of Allison. The dried bouquet from her wedding had been fashioned into a heart-shaped frame.
“They’re from your daddy,” she whispered to her daughter.
Then, because she was weak and because her heart ached, Cecilia reached for a pad and pen.
May 16th
Dear Ian,
I wasn’t going to write you again. I probably shouldn’t now. Nothing has changed. Nothing will. Still, I find that you’re on my mind and I hope we can at least be friendly toward each other.
I spent the day with Cathy Lackey. Don’t tell Andrew, but his wife is partially blond now, thanks to me. While she was here, Cathy mentioned that the John F. Reynolds would be docking in Sydney Harbour this week. You always said you’d see the Southern Cross. Is it as incredible as you hoped? I imagine it is.
I was going to drop out of school. Really, I couldn’t see the point of sticking it out. At the rate of two classes a quarter, it’ll take me a hundred years to get a degree, but then I decided that it didn’t matter if I ever got one. I like school, and as Mr. Cavanaugh said, knowledge is never wasted. I really like Mr. Cavanaugh. He’s the kind of person I wish my father was, although I have to admit Bobby tries. He does. When the flowers arrived for our anniversary and I started to cry, he patted my back—and then walked away. Oh, well… But later he confessed that every year on the anniversary of his divorce, he gets drunk. I think that was supposed to comfort me. In some odd way, it did.
This isn’t a very long letter and I’m not even sure I’ll mail it. Basically, I wanted to thank you for the flowers and tell you Happy Anniversary, too.
All my best,
Cecilia
May 26th
My dearest Cecilia,
I’ve hardly ever been as excited as I was this morning at mail call. I’d given up on hearing from you. Andrew said my shout was heard three decks below. Thank you, thank you and thank you again for mailing that letter. You have no idea how badly I needed to hear from you.
I’m glad you got the flowers. Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart. It’s been one hell of a first year, hasn’t it? From here on out, it’ll be better. You feel it, too, don’t you?
I did see the Southern Cross, and it was even more exciting than I’d dreamed. That experience could only have been improved in one way—having you beside me when I found it.
I can’t write much. I’m on duty in five minutes and I want to mail this as soon as I can. There’s only one more thing I want to say. You mentioned that your father gets drunk on the anniversary of his divorce. He obviously has more than a few regrets. Don’t make the same mistake he did, Cecilia. We need each other. I love you. There’s nothing we can’t work through. Not one damn thing. Remember that, all right?
Ian
“Anything?” Kelly asked hopefully as she slid into the booth at the Pancake Palace. The restaurant was a local favorite, where the food was good and the portions hearty. Sunday mornings, the lineup to get a table often stretched out the door.
Grace’s daughter had phoned earlier in the week, and they’d agreed to meet Friday after work. With no reason to hurry home, Grace was free to have dinner out. Yet she felt an unaccountable urge to rush back to the house on Rosewood Lane. It was just habit, she decided. Thirty-five years of habit.
“No news,” Grace answered.
“Mom, he can’t have dropped off the face of the earth. Someone must know something.”
If that was the case, no one had bothered to tell her. One thing Grace did know was that she could no longer afford Roy McAfee’s services. He’d made some suggestions to help her track down her missing husband, but Grace had run into a solid row of dead ends. Discouraged and defeated, she’d given up trying. Even if she did manage to locate Dan, what could she possibly say? It wasn’t as though she intended to beg him to come home.
The waitress brought them menus and Grace chose a chef’s salad and coffee, while Kelly ordered a chicken sandwich and a glass of milk.
“Why would Daddy do something like this?” Kelly asked—as she’d already asked dozens of times.
If Grace knew the answer to that, she could stop listening to the voices in her head. Besides her own emotions, she had those of her children to consider. Maryellen had reacted with outrage and anger. Kelly was more hurt. The younger of the two girls, she’d always been closest to her father. Even as a child, Kelly had followed Dan around; while she was a teenager, she and Grace had constantly been at odds. Yet even through the worst of her rebellion, Kelly had steered clear of any major confrontation with her father.
Grace waited until they’d finished their meals before she broached the subject she wanted to discuss. “Your father’s been gone six weeks now.”
“I know,” Kelly said, sounding exasperated. “Mom, I’m so worried about him.”
“I am, too.” Although she was more worried about what she’d do once she found him. “I want you to know I’ve seen an attorney.”
Kelly stared at her as if she didn’t understand. “An attorney can help you find Dad?”
“No. I’ve decided to file for divorce.”
Kelly reached for her water glass. She took a sip and Grace could see that her daughter was struggling to hold on to her composure. “Mom, don’t! Please don’t. Dad’s coming back. I know he is—and when he does, we’ll discover what this is all about. There’s a logical reason he had to leave the way he did.”
“I’m not doing this to punish your father. It’s for legal reasons.”
“Legal reasons,” Kelly repeated, frowning.
She told her about the need to cancel all their credit cards and her responsibility for half of any debts he assumed. What she didn’t mention was that Dan had used the VISA to purchase a ring for another woman. Every time she thought about her husband doing such a thing, knowing full well that she’d investigate the charge, she nearly broke down and wept.
“You still think Daddy’s got a girlfriend, don’t you?”
Grace heard the challenge in her daughter’s voice. She wanted to protect her children, hide the truth from them, but the charade had become too much for her. Dan wasn’t concerned about protecting her. He’d left her open to ridicule, speculation and embarrassment.
“You can’t honestly think he’d do that,” Kelly insisted.
“That’s exactly what I think,” Grace said without apology. “Everything leads me to believe he’s involved with someone else.”
Kelly shook her head so hard her earring flew across the table. “Not Dad.”
“I don’t want to believe it, either,” Grace said quietly as Kelly retrieved the earring. “Do you think it gives me any pleasure to tell you I’m seeking a divorce? Your father and I have been married for thirty-five years. This isn’t a decision I’ve made lightly.”
“Wait,”
