by Tonya Kappes
“A philatelist.” I tried not to smile again at the fact Lee knew the actual term for a stamp collector.
Why wouldn’t he? I pondered and thumbed through what little was left in my bag. I was about to head back to the post office for my second bag of the day.
“I’m sorry. There’s nothing in there. I do believe the USPS website does state the items they have photos of are coming soon, and sometimes that means a day or two.” I slid my eyes over his shoulder and couldn’t help but notice some moving boxes stacked up behind him. “Are you moving?”
The images of Lucas at the nursing home talking to Vivian Tillett, the director of the nursing home, made me think he’d secured a spot in the assisted-living center and was honestly going to move into the nursing area. Nah. I put the thought in my head because someone who was forgetting things didn’t remember the word “philatelist.”
“Heck no.” He grumbled. “They’ll have to carry out my dead body before I let them touch my house.”
FOUR
My old farmhouse was on the outskirts of town and located in the county. Richard and I had made it our home, and Grady grew up here. The family dynamics were important to me when Richard and I got married. I worked hard at being a good mother to Grady and a wife to Richard, not to mention a wonderful daughter to my parents.
Every Sunday I’d fix a good homemade meal for everyone to enjoy. It wasn’t uncommon in the south to have a big family supper once a week, and I continued with the tradition. It was important to our family…. or so I’d thought until a few months ago, when I found out Richard had a real relationship, not even qualifying for an affair, the entire time we were married. Or at least three-fourths of the time.
When I looked at the farmhouse now, it kind of made me sick to think I’d spent all my life making it a home that really wasn’t my taste. Richard was the one who loved the deep wood tones and heavy pieces of furniture. I liked a simpler style with fewer things, but Richard didn’t.
Rowena, my orange tabby rescue cat, did not come to greet me. “I’m home!” I yelled into the mud room from the garage.
I took my coat off and hung it on one of the many hooks in the mud room. It was a perfect spot for Richard’s farm boots and for Grady to throw down his things when he came in from school.
Now it was just a clean spot for me to take off my shoes and hang my coat after a long day of walking. After Richard died, I’d sold all the heifers and the horses. I’d gotten rid of the farm lifestyle and let the garden pretty much go, though I did keep a few things growing.
Getting back to work was probably the best thing I did for myself. I threw myself right back into society, and now I was going out to dinner with Mac.
“There you are.” I reached down and picked up Rowena when she sauntered into the mud room and rubbed up against my legs. “How was your day?” I kissed and rubbed on her a few times, listening to her purr. “Mine was the usual. Iris is stopping by to finish up some cookies.” I put Rowena down and talked to her as if she understood.
She continued to rub on me and hang around my feet when I walked into the kitchen, which was good enough for me to think she was paying close attention.
“Today was fine.” I switched the gas oven on so it would be preheated to the temperature Iris needed. “The town is on edge about this entire award, and you wouldn’t believe how they want me to decorate my mail cart.”
The headlights of Iris’s car pierced through the window. Though it was still pretty early, with daylight saving time, it got dark even in the early evening hours.
“And I have a date tonight,” I told Rowena, thinking I could get it out before Iris got in here.
“A date?” I heard Iris call from the mud room. “Who has a date?”
“Remind me to take away the house key from Iris,” I said to Rowena, knowing Iris was standing in the door of the kitchen, trying to untie her shoes. “She is so nosy,” I joked.
“Uh-huh.” Iris walked in. “I’m not the only nosy one in here, and I’m not talking about you, Rowena.”
“Traitor.” I laughed when Rowena ran over to Iris.
Iris always baked Rowena a special cat treat and brought it for her. Rowena loved them.
“So. Who has a date?” Iris walked in and immediately rolled up her sleeves. She pulled a recipe out of her pocket and used her hands to smooth it out on the counter.
I walked over and looked at the ingredients.
“I do,” I said nonchalantly walking over to the table to get the butter. I didn’t refrigerate my butter. It sat in a butter dish on the table.
“What?” Iris jerked around, and her mouth flew open.
“I’m not sure whether it’s a date or just another dinner together.” I tried to avoid her eye contact. “Mac asked me to go help pick out some plants and flowers for the houses on Little Creek Drive, then go to eat at the new Italian place.”
“And you’re standing here getting ready to bake cookies.” Her eyes drew up and down my body. “Looking like that?”
“I had no idea I was going to be judged tonight.” I laughed and looked down at my clothes. “I was going to change out of my uniform, but the rest I thought was pretty good.”
I ran my hand through my hair.
“You don’t have on a stitch of makeup, and you could probably stand to take a shower.” Iris rushed over, grabbed the butter dish out of my hand, and took me by the shoulders. “We are going to get you all fixed up.”
“What about the bonbon cookies?” I tried to glance over my shoulder and back at the kitchen as she shoved me down the hall toward my bedroom and bathroom.
“They will be just fine.” She pushed me into the bathroom at the end of the farmhouse and grabbed the doorknob. “In case you didn’t know, I’m a real baker with a real shop. So I think I’ve got this.”
“But…” I went to protest before she shut the door, then I got a glimpse of myself in the mirror. “Oh, gosh.” I put both hands on top of my head. “You’re right.” I turned my chin to the left and then to the right, getting a good look at the fifty-year-old face staring back at me.
I barely recognized it. There were a few more wrinkles on the forehead. I ran a finger across them, hoping my finger was a magic wand and I could wipe away at least one of the lines.
Then I ran my finger down to the space between my eyebrows. It looked like a big butt crease had formed. Then I felt the dark circles under my eyes.
“I think I’ve let myself go since Richard died,” I called from the bathroom and then turned the shower on high.
“You think?” Iris asked back in a sarcastic tone, loud enough for me to hear.
“Whatever.” I groaned and got into the shower. “Maybe the hot water will melt away the wrinkles,” I told Rowena, who had found her way on the bathtub ledge, a place she liked to sit when I took my showers.
I’d taken a little longer in the shower than I normally did. The water felt great, and the experience was as if the stress of the day was melting away.
“I forgot how much I liked to take baths.” I wrapped myself in my long white robe and used the towel to dry a little of my hair. “I should probably take a little better care of myself.”
“You’ve got a great figure. The walking has kept that up. And you’re gorgeous. You just don’t play it up.” Iris was standing in my bedroom with the doors of my closest wide open. “I’ve picked out the green, form-fitting V-neck for you to wear.” She had it tucked up under her arm, still on the hanger. “It goes so well with your skin and hair.”
“What about the black pants?” I made a suggestion that was obviously not right because Iris groaned.
“Nope.” She looked through the jeans. “These.” She pulled out a pair of skinny jeans. “And those.”
She pointed at a pair of black knee-high boots with small wedge soles.
“Oh my, I’m going to look like I’m wanting more than dinner.” I knew I would be comfortable in the outfit she picked, and she was right that walking fo
r my job did help keep me in shape. Plus I only had birthed one child, so my body did bounce back, but still. I was fifty, and I didn’t want to look like some twenty-year-old going on a date, so the modest sweater was perfect.
“Mac will just love seeing you in this.” She laid the outfit out on the bed. “Did you tell Grady?”
“No. I haven’t talked to him.” I walked into the bathroom and started to put on makeup. “He’s been busy, since school is back from Christmas break.”
“Is Julia okay?” Iris asked from the other room as I applied some mascara.
I stopped mid-brush up on the upper lashes.
“Why?” I had wondered the same thing.
“A feeling.” Iris and her feelings made me roll my eyes.
“You also had a feeling about Mr. Macum. When I checked on him, he was as ornery as ever.” I shook my head and went back to brushing on the mascara. “What is your feeling about Julia?”
“I’m not sure, but I did see her walking into the doctor’s building after I made all the afternoon deliveries. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. She might have the flu. I heard it was going around.” Iris walked back down the hall.
While I dried a little more of my hair, taking care so my curls wouldn’t go all over the place and stay untamed, I thought about Julia and how she’d looked a little pale to me. I sure hoped Julia wasn’t getting the flu. I put it in my head to make some homemade soups for her and Grady. They always appreciated when I took them food.
I quickly got my hair and makeup finished before I got dressed and then headed back down to the kitchen. Rowena was happily sitting next to Iris’s feet, hoping she would drop something while she got the bonbon cookie dough on the sheet.
“Oh my goodness.” Iris gasped, bringing a hand up to her chest. “If Mac Tabor doesn’t get the idea that you are interested, then he’s walking dead.”
“Who said I was interested?” I questioned her.
“Bernadette, I know you better than I know myself.” She folded her arms and smiled widely. “If you weren’t interested, you’d not be looking like that.”
The doorbell rang.
“Shut up,” I warned. “Not a word.”
Maybe she didn’t say a word, but Iris did follow me to the front door, where she made kissing noises behind me.
“Since when did you have to ring the doorbell?” Iris asked Mac before he could even step inside of the house.
“Hello, Iris.” Mac’s eyes slid to me. A big smile formed on his face. “Wow, Bernie.” He blinked a few times. “You look…”
“Doesn’t she look fantastic?” Iris bounced on the tips of her toes with her hands clasped behind her.
I glared at her, feeling a bit like she was my mom, and I was about to head to the senior prom.
“Sorry.” She used her finger to zip her lip. “Would you like a bonbon cookie?” she asked Mac.
“Yeah. Sounds so good.” He walked past me and headed down the hall. “Did you see Walter on your delivery today?”
“I saw him at your office.” I shrugged and took one of the cookies off the baking sheet. “Then again at the house you have for sale.” I pointed at him. “Don’t ruin your supper. I’ve been looking forward to a big plate of spaghetti all day.”
“Then we better get going.” He put a cookie in his mouth, and his eyes softened.
Was it looking at me or getting the full delicious taste of the cookie that gave him that look, I wondered. Either way, my nerves had calmed, and I felt so silly.
This was Mac. Good old friend Mac. Nothing more. At least that was what I told myself.
FIVE
“I’m glad to see you and Iris still bake together.” Mac seemed to be making small talk when we got into his car. “She’s been a really good friend to you, Bernie.”
“You’ve been a really good friend to me,” I told him.
He didn’t bother looking over at me or responding. The headlights from the oncoming car broke through the windshield. I tried to stop myself from looking at Mac, but I had to see the look in his eye when I confirmed he’d been a good friend to me. There was no emotion. He just gripped the wheel and stared straight ahead.
“I guess you’re having issues with Lee Macum.” I decided chit-chat might be the best thing to break whatever tension was hanging between us.
“I don’t get it. The man just isn’t about to budge on anything. He only wants to do what he wants to do and not care about the consequences his actions have for others.” By the hard tone in Mac’s voice, I could tell he’d put a lot of thought into the situation with Lee. “It’s not that I want him to change who he is, but he could stand to clean up his place now that we know there is a rat infestation problem.”
“How do you know the rats are coming from his place?” I asked.
“Walter had Logsdon Landscape come out today, and they traced it back somehow.” He shook his head. He took a left at the next street that led to Logsdon Landscape, where we were going to pick up some of the flowers. “Walter said he confronted him about it, and Lee yelled back, telling him the only rat in the town was Walter and that he only cared about money.”
“Really?” I asked with a slight giggle. “Well, Lee is right.”
“I know you don’t like Walter and that he showed up after Richard died, but he really is passionate about his job.” Mac pulled into one of the parking spots next to the greenhouse.
“Sometimes being kind is more important than a job or money.” I probably should’ve kept my mouth shut, but I lived by the golden rule. “Do unto others,” I reminded Mac.
He turned off the car and shifted his body slightly towards me. He lifted his hand and put it on top of mine, which was resting on the console between us.
“That’s why you’re a good person and you deserve so much happiness.” His words struck me as odd. Was he trying to tell me something without telling me something?
Before I could question him, he got out of the car and ran over to my side to open the door.
“Why, Mac Tabor, have you been taking southern gentleman classes?” I lifted my hand to my chest and did my best impression of Scarlett O’Hara.
“Oh for you, my dear.” He tried his best Rhett Butler and did a little bow.
Both of us laughed and headed toward the lit-up greenhouse, where we found a few of the Logsdon employees and the owner, Amy Logsdon.
“Hey, you two.” She looked up from the small potted plant she was trimming. “Happy New Year.”
“Yeah, you too.” I tried not to be too embarrassed when I looked at her because it wasn’t long ago that I’d pegged her for a murderer. “I bet you’re going crazy.”
“With Carla or trying to get more flowers in stock?” she asked with a grin.
“Both,” I commented.
“I’m not complaining. Every year about this time, I’m busying trying to recover from the holidays, and I have time to do that. Plus, the income is generally slow, so I’m kind of happy with the uptake in business, but it comes with long hours.” Amy did a couple of more snips before she looked at it one more time and then motioned for one of the workers to take it away.
She wiped her hands down her apron.
“What can I do for you two tonight?” she asked and looked between Mac and me.
“I’m here looking for something that’ll take away from Lee’s place.” Mac didn’t try to hold back.
“I heard it’s a mess over there. And the rats.” She gasped and shook her head. “Walter had come by earlier today to look, too, but Mac, I just don’t have anything that’ll make a world of difference when you got an eyesore from him. Or that will get rid of rats that quickly. He needs a spray, and I tried calling him, but there was no answer.”
Mac looked around and was very quiet, like he was pondering what Amy had told him. I gave her a slight shrug.
“I bet you’re happy you don’t have to worry about getting the farm all dolled up for this.” Amy was right. I was happy.
“T
hat doesn’t leave me exempt from Carla.” I still couldn’t believe she gave me the kit to decorate my cart, and I told Amy about it.
“Oh my goodness, she’s too much.” Amy sucked in a deep breath then glanced over my shoulder at Mac.
I turned around to see that he had a flowering plant in each hand.
“What about these?” he looked at me and asked.
“Those are winter jasmine. They can bloom in a variety of colors, but they won’t shield anyone’s eyes from Lee’s house.” I wasn’t sure how many times Amy would say that until Mac heard her, but he went ahead and bought ten of them in various colors and paid to have them delivered.
“Can I get them planted along the fence on both sides of the house that’s for sale?” He pulled out his wallet and took out a stack of cash, casually counting out the hundreds. “Do you like them?” He looked at me.
“They are pretty.” I wasn’t too much on flowers since they did die in the winter, and no matter how much Carla wanted to pull it off that Sugar Creek Gap was in full spring, it wasn’t.
I watched the weather closely and also read the Farmers’ Almanac, which told me it was going to be a late spring. That meant we could have a frost at any time, and I hated to see Mac waste his money on something that wasn’t going to last. But I kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t my place.
“Then I’ll take the same amount for the other house I’m rehabbing on Little Creek Road.” Mac pulled out another stack of cash.
“What are you doing with that house after you’re finished working on it?” Amy asked and rang up his purchase.
“Let’s just get the house I’ve got listed with Walter sold before I can make any decisions on it.” Mac handed her a stack of cash.
“The way Walter operates, he’d stop at nothing to get your place sold and make a buck.” Amy was right, and it was the exact same thing I’d been saying about Walter for a good ten years now, but again, I kept my mouth shut.
“Oh, Bernadette.” Amy stopped me shy of the door. When I turned around and made eye contact, she said, “I’ll be sure to look out for your twinkling mail cart.”