Sixty-Six
Ryan had the kids on Friday, and Shiloh was anxious to be alone with Cary. He was already down to fifteen days of leave. (What could they solve in fifteen days?)
They were supposed to have dinner, but she called to see if he wanted to meet earlier—the theater was dead on Friday afternoons.
“Yeah,” Cary said. “Definitely. But, um, I was just about to visit my mom.”
“Ah, okay.” Shiloh tried not to sound disappointed. “Call me after?”
“I mean... you could come along? If you want?”
“To see your mom?”
“You don’t have to,” he said.
“No,” Shiloh said, “I will. I’d like to.”
“I’m leaving Mikey’s in twenty minutes or so...”
“Pick me up.”
Shiloh was waiting on her steps when Cary pulled up. It was a hot day. She was wearing a navy blue eyelet dress and denim pedal pushers with metallic pink ballet flats.
She was thinking about her mother-in-law (her first mother-in-law? no, too soon), a suburban lady who worked as a school nurse.
She’d liked Shiloh just fine. She’d wanted Shiloh to stay. At Gus’s first birthday, she’d sat next to Shiloh and said,“Look at those beautiful children. They deserve two parents.”
Shiloh ran down the sidewalk before Cary could get out of the car. She got in the passenger seat—then gasped. (She sounded like Junie.)
Cary was wearing an all-white uniform. White pants. White short-sleeved shirt. Whitebelt. There were ribbons on his chest and stripes on his shoulders.
“Look at you!” she said. “Are Fridays uniform days?”
“My mom likes to see me in uniform. I was going to change before dinner.”
She poked his side. “I’ll bet the nurses love you.”
He smiled a little. “The nurses do love me.”
She poked his thigh. She touched the insignia on his shoulder. Felt the gold embroidery. Ran her fingertips down the front of his shirt placket. The white fabric made his neck and arms look tan. “What is this uniform for?”
Cary had started driving. “Summer whites. For ceremonies. For visiting your mother.”
“Are there winter whites, too?”
“There are winter blues, you’ve seen them.”
“You’re like an American Girl doll. You have your own wardrobe.”
They were at a red light. Cary leaned over to kiss Shiloh’s cheek. “I knew you’d make fun of me.”
“This isn’t making fun. This is sincere appreciation. I’m going to start requesting uniformed visits, too.”
He smiled at her. Because she was implying future visits and a future. Because they were supposedly engaged.
Theywereengaged.
Sort of.
