* * * *
Katherine scowled at the door. She had the students working in pairs looking up terms for a vocabulary test next week, and so far they were on task, but any interruption might throw them. She hurried to the front of the room to answer it before the hyper kid up front took it upon himself to play doorman. But it was too late. Her student had pulled open the door and, instead of chattering with whoever was outside interrupting her class, he stood in the door with his mouth hanging open.
“Jason, what is it?” she asked, weaving through the desks. A hush started to swell around her. She knew from experience that classroom chaos was normally preceded by a hush, like tornadoes. She needed to get the intruder out before the kids got out of control. Whoever was out there had a good talking to coming.
“Ms. Pelham, there’s a cop here,” Jason blurted out.
Katherine lengthened her stride, hearing the noise level in the room rise as every one of her students decided they needed to know what was going on right now. For a dizzy instant, she thought there really was a police officer outside the door, and he’d come to tell her that her fiancé was dead. But no, when that happened they’d gotten her to the office before they told her. And her fiancé was already dead. He couldn’t die again. She came around the corner and clasped Jason’s shoulder too hard. Jack stood in the hall looking as if he wished he were anywhere but here.
“All right everybody, get back to work. Jason, I’m impressed that you don’t know the difference between a police officer and a firefighter.” She steered Jason back in the direction of his seat and clapped her hands over her head. “I’m going to be in the hall. I expect everyone’s list to be done by the end of class. Remember, what you don’t finish now you have to do at home.” She stepped into the hall, propelling Jack in front of her.
He looked perplexed and a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think I was going to create a scene.”
“A robin landing on the window sill creates a scene with that group. What are you doing here?” Katherine blinked, trying to drive away the dizziness that had set in earlier. Jack couldn’t be here to tell her that her fiancé was dead. No one would ever come to her door with that news again. Why Jack was here didn’t matter so much as long as it wasn’t tragic.
He held up her lunch. “I found this at the house this morning. I thought you might want it.”
Her throat closed, and for a minute she thought she might cry. It did matter why Jack was here. He thought to bring her lunch. “Thank you. Where did you find it?”
“On the porch. You must have dropped it.”
She took the bag out of his hands and held it to her chest. “I overslept. I didn’t realize I’d forgotten it until I got here.”
“Sorry if I interrupted your class.”
Katherine grinned. “Don’t worry. Thank you.” She resisted the impulse to kiss him.
“Well, I’ll see you tonight.” He took a couple of backward steps before he turned around and went down the hall to the stairs.
Pam stepped out of her room as he turned the corner. “Was that your fireman?” she whispered across the hall.
“Firefighter,” Katherine said. He’s not on fire, and he does his best to stay that way, she reminded herself, cursing herself for remembering what he’d said.
Kitty Reilly, the art teacher, came out of her room and stared down the steps until they heard the stairwell door clang closed. She hurried over to where Katherine and Pam peered down the hall. “Who was the hunka hunka burnin’ man?”
“That was Katherine's fireman,” Pam announced.
“Wow. He’s hot. Look, he left little scorch marks on the floor where he walked.” Kitty pointed to a tile. “Good job, Kath. My, my.” She started fanning her face. A loud bang, followed by laughter, floated from her classroom. “Gotta go. When the cat’s away, the mice wreck the place.”
“That guy.” Pam pointed down the hall where Jack had gone. “You can date him.”
“He’s still my tenant.”
“Throw caution to the wind for once. What was he doing here anyway?”
“He brought my lunch.” Katherine held up the bag, still choked up.
Pam looked at her face for a minute and sighed. “I’ll watch your class while you run it to the lounge.”
Katherine blinked and felt tears on her lashes. Pam was right. She needed a minute. “Thanks.”
She hurried through the familiar halls to the windowless teacher’s lounge. Why did that small gesture mean so much? It was so simple. It couldn’t have taken him more than a few minutes. But it had been a very long time since any man had bothered to take time out of his day for her.
Why did he have to keep being such a great guy when she couldn’t have him?
Chapter 5
“Jack, come help me with the leftovers.”
Jack looked up, startled. His grandmother asking for help with leftovers? Usually she chased everyone out so she could make up care packages in peace. He glanced at his mother for confirmation that his grandmother had made an odd request. She looked stunned.
“Mom?” His mother stepped forward. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help?”
“If I had wanted you to help, I would have asked you. I asked Jack to help. I want to hear all about his new puppy. Bring the ham,” Grandmother ordered.
Jack picked up the platter and carried it into her tiny, hot kitchen. “Archer isn’t a puppy, Grandma. He’s almost two.” He put the ham in the middle of the kitchen table and sat down to be out of the way. Most of the other dishes were already scattered across the table.
“That’s nice.” She set down the bowl of mashed potatoes that didn’t appear to have been touched, but Jack had seen it when it came out of the kitchen and knew his family had done their best. “Tell me about the new girlfriend.”
“New girlfriend? What new girlfriend? I don’t have a new girlfriend.”
“Jack. I’m your grandmother. I’ve been here for a long time, and I’ve learned a few things. Who’s the new girlfriend?” She folded her arms and Jack recognized the gesture. If he didn’t tell her the truth, he would never leave the kitchen. She’d keep him trapped here, plying him with questions until she got an answer she found acceptable. He could hear everyone moving into the living room to watch television and continue to talk about wonderful Leia’s partnership. The only dinner where he’d managed to eclipse his sister was the one after he got his commendation. Leia had been miffed for weeks until his burns healed and the family’s attention drifted back to her.
He wondered if getting married would one up her.
“Well?” His grandmother tapped her foot.
“She isn’t my girlfriend, Grandma.”
“But you want her to be. Here, you reach down some plastic containers and tell me the trouble.”
Jack went to the cupboard over the stove and wondered if his grandmother owned stock in Tupperware. She seemed to have an endless supply. Every piece he owned he’d gotten from her, and it had come full of leftovers. “She’s my landlady.”
“Oh, that’s right. Your mother said you rented a new apartment.” She arranged her containers into battle formation and set to work on the green bean casserole.
“It’s the first floor of a house. She lives upstairs.”
“That’s good. She’s close. You’ll grow on her.”
“I’m not sure if I haven’t already. She acts funny sometimes.” Jack slouched into a chair.
“How?” She started heaping mashed potatoes into containers, sending the most with him.
Jack watched her, knowing he’d be trading bags with Leia in the driveway. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his grandmother’s cooking or that he didn’t appreciate it, but he could cook for himself and Leia couldn’t boil water in a microwave without causing a minor kitchen fire.
“Well, sometimes she’s really glad to see me and sometimes not. The other day I took her lunch to school for her, and I thought she was gonna start crying she was so hap
py, but the week before that she avoided me.”
“Why did you take her lunch to school? Is she a teacher?” His grandmother moved onto the ham, wrapping the bone and placing it in his bag. He’d have to remember to get it before Leia left with it. The guys at the station loved his split pea soup, and Archer would love the bone.
“She teaches high school English, and she forgot it. She said she overslept.”
“Then she was probably having a bad day, and you made it better. If she’s emotional that might be why she teared up.”
“You’re not making me feel better, Grandma.” He reached around her and pinched off a piece of ham.
She swatted his hand away. “I should be. You did what any good friend should do, and you need to be her friend first.”
“I’d gladly be her friend if she’ll let me.” Jack thought back to the day she’d helped him hang the door and then curled up in her shell until Randy showed up. He still didn’t know how Randy fit into this, but he couldn’t talk that over with his grandmother.
“Why is she renting? Other than the fact that teachers have never been paid enough.”
“Her fiancé died, and she was falling behind in her bills.”
His grandmother turned around, putting down her carving knife and pinning him with her sharp, wise eyes. “Her fiancé died? How long ago?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s very important.” She shook her finger in his face. “If it was recent, she’s going to be very vulnerable. You better be gentle.”
“Grandma!”
She sighed and folded her arms. “I forget who I’m talking to. You will be. Your cousin Gregory wouldn’t.”
Jack glanced at the kitchen door as if Gregory would choose that moment to need a glass of water.
“What else do you know?” his grandmother asked, picking up her knife again.
“I don’t think she was happy with her fiancé. She described him as having integrity.”
“Nothing wrong with a man having integrity.” She sorted the containers into stacks. “Your grandfather had integrity.”
“Grandma, if someone asked you about Grandpa would you say he had integrity first?”
She paused for a minute. “No. I suppose you’re right. I’d say he had a good sense of humor and a nice smile. You get your smile from your grandfather, Jack. Now, what else?”
“I know her father died when she was ten, and her mother is her only family.”
“Poor dear. Next time you should invite them both to dinner. There’s always plenty. ” His grandmother started wrapping deviled eggs in plastic sandwich bags. “Does she like your dog?”
“She likes my dog better than she likes me.” Jack stared out the back window. He hated being jealous of his dog.
“That’s a good thing. Isn’t it?”
“I guess. It gets her to hang around with me.”
“Hand me down some grocery bags, would you?” His grandmother waved her hand at another high shelf.
She had nearly finished packing up the leftovers from the entire dinner and was ferrying hers to the refrigerator. How had he missed her doing all that work? When had she divided the bread, the broccoli and the ham gravy? When he got to be her age he could only aspire to be that quick and efficient. He tried to imagine Katherine at eighty-two and couldn’t. Every time he tried, he remembered her answering the door in her bathrobe the day after he moved in. Or rolling around in last fall’s leaves with Archer. Or waiting while he hung the back door. He was going to have to wait and see.
“So what does this girl look like? Is she pretty?” His grandmother asked arranging containers in bags.
“Grandma, she’s beautiful. She’s got long brown hair that turns red in the sun. And the most gorgeous brown eyes. And she’s smart and she’s funny. And she’s sweet and nice. She sounds like a really good teacher, and she loves her job.”
“Tell me, do her feet touch the ground when she walks or does she float?” His grandmother fluttered her hand over the empty dishes.
“Grandma!”
“Here, help out an old woman and put these in the Frigidaire.” She gestured to the bags on the table and carried the dishes to the sink. “I think it’s wonderful that you like her so much. A husband should always love his wife the same as he did the first moment he saw her, and he should always love her a little bit more every day too.”
Jack loaded the bags in the refrigerator. “How am I supposed to do that?”
“You’ll know when the time comes.” She wiped the counter down. “I think she’ll be better for you than that Maureen.”
“You never met Maureen.”
“I know, but I’m listening to the way you talk about her. I was afraid you were going to end up married to that Maureen, and you weren’t going to be happy. She wasn’t for you.” His grandmother sat down at the kitchen table. “Now, come sit and tell me all about her all over again, starting with why you didn’t ask her to dinner today.”
Jack sat down across the table. “First, I want to know how you knew.”
“Jack, you’ve been nice to your sister all day. You were hardly here for dinner. You walked in with a silly smile on your face.” She patted his hand. “I would ask if you like your new place, but I think I know the answer. Now, what’s her name, and why isn’t she here?”
* * * *
When Jack pulled in, the sun had set. Katherine stood in the back yard playing fetch with Archer. Or rather, Archer was playing. Katherine threw the sticks hard enough that he could hear them whistling and smacking the back fence. She didn’t seem to have changed from where ever she had gone to celebrate the holiday. She wore gray wool slacks, a red sweater and black pumps whose heels sunk into the thawing yard. She had her hair pulled into such a tight bun that her ivory skin stretched. Or it could be the grimace on her face pulling her skin. He closed the garage door and walked over to the fence.
“Hello.”
“Hi,” she growled. She whipped another stick at the fence so hard her entire body shook.
Jack opened the gate and noted that Archer didn’t even break in his game to greet him. Some loyalty. But the more Jack watched his dog, the more he realized Archer wasn’t playing either. He seemed to be approaching this session of fetch like a job. Running after the stick, finding it, bringing it back, dropping it at Katherine’s feet so she could pick it up and throw it again. As if he were trying to provide comfort in the only way he knew. After the long conversation he’d had with his grandmother, he’d been feeling pretty good. Even Leia’s digs hadn’t gotten to him.
But it looked as if Katherine hadn’t had such a relaxing day.
Jack swallowed. “So did you have dinner with your mother today?”
“Yes,” she growled.
He closed the gate. “When did you get home?”
“About an hour ago.”
Jack rubbed his nose. If she’d been playing fetch like this for an hour, she was going to be sore. “Did you have a good time?”
“My mother is of the opinion that my life should stop because the man I would have married has died. She feels that I should remain loyal to his memory by not dating and not marrying ever. Like she did. She’s sorry Gary and I didn’t marry and have children before he died.”
Jack filed the information about marriage. This wasn't a good time for that conversation. Archer carried the stick back and dropped it at her feet, but she didn’t move to pick it up.
Katherine started rubbing her shoulder. She patted Archer on the head. “Sorry, boy. My arm hurts.”
“You should put ice on that before it gets bad.”
“I suppose I should.” She started to walk past him, but he stopped her.
“Hey, I can’t let you stew all night like this. Come on inside. I’m pretty familiar with sore muscles, and I’ll be happy to listen.” He put his arm around her shoulders, careful to not put any weight on the sore one, and guided her inside. “You want some coffee?”
“Sure.” She sa
nk down at the table and looked around the kitchen. “It looks nice in here.”
“Oh, thanks.” Jack got an ice pack out of the freezer and wrapped it in a towel before laying it over her shoulder. She put her hand next to his to hold the ice pack in place. Jack left his hand beside hers for a moment, wishing he had the courage to take it in his. She seemed so alone. Archer had already gone under the table and curled up around her feet. Jack couldn’t do that, so he moved away from her before he tried.
“So what happened with your mother?” He busied himself making room for his grandmother’s care package in the refrigerator.
“My mother is the Grand Master of guilt. All I had to do was mention I was thinking about dating again, and she started in with what would Gary’s family think?”
“What would they think?” Jack got the coffee maker going. If she was only thinking about dating, then she wasn’t dating the blond with the rusted out truck. Good, very good. But her late fiancé’s family made for more and worse competition. He couldn’t compete with a dead man.
Katherine snorted. “They wrote me off the minute they cashed Gary’s life insurance check.”
She rotated her shoulder under the ice pack. “My mother knows what buttons to push. It’s not as if he died a hero’s death, and I should live the rest of my life as a monument to him. It’s nothing like what happened to Dad.” She paused, studying the table top tracing the wood grain with her fingertip. Jack wished he were as observant as his grandmother. His grandmother would be able to read Katherine's mind by the way she sat at the table.
Katherine looked up and tried to smile. “The other day when you came to school with my lunch, Jason, the kid who answered the door thought you were the police. Before I saw it was you, I thought I was living that day all over again. Funny how the mind works isn’t it?”
“How so?” He sat down across the table from her. So the police had come to tell her Gary was dead. Was that normal? Pretty soon, he’d need a notebook soon for all the little pieces of this mystery. Her face looked a little less pinched and tired now. For a sore shoulder, she needed aspirin. He got up to get her some.
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