Belated Kiss Read online

  What if Shirley saw her? Or Francis? She’d be the talk of the bridge club, prancing down lakeside with a man she’d met only a few hours ago.

  And yet, Ruth felt young again, her heart racing as she drove across town. She hadn’t done anything on the spur of the moment in years. There hadn’t been much opportunity.

  In her married life, there’d been little room for spontaneity. Harold had always been very meticulous about his planning. Even ordering takeout could take an hour as he poured over each choice, weighing it against his dietary intake of the day to make sure his nutrients were in balance.

  As a young wife and mother, Ruth would sometimes rebel. She’d secretly eat cake in the car after stopping last-minute on the way home because a shop looked inviting. Or to purposefully throw off her daily nutrients.

  But she’d settled in over time, adjusting to Harold’s patterns and routines. It made their marriage easier, especially as they raised Christina.

  Not that there had been anything wrong with Harold. He’d never held her to any standard on purpose, nor did he try to change her. In fact, he was amused by her whims. They often wished to be more like each other.

  He’d been her great love, and they’d been together almost thirty wonderful years. She always felt his steadfastness balanced out her flightiness. And when he was gone, for a while she felt aloft, as though there was nothing left holding her to the earth.

  Christina had been in college when he died, and then there was her big move to California. Then a wedding. Those events had grounded Ruth, and her job kept her busy. People relied on her. She had a schedule to keep, reports to fill out, and Harold had been right. The world moved more smoothly when you planned ahead.

  But she still stopped for last-minute cake at times, lifting the confection to the sky so that Harold knew she could live in the moment.

  She needed more of that. More rash decisions. Work might be regimented, but her life didn’t have to be. As she turned onto the street that paralleled the boardwalk and searched for a place to park, she decided that she would absolutely allow her personal life to be a hot mess.

  Like a date with a stranger.

  As she slid into a spot and checked her hair one more time in the mirror, Ruth knew meeting this man had made a tiny shift in her perspective. She could take chances. Try something new. And whether Theodore worked out or not, she was on her way to a life to be lived, not just another calendar day to be crossed off.

  The cool evening caressed her skin as she walked briskly down the sidewalk, her hair streaming behind her.

  This was her day. She’d make the most of it.

  T-bone

  T-bone waited on the dock. He’d walked along this stretch of lake many times in the last decade. He couldn’t quite see the RV park on the other side, but his little piece of the world was there nonetheless. Twenty hookups, every last one in working order. Nice neat grounds. A well-stocked convenience store. It wasn’t much. But it was all his.

  The water sparkled with the setting sun, and a flock of birds flew in a V-shape toward the mountains. T-bone wasn’t a romantic man, but he reckoned the view was about as pretty as it got.

  But then he saw Ruth approaching down the boardwalk. She’d changed clothes. For him? Her skirt fluttered in the breeze, and her wild hair blew behind her, down from the clip. The sunset couldn’t hold a candle to her.

  When she reached him, she threaded her arm through the crook of his elbow. “Is there anything finer than a fall night in Missouri?”

  Warmth radiated through him at her unexpected nearness. “I reckon not.”

  They started down the boardwalk. He felt mighty fine having such a lovely woman on his arm. He couldn’t remember a time when someone like Ruth had looked at him twice.

  “Have you lived anywhere other than Missouri?” she asked.

  These were things he never discussed. Not even Luke asked about the past, other than the bits about his mother. The details didn’t come easily.

  But Ruth wouldn’t know that. She had no idea he was a mystery in his town. That he kept to himself, and that hardly anyone, even his own son, asked him questions about himself.

  But today he was a new man. He’d changed everything about himself to welcome that precious new granddaughter into his life. Time to be the man she deserved. And this meant talking about himself to Ruth.

  He cleared his throat. “I was born in Lawton, Oklahoma. Sent to live with my aunt in Tulsa early on. Then back to my dad, who’d moved on to Denver.”

  He wondered if she would want details, an account of why he’d been one place or the other.

  But she surprised him. “So you were born at the base of the Wichita Mountains, grew up in the Rockies, and landed at the Ozarks. The mountains must be what you call home.” She tightened her grip on his elbow, drawing them a hair closer.

  He’d never looked at it that way, always defining his movements as some failing on his part. “I reckon so.”

  “I’m a Missouri gal through and through. I went to nursing school in Columbia before settling back in Branson.”

  A gray-haired couple approached, dressed for dinner, the gentleman giving T-bone a sly wink before passing by. Did he look like one of them now? Was that a good thing?

  If Ruth was involved, it must be.

  Her brown eyes met his. “Tell me about Luke and Savannah. They’re such a lovely couple, and the baby is a doll.”

  He warmed over with the compliments, even though he had little to do with how they all turned out. “Luke’s a veterinarian. Savannah runs the animal shelter outside of Applebottom.”

  “They tell me you’re the mayor.”

  T-bone’s neck flashed hot. “It’s not much. Mostly nobody else would do it.”

  “I should feel honored walking the boardwalk with a man willing to take on the responsibility of a mayor when no one else will.”

  “It’s not much,” he said again.

  They approached the busy section of the boardwalk that linked to the promenade, a brick path lined with restaurants and shops. Talk and laughter surrounded them, young people, dog walkers, and the occasional kid on a skateboard.

  Ruth leaned in. “I do love the ice cream shop a block over. Do you think it’s too terrible to have dessert when I haven’t had dinner?”

  The heat of his face, fueled by all the unfamiliar talk, began to cool as they shifted topics. “They always say life is uncertain, so eat dessert first.”

  Ruth’s bright laughter floated through the air like leaves falling. “Theodore, you are a treasure. I think I’ve met you at exactly the right time.”

  T-bone felt light, as if he’d set down a sack he’d been hauling across his shoulders for too long. He wondered what made this the right time, but they arrived at the colorful shop.

  He opened the door, a bell tinkling as they entered. It was empty other than a teen girl leaning over the counter, her position and sour expression reminding him of Gertrude in her pie shop back in Applebottom.

  Ruth peered into the glass case. “Are three scoops too many? Will they fall off the cone?”

  The girl shrugged. “Sounds like you like to live dangerously.”

  Ruth bent forward. “Oh, I do.”

  The shop girl nodded knowingly, and the two of them shared sly smiles. Ruth could work magic with strangers, he already saw. Perhaps this was what made her a good nurse. She couldn’t be more opposite than him and his hermit ways.

  Ruth turned to him. “What do you think?” she asked.

  He couldn’t disappoint her. He wondered if perhaps he’d met her at exactly the right time as well. The day he decided to be a new man, here she was, ready to move him along.

  So the only thing he could say was, “Three scoops for me, too.”

  Ruth

  They opted to lick their ice cream as they walked. They hadn’t gone two blocks when Ruth tilted her stack too far, and the top two scoops landed on the cement.

  “Should we go back to replace them?”
Theodore asked, his face tight with concern.

  But Ruth could only laugh. “I say let this be our big disaster of the night, so that everything else is perfect.”

  They stood over the splattered scoops. Ruth wondered how to clean it up.

  But a small boy with a black Labrador crashed into their space. “Sorry!” the boy said. “He’s bigger than me!”

  The problem solved itself as the dog gulped down the errant ice cream. His long pink tongue scraped across the cement, hoping for any stray lick.

  A woman pushing a stroller rushed up to them. “Jerry, I told you that if Sparky got to be too much, you had to tie him to the stroller!” She turned to Ruth. “I’m so sorry. Did he bother you?”

  “Quite the opposite,” Ruth said, bending down to stroke the dog’s head. “We had a bit of a mess, and he cleaned it right up.”

  The mother’s face relaxed. “Oh, thank goodness. Come along, Jerry. Tie Sparky to the stroller now.”

  “But Mom…”

  “No buts.”

  Ruth and Theodore stepped aside as the mother tied the dog to the handle and pushed away.

  “Sure you aren’t disappointed?” Theodore asked.

  “Sparky got a treat,” she said. “I don’t mind donating to a worthy cause.”

  Theodore’s scoops were starting to drip.

  “Better catch up to me!” she said. “Or Sparky will drag the whole lot of them back to get another taste!”

  Theodore’s mouth hinted at a smile as they walked on, taking more care with their cones. Ruth surmised that the man wasn’t easily amused, and stood a little straighter at the knowledge that she’d gotten a grin out of him.

  All that movement as a child would have left a mark on him, as well as winding up without the woman who bore his child. There was more to be learned about Theodore, that was for certain.

  “So tell me about how you came to know Luke.”

  Theodore patted his short beard with a napkin. “He showed up in town. He hadn’t planned on finding me, but when his mother passed, he found some letters she never mailed. He realized I didn’t know he existed.”

  Ruth suppressed her shock. The woman hadn’t even told him about the child! “Had he assumed you abandoned him?”

  “I reckon so.”

  “But you didn’t ask?”

  “Didn’t come up.”

  Ruth could see this was a hard conversation for him. “I’m guessing you two don’t talk much about it?”

  Theodore caught another drip and patted his beard again. “We did when he first arrived. Never did figure out exactly why his mother didn’t tell me. We only assumed she felt bad about leaving in the first place and couldn’t overcome it.”

  “Did you love her? Was her leaving a great tragedy?”

  Theodore took his time answering, taking another lick.

  Ruth almost wanted to retract the question. This was a first date, and here she was grilling him about his past love affairs. Surely this was the absolute worst topic she could have chosen. She was taking her decision to be rash a little too far.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m often told my curiosity is worse than a cat’s.”

  “It’s all right,” he said. “These are fair questions knowing I missed my son’s whole life.” He sniffed, his eyes focused on his cone. “As far as Luke’s mother, I think we might have made each other miserable in the long haul. I didn’t like how she left it, just taking off. And I didn’t like that she didn’t want me to know about the babe. I could have helped. But I don’t think twice about missing out on life with her. Just Luke.”

  The couple they’d passed earlier crossed the street, generating another smile and a wave. Ruth recognized them from somewhere, but couldn’t quite place their names. It happened a lot, since she worked at the hospital.

  When the sidewalk was theirs again, she said, “Luke’s mother did something right. Luke is a good husband.”

  “Savannah wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “She’s a strong ‘un.”

  “I get the impression she doesn’t have much family.”

  “Her mother died when she was little. Her father built the animal shelter in his wife’s honor. But he’s in the grip of dementia now. His sister is gonna help with him while the baby is new.”

  “And you?”

  “I figure I’ll be doing a lot around the animal shelter. We’ve been fostering out more of them so the load isn’t so big. The town will help. It’s a good town.”

  They passed a trash can, and Ruth tossed her mostly-eaten cone inside. Theodore followed her lead, and they walked side-by-side past the shops.

  “Sounds like Applebottom is a good place,” Ruth said. “Branson can feel quite small, too.”

  “You could fit a hundred Applebottoms here, though,” he said.

  “I guess I’ll have to be your big-city girl, then,” she said.

  Theodore held his breath a moment, and Ruth wondered if she’d been too forward in saying such a thing. The old version of herself was taking over, making her act in ways she hadn’t done since her twenties.

  But she loved everything about this night. His care with her. His wry humor, rare at first, but warming up as they walked and talked.

  Secretly, though, she also loved the very thought of her friends learning she was consorting with a man who’d had a baby with a woman and never even knew. Her regimented life was starting to look like a soap opera, and she was here for every juicy bit.

  When the silence seemed like it might stretch on, she filled it with her own story. “I was married for thirty years. Harold died of cancer nine years ago.”

  “That must have been a rough go.” His voice was raspy and low, and she liked that he was feeling concern for the woman she’d been in those first tough years.

  “I made it through. I had a lot of friends, and Christina, of course.” A sharper breeze blew through as they turned a corner, and she tucked in closer to Theodore. He wrapped an arm around her waist, settling both her chill and her nerves at their hard conversation.

  “You worked the whole time?” he asked.

  “Yes. I switched from oncology to maternity,” she said. “And it’s been a real blessing. It’s hard work, but I imagine I’ll keep doing it for the time being.”

  She thought he might ask if she’d dated much since, but as they walked along, she realized he wasn’t one to pry, or to ask questions better left alone. She liked this even more.

  In fact, there wasn’t much about Theodore that she didn’t like.

  “Not many grandfathers come into the maternity ward looking as fine and sharp as you did today,” she said.

  He let out a huff at that. “I’m not always.”

  She laughed. “I thought not, given both your son and daughter-in-law seemed surprised at your appearance.”

  “It isn’t every day you meet your grandbaby,” he said.

  “True. There is no greater cause than that to look your best. But of course, you are the mayor.”

  He grunted at that, as if being a public figure didn’t account for much.

  “Is that all you do in Applebottom?” she asked.

  “Nah. I own the RV Park.”

  “Really? Is it in the mountains?”

  “On the other side of the lake.” They were near the boardwalk again, and he gestured at the dark water. “You could boat to it from here.”

  “I bet you meet lots of people.,” she said.

  “I reckon I do. It has a little beach, and a dock, and a convenience store.”

  “Do you live there yourself?” She pictured him sitting in a small trailer.

  “I have a house on the property. It’s not big, but plenty enough for me.”

  “Well, that all sounds perfectly lovely. Do people work for you?”

  “I have a girl from town who works the register of the store. Sometimes I hire out some help to maintain the place, although I can fix most anything in the park.”

  A handyman. Harold had
definitely not been that, but naturally his skill as a doctor was plenty. “I bet you can.”

  He grinned at her, and Ruth knew she had been right about their evening. The ice cream would be their only disaster, and look how well even that had turned out.

  Both of them had been through hard times, but tonight, the world was on their side.

  T-bone

  T-bone sat on the wood porch outside his convenience store later that night, thinking over the evening. They’d eaten like kids. Three scoops of ice cream for dinner and sausage-on-a-stick for dessert.

  They’d agreed to meet again, this time in Applebottom, so he could show her his town. He figured he’d better take a walkabout in the morning to make sure everyone got a gander at his new look. Otherwise, the shock of his changed appearance and the company of a lady might cause folks to think Armageddon had arrived.

  Luke sent him pictures of the baby, each yawn, her eyes open, sleeping in a new hat. They were thinking Maybelle Lena for the name, in part for Belle, Luke’s mom, and Lena for Savannah’s. Wasn’t easy, not having a mother between them, and Savannah’s father Boone deep into dementia. T-bone had a load to carry. He’d rustle up some help. The ladies of Applebottom liked nothing more than a newborn to fuss over.

  He felt like a stranger to himself during his shower and shave the next morning. He had cheekbones again, and a neck. He looked, in fact, like a dapper Santa Claus. There was no trace of the chains-and-leather image he’d roared into Applebottom with all those years ago.

  But change was good. He wouldn’t scare the babe. And the holiday festival committee would ask him to don the red suit come Christmas, no doubt about it. They always had a time finding someone to play the role at the holiday bazaar.

  To avoid shocking the shop owners, he pulled on a pair of black jeans and boots so that he wouldn’t present too many changes at once. Still, he ignored the other black vest in his closet, choosing instead one of the button-downs he’d purchased. He ran his hand over the short beard and cropped hair, wondering what everyone would say.