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“Look. I think he likes me,” Debbie said as Bedford tried desperately to climb into her lap.
“He likes everyone,” Ket explained. “Here, hold him a minute, will you? I just want to get some coffee.” Without waiting for her reply, Ket handed Debbie Bedford’s leash and bought herself two doughnuts and a cup of decaf coffee. When she returned to the table, she could tell that Debbie and Maggie were on to their favorite topic again: eligible young men. Or, the lack thereof.
“So, what’s going on in your love life, Ket?” Maggie asked. “Anything interesting to report?”
Ket took a huge bite of doughnut and shook her head. “Not too much…but as a matter of fact, I do have a date tonight.”
“Who with?” both young women demanded simultaneously.
“I’m not telling. You two are the worst gossips in the hospital. Anyway, I’m not too excited about it.”
Debbie said, “I know a fellow that works for the state government. He’d be perfect for you, Ket. Why don’t you let me fix you up?”
“I don’t think so.”
Maggie frowned with disapproval. “You don’t need to miss any chances. A woman who wants a husband has got to—” She broke off suddenly and her eyes widened. The other two were watching her and saw something like shock come over her face. “Who is that?” she whispered.
Ket turned casually and then suddenly froze. The sight of the tall man who had just entered the cafeteria with Dr. Lars Bjelland had an almost paralyzing effect on her.
“Now, he is something!” Debbie breathed. “Did you ever see a better-looking man in your whole life?”
The man that Debbie and Maggie were staring at was six foot five, with a lean, athletic-looking build. He had auburn hair, light blue eyes and strong, even features. Both Maggie and Debbie watched with shock as he suddenly turned toward them and smiled. “He’s coming over here,” Debbie said.
“Do you know him?” Maggie whispered.
Ket had no time to answer for the tall man stopped before them and looked down at her. “Hello, Ket,” he said.
“Hello, Jared. It’s nice to see you.”
“You’re a nurse here?”
“I’m almost through with my training.”
“Mom said she got a letter from your mother telling her you were almost done.” His warm smile made him even more attractive. “I guess we’ll be seeing each other from time to time. I’m going to intern here at Mercy.” Then he glanced across the room and said, “Dr. Bjelland’s waiting. Good to see you.”
The three young women watched in stunned silence as he walked away. “Who is that?” Maggie finally gasped.
“Jared Pierce.”
“And you know him?” Debbie breathed. “Tell us all about it!”
“Oh, we grew up together. Went to the same school.”
“What a cutie!” Debbie sighed. “Did you date him?”
“No,” Ket said shortly. “He was a couple of grades above me—and besides, we didn’t get along.”
“Didn’t get along with a guy like that?” Maggie snorted. “You were out of your mind!”
“Don’t be fooled by appearances, ladies,” Ket warned. “When I think of Jared Pierce, all I can remember is a rather nasty boy who teased me about being so tall. He was always puling my ponytail, and once he pushed me into a mud puddle.”
“He could push me into the Atlantic Ocean!” Debbie grinned.
“Well, he was the star of the baseball team. All the girls were chasing him.” Ket shrugged. “He wouldn’t have looked at me if my hair was on fire.”
They all three watched as the two doctors got their trays and made their way to a table.
“Look at that,” Maggie said. “Every woman in here has her eyes on that man. Ket, you’ve got to introduce me to him.”
“It wouldn’t do you any good. He’s like all stars, pretty stuck-up.”
“Maybe he’s changed,” Debbie said. “He came over and spoke to you right away.”
“And that’s probably the last time he’ll speak to me unless he needs my help around here in the medical line for some reason. Which is doubtful.” Ket suddenly lost her appetite. “Here, you can have my other doughnut.” She passed a doughnut to Maggie, then reached down and handed the last morsel of one she had almost finished to Bedford. “Come on, Bedford. We’ve got to get home.”
“Hey, I want to hear all about that date tomorrow!” Maggie called out but Ket did not even turn around.
Out in the parking lot, Ket got into the car and plunked Bedford down on the seat beside her. She started the engine and drove home, her mind on Jared Pierce. Her mother had once been best friends with Jared’s mother, but the Pierce family had moved away years ago, so their friendship had been sustained by phone calls and letters.
“Jared Pierce,” she mused. “Well, he’s something, I have to admit. As mean and stuck-up as he was, I would definitely have dated him if he’d just given me a look, but he never did.”
Arriving at the house she went quickly inside, unsnapped Bedford’s leash. “Go get something to eat,” she said, and watched the dog scurry off.
Turning, she went into the den where she found her mother ironing and watching television. Her mother was a news hound and spent most of her time watching the all-news TV channels.
“Why, Ket, you’re home early. Did you see your young friend?”
“Yes, I did.”
“How was he?”
“Not good. He’s so sick and he doesn’t really know it.”
“I bet he enjoyed Bedford, though.”
“Yes, he did. He’s so sweet. He enjoys everything you do for him and is so appreciative.”
Flinging herself onto the recliner, Ket sat watching her mother for a time. With dark auburn hair, warm dark eyes and a trim figure, Lucille Lindsey was still an attractive woman at age forty-eight. Ketura thought she had to be the most devoted wife and mother in the world…at least in all of Texas. Now that Ket was an adult, she could appreciate how hard her mother had worked raising her three children—Ket and her two older sisters, Carol and Jenny. Though they’d squabbled and teased each other almost constantly while growing up, Ketura missed her sisters and wished she could see them more often. Carol, an elementary school teacher, had recently married and lived in Southern California, where her husband worked for a computer software firm. Jenny was in Chicago, finishing law school. She and her boyfriend had announced their engagement the past Christmas and would be married next year. Ketura was happy for them, but wasn’t looking forward to the event. She felt embarrassed to be the only sister left who was unmarried—and with absolutely no prospects in sight. She dreaded the well-meaning questions and romantic advice of relatives and family friends she’d surely hear on her sister’s wedding day. Ketura hoped to be far away by then, doing missionary work in India, which was her plan once she’d completed her training and became a registered nurse.
While her parents were proud that she had been called to such an admirable vocation, Ketura knew that they were anxious about her going so far away on her own. Mostly, her parents wanted to see her “settled down with a nice young man”—just like her sisters. She knew her mother worried the most, but her mom was quieter about it than her father. While she and her sisters had been growing up, Ket knew she’d always been the most mischievous, and her mother deserved a medal for her patience.
And I’m still testing her patience, Ket thought, casting her mother an affectionate glance.
Ket sighed. She popped the chair back into the reclining position and watched the news for a time but was not really interested. “Guess who I saw today, Mom?” she asked suddenly.
“Who?”
“Jared Pierce.”
This did catch Lucille Lindsey’s attention. “Did you really! Where in the world did you see him?”
“In the hospital. He’s come to do his internship there.”
“I knew he was an intern now. Irene told me. But I didn’t know it would be in your hospital. Did you talk to him at all?” she asked eagerly.
“Oh, he came over and said hello.”
“And what did you say?”
“I said, ‘Hello, Jared.’”
“Is that all?” Lucille was plainly disappointed. “After all, you’re old schoolmates.”
“Not really. He was in the twelfth grade when I was in the tenth. That’s like two different species. He was about as interested in me as he was in the carvings on Mount Rushmore.”
“Oh, don’t be silly! You and Jared played together all your lives.”
Ket did not answer for a time, then she said, “Well, I will say he’s still fine looking. So tall. I thought Maggie and Debbie were going to faint when they saw him.”
“Well, he’s dating someone. Irene told me that. Oh, you’d know her!”
“How would I know her?”
“Why, she’s one of your old schoolmates. Lisa Glenn.”
“He’s dating Lisa?”
“Yes. You know she’s Miss Texas now.”
“I knew that. She was always Miss Something. Miss Mudpie or Miss Ingrown Toenail.”
“Now, that’s not kind! She’s a pretty girl, and she just naturally likes beauty contests.”
“I know, Mom. I just never got along with Lisa very well. I always thought she was pretty stuck-up.”
Her mother missed the pun, Ket noticed, but Ket didn’t bother explaining it.
“Well, I suppose she may have been but, in any case, she and Jared are dating.”
“Are they engaged?”
“No. Not yet. Irene said she’s hoping they will be. She’s very fond of Lisa.”
Suddenly Ket came to her feet. “Here. Let me finish that ironing. Most of it’s mine anyway.” She ignored her mother’s protests and picked up the iron. Lucille gathered up a pile of neatly folded clothing. “Don’t forget. You’ve got a date tonight,” she reminded Ket as she left the room.
“I know it,” Ket said shortly. She almost added, “And do I dread it,” but she did not. Her parents were always excited when she went out with someone. Both of them longed to see her find a nice boyfriend but Ket felt as if she was constantly disappointing them.
“Well, it’s a date anyhow, and that’s more than I’ve had lately,” she told herself as she pressed down viciously on the blouse and then suddenly lifted the iron. “No sense taking it out on you.” She thought of Jared Pierce then, and murmured, “Hmph. He was a real pest when he was a kid, and I expect he’s about the same deep down. Lisa is welcome to him!”
Chapter Two
“Well, at least I’m not quite six feet tall—guess I should be grateful. Another quarter of an inch I would be.”
Why couldn’t I have been petite and beautiful like Carol and Jenny instead of tall and plain? Ever since she could remember, Ket had longed to look like her two older sisters. Both of them had taken their size and beauty from their mother—exactly five foot four with dark auburn hair and sparkling, dark eyes. Both of them had attracted more suitors than Quaker has oats. Ketura had a sharp memory of the time when she was an adolescent, coming into her full growth and her father had admonished her sharply. “Ketura, for goodness’ sake, will you straighten up! You look like Quasimodo!”
Ket had finally been cured of stooping over to minimize her height by recognizing that it did not help. Also by realizing that God, in His infinite wisdom, had chosen to make her different from her mother and sisters. Different from most women, in fact. She knew by now there was no use complaining about it.
Now she stood straight and tall and put her attention fully on the dress that she had bought for tonight. At one time in her life she had envisioned herself going out for dates as often as her sisters, but somehow her shyness with men—mostly because of her height—had brought her to a strange situation in which she had almost stopped dating completely. She refused to date anyone shorter than she was, which eliminated fifty percent of the male population, and the other fifty percent were put off by what they considered her haughty manner. She was not haughty actually, but hid her real feelings. She feared rejection and did all she could to avoid embarrassment and humiliation.
She examined the dress critically, for she had bought it especially for her date with Charlie Petrie. Petrie was not handsome, but he was six feet three inches tall. True enough, he was thin, almost to the point of disappearing if he stood sideways. His colleagues at the accounting firm where he worked called him Ichabod behind his back, for his stooped, thin frame reminded one of the character in the classic by Washington Irving.
“This stupid dress makes me look awful!” Staring at herself, Ketura turned around and studied it. She had paid more for it than she had ever thought she would spend for a dress. Indeed, her trip to Neiman Marcus in Dallas had been her first. She had felt like a poor relation and was certain she had seen disdain in the eyes of the cool-voiced saleswoman who had waited on her.
As she recalled how embarrassing the trip to Neiman Marcus had been, Ketura flushed. She did have one outstanding trait, and that was her beautiful complexion. It was as smooth and clear as a woman’s skin could be, but she never saw that quality and remained distracted by the few faint freckles across the bridge of her nose that she considered unsightly. Now she looked again at the dress and tried to find something good about it. She had not liked it much at the store, but the saleswoman had talked her into buying it. “With your height, you have to wear a style like this, dear,” the woman had said.
“Like what?” Ketura wondered aloud now. “Like somebody’s spinster aunt?”
That’s who the dress seemed suited for, she thought, despairing as she studied her reflection. The short-sleeved button-front chemise, made from a smooth, pale yellow fabric, fell just below her knees. The demure oval neckline was outlined with satin appliqué, and the tiny buttons covered in satin, as well.
Maybe it wasn’t that bad, she decided, but so out of sync with her usual, sporty style that she felt as though she were dressed in a costume.
Ketura finally turned and sat down at the edge of her bed to put on her shoes. The shoes were also new and rather attractive, and Ketura had surprisingly small feet for her height. The shoes were overpriced though, and now she wished she’d put her hard-earned money toward something more practical, like a good pair of jogging shoes. Or better yet, used the money for a donation to people who had no shoes at all.
While slipping them on, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. “Time for Cinderella to go to the ball,” she muttered darkly.
She went downstairs and found her parents in the family room. Her father greeted her with a smile. “Well, now,” he said with appreciation, “don’t you look nice, Ket.”
He came over to stand beside her, and no one seeing them together could mistake their relationship. Roger Lindsey was six foot three with blue eyes and blond hair that had gone mostly gray. For a man of fifty, few lines marked his face or marred his strong features. Ketura always felt she was looking at a masculine version of herself when she looked into her father’s face.
“I hate this dress,” she murmured between clenched teeth.
“Hate it? Why, how can you say that?” Her mother looked genuinely surprised. “You look lovely. I’m sure Charlie will think so, too.”
“I paid too much for the dress and the shoes. Just think what the mission in Bombay could have done with that money.”
“Well, that’s very true,” her mother replied placidly. “But young women need new clothes once in a while, too, and you told me yourself that you didn’t have anything to wear for tonight.”
Roger looked at his wife and shook his head. “I have to agree with Ketura. I remember it was Thoreau who said, ‘Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.’” He smiled and his eyes crinkled up at the corners. “Besides, Charlie probably won’t know the difference. I don’t think he appreciates anything but numbers.”
The skinny, dull accountant wasn’t the man for his Ket, Roger thought. Still, it was good to see her going out tonight and having some fun. He studied his daughter, who now sat on the couch next to his wife, and couldn’t help but wonder why she had not been as popular and sought-after as her older sisters. They had gone through dozens of boyfriends during high school and college, and Roger remembered finding the house crowded with them—gawky young men—everywhere you turned. This had not been the case with Ket, and it hurt him somehow, for he knew that this younger daughter of his who looked so much like him felt insecure. He had wanted to say, Don’t compare yourself to your sisters, Ket. They are who they are and you’re what God made you. A tall, strong, beautiful woman in your own right.
However, he had never been able to find an opportunity to say this. So now he said, “I think you look beautiful, sweetheart.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” Ketura smiled, despite herself. It was just her dad and she knew he felt obliged to say such things, but the compliment made her feel good nonetheless.
“It’s about time for Charlie to get here, isn’t it? Where are you going?” he asked.
“We’re going to the movies. Some film about space travel. Scientists are stranded on another planet. Or maybe they get stranded on the way to another planet…. I’m not quite sure.”
