When he got to his apartment, his cell phone began to ring. Hoping it was Peggy, he checked the caller ID. Grant Williams.
“Hi, Grant. Great to hear from you. How’s it going?”
“Not bad. I’m back stateside and was wondering if you and I might get a chance to talk.”
Happy to have his friend home, he said, “Sure. Whenever you’d like. Where are you?”
“I’m in Boston. Just got in, actually. I thought I’d drive up to see you tomorrow if that’s okay.”
He knew his friend well enough to know that if he was heading his way, it must have to do with Haiti. “What’s going on?”
Grant’s sigh echoed through the phone. “Juan left. His mother is very ill in North Carolina. He’s gone back to care for her, probably for a couple of months. Maybe longer. All to say we really need you back in Haiti. I promised that I wouldn’t bother you after you left. I’m well aware that you had a difficult time, but you’re the best carpenter I’ve ever had working with me. You’re also good at organization.”
Juan Marquez was a terrific worker and a friend. They shared the same sleeping quarters.
“That’s too bad. So you’re looking for someone to take Juan’s place.”
“It’s more urgent than that. One of the orphanages was destroyed by fire.”
“Which one?”
“The one just outside Jacmel.”
“I know that orphanage.” He remembered it as if it was yesterday. After the collapse of his friend Nene Hilario’s house and the deaths of Nene and Anna, Rory had gone back to the rubble of what had been their home, found the children crying without their parents and took them to the orphanage. He hadn’t known what else to do. Grant had promised to check on the children when he could. “Were the Hilario children still there when the fire happened?” Rory asked, fearful that the two young boys hadn’t made it to safety.
“They’re safe, and they’ve been moved to a temporary site until we can manage to rebuild the orphanage. I left a crew cleaning up the site, getting the debris from the fire moved. I’m back here to make a personal plea to my donors for the money to ship mobile home units down to the building site until we can make arrangements to build a brand-new facility. I’ve got a plan drawn up to present at the meeting this Friday. The one thing I need to be able to tell them is that I have a carpenter to help in setting up the units and seeing that they are properly placed with stairs, skirting and all the other things. You know what I mean. Our donors are good. They insist on things being done right.”
Rory’s heart pounded in his chest. As a way to keep in touch with the Hilario children, he’d volunteered to fix an outside wall of the orphanage that had been damaged by rain, and had been surrounded while he worked by children asking questions, talking playfully. “Grant, I don’t know. Are you sure I’m the right person to do the job?”
“The last thing I wanted to do was call on you. I respect your need for time to get your head together. I tried everyone I could think of, but each of them either had other commitments or didn’t have the necessary paperwork or vaccinations to leave the country and go to Haiti right away.”
Suddenly, the demolished house appeared in his mind, the pain, the fear, the sense of loss, leaving the children behind. He shouldn’t go. He needed more time here, but faced with Grant’s request his heart was moved. These children, who’d already lost their parents, had been traumatized by a fire that took their home, and would now be scattered around to whoever could care for them. The children would lose their connection to each other and be set adrift by circumstances beyond their control.
“How long will it take?”
“Once the units are delivered, probably months. I’m not sure.”
Finding the units and purchasing them, assuming they were even available, would take a few weeks, if not months. Enough time for him to close his apartment and put his things in storage. “You don’t have to make the trip up here to convince me. You can count on me.”
“Thanks, Rory. I owe you one.”
They talked for a while longer, organizing what had to be done, Rory feeling the pull of friendship, of shared experience together in a world most of his friends and acquaintances couldn’t imagine. Yet it was his world, the place where he’d learned the true meaning of caring, of relying on each other for support and backup. The place where he truly belonged.
Once he’d hung up from his call with Grant, he looked around his apartment at the life he’d made for himself, and for a few minutes he was sorry he had to leave it. But the surge of excitement roaring through him convinced him he’d done the right thing for himself and for the children in Haiti.
He couldn’t wait to tell Peggy, to share his plan with her.
What would she think? He needed to know she was with him on this. Surely she’d understand his need to help those children. And, he realized, he couldn’t leave here without her. Peggy loved children. Her skills would be a perfect fit.
Suddenly aware that he was supposed to pick up fish and go to Peggy’s house, he made for the shower, got cleaned up and drove to the fish market. He put a quick call in to Peggy, but it went to voice mail. He left her a message saying that he was running a few minutes late, but he’d have the fish with him and something really exciting to tell her.
* * *
PEGGY WAS LOOKING forward to dinner with Rory this evening. Among other things, they were going to talk about her house and what repairs were required to maintain it. She was thrilled to think that they shared a love of woodworking, of Craftsman houses, which meant that they would have something to share with each other for a very long time. Having Rory care about her house meant a great deal.
Most of all, she was glad they’d had a chance to talk, to find a way back to each other. Being together didn’t mean there wouldn’t be issues, but in her heart she knew they were meant to be together, and she was really and truly happy.
She smiled to herself as she organized the dinner. She planned to have twice-baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese to go with whatever fish Rory picked up at the market. She’d picked up gelato for dessert, along with pale yellow tapered candles for the dining room table. She decided to set the table using dishes her father had bought her for Christmas the year before he flew to Chile. They’d been shopping for a Christmas gift for her mother at Macy’s when she’d spotted the set that reminded her of the four years they’d lived in Thailand. On Christmas morning they were under the tree for her. That was one of the things she loved about her father. He was always so thoughtful.
She’d finished setting the table when the phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number... “Hello?” she said.
“Hi, Peggy.”
“Mom? Why are you calling me?”
There was a long silence, which Peggy knew meant that she had hurt her mother’s feelings. “I’m sorry, but I thought we’d agreed that you’d give me a little time to sort things out. How did you get my number?”
“I was talking to Bill. He gave it to me. Before you start blaming him for doing that, I told him I had to talk to you.”
“Mom. I wouldn’t have blamed Bill...my father. I know how persuasive you can be. You haven’t answered my question. Why are you calling me? Is something wrong?” she asked, annoyed that her mother had not respected her wishes. She glanced at her watch. Rory would be here in a few minutes, and she didn’t intend to let her mother’s needs interfere with the evening she had planned.
“Peggy, I’ve talked it over with Bill, and he’s invited me to visit him. But I’d prefer not to stay at his house. I’m not ready—”
“What!” The last time she’d spoken to Bill, he hadn’t expressed any interest in talking to her mom. Like her, he was still trying to adjust to what her behavior had done to their lives. What was going on? The last thing she wanted right now was for her mother to show up in Eden Harbor. “Mom. Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?”
“I would like to stay with you,” she said, reproach
evident in her voice.
From long experience, she knew that her mother had never let someone else’s wishes stand in the way of what she wanted. “Mom. You can’t come here. You can’t stay with me. If you feel you have to come to Eden Harbor to see Bill, you’ll have to stay somewhere else. You must have relatives in the area. You grew up here.”
“No. I don’t.” Her mother’s tone held regret. “I told you a long time ago that my parents passed away when we lived in Indonesia.”
Peggy didn’t want to feel responsible for her mother or her happiness. Those last months before she moved from Seattle had been among the worst of her life. Taking a deep breath, she tried to explain as calmly as she could how she felt. “Mom, you don’t seem to understand how much you’ve hurt me. I didn’t leave Seattle to have you come here, expecting to be part of my life. You have no business being here...with me.” She felt her throat tighten. How she wished her relationship with her mother was different. “Mom, I have to go.”
“Wait! Look, I’m sorry for all the mistakes I’ve made. I can’t go on like this. I love you. I want to make amends. Bill has offered to help me. He’s a good man. I made some awful mistakes where he was concerned. Mistakes I can’t fix. I’m so sorry.”
“Mom, I don’t want to talk about this right now. I’m busy—”
“My life is a mess. I have no one to blame but myself. I realize you’re still angry at me, but I’m coming to Eden Harbor very soon. I hope to see you when I do.”
“Mom, I have finally found a man I love. Please understand that I can’t deal with your issues. I want to enjoy my time with him. I want to get to know my father. I want to put together a life with the two men who offer me a chance at happiness. Can you understand that?”
There was a long pause, during which Peggy’s regret over what she’d said pressed on her conscience. Like all teenagers she’d taken her relationship with her mother for granted. Her mother had always been there to support and care for her. They’d been very close.
“Yes. I can, Peggy. I’m sorry for upsetting you. I won’t come to Eden Harbor until you’re ready to see me. If Bill wants to meet me somewhere so we can talk, somewhere away from Eden Harbor, we’ll do that. I’m so happy you’ve found someone to love. There’s nothing quite like loving someone, knowing you have the capacity to love and to be loved in return. I’ll wait to hear from you when you’re ready.”
With that, the line went dead.
* * *
THE TRUCK ENGINE roared as Rory sped around the turn onto Peggy’s road, spitting up a plume of gravel. In the gathering darkness, the lights on her house were like a beacon. He’d picked up the fish and had stopped for a bottle of white wine, paying more than he’d ever had for one bottle. It was going to be a big celebration tonight.
He was going to the woman he loved to share his happiness over Grant’s phone call. His mind hadn’t stopped going over everything he’d have to organize and work on between now and the end of the month. He and Grant were doing a conference call with the construction group providing the modular units early tomorrow morning.
He pulled into Peggy’s driveway, braked hard and got out of the truck. He took the back steps two at a time and knocked on the door. No answer. He tried again. Still no answer. Had Peggy gone somewhere? He went back down the steps and strode out to the horse barn. The horses gave him a welcoming whinny, tossing their heads in greeting.
He backed away, checked the tack room as he took out his phone and called her number. Still no answer. What was going on? He returned to the back door and knocked again.
Peggy appeared, her face stained with tears. “Peggy! What’s the matter?” he asked, stepping inside, putting the fish and the wine on the bench beside the door and gathering her in his arms in one easy motion.
She sobbed into his chest, her body shaking. He patted her back, soothing her as best he could, waiting for the tears to subside. “What’s going on?” he asked, smoothing the hair from her cheeks when she looked up at him.
The pain he saw in her eyes had him pulling her closer. “Whatever it is, I’m here for you. You can tell me.”
She sniffed and wiped her cheeks. “My mother.”
“What about her?”
“She called a little while ago. She wanted to come and see me. I told her no. That I didn’t want to see her.” She started to cry all over again.
“Okay. Let’s sit down,” he said soothingly.
They settled on the sofa in the living room. Peggy snugged up against him. “Start at the beginning,” he said.
He listened as Peggy described her call with her mother in between bouts of tears. Peggy clearly missed her mother but couldn’t seem to resolve the issues between them. He could understand her feelings. A mother who let her daughter come to Eden Harbor without telling her that her birth father lived here had some pretty serious issues, none that he could relate to. But he wasn’t a parent. All he knew was that Peggy was upset, and he wanted to help her feel better.
“What am I going to do? I shouldn’t have been so rude with Mom, but she hurt me so much.” Peggy pushed her hair away from her face.
“I’m not trying to defend your mom here. But do you suppose that part of the reason she didn’t tell you about your dad years ago when you were younger was because she didn’t want to put any strain on her happy family life? She felt safe and loved. Could your mother simply have been protecting those she loved from facing something she’d done a long time ago? Something she wasn’t proud of?”
“Who knows? My mother is...so hurtful.” Peggy got up and walked back and forth in front of the sofa, narrowly missing the end of the heavy wooden coffee table on one of her circuits. “I wish I could turn back the clock sometimes. Back to before Dad died. Everything had been perfect then.”
“Yes. Back before you found out about your birth father.”
“I had a right to know,” she cried.
“You did.”
“That’s what hurts so much. Mom and I were really close until...until I confronted her with the fact that Marcus wasn’t my birth father. Why wouldn’t she tell me the truth?” She wiped her face with her hands.
Rory went to her, took her hands in his. “I can’t imagine how that must have felt. My mom’s and dad’s lives were an open book. They went to the same school, were high school sweethearts. Dad went to technical school. Mom became a teacher’s assistant. They got married and had my sister and me. Perfectly happy until Dad passed away and Mom had to cope on her own. But you know what? Everyone has things in their lives that cause them pain. And you’ve had your fair share. Why don’t you let it go for now? I brought fresh fish...” He looked around, forgetting what he did with it. “Maybe it’s still out in the truck.” He smiled. “See, just the thought of seeing you rattles my senses.”
“What a lovely thing to say.” She sniffed, smoothed her hands over her waist and sighed. “Thanks for listening. Why don’t you retrieve the fish from wherever it is, and I’ll finish organizing dinner? Before my mom called, I was perfectly happy getting ready for this evening.”
“Well, then, dial back to that moment, and let’s enjoy ourselves,” he said, kissing her lips, feeling her body move toward his. Tonight he planned to stay the night, to share his excitement about their life together. They would be with each other, together in every way that mattered. He couldn’t wait for them to start new with only each other, to feel how wonderful and gratifying life could be. His family, his mom and dad and sister, had lived a wonderful life together. He wanted the same. He’d tell Peggy all about his plans while they prepared their meal.
* * *
SHE WANTED TO see life the way Rory did. It all seemed so easy for him. Yet a part of her felt as if he wasn’t really involved, didn’t really understand her feelings where her mother was concerned. He seemed to take things so lightly, almost as if they were inconsequential. But to her they mattered, and she needed them to matter to him. If they were going to be together, this was one of the
things they’d have to work on as a couple.
She was in the kitchen when he returned with the fish, and they began making dinner. “Would you like an apron?” she asked, unable to hold back a grin.
“If you’re tying, I’m buying,” he said, turning to her as she pulled an apron off the hook beside the fridge.
“Thanks for being here,” she said as she put the apron on him.
As she turned back to him, she saw the love in his eyes. Her breath halted in her chest.
He leaned down, his lips brushing hers, taking her breath away with his touch. “You’re welcome. There isn’t anything we can’t do if we put our hearts and minds into it,” he said, steadying the salad bowl between them as his gaze held hers.
This was a moment she would remember forever. The beginning of lots of moments they would have together. The idea made her smile. “Don’t know about that, but I’m sure glad you arrived when you did,” she said, going to the table, lighting the candles. Tonight would be so different, of that much she was certain. Neither had mentioned it, yet something had shifted between them when he arrived and found her crying. He’d seen her at her worst, and his caring proved his love for her.
Lots of men would have offered comfort, she supposed, but Rory had made her feel safe, protected. She felt his concern in his touch, the way he held her. She loved him even though his attitude was sometimes too relaxed for her to understand. She’d tell him tonight, once dinner was over and they were settled on the sofa to chat...and more. If she had her way, he wouldn’t be leaving tonight. For the first time ever, she was going to be very clear about her feelings for a man. There would be no reason for her to hide from him.
Rory brought out plates of baked haddock, broccoli and potatoes. “We are going to celebrate tonight. I have great news.”
Peggy placed her napkin on her lap and gave Rory her undivided attention. “I can’t wait to hear.”
“First we’ll eat. Wouldn’t want to have our food get cold.” He settled into the chair across from her, his eyes on her, the air between them charged with excitement and awareness.
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