âIâll be inside. In my bedroom.â
âI donât know where that is.â
âThen Iâll wait here for you.â
In a few minutes Grady came back up on the porch. âI found something,â he said. âI wouldnât swear itâs much good. Itâs probably been in that glove compartment for several years.â
âCome inside,â 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. âThe bathroom is over there,â 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.
âIâve never had any reason to have to use a rubber except to keep from making babies,â he told her as he moved into her space and began to remove the blouse for her.
âNeither have I,â she answered. âAnd 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.â
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 â 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.
âIf you will have me,â he said. âIf 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
âWhat would we tell the kids? What if they donât want us to?â
âThey will want it. Weâre good people, Carly. They love us and we love them. Weâll 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 weâd 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
âYes,â Carly said. âI 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
âYou think heâs asleep?â
âNo, heâs too excited after games to go to sleep. He e-mails people for a while or calls his girl, you know, heâs a kid, heâs excited. They won.â
âMay I ask him, not any big decision, just ask if heâll think about letting me ask you to marry me?â
âNow? Tonight?â
âYes.â He hung his head way down into his chest, then lifted it and looked at her. âHeâs a man, Carly. Iâll talk to him like a man. If heâs hesitant weâll wait until I win him over. I think I can make him like the idea. Maybe I canât. Heâs always had you to himself.â
âAll right. You can try. Iâll leave the house. Iâll walk around the block.â
She got up and went down the hall to Danielâs room and knocked on the door. âCome in,â he said. He was on the computer writing an e-mail to his friend John Tucker. He