Irene Hannon Apprentice Father (pdf)

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Irene Hannon 131
Yeah. Missed opportunities seem to be my lot today. He
held her gaze as he took a sip of soda.
Blushing, she turned away. We ll be back in a little while.
Clay watched them, his grin softening into a tender smile. The
three of them looked good together, he reflected. And right.
Cate s sure got a way with kids, Pop commented.
Yeah. Clay stretched his legs out in front of him. I wish I
had her knack.
Don t sell yourself short. You re doing a fine job.
With a rueful shake of his head, Clay took another swig of
soda. Thanks, but I ve made a lot of mistakes.
That s what being a father is all about. Or a husband. You
make mistakes, learn and try to do better the next time.
Maybe. But I never expected to have to deal with family stuff.
Not the marrying kind?
I never thought I was.
It just takes the right woman to change a person s mind.
Clay sent an involuntary glance toward Cate. When he turned
back, he wasn t sure he liked the gleam in Pop s eye. Doing his
best to ignore it, he focused on selecting one of the cookies Cate
had brought.
At thirty, I d sort of reconciled myself to being single, too, until
my Mary Beth came along, Pop offered in the lengthening silence.
What was it about her that changed your mind? Clay finally
chose a cookie.
She was beautiful, for one thing. I always did have an eye
for a pretty woman. He gave the younger man a wink. But that
wasn t why I fell in love with her. That happened more slowly,
as I got to know her. She had a great capacity for love, plus tre-
mendous courage and strength. I ve always liked strong women.
And I d never met anyone stronger or braver than Mary Beth.
132 Apprentice Father
How so? Now Clay s interest was piqued.
Pop selected a cookie of his own. It s a long story. Let me
see if I can give you the short version. He took a bite and chewed
for several seconds. Mary Beth came from a single-parent
household with five children, where love was doled out in meager
portions. As the oldest, she was also expected to take on a lot of
responsibility for the younger ones. She couldn t wait to get out,
and six months before her high school graduation, she married
a truck driver. Only it didn t have quite the happy ending she
hoped for.
Chasing away a bee, Pop picked up his soda. Things were
okay until Mary Beth decided to get her GED. Her husband,
who d never finished high school, didn t much like that idea, but
she did it anyway. After that, she started to talk about getting a
degree. Took a second job to pay the tuition at the community
college, and enrolled despite his disapproval. But he sabotaged
her every step of the way. Even burned her books and a term
paper, once.
Are you serious? Clay stared at him, appalled.
Yes. And it got worse after she became pregnant with my
stepson, Roger. I guess her husband figured that would slow her
down, but instead she worked harder to give them a better life.
That s when the physical abuse started. I ll spare you all the
details, but it went on for several years. The neighbors called the
police twice, and Mary Beth ended up in the emergency room
more than once.
Why didn t she leave him? It was the same question Clay
had asked himself over and over about Anne.
In the end, she did.
But why did she wait so long? The guy was a bum. She was
better off without him.
Irene Hannon 133
Just like your sister would have been?
Pop s quiet question caught Clay off guard. You know
about Anne?
Only the basics. Cate s pretty close-mouthed about confiden-
tial client matters.
Clay wiped a hand down his face and set his uneaten cookie
on the table. I wanted her to leave years ago. But my father laid
a guilt trip on her. Told her she d fall from God s favor if she
didn t honor her marriage vows. He didn t attempt to mask his
bitterness.
Guilt can be a powerful motivator, Pop conceded. But
there are all kinds of insidious ways to intimidate or terrify
a woman into staying in an abusive relationship. Name-calling,
put-downs, threats, forced isolation, withholding money. The
list goes on and on.
Could some of those tactics have been factors in Anne s re-
luctance to leave Martin? Clay wondered. Was it possible the
pressure his father had exerted from a religious perspective
wasn t the only reason or even the main reason she d stayed?
It was a new and disturbing insight. One that merited more con-
sideration, Clay decided.
Anne had decided to leave her husband, too. The day
before she died.
Pop laid a hand on his shoulder. I m sorry for your loss, son.
At the funeral, the minister talked about how courageous she
was. Clay swallowed hard. I guess I never understood how true
that was.
Hold on to that thought, Clay. Pop squeezed his shoulder.
If she d decided to leave, she had the same courage as my
Mary Beth had. I m just sorry her story didn t have the same
happy ending.
134 Apprentice Father
* * *
Cate shaded her eyes and looked toward the picnic table. The
two men were engrossed in what appeared to be a serious con-
versation. Good. After her almost-kiss with Clay, she needed a
chance to regain her balance. And answering the children s eager
questions about the lake and the fish, and how come stones
skipped instead of sinking if you threw them at the correct angle,
helped her do that.
Is Pop really a grandfather?
Yes. He s my grandfather. And Rob s and Mark s. Cate
lowered herself to the rock beside Emily. Why?
He s not anything like our grandfather.
Cate had learned enough from Clay to know Emily s assess-
ment was accurate. Not all grandfathers are alike. And not all
fathers are alike, either.
Emily pondered that. Your daddy is nice.
Yes, he is.
Uncle Clay isn t a daddy, is he?
Well, he never had any children of his own. But sometimes
a person can be a daddy without having their own children.
How?
I had a friend once, whose mommy and daddy couldn t take
care of her. When she was a little baby, they found a lady and a
man who were married and who wanted a baby to love. So they
gave that lady and man their baby to take care of forever. That s
called adoption. And the lady and man became her new mommy
and daddy.
Was she happy?
Yes. Very happy.
So& since my mommy is in heaven and my daddy is gone,
could Uncle Clay adopt me and Josh?
Irene Hannon 135
He s figuring that out now with a judge. I know he wants you
to stay with him, whether he adopts you or not.
But if he adopted us, wouldn t that mean we d never have to
go live with our grandfather? Emily persisted.
Yes.
Then I think he should adopt us. But& you know how you said
your friend was adopted by a lady and man who were married?
Yes.
Uncle Clay s not married.
That s okay. He s your uncle. That makes a difference.
But it would be okay if he was married, wouldn t it?
Yes.
You re not married, are you, Cate?
Suddenly Cate sensed where this was leading. No, honey.
I m not.
That means you could marry Uncle Clay, right?
Cate stole a quick look at the man in question, who remained
engrossed in conversation with Pop, and her heart did a little
somersault.
Oh, yes! I could marry him if I listened to my feelings instead
of reason. And if my disabilities weren t a stumbling block.
Cate?
With an effort, Cate focused on Emily s question, trying to
frame a noncommittal reply. People only get married if they love
each other, honey.
Do you love Uncle Clay?
She should have seen that coming, Cate berated herself.
Look what I found!
Josh thrust a frog in her face, and Cate recoiled with a squeal,
leaving Emily s question unanswered.
But it continued to echo in her mind, reminding her that
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