Chapter Forty-Six
“W ell, is married life all it’s cracked up to be?” Vickie asked, curling up on the couch. It had been one long day. Or week. Really, it had been a long month.
“It is fantastic.” Kristy’s glee came through the phone line. “I don’t want to gush too much, and I promise I’m not going to be one of those annoying newly married girls who keeps saying ‘my husband’ blah, blah. But it pretty much rocks.”
Vickie laughed. “Good. You know I’ve always hated those girls.” Vickie and Kristy had spent years poking fun of their recently married friends who suddenly came down with the ‘my husband’ syndrome. Every time Vickie listened to one of them replace the guy’s name with his new title, she wanted to stop them. I was at the wedding. I know he is your husband. His name is Bob. You have called him Bob for the past five years. Please just refer to him as Bob.
“I’m only going to say this to you,” Kristy said. “Not Ainsley, because I don’t want to upset her.” She sighed. But knowing I get to go home to my best friend every night makes my whole life better. It’s like, I know there’s nothing we can’t face together. Does that sound way too mushy?”
“Not at all. In fact, I think I’d be a little worried if you didn’t feel that way.” Vickie paused. “But. . .” she trailed off. “Now, this is only a suggestion, but if you don’t mention your marriage to Ainsley, she’s going to know you’re doing it on purpose. And I honestly think that will make her feel worse. She’ll be glad to hear about your happiness.” Vickie and Ainsley had gotten the chance to visit more after the wedding, and she sensed that her friend, although clearly still grieving, was starting to come out of the cloud she’d been under for the past year. The only worry with that was that some of the numbness might wear off and make the hurt more painful. Only time would tell.
“You’re probably right. I think your talent is wasted as a park ranger. You should totally replace Emily Post or whoever it is that gives out advice.”
“I think Emily Post is about good manners, maybe you’re thinking of Abby?” Vickie laughed. “If only I could give my own self good advice though. I’m sure that’s the real mark of a good advisor.”
“Uh oh. Is the professor misbehaving?”
Vickie filled Kristy in on the latest and waited for her reaction.
“Hmm. I don’t know, Vick. I still say he runs hot and cold too much for my liking. It’s almost like he pulls you to him and then pushes you away.” She paused. “Do you think he has a split personality?”
Vickie laughed. “No. His personality is fine. I think he just doesn’t know what he’s doing. I don’t think he’s been in many relationships.”
“How do you know? Have you talked about it?”
“Well, no. Why? Do you think we should?” Vickie inspected a broken pinky nail. She needed to schedule a manicure soon or else she was going to start looking completely unkempt.
“I think it’s time to find out what kind of baggage he’s carrying around. You know, the figurative kind. That might explain his behavior.”
Vickie sighed. “But then I’ll have to tell him I’ve never been in a serious relationship.”
“True. But you are the queen of first dates.” Kristy giggled.
“Thanks a lot.”
“Sorry.” Kristy paused for a moment. “But seriously. If you think this guy has the kind of potential you seem to think he does, then he needs to know that anyway. Honesty is the way to go. Always.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Um, didn’t I just have my dream wedding? Let me at least consider myself an expert in happily ever after for a few days.”
Vickie grinned. “Fine. He’s picking me up Saturday. I promise to try and find out the dirt on him.”
“I love it when you’re armed with a plan. I can always count on you following through because it will be something you get to check off of your mental ‘to do’ list.” Kristy laughed.
“Yep. And number one on my list for Saturday: find out about Thatcher’s past.”
∞∞∞
Saturday afternoon, Vickie threw her phone and a notepad into her bag and headed downstairs to wait for Thatcher.
“Hold it right there.” Dawn’s voice stopped her in her tracks.
Vickie turned, a grin on her face. “I’ll bet I know what you want to show me,” she said.
Without a word, Dawn held out her left hand.
Vickie let out a tiny squeal. “Oh, it’s so beautiful.” And it was. A simple, round solitaire in a platinum setting. There was nothing better than classic jewelry. The size of the diamond wasn’t too shabby either.
“Thanks.” Dawn beamed. “You know the best part? Jason actually found this one. We went into the jewelry store and were looking at all the rings. He spotted this one and declared it was the one. And he was right.” She looked Vickie up and down, as if seeing her for the first time. “Where are you headed, dressed all cutely like that? That isn’t a normal Saturday errands-to-run kind of ensemble.”
Vickie glanced down at her outfit. She had made an extra effort today. She wore a grey sweater dress with a low-slung black belt. Black tights and slouchy black boots completed the look. “Thatcher is picking me up.” She grinned and filled Dawn in on his plea for assistance.
“Is that right?” Dawn’s blue eyes twinkled. “My guess is that he was already looking for an excuse to see you and it just so happened he could chalk it up to work.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Have fun.”
“Thanks,” Vickie called as she took the final flight of stairs. She spotted his truck pulling into a space just as she exited the building.
They spent the better part of two hours traipsing around D.C. They visited Ford’s Theatre, the Museum of Natural History and ended at the National Archives.
They climbed back in the truck, exhausted. “I think I could put together an entire semester—no wait, make that an entire year of studying just sites that are right here,” Thatcher said, starting the truck.
Vickie nodded. “And that’s not even counting all the places in the surrounding area. There’s Arlington.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s a given.”
“Mount Vernon isn’t far. And then there are a number of Civil War battlefields around.” She smiled. “I remember when I was in college, studying abroad for a semester. One of the things that sticks out the most was that before we traveled as a group to Rome, our professor had us draw names, places or items out of a hat. Whatever we drew, we had to prepare a little report on and give it when we were actually on the spot.”
“What was your assignment?”
“The Arch of Septimius Severus. It’s in the Roman Forum.” She laughed. “See? Your students will remember your hands-on approach to history even years after they’ve graduated.”
He looked over at her. “How many years has it been?”
Vickie made a face. “Not as many for me as for you.”
“Touche.” He grinned. “Hey, are you up for working at my place?”
“I’ve got nowhere to be today, so that sounds great.” She had to admit, she was a bit curious about where he lived. Sure, she’d seen his fishing cabin. But that wouldn’t be as telling as his home. “Where do you live? I don’t think you’ve ever said.”
“Columbia Heights. Just north of Dupont Circle.”
Fifteen minutes later, Thatcher parked along a residential street lined with townhomes and large trees.
“This looks like a quaint neighborhood.”
Thatcher grinned. “That’s exactly what I thought when I first saw it. Wouldn’t this be a quaint place to live?” he said in a mock British accent.
Vickie laughed and followed him up the stairs that led to a nice sized porch. “I like your porch swing,” she said.
He grinned. “I wish I could take credit for it. It sort of came with the house. But I do enjoy it, especially when the weather is pleasant.”
She looked up at the two-story townhome. “This is really nice.”
“Thanks. I’ve been here for the past seven years. Before that I rented. Once I turned thirty though, I figured it was time to buy.”
“And here I thought I was the only one feeling the pressure to grow up.”
Thatcher opened the door and ushered her inside. Buster popped up from a red dog bed near the couch. He bounded over to Vickie, wriggling with excitement.
“Hi, Buster boy.” She scratched behind his ears.
“Let me put him out back,” Thatcher said. “Feel free to look around.”
The open floor plan made the place seem much larger than it had appeared from the outside. The living room, dining room and kitchen blended together, forming what seemed like one large space separated by furniture rather than walls. “This is a really great place,” Vickie said, once Thatcher returned.
He grinned. “Once again, the decorations are compliments of my sisters.”
“They have great taste.”
Thatcher nodded. “They would love you.”
She stared at him. Was he hinting that he wanted her to meet his family? Surely even Kristy and Ainsley would see that as a good sign, right? “I’m sure I would love them too.”