Filed to story: Love on the Sidelines (Natalie & Karl)
“Mooney Orr.”
My mouth dropped open. “The slimy little shit who beat me up in fourth grade?” He grinned. “That would be the one. He said after Karl broke his nose and knocked out two of his teeth defending you, he knew you and I didn’t stand a chance.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
When we reached the front door, he paused and looked down at me. “Can I call you some time, just to talk?”
I smiled. “You can call me any time.”
“Thank you.” He dropped a kiss on my forehead. “I’ll see you later.” He was whistling as he went down the sidewalk and I hoped he was on his way to see Jenna. In spite of all we’d been through, or maybe because of it, I knew what a nice guy Hugh could be.
The next day, Friday, went pretty much like the rest of the week had gone. I drifted through it in a semi-daze, opening new accounts for several customers, doing what little paperwork Aunt Jane left me, and generally feeling useless. I even ordered more of those blasted birdbaths just to stay busy.
It was something of a relief when everyone went home that evening, leaving me to gather the receipts and lock up. I piddled for a while, delaying my departure, but there really wasn’t much reason to be there. I thought briefly about taking my Trooper for a long drive, but I wasn’t in the mood for that either.
In the end, I stopped at the store to pick up some groceries and headed home, knowing tonight would be no different than any other in the last week. I’d watch some boring show on TV until I could barely hold my eyes open, then go to bed and stare at the dark ceiling for the rest of the night, thinking about Karl.
What I didn’t expect was to find Daniel sitting on my front porch waiting for me.
I parked the Trooper, got out my bags, and was halfway across the yard before I saw him. Suddenly, my heart was lodged in my throat and my pulse was hammering until I could barely breathe. I realized I’d come to an abrupt halt and forced my awkward feet to move forward until I was standing at the bottom of the steps.
“Daniel?”
When he glanced up, he looked as haggard as I’d been feeling.
“Daniel, what’s wrong?”
“It’s Dad.” His throat moved as he swallowed, and fear shot through me.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I don’t know what’s wrong!” He sounded so desperate that I closed my eyes for a second against the pain.
“Come inside. We can talk there.”
Taking one of the bags frommyarms,hefollowedmetothekitchen.Igestured toward a chair. “Sit down.”
He slumped onto a chair and I took the one next to him, the groceries forgotten in my worry. “Tell me,” I said quietly.
“I think he’s trying to kill himself.”
“What?” The words hit me like a fist, sent me reeling dizzily, and I knew the blood had drained from my face.
“I don’t mean he’s got a gun or anything like that, but I don’t know what else to call it. He stays locked up in the house all the time, and he won’t let Bowie work on the garage or the house. He won’t eat, or shave, or anything. He just sits there. We’ve tried to talk to him, to find out what’s wrong, but he doesn’t listen and he won’t answer. And I know he’s not sleeping because I hear him walking around at night after he gets home.
I’ve never seen him like this before.”
I was shaking so hard it was a miracle I didn’t fall off the chair. “Wait, I thought you said he stays home all the time?”
“During the day he does. But every evening for the last two weeks, he leaves at the same time and doesn’t come home until after dark. We didn’t know where he was going until yesterday.”
A feeling of dread swept over me. I didn’t want to ask the next question, but I had to know. “What happened yesterday?”
Daniel looked up, his gray eyes, so much like Karl’s, meeting mine. “I followed him. He went to that cemetery near the Baptist church. Do you think that’s where his father is buried?”
“Oh, God.” I covered my face with my hands. “No. No, it’s not where his father’s buried.” It was where our daughter was buried.
“Natalie, you’ve got to help him. He’s been in love with you forever. We all know it. If anyone can get through to him, it’s you.” His voice dropped to a scared whisper. “If you don’t, he’s going to die. I don’t know what else to do anymore.” I dropped my hands and did my best to pull my shattered heart back together.
“You said he leaves at the same time every evening?”
“Yes. At seven.” Hope lit his eyes. “Does this mean you’ll talk to him?”
I glanced at the clock. It was already six-thirty. “I can’t promise it will do any good, Daniel, but I’m going to try. I’m going to try real hard.”
“Should I wait here?”
“No. I don’t have any idea how long this will take. You might as well go home. I’ll call you later.”