This was the feeling Vivian took with her, long after the plane soared for hours over the Atlantic, long after the burst from engine fires had woken them both from sleep, a malfunction that sent the transport sharply down, into the waves, deep into the ocean, too far for recovery.
In that slice of an instant, before panic faded to calm and resistance gave way to surrender, she gave no thought to how their disappearance would be explained; she had no knowledge that a storm off Cape Cod would help fabricate a tragedy, a convenient covering of military tracks. Her sole concern lay with Judith. The girl would grow up without parents, and yet she would still be nurtured and cared for by family, genuine people with good hearts. Yes, she would be fine, Vivian realized–just as she herself would be, so long as Gene was there.
I’ve got you, she heard in her mind, her hand still in his, and felt sheer peace from the love that would bind them till the end of time.
69
The once serene atmosphere was now a cauldron of vivacity.
Over the farm, afternoon sunlight poured through a fine dusting of clouds. Sounds of happy children drifted on the summer air. The voices of animals periodically interjected.
It was the perfect setting for the Fourth of July.
Arms resting on the fence, Audra stood beside Tess, enjoying the commotion. Sean had saddled the donkeys, one for Jack, the other for Isabella. When the idea first came to Audra—a mild alternative to riding a standard horse—she had called Sean right away. It had taken a little persuading for the girl’s mother to agree, but now the pure smiles on the riders’ faces clearly trumped all worries.
“Mija, look over here!” the mother hollered. Isabella’s father pointed a camera toward the fenced-in area, where Carl was leading the donkeys by ropes attached to halters.
Carl was a kind man with snow-white hair and a short beard to match. Audra had barely spared him a glance during her last visit here, while she madly dashed from the hayloft to the car. A widower from down the road, he had evidently made a habit of lending a hand on the farm when needed.
“I think a certain gentleman might be looking for a date,” Audra had teased Luanne earlier, after he shot the elderly woman a wink. Cheeks awash in pink, Luanne tsked at the possibility of being courted by an eighty-two-year-old “youngster.”
“Gracie,” Tess called out, “don’t give him the whole bag!”
Kneeling in the field, Grace was feeding carrots to the goat. Orange bits flew from its voracious chomping. “But Aunt Lu told me I could!”
Tess groaned and turned to Audra. “I’m warning you now. When her teen years roll in, don’t be surprised if UPS suddenly delivers her to your house in Boston.”
“What, are you afraid she’ll grow up to be like her mother?”
“Are you kidding? That’s exactly what I’m terrified of.”
Just then, Isabella’s two brothers and Tess’s son, Cooper, broke into fits of laughter. Off by the barn, the boys were chasing the chickens in circles. The squawking birds flapped their wings, sending feathers airborne.
“Should we make them stop?” Tess asked.
Audra shrugged. “I don’t think Luanne would mind. Not for a few minutes anyway. It’ll wear the kids out.”
“Spoken like a true mother.”
Smiling, Audra returned her focus to Jack. It had been a week since he’d first slept through the night. In between, he’d suffered two separate nightmares, but they were brief and with only a fraction of his prior intensity.
“I still can’t believe you’re really leaving,” Tess said, her tone more serious now.
“I know,” Audra said. “But like I promised, I’ll send you lots and lots of beans.”
“Yeah, because that’s what our house needs.” Tess puffed a breath. “Speaking of food, I’m starving. Honey!” she yelled toward the deck, where Russ was cooking on the barbecue. “Are we getting close?”
“Ten more minutes,” he said, raising a grill spatula.
Luanne stepped through the sliding glass door and used her hands to create a megaphone. “Who out here wants some fresh-squeezed lemonade?”
The kids erupted with squeals and yells. Carl helped Jack and Isabella off their saddles, so they could join the others in a dash to the house. The group had just reached the deck when Judith appeared, wine bottle in hand. “We have chardonnay for the grown-ups,” she added.
“Now we’re talkin’,” Tess said to Audra. “You coming?”
Audra, glimpsing Sean on the far side of the barn, replied, “I think I’ll see how the setup’s going.”
It had been Sean’s suggestion to expand an hour of donkey rides into a holiday barbecue, complete with a private fireworks display—which, in Oregon, meant little more than knee-high sprays of colorful sparks, but fun all the same. Then come nightfall, she and Jack would meet her in-laws to watch a big show at a park.