandwiches. We’ll have afternoon tea.”
“ Scratch pimiento cheese?”
“Timothy! Is the pope a Catholic?”
Chuckling, he kissed his wife and looked at his watch. Maybe he could catch Dooley. He bounded to the phone by the sofa in the study.
“Jessie!” he said when Dooley’s ten-year-old sister answered the phone.
“Hey, Father Tim.”
“How are you?”
“I’m OK. Dooley gave me a whole box of candy from the drugstore, it has nuts. Do you like nuts?”
“I am nuts,” he said, grinning.
“Why?”
“Because I’m going somewhere I…don’t really want to go.” He couldn’t believe he’d said that.
“I have to do things I don’t want to do.”
“Like what, may I ask?”
“Washing dishes and homework.”
“Both very popular in the category of what people don’t like doing. Is Dooley around?”
“Yeah.”
He heard Dooley in the background. “Say yes, sir !”
“Yes, sir, do you want to speak
Similar Books
