Meeting Mrs Garret

by Raquel De Leon

  *****

  Dropping the new engine in proved to be exhausting and aggravating, requiring a few modifications to the custom mount and the engine itself. Neither she nor Adam were particularly happy with the extra effort required, but they were both glad that he’d decided not to go with a bigger engine.

  As it was, they’d probably have to replace the front and rear axles and do some major tweaking to ensure that the car would have a steady, even ride. It was obvious that Adam had big dreams for the car.

  The saving grace had been that she’d already dismantled and removed all the obsolete parts, so they were able to focus purely on fitting the engine correctly into the engine compartment. She internally cheered at the fact that at least Adam had extensive equipment to make the entire process a little less painful.

  She grunted as she sent the G-47s a sour look. They’d finally finished and she was beyond exhausted. Her eyes drifted to Adam, and he looked equally worn.

  “You sure you don’t want to stay for a real dinner?” The lines on his face seemed deeper and his words were soft and raspy.

  They’d both been so busy that they’d missed Maddie bringing sandwiches. They’d taken a small break when they noticed the food around seven, and Natalie had thought that missing the delivery had been a blessing.

  “No,” she shook her head slowly, “I just want to get home and shower and sleep for a good twelve hours or so.”

  Adam chuckled, though there was little force behind it. “You could always crash here tonight.”

  “No,” she replied sharply. He gave her an odd look, and she cleared her throat. “I’ve got plans tomorrow.”

  “Ah, I see. I don’t blame you. I’ve got some plans, myself.” He winked in her direction, and Natalie had to fight hard not to react.

  Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day. She did not want to know what the Garrets had planned.

  Natalie pasted a half smile on her face. “So you understand. I’m just going to clean up a little and then head out, if you don’t mind.”

  “Sure thing,” Adam agreed with a nod. He began his own process of cleaning up, stepping to the side after a few moments to write on a small slip of paper.

  She was too tired to pay much attention to him, but when he tapped on her shoulder a few moments later she was confused. “Yeah?”

  Adam held up a rectangular piece of paper, and she nearly smacked herself on the head. She was so tired she’d almost forgotten she still needed to get paid. She accepted the small slip of paper, but it took her a moment to notice something different.

  “Adam, this is too much,” she blurted out with wide eyes.

  The older man snorted. “Not for the work we did. In any shop I would have been charged at least double that. I’m not doing it to be nice, Natalie. You sure as hell earned it.”

  Having worked in a couple of garages, she knew he was right. It still felt odd to take the large sum, but she knew she had earned it. She cracked a small smile in thanks. The rest of the month looked a little more manageable now.

  “Thanks, Adam. You’re a good guy.” The last was said in a rougher voice than she’d intended. She cleared her throat to cover it. There was a brief squeeze to her shoulder and then she was alone.

  She closed her eyes and pushed out a breath.

  You’re a good guy Adam, but I’m totally obsessed with your wife.

  It took her a moment to realize her face was wet. It wasn’t sweat. She stared at her moist fingertips numbly for several beats, before she pushing herself to finish the clean-up.

  It wasn’t until she was in her car and she had turned the key that she realized it was Friday the Thirteenth. That would explain why, even after just replacing the battery, nothing happened. She stared down at her dashboard.

  Of course. Of course her car wouldn’t fucking start when it was already pitch black and she was exhausted and it was all because she’d forgotten to fucking test to see if her battery dying yesterday had anything to do with her fucking alternator.

  She began to laugh maniacally, tears streaming down her face as she leaned forward and thumped her head against the steering wheel. It looked like she’d be spending the night in Sage Falls after all.

  Chapter Twenty

  Maddie chuckled to herself as she stepped into the hallway. Adam had just finished inhaling his dinner, which she’d had to reheat since he’d been out working in the garage so long. She’d been admonishing him about chewing his food when the doorbell had gone off.

  Still smiling, Maddie opened the door. Her smile disappeared.

  Dark hair mussed and looking bedraggled, Natalie was staring at the floor. “I’m sorry to disturb you,” she said softly, “but my car won’t start and I’m too tired to fix it tonight.”

  Worried, Maddie didn’t stop herself from giving Natalie a careful once-over. There were furrows between her eyebrows, little-seen lines under her eyes and mouth that lent to the subdued air around the normally-vibrant Natalie. The golden-orange porchlight lent an odd hue to Natalie’s appearance, making her seem like the subject of a romanticist painting, even in jeans and her simple red jacket.

  Her expression spoke a thousand words that she wouldn’t voice, and she wouldn’t look at Maddie.

  A tight feeling grew in Maddie’s chest. “You’re welcome to stay,” she said just as quietly. She stopped herself from saying more, stepping back as Natalie wordlessly shuffled past.

  She stood holding the front door open for Natalie’s entire trip up the stairs, her grip white-knuckled and her eyes following Natalie’s every movement.

  In all the months she’d known Natalie, Maddie had never seen the younger woman look so defeated. She wanted to talk to her, help her… hold her.

  Which is why she instead closed the front door and then went to find Adam. He’d probably need help getting up the stairs in the state he was in, looking just as exhausted as Natalie.

  “Who was it?” he asked with a slow blink. He looked ready to fall asleep in his chair.

  She pushed his mostly-empty plate away and then placed her hand on his shoulder. “Natalie. She had a bit of car trouble so I told her she could stay here tonight.”

  “Aw, man.” The second word was drawn out to comic proportions, his face twisted up with sympathy. “We had such a rough day, too.”

  Maddie ignored the twinge that made her want to go straight to the guest room. “I know, honey. Speaking of that, why don’t we get you in the shower and then off to bed?”

  Adam groaned. “If I wasn’t such a gentleman I’d just sleep. I know I must be ripe. Good thing I love you so much, eh Maddie?”

  “Yes,” she murmured as she helped him stand. “I’m very lucky.”

  Don’t mess it up, her mind whispered.

  *****

  Late the following morning found Maddie staring past her reflection in the vanity mirror, eyes unfocused. She was supposed to be checking her makeup but she was having difficulty concentrating. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to calm her mind.

  Makeup, she insisted to herself as she braced her hands against the light wood of her dresser.

  It took some time, but she managed to make herself look passable. Even under hard scrutiny, the bags under her eyes weren’t visible.

  She’d had difficulty falling asleep the previous night knowing that Natalie was just down the hall. Adam’s light snores had sounded thunderous in the quiet of their bedroom.

  As far as Maddie knew, Natalie was still asleep. Adam had been tempted to wake her—she’d had to willfully ignore the smirk on his face when he’d mentioned Natalie having plans—but had concluded that rest was more important.

  She wasn’t upset that Natalie had plans, she insisted quietly to herself. Natalie was a lovely young woman who definitely deserved a date on Valentine’s Day.

  Maddie sighed and shook her head, carefully pulling away a few loose strands of hair that had caught on her freshly applied lipstick. “I’m really bad at lying to myself,” she muttered before standing.<
br />
  Adam was taking her to one of her favorite places to eat lunch in the next town over. The country club was a somewhat uncomfortable reminder of her upbringing, but the quality of the food was enough for her to ignore that.

  As she slid her pumps on, she tried to push all of the negative thoughts from her mind. She turned to the full-length mirror and tested out a smile.

  Things were only difficult when she was alone. Around Adam’s comforting presence she could forget her preoccupation. Though the spark of their youthful romance had long dimmed, her love for him was real. He never failed to make her laugh, even in her worst moments.

  A genuine, albeit small, smile appeared in the mirror. She was determined to have a good time.

  She smoothed a hand over the white silk of her blouse and adjusted the waist of her red pencil skirt, primping one last time.

  As she descended the staircase, Adam emerged from down the hall. He looked handsome in his pressed navy slacks and matching blue and white pinstriped button-up. He offered her a hand as she took the final step.

  “You look as gorgeous as always,” he complimented.

  Maddie accepted his hand as she made it to the bottom. As large as he was compared to her, not once had she ever felt intimidated by his size. He was a good man. She smiled up at him as he pulled her closer for a quick peck on the cheek.

  “You don’t look too shabby yourself.” Her fingers slid up to lightly flick at his collar. “You’re even wearing a real shirt, look at that.”

  Adam chuckled and pulled her closer so that they were standing in a loose embrace. “If your mother could only see me now.”

  She shook her head and smiled. “She’d still disapprove.”

  “Oh, I know.” He nodded, looking serious. “But I do miss that sour look she used to send my way every chance she could get.”

  Maddie’s smile became a little wistful. “I miss that, too. I think the only time I ever her saw her smile at you was the first time you held Brittney.”

  “I’m pretty sure she was smiling at Brittney, but I’ll humor you on that one.” They stopped moving and just looked at each other, warmed by memories of their daughter as a baby. Brittney had helped bridge the gap between Adam and Maddie’s parents, though neither had ever really approved of Maddie’s ‘rough-and-tumble’ husband.

  With Adam’s arms around her, the world made so much more sense. He was her anchor, and all her worries faded away as she looked into his eyes. They could fall in love again.

  Above them, the wooden floor creaked under the weight of a human foot.

  Maddie’s eyes widened slightly as she turned to the source of the sound and stepped slightly away from Adam.

  Adam’s left arm moved with her, his large hand a nearly uncomfortable presence at her lower back. She forced a smile on her face as she looked up at their company.

  Natalie’s face was blank, though her lips pursed a little. Maddie could imagine her discomfort; her own ease with Adam had faded as soon as she’d realized that Natalie could see them.

  Her throat moved as she tried to swallow around the thick feeling that had made its way there. “Natalie, good morning.”

  Natalie nodded toward them once, a tentative smile on her face.

  “Hope we didn’t wake ya, sleepy head,” Adam declared cheerfully. “We’re about to head out. Help yourself to whatever you need from my garage to fix your car. If you need something else there’s an auto shop just down the street from Juniper’s.”

  Again Natalie bobbed her head, slowly looking more alert as she began to wake up. “Yeah, I’m going to take my alternator apart and see what I can do.”

  Natalie’s voice was husky with sleep, and it took all of Maddie’s willpower not to show a physical reaction to it—even though her skin prickled and tingled as she imagined what it might be like to wake up next to Natalie. Shame curled in her stomach and chased the warm tingles away.

  “It’s a bit of a walk to the auto parts store. I think you can swing it, though.” Adam frowned a little as he looked up at Natalie.

  Maddie’s hands flexed as she considered Natalie having to walk into town to get the parts she might need. She took a deep breath before affixing a smile to her face and looking back up at Natalie. “You’re more than welcome to use my car. Adam said you had plans today, and we’d hate to keep you from them.”

  The words left a bad taste in her mouth, though she did her best not to show how she felt. Natalie remained focused on her, lines creasing between her eyebrows as she mulled something over.

  The steady brown gaze made Maddie shift uncomfortably, and she moved further down the hallway to stand next to the entryway table. “The keys are here if you decide to drive. Don’t worry about locking up. This is a safe area.”

  She made a point to touch her keys, which were hanging from one of the small hooks just inside the entryway.

  Natalie crossed her arms and smiled. “Thanks. Don’t let me keep you guys from your date. It’s a gorgeous day and you deserve to be out enjoying it.”

  There was an underlying stiffness to her movements that made Maddie’s heart pound a little faster, and she had to force herself not to say something that she would regret. Her eyes traveled to her husband, who was again making his way to her.

  “We intend to,” he turned back to send Natalie a wink, “but don’t be afraid to call us if you need anything. We’re just going out for a special lunch right now, and our schedule is a little more flexible later.”

  Adam was oblivious to the awkward, silent goodbyes and the subtle glances neither Natalie nor Maddie could seem to help.

  As they settled into Adam’s truck, Maddie’s hands smoothed over her stomach. The guilt she felt on behalf of both Natalie and Adam was making her queasy, and she desperately hoped the feeling would fade so she could just attempt to enjoy the date Adam had taken enormous pleasure in planning.

  *****

  The house was eerily quiet with everyone else gone, Natalie decided. It made her uncomfortable.

  The image of Adam walking Maddie out, one arm securely wrapped around his wife, was burned into her mind.

  So maybe her discomfort didn’t have anything to do with the quiet.

  She debated with herself as she stared down at the empty hallway. She did have plans today, but they weren’t until much later in the evening. As much as she wanted to leave Sage Falls as quickly as possible, she’d also had a really shitty night of what didn’t even come close to constituting as sleep.

  She felt like death warmed over, and seeing Maddie and Adam together hadn’t improved the feeling. Defeat swept through her anew, and instead of making her way down the stairs, she turned back to the recently vacated guest room.

  As much as she wanted to fix her car, she didn’t feel functional enough to be pulling things apart. Maybe she could nap a little since it didn’t seem like the Garrets intended to be around the house much at all that day.

  With Maddie looking so painfully beautiful, she couldn’t blame him. She would give anything to be able to walk around with Maddie like that, their bodies keeping in light contact just because they couldn’t bear to be apart.

  She nearly slammed the door to the guest room closed, angry that she’d allowed her mind to go there. It was stupid to want things she couldn’t have, yet that’s what she’d been doing her entire life. It had served her well as motivation, and she had been able to obtain most of the things she’d truly wanted through hard work and perseverance.

  Hard work and perseverance couldn’t work for everything, though. Even if it could, it wasn’t something she was sure she should do. It would cause Maddie and her loved ones a lot of pain to have her life disrupted in such a way.

  Natalie never wanted to be the cause for any of Maddie’s pain.

  She shucked off her outer clothes and settled herself back under the covers. She felt exhausted, and she was determined to try and get a few real hours of sleep. It might be easier now that she knew that she was totally alone in
the house.

  It took her a while to relax, and Maddie’s face flashed into her mind just before she drifted off.

  *****

  The drive to the country club took a good forty-five minutes, and Maddie had managed to avoid having to directly interact with Adam by turning the radio on and up so the music filled the gaping space between them. It had been difficult listening to all the songs meant to inspire romance, but Adam hadn’t seemed to mind.

  Maddie idly speared a piece of grilled zucchini and brought it up to her lips. That had been before.

  Lunch so far had been rather pitiful. Adam had tried to entice her into casual conversation as they’d waited for their entrees, but her mind had been too occupied with attempts of trying not to think about Natalie to maintain a coherent exchange.

  There was a sudden clattering of cutlery against porcelain, and she blinked up at her husband in surprise.

  The congenial air that had accompanied Adam for most of the morning was gone, and the lines around his eyes and mouth were pronounced as he stared at her. “Where are you today, Maddie?”

  Her lips parted in surprise. This wasn’t the first time she’d been unable to engage on one of their dates, but he’d never said anything about it before. He’d always seemed to have infinite patience when it came to their journey toward rediscovering each other.

  “I’m sorry, I’m just,” her mind blanked out and she had no idea what she could say.

  Adam’s expression turned melancholy. “It’s been about a month, and I thought that things would start to get a little better by now. It’s Valentine's Day, Maddie.” His large hands gestured to the tables around them filled with various couples and small families. Nearly everyone was smiling. “It’s Valentine's Day, Maddie, and neither of us is here.”

  What could she possibly say? The truth was too painful. She’d done her best, she really had, and she’d been so set on having the perfect day with Adam. It was difficult with the specter of Natalie so close—closer than she’d been for a month. She frowned as the rest of what he said sank in. Neither of them?

  “We’re not connecting like we used to, not even on the level we did before Brittney went away to college.” He looked pained, his lips pinched into a frown and his jaw flexing.