Ben closed his eyes and tried to picture Joseph. “He would’ve done anything for her.”
“That’s how I felt about your mother.” The chess game was obviously forgotten for the moment. “How can this be so many Christmases without her?”
“I feel her with me.” Ben paced a few steps away and then back to his truck. “I always will.”
“And one of these days, I’ll find that diamond in the rough, Ben. Then we can take that trip to Italy. Something she always wanted.”
Ben loved his dad. Such a good heart. “It’ll happen. One of these days.”
Gary called out again, “Your turn, Howard. Let the young man go.”
“I will.” His dad’s voice grew more thoughtful. “Who’s we?”
“We?”
“Yes. We.” His dad’s tone was kind. “You said, ‘So we can look around some more.’ Who’s we? The woman you’ve been talking with?”
“Yes. Her.” Ben never held back with his dad. “To be honest, I may have found my own diamond in the rough. Mom would’ve loved her.”
“Well”—his dad’s smile sounded in his voice—“your mother always believed you’d find love again.”
“I’m starting to believe that, too.”
Cars were parking in the lot now, and what seemed like choir members began to stream into the church. Ben bid his father and Gary goodbye and hung up. All he wanted to do was surprise Vanessa and stop by her house. But if this was the time when she was going to talk to Sadie, then hecouldn’t interrupt them. His desire to be with her would have to wait.
Even so, three o’clock couldn’t come fast enough.
Vanessa picked up two lattes from Harvest Coffee in Old Town and returned home in time to hear Sadie ending a FaceTime call with Hudson. Sadie’s door was open, but Vanessa knocked on the doorframe anyway.
“Come in.” Sadie closed her laptop, pushed back from her desk, and stood. She took one of the lattes. “So nice, Mom. Thank you.”
The two hugged. “Your favorite.” Vanessa sat with her coffee on the edge of Sadie’s bed. “How’s Hudson?”
“Tense again. I think they’re in more danger.” Sadie took a sip of her coffee. “No details of course.”
“There never are.” Vanessa studied Sadie. “Did you get enough rest?”
“Yes.” Sadie looked slightly hurt. “How come you didn’t wake me? I wanted to go.”
“Aw, honey.” Vanessa felt bad. “You looked so tired. I thought you could use the sleep.”
A yawn came from Sadie. She laughed. “I guess I did.”
They were quiet for a moment, sipping their lattes. Vanessa reached back and picked up Sadie’s brown bear. “Did you mean to leave Mister Bear behind?”
Another light laugh came from Sadie. She patted the bear’s head. “Cute little guy.”
“Remember how you used to pray with him when he was scared? You’d say, ‘Mister Bear is afraid of the dark. So Ihad to remind him about Jesus.’ Then you’d hold him tight and say, ‘He’s going to be okay.’”
Sadie tilted her head, her eyes soft. “I remember.”
“Sadie, I’ve been meaning to tell you about something. For the last—”
An alarm sounded from Sadie’s phone. She gasped. “Can it wait, Mom? Classes are up!”
“Classes. For next semester?”
“Yes.” Sadie hurried back to her desk chair and opened her laptop. “I can’t wait.”
