Purgatory Ridge

They both turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairway. The boys came down.

“Mom, can we have something to snack on?” Scott asked.

“Sure. Okay with you if I give them some cookies?” Grace asked Jo.

“Fine. But go easy, Stevie.”

“In the kitchen, Scott. You know where.”

The boys went together. Jo watched them, smiling.

“Scott’s good with him. Stevie’s usually pretty shy.”

“Scott’s just happy to have another nonadult around. Or nonmom.” She looked down at the tea glass in her hand. “Where was I?”

“Karl coming back into your life.”

Grace nodded. “In some ways, the navy was the best thing that could have happened to him. Growing up, he had a father he could never please, whose love he could never fully win. I always felt sorry for him. He was such a lonely boy. The navy did something, toughened him, gave him, I believe, some concrete measure of himself, an acknowledgment of his achievements, things his father never did. There was something very attractive about him then. He had a powerful feel to him. He could walk into a room and take charge. It was as if he’d grown into the man he was meant to become. Very handsome, indeed.”

“You were married then. To the poor but worthy man.”

“It wasn’t like that, Jo. I didn’t drool over Karl. I was happy for him. He visited Edward and me whenever he was in town. The two of them got to be good friends. They both shared a love of the water, sailed a lot together.

“Karl left the navy to take over the Lindstrom business after his father died. Everything had gone to hell under his father’s haphazard practices. He was working himself to death. That’s when Edward convinced him to take a break, a two-week voyage around the Great Lakes, to relax. Unfortunately, at the last minute, there was a problem at one of the mills and Karl had to back out. Edward went anyway, alone, and disappeared in the middle of Lake Superior.” She stopped for a moment, and Jo could see that time hadn’t yet healed the wound. “Even though Karl was overwhelmed with his own problems, he dropped everything and was there for me. I was a mess. He was my spokesman to the press, my guide, my shrink, my business executive. He did what needed doing, what I couldn’t bring myself to do. For almost three years.”

“And then you married.”

“Yes.”

“You’d fallen in love with him?”

“No. Not like with Edward. I’d come to rely on Karl. And I thought Scott needed a father. It seemed the natural progression of things.”

“And now?”

“Karl has tried. It’s not his fault. It’s just that…” She paused, reached again for her tea, but missed and nearly knocked the glass over.

“Just what?” Jo asked after things were settled.

“At the very heart of him, he’s still a Lindstrom. He snaps at Scott. He makes decisions without discussing things with me and then he brooks no argument. Moving up here, for example. It’s lovely country, Jo. I won’t deny that. But I don’t belong here. And Scott desperately needs other children around. I know Karl thought it would be good to get away from where so many memories haunted us both, but-”

“You let him build a home like this without really wanting it?” Jo said, interrupting.

“I have homes in New York City and Malibu, too. I can easily afford a home like this.” She put a hand on Jo’s knee. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. It’s just that money wasn’t the issue.”

“I understand.”

“Edward and I, we shared everything. Our thoughts. Our fears. Our hopes. I knew his soul. I knew absolutely that he loved me. This honker, for example.” She squeezed the end of her nose as if it were a bicycle horn. “He loved my nose. Karl asked me a few weeks ago why I’d never considered having something done to it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Karl shares so little of himself. A Lindstrom trait. When he does, it’s not attractive. I’ve begun to feel as if I’m living with a stranger, although I’ve known him all my life. With all the problems over the logging issue, he’s hardly ever here. When he is, he’s still not really here.” She turned away from Jo, moved to the window again, clasped her hands behind her. “So I’m leaving him. I’m going to ask for a divorce.”

Jo put her glass down. “Are you telling me this because I’m a friend, or because I’m an attorney?”

“You do family law.”

“Up here, I do everything. But you have attorneys, I imagine. Good, expensive attorneys.”

“I don’t want you to handle the divorce, Jo. That’s not it. Just tell me what I’m facing.”

“Legally?”

“That. And anything else you think I ought to know. This is scary. I haven’t said anything to anyone, but I need to talk to someone.”

“Does Karl know?”

“I haven’t told him. But I can’t imagine he doesn’t know at some level.”

“Have you thought about counseling?”

“I’ve suggested it several times. Karl’s a Lindstrom, an ex-naval officer. He doesn’t believe in help. That kind, anyway.”

Something fell in the kitchen, a crash of glass on the floor.

“Scott? You guys okay in there?” Grace called.