Weekend Warriors (Sisterhood #1)(33)
“I hear ya, Sam.”
“Grab the food, Yoko, while I pay the bill. Leave the waitress twenty bucks. She has to hustle here and she’s trying to put two kids through college.”
Kathryn paid the bill, fed Murphy, and then walked him.
They were back on the highway in less than thirty minutes.
Fifty-two hours later, with catnaps of an hour or so along the way, Kathryn pulled the rig alongside the loading dock of the Home Depot. While her cargo was being unloaded she used the CB to call the dispatcher at the wholesale produce mart. “Vernon, this is Kathryn Lucas. Listen, I’m sorry but I can’t take that load of carrots to Denver for you. My husband passed away and I need to get away for a few days. I’m going to park the rig and get a flight to someplace where I don’t know anyone. Four, five days, I’m not sure. I can take some lettuce that way if you want when I get back. If you don’t have anything for me on my return, I’ll just head on home on empty. I appreciate your condolences, Vernon. Thanks. I’ll call you the minute I get off the plane.”
“Now what?”
“Now we head for Los Angeles and the motel to wait for the others. Call Myra and tell her we’re right on schedule. Find out if everyone else will be on time. I really need to get some sleep. I can’t wait to fill the tub and take a good long bubble bath. We have to find a laundromat once we check in. Sometimes motels have a facility but just as often they don’t. I suppose we could buy some clothes. We certainly have enough money to do that.”
“I can take care of all that while you sleep, Kathryn. I will call Myra now.”
“Be careful what you say. Just generalities. She’ll get the drift. We can’t be too careful.”
“Myra, it is Yoko. How are you? We’re fine. A little tired. And the others? That’s nice to hear. I hope you’re well. The weather is very nice. I’ll call again when we both have more time. Goodbye.
“She said everything is whirring. I have to assume she meant everything is in motion and we’re all on schedule. It’s just a matter of days now, Kathryn. Tell me something, if you could have anything you wanted right now, what would you wish for?” Yoko asked.
“A little cottage somewhere near the water. Maybe a lake or the ocean. A couple of acres so I had some privacy and Murphy could run. A house with a front porch with rocking chairs. A nice kitchen you could eat in. Modern appliances. A pretty bathroom with flowered wallpaper. A walk-in closet. I’d like one of those canopy beds with white lace. I’d like one of those big televisions and a chair that would hold both Murphy and me while we watch it.
“I saw some dishes once in a catalog that had tiny little bluebells on them. They were so delicate and so pretty. I’d like to eat off dishes like that instead of Styrofoam. I want big, fluffy pink towels with my initials on them so I know they belong to me. I’d like some bookshelves with lots and lots of books to read on cold winter nights. A fireplace, of course. I’d want a stack of cherrywood because it smells nice when it burns. I want to learn to cook and bake. I love looking at the pictures in cookbooks.”
Kathryn laughed ruefully. “Since I’ll be around eighty when I get out of debt, I doubt I’ll ever get a house like that. It’s okay to dream, though. I know how Alexis must have felt when she had to sell off her house to pay her legal bills. She told me she owes over two hundred grand in legal bills. I’m right up there with her.”
“I think it’s a wonderful dream, Kathryn. I hope it happens for you someday.”
“I hope so, too. If it doesn’t, my life won’t be ruined. I’m going to get on the CB now and thank all my friends for the…you know. Go to sleep, Yoko. You look as tired as I feel.”
“That’s a very good idea, Kathryn.”
Kathryn brushed at her eyes as she reached for the CB. “Hey you guys, this is Big Sis. Anyone out there?”
Chapter Eight
March 2000
The room Myra called the sunroom was a beautiful room. It was an addition she’d added to the old farmhouse the year Barbara and Nikki turned thirteen. The year when sleep-overs, scout meetings, and parties took up both days of the weekends.
The sunroom was always both girl’s favorite room in the entire house. They did their homework at back-to-back desks listening to loud music while the television blared in the corner. Back then there had been a litter box in one corner and a dog bed in another corner. More often than not, Sophie and Bennie could be found snuggled together in the tufted dog bed. Both were gone now, dying of old age. Irreplaceable, Myra had elected to forego animals in her life because it was too painful when they passed on.
The room was alive with luscious green plants and tall, bushy ficus trees that somehow had managed to survive her two-year hiatus in the nether world. Charles had seen to everything, making sure he fed the plants, trimmed them back and watered them faithfully because he knew how much Myra loved the room.
He knew his beloved Myra was troubled when she lowered herself into one of the his-and-hers chairs she’d bought for them when the girls moved out. More often than not they dined off trays while they either watched or listened to television.
Life until just recently had been placid, worrisome, and boring.
“I think we should get married, Charles,” Myra blurted.
Charles lowered himself into his chair and kicked up the footrest. “That’s probably the best idea you ever had, Myra. Name the date and I’ll be there. Do you want to talk about it or is this just something that came to you in your dreams?”