A Love Story Page 9

  “Right,” Callie agreed.

  “Besides, I can’t keep this up for long. Knowing I can’t grab you when I see you makes me nuts. I’ll never get anything done,” he said.

  “What did you have in mind?” Callie asked.

  Mac took a small, black velvet box from his pocket.

  “We ought to tell everyone. Have a real engagement. Do I need to ask you again? Okay, okay. Will you marry me?” he asked as he put the ring box down in front of her.

  Callie opened it to reveal a gorgeous, emerald-cut diamond ring about one and a half carats.

  “It’s beautiful, Mac,” she said starting to cry. The ring was elegant and lovely. Kyle bought her a small engagement ring. She cherished it, but sold it when she was broke.

  Now here was this stunning ring from the man she adored, representing his love for her. She was overcome with emotion.

  “You always cry when you’re happy, don’t you?”

  She nodded.

  “I’m prepared,” he volunteered as he offered her his handkerchief.

  Callie took it, dried her eyes and looked at the ring.

  “Well? Are you going to accept?”

  “Oh, yes,” she responded, tears starting to flow again.

  Mac picked up the ring and put it on her finger, then kissed her palm.

  She looked at the ring every which way. The ring glimmered and glowed in the soft light of the candles in the restaurant and made their love official, convincing Callie he truly loved her.

  “Tomorrow, we tell everyone,” Mac confirmed as he poured champagne.

  “I’ll drink to that,” Callie responded, raising her glass.

  “Here’s to making out in the file room,” Mac joked.

  When Mac drove her home, they lingered in the car in the shadows, reluctant to part. Kissing quickly became caressing. Breathing quickened, they parted with difficulty.

  “I can’t stand this. I’m too old—Callie, you have to move in with me,” Mac said.

  Callie hadn’t considered living together. But they were formally engaged now. Besides she was eager to be with him too.

  She nodded.

  “Pack up and move in tomorrow. I’ll go crazy doing this like a teenager every night. I want you with me all the time.”

  “Tomorrow night,” she said. “But you have to give me study time.”

  “I’ll do my best to keep my hands off you long enough for you to study. But I can’t promise more,” Mac said.

  “Did you give Audrey an engagement ring?” Callie asked.

  “And before you ask, no we didn’t have a big wedding, either. Audrey was pregnant, I put my foot down and dragged her to city hall,” he said.

  “I’ll bet she didn’t like it much,” Callie said.

  “I realize now, it wasn’t a nice thing to do,” he admitted.

  “So this is your first time for this stuff, too?”

  “Yep. Weddings are mostly for the woman. It’s nice, but I have to dress up.”

  “If you can’t bring yourself to put on a tux, then you shouldn’t get married,” she said.

  “Nothing could keep me away from this wedding. It will be the happiest day of my life,” he confessed, kissing her.

  * * * *

  As Mac pulled out, Callie saw the dirty white van again, parked in the empty, dark parking lot. Again she thought of Kyle.

  Please forgive me, Kyle.

  Callie opened the rose-colored chest once more. She picked up the charm bracelet, but she didn’t feel sad as she usually did. Her life with Kyle seemed so long ago, like it was another lifetime. She touched each charm. But instead of feeling the familiar longing, she felt glad for the memories of her time with him. Their relationship kept her going through searing loneliness, insecurity and hard times. Now she felt only gratitude, not sadness. She was ready to put her life with Kyle in the past, where it belonged.

  Mac was her present and future and Jason, too. She finally moved on. She looked at Kyle’s picture— saw his smiling face and shining eyes and all she felt was a gentle but true love of one friend for another.

  Now she had someone to love her, Kyle let her go. The smile on his face seemed to say to Callie, he rejoiced at her happiness, putting her life back together, not achingly lonely, and pining away for him anymore. Fingering the charm bracelet, the cards and pictures no longer made her cry or long to be with him. Now he let her go, Callie let him go as well. Feeling stronger and freer than she felt for a long time, Callie’s heart finally healed.

  As she hunkered down under the warm blanket, she thought about Mac, about living in his charming house, sleeping in the big bed with him and puttering around together in the kitchen.

  Pulling the blanket close around her, Callie picked up the phone and called her sister in Seattle.

  “You’re getting married? Fantastic, Callie! Great news,” Sarah said.

  “I’ll be sending you an invitation, though I know it’s a long way to come.”

  “I’m happy you won’t be alone anymore. With Bob and the kids and working…I’m snowed under here all the time. What’s his name? What’s he like? Is he good to you? Do you love him?” Sarah asked.

  “Slow down, Sarah. One question at a time,” Callie chuckled.

  The sisters stayed on the phone for an hour talking about Mac, Bob, marriage and kids. Reaching out to Sarah made Callie feel better, like she had a piece of her family back. After her conversation, she did some reading for school, then drifted quietly into peaceful sleep, her mind occupied with happy dreams for the first time in years.

  * * * *

  Mac arrived at work early to make up some of the work he neglected the day before. He had had a peaceful night and felt much calmer, knowing everyone would find out their secret and life could go on with less drama. He was proud of his engagement to Callie. He hit the jackpot with her, feeling like the luckiest guy on Earth.

  He called Jonesy into his office and closed the door. She entered with a look of dread on her face. One look and Mac became concerned.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, frowning.

  “What are you going to tell me? Is it bad news?”

  “Not at all. No one is getting fired.”

  “I mean bad news about you.”

  “Perhaps for all those single ladies out there looking for a handsome, brilliant, single guy, maybe,” he joked.

  “Come on, Mac! Let me have it.”

  “I want you to be the first to know. Callie and I are getting married.”

  Jonesy stood stock still, her mouth hanging open, a look of astonishment on her face, she could hardly believe it. Her eyebrows shot up at the surprise, a look of relief softened her features as understanding of the situation made her smile.

  “Why you old fox! Making me think you two broke up. You’re a sly one,”

  “How did you know we were…together?’ he questioned her.

  “I’ve got eyes, Mac. It was plain as day,” Jonesy said.

  “We thought we were discreet. Does everyone know?”

  “Who exactly do you mean by everyone? I don’t think the mailman knows but most of the people in the office figured it out by now. So what?”

  “What do you think, Jonesy?” Mac asked her point blank.

  “You’ve made a wise choice, Mac. She’s a peach.”

  “Good. I’m glad I have your approval. Now you can tell everyone else.”

  “I was going to do it anyway,” she sniffed.

  When Callie came in, everyone was sharing the news. They all wanted to see her ring, buzzing around her like honeybees. Callie felt special. Mac kept his door closed so he could work—all this mushy woman-stuff embarrassed him. He sent Callie a text,

  “Is it safe to come out yet?”

  She texted back, “Not yet.”

  Eliza came out of her office to see what all the noise was about. She knew about their engagement because Mac recruited her to help him select the ring. Callie thanked her. The ring was perfect and Eliza could
take some of the credit.

  Finally, Mac was forced out. He had to use the Xerox machine to finish a project.

  The office got completely quiet when he opened the door. He stopped in the doorway, looking around. Everyone stared at him. Mac walked to the Xerox machine while the staff watched silently. He looked at Callie and shrugged.

  “Well, aren’t ya going to kiss her, Mac?” Jonesy asked in a loud, commanding voice.

  He stopped and looked at everyone. They all waited for his reply. One thing Mac knew, when Jonesy gave an order, you obeyed. He strode over to Callie, pulled her to her feet by her shoulders and gave her a long, deep kiss. Then he retreated quickly to his office and closed the door. Everyone applauded.

  Callie’s face turned bright red.

  “You two are real soul mates, I think,” said Jonesy, giving her a hug.

  Chapter Twelve

  Illegal drug sales continued at Kensington State. Mac ramped up college efforts by calling the first meeting of the task force. He picked junior Blaine Tremont, sociology major, to represent the students. Mac knew Blaine from holiday dinners at Eliza’s house.

  Blaine came from Philadelphia. He worked reasonably hard to maintain a B average and appeared to be a straight arrow kind of guy. He never got in trouble, although he had been drinking illegally for years. Blaine kept a low profile. He didn’t join a fraternity, but did contribute to the school paper and occasionally joined a car wash for charity. There were no complaints about him.

  Blaine was short, about 5’ 7” with brown hair and an average face, although he would have been mad to be referred to in any way as average. He knew Brianna and several other students known to use drugs, but Blaine never used drugs himself. He didn’t have a steady girl, but preferred to go out with different girls. He had his eye on Callie, not realizing how old she was.

  Neither Callie nor Mac noticed the way Blaine looked at Callie. He flirted with her, but she was unaware of him. Callie and Mac only had eyes for each other. Jonesy saw through Blaine, but it wasn’t Jonesy’s open disapproval or her attempts to get between Blaine and Callie bothering him, it was Callie’s total indifference. She didn’t see him at all.

  Blaine was happy to have been chosen for the Task Force. His status on campus went up. He was now a trusted insider and students he didn’t know greeted him on campus. Eager to be deserving of this new role, he showed up on time to meetings, never missing an assignment. The task force formulated plans to set up a sting operation, scheduled to happen after Christmas vacation when the spring semester began.

  * * * *

  It was December first. The next three weeks would be a whirlwind of excitement, a frenzy of studying and last minute projects for Callie. She scored reasonably well on her midterm exams. Now she needed to nail her finals to come out with the 3.5 average she was shooting for. It wouldn’t be easy to study while planning a wedding, preparing for Christmas and living with Mac.

  Mac cleaned out a few drawers in his dresser and moved his suits and shirts to one side of the closet, making room for her girlish things. Callie had no furniture, and only a few mementos. Everything packed up in one large suitcase and a backpack. She put two pictures of her family on the dresser, a red pillow on the bed and a pink bathrobe behind the bathroom door.

  Callie didn’t have a large wardrobe, there wasn’t much money for new clothes and jewelry in the past ten years. She owned a few good quality things and made do. Mac was surprised she had so little. Audrey had piles and piles of clothes and shoes.

  Callie didn’t seem deprived. She never complained about not having enough clothes nor pointed out clothes in the window of Franklyn’s, dropping coy hints about what she wanted, another reason why Mac loved her.

  On cold days, Callie borrowed one of Mac’s flannel shirts. She rolled up the sleeves and put it on over her tee shirt and jeans. This became her main outfit at home. Mac saw his flannel shirts slowly disappear only to reappear on Callie’s side of the closet. He didn’t mind, but replaced each shirt as it found a new owner.

  Callie loved the way Mac’s shirts smelled. They had his masculine scent. It made her feel safe and secure to wear his shirts. Once in a while, she entered the living room wearing only his flannel shirt and nothing else, getting his attention quickly. He took her by the hand, retreated to the bedroom where he discreetly reclaimed his shirt.

  * * * *

  When Callie was at the library, Mac stubbed his toe on a small chest on the closet floor that fell from the shelf. After swearing at it, he picked it up. The rose-colored solid wood chest belonged to Callie. It was locked but he spotted the key on the floor. Mac knew he should put it back untouched, but curiosity drove him on to open the chest. Tied in a pink ribbon was a packet of much-read letters, in a red ribbon were six cards in envelopes.

  He knew he shouldn’t open the letters and he didn’t. Love letters from a dead person are truly private. But the cards intrigued him, when he picked them up, he revealed a charm bracelet tucked underneath. He lifted it out gently.

  There were many hearts of different sizes and colors probably gifts from Kyle. He wondered what the other charms meant. There was a dog, a house, a tiny infant and others he assumed had special meaning for Callie. He put the charm bracelet down and saw the necklace with the gold heart on it Callie used to wear all the time, before she shared Mac’s bed. He understood then she had not “forgotten” to wear it, like she said when she first stayed at his house. She took it off because Kyle had given it to her. He was glad, it marked a turning point for them. It made him feel she left Kyle behind when she began her love affair with him. He put the necklace back and his finger came up against something hard. He lifted out a gold ring—a wedding ring.

  Mac looked inside and read “all my love forever, Kyle” He was speechless. Callie was married! Why didn’t she tell him she was actually married to Kyle? So Callie was a widow. Mac felt betrayed. Why didn’t she tell him the truth? Married, engaged, it was all the same to him. It meant she loved another man enough to sleep with him, and marry him, Mac was filled with jealousy.

  I’m being silly. This all happened before we even met. If I had met Callie first, she never would have ended up with this guy. He calmed down…after all, it was only a matter of timing.

  Mac kept the wedding band in his palm. He lifted up the cards and three small pictures fell over.

  Mac picked them up and saw the first one showing Kyle alone, standing at ease in his uniform, a handsome young man with sandy hair and blue eyes. He didn’t look very tall, but he was powerfully built and smiling broadly with a lover’s gleam in his eyes. He must have been looking at Callie.

  The second picture was of both Callie and Kyle, with his arm around her, beaming.

  Callie looked so fresh and young, radiating happiness. She wore her heart on her sleeve. From this picture Mac could tell how much in love with Kyle she was.

  The third picture showed Callie and Kyle kissing. Someone took it without their knowing because it showed a private, passionate embrace. Jealousy engulfed him. He put the pictures back, sorry he found them. As he was about to return the wedding bank to the chest and the chest to the closet, he saw Callie standing by the bed.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I stubbed my toe on this thing, so I took it out to see what it was.”

  “Did you look through everything? You didn’t read my letters from Kyle did you?” she

  asked, horrified.

  “I didn’t. Honestly, I didn’t. I did look at some stuff, but I didn’t touch the letters. I wouldn’t,” Mac said quickly.

  “Don’t you think opening this chest and even looking inside is an invasion of my privacy?”

  “Maybe…but I couldn’t help it. Besides, I was curious about your life before. You never talk about it, about him. And, I found something very interesting, speaking of being untruthful...” Mac said.

  “Were we speaking of being untruthful?” she asked.

  “I found your wed
ding ring. You never told me you were married. In fact you told me you weren’t married!” Mac said, cradling the ring in his palm.

  Callie was speechless. No one ever saw or heard about the wedding ring except Kyle, the pawn shop man and Callie. It was their secret.

  “I…I…I wasn’t married.”

  “How do you explain a wedding ring?”

  “We never got married. I would have loved to married Kyle, but he died before we could,” she said, stinging him with her words.

  “That’s what you told me. But what about this ring? How did you get it?”

  Please don’t make me explain. It’s so…so hard. Please can’t you trust me about this?” she asked, near tears, taking the ring from his hand.

  “I’d like to, but I can’t,” Mac said. “Why can’t you tell me, Callie?”

  “God. Okay, okay. I suppose as my fiancé you have a right to know. But what came before you is only my business…as long as I’m not a criminal or a bigamist, what difference does it make?” she asked.

  “Okay. If you don’t want to tell me, I can’t force you.” Mac replied, handing her the chest.

  “I see you need to know, so I’ll tell you,” she said, “did you see the charm bracelet, too?”

  “The piece of jewelry with all the little things, little symbols hanging from it?”

  She nodded.

  “Each charm has meaning. I’m not going to explain them. First, because it’s private and second, because I don’t think you want to know, right?”

  “Probably right,” he said, thinking about the pictures.

  “The charms came from a pawn shop. Kyle didn’t have any money. He worked at the auto shop to support his younger brother, Danny, because Kyle’s parents were in prison. I didn’t care he bought the charms at the pawn shop. They were given to me with a lot of love,” she said defending Kyle.

  “Not long after he died, when I was walking by the shop, Mr. Carpenter, the owner, came out. He had something belonging to Kyle. When I went inside, he pulled out this ring Kyle put a down payment on during his last leave,” Callie continued.