“Now I am married,” David said. “And I barely have time to give my wife the time of day.”
“Don’t blame anybody or anything other than yourself if that’s the case.” His grandfather shot David a stern look. “If you’re not making time for her, then you need to look at your priorities. You made a promise that you would love, honor and cherish that young woman and if you’re slighting her, you’re not fulfilling your part of the bargain.”
“But…” A thousand valid excuses rose to David’s lips.
“Son.” His grandfather spoke sharply. “We make time for what is important to us. If Christy and your marriage are important to you, you’ll do whatever it takes to find the time to make it work.”
David swallowed the words of protest. He could see by his grandfather’s firm expression that the old man’s mind was made up. No excuse, no reason, would be good enough.
And David wasn’t so sure he would be that effective arguing with his grandfather. The censuring words had hit their mark. And at this moment he wasn’t sure he disagreed with them.
The rest of the day David couldn’t think of anything else. When five o’clock rolled around, David locked up his office and headed home, anxious to see Christy and tell her there would soon be another wedding in the family.
Lights shone in the kitchen and he smiled as he pushed open the door, anticipating her reaction to the news. “Christy—”
He stopped. A single place was set at the table and a piece of bright-yellow paper rested on top of the china plate.
Disappointment rushed through David like a raging river. He moved to the table, snatched up the paper and quickly read the note.
The woman covering the church nursery this evening is sick. I’m filling in. There’s leftover spaghetti in the fridge.
Be home around ten.
Love, C
David crumpled the note in one hand. He glanced at his watch, then down at the briefcase full of work. Without any distractions he could make a good dent in his paperwork. Or he could surprise Christy and keep her company at the church.
For an instant David thought about tossing a coin, but he decided it would just be a waste of time. He already knew what he wanted to do.
He set his briefcase on the table and headed for the door.
Tucked into a far corner of the church basement, the church nursery was a small room that had recently been redecorated. The old knotty-pine paneling had been replaced with drywall and the floor tile had been covered with a textured carpet. David barely noticed the changes. He had eyes only for the antique oak rocking chair in one corner.
Oblivious to his presence in the doorway, Christy rocked back and forth in the ornate chair. A tiny dark-haired baby wrapped in a blue blanket was cradled in her arms while two toddlers played at her feet.
Christy had dressed casually for the evening in leggings and a fuzzy green sweater. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she’d exchanged the hoop earrings she normally wore for tiny studs.
Obviously she knew little children, David thought with a wry grin. He remembered Blake’s daughters when they were small. Their hands seemed to be constantly searching for something to grab or pull.
These children seemed remarkably subdued. The room was quiet except for a soft lullaby coming from Christy’s lips. The tune was one his grandmother used to sing to him when he’d been a little boy.
For a second an image of Christy holding his son—their son—flashed before him. His heart clenched. How could something seem so right and so wrong at the same time?
“David?”
His head jerked up.
“What are you doing here?” Christy’s voice was so soft she almost whispered the words.
“I thought—”
She pressed her fingers to her lips and he lowered his voice.
“I thought I’d keep you company,” he said, speaking in the same hushed tones she’d used. “If that’s okay?”
“Of course it’s okay.” Her pleased smile warmed his heart. “I’m glad to have you here.”
David took a seat on an overstuffed sofa. The toddlers looked up briefly at the movement before turning back to their toys.
“What’s going on tonight?” David had barely glanced at the church’s weekly events calendar last Sunday. “There weren’t many cars in the lot.”
“Pastor and his wife are conducting a class for single parents.” Christy repositioned the sleeping baby in her arms. “Apparently they meet once a month. Though they have a topic to discuss, the main purpose is Christian fellowship and support.”
“Being a single parent would be hard,” David said. “I can see where they’d need the support.”
“Babies demand a lot of time,” Christy said. She stroked the baby’s shiny black hair. “But they’re worth it.”
David stared. Christy seemed so at ease in this role. He’d never thought of her as being a baby person. “I was surprised you agreed to help out in the nursery.”
“Why would you be surprised?”
“I don’t know.” David shrugged. “I guess I would have pictured you upstairs leading tonight’s discussion rather than down here changing diapers.”
“I like children,” Christy said simply. “When I was growing up my sister and I baby-sat all the time.”
“Still, wouldn’t you rather—”
“David.” She cut him off, as if she knew just where he was headed. “I like variety in my life. I work with big people every day.” Her gaze dropped to the little girl with red curls at her feet and her smile softened. “This gives me the opportunity to be with the little ones for a change.”
How could he have forgotten her kind heart? She’d been that way even as a teen. And now here she was, ten years later, cuddling another woman’s baby to her chest as tenderly as if the little boy were her own.
Could such a woman ever neglect her own child? He couldn’t imagine it. A tiny of flicker of hope rose inside him. For the first time he let himself believe, for just a moment, that this marriage could work, and that he really could have it all.
David dropped an extra handful of marshmallows into the hot cocoa. Although Christy had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, sleep had eluded him.
Ever since he’d stopped by the nursery, his mind had been a jumble of confusing thoughts and emotions. Could he and Christy make this marriage work?
She’d said a child needed both parents. Thinking back to his own childhood, David had to admit that though his father rarely traveled, he hadn’t been that available. His dad had been an old-fashioned guy who’d believed a man’s job was to work and a woman’s job was to take care of the home and her family. When his wife didn’t quite fit that mold, instead of compromising, his father did nothing but blame her.
Bits and pieces of long-forgotten memories nudged at the edge of David’s consciousness. His mother rearranging a business trip so she could be in town for his soccer game. Funny little notes left on the top of the casseroles she’d made up for her family when she was out of town. Would he have thought much about her business trips if his father hadn’t always been pointing out how neglected they were?