by Karey White
“Old? And you want me to fix lunch for you?”
“I’m hungry, b-but this isn’t about the food.”
Nancy leaned against the counter and studied her nephew’s face. “What is it about?”
“The garden.”
Nancy looked skeptical. “The garden?”
“Isn’t it about time to tear it out? Rototill?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sure Celia will be stubborn about doing it. You know. For the rent. B-but I don’t think she should.”
“I don’t either. That’s why I haven’t said anything to her about it being time. I was thinking I might hire Frank and his son to do it after they finish their garden.”
“I’ll do it.”
“It’s not a big deal to hire them. You already work more than forty hours a week.”
“I want to.”
Nancy shot him a teasing smile. “Trying to impress her?”
Silas grinned. “Think it will work?”
“Maybe. But I wouldn’t count on it. She hasn’t given you much encouragement even though you’ve been wooing her pretty hard.”
“I haven’t b-been wooing. I’m being her friend. Like you told m-me to. And a friend wouldn’t want his pregnant friend to hurt herself tearing up the garden.”
“No, I guess a friend wouldn’t.” Nancy put the sandwiches and a bag of chips on the table and sat down across from him.
“Thanks.” Silas took a bite.
Nancy’s teasing changed, and her voice became serious. “What if you do all this and then she leaves?”
Silas swallowed. “What if I don’t do all this and she stays?”
Nancy chuckled. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“It’s too late for that.”
A couple of minutes passed before Nancy said, “Has she told you about the baby’s father?”
A pained expression passed over Silas’s face. “No. Has she told you?”
“I know a few things.”
Silas leaned forward. “What? If there’s something I need to know, tell me.”
Nancy shook her head and her face looked sad. “Silas, there are some things that aren’t mine to share. This is Celia’s to tell. Maybe you should ask her.” She took a sip of water. “Or maybe you should wait for her to bring it up.” Nancy slapped the table with her hand. “I don’t know what you should do, and if there’s one thing I learned when I told you she was pregnant, it was that I need to keep my meddling old nose out of things.”
“Old?”
Nancy smiled. “I love you, Silas.”
“I love you too.”
Celia was still in bed when she heard the shed door slam shut. Nancy had gone for a walk with Inez, so who was out there?
She couldn’t see anything through the bedroom window, so she quickly dressed and headed to the back yard. Silas was bent over pulling up plants and throwing them in the wheelbarrow.
“What are you doing?” she called as she walked toward him.
He straightened and watched her approach. When she was close enough that he could respond without shouting, he answered. “I’m taking out the garden.”
“Is it time for that? Nancy hasn’t said anything.”
“It’s time.” He leaned over and pulled out another cucumber plant.
“I should be doing this.”
“No, you shouldn’t.”
He smiled when Celia put her hands on her hips. “It’s my job. And what are you smiling about?”
“You look cute.”
Celia looked down at her large belly. “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t look cute. I look huge. And don’t change the subject. I’m supposed to take care of the garden.”
“Not today, you aren’t.” He moved the wheelbarrow down the row a few feet. “And yes, you look cute.”
“Stop it, Silas.” Silas stopped and looked at her. “I need to do my job.”
“Look at you.” He pointed at the baby.
“So?”
“I’m doing this. Don’t fight me.”
“Let me at least help.” Celia leaned over and pulled on a tomato plant. It didn’t come up so she put her hands closer to the ground and pulled again, grunting with the exertion. Silas watched for a few seconds then put his hand out to stop her.
“You really want to help?”
“Yes.”
“I’m hungry and I’ve been wanting a salmon hash omelet from M-McKay’s for weeks. Take the Jeep and go get us some food. When you get back, we’ll eat and then you can help me.”
“You promise you’ll save some work for me?”
“There’s no way I’ll be finished when you get back.” Silas fished in his pockets and handed her the keys to the Jeep and two twenty-dollar bills.
“I should be paying for this,” Celia said, halfheartedly.
“You can p-pay next time.”
Silas watched her walk back into the house before he returned to pulling up plants.
“Look at the snow up there.” Silas pointed out the windshield at the Three Sisters Peaks. The top fourth of the mountains glowed white with snow that had fallen overnight.
“I was wondering what snowfall the minister was talking about,” Celia said. “It’s beautiful.”
“I told Adam I’d drive out to B-Broken Top and make sure the trailhead is closed.”
“Is that very far?” A drive sounded nice, but Celia didn’t want to invite herself along.
“Not too far.”
“Will there be snow there?”
“P-probably. We need it closed b-before anyone gets trapped out there in the bad weather.”
“I’ll bet it’s pretty.” Why didn’t he invite her?
“Yeah. The forest looks great after a snowfall. Like Christmas.” Silas pulled the truck into Nancy’s driveway. “I’ll see you later.”
Celia smiled to hide her disappointment. It was better not to waste the day in the mountains anyway. She needed to find a home for her baby and this afternoon would be a good time to sort through files.
A few hours later, Celia was looking at pictures of a couple from San Diego when she heard the Jeep. She pretended she didn’t notice when it stopped in Nancy’s driveway instead of continuing down the lane. She heard the back door open and voices as Nancy and Silas visited in the kitchen.
A short time later, Silas leaned his head into the room. “Dinner’s ready.”
Celia closed the laptop. “Are you eating with us?”
“She made b-beef stew, so I’m not going anywhere.”
“What did you two do all afternoon?” Silas asked as he buttered a biscuit.
“I worked until two,” Nancy said.
“I’ve been wasting my time looking at adoptive parents.”
“Still can’t find any you like?” Nancy asked.
“I like a few of them. But I don’t know who would be the best parents for him.” Instinctively, she laid a protective hand on her stomach. “It’s so confusing.”
“Do you want some help?” Silas sounded tentative.
“This is probably something she wants to do alone,” Nancy said and patted Celia’s arm.
“Actually, I think it would be nice to get another opinion or two.”
“Really?” Nancy sounded excited. “I would have offered a long time ago, but I thought I’d be intruding.
“We could come up with a system to help narrow it down,” Silas said.
“Of course, you’d have the final say,” Nancy added.
After dinner, they cleared the table and pulled three chairs up to one side. Nancy and Silas sat on either side of her while Celia pulled up the website.
“So three yesses means we put them in the saved file,” Celia said.
“Let’s look until we have ten keepers.” Nancy shook her hands out.
A picture of a couple standing in front of a lake came up on the screen. “Jan and Paul,” Celia read.
Nancy read as she scanned the page. “From Corpus Christi, Texas. He flies hel
icopters to the oil rigs and she’s a librarian at a middle school.”
“Flying helicopters sounds dangerous,” Celia said. “I don’t think I like that.”
“So is that a no?” Silas asked.
“That’s a no.”
Celia pulled up the next couple, and they began to scan the page. “Dave and Kathy, from Seattle. Is Seattle a nice place?” Celia asked. After Silas and Nancy assured her Seattle was a great city, they continued reading. “She designs jewelry and he’s a school teacher. I like that.”
Nancy tipped her head so she could read better through her glasses. “They enjoy backpacking, reading and fishing. Uh oh. They don’t believe in God.”
“They don’t?” Celia asked, and Nancy pointed at the line that asked about their religion and spirituality.
“That’s too b-bad,” Silas said. “I was liking them.”
“Is that a deal breaker?” Nancy looked at Celia who nodded and moved on to the next couple.
“Jim and Denise, from Twin Falls, Idaho. Oh look, they have a four-year-old girl.”
“She’s a cutie,” Nancy said.
Silas ran his finger down the side of the computer as he read the bio. “He’s a manager at a department store and she’s a p-part-time nurse and full-time m-mom.”
“They like to cook together. I like that.” They finished reading then scrolled through several pictures. Celia leaned back in her chair.
“I like them,” Nancy said and Silas agreed. They both looked at Celia.
“They’re okay, I guess.”
“Great. One in the save file.”
They continued searching the files, but after an hour, they hadn’t agreed on any more.
“Ron and Vicki,” Celia read.
“From Naperville, Illinois,” Nancy continued.
“They’re a no.” Celia exited out of the file without reading any further.
“Why?” Silas asked.
“That’s too close to Chicago.”
No one spoke until Celia had pulled up the next couple. “Randy and Diane. They’re from Henderson, Nevada.” Celia closed the laptop and slid back her chair. “Do you mind if we stop? I’m really tired, and at this rate we won’t have ten until sometime tomorrow.”
“I can see why this is exhausting.” Nancy removed her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“So Jim and Denise are the only couple to move p-past the first round of eliminations.”
Celia smiled. “At least we sorta liked one couple. I didn’t find any I wanted to move on when I was looking alone.”
“We can help again. If you want,” Silas said.
Celia’s voice was weary. “That’d be great.”
“Happy Halloween, your majesty,” Val said as she bowed low and rolled one arm with a flourish. Unfortunately, the low bow caused her witch’s hat to fall to the floor.
“Taking advantage of my gray hair.” Nancy straightened the wide-brimmed, pale blue hat that perched jauntily on her head. It perfectly matched the matronly skirt and jacket she wore along with droopy pantyhose and low-heeled pumps.
“Ladies, I present the Queen of England,” Val said when she and Nancy walked into classroom behind The Stitchin’ Station.
“Don’t worry,” Nancy said. “We’re good enough friends that I’m not going to call you my loyal subjects.”
“Nice costume,” said Sandra, who sat at a table wearing a period renaissance gown.
“You too. Did you make that?”
“It only took most of the last year.” Sandra said.
Soon the nine women present were assembling quilt blocks in harvest golds and oranges. “I’ll bet we’d have better attendance if we did this a day or two before Halloween. A lot of moms had to stay home and take their kids trick-or-treating. Luckily I won’t have to worry about that for a few years yet.” Ellie patted her pregnant belly.
“I told Alan he’d have to take care of the trick-or-treaters this year,” said Val.
“Celia offered to hand out treats at my house, so I don’t even have to feel guilty.” Nancy walked around the group, offering Halloween treats. She caught a few of the women sharing meaningful glances and stopped. “Did I miss something?”
A couple of the women shrugged, but Sandra, who was known for her bluntness, cleared her throat. “So what’s that girl’s story, anyway, Nancy? Is she still dating your nephew?”
“Not at the moment.”
“I could be wrong, but I don’t think they were dating when she would have had to get pregnant. So it’s not Silas’s, is it?”
Nancy felt her normally pleasant demeanor slipping. “No, the baby’s not Silas’s.”
“Whew.” Ellie made a brow-wiping gesture. “I guess he dodged the bullet then. Why would she come here and take up with Silas anyway? She obviously had a little sumpin’ sumpin’ going on with someone before she got here.”
Nancy felt a combination of anger at the accusations being made and shame that she had made the same assumptions. When a few of the women started discussing Celia among themselves, she put up her white-gloved hand to get their attention.
When the ladies immediately turned toward her, she gave them a playful smile. “Hmm, this queen stuff isn’t so bad.”
They all laughed.
“It isn’t my place to share Celia’s life story, but I will tell you this. If anyone in this room had been through what that girl has been through, you’d have room to judge her, but none of us have. Someday, if you’re lucky enough to become her friend, she might share her story with you, but until then, you’ll have to take my word for it. She’s a good girl who’s been dealt a pretty crappy hand, and she’s come through it better than most of us would have. And if she and Silas get back together, I’d be behind them a hundred percent.”
The room was quiet for a minute as the women took in Nancy’s words. Finally, when it began to get awkward, Val raised her hands in the air and said, “Here, here. All hail the queen.”
Celia had offered to hand out Halloween candy so Nancy could help with a Spook & Spool Quilt Club at The Stitchin’ Station. In spite of the cold fall temperatures, children began ringing the doorbell a little before dark. When Celia opened the door the third time, Silas stood there holding a bowl of miniature candy bars, Winston wagging his tail beside him.
“No one lets their kids come down the lane. Do you m-mind if I give out candy here?”
Celia held the door open wide. “Is it the lane the parents are worried about? Or is it you?”
“I hope it’s the lane.”
Winston padded to the back porch to snuggle with Nubia while Celia rifled through his bowl. “You’ve got better candy bars than we do.” She picked out a Butterfinger and opened it. “Did you see Nancy tonight?”
“What was she this year?”
“Queen Elizabeth. It was scary how much she looked like her.”
“She dresses up as real people every Halloween. She’s been Oprah, M-Madonna, some figure skater. M-make her show you pictures. Last year she was LeBron James.”
Celia laughed. “Nancy was LeBron James?”
“I swear. She even had fake tattoos on her calves that said ‘King James.’”
The doorbell rang and Silas handed treats to a ghost and a princess.
“Why aren’t you in a costume?” Celia asked after he closed the door.
“I always dressed up as a fireman when I was a kid, and now I am one, so it’s b-boring. What was your favorite costume?”
“I never really did Halloween.”
Silas looked surprised. “Never?”
“I always wanted to be a princess with a beautiful sparkly dress and crown, but Mom never had money for silly things like that. One year, she made a crown out of tin foil, but it wasn’t very good and I was too embarrassed to go out in it. Then when I was in foster care, I pretended like I was too old to dress up.”
The doorbell rang, so Silas was spared responding to the sad story as Celia handed animal crackers to a mushro
om, a little pig, and a baseball player.
By eight, the trick or treating had nearly stopped. Silas and Celia ate a few treats and worked on the puzzle of Saint Basil’s Cathedral Nancy had started a few days earlier. Celia thought back to the first time they had worked on a puzzle at this table, days after she had arrived in Sisters. She hadn’t even known she was pregnant then. Silas had been distant and shy. Even though she was disappointed with how he had treated her in the summer, she was grateful for the kind friend he had become.
The last few weeks of farmers markets he had shown up every evening to help her pack up. He sat by her nearly every week at church. And then there was the garden. She would have been out there forever trying to pull all those plants out.
“What are you thinking about?” Silas asked.
She didn’t want to admit she had been thinking about him. “How nice everyone in Sisters has been. You’re lucky to have grown up here.”
A shadow passed over his face. “It isn’t all p-perfect.”
She knew Silas had had plenty of disappointments here. Celia softly touched his arm. “I know. No place is perfect.”
Silas looked at her hand and she pulled it back. “Celia?” She loved how he always said her name so carefully, like it was a word too important to mess up. “Are you going b-back?”
“To Chicago?”
“To him.”
Celia looked confused. “To who?”
Silas inclined his head toward the baby. “His dad.”
Stunned, Celia slid her chair away from the table. “What are you talking about?”
Silas looked bewildered, like suddenly the conversation was being spoken in a foreign language and he didn’t understand what was being said. “I... I... I thought m-maybe since you didn’t want to go out with m-m-me again, that you might b-be going back to him.”
Celia let his words settle into her mind for several seconds. Could he really not know?
“I thought Nancy told you.”
“Told m-me what?”
“Silas, I was raped.”
Silas looked like someone had hit him with a baseball bat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” he finally said. “Aunt Nancy said you would tell m-me what you wanted me to know.”