had left his sister’s engagement party without even saying good-bye to her. He felt terrible about it. The rude departure was so unlike him, but there was no way he could appear happy in front of her when her husband-to-be was ruining his life—and hers too. And the worst part of it was that he couldn’t even warn his sister what was happening without bringing his own crime out into the open.
His wife, Carolyn, would be surprised that he’d returned so early from the party. Sully had tried to encourage her to come for a little while, but nothing he said changed her mind. The pain was becoming unbearable for her and she was embarrassed by the slurred speech and jerky actions her MS brought on.
Carolyn had been a vivacious and active woman before she became ill. Now, even though Sully’s love for her was unwavering, she became a constant source of financial and emotional stress for him. The difficult conversations, the mounting hospital bills that were not covered by their insurance and his loneliness for a companion at the many functions he had to attend. His love for her remained solid, but his character was cracking under the constant pressure, causing him to make a bad decision that could ruin everything.
He had picked her up out of her wheelchair and placed her in her recliner before he’d left for the party, sticking her favorite romantic movie in the DVD player—An Affair to Remember—to keep her company while he was gone. When he’d returned home, he noticed she had fallen asleep with the movie still playing.
He went to turn the television off when he saw the scene in the movie, near the end, when Cary Grant learns his love, Deborah Kerr, is paralyzed, sitting on the sofa with a blanket over her motionless legs. She didn’t want to tell him she was paralyzed, to burden him, because she loved him so much. When Cary Grant realizes she is an invalid, he rushes to her, throws his arms around her and kisses her passionately because he doesn’t care—he loves her.
Watching that scene, it dawned on Sully for the first time that this was why Carolyn loved this movie.
He turned the TV and DVD player off and turned back to his wife. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her. Thinking about the hundred thousand dollars and the possibility of jail, he paced the floor, mumbling under his breath.
“Sully?” Carolyn’s soft voice called his name.
Sully rushed to her side. “I’m here, Carolyn. What do you need?”
“Is something wrong?”
“What makes you ask that?”
“You look so worried. You’re wearing a path in the carpet and talking to yourself. What’s wrong?” Poor Carolyn struggled to get the words out.
“Nothing I can’t handle, sweetheart. Don’t worry yourself.” He looked into her tired eyes and smiled tenderly. The last thing he wanted was to worry his wife—that would be too cruel. She had enough to handle with her illness—she didn’t need his problems as well. “Worries are part of the job when you’re the mayor.”
He hoped that would satisfy her, but if he didn’t get the hundred thousand dollars back into the city’s retirement fund soon, he would not be able to hide the truth from her much longer. What would happen to her if he was in jail? Who would take care of her? Who would pay for her medical bills? He had to find a way to get the money back in the account.
“It’s late, sweetheart. Why don’t I take you to bed now?”
~*~
The next morning Josh stopped by his uncle’s house to discuss what he had seen and overheard at the engagement party. He told him how he had struggled with it all night, avoiding his mother for fear he would blurt out what he’d witnessed. And because he had promised to give Lucas twenty-four hours to tell her what happened, he felt duty-bound to hold to it.
“I should’ve just confronted him in front of my mom last night at the party, not given him time to come clean. What was I thinking? If I had dealt with it at the party, my gut wouldn’t be twisting like someone’s big fist had a hold of my insides.” Josh sat on the edge of the sofa, his shoulders slumped, and his head hung down. He looked up at his uncle. “But I didn’t want to embarrass her, ya know?”
“Maybe you misunderstood, Josh. Is that possible?” Sully asked, taking a seat next to him.