Page 46 of What Matters Most

A long pause followed. “Carla?”

“The one and only,” she answered. Her voice throbbed with happiness. She’d pictured him lying back in an easy chair and relaxing. Now she envisioned him sitting up abruptly and rolling to his feet in disbelief. The imagery produced a deep smile of satisfaction.

“You called!” This time there was no disguising his incredulity.

“I said I would,” she murmured softly.

“You’ve decided about the canoe race?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“First, I need to know if you’re wearing your glasses.”

“Good grief, Carla, what’s that got to do with anything?”

“Do you have your glasses on or don’t you?” she demanded arrogantly.

“Why?”

Carla was learning that he could be just as stubborn as she could. “Because what I’m about to say may steam them up, so I suggest you remove them.”

—

Washington was known as the Evergreen State, but there was little evidence of any green in the eastern portion of the state—and none at all in the sagebrush, desertlike area in which Carla was traveling. Divided by the Cascade mountain range, Washington had a wet side and a dry side. In Seattle, summers and winters were less extreme—for example, although it was already mid-July, there had been only a handful of days above eighty-five degrees.

Carla shifted in the driver’s seat of her compact car, hoping to find a more comfortable position. She’d been on the road for almost three hours and was miserably hot. Her bare thighs stuck to the seat of her car, and rivulets of perspiration trickled down the small valley between her breasts. Even Mazatlán hadn’t seemed as hot.

Exiting off the interstate freeway at the town of George, Carla gassed up her car at the gas station and paused to look over the map a second time. Within an hour or so she would be meeting Philip. They’d been apart only six days, yet it felt more like six years. Carla didn’t know how she was going to endure any long separations.

As he’d said he would, Philip was sitting at a picnic table in front of the B & B Drive-In. Carla savored the sight of him and did a quick self-inspection in her rearview mirror. Instantly, she was sorry she didn’t freshen her makeup while at the gas station.

As she pulled into the drive-in’s parking lot, she noticed that Philip had spotted her and was heading for her car. Carla’s throat was dry, and she couldn’t think of a thing to say.

“Hi.” Philip opened the driver’s-side door and gave her his hand, his face searching hers all the while, as if he couldn’t quite believe she wasn’t an apparition. The hand gripping hers tightened. “How was your trip?”

“Uneventful” was all Carla could manage.

Lightly, Philip brought her into his arms and brushed her cheek with his lips. Their eyes met as they parted, and still he didn’t smile. “You really came,” he said hoarsely.

She answered with a short nod. Philip had known without her fully explaining what her coming meant. The doubts, her determination to fight this relationship, were slowly dissolving. And coming here to meet his friends was a major step on her part.

“Jeff and Sylvia will be by in a few minutes.” He led her to a picnic table. “Sit down and I’ll get you something cool to drink.”

“I can use that.” Now that she was outside the car, the heat was even more sweltering.

Philip returned with two cold mugs of root beer. He set them on the table and sat opposite her. “I can’t believe this. My heart’s beating so fast I feel like an adolescent out on his first date.”

“I feel the same way.” She lowered her gaze to the root beer. Her fingers curled around the mug handle, and she took her first long drink. “I noticed in your note you said that you wanted me to talk to Sylvia.”

Philip’s hand reached for hers. “I think you two will have a lot in common.”

“Does she feel the same way about Jeff’s job as I do?” Carla asked tentatively.

“No.” His voice was gently gruff. “But you’re about the same age.”

“Didn’t you say she was pregnant with their first child?”

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