Love Triangle 9

Unable to finish dusting, she sat down on the sofa and covered her face with her hands. A moment later, she felt her husband's arms around her. "You heard all of that, didn't you?"

She nodded miserably. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just in here dusting."

"Oh, that's all right! I just don't want you to worry too much about it. She'll come around soon. We just have to be patient. That's all."

"Yeah." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"How about if I take you somewhere special for dinner," he suggested. She smiled, and he grinned back. "I knew that would cheer you up."

It was still daylight, but just barely, when they took the subway to the restaurant. The aroma of cooking steak made Veronica slightly queasy. "Are you all right, hon?" asked Peter.

"I'm fine."

They'd just been seated and were poring over the menu when two other couples entered the restaurant. "Hey, it's Peter Wedemeyer!" exclaimed one of the men.

Startled, they both looked up, and Veronica promptly hid behind the menu. "Bob!" Peter stood and shook hands with the closer man. "Great to see you again! Hi, Phil!"

"This is Betsy," said Bob.

"And my wife's name is Melanie," added Phil.

"You guys remember Veronica, right?" asked Peter.

"Sure." Bob forced a smile. "Hi, Veronica." Phil looked away.

"Hi, Bob," Veronica said uncertainly. Both women smiled and said hello to her.

"Oh my God, I don't believe this," Phil mumbled.

Peter squeezed his wife's hand underneath the table. "Everything OK?" Veronica nodded wordlessly. When her food came she wasn't able to eat a single bite, so she asked for a doggy bag to take it home in. Peter rode in stony silence. Veronica glanced nervously at him from time to time.

"It's been more than ten years," he muttered as soon as they were inside the apartment. "You'd think they'd be over it by now. Heck, it was just middle school kid stuff, anyway."

"I tried to be nice to them," said Veronica.

"I know you did. It's not your fault."

Veronica was more tired than usual, so she went to bed not long after they got home. Peter sat up and read for a couple of hours before turning in. When he finally slipped into the bedroom, he stood watching Veronica sleep for just a moment, her chest rising and falling gently, and thought about how soft, how vulnerable she looked now. It occurred to him that he was one of the precious few people in the world she'd allowed to see this side of herself. He felt both honored and humbled.

Very gently, so as not to awaken her, he slipped between the sheets and switched off the lamp. She made a small sound and reached for him, and he hugged her close.

"I forgot to call my Mom," she mumbled.

"Call her tomorrow," he whispered. "Go back to sleep now, sweetie."

He heard her sniffle. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"That's the first time anybody ever called me 'sweetie' before."

"Ah." He squeezed her and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, sweetie."

"I love you, too."

"So I'm gonna be a grandma!" Patsy Peterson exulted. "Well, what do you know! I think a celebration's in order. Why don't you folks come over for dinner Friday night?"

Veronica relayed the news to Peter, and he smiled. "We'd love to!"

Arriving at the Petersons, they found Mary Jane sitting on the sofa with a young man they'd never seen before. "This is Fred Watson," she told them. "He's a missionary to Africa. He just came home for the holidays. I gave him a haircut today. Fred, this is my sister Veronica and her husband Peter."

"Nice to meet you." Peter shook Fred's hand.

"And you." Fred shook Veronica's hand after shaking Peter's. Patsy came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron. "Glad you folks could make it. Dinner will be ready in about five minutes. Spencer!" She yelled her son's name, and about ten seconds later, the teenager emerged with a bewildered expression on his face.

The family gathered around the table, Fred said the blessing, and then they all dug in. "So what kind of work do you do?" Fred asked Peter.

"I'm an accountant," Peter replied. "It must be pretty exciting to be a missionary and see how other cultures live. How long have you been doing that?"

"About six months. This is my first assignment, and I'm really enjoying it so far. The tribe I worked with most recently only now received the Bible in their own language for the first time. Hard to believe, isn't it?"

Peter and Veronica exchanged glances.

"So are you feeling better now? From your injuries from the fire, I mean," Peter asked Mary Jane.

"Oh yeah, they're all better now. Just left some nasty scars."

He turned to Spencer. "How's school coming along?"

Spencer grimaced. "Algebra's killing me!"

"What is it exactly that you don't understand? Maybe I could help you."

"Quadratic equations!"

"Oh, those are easy! I'll go over them with you after dinner, if you like."

"Oh, yes!"

When the final dish had been washed and the table wiped, the adults moved into the living room to chat while Peter went into Spencer's bedroom with him to help him with his algebra homework.

Veronica shared her news, and the others all seemed happy for her. An hour or so later, Peter and Spencer emerged from the bedroom. "Thanks a lot, Peter," Spencer told his brother-in-law. "I understand it a lot better now."

"No problem at all," Peter replied. "Glad to do it."

Veronica was in a good mood as they journeyed home. She was glad that her family and Peter seemed to be getting along so well.