Texas Weddings 3 & 4 (24 page)

He shrugged. “Agreed.
But I still want to give you the best. Anything wrong with that?” His cell
phone rang and he took the call.

“No. Nothing wrong
with that.” Kellie muttered the words then slipped off into her thoughts for
the rest of the trip. By the time they arrived at the condominium, she felt as
if she could fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. They took the
elevator up to the seventh floor, yawning all the way.

Nathan opened the door
to their condominium and she stepped inside. No matter how sleepy, the sheer
magnificence and beauty of this place captivated her. Granite countertops,
recently installed, gleamed. Brand new stainless steel appliances looked right
at home sitting alongside them. Wood floors, special-ordered, beckoned.
     

But Kellie only had
one thing on her mind. She
wanted.
. . no, she needed… to spend time with her husband. Nothing else mattered right now.

“I know you have to
work, but—” She teasingly unbuttoned the top button of her blouse. “I
just thought maybe we could—”

His cell phone went
off again just as she undid the second button. He answered it and she marched
into the bedroom alone. Again.

Once inside, she
changed into a worn nightshirt she had owned since high school and climbed into
bed. She turned on the television, hoping for an old movie, something romantic.
She settled on an old episode of the Andy Griffith show. At least it was in
black and white.

Kellie had just dozed
off when the bedside phone rang out, startling her. She answered it with the
most ‘awake’ voice she could muster. “Hello?”

“Is that my Kellie?”

“Mama?” She sat up
immediately, plumping the pillows to her satisfaction.

“How are you, baby?”

She leaned back
against the pillows and yawned. “Sleepy right now.
But good.
How are you?
 
How’s Dad?”

“I’m doing pretty
well,” her mother responded. “But Daddy’s still not feeling very well. The
headaches are getting worse.”

“You should take him
into see Doctor Baker.” Kellie tried to sound firm. “There must be some reason
for them.”

“We have an
appointment for tomorrow morning, Honey, so don’t worry. I’m sure everything
will be fine.” She paused a moment, and Kellie couldn’t help but notice a bit
of a change in her voice. “Now tell me, how are you and Nathan?”

“We’re fine.” Kellie
sighed as she looked across the empty bed.

“You sound tired.”

“We’re just both so
busy.” Kellie quickly changed gears, opting to keep her private life private.
No need worrying her mother unnecessarily, especially not on a day like today,
when her father wasn’t feeling well.

“Do you think you’ll
have time to slip away for a visit anytime soon?
 
I’d love to see you, and you know how
hard it is for Daddy and me to make that drive now. He’s not much for getting
out on the freeways anymore. I’m not either, to be honest. And the whole city
of Houston is looking more like one big freeway every day.”

Kellie could sense the
seriousness in her mother’s voice and responded as best she could. “You’re
right about that. And the construction is quite a challenge too.” She tried to
sound encouraging. “We’ll come soon. I promise.”

“That a girl.” She
could hear the smile in her mother’s voice. “
Greenvine’s
not that far away.
Just an hour and a half.
Lots of
people drive that far just to get to work in the city.”

“I can’t imagine
that.” Kellie shook her head. “I’m glad I live so close to the office. I don’t
know how people commute.”

“I can’t imagine, but
folks seem to do it.” Her mother paused. “I keep forgetting to tell you that
several of your friends from high school have been asking about you. Did I tell
you that Julia is pregnant?”

“Again?” Kellie
flinched upon hearing her former best friend’s name. “Wow. How old is her
little girl?
 
Just a little more
than a year, right?”

“Yes.”

“Pretty close
together, I’d say.”

“Some people do it
that way.”

Kellie calculated her
words before speaking.
 
“And some
choose to wait until they can afford to give their children a good life.”

Her mother laughed.
“Some folks would be waiting forever, then. I’m glad your daddy and I didn’t
wait till the money came rolling in. You and your sister probably wouldn’t have
been born at all.”

Kellie looked up as
Nathan entered the bedroom. He pulled off his tie and slipped out of his shoes.
He glanced in the mirror above the dresser,
then
raked
his fingers through his sandy, lopsided curls. Then he turned to face Kellie
with a wink and a pout.

“I need to let you go,
Mom.” Kellie smiled back at him, understanding his wink. “But call me tomorrow
after you get back from the doctor’s office, okay?”

“I will, baby. But
don’t worry. God’s in control.”

“Yes, He is. But call
me anyway.”

They ended their call
and Kellie looked up just in time to see Nathan slip into the spot next to her.
She nuzzled into his arm and planted tiny kisses on his cheek. “I thought you
had to work,” she whispered.

He smiled gently and
traced her cheek with his finger. “Everyone needs a day off.”

And for the first time
in quite some time, they enjoyed the rest of it. Together.

three

When the phone rang in the middle of the night, Kellie’s
heart raced immediately. She shot a glance at the clock. 2:53 A.M.

“Who is it?” Nathan’s
voice, groggy and confused, spoke out of the darkness.

“I can’t see the
caller ID. Hang on.” She rubbed at her eyes and snatched her cell phone from
the bedside table, recognizing her mother’s cell phone number.

“Hello?”

“Kellie?” Her mother’s
frightened voice greeted her. “It’s Mom.”

“Mom.” She sat up in
the bed and turned on the lamp. “What’s happened?”

“Your
daddy.
. .” Her mother’s voice broke. “
He’s.
. .”

Kellie’s heart twisted
in anticipation.

“
We.
. . we’re at the hospital. They’ve taken him for a CT-scan. Or maybe they said
an MRI.
I.
. . I can’t remember.”

“I don’t understand.”
Kellie tried to order her thoughts. Still half asleep, she struggled to
comprehend her mother’s breathless words. “Is it because of the headaches?”

“Yes. He felt much
worse this evening, so he took some Ibuprofen and went to bed around 8:30. I
was working on a craft project for the children’s church program at church. I
should have checked on him sooner.” Her mother began to sob in earnest now. “I
feel
so.
. . so bad.”

“What happened, Mom?”
Kellie’s heart pounded against her chest wall.
Dear Lord,
please.
. . please…

“I crawled into bed around 11:30 and tried to wake him. I
wanted to see if he felt better. But he wouldn’t respond.” Her mother’s words
were rushed, emotional. “I couldn’t wake him up. He wouldn’t budge.”

“Oh, Mom.” Kellie leaped from the
bed,
phone still clutched in her hand. She reached into a dresser drawer and pulled
out a pair of jeans. She pressed the phone between her shoulder and her ear and
began to shimmy into them.

“At first I thought he was just sleeping. You know what a
sound sleeper he is.”

“Yes.” Her father had always had the uncanny ability to fall
asleep anywhere and everywhere—and to sleep through anything, including
thunderstorms.

Her mother’s voice choked again. “
B.
. . but he wasn’t just asleep. At some point I just knew we were dealing with
something much more than that. That’s when I called 9-1-1.”

“What are the doctors saying?”

“They’re not sure.
Maybe a stroke.
Or an aneurysm.”

“Oh, no.” Kellie fastened the button on the top of the
jeans.
 

“What are you doing?” Nathan crawled out from under the
covers and gave her an odd look. “What’s happened?”

“It’s my dad.” She mouthed the words so her mother wouldn’t
hear. “He’s in the hospital.”

Nathan tossed the covers back and immediately flew into
action.

“Mom,” Kellie spoke with as much determination as she could
muster. “Nathan and I are coming.”

“Oh, honey. I’d be
so.
. . so
grateful.” Her mother’s sobs intensified.

Kellie made her way into the bathroom and reached for her
toothbrush. “Where are you?” She smeared toothpaste all over the bristles.

“At the hospital in Brenham.”

“Brenham?” She nearly dropped the toothbrush. “Why in the
world is he there?
 
He needs to be
here in Houston at the medical center. We’ve got the best doctors, the best
technology.”

“Honey, we were in too much of a hurry. The paramedics
wanted to get him to the closest facility and Brenham was the logical choice.”

“
But.
. .” Kellie stopped herself
before entering into an unnecessary argument. They could always arrange to have
him transferred later—with her mother’s cooperation. “We’ll be leaving
here in just a few minutes. We can probably be there
by.
. .” she glanced at the clock again.
3:00.
“By 4:45, I say.”

“Just come in through the emergency room.”

“I will. And I love you, Mom. Give dad a kiss from me.
Nathan and I will get there as quick as we can.”

“Promise me you’ll drive carefully. And pray, honey.”

“I am already.” As she hung up the phone, Kellie burst into tears.

Nathan wrapped her in his arms. “It’s going to be okay,” he
whispered as he stroked her hair.

“I don’t
know.
. .” She stood
frozen for a moment then flew into action, brushing her teeth with fervor. When
she finished, she turned to Nathan. “We’ve got to hurry. I want to get there as
fast as I can.”

“Well, you can’t go in that.” Nathan pointed to her outfit,
and for the first time, she realized that she still wore her nightshirt over
her jeans.

“Oh. Good point.” She slipped on a blouse and pulled another
one from the closet to take with her. Just in case.

“I hate to bring this up, but didn’t you say you had a
meeting at work this morning?”

Kellie stopped dead in her tracks and tried to focus. “Oh.
Yes, I do. It’s with a new investor. Great opportunity. Could be a lot of money
involved—for him and the
firm.
And ultimately
for you and me.”

“What will you do?”

Kellie sighed. “I’ll pass him off to Bernie.” She hated to
lose the opportunity, but this was significantly more important. “It’s not like
he’s alone, anyway. We’ve got a couple of trainees on our floor. They’ll do
whatever he asks.”

“That’s good.”

“What about you?
 
Anything critical happening at the office today?”

He pursed his lips. “I think I can manage, as long as I call
by 7:00 and let them know. I can always take my laptop and I’ll keep my cell
phone handy.”

“Me too.” Kellie felt guilty talking about such things when
her father lay in a hospital bed in unsure condition, but what could they do?

Within minutes, she
and Nathan were on the road, headed west on Highway 290. With her nerves a
shaky mess, she felt better that he had automatically taken the wheel. He
seemed to be calmer, cooler. She looked at him as they traveled along, new
thoughts ripping at her emotions. Her feelings for her father were strong, but
a guilty conscience tore at her as other thoughts emerged.

Lord, what
would I do if something like this happened to Nathan?
 
I love him so much. I couldn’t make it
without him.

She pushed desperate thoughts from her mind and turned to
him for comfort. “Nathan?”

“What, baby?”

“Could we pray together?”

“Of course.” He began to pray aloud and her nerves calmed
almost immediately. When he finished, she picked up where he left off, offering
an impassioned plea for her father’s health and safety. They finished the
prayer and Nathan reached to snap on some music.

“I’m thinking praise and worship music would be good right
about now.” He adjusted the stereo to play a new CD.

As he fumbled with the knobs, the words from one of Kellie’s
favorite scriptures came to mind.
I have
told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will
have trouble. But take heart!
 
I
have overcome the world.
That verse from the gospel of John had gotten her
through more than one tragedy. With God’s help, this mountain could be tossed
into the sea, as well.