When Stella didn’t answer, Marilyn continued. “Plus, it works out perfectly. Dad and I will come to your recital, then head to Deep Haven the next morning. Are you sure you’re fine with us staying the night at your apartment? We can still get a hotel.”
“No, that’s fine. My roommates are gone for the week anyway. If you don’t mind the pullout couch, I’d love for you to stay.”
“If you’re sure. I know you will be leaving for Fritz Kreisler the next day.”
“Yes, I’m sure, Mom,” she’d said, but Marilyn heard something in her voice she couldn’t place. She hadn’t chased it.
Now Marilyn watched her daughter as she closed her eyes through the final measures of her favorite Bach piece. That tugging in her heart pulled her back to the present.
Stella was doing a fabulous job. She had first learned this piece in a simpler form as a high schooler. Marilyn herself could probably play it by now, for as often as she’d heard Stella practice it. She’d added difficulty and depth to the score as her training had progressed, until it had become her own.
Except Marilyn wondered if her heart was in it.
She missed a note.
And then, there. Another one.
But Stella pulled herself back together and finished with a flourish.
“Isn’t she amazing?” she whispered to Bob. “Even when she isn’t quite at her best, she’s a natural onstage. She’s making us proud.”
Instead of leaning in to her comment, however, he sighed and pulled away. “She sure is something else.”
She knew he still loved her. Really. Maybe she just needed to apologize for neglecting him lately. The truth was, they both were to blame for the cooling off in their relationship. But this week she planned to show him how much they were both missing. She’d even done something crazy and purchased a little satin-and-lace bedtime number she’d ordered online, blushing the whole time.
She glanced again at Bob. His salt-and-pepper hair was mostly salt these days, but she liked it that way. It suited his complexion. She always teased him that he looked like Harrison Ford and that’s why she had fallen in love with him. He would tease back that he should call her Marion instead of Marilyn. She wasn’t so sure that she looked like the iconic character from Indiana Jones, but she loved the teasing.
The Wilsons are getting a divorce. Bob’s words from two months ago whispered through her mind. I guess Jeff burned out on ministry and life in general and just left Wendy and the kids behind. A spark of fear caused her heart to skip a beat, and she had to remind herself to breathe.
Ever since that conversation, Bob had been distant, almost cold. She thought maybe… But, no. Bob wouldn’t be thinking of following the Wilsons’ footsteps…would he?
She put the thought firmly out of her head. That’s what this vacation was for. A time for the two of them to reconnect.
The music ended with a crescendo, and the audience stood to their feet with applause. Marilyn stood with them, clutching Stella’s roses to her chest. She reached to take Bob’s arm, but he was still in his seat, looking dazed. What was with him lately? He blinked then stood.
Marilyn tugged him to the left and out to the aisle. “I want to get down to the stage before Stella is overwhelmed by admirers.”
“Lead the way,” Bob said, closing his hand over hers. She threaded them through the crowd until they stood before the musicians, who had moved to the floor in front of the stage.
The crowd cleared and Marilyn handed Stella the roses, then reached to embrace her over the blossoms. An aroma of roses and raspberries filled the air between them. “You were wonderful, honey.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Stella’s voice was muffled against her shoulder. Marilyn pulled back and allowed Bob to give Stella a one-armed hug.
Marilyn gave her daughter a searching look. Her smile didn’t quite meet her eyes. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Are you upset that we won’t be spending Christmas together?” Whatever else the ministry had required, they’d always managed to spend part of the Christmas holiday together.
Until this year.
Marilyn felt a pang of guilt but shoved it aside. She would not apologize for wanting to spend one holiday with her husband alone. Even if it meant not spending time with their only daughter. Besides, Stella had her own plans.
“No, I’m not upset about that. At least, that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”
“Oh? What is it, then?” Was Bob even going to clue in to this conversation? He looked like his body was here, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. He stared at the drape lining the stage, and she knew it wasn’t that interesting.
“I’ve made up my mind. I’m not going to Vienna. At least…not now.”
“What do you mean? Did your flight get canceled?” Surely there would be a new flight in the morning. This storm couldn’t last forever.
“Yes, it got canceled. But…” Stella sighed and tucked a wayward hair behind her ear. She wouldn’t look her mother in the eyes.
“What? Why?” This sudden change of plans made no sense.
“Mom.” Stella’s voice held a note of warning. “I…” She trailed off and shrugged.
“Yes, what is it?”
“I just—” But Stella broke off as Bob swiveled his head toward their conversation.
He stepped between them and gave Stella a hug. “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll figure it out. You should come to Deep Haven with us.”
Oh, sure. Now he wanted to join the conversation?
“Are you sure?” Stella sounded almost relieved.
“Of course!” Bob tightened his arm around Stella’s shoulder. “We can’t let you spend Christmas in your apartment all on your own. We’ll do puzzles, and maybe take a walk in the winter wonderland where snow is glistening.” He winked at their daughter.
“What!” Marilyn couldn’t help the exclamation that escaped her. A rushing filled her ears. “But—”
“Thanks, Daddy. I really didn’t want to spend Christmas alone.” Stella wrapped an arm around her father’s waist.
Bob and Stella talked a few moments more about the details while Marilyn pasted a smile on her face. But she could only think about one thing.
What was she going to wear to bed now?
CHAPTER 2
MONDAY, 7:00 P.M.
This was not a great start to his peaceful vacation.
First, they’d waited way too long to get started on their drive, and a three-hour trip from Duluth had stretched to seven with the advent of a winter storm. The weather had kept him concentrating on the road, not making small talk, which only lengthened a strange silence between his daughter and his wife. Worse, his hands ached from clutching the steering wheel.
Then they’d nearly gotten run off the road by some guy crazy enough to try to pass a plow truck. The plow truck driver had gotten out and helped push him from the ditch, only to have his daughter snap at him.
Which was weird.
Then they’d gotten to a coffee shop in town, and his wife had suggested that Stella might spend their vacation away from the cabin, helping the resort owner run the place.