Ken sat next to her, leaned back in his chair with his tie loosened. Jon sat to his right, and Calla sat at the table’s head, making notes in a notebook. Next to her sat Valerie, then Brad, and their mother, Rosaline Dixon.
“If your fundraisers look like this every time, count me in.” Ken smiled a tired smile.
She chuckled. “They’re not all this nice. Some have rubber chicken and a bad sound system. Having it here was a gem.”
Calla paused in her writing and glanced up. “That’s very kind. You’re welcome to use my restaurant any time.”
Knowing how Irene had offended Calla made her statement all the more humbling. “Well, I appreciate it. That means a lot.” She covered her mouth with her hand and yawned. “I am going to go home. It’s been a really long day.”
As she stood, she looked at Rosaline. “It was so good to see you again. I can’t believe you haven’t changed in fifteen years.”
Rosaline put a hand to her hair. She wore it shoulder-length. Subtle blonde highlights wove through the mahogany tresses. She had big gray eyes, a thin face, and a ready smile. “I think you’re being very kind.”
Daisy smiled. “You know my mom still has that basket you got her in Honduras. She uses it as her fruit basket. Every time I look at it, I think of you.”
“Your mother is a beautiful woman. I can see she raised a beautiful daughter. Please give her my best.”
“I will for sure.” She addressed everyone at the table. “Thank you for coming and supporting me tonight. It meant a lot.”
Brad rubbed his wife’s shoulder. She looked as worn-out as Daisy felt. “Missions are important to us. And you are important to Ken. That makes us being here kind of a given.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. She blinked them back but worried they’d fall. “Thank you.”
Ken stood with her. “I’ll walk you out.”
“We’ll be here at eight tomorrow morning to tear down, Calla. I teach a Bible study at ten on Thursdays, so we’ll get done quickly.”
“See you then.”
She and Ken walked through the empty restaurant and out the front door. The valets had brought everyone’s car to the front before they collected their pay and left for the night. She pulled her key fob out of her pocket. “What did you think?”
“It was a good event. What will you do with the money?”
She shrugged. “It’s earmarked for furniture for the Osborne’s house we’re building on Labor Day. We raised enough to get appliances and furnish the entire place.”
He put his hand between her shoulders and slowly rubbed while they walked. “My brothers and I did mission trips every summer all our lives. Mom and dad used to take us, but we went on our own once we got to high school. They wanted us to see the world without their filter.”
They reached her car, but she didn’t unlock it. Ken never had a lot of words to string together at one time, so she didn’t want to interrupt the story. “We’ve gone all over the world. We’ve seen a lot of need. It always made me look for it more here at home. Taking care of my community is the burden God placed on my shoulders. I believe bringing you into my life was just His way of affirming that.”
“Where will you go this year?”
“Actually, we decided a week ago not to go anywhere this year. Jon has something personal going on in New York. Valerie’s due, so Brad’s out.”
Daisy gasped. “Oh! How fun! When is she due?”
“Sometime in February.”
February? She wondered how close their due dates were. The parking lot light lit up his face. She could see the tenderness in his eyes. “Did you know that you came to my office one month ago today?”
He brushed a hair off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. “Is that all? Seems longer.”
“Is that a good thing?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I know I lived a life before that day, but I can’t remember anything about it.” He stared into her eyes. She could tell he searched for words. “I don’t really remember living life without you in it.”
Tell him. If you want to keep living life with him in it, you have to tell him.
She clicked the button to unlock her car. “It feels like yesterday, and it feels like five years ago. I don’t really understand the way time is moving right now.”
