Manny dragged her to the first sorority party of the year. Rett would have preferred to spend the evening on the phone with Calum or her parents, but she knew socialization was important, especially as a new student. Those connections would come in handy even if it took years. So Rett promised herself she would call home first thing in the morning and spent the evening surrounded by complete strangers.
Calum was already awake and out of the house when Rett called around eight the next morning. Georgie told her he had a job interview at Mitchell’s Auto—an interview that was merely a formality, Rett knew. Malcolm Mitchell hired anyone with any sort of brains, experience not required. As long as the person was willing to learn, he was willing to give them a chance. Rett sighed, asked Georgie to have her nephew call as soon as he could, then hung up.
Manny snorted in her sleep, rolling onto her belly, and Rett grabbed her keys and phone. She might as well explore while she had half a chance.
On her walk, she called her parents. The line rang and rang, finally going to the answering machine. She swallowed down her tears and ended the call without leaving a message.
Her phone vibrated late that evening, right as she was readying for bed, and Rett pounced on it. Calum’s voice was a balm the second she heard it. She could breathe again. She listened as he talked about his new job. Mitchell might have been a congenial sort of man, but when it came to work, he was strict. He didn’t allow excuses, and he demanded the best his employees could give. Not perfection, Calum assured her, just their best efforts. All in all, Calum was certain he’d enjoy the job.
Rett beamed as warmth blossomed beneath her breast. Her husband was doing something to improve his life. He was doing something that would benefit both of them. He was making her proud.
“How’s school?” he asked after he’d exhausted the topic of the auto shop.
“It’s good,” she said quietly. “I haven’t gotten kicked out of any class for being late.”
“That’s good. You have a roommate, right? What is she like?”
“Pretty cool. She took me to a party last night.”
Calum didn’t speak for a long minute. When he did, it was a bit strangled, an indecipherable tone to it. “I’m glad you get along with her. But I’d better go. I’m tired.”
“Cal…” She sighed, swallowing thickly. “I miss you.”
“Miss you, too,” he murmured; his voice was warmer, sweeter.
“Call me tomorrow after church?”
“The second I step through the door. I love you, Retta.”
“I love you, too. ’Night.”
Manny gave her a sympathetic smile once Rett dropped her phone to the mattress beside her. She didn’t say anything, though. What was there to say? They both missed their homes and the people they left behind. The commiserating could onlyhelp so much. Rett forced a smile back and listed to the side to lie down. It was late, and she was tired.
She forged a routine over the next two months: Rett would go to classes during the week, study and do homework all day on Saturdays, and spend Sundays on the phone with her parents or Calum. It worked to keep the worst of the homesickness at bay. She still ached to be home, to witness all the changes to the town—of which there weren’t many. Darlene Hightower got promoted at the auto shop, now officially Calum’s manager. Miss Young and Mister Peterson were engaged; he’d asked for her hand on Friday, and she had said yes without hesitation. Misses Claudia, Jeanie, and Agatha had started a book club, though it had quickly devolved into gossiping. Sure, some things had changed, but Rett knew more stayed the same.
Calum had finished the living room of the trailer, from ceiling to floor. He’d even painted despite the fact he had initially relinquished that task to Rett. The bathroom was taking longer than he’d thought, but he was determined to finish it before Rett came home for her first break. She thought that maybe, even with Charles’s help, those six weeks weren’t long enough. Maybe the mobile home still wouldn’t be ready to be considered a home. She knew that Calum would try, no matter what, and she had to have faith in him.
In return for all the information he told her, Rett told him about college. About the difficulty she was having in her textile class and the study group she had joined for General Economics. She talked about Manny and her four siblings and the parents who hated their daughter being so far away. Mister and Mrs. Robinson sent care packages every two weeks. Manny always rolled her eyes, but Rett could see the love and appreciation in her roommate’s eyes.
Before she knew it, she was rushing around the dorm room in search of her clothes. They had somehow become enmeshedwith Manny’s over the previous two months, so it took longer than Rett thought it should have to find her favorite pair of shorts. But she finally finished packing, latching her suitcase with a self-satisfied smile. Manny was out grabbing lunch with their friends, so Rett wrote a quick goodbye on the dry-erase board hanging on the wall, scooped up her suitcase, and stepped out of the room. After locking the door behind her, she turned toward the exit.
Toward home.
Charles waited outside the station when the bus finally pulled in. He grunted in greeting as she climbed into the cab of his truck, and they headed back into the heart of Oak Creek in silence. Rett chewed on the edge of her fingernail and stared out the window at the silver-painted scenery flying by. Calum knew she was coming home, and he hadn’t thought to pick her up with his uncle? What did that mean? She glanced at Charles from the corner of her eye, mouth opening to ask, but then she thought better of it. That wasn’t the kind of relationship she had with Charles Stone. Shaking her head, she resumed chewing and staring.
Crickets chirped in the moisture-laden night, and Rett followed Charles inside. The screen door no longer squealed on its hinges. She found she missed the sound. It had always greeted her when she came to see Calum. Charles made his way to the room he shared with Georgie while Rett continued on to Calum’s bedroom.
Moonlight poured in through the open window, casting a silver glow to his bare skin, and his snores joined the cacophony of nocturnal insects outside. His face was turned toward the door, lax in his sleep. Rett set her suitcase on the floor by the door and padded on silent feet to the bed. He didn’t stir even as she shoved at his arm, and she dropped her tortoiseshell glasses onto the windowsill before tucking herself carefully against hisside. Exhaling slowly, she closed her eyes and imagined she could hear his heartbeat as she let the midnight hour steal her away.
sixteen
Calum
CALUM BREATHED IN THE scent of coconut and smiled without opening his eyes. Burying his face in Rett’s hair, he threw an arm over her waist and shifted closer until her back was pressed to his chest. She’d always fit so perfectly against him, and he relished the warmth of her body despite the hot summer air already filling the room. He knew it was just past dawn by the barely-there birdsong filtering through the window. He pressed his lips to the back of his wife’s head, letting himself drift off once more.
When he woke again, Rett still slept peacefully beside him, though one of her legs had slipped off the mattress. A lock of hair lay draped across her cheek, and he knew if he turned his head, the dim light of morning would catch on the neon greenwire-rimmed glasses she’d worn since they met. A quiet snort, then Rett stirred, curling her body further in on itself. Her lashes quivered, then she opened her eyes and stared blearily at the far wall where Calum’s dresser stood. After a moment, her pink lips parted, her mouth opened widely, and she yawned as she carefully rolled onto her back.
“Morning,” he whispered, lips twitching at the pout that twisted her face. “When’d you get here?”
