Twin Wishes

“Can we eat the pickles now?” Todd was begging while Nora was busy reaching for the plastic bag that held their snack.

“Wait until we get home, you two,” Luke answered. “You’ll want drinks, too, and I don’t have any in the truck. Come on, we’ll be there in five minutes.”

The kids didn’t seem to mind another night of frozen dinners in their small utilitarian kitchen filled with only the basic appliances. They ate their fish sticks, French fries and peas, and then rushed into the living room to watch a favorite cartoon while Luke cleared the table. It was when he was adding today’s dirty silverware to yesterday’s in the dishwasher that he suddenly noticed the mostly bare counters. The only homey touches were a basket of now wilting flowers that Frank and Maggie had sent and a large ceramic cookie jar with a comical cat painted on the front that Maggie had purchased, filled with homemade goodies and delivered on moving day. Luke had meant to buy some cookies from the bakery and replenish the supply, but he’d forgotten to do so. Maybe, tomorrow, he told himself. Maybe tomorrow, he’d get things right. But, deep in his aching heart, Luke knew his sister had been accurate. She’d warned him that nothing would be really right with him ever again, not until he made peace with the Lord he used to trust. Luke knew that would not happen until he could pray again…and he wasn’t sure that day would ever come.

The next day went by quickly with Luke dropping off and picking up Nora and Todd at the center as he had done on previous days. The weather was very warm and another storm slowed Luke’s landscaping work in the city that afternoon. But when the morning of the Fourth of July finally arrived, it promised to be a gorgeous day—just as Maggie Wren had hoped it would be. There wasn’t a storm cloud in the sky. Julianne was up to see the sunrise that morning through her kitchen window, but only because she had promised Maggie she’d make a banana cream pie for their lunch. Otherwise, she would have slept in.

Dumping a small amount of flour on her counter, she soon finished her least favorite part of the job—rolling out the crust. She used her mother’s recipe for a double crust so she filled two pie plates instead of one. The second one she was considering keeping for herself. Sometimes, at the end of a holiday, she’d come home to her empty apartment, make herself a cup of tea and eat something luscious as a reward for getting through the day without allowing herself to wallow in too much self-pity. The Fourth of July wouldn’t be any different from the past few holidays she’d gone through without an engagement ring on her finger and Craig by her side. “But losing him was a blessing in disguise,” she said aloud to the goldfish swimming in the bowl nearby. She really was thankful that the relationship was over; but Julianne missed the old feelings of belonging to someone, being half of a couple, believing in a happy, full future for herself.

The crusts went into the oven, 450 degrees for twelve minutes, and while they baked, Julianne went into the bathroom to apply her makeup. She had already showered and her shoulder-length hair had been styled into the slightly wavy look she normally wore. But it wasn’t her clean skin or her blond hair that caught her attention in the bathroom mirror. It was the saddened expression she’d found looking back at her. One she’d seen too many times lately. One she was growing weary of.

Julianne hadn’t realized how long she’d been standing in front of that mirror, just thinking, until the timer in the kitchen buzzed. She rushed to shut it off and retrieve the crusts from the oven.

“Today is going to be a good day, Goldie,” she said to her tiny roommate. “No more moping around about being alone. I’m going to watch a parade, eat too much good food, and, in general, have a very fun day.”

A couple of little bubbles rose to the top of Goldie’s water, almost as if the fish were trying to respond to its owner’s words. Julianne laughed. “Sorry, sweetie, but I don’t speak your language,” she said. Then she reached for some sugar and began stirring the pie filling. Soon she was slicing bananas and assembling her homemade creation to be shared with Maggie’s family.

Julianne chose blue walking shorts and an appropriate white T-shirt with a design of blue-and-red fireworks brightening up its front and back. Loading her small wooden picnic basket with one pie and the packages of fresh hamburger buns she’d purchased at Maggie’s request from Swenson’s Bakery last night, she was ready to go. Julianne slipped her sunglasses into place, retied a running shoe that had come undone and, basket in hand, began the short walk to Maggie and Frank Wren’s house. She knew Luke and the twins would be there today. Maggie had made a point of telling her.

As Julianne neared her friend’s home, she fretted about that disastrous experience with Nora, Todd and the tornado siren the other day. She certainly wasn’t who or what they needed then, and she wondered how they would respond to her today. But when she rapped lightly against Maggie’s screen door and then opened it to enter, she was instantly greeted with shrieks of joy from the O’Hara twins who ran to hug their teacher. “You’re here! You’re here!” Nora placed both hands on her hips. “We thought you’d never come,” she scolded, which brought an immediate smile from Julianne.

“I had a pie to bake,” Julianne explained and gave each child a soft touch to their cheek. “Where’s your aunt Maggie?”

“She’s in the kitchen, Julianne. She’s getting ready to go to the parade with us.”

“Thanks, kids. See you in a minute.” Then she entered the homey kitchen of peach and soft greens. “So, I’ve progressed from Miss Quinn to Julianne?” she remarked to Maggie when she found her friend with her nose stuck inside the refrigerator. “I wonder how that happened?”

“Probably because they’ve heard me talking about you. I generally call you by your first name, you know,” Maggie replied with a grin.

“And just what have you been saying? And to whom?” Julianne asked with a smile as she set her basket on the table. “Or need I ask?”

“Hello, Miss Quinn.” Julianne turned at the sound of the voice she recognized to see Luke O’Hara entering the room.

Maggie shrugged in answer to Julianne’s abandoned question. “Oh, just some people, here and there. It’s nothing to worry about. Luke, her first name is Julianne. And, Julianne, his first name is Luke. Try using them for a change.”

Julianne laughed softly, nervously. “She’s right, you know. We don’t need to be so formal. How are you, Luke?”

“Fine, thank you. And you?”

Julianne nodded. “I’m okay. It’s a beautiful day out there, isn’t it? I mean, compared to yesterday…and the day before. You know, the rain, the tornado warning…the storm and all.” Great, she thought. Let’s see what other stupid thing I can ramble on about.

“Yes, it’s good weather for the Fourth of July,” Luke remarked. And he almost smiled. Julianne seemed off guard, maybe a little nervous; he couldn’t decide exactly what was bothering her. But she definitely didn’t seem quite as sure of herself as she usually appeared in the classroom.

“The parade starts in fifteen minutes,” Frank announced as he walked into the kitchen with an armful of assorted flowers he’d gathered from the garden. He handed them to Maggie and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. “For you, my dear.”

Maggie smiled. “Thank you, hon. They’re beautiful.” Then she reached into the cupboard under the sink for a large white vase. “I’ll put these on the table.”

Julianne’s heart ached, mostly with jealousy, she supposed. She wanted what Maggie had. A man to bring her flowers, someone to kiss her with the assurance she was his to kiss, someone to love for a lifetime. She wanted to belong with someone the way Maggie belonged with Frank.

“C’mon, let’s get going.” Frank was giving orders instead of Maggie for a change. “Nora! Todd! It’s time to go to the village green to watch a parade.”

The children came running from the living room. “It’s time?” Nora ran to Julianne while Todd grabbed his father around the leg.

“Yep, it’s time,” Luke answered, reaching down to pick up the little boy who looked so much like him. Then he glanced toward his daughter and her teacher. “Ready, Nora…Julianne?”

Both females nodded and Julianne smiled at the sound of Luke speaking her name. It sounded nice…so much better than “Miss Quinn.” She took Nora’s hand and they all started their walk toward the village green on that warm summer day.

The morning parade went as planned, and it delighted the twins. It was noisy, too long and handfuls of candy were thrown from many of the passing floats and vehicles. The fire engines from Fairweather and neighboring communities were part of the procession with their sirens blaring. The volume worried Julianne as she remembered the fiasco with the tornado siren. Todd seemed unaffected by it all. The noise, however, did send Nora into her father’s arms with her ears covered but with a grin on her face.

The community came together after the parade for the afternoon festivities on the village green. The church picnic was attended by virtually everyone in Fairweather and many from Baylor’s Landing. If the attendees themselves weren’t official members of The Old First Church, they were either related to or friends with someone who was. The hours were filled with speeches from the mayor and Reverend Ben Hunter as well as patriotic musical selections performed by the Fairweather High School band. The contest for the Strawberry Queen was held and the pretty red-haired daughter of the local police chief was selected by the judges amid applause and cheers from the crowd. Emma Fulton, a former Strawberry Queen herself, had the honor of placing the golden tiara upon the reigning queen’s head.

Concession stands practically covered the village green, and there were red, white and blue balloons and streamers everywhere. The strawberry shortcake stand, coordinated by Betty Anderson, offered more dessert than they could eat for two dollars with all of the proceeds going to the anticipated expense of the Harvest Celebration to be held in the fall.

Maggie and Frank, Julianne and Nora, and Luke and Todd spent most of the day together in a group, much to Maggie’s dismay. She kept trying to shoo Julianne and Luke off by themselves—to eat strawberry shortcake, play a carnival game, listen to the local entertainment at the bandstand…anything without the kids tagging along. But it didn’t happen that way. The kids were stuck to the adults like Velcro all day. Not just to their father, whom they hadn’t seen enough of lately, but also to Julianne.

The affection Julianne freely offered was something the children seemed starved for, and the more they needed from her, the more she wanted to give. Julianne had been told by Maggie that she too often thought of other people so much that she disregarded her own wants and needs, but it wasn’t going that way with the twins. Nora and Todd’s companionship was exactly what Julianne needed and wanted that beautiful Fourth of July. They turned that summer holiday into the fun time Julianne had promised herself, and her goldfish, that she would have.

When time for supper came around, the Wrens, the O’Haras and Miss Quinn returned to Frank and Maggie’s house where leftovers from the picnic became a light supper. The kids’ excitement over the impending fireworks display scheduled to take place over Baylor Lake at night was wearing on Luke’s patience. He soon suggested they head over to the lake where the kids could run and play for a while until the fireworks started.

“Good idea,” Maggie agreed as she patted her plump tummy. “But this kid already has me worn out,” she said in gentle reference to the child within. “I think I’ll pass on the fireworks display this year. But you and Julianne go ahead. The twins need to get out for a while, and the lake would be a good place to take them. Perhaps there will be other children there for them to play with.” Frank went to Maggie’s side, slipping a hand around his wife’s waist.

“I’ll stay here with Maggie,” Frank said. “You okay, honey?”

Maggie nodded and smiled. “I think so. I’m just tired from today’s activities. That’s all.”

Luke looked toward Julianne, who was playing cars on the floor with Todd and Nora. “Will you come with us?” he asked as he watched her race a small metal car up Nora’s arm prompting a round of giggles from the child. Then Julianne looked up.

“Yes, Luke. I’d like that,” she answered. Then she saw what she thought could be the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. After enjoying this day with him and his kids, getting him to smile was becoming almost a personal challenge.

They all thanked Maggie for her good food and hospitality that holiday. Then the four of them headed toward the truck. The kids climbed into their usual seats in the extended cab and then Julianne slid into the passenger seat. She knew she probably should feel nervous about going off like this for the first time with Luke; but with two rambunctious children in the back seat, she gave little thought to the matter.

The ride to Baylor Lake took only minutes since it was a short three miles from the center of Fairweather. The kids had barely finished singing some silly song when Luke pulled into a parking spot at the far end of the lake.

“Can we sit in the back of the truck while we watch the fireworks?” Todd asked.

Nora reached underneath the seat to pull out a blanket. “No, Todd, because Aunt Maggie sent this blanket for us to sit on. Remember, Daddy?”

“No, I don’t remember that, Nora, but it doesn’t surprise me. Maggie seems to think of everything.” Luke walked around the truck to open the door for Julianne.

“Aunt Maggie thinks of everything, and God takes care of everything,” Todd said from his seat in the back of the vehicle. “Doesn’t He, Daddy,” Todd added matter-of-factly.

Julianne’s eyes widened in surprise. Wasn’t this the forbidden topic Maggie had warned her about? She looked from Todd straight into Luke’s frowning face as he gripped her arm firmly enough to help her from the truck without responding to his son’s statement.

“He didn’t hear that from me, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Luke remarked quietly and moved his hand away from Julianne’s arm once she had her feet firmly on the ground.

Then Todd continued, “He takes care of me, He takes care of Dad and Nora and Julianne and the flowers and the lightning bugs—”

“Lightning bugs!” Nora interrupted when she jumped out of the truck. “Let’s catch some!”

“Both of you stay where you can see me,” Luke instructed his children. They ran through the grass in their shorts and bare feet with the carefree laughter it sometimes seemed to Luke only kids could have.

“Stay where they can see you instead of where you can see them. That’s a good idea,” Julianne commented. She watched Luke spread out the blanket Maggie had sent with them, and they sat down together. “It gives them clear boundaries.”

“All they have to do is look for me. That keeps it simple,” Luke said. “Julianne…I’m sorry if I was sharp with you a moment ago when Todd was talking about God. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“You weren’t,” she replied. “Maggie mentioned to me that Christianity was a subject better left alone. For now, at least.”

“For always would suit me just fine,” Luke added, and glanced at the woman seated next to him on the ground. He hadn’t been this alone with a woman since Kimberly. And he didn’t feel too comfortable with the idea of being here, like this, with Julianne Quinn even now. No matter how great she was with his children or how pretty she was. Whew. Now, there was a thought he hadn’t had before about Miss Quinn. Had he?

“Don’t worry,” Julianne assured him with gentle words. “I didn’t come along to preach to you. I just came to see the fireworks.”

Luke nodded. That’s the only reason he was here, too. Wasn’t it? “So…” he began with some awkwardness “were you here in Fairweather for last year’s Fourth of July celebration?”

“Yes,” Julianne answered. She’d been with Craig Johnson then, but there was no reason to point that out. Luke would probably start pondering what was wrong with her if he knew she’d been jilted by someone. Unless… She wasn’t really sure what Maggie may have told Luke about her. Not that it really mattered. “I’ve been living in Fairweather and teaching at the center since I graduated from college three years ago. So, I’ve seen these local fireworks before. I guess I should warn you. They’re not anything to get excited about.”

Luke motioned toward the children. “As long as they enjoy the show, that’s good enough for me.”

Julianne nodded in agreement and gave a soft laugh that Luke enjoyed hearing. He looked her way again and studied her profile as she watched the kids chasing bugs. Her features were beautiful. Not just pretty, but actually beautiful and with very little makeup as far as he could tell. She was what Maggie called a real heartland, natural-looking type. And Maggie had been accurate, although it had taken Luke until this moment to fully realize that fact. Tall, blond and brown-eyed, Julianne was nothing like his late wife, and yet she was every bit as lovely—all in her own way.

Julianne’s eyes remained on the children while Luke’s gaze lingered on her. She knew he was looking at her, really looking at her—maybe for the first time—and she wasn’t ready to look back. Dusk was settling in, and the children were heading back toward their father and teacher. The twins ran up and plopped down on the blanket between them. “Is it time yet?” Nora asked.

“It won’t be long,” Julianne answered. Feeling the weight of Luke’s gaze shift from her to his children, she relaxed considerably. She glanced over at him while Todd climbed into his father’s lap. Luke’s eyes were the same shade of blue as his shirt, and blue was Julianne’s favorite color. In shirts and eyes.

The sun set quickly and soon the sky was filled with brilliantly colored displays of light. Streaks of gold impressed the children most, if their “oohs” and “aahs” were any indication. Red, white, blue, green and gold lit the sky over Baylor Lake as dozens of bystanders enjoyed the show. Some children nearby had sparklers with which they ran in circles, leaving a trail of smoke behind them. Nora and Todd wanted some sparklers of their own, but Luke refused. That would be a privilege they could have when they were older, but not now at age four. Amazingly, they accepted his words and settled back into watching fireworks exploding in the evening sky amid booms and crackling noises. Even Luke smiled that night, much to Julianne’s amazement. The children’s antics during the show brought laughter and smiles from both adults. Julianne was almost as sorry to see the holiday come to an end as the twins were, although she definitely wasn’t reduced to tears by it as both of the kids were. She carried Nora and Luke picked up Todd, so they could get them back in the truck for the trip home. Julianne shook out the blanket they’d been sitting on and tossed it over the children once they were buckled into the back seat of the vehicle. Luke opened the door and helped Julianne into the truck. By the time they were out of the parking area, Nora and Todd were both sound asleep.

“They’re exhausted,” Julianne remarked.

Luke agreed. “They’ve had a very fun day. Mostly thanks to you.”

“I enjoyed the day, too, Luke. Very much,” Julianne admitted. “Mostly thanks to them.” And their father may have had something to do with it, too, she thought, but did not say.

The ride to her apartment was short and quiet. Julianne directed Luke to the postmaster’s large old house and pointed out her upstairs apartment.

“Thanks for the ride home,” she offered and reached for the door handle to let herself out of the truck.

“I’ll walk up there with you,” Luke said. “That’s a long, dark stairway to be climbing by yourself this late at night.”

“No, don’t.” She reached across the seat and touched his arm, wanting to emphasize that she didn’t need his assistance; but once she’d placed her hand against his warm arm, she regretted the action. It had been too personal, almost inappropriate, and she wasn’t sure how to undo what she’d done except by pulling her hand away. Quickly. “I’m sorry, Luke, I just meant that I can go upstairs by myself. I’ve done that hundreds of times—alone. I’m not afraid. And, anyway,” she added, nodding toward the sleeping twins in the back seat, “I wouldn’t want you to leave them alone in this dark truck even for a few moments. If they woke up, they’d be frightened.”

Luke agreed, although somewhat reluctantly. He thought the children would be fine sleeping right where he could see them from her stairway, and he certainly wasn’t used to dropping a woman at the curb and letting her fend for herself to get inside her front door. This hadn’t exactly been a date, he realized. He hadn’t been on a “date” in over ten years, but he did feel responsible for seeing her home safely. Then he had an idea.

“Do me a favor, Julianne. Once you get inside and lock the door behind you, wave to me from that front window.” Luke pointed up to where she’d left a light burning in the kitchen window. “That way I’ll know you got in all right.”

“Okay,” she agreed, then opened her door and slipped easily out of the cab before he had the chance to help her. “Thanks for everything, Luke. I had a really good time today,” she said with a heartfelt smile—the same warm smile Luke had seen from her during the fireworks display. It was one he liked seeing again.

“I enjoyed the day, too,” he began, then paused. “Julianne, you’re great with my kids.”

“Thank you, but if I am, it’s only because I’m a teacher.”

But Luke disagreed. “No, it’s something more than that,” he stated. “They really had fun today. I think this is the best holiday they’ve had since…for the last year or so. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she answered, her smile fading. She should close the door to the truck and head up that stairway, she knew. There really was nothing left to talk about at this point. Except… “Maggie looked very tired when we left. Do you think she’s okay?”

“I hope so. Frank mentioned to me the other day that he’s worried about her getting too tired during her pregnancy. He thinks she’s working too hard at the center.”

Julianne agreed. “She probably is. You know how Maggie is—she gives too much of herself to everything she does.”

“I know. She even wants to watch the kids for me tomorrow so I can go to Minneapolis and get caught up on my work. Being rained out again on Thursday put me behind schedule.”

Julianne’s own giving-too-much-of-herself-to-everything trait kicked into gear. “I could watch them for you. That would allow Maggie to rest, and you could still get your work done,” Julianne suggested. “I hadn’t planned to do anything special tomorrow.” The only activities she’d be giving up were cleaning the apartment and grocery shopping.

“But you work with my kids five days a week, Julianne. I can’t ask you to keep them on your day off.”

Julianne looked toward the two children sleeping safely in the back of the truck. “You’re not asking…I’m offering,” she replied, then returned her gaze to Luke’s uncertain expression.

Luke hesitated. He needed to work tomorrow to stay on schedule. And the kids did seem to be crazy about Julianne. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be an imposition? I mean, you’ve just spent this entire holiday with them.”

“I really like Nora and Todd. I’d enjoy having them for another day. That is, if it would be okay with you.” She tucked wispy blond hair behind an ear. Working at the center was one thing, but maybe Luke O’Hara wouldn’t trust her enough to leave his children with her alone, here at this tiny apartment with an ominous stairway for them to climb up…or to fall down. “I could take them over to the center, if you’d rather not leave them here—”

“No, here would be fine,” Luke said. “But you’d need to be careful of the stairs. They’d both want to run up and down them.” He glanced toward the black steps and railing.