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“You think so?”
“You bet. What are we going to name her?”
Claire studied the precious bundle in her arms. “How about Sarah Margaret? After Bunny. What do you think?”
“Oh, honey. Mom will be so excited. It’s perfect.”
“Yes…”
Fatigue overwhelmed Claire and her eyes drooped, but in that instant, with her baby in her arms and Dean smiling at her, she knew she’d made the right choice.
CHAPTER THREE
AS DEAN DROVE TOWARD Lake Travis, the bright Texas sun dimmed to twilight gray. Darkness would soon blanket the hills and Claire still hadn’t called. If she couldn’t get him at home, she’d try his cell. But so far nothing. He knew something was really wrong.
For once everything was right in their world. Both their daughters were on their own. Their youngest, Sami, already had a job at a school in the nearby town of Round Rock. Both girls had received the education Claire and Dean had wanted for them. And now Claire had the time he’d always wanted for her—time for herself—to earn that college degree.
Ten days and her dream would start becoming a reality. His own college days had been one big guilt trip. He’d been away at games, traveling, while Claire was at home working and taking care of a new baby.
It wasn’t long after Sarah was born that they noticed the wheezing. She was also phlegmy, with a constant cold and cough. At times she didn’t want to nurse. Claire was continually in the doctor’s office with her. The pediatrician kept her on antibiotics, and they worried about their baby taking so much medication.
Then the ear infections started, and Sarah was hospitalized twice for pneumonia. Claire got very little sleep because the baby needed lots of attention. That made her load heavier, but she’d never complained. Several nights Dean found her in the rocker, crying and holding Sarah. Claire was worried something was really wrong with their child and the doctors couldn’t find it. Dean was worried, too. He would sit and hold both of them until the morning light. That was all he could do, and at times he felt so helpless.
The first few months, Claire couldn’t work, and lost her jobs. His mother helped, and Dean tried to take care of Sarah at night. But Claire always seemed to be awake.
At times it was a struggle for Sarah to breathe. Claire did tons of research and insisted on a diagnosis. The doctor suspected she had asthma, but said Sarah was too little for him to know for sure. He said her airways were inflamed, and would heal with antibiotics and time.
That wasn’t good enough for Claire and Dean, and they immediately switched doctors. Sarah was put on a nebulizer machine for albuterol treatments. It plugged into the wall and had tubing and a mask that went over her nose and mouth. The medication went into the machine and Sarah breathed it in. They saw results almost immediately.
The new doctor agreed that Sarah had asthma, and said that some children grow out of it. But at least their baby was getting better. Dean and Claire were so relieved.
It was a hard time, however. Sarah also had allergies, and Claire washed her bedding every day to get rid of dust mites. They covered the mattress and pillows with allergy covers and gave away all her stuffed toys. Bunny bought a humidifier because they couldn’t afford to.
Once they adjusted to Sarah and her needs, life settled down. Claire started tutoring students so she could stay at home. The pay was very good and it worked out well.
Dean had heard it said that you can’t live on love, but during those first few years they had very little else.
CLAIRE STARED AT THE phone, wanting to call Dean. She needed to hear his voice, but she wasn’t ready to tell him yet. She had to continue to examine her life alone—to measure the sacrifices she’d made. Were they sacrifices or was that what love was?
She opened a letter—one she’d written while waiting for Dean to come home from a football game, a time she’d questioned that sacrifice.
Dean,
Sarah had one of those days. Nothing seems to help her breathing and she’s fussy. I feel so helpless…
The page blurred.
November 12, 1983
SARAH WAS SIX WEEKS OLD and Claire had been up with her most of the night. She was exhausted, her nerves frayed. She curled up in a rocker, trying to get Sarah to nurse, but the baby kept spitting out the nipple. Claire worried she wasn’t getting enough milk.
Texas was playing football and Claire flipped on the TV to watch her husband. Bunny came by to catch the game with her, and made popcorn. Claire was glad to have her company.
Just as Sarah went to sleep, Bunny yelled at the TV and the baby woke up.
“Sugar, I’m sorry. I get all excited when I see my boy getting bruised.”
“It’s okay.” Claire stood. “I’ll put her in her bed and maybe she’ll sleep for a while.”
“Why don’t you lie down, too, sugar?” Bunny suggested.
“Are you kidding? I want to watch Dean so I’ll know what he’s talking about when he tells me about the game.”
Sarah went to sleep quickly, and Claire hurried back to the living room. The game was tied, with less than ten seconds to play. The two women sat on the edge of their seats, biting their nails. Texas had the ball. The quarterback threw a long pass, and Claire and Bunny jumped to their feet, holding their breath as the pigskin sailed through the air. Dean leaped high in the end zone and dragged it in with the tips of his fingers. The fans went crazy and Claire and Bunny hugged, careful not to shout too loudly.
With the game over, fans poured onto the field. A reporter held a mike out to Dean and asked him a couple of questions. The noisy crowd prevented Claire from hearing him clearly, but she saw his smile—that lazy grin that turned her knees to pure sweet honey.
His sweaty hair hung across his forehead and he reached up to touch it, a signal to Claire that he was thinking about her. Smiling, she tugged her hair in response. The camera followed Dean as he jogged toward the locker room. A blonde grabbed him and kissed him. The reporter commented he hoped that was Dean’s wife.
But it wasn’t.
Claire sank into her chair, her joy dissipating. For the first time, she realized other women saw Dean as an attractive man, just as she did. The understanding left her in a state of shock. She should be there with him, sharing these moments of victory in his life. Instead she was home, feeling very left out.
Bunny caught the look on her face. “Sugar, don’t pay that any attention. It means nothing to Dean.”
For the first time, Claire wondered about that, too. “I don’t know, Bunny. I’m tired most of the time. Sarah spits up all over me and I smell like spoiled milk. I don’t feel very attractive.”
“Now you just stop thinking like that right now, do you hear me? Dean loves you and that little girl in there.”
“But don’t you think he’s flattered by the attention?”
“He’s a man, sugar. Of course he is, but I know my boy. His one thought now is to get back to you and Sarah.”
Claire wasn’t so sure. Life just seemed to be one jolt after another, and she didn’t know how much longer she could hold it together. Could her parents have been right? Was she too young to even know what true love was all about? No. She would never believe that. Not for one instant.
That night she lay in bed waiting for Dean. The game was out of town, so she knew it would be late when he came home.
She was half-asleep when she heard his key in the lock. A few minutes later, he slipped into bed beside her.
“Hey, beautiful.”
She wiggled in his arms. “I don’t feel beautiful.”
“What?” He turned on the bedside lamp. “What’s wrong?”
Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she sat up. “I saw you kissing that girl.” Claire hated that she couldn’t keep the hurt out of her voice.
He caressed her cheek and she leaned her face into his hand, loving his gentle touch. “I didn’t kiss her. She kissed me, and I have no idea who she was.”
“Still…”
He reached for something on the nightstand. “I wrote this on the plane.”
Unfolding the paper, she read,
My sweet Claire,
Today I realized why I’m hooked on your kisses. They’re sweeter than watermelon wine and hotter than a hooker’s on Saturday night. No other woman can ever top that.
A bubble of laughter left her throat. “We’ve both had Bunny’s watermelon wine, but how do you know what a hooker’s kiss tastes like?”
He grinned. “Purely a guess.”
“Now I know why you made such awful grades in English.”
He gently laid her down. “There’s only one woman I want to kiss.” His lips trailed a line of fire from her neck to her jaw. When his mouth covered hers, any remaining doubts vanished. All she felt was happiness.
Looking into her eyes, he said, “I love you. Only you.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “You better. We have a baby to raise.”
He glanced at the crib. “I see she’s sleeping.”
“Yes, finally.”
“Tomorrow I’ll watch her and you can rest.” He rolled onto Claire. “But now we need some fun time.”
As he turned out the light she giggled like a schoolgirl. He wanted her. That’s what she needed to hear—to know. It was important to her as a woman.
But her faith in their love was tested once more.
When Sarah was six months old, Claire discovered she was pregnant again. She was on the pill, but something had gone wrong. Being up with Sarah so much, she was exhausted most of the time, and obviously had forgotten to take it. She cursed herself. She cursed Dean.
“God, this can’t be happening again,” he said when she told him.
“Well, it is. I can’t do this. I can’t handle two babies by myself. You’re gone all the time and I’m stuck here.”
She couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. She’d never dreamed she felt that way. But she did.
“I help, too.”
“Your mother helps. Most nights you’re out having fun.” Emotions too long bottled up came spilling out.
“Claire, that’s not fair.”
“No, it isn’t,” she screamed. “I’m the one making all the sacrifices. I’m the one…” Anger consumed her and she tore out of the apartment.
“Claire,” Dean called, but she kept running.
She stopped in a small park on campus to catch her breath. Her head pounded with doubts, insecurities and with the reality of growing up. As an adult, wasn’t she supposed to be wiser? And wasn’t she supposed to have learned from her mistakes?
Sinking onto the grass, she wrapped her arms around her legs and watched as couples strolled hand in hand, oblivious to everything but each other. She and Dean had been like that, so much in love. Life and responsibilities were suddenly too much.
As Dean walked toward her, she scrambled to her feet. “Where’s Sarah?” she asked.
“Mom’s with her.”
“You always do that—call Bunny. Sarah is your responsibility, not your mother’s.”
He frowned. “I had to find you.”
Claire whirled away. “I can’t do this. I can’t have another baby. As soon as Sarah was better, I was planning to enroll for classes. Now…”
“What are you saying?”
She faced him. “I’m exhausted physically and emotionally. I…”
“I’m sorry you’re pregnant.” For the first time he seemed angry. “But you’re the one who forgot to take the pill.”
“Why is that my responsibility?”
He jammed both hands through his hair. “I don’t know. It just is.”
“Well, it shouldn’t be, because I’m lousy at it.”
His mouth twitched. “Honey…” He reached for her.
She backed away. “Don’t touch me. I can’t think when you do that.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know.” She paused, her voice dropping to barely a whisper. “I just want to feel happy again.”
“Claire, honey.” He wrapped his arms around her and she sagged against him. “I’m sorry life has been so hard.”
“I know.” She looked into his blue eyes. “Undo my bow.”
“What?”
“Undo my bow.”
Frowning, he yanked the ribbon that held back her blond hair, and it tumbled to her shoulders. She spun and took off running across the grass, her hair flying behind her. He caught her in less than ten seconds. Laughing, they whirled around as a light rain began to fall. They hardly noticed as they slowly began to dance, locked in each other’s arms. Raindrops pelted their heads, but they didn’t mind. They were young and in love and remembering how wonderful that felt.
“I love it when we dance—even without music,” he said, kissing her face.
The scent of rain mingled with the smell of him, and her heart brimmed with happiness. She’d lost it for a moment. “Me, too. I love you.”
He stopped moving and cupped her face, his thumbs making wet circles on her cheeks. “I love you with all my heart.”
