Rosie in twenty years. Darmus had mentioned her a few weeks ago, and they’d talked about her for the first time since college.
He had terrible regrets about that time in his life. After being the good, hardworking brother who held his family together for so many years, he lost it for a while when he first started college. He binged on everything. It was as if he was trying to make up for his lost youth.
His marriage to Rosie was a spur-of-the-moment insanity that seemed doomed from the beginning. Unfortunately, it was over before Darmus returned to his rational mind. He’d told Peggy that day in his garden when they’d talked about Rosie that he’d spent years afterward trying to make up for his indiscretions.
“I don’t know what made me think about Rosie,” Peggy told her son. “She and Darmus were married once, but that was years ago. I doubt if she’ll want to know what happened to him.”
“Why haven’t I ever heard her name before?”
“I don’t know. We were good friends in school, at least until she broke up with Darmus. They were only married a short time. I don’t know what happened to her after that. I think she left school and went home. I started dating your father, and I lost track of her.”
A beam of sunlight from the window caught the brass badge on Paul’s shirt and raised the fire in his hair. He had his father’s calm temperament, despite his red hair. Becoming a police officer was a sore point for them after John’s death. After losing her husband to violence, she didn’t want Paul to follow in his footsteps. She even suspected Paul might be out for revenge of some kind, since they never found his father’s killer.
But they’d managed to mend those fences and move on with their relationship. It wasn’t easy. It had taken learning not to wince when she saw him in uniform, and learning to control her worry that he’d become a victim, too.
“It happens,” he concluded finally. “There are lots of people I went to school with who I don’t see anymore. Things change.”
She smiled. These words of wisdom came from a child who once argued with her that cows laid eggs. “I know. Still, maybe I should tell her. Maybe I thought of her for a reason.”
There was a knock on the door, and Steve Newsome poked his head in, fighting with a bunch of green and yellow balloons to see into the room. “How’s it going? Is it okay to come in?”
Peggy loathed thinking of Steve as her boyfriend. But she didn’t have a better term for him, though she refused to say the word
She was glad to see his steady brown eyes and ready smile. She hadn’t known him long, but he’d changed her life. She never thought she’d be happy again after John died. She certainly never thought she’d meet another man she could love. But fate seemed to have him in store for her.
“She’s stubborn, like always. But she seems okay.” Paul shook his hand. “Can you stay for a while? I’m already an hour late going back.”
“No problem,” Steve told him. “I cleared my schedule for the rest of the day when you called.”
“No one has to stay.” Peggy preempted their casual conversation. “Especially not me. There’s nothing wrong that can’t mend at home.”
Paul hugged his mother. “We can both tell that, Mom. You have a hundred cuts and burns on your face and you sound like a frog, but otherwise, everything is just peachy.”
“I’ll tie her down if I have to,” Steve promised. “Don’t worry.”
“All right. Thanks. I’ll see you later, Mom.”
“Is anyone listening to me?” Peggy croaked. “I said I’m fine.”
Paul shrugged and left the room, closing the door behind him. Steve took his chair, tying the balloons he’d brought to the bed. “I was at Harris Teeter when Paul called. I thought I’d bring something to cheer you up.”
“Thanks. You can bring them home with us.”
“Paul told me he spoke with the doctor. He said you may have hit your head. If they want you to stay, it would just be overnight for observation.”
“Steve, I’m fine. I have a little headache, but—”
“I thought
They played cards for a while, waiting for the doctor to come by with word on her release. Peggy told Steve what happened, her eyes filling up with tears again when she thought about it.
He put his arms around her, and she buried her face in his chest. He smelled like fresh air, Pine-Sol from his veterinarian office, and Dial soap. A heady combination for her, it seemed, since she was always glad to be in his arms. “It was a terrible thing. I close my eyes, and it’s still there. His skin was peeling away.”
“I’m here,” he whispered, kissing the side of her hair. “I’ve got you.”
She wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way. It could have been forever. A discreet tap at the door separated them. Steve stepped back from the bed, and she sniffed, wiping her tears on the edge of the rough white bedsheet. “Come in.”
It surprised her when Luther came into the room. He was wearing a dark suit and a starched white shirt that made his haggard face look longer and thinner. “I’m so sorry, Peggy. Are you all right? Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Yes . . . no. I’ll be fine. I was glad I could be there for Darmus, even though it didn’t really help.”
“You’ve always been a good friend.” He shifted uncomfortably. “I was contacted by the Council of Churches. They’re in a panic over this. They want me to take Darmus’s position, at least in the interim. Maybe for good.”
Knowing this was always what he wanted, and that it would probably be what Darmus would want as well, Peggy tried to smile. It was hard. Losing Darmus so Luther could head Feed America was a bad trade. Luther didn’t
