Page 16 of Two Hearts

“I can’t believe it. I just freaking can’t believe it.

” Jack sat on the sofa in his old apartment.

One last time, and this time he’d told Grace where he was going.

He and some of the guys from the department had gathered here to watch some sports and eat some junk food—sort of a going-away party.

His retirement would be official at the end of next week.

Anyway, JW had somehow got his hands on a videotaped college basketball game—and Jack sat there watching his delicate little wife mop up the floor with most of the other players.

“Bench warmer” was not quite the term he would have used.

He watched her post up like a pro, watched her drive to the basket to sink a reverse layup without even looking, watched her sink a three at the buzzer to win the game. And he sat there and he shook his head.

“Oh, man, where did you get that?” her voice said.

Jack turned around, startled out of his wits. He’d never wanted Gracie to see this shabby little place. But there she was, big as life, two large white boxes balanced on one hand. “Hi, hon,” she said with a smile. “I brought the pizza.”

“Pepperoni and mushroom?” JW asked.

“As per your request.”

“All right!” one of the guys yelled, and he took the boxes from her to set them on the table, while JW popped the top on a can of Budweiser and handed it to Grace.

“How’s your sister doing?” JW asked as Grace sipped from the can.

“They’re letting her come home today. She’s almost back to one hundred percent.”

“Oh, man, that’s great.”

“Wait a minute…wait a minute,” Jack said. “You guys knew she was coming?”

“Well sure. We invited her.”

“But…but…”

“Jack, shut up and listen for a minute,” JW said.

He shoved Jack into a well-worn easy chair and handed him a slice of pizza.

“Now, I know you never wanted your wife to see the way you used to live. And I know why, but I think you’ve been selling her way short.

So I called her and asked her to come. ’Cause she’s got a few things she wants to say to you. ” Then he waved an arm. “Gracie?”

Smiling, Grace took another swig of the beer, set it down, and then came to take the seat beside Jack. “You love being a cop. Admit it.”

Jack shook his head. “It’s just a job, Grace. I’ll be just as happy—”

“You’re a liar. I want you doing what you love, not what you think is socially acceptable.

JW and I had a long talk, Jack. I know all sorts of things about you that I didn’t know before.

I know about all the commendations, and about all the war stories, and the good you’ve done.

And I’m not prepared to let you give that up for me. ”

“I’m not!” he protested.

“No? Listen, Jack, I know one thing for a fact. You can’t be that good at something, unless you truly love it.”

Jack’s gaze slid from Gracie to the TV set behind her. Someone had hit the pause button and the frame, frozen on the screen with wavy lines breaking it in two, was Gracie’s face, sweaty and red, hair plastered to it, smiling broadly, eyes sparkling as she walked off the court.

“You’re right,” he said finally. “No one’s that good at something unless they love it.”

“Will you guys…excuse us for a minute?” Grace asked.

JW chucked her under the chin, gave her a wink and led the other guys to the door. “I think we need pretzels, guys. Let’s go to the corner store and get some, hmm?”

When they were alone, Jack sat there and stared into his wife’s eyes.

And she said, “JW told me about your mother, Jack.”

Jack leaned back against the sofa. “Hell, Gracie…”

“Talk to me,” she begged. “Please?”

He sighed. “I was twelve,” he finally said.

“She went to take a shower, and she stayed in the bathroom for…too long. I got worried. She wouldn’t answer the door.

So I forced it open, and found her sitting there.

Just sitting there in the shower, fully dressed, all her clothes soaking wet, with the water running down on her.

She was all curled up, and staring at nothing.

” He shook his head. “It scared me, Grace.”

“I know,” she said. “But I’ll tell you something, Jack. It’s not going to happen to me.”

He looked up at her, loving her with every cell in his body. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because if it starts to get to me, I’m going to tell you so. No more secrets. No more lies. I promise you that. I want you to be who you are, Jack, not who you think I want you to be. And who you are is one hell of a cop. And that’s who you should stay.”

Jack sighed. “What about your mother? Her friends? Your friends?”

“If they don’t accept the man I love, they aren’t friends at all,” she said.

“And as for my mother…well, there’s a big family dinner at her house tomorrow.

A welcome home celebration for Hope. And I think it would be a good time for me to learn to stand up to my mother.

I love her, Jack, but her snobbishness is misguided.

It has hurt me, and it has hurt you, and it’s still hurting Hope.

So I’m gonna tell her the truth about you, and tell her how very proud I am to be married to you, and that’s the end of the discussion. ”

“So…you’re saying…you honestly don’t want me to quit the force?”

“I’m saying I won’t let you quit the force.”

Jack felt as if a heavy weight were suddenly lifted from his shoulders. “And what are you going to tell her about you?” he asked.

Grace averted her eyes, swallowed hard. “I’m…still thinking about that one.”

“She’s not going to stop loving you any more than I did, Grace. But you’ll see. I’m gonna make things right for you from now on. And it’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”

* * *

Proudly, Grace sat beside her husband at the dinner table and said, “I have something to tell you, Mother.”

Her mother lifted her head, glanced worriedly from her husband to Jack, and back to Grace again. “You sound so serious. Surely after all this family has recently come through, nothing can be that bad, can it, Gracie?”

Grace smiled. “It’s nothing bad.”

“Well, that’s a relief. But before you go on with this, I have a few surprises planned for tonight. So, would you mind terribly, darling, letting me go first?”

Frowning, Grace shot Jack a look. He only shrugged. “Sure, Mom. Go ahead.”

Mitsy smiled, took her napkin from her lap and rose to her feet. “Good. I’m so glad to hear it.” She walked to the sideboard, opened a drawer and produced an envelope. “Your surprise.” She handed the envelope to Grace, who opened it and peered inside.

“These are airline tickets.”

“Yes, dear. First-class to New York.”

Gracie looked again at Jack, but he only shrugged. “You’re sending us on a trip to New York?”

“Yes. And don’t worry about work, Jack. I’ve already cleared this with your sergeant and your partner. Such a nice man, that JW. Why you haven’t brought him by to visit is simply beyond me.”

Grace practically felt her jaw drop open. “You…you…Mother, you knew?”

“I’m your mother, dear. Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“But…but…”

“Oh, do stop gaping, dear. Your husband and I had a long talk last night, and, well, I’ve realized that there is a whole side to you that you’ve been afraid to show me. That ends today. I won’t tolerate any more such nonsense.”

Grace blinked in shock, and looked at Jack. He smiled at her and shrugged innocently. She glanced back at the envelope she held, and frowned harder. “Mom, there are…a dozen tickets in here.”

“Yes. For the girls you’ve been coaching at that gym. You all have floor seats for one of those basketball games. They’re in there, too. The, um, oh—” she wiggled her fingers in the air as she sought for a word “—freedom…or, um, independence or some such patriotic thing….”

Stunned, Grace dug and found the tickets for the New York Liberty game at Madison Square Garden, about a month from then.

“Here’s the thing, dear. One of the assistant coaches and I went to school together. And when I called him to make these arrangements for your girls, I was very surprised to hear that you’d actually turned down an opportunity to audition for this…club.”

Now it was Jack’s turn to look surprised. “You what?”

“I was being scouted…but Jack, that wasn’t…what I wanted to do with my life.”

“Gracie, if I find out you turned this down because of me—”

“It wasn’t,” she said. “It was before I’d even met you, Jack.”

“Quite right,” her mother said. “I believe she turned it down because of me. Isn’t that right, Grace?”

Grace blinked in confusion.

“No matter. You have another chance, if you want it. Whether you take it is up to you, but I want to make it clear, darling, that I’ll be behind you…

behind both of my daughters whatever they decide to do.

As for your girls, well, your father and I have decided to sponsor their little team.

I’m going to pick out some uniforms for them this afternoon.

They’ll be needing a coach, darling, so if this other thing isn’t what you want, then perhaps you can do this.

Otherwise, Charlie has agreed to help in that capacity. ”

Steepling her fingers together, her mother took a deep breath and said, “And that’s it. We can go ahead with dessert now.” And she sat back down.

Grace blinked. “You…you got me…a tryout with the Liberty?”

“No, your skills did that. I just…facilitated.”

“Oh…my…God.” Tears stood in her eyes as she sat there, blinking them back, not believing what she was hearing. She got to her feet and went around the table, hugging her mother hard. Then she straightened again, shaking her head.

“I think she needs some air,” Jack said, coming up beside her, slipping his arms around her. “Come on, Grace. A little walk will do you good.”

He led her through the house, outside to the patio, and then down the path to the garden, right to the spot where they had first kissed.

“What are you going to do?” he asked her.

“I… Oh, Jack, I couldn’t…I’m a married woman now. It wouldn’t be fair to you—”

“Come here,” he whispered, and he pulled her close, kissed her gently. “Anything that makes you happy is fair to me. If you want to do this, I’ll be with you. My job is gonna be here waiting when I get back. And can you imagine the bragging rights I could rack up? Hmm?”

She smiled weakly. “I don’t know.”

He took both her hands in his. “I love you, Gracie. I love you for who you are, not for what you do. And you of all people ought to understand that. You just spent the past forty-eight hours drumming the same message into my head.”

“Jack…”

“Take your time, Gracie. Just know that this isn’t a decision between me and something else.

I’m a given. I’m here until you toss my sorry butt out the door.

You said you could handle being a cop’s wife.

You made me believe it. Now you better believe that I can handle being your husband—no matter what you decide to do with your life. ”

Her smile pulled at her lips as tears ran down her cheeks. “You really mean that?”

“With everything in me, Grace. I love you. I love you, and I have from the second I set eyes on you, lady. That’s not gonna change. Not ever. No matter what.”

“Oh, Jack. You can’t know what that means to me.” She kissed him gently. “I love you, too, you know. The same way. No matter what.”

“I know.” He smiled, and for the first time they were looking beyond the masks, beyond the acts, beyond the make-believe. Grace liked what she saw in his eyes when he looked at the real her, and she looked at the real him.

The real thing.

Love.

* * * * *