Marriage Seasons 01 - It Happens Every Spring (12 page)

As Steve vanished into the powder room, Brenda mentally
formed another prayer. She could not go into this evening with a
bad attitude toward her husband. The atmosphere just had to get
better between them. For one thing, the kids were coming home,
and Brenda didn't want them to suspect that anything was troubling their parents' marriage.

For another, she really wanted to find a way to get along with
Steve. True, he had allowed a deep passion for his work to take
Brenda's place in his life, and sometimes the thought of ever genu inely likingher husband or enjoying spending time with him again
seemed almost impossible. But they had been through a lot
together in the past, and they couldn't risk losing what they had
worked so hard to build.

Steve stepped back into the dining room and sat down at the
table across from Brenda. As always, he took her hands and bent
his head to bless their meal. It should have felt normal and comforting, but Brenda couldn't help wanting to pull away and shove
her hands into her lap. From the time his work began to consume
him, Steve had done everything in his power to alienate her, and
now he wanted to pretend things were exactly the same as ever. But
they weren't.

This man had abandoned his wife. He had left her in the dust as
he raced off after fame and money. The thought of it stuck in her
throat, and she almost didn't notice when he said, "Amen."

"So," Steve began as she cut a rectangle of lasagna. "It's amazing
how well you matched these chairs to the place mats, honey.
Plaid."

She glanced across the table at him. "Do you like the colors?"

"Sure. Yellow is nice. And pink, too. Yeah, I think they're fine."

"Fine?"

"Good is what I mean. Or pretty would be a better word. The
whole house looks very pretty, Brenda."

"Do you like the slipcovers, too?"

He studied the living-room sofa for a moment, and Brenda
couldn't help but feel that he had never even noticed the hard work
she had put into those slipcovers.

"Wow," he said. "I didn't know you could sew like that. I
mean, I knew you could sew. I always knew you were very good at
sewing. You made those Easter dresses for the girls every year. But
slipcovers."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have new furniture?" she
asked, throwing his words back at him. "You told me I could have
bought new furniture."

"Well, you could. If you wanted to."

"Then you don't really like the slipcovers."

"No, that's not what I mean. I love the slipcovers. But if you want
new furniture, we can afford to buy it. I'm bringing in a lot of
money, Brenda, and business is picking up as the weather warms.
You know that big house over on the other side of the Tranquility
strip mall? They listed it with me. I've already gotten a few nibbles
from buyers too. You wouldn't believe how many people are out
looking for property. Condos are still moving well, of course, but
your really high-income people are looking for large second homes.
These people want lakefront lots with a great view, and they'll pay
top dollar. The west side of the lake is going to grow; you can bet on
that. This is where we'll start seeing a big jump in the real-estate
market. Local businesses should profit too. If we could move in a
few more chain restaurants and some nice gift boutiques-"

He caught himself and grinned. "Listen to me running on and on.
It seems like months since we've sat down together and talked."

"I know," Brenda said, fighting the next retort that sprang to her
lips. She forced a smile. "Listen, I wanted us to discuss spring
break, remember? The kids will both be home a week from Saturday. Can we get the boat out, Steve? spend a day on the water like
we used to?"

He took a bite of lasagna and chewed in silence for a moment. "I
don't know if I can take off a whole day," he said finally. "A morning, maybe. People prefer to look at houses in the afternoons and
evenings."

"Morning? Justin won't even wake up till noon, and Jessica's not
much better. I was hoping we could drag them both out of bed and
leave the house about ten. I'll pack a picnic lunch, and we can fish,
read, play games, work puzzles-whatever-all afternoon. If it's
warm enough, you and Justin will want to get out the wakeboard,
and Jessica will be sunbathing. We could all do some tubing. Then
we could take the boat over to one of the lakeside restaurants for
dinner. That would be fun."

"It sounds good, but I don't know, Brenda. We'd have to work
out which day. I've already got a pretty full calendar."

"What? Steve, you knew which days to keep open for spring
break! I told you weeks ago."

"I can't stop working just because the kids are home. Realtors
have to stay on top of the market. If you drop the ball, people will
take their business elsewhere. I'm juggling a lot of projects right
now, and it's only going to get more intense this summer."

"So what are you telling me? You don't want to spend time with
your children? You'd rather sell houses than be with your family?"

"Brenda, that's not fair. Of course I want to spend time with
you. I just have to balance everything."

"Is this what you call balance-eating supper at home one time
in the last two months?"

"Brenda, please."

"Never mind." She held up her hand. "Excuse me; I forgot to get
the bread out of the oven."

As she hurried into the kitchen, Brenda's eyes filled with tears.
How much more plain could he make it? Steve absolutely loved his
work, and he wanted to devote all his time to it. As for her and the
children, well, he had relegated them to the back burner of his life.
Only ... since the children were already gone, that meant the last
person sitting on the back burner was Brenda.

The faithful, subservient wife.

She yanked the bread from the oven and dumped it into a
cloth-lined basket she had prepared. "Justin is able to drive the
boat," she said as she strode back into the dining room. "He can
take his sister and me out onto the lake. I'll run the boat if the kids
want to wakeboard or tube. Then the three of us will head for dinner at one of the restaurants."

"And I could meet you there!" Steve concluded. "You can call
me on the cell phone when you get ready to head for the restaurant,
and I'll drive over."

"You would really do that?"

"Sure!"

"Miss a day on the water with your children?"

"Wait, I thought ... I thought that's what you were suggestingthat I could meet you at the restaurant."

"Oh, you are the most thickheaded man in history!" She tore off
a slice of garlic bread and set it on her plate. She hadn't been able to
eat a bite of the lasagna she'd worked most of the morning to prepare. "I told Nick you'd be too busy to go out on the water with us.
Sunday will be the same way, won't it? We'll all sit in church
together like happy little Hansens, and then you'll drive off to show
your precious properties."

"Weekends are the best times to hold open houses."

"Weekends are for family!"

"Our children are grown, Brenda. It's not like we have to plan
anything for them to do this spring break. They can drive, operate
the boat, ski, wakeboard, or whatever they want all by themselves.
Tell them to bring their friends to the lake for a few days, and that
will keep the whole crew busy."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? Everyone out of your way so
you can work?"

"Brenda, for pete's sake-"

"Nick told me you were driven. He said he saw it in your eyes the
minute he met you. He's right. You have one thing on your mind,
Steve, and that's making money. Rising to the top of the heap.
Winning the Realtor of the Year award. I told Nick about our dinner tonight, and he said you would probably be too busy to spend
time with us over spring break. Nick thinks-"

"What does this Nick guy know anyhow?" Steve said, throwing
his fork down on the plate. "He's a handyman!"

"Nick LeClair is my friend! He's here every day. He listens to
me. He thinks I'm creative and intelligent and interesting. Nick
says I'm an artist, and guess what-I am!"

"Brenda-"

"But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? You don't care about my life anymore. You care about selling houses
and making money and eating dinner at the country club. Forget
your kids. Forget your home. And forget your wife!"

"Brenda, I told you I liked the slipcovers." He pushed back his
chair to reach for her as she grabbed her plate and headed for the
basement. "I know you're an artist. I said I thought the diningroom chairs were nice. Where are you going?"

"Where does it look like?" she shouted back up the stairs. "I
wanted us to talk about spring break, and we did. You made your
priorities clear. Since we're finished with our discussion, I'm eating
the rest of my meal down here."

In the basement, Brenda set her plate on the plank between the
two sawhorses Nick had placed in the center of the room. She
could hear the kitchen door slam upstairs as Steve left the house. In
a moment, the garage door rose and his car pulled away.

Brenda wiped her cheeks as she stared through her tears at the
uneaten lasagna, cold garlic bread, and limp salad. As a shiver of
pain ran through her, she sank to her knees on the chilly concrete
floor and sobbed.

I am ready for this week to be over!" Patsy worked her blow-dryer
through Kim Finley's short brown hair. "This has been the longest
week I can remember. The tea shop never was empty for a minute,
and the goodies disappeared so fast I could hardly keep up. People
streamed in and out of here-appointments, drop-ins, and a lot of
folks just stopping by to chat. I don't mean to complain, but these
days by Saturday night, I'm just about to keel over."

"I know what you mean," Kim said. "The dentist's office is nuts
right now. I appreciate you working me in at the last minute
today."

"Oh, I'm not referring to you, honey! You and the twins can
come in anytime. Your hair doesn't take but a few minutes, and the
kids tickle me to death. It's all these other people. Sometimes I
think I ought to change my sign to Grand Central Station."

Kim laughed. "It's just because it's spring, I imagine. Derek says
a lot of people are already coming down to open their lake homes
for the season because it's been so warm. He expects the Water
Patrol to have their hands full. I'm sure all the locals want to get their hair taken care of before the holiday. Lydia can hardly wait to
wear the Easter dress we bought this afternoon in Camdenton. She
really does look like a princess in it."

"I have no doubt about that. The child is gorgeous. She could
win a beauty contest."

"Oh, I'd never do that to her. She's so shy. Now Luke! That boy
wouldn't have any trouble on a stage, but I doubt he would win a
pageant. I never know what will come out of his mouth. Little boys
... they are something else."

"How is Derek getting along with him lately?" Patsy asked,
aware that Kim and her husband had been married only three
years. The twins' father was in and out of the picture, usually stirring up some kind of hullabaloo, and poor Derek seemed to be
struggling to handle his role as husband and father.

"Every time he comes in here, he brags on the kids," Patsy continued. "He says Luke reminds him of when he was a boy."

Kim turned her head to admire her new cut as Patsy fingered the
last tendrils into place. A beautiful woman, Kim had her hands full
as a dental hygienist, mother, and wife. In fact, the more Patsy
thought about it, the more she marveled at how her clientele managed so many roles in life. Not only did most of them work full-time
jobs, but they had husbands and children, and they took on all kinds
of volunteer work at the schools, helped out at their churches or
clubs, and kept tabs on their friends. And Patsy thought she was tired
on a Saturday night!

"Derek enjoys the twins," Kim was saying as Patsy removed the
plastic cape from her shoulders and gave it a shake. "He'd like for
us to have a baby, too, but I just can't picture it. Everything has to
go like clockwork or our system starts to break down. Lately Luke
has been sick a lot, and he's had to miss several days of school. It's a
nightmare for me to have to call in to work and ask for the day off
right as the office is opening up. With lake traffic building up
already, Derek can't take time away from his job with the Water
Patrol, and then Lydia has to be picked up from school and driven to dance lessons on Tuesdays and to piano on Wednesdays. My ex
is no help at all."

"Are they ever?" Patsy sighed. "The trouble with divorce is that
you never really do end the relationship. It may change a little, but
you're still stuck with each other in one way or another. At least,
that's the conclusion I've come to after listening to my clients all
these years."

"You're right," Kim said as she picked up her purse. "But I am so
glad not to be married to my first husband. That was a total nightmare. With Derek, things are still hard, but at least the kids and I
are safe."