Into the Garden (Wildflowers 5)

"Yes. Larry and I spent the night up the coast, but neither of us was hungry when we woke up, so I thought we'd buy some fresh bagels and stuff and stop here on the way home. I figured you might be alone or is someone else here?" she asked with an impish grin.

I was reminded that she didn't know what had happened the day before.

"No, I'm alone." I said.

"Mind if I turn on the television?" Larry asked.

"No. Go ahead," I told him, and he went into the living room. Star and I went to the kitchen.

Before I could even begin to tell her what had happened, she put down her bag of groceries and hugged me.

"Oh, Cat," she cried, "I have so much to tell you. I really do think my luck has changed."

Without taking a breath, she continued.

"I never really believed in that love-at-firstsight stuff. Movies are movies, but in real life, people are lucky if they fall in love after being together for years and years. I mean, who in her right mind except some soap opera freak is going to believe that you look at someone who looks at you and in that moment your heart flutters and your blood races and you just can't wait to throw yourself into his arms forever and ever? Huh?"

Me, I wanted to say, but I was afraid to say or do anything that might slow down her train.

"But that's exactly what's happened here, Cat. You remember what I told you girls when I set eyes on Larry's picture, right? Already, something was happening to me. I didn't want to make all that big a deal of it. How many times has myma'ama been in love? Every man she started with after my daddy took off was the perfect new man, her knight in shining armor, each of which turned out to be a

disappointment in shining tin foil." She shook her head in disgust.

"So when it comes to believing in anyone, especially a man who drapes all these promises over you like some expensive furs, I said to myself, that will never happen to me. If I ever marry, it won't be for some glass of foam called love. It will be sensible and then, maybe someday, I'd look at my man and think, we have something, right?

"Wrong," she said before I could even nod. She finally took a big breath and then smiled and pressed her hands to her breast and gazed up at the ceiling. "Larry and I, we have something akin to magic, Cat. You know how you get comfortable when you settle yourself in a nice warm bath. I don't mean one of Jade's fancy smelly baths, but just an ordinary, warm tub?"

"Yes," I said.

"Well, every time I'm with him, all the time I'm with him, I feel that way. I feel ... comfortable and warm, and most important of all, Cat. I feel safe. Oh, I know what Jade's going to say," she added quickly, making a sour face. "She's going to tell you all that I fell in love with a uniform, that the uniform makes me feel safe, but believe me, Cat," she interjected with a soft, coy smile, "I've been with him when he's out of his uniform and it doesn't change a thing In fact, I feel it all more. Understand?"

"Yes," I said.

"Good. I knew you would. Of all of us, I knew you'd be the one to understand first and best," she told me. "Now here's the good part," she continued, pulling a chair out and sitting, "Larry and I haven't just been pawing over each other these past twentyfour hours. We've been thinking and talking and planning sensibly. I'm going to finish high school and he's finishing up his stint in the army and getting all his training. He's already got a good job lined up with his cousin, and what we're going to do is get married right after I graduate and he's out of the army. The most wonderful thing of all is he wants us to take Rodney in with us, too. It would lift some burden off Granny who, as you know, isn't exactly healthy and strong enough to raise another family. These are years she should be enjoying without daily worries. Larry sees that, believes that. He's as good as he is handsome, and I do believe he loves me more than any man will," she concluded.

She waited a moment for my reaction.

"Wow," I said. "It does sound great, Star. I'm happy for you."

"Right," she said. "You can consider me engaged, even though he hasn't gotten me a ring yet. He will real soon and then maybe, we'll have an engagement party, huh? We could even have it right here!"

I nodded, but I didn't look as enthusiastic as she would have liked.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked.

"Something's happened, hasn't it?"

"Yes," I said. I sat, too.

Star waited patiently, but she read my face and nodded. "Something to do with Stuart, huh?"

"I'm sorry," I said. "Everyone was right. He got cold feet right after you all left yesterday. He wanted me to call the police and confess what we did, and he said he couldn

't help us and get involved. He did promise he wouldn't tell anyone though," I added.

"Sure," she said.

"I can't blame him, Star. He was worried about his mother and his little brother."