* * *
Laura logged back on and began an answer to Taylor’s message.
Hi Taylor,
I see you’re into dating younger women.
It’s really good of you to be there for Meg. It must be very hard for her sometimes. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like without my father.
It sounds like you and Annie have a very special relationship. You’re both lucky to have each other. It’s terribly important to have someone you can talk to about anything and everything.
That’s the kind of relationship I had with Tomás and that I have with Beth. She’s been my best friend since we were 13 years old. I’d be lost without her.
Sounds like you’re going to be pretty lost without Christine, too. I liked her. She seemed to really understand all the demands you have to handle. Training someone else will be difficult. And it’s obvious you have to find someone you have some rapport with. I don’t envy you the search.
My mother just called to remind me that Thanksgiving is next week. Will you be with Annie and Meg? I’ll be with my folks, Beth and her family will be there. The two families have been celebrating together for years. It wouldn’t be T-giving if the Collins and Wilkins families didn’t get together!
Taylor, please feel free to “grump” at me anytime. I can always hit the delete button.
Seriously, it helps to have someone to talk with, and I’ll be glad to listen.
Laura
Chapter 14
Thanksgiving Day dawned clear and bright in New Mexico, not that Laura was awake to see the dawn. She took advantage of the day off to sleep in a little before she went out to help with dinner. Cary would join them a little later. She hadn’t wanted to subject him to all day with the mob—at least that’s what she’d told herself.
* * *
Taylor was awake early on Thanksgiving morning. After taking a morning run, he showered and dressed and headed for Annie’s. He wanted to help her as much as possible since she still seemed so tired. He hadn’t seen her since lunch last week, but had talked to her a couple of times. She just didn’t sound right. He couldn’t explain what it was, but he knew that something was wrong. Today probably wasn’t the time, but he was really getting worried, and he’d make her tell him soon.
* * *
Beth and her parents had arrived by the time Laura made it out to her parents’. The house was already beginning to fill with the smell of turkey roasting. Posole bubbled on the stove, pumpkin pies were cooling, and the table had been extended to its full length.
“It’s about time you got here,” Beth said as she peeled potatoes. “This is your job, not mine.”
“Why do you think I was late?” Laura laughed as she hugged her mother, then turned to hug Beth’s mother. “How are the Moms this morning?”
Beth’s mother responded, “We’re fine, Laura. Where’s this young man of yours?”
“Why don’t you ask Beth? She seems to know everything about my life.”
Beth said primly, as she handed the potato peeler to Laura, “He will be here later, just before dinner. Laura was afraid that we would be too much for him to deal with all day.”
“Not the rest of you, just her!” Laura said as she took her place at the sink.
The four women kept up a lively conversation as they prepared the trimmings that would complete the feast. The fathers wandered in after a while to see what samples they could sneak, and there was so much teasing laughter that they almost didn’t hear the doorbell.
“Oh, that must be Cary!” Laura said as she looked around for a towel to dry her hands.
“Never mind. I’ll let him in,” Beth said, exiting the kitchen before Laura could protest.
Cary was a little startled when a petite blonde answered the door. For a moment, he thought he had the wrong house until she said, “You’re Cary. I recognize you from the news. I’m Beth, Laura’s best friend. Come in.”
Cary came through the door, carrying flowers and a bottle of wine. “Thanks. It’s nice to finally meet you. Laura talks about you a lot.”
“Well, she hasn’t told me much about you, so I guess I’ll just have to find it out for myself today.” She grinned at him, but he was pretty sure she wasn’t joking. She was making him a bit uncomfortable, and he had the feeling she knew it. When he added her resemblance to his ex-wife, Cary was pretty sure he wasn’t going to like this pushy little friend of Laura’s. But he put on his best television “mask” and laughed with her.
“Cary!” Laura had come to rescue him.
“Hello, darling,” he said as he kissed her. Beth shut the door behind her and followed them down the entryway to where the rest of the families were waiting.
Beth was doing an assessment of her own. Cary was a little too polished to suit her. She’d seen the annoyance in his eyes when she’d teased him, before he’d hidden behind that professional smile. She didn’t want to make a snap judgment, but she had a feeling that Cary could only mean trouble for Laura.
“Cary, these are my parents, Sean and Maria.”
“Thank you for inviting me,” he said as he handed the flowers to Laura’s mother. “Laura said there was nothing I could bring, but maybe you can use this for another occasion,” he said, handing the bottle of wine to her father.
“I think this is enough of an occasion to justify opening this with dinner,” Sean said, shifting the bottle to one hand so he could shake Cary’s hand with the other. “Welcome to our home.”
Laura watched as her parents introduced the Wilkins to Cary. He was gracious and charming to them all, and she felt like things were going all right.
“How do you feel about football, Cary?” Sean asked.
“Depends on who’s playing, but I enjoy watching a good game.”
“I don’t know how good it is, but men are banished from the kitchen ‘til dinner so you might as well come join us.”
Cary looked at Laura. “He’s right, Cary. Go watch the game. Dinner will be ready soon.”
She watched as he followed her father up the steps to the living room that overlooked the city. He really was good-looking, she thought, as she admired the way his jeans fit. She was startled when Beth said softly, “Not bad if you like the smooth, polished, suave, and debonair type.”
“I take it you approve?”
“I didn’t say that. He still has to pass a few ‘Beth’ tests before I give you my blessing. Right now, girlfriend, you have a date with some potatoes.”
* * *
When Taylor arrived at Annie’s, the turkey was already cooking. She had Meg busy scrubbing vegetables and most everything else ready to start. True to her word, however, she had left the potatoes for him.
“You have work to do, Taylor Morgan,” she said, laughing as she handed him a potato peeler. He snapped off a salute to her and clicked his heels together, which caused Meg to go off into uncontrollable giggles. Taylor picked up a potato and looked at it so woefully that Annie started giggling, too. He tried to maintain the somber face, but their laughter was too much, and he gave in and joined them before finally turning to his assigned task.
As he worked, listening to Meg’s chatter, he was happy. He liked working with the two of them, being with them. The three of them were a family, maybe not in the traditional sense, but probably closer than many conventional ones.
Taylor watched Annie as she moved around the kitchen. She looked better this morning. The circles under her eyes had faded, and she moved with more of her customary energy. Whatever had been bothering her seemed to be better, and Taylor was relieved.
* * *
The long Spanish-Colonial style table was picture perfect, as Laura added the last napkin. Beth was at the other end of the table, filling water glasses when Cary came down the steps.
“Anything I can help with?” he asked.
“Thanks, but no. We’re nearly ready,” Laura said, smiling at him.
“It smells wonderful. Reminds me of Ohio.”
“What about your family, Cary?” Beth asked.
“Actually, there’s no one left. My parents were both only children and died several years ago. I was an only child, too, so that was it for family.”
Laura placed a hand on his arm in sympathy. “I’m sorry, Cary. Holidays must be very lonely for you.”
“Not this year,” he said, deftly changing the subject. Laura didn’t notice, but Beth did. That answer about his family had been pretty unemotional, as practiced and polished as the man who delivered it. She didn’t know why, but Cary set off every warning alarm she possessed.
* * *
Dinner, at both locations, was a noisy event. There were several different conversations going on at once, lots of good food and friends.
In Florida, Meg’s babysitter, Susan, and Annie’s assistant, Jane, with her husband, completed the guest list. Taylor asked a blessing as “family” and friends joined hands around the table. Unsaid, but heartfelt, was his private prayer that Annie was really all right. The wishbone was claimed by Meg, who cleaned it and hung it to dry as she already planned what she would wish for. Annie relaxed, enjoying the company of her friends, and pushed her troubles away for the moment. Taylor caught her eye, and she raised her glass to him in a silent toast to their friendship.
In New Mexico, the whole event reminded Cary of another reason he’d hated the holidays when he was growing up. Even then he’d wanted to be the center of attention, but there were always too many people around. He didn’t miss it, hadn’t spoken to his parents since he’d left. For all he knew, his story about them being dead was true. Now, even as he smiled and laughed, he was wishing he’d stuck with his plans to ski. He would have given anything to be out on the slopes—alone!
Chapter 15
When dinner in Florida was over, the dishes done, and leftovers put away, everyone lazily retired to the family room. The television was tuned to the football game, but no one was watching it very closely. Taylor and Meg were having their traditional Monopoly battle, fought every year on Thanksgiving. Meg was getting pretty good. Taylor was having trouble defending his properties against her. The rest of the adults chatted, Taylor joining in when he could afford to take his eyes off of Meg.
Both games ended at about the same time. After dessert and coffee, the other guests left for home. Meg was tired enough that, after a bath, she was willing to head for bed early. Taylor took care of tucking her in, then met Annie in the family room.
“I think she was asleep before her head hit the pillow,” Taylor said with an indulgent smile.
“Thanks, Taylor. It’s been a nice day, hasn’t it?”
“It has, Annie, but you don’t look a whole lot more awake than Meg does. I’ll head for home so you can get some rest.”
Annie watched Taylor from the doorway and waved as he drove off. As she closed the door, she offered up a silent “thank you” to whatever power had helped her get through today without one of her headaches. With any luck, they were gone for good.
* * *
After dinner in Albuquerque, the men did the dishes. Cary wasn’t treated like a guest. Instead, he was handed a dishtowel so he could dry while Sean washed. There was no graceful way out of it, and Cary silently seethed as water dripped on his expensive suede loafers.
When they joined the women in the sunroom by the pool, Cary sat next to Laura and took her hand in his, giving her a fond smile. He could feel Beth’s eyes on him as they had been during most of the day. It was like having a gargoyle watching him, and he decided he really didn’t like this friend of Laura’s. Thank heaven he wouldn’t have to put up with her much longer.
Laura could tell that Cary was growing restless. Being around a bunch of strangers, no matter how nice they were, could be wearing. She decided to give it another half-hour, then she’d leave with Cary. Mom could bring her car tomorrow when they were scheduled to go shopping together.
* * *
When Cary took her home, Laura invited him in. He watched silently as she put away the leftovers her mother had sent home with her. When she had finished, she poured two glasses of wine and handed him one. After pausing just long enough to kiss him lightly, she moved to the couch and sat in one corner, facing him as he sat at the other end.
“It was nice having you there today, Cary.”
“I’d forgotten what family holidays were like,” Cary responded, truthfully for a change.
“What will you do for Christmas?”
“Actually,” he said, putting down his wine glass and taking her hands in his, “I wanted to talk to you about that. I’ve made reservations to go skiing in Taos the week before Christmas, through the holiday. I was hoping you’d come with me.”
“I can’t, Cary. I have to work, and that week is a big thing for my family. We participate in Las Posadas. The procession is always held in our neighborhood on the 23rd. And it’s our turn this year to hold the party. I can’t possibly go off and abandon Mom to all that work.”
“I’ve just found it easier to be gone over that week. That way people don’t have to feel awkward because I’m alone.”
Laura said softly, “You don’t have to be alone, Cary. You would be welcome to celebrate Christmas with us.”
He smiled and reached out to caress her cheek. “Thanks, Laura. I think I’d better stick with my plans. I’m not very good at holidays anyway.” Then he smiled at her and continued, “But that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate together before I leave, does it?” And he drew her into his arms and kissed her.
* * *
It had been a nice day, Laura thought as she closed the door behind Cary. She was pleasantly exhausted, but couldn’t resist turning on the computer to check for messages. She smiled as she saw “Barnum” in the message list that appeared on the screen.
Hi Laura,
Hope your day was as nice as ours. I still have some trouble with Thanksgiving falling on such a tropical day. It was in the 70’s here. Even in California, when I was growing up, the day was usually a little cool, and it was always downright freezing in New York!
Meg and I had our annual Monopoly game. We started when she was really little, probably 5 or so, and she’s gotten good enough at it that I have to really watch what she’s doing if I want to retain my championship title. I barely managed to keep it this year.
I’ll be picking her up tomorrow to take her shopping for Annie’s Christmas gift. That’s been a tradition, too. We make a day of it with lunch and a movie if we’ve found what we’re looking for. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Taylor
Christmas! It seemed so far away, but she’d be spending tomorrow shopping with her mother. Cary wouldn’t be here over the holidays—almost without thinking, she began to type a reply.
Hi Taylor,
You must be a pretty poor Monopoly player if Meg is beating you already! I’ll have to see how you do at Scrabble sometime.
We had a great day. The Moms (mine and Beth’s) always cook enough food for an army… and expect us to eat it all! You should have heard them worrying about us when we were teenagers convinced that if we ate a bite of stuffing we’d gain ten pounds. Luckily, we outgrew that phase!
We’ll be preparing now for Las Posadas. It’s a Mexican tradition that’s migrated here. In Mexico, it begins on Dec.16th as Mary and Joseph search for a place, an inn (posada), for the birth of the Holy Child. It goes on for nine nights as they knock on doors and are turned away until Christmas Eve, when the family is welcomed at the final house. Neighbors follow along and sing the traditional songs of the story.
Here we do it all in one night. Local people, mostly the kids, are chosen to play the parts of Mary and Joseph. Believe it or not, they chose me when I was 17. But I had to give up the p
art because my legs were too long for me to ride the little donkey that was available that year. And to make it worse, Beth took my place. I’m not sure I’ve ever forgiven her!
Anyway, we do it on the 23rd so that the families can spend Christmas Eve together. The final house this year is ours.
Everyone will bring food for the celebration, and we’ll have a piñata. It’s a wonderful time.
Why don’t you join us? I’m sure you want to spend Christmas with Annie and Meg, but you could fly back on Christmas Eve morning. I’ll stay with Mom and Dad, and you can use my apartment. There are so many lovely things about Christmas in New Mexico. I’d love to share them with you.
Laura
Laura re-read the message she’d typed. Should she send it? She hadn’t planned on inviting him when she started. For some reason, Cary’s insistence on spending the holidays alone had made her think of Taylor. And, finding out that Cary would be gone had opened the door to inviting Taylor.
Taking a deep breath, she gave the command that sent the message. It was done; there was no turning back. She logged off and got ready for bed. Lying in the dark, she found herself hoping he’d say “yes.”
* * *
Taylor was surprised when he read Laura’s message. They’d been corresponding almost daily now for a little less than two months. He felt like they had become friends, but he certainly hadn’t anticipated her invitation. On a computer screen it was easier to not think about the way he’d felt about her when they met. It might be impossible to ignore that attraction if he saw her again.
She’d never mentioned dating or a boyfriend in any of her e-mail. He felt sure that she had to be seeing someone even if it wasn’t serious. If he went, he might have to deal with that. Still, he realized, he wanted to see her again, so he began composing an answer.
Hi Laura,
Timing Is Everything Page 9