Clean sweep, p.7
Clean Sweep, page 7
“Oh, right. I’ve heard of this. It’s called mind reading.”
“Daaaad.” She tilted her head back and groaned. “No, don’t get all . . . fatherly . . . on this subject. It’s more about knowing them well enough that you get them. For example, you don’t know Leslie well enough to know what restaurant she’d want, but I do. I’m in tune with her. Don’t have to read her mind. I just pay attention.”
My mind churned over that for a while. Having a teenager daughter was more enlightening than I’d expected. Also, I still thought she meant mind reading, but whatever.
“Fine,” I said. “Find the perfect place for Leslie, romantic and all that ridiculous stuff, but good enough we can still talk and I can get to know her. I haven’t committed to this yet, you know. I’m just thinking about it.”
“Whatever. You’ll do it. Once you set your mind on something, you make it happen. I’ll help, but this is your only pass,” Celeste muttered. “Next time? You have to know her well enough to pick the place.”
“I accept.”
“By the way, Thanksgiving is tomorrow,” Celeste drawled. “You ready?”
My lips twitched with a grin. In the back of the truck, an assortment of grocery bags awaited. Pie crusts, pie filling, heavy whipping cream, a turkey, and various assortments of all our favorite foods. Christmas was an okay day in our house. But Thanksgiving? The holy grail of holidays in our world.
“Ready to eat pie and gain twenty pounds,” I said.
Celeste reached over and we high-fived. I grinned. Felt good to have the coolest daughter in the world.
And so much pie in my future.
7
Leslie
The coo of a baby drew me out of my office the week after Thanksgiving.
I slipped into the coffee shop to find Stella standing at the counter, a bouncing baby boy held in her right arm. His bright eyes and strong head gazed around. Spit bubbles formed at his mouth. Like his father Mark, he had a bright smile and so much thick hair on top of his head that I wanted to run my fingers through it.
“There’s my handsome guy,” I cried.
Stella turned to me with a bleary smile, then gratefully passed Mark Jr. into my outstretched hands. He stared at me, a bit dazed, but made no protest as I bounced him in place. I glanced at Stella. Dark marks lingered under her eyes, no doubt from sleep loss, but her smile seemed genuine. Her hair had been fixed, she had a hint of lip gloss on, and she wore real clothes instead of sweatpants.
For a new mom of a four-month-old?
She was killing it.
“How are you, Stell?” I asked with a hand on her shoulder. She let out a long sigh as Dahlia bustled behind the counter, fast at work with a coffee pot.
“Tired.”
“It gets better.”
Hope filled her eyes. “When?”
“Realistically? When they leave for college, but even then they’re stressful. Sleep, however, comes in longer snatches closer to six months.”
She sighed. “I can do that.”
“How was Thanksgiving?” I asked.
“We ate sliced turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce, avocado, and fake mashed potatoes. Mark was in charge,” she added, as if we needed to understand why such a thing would happen.
“You didn’t have JJ cater?” Dahlia asked with a dramatic gasp. “Are you crazy?”
Stella smiled. “No, he and Lizbeth were at Maverick and Bethany’s and I didn’t want to leave home. I’m just . . . not really up for lots of people for a long time while Mark Jr. is still so little. Maverick and Bethany were really cool about it.”
“Sounds like the perfect holiday,” I said with a sigh. “Landon stayed in Jackson City with his new fiancée—said something about being busy up there. The other boys are coming home for Christmas, so it was just me and Blake. We kept it simple too.”
“Wait,” Stella cried, “Landon is engaged?”
“What?” Dahlia said at the same time.
I patted Stella’s arm. “I’ll tell you about it later, when I know more myself. In the meantime, have a seat.” I nudged her into a nearby chair. “I need some baby time while you chat with Dahlia. She has all the gossip for you.”
Dahlia’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
While I swept Mark Jr. around the shop with me, Stella sank into a chair. The longing for real-life connections outside of spit up and breastfeeding was all too fresh in my mind, despite my youngest being on his way to graduate from high school. I was only too happy to take Mark Jr. for a while.
Sometimes, I missed the early years. Not the tantrums or exhaustion or sense of helpless I-don’t-know-what-I’m-doing. But the feeling of having them close, within touch. Knowing that I could make their day better with a bandaid and a smile. This whole sending-them-into-the-world-to-make-big-mistakes could go rot.
Suddenly, I understood the appeal of grandbabies.
Dahlia and Stella provided soothing background chatter while I mentally puzzled together pieces of Maverick’s family reunion. Catering on certain days. Pizza on others. Hotel rentals, car coordination, a blow-up bouncy house for the little kids. The Mercedy family didn’t mess around.
Mark Jr. remained in my arms, contemplative as I carted him around while I did inventory one handed, made a few phone calls, and kept my ear attuned to the conversation in the shop.
“The forest around Adventura was spared from the fire,” Stella murmured in the background. “There are a few spots that tried to take off and burn up the mountainside, but the hot shot crew thankfully put them out. Adventura is good to open up in the spring with campers, thank heavens.”
“Sione called me last night,” Dahlia said. “Said he landed safely in Tonga to see our grandparents. He’s not coming back until right before Adventura opens.”
Their conversation continued to flow, and took my mind with it. Right back to where it had been going every hour ever since the disaster of yesterday.
Tanner Beck.
After Landon’s hasty departure—which clearly indicated a guilty conscience and a lacking desire to talk to me about his life decisions, the twerp—I’d spun my mind back through the afternoon. Had I done something wrong? Should I have said something different?
Inevitably, my brain landed right back to the phone call that came from Tanner and into the words he’d casually said.
You did great, by the way.
They had a not-so-casual effect on me. His compliment had, several times, settled the rattled part of me that blamed myself for my son’s behavior. At twenty-three, Landon was more than old enough to take responsibility for himself. Most of the time, I did a great job of giving him said responsibility. The rest of the time?
Well, being a mom wasn’t easy.
After thirty minutes had passed like a moment, Stella glanced at the clock and cried, “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to take up so much of your time!”
I emerged from my office with a reassuring smile. “Please, take more of it anytime. Mark Jr. and I are going to be close!”
Dahlia snorted. “Are you kidding? I loved this. And I’m paid for it!”
Mark Jr., on seeing his mama, let out a little gurgle and a quick smile. His wiggly legs flailed when Stella gave him a warm grin and reached for him. Reluctantly, I transferred his easy weight back to her.
Yeah, this grandma thing would be just fine.
“Thank you,” Stella said with feeling. “I didn’t know how much I needed that.”
“I totally get it, honey. He’s perfect and you’re doing great. Text me tonight if he’s doing that spit up thing again, or whatever. I’m always here for you.”
She willingly went into my hug, and I couldn’t help but squeeze her extra tight. With both parents deceased and her grandma living in Florida, Stella had been stopping in and calling almost daily with questions. She pulled away.
“You’re too good to me.”
“Nah.” I squeezed her arm. “We’ve got you, Stella. You’re never alone in this Mom thing.”
Dahlia fidgeted behind the counter while Stella gathered up her things and I helped her out to the car with the diaper bag. When I stepped back inside, Dahlia burst.
“What is going on with Landon?”
I sighed, having anticipated this exact moment, lowered into my booth and rubbed circles into my temples.
“Landon is trying my patience.”
“He’s engaged?” she screeched. “Congratulations! Do you like her? How did he ask? When is the wedding?”
“She’s not so bad, I actually liked Starla. Yes, I think they’ve rushed the whole getting-engaged-thing, but they don’t have a date set. There’s time for them to figure that whole situation out.”
Dahlia lifted a dark eyebrow. “Buuuut?” she drawled.
I leaned back. “But he’s dropped out of medical school. At least, he said he did. I don’t know the details. Maybe he hasn’t actually pulled out yet? Not really sure.”
Her eyes grew round as globes. “Oh. That seems like a big deal.”
“It is a big deal. His decision, but still a big deal. I can learn to live with that, but now he’s avoiding me. He won’t let me talk to him about it, which has my mama senses tingling. Something is up.”
“Can you corner him?”
I shrugged. “Maybe. But should I? I’m not sure it’s come to that yet. He’s made a series of decisions that I don’t agree with, but I’m going to have to get used to. There’s no wedding date on the horizon and there could be hope for the future that he’s wanted for years. So . . .”
Dahlia nodded. “So you wait.”
“So I wait. At least for now. Forcing Landon in the past has never helped.”
She shook her head and leaned against the counter behind her. “Wow, parenting looks like it sucks.”
“Totally.”
The slam of a car door outside drew my attention, and my stomach caught. My ex-husband Ethan stood in front of the Frolicking Moose, eyes shaded by a pair of sunglasses.
He’d cut his shaggy hair short so it looked neat and manicured, giving him a more professional bearing. The mussy HVAC guy that I’d lived with for the last two decades had all but disappeared underneath a button-up shirt and slacks. Had he lost weight? He cut a leaner figure.
I crossed my arms self consciously over my chest.
“Oh.” Dahlia straightened. “Is that . . .”
“It is.”
Before she could say a word, someone stepped out of the passenger seat. A lovely woman, middle-aged, with streaks of gray in her dark hair. She gave him a smile highlighted by red lipstick. Her gutsy pantsuit reminded me of Celeste. While I wouldn’t call her ritzy, she certainly gave off an upper class vibe.
The two of them linked hands and headed toward the door. My stomach twisted in on itself. After the divorce, Ethan had moved to Jackson City. He gave the house to me, took the RV and truck, and rented an apartment. At some point, Blake told me Ethan had purchased a home, but I didn’t know much more about his life up there. His HVAC business, I’d heard from someone, had boomed. He paid his child support for Blake, so I didn’t care what else he did with his money.
The fact that he’d left Jackson City to come here meant one thing: he needed to speak with me.
But why?
My instincts told me it had everything to do with Landon, and I braced myself for what would be said. Ethan had always put pressure on Landon to get into medical school to avoid being the HVAC guy. He wanted Landon to live the life he hadn’t managed to achieve. We’d married so young and hadn’t given ourselves the headstart we needed to be prosperous. I’d gotten pregnant with Landon within a year, and spit out the other three in the six years following.
Somehow, life had just . . . swallowed those dreams.
The chimes on the door jingled when Ethan pulled it open, allowing the woman to step inside ahead of him. I didn’t have the presence of mind to act like I’d been doing something else, I just stared at them like a deer in the headlights. Ethan glanced up, saw me, and managed a warm-enough smile.
“Hey Les. Sorry for dropping in unexpectedly. Do you have a minute to talk?”
Thanks to limited space in my office, the three of us sat at my usual booth near the back. I put my back to the wall so I could face the rest of the shop and anticipate who came in.
Ethan introduced the woman with a hand on the small of her back.
“Leslie, this is Kate. She and I have been dating for a few months now. We’re just heading out of town for a weekend trip and stopped in while driving through.”
I smiled. “Good to meet you, Kate.”
“Same,” she murmured, with real curiosity in her eyes. “The boys have said such wonderful things about you. They really love you.”
I’d long ago released any romantic attachment to Ethan. He and I had experienced it, it had flared for a short while, and then dwindled in a slow squeeze that felt like gasping for air. I harbored no jealousy over Ethan dating another woman, but my entire body prickled at the mention of my sons.
“That’s always good to hear from another source,” I quipped with a quick smile. “Sometimes, parenting feels like shouting into the void.”
She murmured something that sounded like, I can imagine while Dahlia set several cups of coffee down, then disappeared. Behind them, she gave me a bolstering look that sent a shot of courage through me.
“So.” I leaned back and looked straight to Ethan. “To what do I owe this pleasure? I have my doubts you’d drop in to chat without a reason to do so.”
“Yes, of course. Nice place, by the way.” He glanced around. In all the years that he’d lived in Pineville, somehow he’d managed to avoid coming in, even after the renovations. Then again, I’d haunted Lizbeth here so much in the early days that he probably avoided it just because I loved it.
“Thanks.”
“I hear you’re doing great things with it.”
“I’ve really enjoyed the job.”
Thankfully, Ethan leaned forward, shoulders hunched slightly, as if ready to drop into the trenches. I’d do anything to get out of this small talk and right to the heart of the matter.
“Right,” he said. “We need to talk about Landon.”
“Landon.” I sighed. “Yes.”
Ethan sucked on his front teeth, an annoying habit that used to set my hair on end. Seeing it now reassured me that, no matter what he pretended, the grungy Ethan that I’d attempted to spice back to life still lived somewhere beneath all this glittering exterior.
How much of this new person was Kate directly responsible for? Would it fade if she left?
“The quick marriage proposal I can get around,” he said, “and I guess I understand his reasons for dropping medical school, even though I don’t like them. I think he’s going to regret this later. But getting married in February? That seems . . . I don’t know. Something is going on.”
My blood turned to slush. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, “what?”
Ethan blinked. “What, what?”
“What did you say?”
“He’s getting married in February.”
I recoiled.
Ethan’s eyes widened. “He didn’t tell you?”
“I met Starla and he told me about dropping medical school, but he didn’t tell me they’d set a date for . . . two-and-a-half months away.”
Annoyance flared in Ethan’s gaze. “Well that little—“
“What day is the wedding?”
“Valentine’s day.”
I fought not to roll my eyes. A thousand questions streamed through my mind. Why that day? Why so fast? Did Starla attend school too? What about his classes, his internship, his job? Amidst all of the questions, however, lingered the undying one that had been haunting me all night.
Why didn’t he tell me?
Hurt overrode the panic. A wedding could be scraped together—if that’s really how they wanted to approach it—but why not tell me about it? Why avoid me? Did my response frighten him? I’d gladly welcomed Starla into my house. I had made his favorite foods, avoided awkward subjects, and let him bring it up. I’d even given him a chance to explain . . .
“Les?”
Ethan’s voice pulled me out of a stupor of thought. I blinked. “Sorry, what?”
“I don’t know what’s going on with him, It’s like he’s lost his mind.”
“Starla is very nice,” Kate said quietly. “I don’t think she’s putting pressure on him. Whatever is going on seems to stem from Landon.”
Another knife twisted in my gut. Kate had met Starla before I did. What was happening here? How had my earth tilted on its axis again?
“Thank you for telling me,” I said calmly. “Things have seemed fine between me and Landon but . . . apparently we’re having a hard time with details. I’m not sure where this breakdown in communication has happened. Or why, for that matter.”
The dubious question that lingered in Ethan’s eyes probably meant that had been part of the reason he’d stopped by—to see what was going on between me and Landon. Did Ethan blame me for this wedding date?
Maybe.
Regardless, something must be bothering Landon for him to avoid me so completely about it.
“He introduced Starla to me and told me about medical school all at the same time,” I said, just to fill the silence. “Maybe he didn’t tell me about the wedding because he wanted to give me some time to get used to this.”
Ethan shrugged.
Clearly, neither of us believed that.
He had a sip of coffee and we all sat in the contemplative silence for a few more breaths.
“Well.” I forced more cheer in my voice than I felt. “Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I’ll speak with Landon. Can you let me know if you hear anything from him about details? I believe I’m out of the loop and would like some assurance of what’s really going on.”
“Of course.”
Our mostly-amicable divorce meant we hadn’t been too uncomfortable with each other since it happened. Granted, there was weirdness there. The splitting of a shared life didn’t come without ghosts, but I felt no ill will toward Ethan. As far as I knew, he hadn’t cheated on me. I hadn’t been unfaithful to him. We’d just let whatever we once had die, then we lived with it for as long as either of us could tolerate.
