The Crying Bridge

The Crying Bridge--Chapter 44

  "So what do you think about all this?" Evan asked Del. They had driven home after the trip to Stillman mostly in silence, both lost in thought. They were lying together in bed now, having just made love, sleepily discussing the evenings revelations.

"I'm still in a state of disbelief," Del admitted. "But I'm excited, too. If we can get Douglas Hereford to agree to communicating with his dead grandmother I really think Emma will move on. Wow. That sounded crazy, even to me. He's never gonna go for it."

"You never know," Evan said. "Gretchen said he wanted to know more about Emma. He might be curious enough to try it. And he could be a believer in this kind of thing."

"I want to be hopeful," she said, turning toward him. "We'll see. So I thought we could see if Jenny and Dan want to come over tomorrow evening. We could grill. If they don't have plans."

"Sounds good to me. We'll call them in the morning," Evan kissed the top of Del's head and pulled her closer. "I'm glad their together. They both deserve it."

"Mmm, yeah, definitely," she agreed. "I love you."

"Love you, too," he said. Then they both fell asleep.

*************************

Del was beside herself with excitement. She and Jenny were in the kitchen of the cottage, prepping shrimp and vegetable skewers for the grill. She had shown Jenny the progress on the addition to the cottage and had told her all about the meeting with Gretchen. And most exciting of all, Gretchen had phoned a couple of hours ago and told her that Douglas Hereford was agreeable to meeting. Del still wasn't sure how she'd get him to believe how she'd learned Emma's story but she was going to try.

"I still can't believe that old legend is real," Jenny said. She pierced a cherry tomato with a metal skewer, added chunks of bell pepper, onion and several pieces of enormous shrimp. "Are you still thinking of writing a book?"

"I'm not sure," Del told her. "My main goal with the book was to do what Emma asked, tell her story and let the world know she hadn't harmed her son. But even more than that, I want her to have peace. She deserves that. Of course, now that I'm unemployed, I know I'm gonna want something productive to do with my time. Besides getting ready for these kids to come out, that is."

Jenny smiled at her. "You really do look beautiful. You're one of those women pregnancy is made for, I think."

"Thanks," Del said. "I'm starting to feel a little like a cow, though. And you have no idea how many times I have to get up each night to pee! And it's only gonna get worse."

"You know," Jenny said, still smiling. "Dan and I...we've talked about it. Marriage, kids, the whole package..."

"Yeah?" Del said. "So it's serious, then?"

Jenny nodded. "It is. I...I really love him. He's such a great guy." She said it like she was surprised by the knowledge.

"From what I know of him, I agree. He seems like a great guy."

"I still feel weird sometimes," Jenny said softly. She suddenly sat down at the table. "I never expected to fall in love with the first guy I dated after Greg. I'm not sure I expected to fall in love, period. Ever."

Del sat down across from her. "But you did," she said gently. "And it's wonderful, Jenny. Don't question it."

"I know. I feel so lucky," she said. "I mean, I've fallen in love with two amazing men in my life. I'm totally in it, there's no question about it. I really can't even consider the thought of Dan not being around."