Free Detours by Jane Vollbrecht Page A

had two goals. One was staying out of museums, and the other was never listening to another droning description about the allegorical view of nature as represented by everyday objects in centuries-old works of art. I went to UGA and got a degree in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.”
    Twilight settled over the room. Mary switched on a couple of table lamps.
    “So that explains your landscaping business.”
    “I guess. I’d shovel manure out of horse barns before I’d lock myself away behind a desk every day.”
    “You and Nathan both. Hmmm. I see a pattern in people I’m drawn to.”
    “What else should I know about him?”
    “He’s a good man… a good dad. I consider him to be my very best friend. I’d honestly be lost without him. When Natalie was two, he had a serious health scare. He had horrible pain in his testicles. I told him it was probably nothing more than three years’ worth of sperm staging a riot and demanding to be turned loose.”
    “Did he have cancer?”
    “We went from doctor to doctor trying to find out.”
    “Not fun, I’m sure.”
    “Not fun in the least. One urologist suggested that, in case it turned out to be testicular cancer, we should bank some of Nathan’s sperm so we could have more kids. The treatments almost always cause sterility.”
    “Did you follow his advice?”
    “We found a place in Atlanta that guaranteed they could keep the little swimmers alive for at least twelve years. Nathan did his part, and they bottled ’em up, but we restricted access to only the two of us.”
    “So it was cancer?”
    “No, his real problem was referred pain from kidney stones. Once the stones were dissolved, his testicles stopped hurting.”
    “And your account at the sperm bank?”
    “Still there, as far as I know, with Nathan’s wigglers in suspended animation, hoping for the chance to prove their motility.”
    Sam lifted her head and woofed twice, the first sign of life she’d offered since claiming her snooze spot right after Natalie left with Nathan.
    “Any chance you’d give my dog a potty break?” Ellis asked.
    “Sure.” Mary leaned down and patted Sam’s rump. “I’ll put her out back and then make a trip to the bathroom to have a potty break of my own.”
    “I’ll use the hall bath and take a turn, too.”
    While Mary and Sam headed for the kitchen, Ellis made her way to the bathroom. She’d discovered how to stand on one crutch while pulling down her sweatpants and underwear with her free hand. She gripped the edge of the vanity and lowered herself onto the seat, reflecting on the long chat she and Mary had just shared.
    Not much common ground, but I like her. We could maybe make this work. She caught sight of Natalie’s pajamas hanging on the back of the bathroom door. I wonder if Nathan has a girlfriend. And I wonder how she’d feel about raising a stepdaughter.

Chapter 4
    Around seven p.m., Mary excused herself to check her e-mails. Ellis used the time to watch 60 Minutes. When she finished on the computer, Mary roamed around the living room picking up odds and ends Natalie had left there.
    “Even though I love that Nathan and Natalie get along so well, and even though I always feel like it’s the start of a vacation when he pulls out of the driveway with her, when it gets to this time of day, I miss my baby and wish she were here with me.” Mary lifted the sweatshirt she’d just claimed from atop the bookcase and held it to her nose. “Yep, that’s my girl. If I go blind, I’ll still always know if it’s really Natalie standing beside me.” Mary tossed the sweatshirt over her shoulder. “Unless I lose my sense of smell, too.”
    “What makes this time of day so special?” Ellis asked from her seldom-changed, fully-reclined location on the sofa. Sam sat on the floor, her head resting on Ellis’s shoulder.
    “This is when I start getting her ready for bedtime. House rule is that Nat’s in bed by nine, though it’s anybody’s guess