Chapters 4-6
Katherine had just settled herself in her favorite chair and was sipping the tea that Rosalie always had waiting for her when the doorbell pealed loudly.
Rosalie touched her shoulder. �I�ll get it.� She was back in a few minutes bearing a long white florist�s box. �Did I forget your birthday or something?� she asked, laying the box across Katherine�s lap.
�No, but when it comes around, you�d better forget it if you want to remain my favorite daughter-in-law.�
Rosalie laughed. �Well, aren�t you going to open it?�
The box held a dozen red roses and a card.
Roses are red.
Ribeyes are juicy.
I�m taking you out,
So you better get sprucy.
Mac
�Well, he certainly has his nerve!�
�He?� Rosalie tried to get a look at the card. �He?�
�A temporary replacement at the hospital�he should have stayed retired in Arizona!�
Rosalie captured the card. �Oh, for heaven�s sake!� She began to laugh.
�He�s�impossible!�
�Oh, do something totally out of character and let him take you to dinner,� Rosalie urged. �I won�t tell on you.�
�It�s bad enough that I have to work with him! I don�t have to spend my free time with him, too!� Katherine plunked the box on the library table. �Honestly! Honestly!� She left the room hurriedly.
Rosalie couldn�t stop giggling as she arranged the roses in a vase and set them on the piano. Roses in December weren�t cheap, she reflected. She pictured her mother-in-law in her mind�Katherine looked at least ten years younger than her age. She was a petite woman but incredibly strong and almost totally unflappable. One summer, when little Teddy had slipped through the balcony railing and was dangling ten feet above the ground, Katherine had calmly hauled him up again�all thirty solid pounds of him�set him on his feet, and told him firmly that if he wanted to play in the yard, he should go downstairs and out the front door�not off the balcony.
Her thick auburn hair had turned salt-and-pepper in the last ten years, and Rosalie had heard Katherine bemoan the fact that her mother�s hair had been solid silver at fifty. But the sea foam green eyes were as deep and clear as ever�and Rosalie was convinced that they could see right through a person into his very soul.
All in all, Katherine Barkley Wardell Emerson was not so far removed from her youthful beauty. Rosalie was surprised that someone hadn�t snapped her up before now. John wouldn�t have objected�he�d said so more than once. Vicky might have hesitated, but she�d have come around, too. She adored her mother and sincerely wanted her happiness.
Thirty-eight was a relatively young age to be widowed and remain unmarried. Rosalie shivered. Before this war was over, there were going to be so many widows much, much younger. She didn�t know what she�d do if John. . . She stuck the last rose in the vase and went out to the kitchen to see about supper.
* * * * * * * *
Katherine was admonishing Jack and Teddy to spread their napkins in their laps when the doorbell pealed. �I�ll get it this time,� Katherine said.
�Ready to go hunt up those ribeyes?� Mac Neville stood on the porch, looking as rumpled in his jacket as he had in his hospital coat, and grinning from ear to ear.
�Dr. Neville, I didn�t agree to go out with you tonight�or any other night.�
�Didn�t you get my note?�
�Yes, I got it�the roses are lovely, by the way�thank you�but I�m just about to sit down to dinner with my grandchildren.�
�What are you having?�
�Meatloaf.�
He made a face. �When there are ribeyes to be had?�
�Dr. Neville, I. . .�
�It sure is cold out here, Could we discuss this inside?�
She stood aside to let him in and closed the door. �There�s nothing top discuss.�
�You�re sure about that?�
�Quite sure.�
�Who is it, Katherine?� Rosalie called from the kitchen.
�Someone from the hospital, and he�s just leaving.�
Rosalie stuck her head around the corner. �Oh�you must be Dr. Neville. Hello, I�m Rosalie Emerson, Dr. Wardell�s daughter-in-law.�
He bowed. �How do you do, Rosalie Emerson. Do you have any influence with this lady?�
�Not much. But I do have a rather large meatloaf. Would you like to join us?�
�Rosalie!� Katherine turned around quickly to look at the younger woman with real irritation.
�Oh, Katherine, it will be nice to have another face at the table for a change.� She disappeared into the kitchen.
Mac began to unbutton his coat. �What a nice girl!�
Katherine glared at him. �She�s skating a very thin line right now!�
* * * * * * * *
He kept Rosalie and the boys laughing throughout the meal�telling stories and performing small sleight-of-hand tricks. Once or twice he thought he saw Katherine almost laugh, too. When supper was over, he followed the family into the library as if he belonged there. �Nice house,� he observed.
�It belonged to my parents.�
�You grew up here then?�
�Yes.�
�What about you, Mrs. Emerson? Is Nashville your home?�
�I was born here, but John�s been posted to four different places since we�ve been married.�
�Well, travel is broadening.�
�Oh, yes�we�ve enjoyed everywhere we�ve lived. Jack was born in North Carolina and Teddy in Texas.�
He watched the boys playing on the floor with their building blocks and toy cars. �They�re nice little guys.�
�John and I think so.�
Mac Neville looked at Katherine. �And I suppose that granny spoils them.�
�Certainly not!� Katherine said.
Rosalie smiled. �Not much.�
Mac and Rosalie kept up the conversation until the clock on the mantle struck nine. �Time for bed, boys,� she said.
With a little prodding, they put away their toys in a wicker basket beside the fireplace and then hugged and kissed their grandmother. �Sweet dreams, darlings,� Katherine said. They shook hands with Mac, wanting to know if he�d be there for breakfast to do more tricks.
�No!� Katherine said firmly.
Rosalie had a hard time not laughing as she hurried her sons out of the room.
�They�re nice little guys,� Mac Neville tried again. �I never had children�and I�m sorry.�
Something in his voice caught Katherine�s attention. �Children are�a blessing.�
�I married when I was in medical school. It just never happened. Then I went overseas during the first war, and she�she found someone else while I was gone.�
�I�m sorry.�
�Well, after almost twenty years with a woman, you don�t expect something like that.� He shrugged. �But it happened.�
Katherine�s irritation dropped away. She, like her brother Nick, had a tender heart. �My husband died in the influenza epidemic after the war.�
�I heard. I heard he was a good doctor, too.�
�Yes, he was�very thorough, very compassionate.�
�You had your children, of course.�
�I don�t know what I�d have done without them.�
�You said you grew up here, but you went home to a ranch in California during the summers. I�m curious about that.�
Katherine gave him a brief explanation.
�Do you still have family there?�
�Dozens and dozens of them�but all my brothers and my sister are gone. Jarrod, the oldest, had a stroke and then took the flu. My sister Audra died of cancer like Mother. Nick�well, I think maybe Nick just died of a broken heart after his wife went. The others�Heath and Gene�they died in the thirties, so I had them a little longer.�
�My sister lives in Denver with her family�husband, two daughters, five grandchildren. I don�t see her too often, but we keep in touch.�
Katherine wasn�t aware that they�d talked for two hours until the clock chimed eleven. �I didn�t mean to keep you so late,� Mac said.
�It�s all right.� She walked with him to the door. �Dr. Neville. . .�
�Mac.�
�Mac, I�m sorry I was ungracious earlier, but you do have an irritating quality about you.�
He grinned. �So I�ve been told. Think we might hunt up those ribeyes tomorrow night?�
She shook her head. �I give up.�
�Does that mean yes?�
She opened the door. �Yes. Goodnight.�
Chapter 5
By Christmas, Mac Neville had managed to ingratiate himself with the entire hospital staff�including Dr. Katherine Barkley Wardell. Not only was he a excellent physician�his diagnostic skills approaching amazing and his bedside manner approaching perfect�but Katherine was beginning to see a man who hid his vulnerability behind a wall of casual, self-deprecating humor.
He was at the house frequently, much to the delight of Jack and Teddy and the amusement of their mother. He helped them trim the tree and wrap gifts and wangled an invitation to Christmas dinner, which he helped prepare. On New Year�s Eve, he escorted Katherine to a formal dance at one of the city�s posh hotels. She protested that she hadn�t danced in twenty-five years, but he said it had been even longer for him and that they�d disgrace themselves together.
Katherine had to admit that, despite his brash manner, he was a perfect gentleman, and she grew comfortable with him. Sometimes she thought he deliberately cultivated his rough speech to throw people off�because he was an astute judge of people and politics and widely read. Part of him reminded her of Nick�and the other part reminded her of her father.
Rosalie was waiting up for her after the dance. �I stayed up writing to John,� she said. �Did you have a good time?�
Katherine unpinned her orchid and laid it aside. �It reminded me of the parties I went to when I was a girl.�
�Were you a belle?�
�I suppose so. By virtue of being Royce Wardell�s daughter, I had entrance into elite society. I always wondered if my origins were the subject of discreet gossip behind my back, but by that time, I didn�t care. I knew who I was. Let�s go up to the sitting room, Rosalie. I�d like to change.�
Rosalie brought up the inevitable tea, and the two women settled down to visit. �I�ve often wondered why your origins�as you call them�were even known in Nashville.�
�My parents were old enough to be my grandparents�that became more apparent as the years passed. So, of course, people wondered if they were rearing a grandchild�you know, one of those indiscretions that happen in the best of families. One piece of gossip led to another, I suppose. Mother and Papa never felt it necessary to explain to anyone how they happened to have me. I was theirs�that�s all.�
�Well, of course you were.�
�Mother was every inch a lady�in the strictest sense of the word, you understand. But she�d accepted Heath without reservation, and I think she felt that people should accept me the same way.�
�That seems reasonable.�
�It was to her anyway.�
Rosalie was silent for a moment. �I wish I�d known your parents, Katherine. I wish John had known his grandparents. He�s told me stories about them.�
�He listened to every word that was said whenever we visited the ranch, and we talked about Mother and Royce�and Tom Barkley�often.�
�It seems like another world.�
�It was. Oh, it certainly was. Tom Barkley and Mother carved their empire out of an empty wilderness, and Papa rode with the cavalry where cities stand today.�
�And fought in the Civil War.�
�Yes. It cost him everything�his commission, his friends of long-standing, his wife. . .�
�You�re named for her.�
�That�s right.�
�Did she really die�that way?�
�Yes.�
�You should write down all these stories�for Jack and Teddy if for nothing else. And Vicky will marry and have children someday. She won�t grieve for Charley the rest of her life.�
�I hope not.� Katherine stared into the gas grate with its steady yellow and blue flames. Sometimes she thought they symbolized not only the passages of her life but its inevitable end. They burned inexorably, but she could turn them off. Life was that way, too�the brightness and then the snuffing out.
�I might write them down someday,� she replied finally. �If I ever have the time.�
�I know. The war.�
�Yes, the war.
Katherine remained watching the flames after Rosalie had gone to bed. Mother, Papa, Audra, Jarrod, Teddy, Nick. . .one by one they�d burned so brightly and then gone out. She�d clung to Heath and Gene even more tightly when they were all that was left, and the two brothers had turned to each other, too. Heath and Nick had been so close, and when Nick was gone, Heath didn�t seem to know what to do with himself. Gene spent less time in his law office and more at the ranch then�and they�d both come to Nashville twice a year to see their little sister.
Their last trip had been in 1932 when John graduated from West Point. Vicky was twelve then. She hadn�t known Audra or Jarrod and barely remembered Nick, but she adored her remaining uncles, and they doted on her.
They�d gone by private car to New York, stopping in New York City to see a show on Broadway and visit a few museums. After the graduation ceremony, John had leave to come home for twenty days, and they departed in high spirits. The night before they arrived in Nashville, they sat up late reminiscing about the past and speculating on John�s future. Katherine had felt some of the old warmth and security surround her. Finally, they�d said goodnight with hugs and words of affection.
When Gene tapped on her sleeping compartment the next morning, his stricken face told her everything. She�d practically pushed him aside to get to Heath, but she knew immediately that it was too late�that it had been too late for some time. The better part of John�s leave was taken up with returning Heath�s body to the Valley for burial.
Katherine shook herself from her reverie. Old age, she told herself sternly. Old age and this kind of thinking. . . But then, she�d felt so young earlier tonight�so young moving across the dance floor in Mac�s arms.
* * * * * * * *
Vicky received her first leave in June and came straight home. She looked tired but fit and seemed more at peace that she had before she went away. Katherine�s classes were in recess during that time, so she had more time to spend with her daughter. Just having Vicky home seemed to fill up the house that often felt empty even with two active little boys in it.
Mac and Vicky hit it off immediately. Katherine was a little surprised, but she hid it well. She wasn�t prepared, however, for Vicky�s direct question the night before she left to return to Texas. �So, when are you getting married, Mother?�
Katherine turned her back to hide her discomfort. �What kind of question is that, Victoria?�
�When you call me Victoria, I know there�s something afoot.�
�I�m not going to marry Mac Neville.�
�You like him, don�t you?�
�I like him very much, but I�m not in love with him, and even if I were. . .�
�Even if you were�what? You�re too old? Too set in your ways?�
�This discussion isn�t going any further.�
Vicky put her arms around her mother. �All right, I�ll hush. But Dr. Neville is in love with you, and I don�t think he�s going to be a pushover the way I am.
* * * * * * * *
In the fall, John came home on leave. Katherine kept Jack and Teddy while their parents went to Atlanta for a second honeymoon. To everyone�s delight, John was still home at Christmas. He spent a lot of time in Washington, D.C., and he never talked about what he was doing, but nothing mattered except having him home.
Like Vicky, he got on well with Mac Neville from the beginning. If he was curious about the man�s relationship with his mother, he didn�t betray it�nor did he ask any questions. Then, in January, he was summoned back to London. �The next time I come home, it will be for good,� he promised his mother. �The war won�t last forever.�
As the months dragged on, though, so did the war, and Katherine thought she�d forgotten what it was like to live just for the day without wondering what tomorrow would bring. They were busier than ever at the hospital�and more understaffed. She and Mac seemed to spend their time together in the doctors� lounge drinking coffee and making notes on charts instead of going out for dinner or to the movies.
* * * * * * * *
June 6, 1944. D-Day. Invasion. The end of the beginning. People spent every spare moment huddled around a radio somewhere to hear the news. By August, the telegrams had begun to arrive. Regret to inform you. . .killed in action. . .missing, presumed dead. . . Nashville. . .Stockton. . .
Trevor�s son James. Heath�s grandson Bill. Too much. . .too many, Katherine thought. She and Rosalie cringed every time they saw the Western Union delivery boy pass the house�and then thanked God when he didn�t stop.
* * * * * * * *
On V-E Day, church bells rang and people thronged the streets of every city and town all over the country. Katherine and Mac sat with Rosalie in the library listening to the news bulletins. It was over�in Europe at least�but in the Pacific, the fighting raged on. There were two more Barkley boys there�and Will Trowbridge�s grandson and son-in-law.
She walked with Mac to his car later that evening. �The Japanese will fight on to the last man,� he said. �That�s their code.�
�I can�t bear it, Mac,� she murmured and didn�t protest when he held her against his chest. �I can�t bear anymore death.�
He didn�t reply, because there was nothing to say.
Chapter 6
It was hot that August of 1945, hotter than Katherine could ever remember it being in Nashville. She felt sticky by nine o�clock in the morning, and she took long, cool showers every evening when she got home. The next morning it started over again. She began to avoid looking in the mirror because she didn�t want to see the fine lines forming on her heretofore smooth face.
Mac looked worn, too. He wanted to go home to Arizona, but his going would leave too large a hole in the staff, and he knew it. But he talked about going�the day after the war ended, he said, not one day later.
John was still in London, and Vicky had been in California for almost a year. She was near enough to Stockton to go to the ranch whenever she got a leave. It made Katherine feel that she was almost home.
The letter from Elizabeth Trowbridge on the third of August brought news of her husband�s death. �He went quickly and peacefully, Katherine dear. I miss him, but I don�t begrudge him his rest. We had thirty-six wonderful years. I�ve often thought that, but for you, he might not have made enough peace with himself to chance a relationship�and I�ll be forever grateful. Vicky was able to come to the funeral. I told her not to write to you�that I wanted to do it. I knew you couldn�t come. Tessa�s husband is home safe. He�ll have shore duty, at least for awhile. Eric�s boy was wounded at Iwo Jima�he lost a leg but not his life�for which we give thanks. I think of you often, my dear, and send my love to you and yours.�
Katherine had shared her story with Mac long ago, and now she shared the letter with him. �I remember he said once that yesterday was over�or something like that. But I wonder, Mac, is it really? Can it ever be over?�
�I don�t think we ever really forget yesterday�if that�s what you mean.�
�I don�t want to forget, Mac. My yesterdays were wonderful. I don�t want to lose them completely.�
He sighed. �I thought about asking you to marry me awhile back, but I knew what your answer would be.�
She reached across the table and took his hand. �Oh, Mac, you know I care about you, but. . .�
�But you�re not in love with me.�
�Not that way.�
�Well, it was a thought anyway.� He patted her hand. �We�ve made a pretty good team professionally though.�
�I think so.�
�John and Vicky seemed to think they were going to get you off their hands.� He chuckled.
�They�ll have to think again.�
He looked at his watch. �Well, come on, Dr. Wardell, We two old warhorses have to circle the corral one more time before we can go home.�
�Old warhorses?� She pretended offence.
He took her arm. �Well, maybe one�and a pretty filly.�
* * * * * * * *
It was over. It was finally over. There were more church bells and throngs of people celebrating in the streets. Katherine, Rosalie, and the boys went to church instead. Afterwards, Mac took them out to dinner.
The next morning at the hospital, Katherine asked him if he was packed.
�Packed?�
�Well, you said you were leaving the day after the war was over, and it�s the day after.�
�Trying to get rid of me?�
�I�ll miss you.�
�I�ll miss you, too.� He fingered a strand of hair that had fallen out of the coil of hair she wore low on her neck. �Katherine. . .�
�It�s time for rounds, Mac.�
* * * * * * * *
Everyone was home for Christmas that year. Mac had gone home, too, and Katherine missed him, but she knew it was for the best. They�d shared almost four years of their lives in the best possible way�as professionals and good companions. Now they exchanged letters regularly and talked of future visits, but they both understood that letters and visits were all that there would ever be.
Two days before Christmas�her sixty-fifth birthday�she was dressing for the small party that her children had planned when the quiet of the evening was shattered by Vicky�s strident calls.
�Mother! Mother! Where are you?�
Katherine sighed. �I�m in my room, Victoria, dressing for the celebration�or wake�however you want to look at it. And please lower your voice�my hearing is still sharp.�
Vicky sat down on the bed. �Mother, you�ll never guess what I have to tell you!�
�I�m sure I won�t.�
�There�s going to be an extra guest tonight. He just telephoned.�
�Oh?�
�I met him when I was stationed in Texas, but he went on to England in forty-three. He was a pilot�flew P-47�s and never got a scratch. But the day before he was due to be mustered out, he tripped on a loose board and broke his ankle�and he only got sprung today. His train gets in at nine tonight.�
�Will he be with us for Christmas?�
�The entire holiday�he has a half-brother, but they�re not close.�
�Where is home for him?�
�New York City of all places! He�s an architect, by the way�left a good job to enlist, but he felt obligated.�
�So many did.� Katherine fastened her mother�s pearls around her neck. �Is this serious, Vicky?�
Vicky chewed her lip. �I thought my life was over when Charley was killed, and in a way it was. Charley was special, Mother. I�ll always love him in a special way. But I love Richard, too, and I want to spend the rest of my life making a home for him.�
�That sounds quite serious to me then.� She held out her arms to her daughter. �I could have told you that you�d heal, Vicky, but you had to find out for yourself.�
�Did you heal, Mother? Did you get over my father? I really thought you�d marry Dr. Neville.�
�Did I heal? Yes. Did I get over your father? Yes in the sense that I went on with my life. But I married him for love, and I couldn�t do less for Mac.�
�I�m not sure I understand.�
�I�m not sure that you can at your age.�
Vicky kissed her. �I�ve got to dress now�you look lovely, by the way, Mother�and let John know that he�ll have to host by himself when I go to meet Richard�s train.�
Katherine watched her daughter go. Well, this is what she�d wanted for Vicky�a second chance at love. But she was satisfied with her own decision. Mac Neville was a good friend�maybe the best friend she had now at this time of her life�but a marriage between them wouldn�t have worked.
She glanced at the last family picture that had been taken in Stockton. She was eighteen. Mother and Papa were still a handsome couple�but their age was apparent. She considered how beautiful Audra was�no longer a just a pretty girl but an extraordinarily striking woman. Jarrod looked every inch the elder statesman. He was already a judge then. Nick�poor Nick in his rarely-worn coat and tie! Only for Mother would he suffer such an indignity on a weekday unless it was a wedding or a funeral! Heath�that secret smile on his lips�what was it he knew? How precious their family was? Probably. And Gene�looking younger by far than the others. He�d looked young when they�d buried him at the age of seventy-five.
After Heath�s death, Gene had pretty much retired from managing the family business. He said it was time for another generation to take over, and Trevor hadn�t argued with him. He and Lucy had traveled for awhile�the Northwest, even into Canada. It was on one of these trips that he�d tripped on the hotel stairs and fallen to the bottom, breaking his neck. A younger man might have survived the injury and learned to live with what he had left�but she was glad that Gene hadn�t ever understood that he was permanently paralyzed. She shook her head and rose quickly from her dressing table. Old age and memories�a lethal combination, she thought.
* * * * * * * *
She enjoyed the party, even kept her dignity intact through the singing of Happy Birthday and the arrival of a cake blazing with candles. �We couldn�t get all of them on there, Grandmother, but we put as many as we could,� Teddy said earnestly.
Jack snickered. �Wrong thing to say, little brother.�
Katherine bent slightly and cupped Teddy�s freckled face in her hand. �How old are you now, Teddy?�
�Eight, Grandmother.�
�Then if you want to be nine, I�d suggest you not mention the number of candles that you tried to put on my cake.� She kissed him. �Understand?�
He grinned at her. �I understand, Grandmother. It�ll be our secret.�
By nine o�clock, most of the guests had drifted off. Violet Gill let Katherine help her with her coat. �Vicky told us about the young man who�s coming here tonight and promised to bring him over to meet us. We�re happy for her, Katherine. She was too young to mourn Charley for the rest of her life.�
Katherine kissed Vi�s cheek. �You�re a dear friend, Vi.�
Charley�s mother smiled. �Well, we�ll always consider Vicky part of our family.�
John had sent the boys to bed and was helping Rosalie wash punch cups when Vicky and Richard arrived. Katherine was glad there was a chair behind her when she caught her first glimpse of her future son-in-law and heard Vicky say, �Mother, this is Richard Wright from New York.�