WE GATHER TOGETHER by Edward L. Woodyard

We Gather Together Chapter Thirty-Four

Drew McCulloch tucked his elder daughter Courtney in her bed. He thought that she was growing up far too fast and was getting far too big far too early.

Earlier in the evening, she had given her mother and father a private dance recital in the living room, showing her parents what she had learned that afternoon at her dance class. Courtney had even persuaded Drew to perform in the act when she recreated a famous dance scene at the end of a movie about a teen-aged girl who falls in love with a young dance instructor at a private mountain resort. The dance called for the girl to run to the instructor who then lifts the girl up in the air over his head so she could spread her arms and legs out like a swan in flight. Cara had uploaded that last scene from her laptop onto the television screen so that Courtney could dance in the living room along with the characters in the movie. When it came time for Drew to play the part of the dance instructor, he got down on one knee and held his arms out for Courtney to run into them. He then lifted her up in the air by her waist and she spread out her arms and legs just as the girl had done in the movie. As Cara clapped and cheered, Drew knew he was holding over his head the happiest little girl in the world.

Looking at Courtney lying under her covers in her bed and holding out her arms for him to hug and kiss her good night, Drew knew that he had to be the happiest father in the world. He was most familiar with what his father had told him, that bringing up his children would be the best years of his life.

"Good night, Courtney. I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Drew looked toward his bedroom and saw Cara in her nightgown, getting into bed. Cara had called her parents after lunch to tell them the good news about the plant expansion, which prompted her father immediately to offer to help construct it – which was fine with Drew. It would be one less thing for him to worry about; he knew the job would get done and would be done well. Cara had told Drew about it at dinner and then volunteered to use her business experience to help with the bids and bank financing, something else which pleased Drew no end.

Drew motioned to Cara that he'd be right there, but first he had to say good-night to Lindsay. He opened the door to the nursery and saw Lindsay sound asleep in her crib. He put two of his fingers to his lips and then touched them to her cheek. He called it a proxy kiss.

"Good night, Lindsay. I love you," he whispered. He then checked a baby monitor next to the crib; it was on.

As Drew returned to the upstairs hallway, he remembered something else his father had told him. Sam had said about himself that he was never going to be famous for anything. Sam was satisfied knowing that he was a husband and a father. If those two words were the only ones inscribed on his tombstone, then, Sam said, he had lived a life worth living. Drew was beginning to understand his father. When he was in high school and thinking about his future, Drew had asked his father to define success in one word. Sam answered him without hesitation, "Family."

Now that he too had a family, Drew knew that his father was right. No matter what happened to him, he would always have a family. Nothing would or could ever change that. Drew realized in college that the passion to finding the meaning of life was futile. He discovered that it was not to know the meaning of life itself, but to know the meaning of his life. Once his life had meaning and purpose, the lives of others would too, purposely or vicariously. All the other matters about cars and clothes and rock 'n roll and status and good grades didn't matter if it meant nothing toward how he would define himself and his life. His life would always be dedicated to making life better for others: his family, his friends and his employees.

Cara had helped him discover his purpose. When Cara was pregnant with Lindsay, Drew felt guilty about having such a good life, with too many positive things happening to him, his family and business. Cara reassured him that he was providing people at the plant with jobs, so they too could feed, clothe and shelter their families, saying that he was sharing his good fortune with others.

Drew thought of Cara's words that morning when he had fought so hard for the Worldwide deal. It wasn't just Worldwide's prosperity being negotiated, but McCulloch Printing's as well. Worldwide didn't have to stay with McCulloch. Drew felt that Worldwide had entrusted him to make their dreams for the future a reality. He knew that if he made their dreams come true, he would also make the dreams of others come true. As Cara reminded him, "You just go about doing your job and you don't even realize that you're giving hope to people."

Drew left the door to the nursery ajar so they could hear Lindsay in the night. As he walked toward his bedroom, he reached to switch off the hall light when he saw a picture of himself with Scott taken eleven years earlier in the parking lot of McCulloch Printing. The framed photo showed the two brothers standing in front of the brick building with their cars, Scott with his black Corvette and Drew with his dynasty green Mustang, with the sign for the company over their heads. Their arms were on each other's shoulders and they were smiling at the camera. Drew remembered that Sam had taken the picture with his Nikon F and that Julia had the same picture framed in a family gallery on a wall opposite the foot of his parents' bed.

Drew switched off the hall light and smiled when he saw Cara sitting up in bed, perusing a Christmas catalog. She could hear the sound of Lindsay sleeping through the baby monitor on her nightstand.

Drew unbuttoned his shirt, then sat on the bed to take off his socks, shoes and suit pants. He got down to his boxers and tee shirt, went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth.

"Do you know that if it weren't for Brian Gardner, we wouldn't even know where Scott's living?" Drew stated.

He turned to Cara after he rinsed the toothpaste from his mouth. She put down the Christmas catalog. "Cara, if you were Scott, would you hate me because Dad made me president of the company and not you?"

"Drew, it was never about you. It was about the two of them. Scott will reach out when he needs to. Right now, he doesn't need to."

"And so, my parents suffer, especially Mom?"

"They know that it's all part of it, Drew. This wasn't anything we learned in college. Your family isn't any different from any other family. I remember my father jumping up and down at us three girls, hollering, 'I never knew that I could love something so much and have it make me so crazy.'"

"What'd you do?"

"All three of us threw our arms around him and hugged him. He never stood a chance."

Drew draped his suit pants and shirt over a chair; he'd hang them up later. He slid under the covers next to Cara who put down the catalog and turned off the bedside light.

They turned to face each other, their heads on their pillows. She stroked his face as they contemplated each other. He placed a wayward curl of brunette hair behind her ear then reached under the covers. She slid her hand down his body and started to pull off his tee shirt. She returned her hand to his waist and then reached down further.

She smiled, but Drew was kissing her before she could slip off her nightgown.