The Way to Yesterday (8 page)

Mary stifled a sob as another thought surfaced. What if she had nothing to
fear? Maybe she was already dead. Maybe this was heaven. If so, then there was
no danger in going to sleep.

Yes! That must be it! Back there in the antique store when she'd started to
get dizzy, she must have been dying! The fact that Daniel and Hope had been
there to greet her should have been her first hint, because she'd never had
dreams like that before. Suddenly, the urge to look at this world anew drove
away her exhaustion. She'd been looking at all of this wrong. It wasn't exactly
what she'd thought heaven would be like, but who was she to quibble? With the
people she loved best, it was perfect.

Careful not to awaken Daniel, she slipped out of his grasp and tiptoed from
the room, anxious to see

Hope again.

She was there in her bed, sleeping soundly, with that same old one-eared
rabbit clutched tight beneath her chin. The urge to take Hope in her arms and
never let her go was overwhelming. Instead, Mary straightened her covers and
forced herself to walk away.

She paused for a moment in the hall, thinking of going back to bed and lying
in the comfort of

Daniel's arms. But the relief she was feeling wouldn't let her sleep. Not
yet. Not now. She needed to see the house again, without the fear and confusion
she'd had before.

Her steps were light as she moved down the staircase, her gaze curious and
accepting as she studied the shadows made by the nightlight at the foot of the
stairs. The carpeted floors in the living room were soft beneath her feet. The
scent of bougainvillea was faint, but familiar. She turned toward the hall
table and saw the vase of fresh flowers, then moved toward it, touching the
clusters of tiny blooms with her fingertip, then bending to inhale the perfume.
A brass ship's clock on the mantel over the fire place began chiming out the
hour. The sudden noise within the silence of the room sent her spinning about.
Sensing she was no longer alone, she looked up the stairs. Daniel was standing
at the top, looking down at her in the darkness.

'Mary ... are you all right?"

His presence was so real, so strong. There was no more doubt. She sighed,
and as she did, gave up the last of her reservations. This now was her truth.

'Yes, darling, I'm fine."

'What are you doing down there in the dark?" She hurried up the stairs
and into his arms, relish
ing
the comfort of his
embrace.

'Oh...I just had a bad dream. I needed to make sure that everything was all
right."

'Next time you wake me and let me be the one to chase away the ghosts.
Okay?"

“Okay.”

'Now that's settled, come back to bed. The alarm clock will go off before
you know it."

Mary laughed softly to herself. Alarm clocks in heaven? Who would have
known?

Hope downed the last of her milk and started to leave the table when Mary
caught her and quickly wiped the milk mustache from her upper lip.

'Mommy ...I've got to hurry," Hope wailed. "I don't want to be
late for school."

No sooner had she said it than Daniel yelled from the living room.
"Hope! Come on. You're going to be late for school."

'Okay, okay," Mary said, giving the bow in Hope's hair a last fussing
tug. "Don't forget your backpack."

'It's by the door," Hope said.

Mary followed her daughter's exit, unwilling to let go of the both of them
at once. But Daniel was at the door with briefcase in hand and Hope was al
ready shouldering her backpack when Mary got there.

'Don't forget I have dance class after school," Hope said.

A wave of panic hit swiftly, leaving Mary floundering for answers to
questions she didn't know how to ask.

'Dance class?"

Hope rolled her eyes. "Mommy. I have class every Wednesday. Mrs. Barnes
will bring me home."

'What time?" Mary asked. "What time will she bring you home?"

Daniel grinned and tweaked Mary's nose. "Five o'clock, honey. Just like
always."

'Oh yes... at five. I was thinking of something else. Sorry."

Moments later they were in the car and driving away. Mary held her breath
until they were safely out of the driveway, then stepped back inside the house
and closed the door. It was just after eight. She started to smile. It was a
long time until five o'clock. She would have plenty of time to prowl through
the house and familiarize herself with everything in it. The daily paper was
lying on the hall table where Daniel had laid it. She picked it up and carried
it back into the living room, then tossed it on the coffee table to be read
later. Her step was light, but her heart was lighter as she went upstairs
because her family was, once again, intact.

Daniel pulled up in front of the school as Hope began scrambling with her
backpack.

'Have a good day, honey," he said, and hugged her tight when she leaned
over for her goodbye kiss.

'You, too, Daddy. I'll see you this evening, okay?"

'Yep. And don't forget Mrs. Barnes is picking you up after school."

'I know," she said, slamming the door behind her as she hurried up the
front walk toward the building. Daniel watched until he saw her enter the
building with several of her friends, then he drove away. His mind was already
shifting gears toward the preliminary hearing for one of his clients. He was
well prepared and wasn't worried about that outcome, but he was concerned about
Mary Faith. Even though she swore she felt fine and had shown no other symptoms
of being ill, he couldn't get over how startled he'd been when she'd fainted in
his arms. Her confusion afterward had cemented his worries even more. He made a
mental note that as soon as he got to the office, he was going to give their
family doctor a call. He wanted to hear someone else tell him there was nothing
for which he needed to be concerned.

*

Howard Lee Martin stepped out from beneath the trees on the south side of
the playground, watching as the last of the children entered the school
building to begin morning classes, then jammed his hands in his pockets and
started walking toward home. His mind was racing, his heart pounding with
anticipation. He'd seen her again. A perfect little angel. As he walked, he
began making a mental list of all the things he needed to purchase before the
adoption. Not for the first time, he wished he'd gotten a chance to talk to her.
He didn't know what kind of ice cream she liked best and he needed to know her
favorite color. They would play dress-up. Little angels like her always liked
to play dress-up. And then they would play house. Just the thought made him
smile. His mother had let him make a fort under the dining room table when he
was small, but little girls liked to play house, not cowboys and Indians. As he
pictured his mother, he grew sad. She'd been gone almost two years now. He
thought of the two little girls he'd recently adopted and sighed. His children
would never know their grandmother and that was too bad. She'd always wanted
him to marry and settle down.

After she died, he'd tried to make friends, but he didn't know how. He'd
joined a church, but hadn't been able to bring himself to approach any of the
single women who attended. He'd begun hanging out at bowling alleys and coffee
shops, watching the interplay between other couples and trying to figure out
how it was done. Not for the first time, he thought that his mother had
demanded too much of his time. He'd never had the chance to socialize with the
opposite sex. It was only at his job that he'd come in contact with them, and
then he'd been too shy to do more than speak.

Lately, his shyness had given way to frustration, then frustration to anger.
It wasn't fair. Everyone had someone but him. That's when he'd decided to make
his own family. Lots of single people adopted children. He read about it all
the time. But the process hadn't been as simple as he'd believed. He didn't
make enough money. He didn't have enough education. The excuses were endless,
but they all boiled down to one thing. The authorities were not going to let
him adopt. So he'd taken things into his own hands and done what he had to do.

A cat dashed across the street in front of him, just ahead of a small, black
dog who was in pursuit. He laughed aloud, wishing the girls had been with him.
They would have enjoyed the sight. It was important for children to interact
with a parent, and he looked forward to the day when the transition from their
old life to the new one was complete. Right now they were shy of him, but he
had to believe the day would come when they would welcome him with open arms.

He glanced at his watch, making note of the time and hastening his steps. He
had a lot to do before school let out today and he didn't want to be late. It
was important to make contact several times before the day of the adoption.
Children were taught not to talk to strangers, but after a few innocent meetings,
his little angel would no longer view him as such.

Mary was digging through the back of her closet when the phone began to
ring. Dropping the shoes she was holding, she backed out of the closet and
answered the call with a breathless hello. "Mary ...are you all right? You
sound like you're out of breath."

'Daniel... Hi honey! I'm fine ... just made a dash for the phone."

There was a note of censure in his voice. "You're supposed to be taking
it easy today but something tells me you're not."

'I haven't done one worthwhile thing this morning," she said. "I
swear." His soft chuckle tickled her ear.

'Then how about meeting me for lunch?" "Really? I thought you had
court."

'Had it.. .still having it, but we're not due back for a couple of
hours."

'What did you have in mind?" Mary asked. "We don't have time for
what's on my mind, but

I'll settle for looking at your pretty face over shrimp scampi."

Mary laughed. "Just tell me where to meet you. We'll worry about the
other stuff tonight."

'It's a deal," Daniel said. "You know that little Italian place a
couple of blocks down from the courthouse?"

She didn't, but wasn't going to tell him that. "Yes, just give me
enough time to call a cab."

'Cab? What's wrong with your car?" Mary frowned. Another roadblock she
hadn't anticipated. She hadn't owned a car since the day she'd seen theirs go
up in smoke.

'Uh ... I-"

'Don't tell me you've lost your keys again," he teased. "There's
an extra set in the top drawer of the dresser. Just drive carefully,
okay?"

'Uh... yes ... okay."

'I'll get a table. Look for me inside."

"I will."

'Love you, honey."

Mary shivered as his voice softened.

'I love you, too. See you soon," she said, and hung up the phone.

She picked up her purse, then stared at it a moment before moving toward the
bed. Impulsively, she turned it upside down and dumped the contents out onto
the bed. Even though she saw the ring of keys falling onto the bedspread, it
felt strange to accept the fact that they were there. Her hands were shaking as
she picked them up. If this was the heaven she'd been given, then she should
want for nothing. Okay.

So she had a car. So what? She also had a husband and a daughter that she
hadn't had two days before. Anxious now to get to Daniel, she stuffed the
articles back in her bag and then hurried into the bathroom to put on some
makeup and give her hair a quick brushing. A few moments later she was on her
way out the front door.

The unattached garage was about twenty-five yards to the right of the house
and she headed toward it at a trot. When she walked inside and saw the powder
blue Jaguar in the south stall, she couldn't help but stare in disbelief. She'd
never heard a preacher talk about a heaven like this, but she wasn't about to
question another blessing. She jumped into the driver's seat, started the
engine and backed out of the garage. Within seconds, she was out of the
driveway and onto the street, heading downtown toward the courthouse. The sun
was warm on her face and the wind tunneling through the partially opened window
played havoc with the hair that she'd brushed, but she didn't care. How could
anything as superficial as windblown hair matter when she had everything her
heart desired?

*

Hope O'Rourke's little backpack was bumping against her shoulders as she
marched out of the school toward the bus stops. Only Hope didn't ride a bus.
She had to stand in line with the kids who were picked up by their parents and
wait for the buses to leave. She craned her neck as she walked, looking for
Mrs. Barnes's bright blue van, but she didn't see it. Her steps slowed as she
sighed with disappointment. It wasn't the first time Mrs. Barnes had been late
to pick her up and she hated having to wait. It always made her a little
nervous, afraid that somehow she would be forgotten.

Her teacher was busy sorting through the waiting children, making sure they
got on the proper buses, so Hope slipped out of line and dawdled toward one of
the benches beneath the big shade trees by the street. She knew she was
supposed to wait in line, but today she was tired and hungry and wished it was
Mommy who would be picking her up and not Mrs. Barnes.

She tossed her backpack onto the bench and then crawled up beside it as her
eyes filled with tears. A big boy walked past her, staring at the look on her
face. Embarrassed, she drew her knees up under her chin and hid her face.

'Hey there, are you all right?"

At the touch on her shoulder, Hope flinched, and then looked up. There was a
very tall man kneeling on the ground in front of her. Instinctively, she pulled
away and looked nervously toward her teacher, Mrs.

Kristy. But Mrs. Kristy had not realized that Hope was out of line and was
busy with the other students. "It's okay," the man said. "I just
saw you crying and wondered if you were hurt."