MATTHEW
The first weird thing about my meeting with Harry was how he called me at 4 o'clock in the morning. I'd wiped the sleep from my eyes and said a gravelly "Hello?"
"Come to the office at 5."
"Can't. It'll be 6 by the time I pick up Kat—"
"Just you."
The sudden edge to his tone, the strain of worry, jolted me awake. "Bring coffee," I said, and hung up to get ready.
That was the second weird thing.
The third, when I got to the office, his four children—between elementary and high school aged—were all laid out in the lobby couches. The youngest one was being fed oatmeal by a nanny, while the oldest was distributing coffee to the other two. None of them even seemed to notice me come in.
Something was definitely up. And my defenses were high since he said no Kat. Now it was just a matter of what he told me that would determine how I would relay it back to Kat. No way was I leaving her out of the loop with this one.
I found Harry in his office with his tie undone and his hair out of place. "I see you rolled out of bed, too," I joked, trying to ease the tension on his face.
It didn't help. The lines that usually creased his forehead in thought were now carved with worry. "Sit down, Matthew. I need your help."
Warily, I dropped into the seat across from his desk. He still hadn't sat down. "No doubt you saw my children downstairs," he started. "It's been rather rough with the family these past few months, and I can't keep the charade up anymore."
I tensed. "Harry, I'd love to help you, but I'm not a family lawyer. I don't do divorce—besides that I don't believe in—"
"She has cancer, Matthew." Then Harry looked at me and I saw the anguish in his eyes, now bright with tears. "She got it removed, but there's still treatments and the toll is so much on her..."
"What can we do to help, Harry?" I folded my hands together, leaning forward so my elbows rested on my knees.
"That's the thing, Matthew. I need time. Time I don't have, not with the way Wayward Publishing is going now. You need someone to step up in my place."
I forced my voice to keep steady, despite the anxiety that reared up in my chest at the thought of how I was going to communicate this to Kat. "How soon?"
"A few months, maybe," he said, running a hand through his graying hair.
"But you wish it to be sooner." I sighed. "I understand, Harry."
"I don't want to get in the way of your plans," he said, looking earnestly at me. "I know your wedding is coming up. You have so much to do."
"We'll have to see what we can do." I couldn't see it quite yet, but I still had an hour or so to see Kat. Maybe I could make a few calls, a few inquiries to find an interim CEO. "But don't worry, Harry. Your wife needs you. Can you give us a few weeks to get organized? I'll talk to Kat to see if you can work remotely in the meantime."
The relief on Harry's face told me I made the right decision. I knew Kat would be on board.
"I will tell her," I said, "but we will all meet together to discuss the details later. And pray for your wife, too."
"Thank you, Matthew." He finally sank into his seat.
I stood. "If you don't mind," I said, "I will get going to see Kat. She has a few things to arrange for the wedding today."
I excused myself and went back to my car. I sat with the engine running, praying the music would somehow force my thoughts to make sense, but nothing worked. I received a call from Kat and started on the way to pick her up. At her house, she hopped into the car, kissed my cheek.
"Today I'm checking out the venue again," she said.
I took her hand, hoping my smile didn't seem forced. "I'll go with you. We gotta iron out a few things anyway."
"Sounds good."
At the venue—a gorgeous patio overlooking a lake with a a stage for a band and manicured hedges all around—Kat and I were given thirty minutes to tour the venue on our own, review table placement and settings, before finalizing the details with the organizers.
This was my chance. As we walked to the patio overlooking the lake, I took Kat's hand in a bow. "Care for a dance?" I said, genuinely smiling now. "We need some practice before the big day."
"You don't," she said, laughing, "but I sure do."
"We'll start with a waltz."
I taught her the basic box step and she slowly got the hang of it. Her hand, clamped on my shoulder while she learned to balance, only reminded me of how she'd be when she'd learn of Harry's situation. But it was necessary.
"I went to see Harry today," I started, turning her into a spin.
She shot a look at me as she spun away. "What for? Is everything okay?"
She came back to me from the spin and we started again around the dance floor. "Not exactly. His wife has cancer."
Kat faltered, but I steadied her. "What? How long?"
"A few months. She should be recovering, but he needs to take care of her."
She tensed in my arms. "Starting when?"
"I was thinking two weeks. Give us time to organize and search for someone to fill the role for a while."
"He can go home starting now." She stopped the dance, dropping her hands to grasp mine. "If we need him, he can work from home for meetings and the like."
I pressed a kiss to her cheek. "That's my girl. I was thinking the same thing."
She didn't smile. "That's going to mess things up for a bit," she said, eyes cast on the rippling lake. "Not the wedding, of course—" she squeezed my shoulder reassuringly "—but everything else."
"Erland can get his car, then."
She looked at me with an expression that was somewhere between amusement and annoyance. "Do you always have to make jokes?"
"Only when I'm worried about you," I said. "We can trust God, remember? He has everything in his hands, as long as we serve Him."
She let out a breath, eyeing the space around us now. "I can't believe I invited Grace and my father to the wedding."
"And their entire family," I said, "but who's counting?"
"The venue," she answered, throwing me a wry grin. She poked me in the ribs. "Are you going to tell me your secret now about the wedding? Who are your special guests? You reserved two entire seats at the table with your cousins and their kids in the back."
"They'll make a good group," I said. "They all have children around the same age. They can probably have a good time together. My cousin Marcy might be able to relate."
She had suffered a terrible ordeal with her fiancé ran out on her and the kids. But she was better now, together with a good man who was raising her kids like his own. She had made her fair share of wrong choices in wanting to marry a gambler with a serious addiction, but she had the best attitude of anyone I knew.
"You didn't answer my question," she said, poking me again, which made me laugh. "Who are your special guests?"
"They haven't even responded yet. I'm not sure if they'll make it—"
"Come on, Matt." She grasped his hand with both of hers. "I don't want any more surprises from here on out."
I let out a breath. "I know I don't have much right to speak here, Katherine, but I really feel it was the right choice, for everyone to move on. They haven't responded yet, but if they did, you would see the Masiellos."
To my surprise, she didn't gasp. Or pull away. Or pull her hands from mine. She only searched my face with her hazel eyes, lips pursed in concentration.
"You really mean it," she said. "Victoria and Nick."
I swallowed. "Yes. I know you wanted to help them, and I thought that might bring closure to everything."
"Closure," she echoed.
"You told me how Nick responded at dinner. He was upset about something. Maybe he just needs to see that he can have a future despite his mistakes. Victoria too."
She stepped back, pulling her hand from mine. "Well, that's news," she said. Her gaze had broken from me and now it seemed she was staring off at nothing, lost in thought.
The venue organizer approached us. Kat jolted from whatever she was thinking. I wanted to tell the lady to leave, to give us a few more minutes, but Kat greeted her and the opportunity was gone.
"Hey, thank you so much for giving us the tour again."
The lady smiled. "My pleasure. Just to confirm," she said, glancing down at her clipboard. "I know we reserved about four more seats for some family, the Greenfields, but I still need confirmation on two more. They're these two in the corner. Kids don't count, as long as they stay on the patio here."
Kat glanced down at the clipboard. I tensed.
She threw a glance back at me, and to my utter shock, smiled.
"Yes," she said. "Leave the space for them. It would be good if they came." Then she reached back and took my hand.
We left the venue shortly after. Only when we were in the car did Kat actually address the issue again. "They're welcome if they come," she said, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. "I don't think Jesus would want me to reject them, as awkward as it is. In heaven, we'll be eating at the same table, so might as well figure it out now."
"So you don't hate me?" I could feel my heart in my chest.
"No." She laughed. "But Betsy might when she hears you."