“Weren’t you furious at him for lying to you?”
Marion inhaled. “Let’s sit. We should have been talking about this from the start.”
The weight that had been pulling Sassy under for days was gone the moment they sat together on the cherry-red couch. What had she been thinking, questioning how Marion would regard her after all those revelations? She should have trusted their friendship.
“I spoke with my father about it that day,” Marion said, setting her glass down. “Yes, I was angry. I felt like I didn’t know him at all, and I’m thirty-one. But everyone has a right to their own secrets. There are reasons they’re called secrets, and we don’t always get to know them. Finding out the truth about my dad was upsetting, but it didn’t change who he is at all. And yet, when he told me his reasons for what he did, I saw him differently. I’m proud of my dad, but I was proud of him before. So the only reason I had to be angry was that he hadn’t told me his secret. And there was no reason he should. It was his.”
Marion always had such a beautiful way of thinking of things. Sassy envied her that. Every time they finished a serious conversation, she felt like sheunderstood herself and everything around her a little better. Marion was a better person than she was. A better friend.
“The thing is, Sassy, it’s never been a competition.”
Marion also read her mind sometimes. That was a little alarming.
“Our fathers reached an agreement, and they were both satisfied with what they got out of it. They were friends, not competitors. Just like you and me.” Marion exhaled. “On that note, I wish I could have met your father, just so I could thank him for paying for my education. He changed my life! He made it possible for me to follow my passion and find my purpose. My parents never could have afforded med school.”
Tears welled in Sassy’s eyes. “I’m glad he did that. He owed your dad. And it was the right thing to do.”
Marion shook her head. “Your dad didn’t have to do what he did, writing that letter for the will. I think he suffered much more than my father ever did over the arrangement. He would have felt guilty for carrying on with the illusion, but he respected my father too much to challenge their agreement. He set the record straight without embarrassing my father. Don’t you see that was a final kindness in a long line of kindnesses?
“And he did so much more,” Marion continued. “He paid for Hank Moore’s apartment, he helped the Romanos when they came to Canada, and I’m fairly sure he did something for the Levins as well. He’s the reason I’m living in this building, so he’s the reason I met you.” She drained her wineglass. “Your dad was a good man. He just didn’t want anyone to know it.”
Sassy let all of it sink in. As usual, Marion was right.
“As soon as I found out, I wanted to apologize for my father,” she said, “but I didn’t know how. I felt sick about his lie, and I was so embarrassed. But I get it now. I’ve only embarrassed myself. So now, what I am really apologizing for is not trusting our friendship enough to talk with you about it. That was a pretty stupid thing to do.”
Marion nodded, smiling through a sheen of tears. “Yes, it was. Apology accepted.”
“Oh, good. Because I have missed you so, so much.”
thirtyMARION
Marion hadn’t heard from Paul in over a week. He had promised to contact her as soon as he heard anything about the Red Cross, but the anticipation was killing her. She called him four times, but he never picked up the phone. At one point, she considered going to his house.
The next day, the phone rang.
“Marion, it’s Paul. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I found a way for you to get to Vietnam, if your heart’s still set on it.”
She felt the earth move beneath her. “Of course it is.”
“Willard was set to go, but he broke his leg skiing. He agrees with me that you’re crazy, but I told him that if you had your mind set on being a VPVN, he wasn’t going to be able to talk you out of it. So he spoke with the CRC about you. Since you haven’t gotten blood on your hands in a while, he told them you are basically a very advanced surgical student. Apparently, they’re so desperate for doctors, they agreed.” He waited. “Marion? You still there?”
“I… I am.”
“I have all the information here for you, but there’s one issue that could mess things up. Obviously, it’s not safe for a woman to travel alone to Vietnam then work in a combat zone. Especially a civilian like you, who basically has no idea how to take care of herself.”
“Hey!”
“So the Red Cross is trying to find someone to go with you. Basically, a bodyguard. They are speaking with some of their volunteers this week about it. Trouble is, that person will have to pay their own way.”
Daniel’s words flashed in her mind.If you change your mind about going, I’d be the best security guard you could imagine. She almost laughed. If only she knew where he was.
“They will find someone,” she said, positive. Everything about this trip felt so right. There was no way any of it could go wrong.
“I gotta say, Marion, I really am impressed. These are not the actions of the woman I took to dinner months ago.”
That made her smile. “I certainly hope not. All right, Paul. Tell me what I need to know. I have paper and a pen.”
Marion’s hand was damp as she wrote down all the information. She hoped she could read her writing later.
