Feels Like Summertime (20 page)

“
H
ey
, Jake,” Fred calls from the other room. I fiddle with my tie and then I finally give up and turn to Pop so he can tie it for me.

“What?” I yell back to Fred as Pop tries to fix the mess I’ve made.

Fred walks into the room. I did miss the big lug during the months when we weren’t talking. It has been nice having him here this summer. We’ve had time to mend the tears and find a new normal for us.

“Some guy just left this for you.” Fred tosses an envelope at me. Pop catches it and reads the outside. He nods his head at Fred.

“Let’s give him a few minutes of peace, shall we?” Pop says.

“Who’s it from?” I ask, as Pop places the letter in my hand.

“I’d wager it’s from Katie’s late husband,” Pop says quietly. Then he drags Freddy and Alex from the room.

There’s no way that Jeff Stone sent
me
a letter. But I look at the scribbling on the outside.

To the man who’s going to marry my wife

I tear the letter open.

T
o the man
who’s going to marry my wife,

There are a few moments in life that make you reexamine things. Losing a truck full of men and women you serve with is one of those moments. I started to think about what would happen to Katie if anything ever happens to me. I hope you don’t mind that I’m contacting you, but I have a few things I want to tell you.

I won’t tell you how she likes her coffee or what her favorite foods are. I won’t mention her favorite color or her favorite flower, because you’re going to enjoy learning all those things. It’s part of the discovery process. It’s beautiful and it’s necessary.

But what I do want to say to you is that if Katie chose you, it’s because she loves and trusts you. Don’t abuse that. Don’t ever take it for granted. She loves freely, but never blindly. She loves truly, but never indiscriminately. She loves with her whole heart. If you’re lucky enough to get that from her, then by God you deserve it. You have won one hell of a prize.

I don’t worry as much about Katie as I do about my children, however. Your place with them will be tentative, even as Katie’s love for you grows. They will always have memories of me and our life together, and you may think that they overshadow yours. But never fear. You will take a different place in their hearts.

At the end of the day, I’m not threatened by you, and I hope my memory doesn’t threaten you either. You will make your own memories with my children, and you will take a place in their lives that’s just as important.

I hope you’ll consider it an honor when you walk Gabby down the aisle. Take a minute to tell her she’s smart and not just beautiful.

When Alex gets in his first fight at school, I hope you teach him to handle himself with both grace and strength. Fight when fighting is necessary. Love when you can.

When Trixie goes on her first date, take a moment to tell her how valuable she is to you and to her mother, because a daughter who feels valued is one who values others.

My final thought for you: Find your own place with them, but don’t try to fill mine. If you try to walk in my shoes, the shoes won’t fit you right and they could cause you to stumble and fall. You must be yourself, and I trust you, because Katie has chosen you and I trust Katie. And I hope you and Katie succeed as a couple, because my children’s happiness will now depend greatly on yours.

Take care of Katie, and take care of my kids.

Jeff Stone

I
’m still wiping
tears from my face when Pop bursts into cabin 114. “Katie girl!” he cries as he walks right into my bedroom. I’m already dressed, but it’s still odd that he’s visiting. “You’re my favorite bride today!” he says. He opens his arms and I fall against him. He squeezes me tightly, grunting as he rocks me gently from side to side.

Laura puts her hands on her hips. “Why didn’t I ever get the favorite bride comment when I married Jake?” she pretends to grumble.

Mr. Jacobson grins at her. “You were never meant for my boy and you know it. Now get out.” He jerks his thumb toward the door.

Laura playfully grumbles again but I can tell she’s not really angry. She closes the bedroom door behind her with a smile.

“I brought you something,” Mr. Jacobson says. He pats his shirt pocket, then his pants pocket, and then he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a long box. “Here you go,” he says. His joviality suddenly vanishes and he gets very serious. “These belonged to Jake’s mother,” he tells me. “I never gave them to Laura because I didn’t think she would want them. They’re not worth much, but they were worth everything to me and to Jake’s mom. I gave them to his mom the day we got married, and now I’m giving them to you, because I know you’ll cherish them the same way she did.” He thrusts the box at me. “Take it, Katie girl.”

I open the box with shaky fingers. Inside lies a string of beautiful pearls.

“Your neck is too naked,” he says. “And while I happen to like naked women, I think your neck needs something on it.” He pulls my hand until I come to stand in front of the mirror. “Can I put them on you?” His eyes meet mine in the mirror.

I nod, understanding the reverence of this moment.

“The last and only time I put these on someone, I put them on
her
.” He isn’t jovial or joking. He’s serious. I’ve never seen him so serious. “Please know that I wouldn’t give these to just anyone, Katie.”

“I understand,” I say. “Thank you.”

“When she died, I thought I would die with her.” His voice chokes a little, but he clears his throat. “But I had Jake to live for, to take care of, to teach, to love, and to love me back.” He finally clasps the hook and I feel the cool weight of the pearls fall against my neck. “And now I have five more people to love and love me back.”

He spins me around and hugs me tight.

“Now I have to go and offer my boy some whiskey and a peek at some girly magazines so he can keep up his stamina, seeing as how you had him out all night.” He pats my shoulder with a heavy hand. “Welcome to the family, Katie girl,” he says, and then he leaves as quickly as he arrived.

I feel like someone just took the bottom corner piece off my mental Jenga game.

Gabby walks into the room. “What did Pop want?” she asks. All the kids have started to call him Pop.

I finger the pearls around my neck. “He gave me these. They belonged to Jake’s mom.”

Gabby tips her head to the side to regard the pearls. “That was nice of him.”

“I know, right?” I say lightly. “Can you help me lift my hair off my neck?” I ask Gabby, and I hold out a sheet of bobby pins. “I want to show these off.”

I stare at the pearls right up until it’s time to go. Then I go to meet Jake, wearing the pearls his father gave his mother on their wedding day.

I
stand
at the altar with Pop beside me. Alex is next to him, and Alex is so nervous he can barely stand still. I motion for him to come to me, and then drop down in front of him and straighten his tie. We’re all wearing khaki pants, button-down shirts, and flip flops. Pop said a man doesn’t get married without a tie, so we let Trixie pick them out. We are all wearing the most absurd bowties known to mankind. Pop’s is purple paisley, Alex’s is red with Minnie Mouse ears all over it, Fred’s is a cluster of palm trees, and mine reminds me of a swirly psychedelic hippie flower.

The lake is our backdrop for the wedding. It’s my favorite place in the world, and I couldn’t imagine formally joining my life with Katie’s anywhere else than in this place where we met all those years ago.

I haven’t told her yet about Pop’s offer, and I’ll be happy no matter what her decision is, but I’d be lying if I said I want to go back to New York. I want to stay here, in this magical place, so we can give our children the same kind of childhood I had.

We stand beneath a simple white arbor, and there are rows of chairs draped in ribbons that blow and twirl in the breeze like streamers on a moving bicycle. In the front row we have Adam, and Adam’s twin sister Carole. Genetically, she’s Katie’s mother, and I’m glad she showed up today. She spent last evening with Katie and Gabby, doing girly things that moms and daughters do, and I know she brought a sense of peace to Katie.

Behind them are Jeff’s parents the Stones, and his sister. Jeff’s mother is holding Hank in her arms. He’s jumping and making cooing noises at her, patting her face. She blows into his fist and he opens his mouth wide, landing on her face. She’s glowing. I’m glad they showed up, because Katie needed to see them. She needed their acceptance on this day.

The letter they left for me touched me deeply. I locked it in my safe so that I can keep it forever. When times get tough, I might look back at it and remember Jeff’s suggestions. I’m honored that I somehow have his approval.

The rest of the chairs are filled with people I know from work, a few of Katie’s friends from home, and people from the complex who are now our friends. My police chief is here, too. He walked up to me and looked at me over the rims of his glasses. “I told you to get a dog, Jake. I didn’t tell you to get a whole damn family.”

I shrugged, smiled, shook his hand, told him that the dog was
one
of the best things I ever did—reuniting with Katie and acquiring her family was the very best thing I ever did—and then someone ushered him to a seat, along with his wife.

Trixie and Sally appear at the end of the aisle. She tells Sally to sit, and the damn dog plops his fat rear end right down. He slurps Trixie up the side of her face and she giggles. I can hear her all the way at the other end of the aisle.

Sally’s fur is still coming in on one side from the emergency surgery that saved his life, and he has some scars that will never fade entirely. Trixie says they give him character. I think he has enough character for a dozen dogs. Right now, he’s wearing a purple tutu and his nails are painted pink.

I hear Carole whisper to Adam, “You two would have a granddog who’s a cross dresser.”

Adam playfully elbows her in the side and she clamps her lips together. I chuckle into my fist. Carole winks at me. I wink back.

Pop, Alex, and Fred stand with me, and I watch as Trixie passes out white carnations to everyone who came to watch us get married. She takes her time with it, and Sally watches her every move. Then she goes to stand with Laura and Gabby, who are waiting on the other side of the altar. Sally sits at her feet.

The music changes suddenly and everyone rises. Katie steps out where I can see her. All the hair on my arms stands up. My mouth goes dry. My jaw falls open. My heart starts to thud.

She’s holding tightly to Dan’s arm. Originally, she asked both her parents to walk her down the aisle, but Adam declined. He said he’d be too nervous to walk, and that he wanted to enjoy it from the aisle seat.

Katie smiles at me as she walks slowly toward me. Her dark hair is piled high on her head, exposing her long, slender neck. Dampness burns my eyes when I see that she’s wearing my mother’s pearl necklace. I’d recognize it in my sleep. I’d recognize it with my eyes closed. I’d know it anywhere. I even know it around Katie’s neck.

I look at Pop and find him choking back tears. “You’re welcome,” he whispers. I wipe my eyes and clear my throat.

Damn, she’s beautiful. And having her here, in this place where it all started…well, that makes this even better. It makes it
perfect
.

She and Dan step up beside me. “Hi Jake,” she says. She sniffs and wipes her cheek. “You look very handsome.”

“You take my breath away,” I mutter.

“You guys want to wait until I go sit down?” Dan asks out of the corner of his mouth.

“Not really,” I say at the same time Katie says, “No, thank you.” We both laugh, and Dan lets out a chuckle too.

The pastor starts the ceremony, and asks who gives this woman to be married. Adam jumps to his feet and he, Dan, Gabby, Alex, and Trixie all scream at once, “We do!”

Katie laughs and Dan kisses her cheek, places her hand in mine, and goes to sit. I see him slip his hand inside Adam’s, and Adam leans against him for support.

We get to the vows, and Katie turns to face me.

“Hi Jake,” she whispers.

“Hi Katie,” I whisper back.

“The couple has written their own vows,” the pastor says. He motions to Katie.

“Hi Jake,” she whispers again.

“Hi Katie,” I whisper back. Again.

Katie’s voice is strong and sure when she goes on. “I fell in love with you when I was sixteen years old, Jake. And right then, I wasn’t ready to be your wife. I needed to do a few things, meet a few people, have a few children, and then I had to find my way back to you. But when I got here, here you were. You were open and willing, and I think you fell in love with my kids at the same time that you fell back in love with me.”

I chuckle. “I did.”

“I promise, Jake, to love you through all things, forgive you through all things, and persevere with you through all things. I promise to forgive easily, to love honestly, and to value you always. I love you, Jake, and I want to feel like this forever. I hope you’ll be a father to my kids, a husband to me, a friend to everyone, and I hope we die still loving one another the same way we do today, if not more.”

She wipes her eyes again. “Your turn,” she whispers.

“I fell in love with you, Katie, when I was sixteen years old. I wasn’t ready then, though, because we both had a lot to learn. We had to grow and change so we could be ready for one another when the time came, and I have to tell you, Katie…” I lean toward her and say loudly, “I am so ready for you!”

The wedding guests let out a tiny ripple of laughter, but I carry on. “I promise to listen when you talk, I promise to talk in a way that will make you want to listen, and I promise to work together with you on all things all the days of my life. For as long as I get to keep you, I will cherish you and the children you bring with you into this marriage. I know I won’t be their father, but I hope I get to have a special place in their lives. But even more than that, I promise to love you, Katie, in the best way I know how.”

Katie smiles at me.

“Oh,” I say. “I also promise to humanely trap and release every rodent that ever tries to do you harm, and I promise never to let those gnarly beasts harm your kids in the process.”

Katie tosses her head back and laughs. A wave of laughter spreads through the wedding guests.

The pastor speaks for a few more minutes, we exchange rings, and I finally get to kiss her. She lifts her arms around my neck, holds on tight, and kisses me back. I lean down close to her ear. “You feel like summertime,” I tell her. I watch her eyes. They tell me everything.

Mrs. Stone passes Hank to Katie. She motions to her kids, and they come to join us. I kneel down and wrap my arms around all of them and Sally licks the side of my face. I scoop Trixie up. “Why did you put my dog in a tutu?” I ask her.

“He
likes
the tutu,” Trixie says, as if it’s obvious. “And he looks really pretty in a tutu.”

I never thought I could be this happy. Summertime for a lifetime.