Free Things Worth Remembering by Jackina Stark

every weekend together after that, and he proposed to me the week of spring break, the middle of March.
    After dating six months, we were married in June, and after dating her boyfriend for three years, Paula married in August. “Who would have thought you’d be married before me?” Paula said when I showed her my engagement ring and told her the wedding date we had chosen.
    Mother was horrified, naturally. “Good grief, Kennedy!” she said. “You hardly know the man.”
    “You know what, Mother, that’s just not true. I know Luke very well. You should be thrilled I’m going to marry such a good man. One who can supplement my teaching habit, by the way.” And almost as ambitious as you, I could have added—but I didn’t know that yet.
    She turned around and walked into the other room that day, and I stood there wondering why I had expected anything different. It occurred to me that after so many years, she still thought “good man” was an oxymoron, at least on a personal level. She always seemed to get along with the male species at work.
    If I were fair, I’d have to admit Luke’s and my courtship was a bit of a whirlwind. But sometimes, and it is wonderful when it happens, things are very clear.
    Other times, of course, they are not.
    But by God’s grace, and to my mother’s utter amazement, Luke and I are still married.
    I squeeze my husband’s hand, and though I know very well he is sound asleep, he squeezes my hand in return.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Kendy
    I walk into the kitchen and find Marcus pouring Raisin Bran into a serving bowl—a serving bowl! The word chipper comes to mind while watching him happily fending for himself. I do believe we’re going to have another morning person in the family.
    “Have some cereal, Marcus,” I say with a smile.
    He looks up and smiles too. He has a gorgeous smile. “Good morning, Kennedy.”
    “It’s time you call me Kendy, Marcus. No one calls me Kennedy except Mother and my dentist.”
    “I’d like that.”
    “So,” I say, pointing at the cereal box, “is there any left for me?”
    He shakes it. “Plenty. And I saw another box in the pantry.”
    “Okay, then. I love Raisin Bran. I have since I was a little girl. This made breakfast a snap, which pleased my mother no end.”
    Marcus laughs.
    What does he know?
    Marcus chooses a chair at the round table by the windows instead of a barstool, and I come over and join him.
    “Luke says he’s going to mow before the pool party,” he says, nodding toward the outbuilding where Luke keeps the tractor. “I told him I’d come out and do the trimming if he trusts me with his weed eater.”
    Marcus looks as if that would be as exciting as exploring Mars. I have a constant urge to hug the boy. I tell him I’m glad he had the time to come here for the week, and he says his boss gave him two weeks off with pay as a wedding gift.
    “I should write him a thank-you note,” I say, sort of meaning it. Time to spend with the man who loves my daughter is invaluable to me.
    “So,” I ask, “do you like having so many siblings?” It rather fascinates me that he has four brothers, all with names beginning with M . I try to keep them straight.
    “I do,” he says.
    “And you’re the youngest, right?”
    “I’m the baby boy, five years behind the others,” he says. “I’ve been called the Caboose, the Afterthought, the Crowning Glory, and Oops. Mom says all the monikers are appropriate.”
    “I like Crowning Glory.”
    “Mom would appreciate that. Even though I was their little surprise, she and Dad plugged away at my formation until the day I left for college. They say they went into the house when I drove off, put their feet up, and said, ‘Whew! We’re done!’ ”
    “What was one of their important lessons?”
    “Frugality,” he says with no hesitation.
    The mother of the bride is comforted to hear it. “So,” I say, “Benjamin Franklin would have been proud to know your parents?”
    “He would have