Chapter 16
Isadora’s car was still at Amy’s house when they got back from visiting his parents. So, they fed the dogs and animals without going in. Amy didn’t see any movement, and while she could be sleeping, she was worried about Isadora.
“I’m going to text her, just to see that everything is okay, and as long as she answers me back, I don’t need to go in.”
She didn’t think Isadora was so upset that she would do anything drastic, but she knew that she absolutely could be wrong. She’d never had a heartbreak like that, and she couldn’t use her own life’s experience as a judge. Everyone’s experience was different, anyway.
“All right. Go ahead. I’m going to take the grain over to the horses,” Jones said as he shoveled a scoop of grain in each bucket and carried it over to where Belle’s and Bob’s feed containers were hooked on the fence.
Are you okay? Just let me know you’re still alive and you don’t need anything, and then I’m going to head to Mom’s.
She hit send on her phone and tried not to fidget as she waited for an answer. They had pretty much everything done, and she realized that she should have texted before they started. That would have given Isadora time to see her text and respond .
I’m fine. You can come in if you want to. I’m curled up in your bed. This thing is comfy.
She read the text, relieved, even smiling that Isadora seemed okay. For some reason, the idea that Isadora was going to do something drastic had taken a hold of her mind, and she couldn’t get rid of the thought.
Now, she knew she was okay and could tell her family that too.
She shoved her phone in her pocket, walked over to meet Jones as he dumped the feed in, and checked the water trough.
It was getting colder, although the temperatures were supposed to rise before they fell during the storm that was now forecasted to come on Tuesday.
He stopped to scratch Bob’s head, and Amy went to Belle, so she wouldn’t feel left out.
“Is she okay?” Jones asked, and Amy nodded.
“She’s fine. She’s still in bed, but I think maybe she just needs rest. She hasn’t had a chance to...grieve? Is that too strong of a word? I mean after all, her marriage died. Would it follow the same pattern as an actual death?”
“I’m not too big on the patterns of grief or whatever, but I think you’re right. I think it would be a grieving process. Like you said, her relationship is dead, and her dreams for the future as well.”
“Yeah. Just everything that she thought has been yanked out from underneath her.” They’d already talked about it, so she tried not to go into it again. Although she figured that the family would be talking about it this evening.
“I just want to thank you for...not being like Clyde,” she said, looking down before looking back up and meeting his eyes as the daylight faded.
His lips quirked up a bit, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Perhaps because he knew that she was complimenting him, but he was still sad about her sister. And somehow he was able to balance both of those things.
“I guess I could thank you for not being like my parents. For sharing your family and your life with me. Although, that’s probably not the thing I’m most grateful for,” he said as he put a casual arm around her shoulders and they walked back to the barn to put the buckets away and close the doors.
“No? What is?” she asked, curious.
“Your friendship. No one else has ever been the kind of friend to me that you have. Through everything. I mean, I know I can disagree with you, and you know I can be maddening, but you’re not going to think I’m an idiot. In fact, if I disagree with you, you’re gonna try as hard as you can to figure out my side. Even if we never do come to an agreement. And you know me. I don’t know if you deliberately take the time to know me, or I just forced it upon you where you’ve had no choice, but there isn’t another person in the world who knows me like you do.”
“I think that’s just the way friendships go, isn’t it? We know each other, and we spend a lot of time together and learn things, and it’s kind of natural. All friendships are like that.”
“Do you have another friendship like that?” he asked.
She thought for a bit. “My sisters?” she suggested, knowing that that was partially true. “But they don’t know me as well as you do. Not nearly. I guess I just appreciate you being there. You know? I don’t have to ask, I don’t have to wonder if you’re going to show up. You always do. Even if you don’t do anything, because a lot of times there’s nothing to do. It’s just boring, sitting with me, but you’re there. Like tonight. I can’t imagine anything’s going to happen. We’re just going to be a family sitting around, being with Gilbert. Because his wife died, and his kids need us and he needs us and we’re just there. ”
“But that’s just it. That is doing something. It’s doing something, even if it’s nothing, because you could be doing something else. You know?”
“Yeah. I guess that’s what I meant. I know you could be doing something else, but you’re not. You’re with me. And I know as long as I need you, you’ll always be there. I don’t even have to think about it.”
“That’s the way I want to be. I don’t want you to have to wonder if I’m going to be around. And you make it so that I don’t have to wonder if you’re going to think I’m a terrible person. I know you’re not.”
“You’re still feeling bad about your parents, aren’t you?” she said, wishing for the millionth time that there was something she could do about that. They reached the barn, and she set the buckets in, stepping back out while he closed the door.
“You know it always gets me down. Not for long, but it’s just discouraging. I don’t even really understand them. I mean, Mom’s polite, Dad’s...too drunk to talk, I guess, I don’t know. Maybe they care and I just can’t see it. Maybe our love languages are different or something.” He kicked a foot on the stones, making a couple of dogs bark, as they walked by the pens and toward her car.
“Maybe.” She couldn’t explain his parents either. She had no idea what was up with them. Had never been able to understand. But the Lord had worked it out that Jones had been able to basically grow up in her family.
“I guess I don’t even really care anymore. If your parents had been better, you and I might not be friends right now. Or as good of friends. You’d have spent more time with your parents, maybe they’d have had more kids? It just wouldn’t have worked out nearly as well if your parents would have been different. And I’m not sad about that. I mean I’m sad for you, and I know it hurts you, but I love the way God worked it out. He took something that could have been terrible, and he gave me a best friend because of it. ”
“He gave me a best friend because of it, too.” He paused, and then he said, “And a wife.”
“Wow. That’s pretty unbelievable, isn’t it?”
“It’s too fast. We don’t have to do it—”
“No. That wasn’t what I was saying. I want to do it. Not just for the money, but I would want to do it anyway. Now that we thought about it. It’s just, wow.”
He nodded as he reached the car, walking over to her side and opening her door.
“This is new,” she said, glinting her eyes at him and smiling a bit.
“I know. I thought about it, and I don’t know, it seemed like when we were just friends, I didn’t really think about it, but now I think I should be treating you a little bit differently. Not changing anything, and that’s why I didn’t talk about it, just changing the position that you have in my life. It’s always been best friend, but it’s a little bit more now, you know?”
His thought warmed her to her toes. He truly had thought about it, and he had done something to show that he had thought about it. Not just thought about it and then never let her know what was going on in his head.
It meant a lot to her that he took action to go along with his words. Saying something was so easy. But doing something? That showed he truly meant it. At least to her.
Of course, he could have truly meant it without doing anything, but she loved that he wasn’t the kind of man who didn’t have actions to follow his words.
She could see that in Clyde back when Isadora had him around before they were married. Clyde talked a big talk, about how much he loved her and all that, but when it came down to the little things, things that someone in love might do for the person that they loved, he didn’t do any of those little things. It wasn’t glaringly obvious, but it definitely stopped her and made her think .
They got in the car, and he started the engine, backing out slowly and heading toward her parents’ house.
“So we’re going to try not to tell anyone about you and me until tomorrow, because we’re leaving tonight for Terry and Judd, am I right?” he said, and she appreciated that he was trying to make sure that he was in the loop and doing the right thing.
“That’s right, but if it comes out, it comes out, and we’re not going to get concerned about it. Terry already said that she’s okay, but that one shoe dropping at a time is probably better than two shoes dropping at once.”
“All right then. Let’s head to your parents’ house and celebrate Terry and Judd.”