“Damn! Now Nate will be going on a bunch of those wedding lunches. There’ll be no work and we’ll have pink doilies everywhere, and—” The misery in his daughter’s voice finally hit him. “I’m sorry, baby. I know you’re going to miss him.”
“I think Nate should move into your apartment.”
“Okay. Want me to stay at your place?”
“No!” Terri said loudly, then quieted. “Let Nate use the pullout couch, but you stay there with him.” She waited for him to understand.
“You don’t want Nate to be staying alone when Stacy gets back, do you?” She answered him with silence. “Oh, honey, this isn’t good. He asked Stacy to marry him, so he must be crazy about her.”
“I know,” Terri said softly. “It’s just... I mean...”
“You want to postpone the inevitable.”
“I guess so. Who knows? Maybe Stacy will return with some Italian guy and...” Her voice faltered. She couldn’t keep up the joke.
“Okay. Whatever you want. But listen, honey—”
She heard Nate’s footsteps. “I gotta go.” She clicked off the phone.
“All done,” Nate said, “but you better check. I may have missed a shoe or left my stash of cigars behind.”
Terri didn’t smile. “You’re moving into Dad’s apartment.”
Nate looked alarmed. “And your dad will come here to stay with you?”
“Actually, you’re going to sleep on Dad’s pullout sofa. But if you want the apartment to yourself for, uh, you and Stacy, you can have it.”
“No!” Nate answered instantly. “This arrangement is fine. Unless your dad snores.”
She knew Nate was trying to make a joke, but it didn’t cover the fact that he didn’t want to be in an empty apartment. Did that mean he didn’t want to be alone with Stacy? She didn’t dare ask for fear that he’d give an answer she didn’t want to hear.
They got the leftovers from the kale feast out of the car and put them in the fridge. “We have to remember to take these to Elaine.”
Nate nodded in agreement.
It took them nearly an hour to get all his things together. Nate had missed several items and Terri found them. Since he was staying one more night, his shaving gear was left out. Twice, she’d stood in the bathroom door watching him shave as they went over what needed to be done that day.
As he straightened his toiletries, they glanced at each other in the mirror, but they said nothing.
Once they’d finished, they stood in the living room looking out at the water. “Beer?” Nate asked.
“Sure.” They knew that he’d get the beer, she’d get cheese and crackers, and they’d meet in the chairs outside.
They sat side by side, sipping and munching and watching. The fading sunlight was glistening on the water, and far down the lake they could see a flashlight.
“The Phillips,” Nate said.
“No, that’s Mrs. Jenkins and the blond kid who works in the kitchen.”
“When did they get together?”
“Three days ago. Didn’t you see her in those tiny denim shorts?”
“Was that the day you wore that green swimsuit that’s cut up to your waist?”
Terri took a sip of her drink. “You have to stop that. Can’t say it, can’t look. Stacy—”
“I know. She doesn’t deserve anything bad.” He took a breath. “Sometimes it’s like I can hardly remember her. I can remember ten years ago when I was with Kit in my first sandstorm. And I vividly remember when that damned camel bit my leg. But my time with Stacy in DC has become a blur.”