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“Tell me anyway.” She took a deep breath to get her heart beating again, but the stubborn organ remained still in hope and fear.
Karl pulled his hands off her shoulders and placed them on her cheeks. For the first time she could remember since she had known him, his hands were warm. “I love you, Vivian.”
Vivian opened her mouth to ask about his judgment of her near felony, then stopped. Loving her and her past were so intimately tied together for him that he couldn’t say those words and still care that she’d nearly broken the law. To press him would be cruel and along the lines of crowing over a victory she didn’t feel.
“It’s my responsibility to keep our little family together, but that responsibility isn’t a burden. It’s a pleasure. It’s a pleasure that I’ll look forward to every day for the rest of my life.” When he bent his head to kiss her, her heart started beating again, the blood it released warming her from head to toe.
Their kiss was short, but had the intimacy of two people who had finally tossed away all pretenses and were ready to open their hearts to each other. When Karl pulled away, Vivian reached up to put her hands on his cheeks. It was her turn to reassure him.
“It’s my responsibility, too. There are two of us in this marriage.” They were partners. No matter how unequally she’d come into it, their relationship would only work if they each carried an equal burden.
Karl smiled. “I love how you’ll never let one of us take all the responsibility or credit for what’s good or bad in our relationship. And I love your dedication to family, even if your family is sometimes your father. It’s also me, my mother, my sisters and our child and you won’t let us go, like I won’t let you go.”
“I love you, too.”
Karl opened his arms and Vivian stepped into them. His embrace was warm and strong around her. He supported her, but neither held her up nor held her back. With her head resting against the cool cotton of his shirt and the smell of starch filling her nose, she wished every woman could be so lucky.
“Let’s take your father out for dinner at Healthy Food. We can stuff him so full of pork, potatoes and cabbage that he won’t be able to do anything other than sleep. Tomorrow we can follow him until he gets to the Iowa border, give him a grocery sack full of cash and you can get on with the rest of your life.”
“With you. The rest of my life with you.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
EPILOGUE
HEALTHY FOOD’S NEON Open sign was off, which didn’t stop anyone from coming inside. Karl had given up making sure the people entering the restaurant were actually guests of the baby shower. With all the blue, pink and yellow streamers, the baby elephant decorations and the massive diaper-shaped cake on the counter blocking the register, most people who walked through the doorway sorted themselves. If the person walked in and didn’t belong, they looked embarrassed and left. If they walked in and heard their name hollered in greeting by someone they knew, they stayed.
Karl was pretty sure the two college kids flirting with Phil’s young and pretty cousin had walked in, run to the store for a baby shower present and returned without knowing another soul at the party. But the festivities had turned into a mix of block party, baby shower and wedding reception so Karl hadn’t tried to kick them out. Plus, Phil’s cousin looked as if she was enjoying the attention.
“You should go keep Vivian company,” his mom said from behind him.
He didn’t turn around to face her. “I’m enjoying watching her.”
“You picked a good one,” his mother said with a pat on his back. “I’m glad you didn’t listen to me and my objections.”
“My objections were the more troubling ones. I’m glad I didn’t listen to those, either.”
His mom chuckled, then hurried off to get something from the kitchen. More food, probably. The partygoers had healthy appetites and Karl hoped all that food didn’t make them sick when the dancing started.
He turned his attention back to his wife, who was far too pregnant to do much more than waddle around from guest to guest. There was no way she was going to be able to dance after the polka band got set up—but she was enjoying herself. Her eyes were bright with joy and her face was gleaming with sweat because the air conditioning wasn’t powerful enough for the crowds of people, but Karl still thought she looked perfect. Especially the small, contented smile she got on her face any time her eyes caught sight of the out-of-town guests.
