Chapter 36

They hit the ground running trying to make up for the morning lost at the funeral. Sara went nonstop and regretted that she hadn't thought to bring another pair of shoes. Angela saw her wince and said, "You can't walk home in those, one of us will need to give you a ride."

Sara wanted to protest, but knew Angela was right. Tim was recruited, so she left with him which gave her no time alone with Teddy.

She knew it was him when he said, "Come on Sister, taxi's leaving."

Once in the car, she said, "Alright Dad times up. I want to know about Sister and I want to know now."

"It's a long story, can I come in?" he asked.

"My flat is a dump."

"I grew up around the tenements. There is nothing I haven't seen," he said.

Once upstairs in her flat she said, "Give me a minute, there's beer in the fridge if you want one help yourself."

When she came back in shorts and a tee shirt, he was standing in front of her fridge with a bottle in his hand.

"Where did you get this?" he asked pointing to the picture that Bernadette had drawn.

"From Bernadette. She gave it to me the day you went to the park," Sara answered and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, it just reminded me of a drawing that I made as a boy. By the way, you have the same taste as my brother," holding up his bottle he said, "He loves these."

"Sit and tell me your story," she said trying not to react to his comment about the beer since they were left from the ones Teddy had brought. She was also preparing herself since she knew some of the story.

"Let's see...you know about my father and his work with the sisters," she nodded, "There was a nun named Sister Bernadette."

"Like your niece?"

"Yes. Sister was one of the only adults who understood me when my mother died."

"My mother died when I was almost thirteen," Sara said.

"So you understand how it is for a child. We got very close. I even drew a picture of her and I holding hands much like the one over there. Somehow as I fell in love with her, she fell in love with me and my father." He took a deep breath as Sara reacted with an "Oh!" and he continued, "It happened slowly. I think most of it happened when she was in the sanitorium being treated for TB. I know my father wrote to her...which was very brave of him."

"Then what happened?"

"The day she was released we went to fetch her and she wasn't in her habit. She left the order and shortly after they were engaged," he explained.

"Did they marry right away?"

"They were supposed to, but they postponed it when I got sick."

"Sick?"

"Yes, I had polio and almost died."

"Oh my, tell me no one else got sick."

"No, but the TB was supposed to have made Mum infertile, but to her surprise three years later she was expecting. It was quite traumatic to be fifteen and to know why they were having a baby," Tim said rolling his eyes as if, Sara thought, still fifteen not a husband and father himself. Sara laughed and of course she knew the baby was Teddy.

She asked, "Was it a scandal when she married your father?"

"Oh yes, people talked behind their backs, but it didn't last long. My father was a respected doctor and once she became Mrs. Turner and people realised her name and clothes had changed but not her caring heart,, she received the same respect."

"It sounds like it was quite the love story."

"It was and it put a lot of pressure on us to find that for ourselves. Two out of three of us succeeded," Tim said cryptically.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think my brother had it like my parents. Selfless love, true love, is hard to find, but like my father, he might find it yet."

"So when you call me Sister, it's because I remind you of the nun that fell in love with your father and left the order and became your mum?"

"Yes."

"Well it could be a worse," she laughed.

When Tim left, she thought about what he said. He implied that Teddy's marriage wasn't perfect. Still she knew he loved her and really was any marriage perfect. Tim also mentioned that he wished his brother would find someone. Would he approve if he knew what was going on between her and Teddy?

When Ted called later, he asked, "How was your ride home?"

"It was informative. I finally convinced him to tell me your mum and dad's story. He commented on my taste in beer being the same as yours," she laughed.

"You drank beer with my brother?"

"No, he drank one with me," she answered.

"Did you learn anything new about Sister?" Ted asked.

"I learned about the TB and polio," she answered and thought, and about how Tim drew a picture just like Bernadette and that your brother did not think your wife was your perfect match. She was not going to share those facts with him.

"So now you know all the Turner secrets...I guess we are the ones with the secret now," he added, "I miss you. We haven't had any time alone."

"I know. How will your schedule change when school lets out next week?"

"It doesn't. I just pay more to the babysitter. Except for my holiday, that I don't even want to go on, but it's been planned since winter," he said regretfully.

"You'll be frolicking on the beach while I am working with your brother all day," Sara said.

"I will be thinking of you while I'm frolicking!"

Sara decided not to think about his week away. They had a couple weeks before Ted left and when he returned she would have five weeks left at the surgery. She wished she knew what the future held for them. Did his mother once feel this way? Perhaps when she was in the sanitorium, Sara imagined she too must of had a time when she questioned what her future held.