Free Acts of God by Ellen Gilchrist Page A

“I’ll be inside. In my bedroom.”
    â€œI don’t know where that is.”
    â€œThen I’ll wait here for you.”
    In a few minutes Grady came back up on the porch. “I found something,” he said. “I wouldn’t swear it’s much good. It’s probably been in that glove compartment for several years.”
    â€œCome inside,” Carly said and took his arm and led him into her darkened house and through the living room and into her bedroom where a small lamp was burning on a bedside table. “The bathroom is over there,” she said, and pointed to a door. Then she unbuttoned the white cotton skirt and let it fall to the floor and she stepped over it and kicked it out of the way. Then she began to unbutton the blouse and Grady gave up being shy or scared because he had never desired anyone in his life as much as he desired this beautiful, talented, brave woman who was standing before him.
    â€œI’ve never had any reason to have to use a rubber except to keep from making babies,” he told her as he moved into her space and began to remove the blouse for her.
    â€œNeither have I,” she answered. “And I take birth control pills so get rid of it. We have a lot more to be afraid of than things like that, I think.”
    He picked her up in his arms and lay her down upon the bed and then he took off his clothes and lay down beside her and began to remember the heaven that men and women could sometimes give to one another, on certain nights, under certain circumstances, when the moon is right and the universe has decided to bestow its riches.
    FIVE THURSDAY NIGHTS later, after Fayetteville won another game 7 – 6 over Bentonville, at Bentonville, when the children were settled and the cold night air had driven Carly and Grady into the living room where they were pretending to watch a television show until Daniel went to sleep, Grady picked up the channel changer and turned off the television show and very awkwardly turned to Carly and handed her a diamond engagement ring he had picked up from a jeweler at four that afternoon.
    â€œIf you will have me,” he said. “If you will be my wife, I will love you and care for you and for Daniel until the day you die. Please say yes.”
    â€œWhat would we tell the kids? What if they don’t want us to?”
    â€œThey will want it. We’re good people, Carly. They love us and we love them. We’ll work it out. I already asked Jesse anyway. I told him I wanted to marry you and he said it was good, a good idea. Well, he asked where we’d live and I said wherever you wanted to live and he said we ought to get a new house that was big enough for everyone. He said we ought to build one next summer when he was out of school and could help build it.”
    â€œYes,” Carly said. “I mean yes. I mean I want to be your wife, because I love you and I love Jesse and I think I could do this, but I have to ask Daniel. He has to be part of this.”
    â€œYou think he’s asleep?”
    â€œNo, he’s too excited after games to go to sleep. He e-mails people for a while or calls his girl, you know, he’s a kid, he’s excited. They won.”
    â€œMay I ask him, not any big decision, just ask if he’ll think about letting me ask you to marry me?”
    â€œNow? Tonight?”
    â€œYes.” He hung his head way down into his chest, then lifted it and looked at her. “He’s a man, Carly. I’ll talk to him like a man. If he’s hesitant we’ll wait until I win him over. I think I can make him like the idea. Maybe I can’t. He’s always had you to himself.”
    â€œAll right. You can try. I’ll leave the house. I’ll walk around the block.”
    She got up and went down the hall to Daniel’s room and knocked on the door. “Come in,” he said. He was on the computer writing an e-mail to his friend John Tucker. He