Desert Gift by Sally John Read Free Book Online Page A

all Jack could ever hope for in a son. He was a great kid, a good human being, never a source of grief or despair. A graduate of the University of Illinois, he was now studying in Italy for his master’s in art history. What did it matter he would never make a dime working in a museum? So what if most of his study time now meant touring Europe and discussing art in every café from Paris to Prague?
    His smile faded. Like Jack, Connor was an only child and close to his parents. As it did for Jack, the word close meant taking on too much responsibility for their well-being. Divorce would hit him hard.
    Jack moved the cursor over the Reply tab and hesitated. Tell him in an e-mail? Pretend all was well? Just a quick “luvya”?
    He shook his head and signed off. Connor’s schedule had granted him a reprieve.
    * * *
    Not up to a public airing of his dirty laundry, Jack felt no qualms about skipping church. His solo presence would have provoked questions. Jill’s Sunday school women would have bombarded him for answers he did not have.
    He opted instead for a private airing. His parents lived at an assisted-care facility in a neighboring suburb, a short drive.
    “Jackson, dear.” Katherine Galloway stretched across the couch and laid a shaky hand on his head. “You can brush your hair over and people will hardly notice this horrid laceration.”
    Jack smiled at her attempts to finger-comb his hair. “It’s too short.”
    “Oh, it’s long enough. What is this? Silver?” She yanked out a strand.
    “Ouch!”
    “Good grief, Kate.” Charles spoke from the padded rocker. “Our son is old enough to have gray hairs.”
    “He is not. He’s only forty-five. No, that’s not right. Forty-six.”
    “And how old was I when I went completely bald? Hm? Forty-two.”
    “You were not.”
    Jack tuned out his parents. He’d given up refereeing them soon after they moved into this small apartment. Their forced togetherness escalated a nitpicking hobby into a full-time activity.
    Was that why he wanted a divorce? Because he did not want to end up bickering with Jill, day in and day out?
    But he and Jill never nitpicked. They liked each other.
    Didn’t they?
    “Jack.” His bald father set the rocker in motion. “Weren’t you supposed to go somewhere?”
    Good news, bad news. One of them remembered the plan he’d informed them of last week. “Yes. I was going to go with Jill to California for her book tour. But here I am, considering a divorce instead.”
    They gazed at him, two sets of uncomprehending, rheumy eyes.
    “I thought you should know.”
    Even if they had not recalled his schedule, Jack would have told them. In spite of their failing health, Charles and Katherine remained his first line of offense and defense. They had provided a stable, privileged life for him. The three of them had honestly enjoyed his growing-up years. Although his mother had snooty tendencies, she and his dad were always fair and open with him. Their list of ultimate taboos was short: do not live with a girl before marriage and do not loan money.
    Naturally he had committed both crimes during college and not shared that information with them. The girlfriend living arrangement was a semester thing when he was an undergrad. The money was a large sum, never repaid, to a friend in med school. Jack recovered from both, no worse for wear really. Why upset his parents? The past was the past. And besides, his self-imposed responsibility to keep them happy dictated that he keep his mouth shut.
    A choice he did not now have the privilege of making. They would notice Jill’s absence eventually.
    Katherine pursed her lips. “Jackson, dear, Galloways do not divorce. No matter what she’s done, you make it work.”
    Jack expected that. His mom had never wholeheartedly approved of Jill. “Mother, she hasn’t ‘done’ anything. It’s not like that.”
    His dad put his elbows on his knees. “What’d you do?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Jackson.” Katherine