gonna be great, isn’t it?” Danny closed his eyes, a sweet smile lingering on his lips. “I can’t believe it’s really gonna happen. It’s gonna be the best time ever.”
“Yes,” Sherri whispered softly. “It’s going to be the best time ever. Are you still sure you don’t want any presents?” They would be spending Christmas in the R.V., and so far, Danny had been adamant that the trip alone was present enough for him.
He nodded, his eyes drooping closed once again. “Just us being together is the best Christmas present in the whole wide world.”
She pulled the sheet up around his neck and placed a kiss on his forehead. Seeing the soft, even rhythm of his breathing, she stood up and started to leave.
“Mom?”
She turned and looked back at him. With the light from the hallway shining on his features, she was struck by how much he looked like Luke. The strong little chin, the high cheekbones, the sensual bottom lip…a chip off the old block. A bittersweet pang raced through her, there only a moment then gone. “What, honey?”
“It’s gonna be just like it used to be. Me and you and Dad all together again like a real family. It’s gonna be the best time in my whole life.”
Sherri hesitated, then nodded and left the room. She should have told him, she berated herself. She should have told him that there was no way it could ever be the way it used to be. Even though the three of them would be together, there was no way to go back and be a family. Too much time had passed, too many bitter memories made that particular dream of Danny’s impossible. She and Luke were divorced and no amount of time spent together would change them into a normal, loving family.
She pulled on her coat and walked out the front door. She sat on the porch swing and pushed her feet against the wood. The motion set the swing moving back and forth in a lulling, easy movement.
Night had fallen completely and insects buzzed and clicked in the darkness. A cold evening breeze rippled through her long dark hair as she continued to swing.
Thank God the weather was cooperating for their winter cross-country trip. The entire country was enjoying an unusually mild winter. She was willing to put up with all the ice and snow Mother Nature might cast their way in a month’s time, but she just hoped that for the next three weeks the weather remained moderate.
Leaning her head back, she sighed. She should go to bed. Danny had a big day tomorrow, and so did she. Not only did she want to give Danny the trip of his life, but she also had to figure out how on earth she was going to spend three weeks cooped up in that motor home with Luke.
Luke Morgan threw the last sweatshirt in the duffel bag and zipped it closed. He looked at his wristwatch. Ten minutes until seven. Sherri had said they should be here by seven, so he knew they’d be here any time. Sherri was never late.
He moved the duffel bag by the front door, then plopped down on the bright red futon to wait. He was dreading this trip…knew it was probably the biggest mistake he’d make in his life, and he’d made plenty.
At least he didn’t have to worry about anyone watering his plants while he was gone. He looked over in the corner where two dead plants hung in macramé hangers. He sighed and leaned back against the futon.
Sherri. She’d been a closed book in his life. He’d moved on, made a life for himself without her. He was a respected and admired photographer. He was considered a witty and charming date.
Yes, he’d managed to put Sherri in his past quite nicely. They’d worked out agreeable visitation arrangements that included Luke’s getting Danny every other weekend he wasn’t working. Even with Danny’s frequent hospitalizations over the past year, he and Sherri had managed to maintain a healthy distance and civility. They’d worked out their divorce much nicer than they’d managed their marriage.
He looked around the apartment that had been his home for the past year. The futon where he sat and a television set/stereo unit comprised the extent of his furniture.
The walls were covered with some of his best work…pictures of native children in South Africa, fatherless children who were the legacy of the Vietnam era, the despair on young faces in Belfast.
He’d given up his world travels a year ago when Danny had gotten ill, and he now photographed the young, the disillusioned, the hopeless in the United States. That way, he was always no more than a couple hours’ plane ride away should Danny need him.
He looked around him again. Sherri would hate this place. Sherri loved order and the one thing his apartment lacked was order. He felt a dull sense of dissatisfaction sweep over him. He really should invest in more furniture, perhaps an end table or two. He eyed the untidy stack of clothing in the corner of the room. A chest of drawers would be nice…maybe a maid could make some sense of his chaos.
He frowned, realizing he was viewing his apartment through her eyes. He pulled himself off the futon and glared out the window. His apartment was fine just the way it was. The futon served as his sofa by day, his bed at night. His clothes were fine in a stack in the corner, as were his magazines, his albums and his photography equipment.
Damn, this trip from hell hadn’t even begun yet and already Sherri was an intrusion into his life. He didn’t want to go. He couldn’t imagine being trapped in an R.V. for three weeks with his ex-wife. He must have been crazy when he’d agreed to the whole thing.
His mind suddenly filled with a vision of Danny. His frown automatically faded, replaced by a small smile. What a kid. He and Sherri might have failed at their marriage, but somehow, the best of both of them had joined together on the night that Danny was conceived. That’s why he had agreed to this trip. For Danny.
He stared out the window, seeing a motor home pull to a stop in the parking lot. He looked down at his watch. Bingo…seven o’clock on the nose. Some things never changed.
He grabbed his duffel bag, pulled on his jacket, locked the front door, then hurried down to meet them.
Luke felt his heart expand in his chest as Danny stuck his head out the window. “Hi, Dad,” he yelled. He opened the door and jumped down from the passenger seat and ran toward Luke. “Hey, big man,” Danny said, grinning up at him.
“Hey, little man,” Luke replied. He let the duffel bag fall to the concrete and went down to one knee as Danny threw himself into his arms.
For a moment, Luke held him tight, smelling the little-boy scent of him…a scent of sunshine and freedom, of laughter and dreams. Dreams the doctors said would probably not be fulfilled…dreams Luke would sell his soul to see come true.
“Come on, Mom is waiting.” Danny wiggled from Luke’s tight embrace. He grabbed his father’s hand and tugged Luke toward the R.V. “Wait until you see everything inside. It’s so awesome. And Mom says if it’s not too cold we can make a camp fire every night and toast marshmallows and when we get to the Grand Canyon we’re going to rent a helicopter to fly us over it.”
“Whoa,” Luke said with a laugh. “Slow down. We’ve got a lot of driving time ahead of us before we get to the Grand Canyon.”
“Yeah, but with you and me and Mom all together, it will be fun. We can sing and talk and just be together.” Danny tugged impatiently on his father’s hand again. “Come on, let’s get this show on the road!”
Funny,
