A Child's Wish

“Nothing,” Meredith said, and he wished she’d pull open the damn door so he could see her.

And then, remembering she’d just come from bed, revised that thought.

“But I don’t think she’s as averse to Susan as you think,” she added, pulling his attention firmly back to the life at hand—and the satisfaction he’d felt this morning. “We talked about girls needing mothers.”

He narrowed his eyes, needing a better read of her expression than he was getting.

“Did she bring that up or did you?”

“She did.”

He shook his head, glad that the road was clearing for him and sad at the same time that he had to hear this from someone else. He and Kelsey seemed to be growing further and further apart. “She and I never mention the subject,” he admitted. “After her mother left, Kelsey was understandably devastated. She’d break down and cry anytime I mentioned Barbie. Naturally, I stopped. She’s never said anything to me about it.”

“Knowing Kelsey, I’d guess she doesn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

That sounded like Kelsey. And made good sense. He didn’t kid himself that Kelsey had done or would do an instant turnaround and suddenly love Susan dearly, but if she wasn’t averse to the idea of a new mother…

He glanced up, getting ahead of himself and yet finding no reason to hold back on the idea that had fallen into place for him that morning. “If you really think Kelsey could be ready, that pretty much solidifies my plan to ask Susan to marry me.”

The door fell open another couple of inches, althoug

h Meredith’s expression was still lost to him. “You’re going to propose?” Her initial, half-asleep reaction was followed by a more enthusiastic, “That’s wonderful!”

“You think she’ll accept?” He was a bit nervous about that, and he couldn’t imagine anything better than marrying Susan. She was perfect for him. Practical, logical, beautiful. And equally important, Susan wasn’t prone to inexplicable emotional outbursts as Barbie had been.

“I don’t know.” Meredith’s hesitation gave him pause until she added, “I hope so.”

He hoped so, too. Except that, if he married Susan, Meredith would be around for the rest of his life.

Mark worried about that particular notion on and off for the rest of the day.

“SO, HOW’D IT GO with Kelsey?” Susan’s breathless question came about fifteen minutes into her Sunday morning hike with Meredith. Before that, Meredith had hogged the conversation, telling Susan about her mother’s mixed-up lab report and perfectly healthy liver.

She’d also shared her sadness for the other woman, the stranger whose perfectly healthy report was now going to be retracted and replaced by something more serious.

“You think it’s life-threatening?” Susan had asked as they’d arrived at the state park. They’d taken the longer of the two routes they normally hiked. It was early enough that they still had it to themselves.

Meredith’s only reply had been a shrug, but she suspected, considering the heaviness she still felt, that this other woman’s illness was terminal.

“Earth to Mer,” Susan said now with affectionate exasperation. “About Kelsey?”

“I didn’t get much,” she told her friend. “She really felt happy, or at least peaceful. As though she was satisfied with the way things were going.”

Susan stopped, turned right where the path got steep and Meredith’s tennis shoe skidded on a loose stone in the dirt. “How sure are you that you were feeling her feelings?”

“About seventy percent.”

They’d long ago determined that anything over sixty on Meredith’s confidence scale had at least some truth to it. She pulled her ponytail away from her sweaty neck and secured it on top of her head with a clip pulled from the pocket of her denim jacket.

“And that was last night while I was out with her father,” Susan said, resuming the climb.

“Yep.”

“Did she mention me?”

“We didn’t talk about you specifically,” Meredith said carefully, hating the fact that her friend felt such a lack of confidence in this area. It was so unlike her.

“So she could’ve just been happy to be with you.”