Notes from the Heart Healer Page #2

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Yes.

Peyton!

Sorry to interrupt,

but a fan of yours has arrived,

and he's dying to say hello.

King! Oh, my gosh.

Wait just a minute, okay?

Oh, my gosh!

What a surprise.

I thought you were on the East Coast.

I canceled.

I couldn't bear to be away from you,

not today.

Thank you.

Maybe we'd better be a little more discreet.

Somebody here might tell your husband.

Trust me, this smart aleck is my husband,

King Danville.

And today is our first anniversary,

and his being here is a

total surprise to me.

I'll bet that your co-conspirator

in keeping everything a secret

is my sneaky friend... Where is she?

Happy anniversary...

Happy anniversary to you!

Congrats, guys.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes.

Hey, let's cut that cake

and get it passed out, right?

And buy the book.

That's why we're here.

That's why we're here.

I can't believe you're here.

Ms. MacGruder seemed real nice, Charlie.

I mean, I know I only met her for a second.

Hardly even exchanged a word, really.

Sometimes, you can just tell, you know?

I bet she would have helped us

if her husband hadn't shown up.

If it weren't for bad luck, we wouldn't

have any luck at all, huh, Charlie?

That's gonna change soon,

'cause it's gotta.

That's the last of your formula,

and we used the last of

our money to buy it.

Mama...

I know, baby. It makes me want to cry, too.

Hush, little baby, don't say a word.

Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird.

And if that mockingbird don't sing...

I can't believe that they

call this a cottage.

It's so perfect. How did you ever find it?

Dot helped me out with that.

And the champagne? How did you...

Dot had it sent over.

And what exactly do you intend

to contribute to the festivities?

Well, let me think.

There's this.

Anything else?

Well, there's dinner.

I plan to contribute that, too.

In fact, I'll tell you what.

While I run to the store,

why don't you pamper yourself,

and when I get back, I will cook you

the best meal you have ever had.

Before...

Before what?

Before my last contribution,

which I'm going to need your help with.

And that would be?

Fireworks.

I'm sorry.

It's just not gonna work out this time.

Thank you. Thank you for coming out.

- Three of these, and...

- That's nice.

How about that? No?

- No, I'm sorry.

- Thanks for your time.

Hey, appreciate it.

She's as fast as she is pretty.

Just like my former wife.

- Harry Barders.

- King Danville.

- How you doing?

- Good.

You in the market for a boat, King?

- Is she for sale?

- Yup.

Proceeds to be split between my wife

and the guy she ran off with.

Ouch. Sounds like a sad story.

Sad and sordid,

but it could have a happy ending

for you, though.

I'll make you a heck of a deal.

There you go. Specs are on the back.

If you like what you read, come on back, and

we'll let you take it out and kick the tires.

Thanks.

I'll do that.

Hang on, baby.

Wow.

Do you buff up nice, or what?

I try my best,

but I fear I have competition

for your affection.

She does have her charms,

but they're nothing compared to yours.

Then why is she taped to the refrigerator?

Because she is for sale.

And?

And I thought she might be

fun for us to sail into our retirement.

Retirement?

Well, not right now, you know,

down the pike.

Yeah, like, 15 or 20 years down.

Well, it'll give us plenty of time

to hone our yachting skills.

Okay, I'm glad you're

so concerned about our future.

But wouldn't it be more exciting

to concentrate on the present?

Yes.

Yeah, I'm coming! I'm coming already!

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

Violet?

Violet, if you're on the other end

of this line, you say something.

Violet!

Happy anniversary, honey.

Thank you, King, for

making this so special,

and for being so special.

And for your uncommonly good timing.

You cooked, I'll clean.

Your dad must be happy about

you getting accepted.

Yeah. I'll be the first one in the family

to go to college.

What are you doing, Vi?

I'm pregnant, Zach.

Are you mad?

Mad?

No.

I love you, Violet.

I want to marry you, have lots of babies,

just like we talked about.

We talked about it after

you finished college.

I'll still go, just not right away.

Well, what about money?

I mean, having a baby can't be cheap,

and we don't have, like,

insurance or anything.

Hey, you worry about having our baby.

I'll worry about paying for it.

Things are gonna turn out just

fine, Violet. You'll see.

They haven't, though, have they, Charlie?

Things haven't turned out fine at all.

God, please let Peyton MacGruder

be true to her words.

Dearest reader,

it's unfair that life-changing decisions

must often be made when we're young

and our well of wisdom is still shallow.

I was asked this morning how I have made

such critical choices when at my weakest,

emotionally and physically.

Sadly, the answer is, "Not well. "

I can only suggest that,

no matter how difficult,

we must strive to tap

what some call intuition

and others call revelation,

and by doing so, take responsibility

no matter how things turn out.

Be brave like your daddy was, Charlie.

I'll get myself together

and come back for you.

King? King, you'd better

come out here right now!

King!

Hey!

That's my truck!

"Please help me by

taking care of Charlie. "

That's it? That's all the note said?

And you didn't see anybody, or hear a car?

Nope. Whoever left the baby

had already taken off

by the time I opened the door.

Thanks.

Well,

Child Services can't get

anyone down here till next week,

so if there's absolutely nobody

who can offer temporary foster care,

I should take the kid down to Port Townsend

and leave him with the pediatric clinic.

All alone, you mean?

Well, they've got nurses

who'll keep an eye on him.

Yeah, I know that, but you know...

I can talk to Judge Gregor

and see if she might appoint you guys

as interim caregivers.

Us?

No. No, no. I was thinking, you know,

maybe you could take him and...

You've got to be kidding.

I don't know anything about babies.

Well, you know as much as I do.

Someone else raised my kid, remember?

I think we should do it.

Look, obviously,

whoever left him here chose us.

He's a baby, not a May Day basket.

You don't just select a house at random

and hope the people inside like kids.

Got a point.

I mean, it's more than likely

they chose you folks for a reason.

Come on, honey. It'll be fun.

It's just for a couple days.

Fun for you, maybe.

I do have a column to write.

How can you find

a more perfect lead line than,

"What would you do if somebody

left a baby on your doorstep?"

She's right. Your editor will love it.

Look, let me call the office,

see if I can't wangle

a few days off for both of us.

Great! Now that that's settled...

Dot, wait I minute, I didn't say that...

I will stop by the judge's house

on my way home, okay?

- Dot...

- It's okay.

Now, if you get any more visitors

in the night, you let me know.

If not, we'll talk again tomorrow.

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