by Bobbi Holmes
Thirteen
Danielle’s cat, Max, looked up from where he napped under the kitchen table in time to see Marie’s spirit materialize by the door to the side yard. He glanced over to Danielle, who stood at the counter, her back to Marie. Looking to Marie, Max yawned. Their eyes met briefly, and they exchanged a silent hello. Closing his eyes, Max yawned again and resumed his afternoon nap.
“Hello, Danielle,” Marie greeted her hesitantly.
Stopping what she was doing, Danielle turned from the counter and faced Marie. “Well, hello. Where have you been the last few days?”
Marie shrugged. “Here and there. When are Ian’s and Lily’s families arriving?”
“Sometime this afternoon.”
“I was just across the street. I stopped in to see Connor. He was waking up from his nap. We played a few minutes before Lily came in to change his diaper and get him up. I’m going to miss that little guy the next two weeks.”
Danielle frowned. “Why are you going to miss him?”
“It’s probably best if I stay away while the grandparents are here. It might cause some problems,” Marie explained. “Especially now that he’s starting to say a few words.”
Danielle smiled. “Yeah, they might wonder who Connor is waving or smiling at. But I don’t think it’s necessary to stay away when they’re over here and Connor is home.”
“Perhaps.” Marie let out a sigh.
“Does that mean you aren’t coming to his birthday party?” Danielle asked.
“I don’t think so. Eva and I discussed it, and we decided it is best for Connor to spend the day with the living.”
Danielle started to respond, but Marie cut her off with a hasty goodbye and disappeared.
“Well, goodbye to you too,” Danielle grumbled. She started to turn back to the kitchen counter when Lily burst excitedly through the door.
“Hey, Dani!” Lily greeted her.
“You just missed Marie,” Danielle told her.
“I wouldn’t have seen her anyway,” Lily said with a laugh as she closed the door behind her. She walked into the kitchen and said, “Mom just called. They’re about twenty minutes from Frederickport. Wanted to let you know.”
Danielle grinned at Lily. “You excited to have all the families together again?”
“Excited and nervous.” Lily took a seat at the kitchen table. “Before they get here, I wanted to know, have you bought that pregnancy test yet?”
“No, not yet. I’ll tell you when I do,” Danielle promised.
“I don’t know why you’re waiting. I’d think you’d want to know. It doesn’t mean you have to tell anyone yet. Just me.”
Abandoning what she had been doing at the counter, Danielle poured her and Lily each a glass of lemonade and walked to the table. She handed one glass to Lily and then took a seat across from her.
“Don’t worry, when I take it, you’ll be one of the first to know.”
“I’d better.”
Danielle grinned and then said, “Marie told me she’s going to avoid being around Connor while the grandparents are here.” Danielle took a sip of her drink.
“I think that might be a good idea. I keep wondering what I’m going to do when Connor gets a little older and starts saying more than ma and dadda. And frankly, when he says ma, I’m not sure if Connor is trying to say Marie or mama. I’m just grateful none of them live in Frederickport. It’s enough having Kelly live here.”
“When are Ian’s parents arriving?” Danielle asked.
“Ian says they should get here later tonight. I still don’t get why they’re driving. Of course, my parents are driving too.” Lily shrugged and sipped her lemonade.
“Some people just don’t like to fly.”
“Nah, his parents don’t seem to have an aversion to flying. They’ve done a lot of traveling. They’ve been to Europe a few times. But now that John’s retired, maybe they just wanted to take a road trip,” Lily suggested.
“They’re both retired now, right?”
“Yep. He officially retired a couple of months ago. Ian keeps saying he hopes his mom doesn’t kill him.” Lily laughed.
“Why does he say that?”
“I like Ian’s parents, but they’re both kinda hyper. I don’t think either of them can just kick back and relax, do nothing. And they’re kind of bossy; they like to tell everyone how to do things. I imagine it’ll be hard for June with John underfoot. I have this vision of him deciding to rearrange her kitchen and putting labels on everything like he has in his shop.” Lily laughed at the thought.
“Ahh… didn’t June rearrange Ian’s kitchen when they were here for your wedding?”
“Yep. And when they were here later, she seemed rather annoyed that I had moved things around,” Lily said.
“But why would John rearrange her kitchen?” Danielle asked with a frown.
“Because it’s something I can see him doing, too. And while June had no problem changing someone else’s kitchen around without asking, she would not appreciate the same favor.”
“What does he have planned for his retirement?” Danielle asked.
“Ian thinks they might get a motorhome and do some traveling.”
“That way they can come see you more,” Danielle teased.
Lily grinned sheepishly. “You make me feel so guilty.”
“How so?” Danielle frowned.
“Ideally, I think it would be wonderful for Connor to grow up living close to his grandparents, both of them. But I am also a realist, and frankly, life is easier without those complications.”
“I’ve always heard marriage problems typically stem from money problems, sex problems or in-law problems,” Danielle said.
“Ian and I definitely don’t have the first two—and I’m working to avoid those in-law problems.” Lily paused a moment and asked, “How did you get along with Lucas’s parents?” Lucas was Danielle’s first husband.
Danielle considered the question for a moment. “Lucas’s dad wasn’t in the picture much. They divorced when he was a toddler. I only saw him a couple of times in all the years during our marriage. His mother was always very sweet to me and not the type to butt in. I feel a little guilty not keeping in touch with her. She absolutely doted on Lucas. And I suppose considering some mothers like that can be a nightmare mother-in-law, she never was. Everything felt so awkward after he died, and I think she felt as awkward as I did. But it thrilled her when I gave her the portrait. I also think she was a little sad when I gave her the wedding rings back. But they had been her mother’s, and I figured she might want to give them to one of her sister’s kids.”
He had climbed out of the box after they put it in the back of the truck. From what he overheard; they were off to see Lily. His Lily. There was lots of room in the back of the truck, and he rather enjoyed the drive and seeing all the sights along the way. They had stopped once at a motel, and she had insisted he carry the box into the motel with them so no one would steal it. The man had removed it from the truck before he had time to climb back in, so he ended up spending the night alone in the truck’s bed. But he was able to watch the stars overhead, which he rather enjoyed.
In the morning he watched the sun come up, and the couple came out of the motel room, the man carrying the large box, and the woman with a couple of suitcases. They had locked some other boxes in the truck’s cab, but when they returned in the morning, they moved the boxes to the truck bed again.
He wasn’t sure how long they had been driving when he caught the salty scent of the ocean. He closed his eyes, vaguely remembering the smell. It conjured up long-ago memories of his parents and a trip to the beach. He remembered building sandcastles, something he later taught Lily to do. He wondered if they might build sandcastles again.
Momentarily lost in memories, he opened his eyes when he heard the truck stop. Hurriedly, he climbed back into the box of toys and waited. He wondered, had they arrived?
Connor sat on the living room floor, playing with
building blocks, while his family’s golden retriever napped nearby, and his father sat on the sofa, reading the newspaper. Noise from the front door broke the silence and caught Connor’s attention. Sadie jumped up and dashed to the door. Connor heard voices. Adult voices.
His father tossed the paper he had been reading to the floor, stood up from the couch, and followed Sadie. More voices and commotion came from the entry hall. Connor watched curiously, waiting for the people attached to the voices to walk into the living room.
“Connor, look who’s here!” his mother’s voice called out as she walked into the room, followed by two older people, his father, and the dog. The man carried a large box. Connor frowned and studied the new arrivals. They looked vaguely familiar. He had seen them before.
“There is my baby!” the woman squealed before hurrying toward him. Connor opened his eyes wide in surprise as the woman swooped him up from the floor and squeezed him tightly. His first inclination was to cry. But she was soft, and her familiar scent evoked a faint memory of cookies. This woman had given him cookies before, and he wondered… did she have cookies with her?
“Oh, he’s gotten so big!” the woman said as she sat down on the sofa with Connor on her lap.
“I think he remembers you,” the man said, setting the box on the floor near the sofa.
“Of course he does,” the woman cooed while peppering kisses over Connor’s face.
Connor looked at his parents. Both smiled in his direction. He glanced over to Sadie, who sat next to the man, her tail wagging. Feeling safe, Connor looked back at the woman. She stared in his face, jabbering words he did not understand. But one thing he knew, he wanted a cookie. Connor reached out, grabbed her right cheek with one chubby fist, and used his other hand to gently pat her left cheek. I want cookie, he thought.
The woman laughed and kissed his hands. Connor frowned. Where is cookie?
“What’s in the box?” Connor heard his mother say. He looked to the large cardboard box sitting on the floor.
“Your mother insisted we bring it,” the man said.
“What is it?” Lily asked.
The woman nodded toward the box. “Go ahead, open it.”
Connor wondered if that was where she hid the cookies. He watched as the man opened the box for his mother.
Lily looked inside the now open cardboard container. “Are you serious? You still have these?” She laughed.
To Connor’s surprise, a little boy climbed out of the box.
“Where is Lily?” the little boy asked, now standing in front of the sofa, looking around. All the adults ignored Connor and the boy. Instead, they focused on the objects Lily pulled from the box.
The boy looked at Connor and asked, “Who are you?”
Connor smiled at the boy. The boy smiled back.
“You look like Lily. But you aren’t Lily, are you?” the boy asked.
Connor gurgled.
Spying the blocks on the floor, the little boy asked, “You want to play blocks?”
Connor watched as the boy sat by his blocks. Wiggling, Connor tried to get off the woman’s lap. She held on tighter.
Seeing her mother struggle with Connor, Lily said, “Mom, why don’t you put him down. Unless he’s sleepy, he’s not much of a lap sitter. And he just woke up from a nap not long ago.”
Doing as her daughter suggested, Tammy gently helped Connor off her lap and onto the floor. The adults watched as Connor crawled to the pile of blocks and sat down. He picked up one block and then held out his hand, as if offering it to someone. But no one was there.
“I just had a flash of déjà vu,” Tammy said.
“What do you mean?” Lily asked.
“Not only does he look just like you at that age, you used to do that with your toys too.”
“Do what?” Ian asked.
“She always looked like she was playing with someone,” Lily’s father said.
“Yes, Lily’s imaginary friend.” Tammy laughed.
Fourteen
Lily and Ian visited with Lily’s parents for another hour while Connor played contently with blocks on the floor nearby.
Looking down at her grandson, Tammy smiled and said, “He certainly entertains himself.”
“Yes, he does…” Lily murmured. She narrowed her eyes and studied her son. Is Marie here? Lily wondered. Connor normally played contently when being entertained by someone. When left to his own devices, he often got fussy or into mischief. She remembered what Marie had told Danielle about not coming around while the grandparents were there—Did she change her mind?
“I suppose we should take our suitcases over to our room and say hi to Dani and Walt,” Tammy said, interrupting Lily’s train of thought.
“Oh, sure,” Lily said, standing up. “I’ll take you over there.”
“Shouldn’t you call her first, let them know we’re on our way?” Tammy asked.
“I just texted them,” Ian said.
“You young people and your texting,” Lily’s father, Gene, said. He stood up. “Are we all going over?”
“Lily can take you,” Ian said. “I’ll stay here with Connor. I need to finish making dinner.”
Now standing, Tammy looked at Ian and said, “I do love a man who cooks.”
“Me too.” Lily grinned. She reached up and kissed Ian’s cheek.
“Hey, I barbecue!” Gene reminded her.
“Did I say I didn’t love you?” Tammy chuckled. She walked over to Connor, leaned down, and dropped a kiss on his head.
Twenty minutes later, Lily left her parents at Marlow House to settle in while she returned home to help Ian with dinner and to feed Connor. Walt had helped her father carry the suitcases to their room on the second floor.
“Lily said you wouldn’t mind being upstairs,” Danielle told Tammy after Lily left, and Gene was in the bathroom. The two women stood in the hallway on the second floor. Walt had returned to the first floor.
“We don’t mind,” Tammy said. “I know June has that knee issue, so the first-floor bedroom is better for her. This is very kind of you to let us stay here. I wish you would let us pay you something.”
“Don’t be silly,” Danielle said. “Anyway, if you paid and our neighbor Pearl found out, she would throw a fit.”
Tammy chuckled. “Yes, Lily told me about that neighbor of yours. I’m sorry she forced you to close your B and B.”
Danielle shrugged. “Actually, it all worked out. When Walt and I came back from our honeymoon, we considered closing it anyway. I still enjoy having guests—like with you and Ian’s parents—but we decided we no longer wanted to be tied down with strangers coming and going.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about some things that have happened,” Tammy said with a shiver.
Danielle grinned. “Well, it makes things exciting.”
“I suppose.”
“I’m sorry Lily’s brother and sister weren’t able to come. I know she was hoping they could make it.”
“Glad you mentioned that—I almost forgot!” Tammy glanced at her watch. “I need to call the Seahorse Motel.”
“The Seahorse?” Danielle frowned.
“Yes. Laura called us right before we got to Frederickport. She was able to work out something with her boss, so she’s coming. She’ll be flying in tomorrow morning. Her father is picking her up at the airport. Don’t tell Lily, it’s a surprise. I wish Cory could have made it, but he couldn’t get off work.”
“That’s great. But why do you have to call the Seahorse Motel?” Danielle asked.
“I need to get her a room.”
“She can stay here; we have plenty of room.”
“But it’s such short notice. I didn’t want to be an imposition.”
“Don’t be silly. Anyway, Joanne put clean sheets on all the beds yesterday, so we have a room all ready for her,” Danielle insisted.
His car’s GPS took him right to the property. He parked along the sidewalk in front of the chain-link fence.
�
�There it is,” John announced, turning off the engine.
“Oh, I love it!” June gazed at their future home’s building site.
“And it is officially ours,” he said proudly.
June noticed the For Sale sign, no longer standing but lying on the ground. “It doesn’t look like they bothered to put up a Sold sign. They just pushed the For Sale sign over.”
“I imagine the listing agent will come by and pick it up later,” John said while taking off his seatbelt. “You want to walk around before we head over to Ian’s?”
June glanced at the late afternoon sky. “Sure.” She unbuckled her seatbelt.
“They just keep coming,” Waylon told Molly. They stood at the fence, watching the man and woman approach. When the man looked in Molly’s direction, she waved.
“Why did you do that?” Waylon asked.
“I wanted to know if they can see us. I don’t think they can,” Molly said. “Either that, or he’s ignoring us.”
“I don’t understand. Why do some people see us, and others don’t?” Waylon asked.
Molly shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Waylon nodded toward the couple. “They’re coming in.”
They watched the man open the gate for the woman. She walked onto the property first. The man followed her inside. Waylon picked up a rock and threw it at the man before Molly could stop him. To Waylon’s annoyance, the rock behaved like a boomerang, and before reaching its target, it changed course and flew back to Waylon, without either the man or woman noticing the incoming—and outgoing—missile.
“I hate when they do that,” Waylon grumbled.
“This is beautiful.” June stood at the building site and looked around. “I can’t believe how much land there is. And you can’t subdivide it?”