Page 7 of Miracles and Marriage (Making a Family #5)

“I’m so sorry,” she said, not knowing what to do. The words sounded so inadequate. She was stunned. She never expected anything to throw Jedidiah Callahan a curve. “You two were close?”

“He raised me.”

“Oh.”

The image of her father rose. She’d be devastated if anything happened to him. Instinctively she went to Cal and leaned against his arm. She couldn’t put hers around him; they weren’t that close. But she could stand beside him and let him know she was there.

They stood in silence for a long moment, then he sighed.

“I have to go make burial arrangements and see to things. It was just the two of us.”

“Where did he live?” she asked.

“Richmond. I grew up there. I visited last August. I talked to him just a couple of days ago. Everything was fine.”

She knew he was hurting. And oddly enough she hurt for him.

“I’ll go with you,” she offered.

“Why?” he said, without moving.

“Because you don’t need to be alone at a time like this. Unless you’d prefer Emily or someone else to go with you? Suzette?”

“Her name is Suzanne and she’s the last person in the world to go anywhere with me. Emily has her own family. She’s only my secretary.”

And I’m only a senior analyst, but I want to go with you, she thought.

“Then I’m it. We’ll let Emily know so she can deal with things here. You need to pack and I will, too. Do you want me to drive?”

He wouldn’t fit comfortably in her car. But she wasn’t sure he should be driving in his current state of mind.

As if she’d said it aloud, he turned and looked at her.

“I’m perfectly capable of driving to Richmond. You’d really go?”

“Yes. I would.”

She didn’t want anyone to have to deal with loss of family alone.

“You helped me out when I needed it. It’s the least I can do for you.”

Cal was instantly back in control. He called up department heads and assigned duties. Paged Emily and had her return to the office as soon as she could. Once there, he told her where to find him in Richmond and hustled Zoe out.

“We’ll stop at your place first, then mine. It’ll take almost two hours to get to Richmond.”

She thought it took longer, but then she wasn’t used to driving a speed machine.

A quick stop at her apartment for Zoe to pack several outfits, including a black suit that would be suitable for a funeral, and she was back in his car in less than ten minutes.

“Impressive,” Cal murmured as he pulled back into traffic.

“What?”

“The speed you’re capable of. Most women take longer than that in deciding what lipstick to wear.”

“I’m not most women,” she said.

The sports car was a dream. She wished Cal would put the top down but it was far too cold. What a great ride it would be in the summer months, though. Would she ever get the chance?

His apartment was not far from her sister’s. She was surprised. Though when she thought about it, she couldn’t say why, except she always pictured Cal at work, or on an assignment, not lounging around an upscale apartment.

“I’ll be equally as fast,” he said, pulling into a parking slot beneath the building. “Want to come up?”

“Sure.”

He hadn’t accompanied her, but she was curious about his apartment.

The elevator whisked them up in seconds. When he opened the door, she was pleased at the warmth of the living space. The muted browns, creams and navy tones went perfectly together. The sofa looked comfortable enough to nap on, and large enough to hold several adults.

“I’ll be only a few moments,” he said, disappearing down the hall.

Zoe wandered around the living room. The big-screen TV was another surprise.

She couldn’t picture Cal sitting still long enough to watch a show.

He always seemed to have too much energy.

There were paintings on the walls—mostly of scenery, though one wall had a grouping of small pictures of New Orleans scenes.

She was charmed by the historic dwellings captured.

She wondered what the rest of the flat looked like, but now wasn’t the time to ask for a tour.

After all the years she’d known him, she knew so little about him. The years they’d spent together at work didn’t give her insight into his life.

In only a couple of moments, he was back and they were on their way.

As they sped south, Zoe wondered what she was doing. She’d worked with Cal, but they weren’t precisely friends. Yet she couldn’t let him face the coming tasks alone.

“Tell me about your uncle,” she said some time later.

She knew talking about people kept their memories alive. Her best friend had died when they’d been in college. She still missed Edie. There weren’t too many people around who Zoe could talk to about her friend. Each time helped a bit.

“He never married. Probably thought it would lead to more children and I was enough.”

“How did he come to raise you?” she asked.

“He was my mother’s brother. When she died, he stepped in. I’m sure he thought my father would eventually return, but he never did.”

“Where did he go?”

“Who knows? He took off when I was two weeks old. Couldn’t face raising a kid alone after my mom died, I guess. My mother died right after I was born. She had cancer.”

“How sad. She missed all of your growing up.”

“She should have had treatment, but said it would have harmed the baby. She risked her life to give me mine. The risk didn’t pay off. She died at age twenty-two.”

Zoe felt a pang of sympathy for the woman she’d never met. Yet she also felt a connection. She’d risk anything for her baby, including herself.

“I can understand that,” she said. “If I can get pregnant, I’ll do anything to keep the baby—to give it a healthy life.” She glanced at Cal. “You missed knowing her, but she sounds special.”

“I heard about her love and sacrifice all my life. My uncle was the one who thought she should have treatment before it was too late. Though he said more than once that there was no guarantee that earlier treatment would have saved her. At least he had me to remind him of her, he often said. It wasn’t easy for a single man to raise a kid. Not me, anyway.”

She nodded.

“A single parent’s role is always hard. That’s why God planned for two-parent homes.”

“Yet you plan on a single-parent home.”

“Maybe. Or maybe I’ll find someone I can fall in love with. But either way, I want that father to be around, not to take off like yours did. Did you mean it when you said your uncle was the last of your family?”

“Except me. My mother’s parents died when I was small. I never knew my father or his family. I wonder if he even told them I was coming. Anyway, no cousins that I know of. No elderly aunt waiting to dole out comfort and sympathy,” Cal said.

“I have lots of family…I can’t imagine being alone in the world,” she said slowly.

“I’ll manage.”

She had no doubt, but it still seemed sad.

Sometime later Cal turned off the highway onto a city street.

He wound through shopping areas and then residential, ending up pulling into a driveway to an older home.

The yard was a bit shaggy, the shrubs overgrown.

Despite that, it felt welcoming and inviting.

The large front porch was unexpected, and displayed the age of the house.

Modern homes rarely had front porches. Thanks to air-conditioning, people didn’t sit out much.

“This is it,” Cal said, gazing at the home.

Before they could get out of the car, a neighbor came from his house next door and crossed the lawn.

Cal got out to greet him.

Zoe scrambled out and gazed over the car at the two men.

“So sorry,” the older man said, reaching out to shake Cal’s hand, gripping it with both of his.

“It’s a shock. You found him?”

“We were going to the hardware store together. I wanted some hinges, Hal said he needed some paint. JE said you’d be coming home one of these days to give him a hand with the bathroom.

So when he didn’t answer, I went back and got the key I had and opened the door.

He was still in bed. Died in his sleep, it looks like.

I’m going to miss him. We’ve been friends for more than thirty years. ”

Cal nodded. He glanced at Zoe.

“Sam, I want you to meet Zoe Blackstone, a friend. Zoe, this is Sam Friedman. He was a good friend of my uncle’s.”

Zoe greeted the man, feeling his sadness at the circumstances. He seemed almost bewildered at the loss of his longtime friend.

Cal spoke with Sam for a little longer, then unloaded the bags from the car. He motioned for Zoe to proceed him to the front door. Putting the suitcases down, he unlocked the door and opened it.

She stepped inside. It was an old home, but clean and kept up.

Cal followed her in and stopped, glancing around.

“It seems strange to know he’ll never come from the back of the house when I get home and give me a hug.”

“Tell me what I can do,” Zoe said.

“See if there’s anything for lunch. I’m hungry. Then we can head for the funeral home and do what we’ve come for.”

That night Zoe went to bed in a guest room that looked as if it hadn’t been used for a decade.

She’d made up the bed with clean sheets.

The room was dusted, but not decorated. It was utilitarian, with a few piles of books and other items that looked as if they’d been stashed a while ago and forgotten.

She settled in and stared into the darkness. Cal had managed fine during the afternoon. They’d met with the funeral director and the minister from Hal’s church. The service would be in two days.

Cal had gone through the motions appropriately, but she felt the tight control he held. He was grieving yet hiding it behind a wall of strength.

She knew how that felt. She’d cried for weeks when Edie died. She still got sad when she thought about all her friend missed. Zoe had gradually accepted she would forever miss Edie. How much more would Cal miss the man who had raised him?

How much worse would it be if there was no one around to share the grieving with? She was glad she’d come.