“I can be over in a couple of minutes and make lunch for the two of you. Would that be okay?”
Julia hesitated a moment, torn between the desire to maintain her privacy and her need to have someone look after her today and tell her everything was going to be all right.
Need won.
“I guess that would be fine.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Julia punched the Off button and set the phone on her desk. She reached for a tissue and blew her nose and wiped her eyes, trying to get herself under control. She didn’t want to frighten Ava, and she couldn’t let Lily think she was a basket case, unable to care for her daughter. With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and concentrated on taking deep, even breaths until the tears stopped.
By the time Lily knocked on her door a few moments later, she felt almost back in control of her emotions. She even managed a smile for Lily.
“I’m sorry about that phone call. It’s been a…a difficult couple of days.”
To her surprise, Lily enveloped her in an embrace. “I know, Julia. I know.”
She held tightly to Lily, surprised at how much she needed support today. Finally, her mother-in-law held her at arm’s length and took a good look at her.
“You look like a girl who could use a bowl of chicken noodle soup.”
That made her laugh. “Oh, yeah? Maybe that’s true, but I don’t think I’ve got any in my pantry.”
Lily picked up a bag she’d dropped by the door when she entered the house. “You’re in luck. I just made some. I brought over enough for lunch.”
“Ava needs something to eat, but honestly, I’m not sure I could keep anything down right now.”
Lily nodded, her face full of empathy. “We’ll see how you’re feeling in a few minutes when the soup’s ready. If not, you can fake it for Ava’s sake. Where is she, by the way?”
“In the back yard, in her sandbox. She’s probably filthy.”
“I’ll bring her in and get her cleaned up, and then we’ll have lunch. Would that be okay?”
She managed a genuine smile. “Yes. Thank you.”
Lily rubbed her arm. “Good. Why don’t you rest for a few minutes?”
“Okay.”
She pulled Julia into a hug once more. “It’s going to be all right.”
Julia let herself take comfort in her mother-in-law’s embrace, grateful to her for being here. She’d needed someone to look after her today. At one time, she would have sought solace from her own mother, but she was afraid those days were over.
She fought back more tears at that thought and pulled away from Lily.
“I think I could use a cup of tea. Would you like some?”
“Sure.”
Julia forced a smile. “I’ll put the kettle on.”
Lily patted her arm once more, then went out the back door to retrieve Ava. Julia padded into the kitchen in her bare feet, glad for the small task. She needed to keep busy, to keep her mind engaged in chores and activities so it didn’t have time to dwell on all the scary things going on in her life.
The kettle boiled, and she took it off the heat. Pouring a little of the boiling water into her teapot, she swirled it around to warm the pot. Then she dumped the water into the sink and threw a couple of teabags into the pot. Adding hot water from the kettle, she watched as the bags released their brown coloring. The fragrant scent of orange pekoe filled her nose.
You can blame my grandmother. She’s Mexican-American, but she has an obsession with all things English. She’s a big fan of afternoon tea.
Julia bent her head, pushing back tears again. Could she not even make tea anymore without it reminding her of Alex?
She heard Lily and Ava enter the back door, and she struggled to pull herself together. Somehow she managed to present a smiling face for her daughter.
“Mommy! Grandma Lily is here!”
“I know, sweetheart. Isn’t that a nice surprise? She’s going to have lunch with us.”
Ava threw her arms around Lily’s waist. “I’m so glad you came.”
A wave of guilt rushed over Julia. She hadn’t exactly welcomed Lily into her home the last three years.
“Let’s go upstairs and get you cleaned up, Sweet Pea,” Lily said with a smile.
“That’s what Dr. Alex calls me, too! Dr. Alex is my friend, isn’t he, Mommy?”
Julia didn’t have a clue how to respond to that. Luckily, Lily took Ava’s hand, distracting her.
“My goodness, look at those dirty hands! You can’t sit down at the table with those. Let’s get you upstairs to the bathroom so you can wash up.”
“Okay, Grandma.”
Before leaving the room, Lily flashed a curious look at her. Had she somehow heard about her and Alex? Her stomach knotted at the thought.
While they were upstairs in the bathroom, Julia busied herself by pouring tea, emptying the dishwasher, and setting the kitchen table. A few minutes later they returned, Ava chattering happily to her grandmother. Lily set about making lunch.
“No, you sit down. I want you to relax,” Lily said when Julia tried to help her. She steered her to the kitchen table and made her sit down with her cup of tea.
To her surprise, she was able to eat her soup when Lily put a bowl in front of her. Her stomach had called a truce, recognizing that she needed nourishment, even if Julia hadn’t. She pushed the bowl away when she’d finished.
“Thank you, Lily, that was delicious. It was very kind of you to make us lunch.”
“It’s my pleasure. It’s lovely to look after my girls.”
Julia blinked and looked away, feeling guilty once more.
She couldn’t bear it. She simply couldn’t bear it.
The doorbell rang, and Ava ran to the front door. One of her little friends from down the street walked into the kitchen with her.
“Can I play with Amber? She wants me to come over to her house.”
“Ava, Grandma Lily came here to see you today. You can play with Amber some other time.”
“That’s okay, Julia. I’ll come visit again soon. Come give Grandma a kiss before you go, Sweet Pea.”
Ava hugged Lily and then, grabbing her friend Amber’s hand, headed to the door.
“I want you home by three o’clock,” Julia called. “Tell Amber’s mom.”
“Okay, Mommy.” The door closed with a loud bang.
“I’m sorry about that, Lily. She could have played with her friend some other time.”
“That’s all right.” Lily sipped her tea. “Like I said, I’ll be back to see her sometime soon. If it’s okay with you.”
“Of course it is. Lily, I’m sorry I haven’t made much of an effort for Ava to spend time with you and Wyatt.”
“I understand. Wyatt hasn’t exactly made you feel welcome in our home the last three years.”
She swallowed. “It’s been a difficult situation.”
“Yes, it has. It can’t be easy for you, raising Ava alone and dealing with a sometimes very stressful job. I remember how it was when Wyatt was principal of the school. I should have supported you more. I’m sorry.”
Julia shook her head, on the edge of tears once more. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“Neither do you. Let’s just say from now on we’ll make a bigger effort to spend more time together and to support each other.” She took Julia’s hand in hers. “How does that sound to you?”
“It sounds good.” She managed a genuine smile. “Thank you.”
“Good.” Lily squeezed her hand before letting it go. “Louise told me that Edie will be having surgery in a couple of days.”
A trickle of anxiety rippled through Julia’s body at the thought of her friend going under the knife. “Yes, that’s what Edie told me, too, but I don’t know any of the details.”
“She said Aaron’s taking it hard.”
“Poor Aaron. He must feel so helpless.”
“Men like to fix things, to make things better. But th
ere’s nothing he can do to fix this.”
“He can be there for Edie. I know that just having him with her will mean the world to her.”
Lily frowned. “He’ll be with her during her surgery, but Louise said he can’t afford to take any more time away from work, especially with all the medical expenses they’re going to have.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” She sat up a little straighter. Aaron was an electrician and owned his own one-man business—one-man except for Edie, who did his books and kept him organized. Being self-employed meant that if he didn’t work, he didn’t get paid. “Does he have medical insurance?”
“No. Louise is also concerned about Edie’s chemo and radiation treatments. She’s not going to be able to drive herself back and forth to Bar Harbor. They’ve warned her the treatments could cause nausea and fatigue. Even though it’s not very far, it would be best if she didn’t drive herself.”
“No, of course not. I could drive her.”
“The treatments won’t start until she’s healed from the surgery. You might be back at school by then. Louise and her husband are going to take some time off work, but they only have so many vacation days.”
“Aaron’s folks work too, don’t they? Doesn’t Aaron’s dad have a heart condition?”
“I believe he does, but he still works at the hardware store.”
“Who’s going to look after the kids while Aaron’s at work and Edie’s in treatment? How are Edie’s parents going to take her to her treatments and look after the kids at the same time? What happens when the grandparents run out of vacation time?”
Lily shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“We should do something.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I can call around and see if I can find other people who may be willing to help with the driving, when the time comes.”
“That sounds like a great idea. I could call my friends. Some of them are retired and have the time to help.”
“That would be awesome.”
“Some of my friends like to cook. I’m sure the Cosgroves would appreciate good food they don’t have to cook themselves.”
“Yes.” Julia stood up and walked to a kitchen drawer where she kept a pad of paper and some pens. She started to write down ideas. It felt good to do something positive, to help someone else instead of wallowing in her troubles.
“Your mother is a wonderful baker. Wyatt buys her pies every year at the church bake sale. We could ask her to make something.”
Julia’s pen stilled, her thoughts screeching to a halt. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Oh? Why not?”
She took her seat at the table once more. “My mother isn’t well.”
She found herself telling Lily everything, from Alex’s suspicions over Ava’s broken arm to his finding her mother wandering in her nightclothes in the middle of the night.
“Alex suspects she has the beginnings of Alzheimer’s disease, but my dad is in denial. I got him to take her to see Dr. Willson for some initial testing. He’s supposed to take her to a neurologist in Bangor, but he’s been putting it off.”
“Oh, Julia. I’m so sorry.” She covered Julia’s hands with her own, compassion in her blue eyes. “It must be so difficult for you. And then Edie’s illness on top of it.”
She swallowed. “It’s been a rough few weeks.”
“It’s a lot for you to handle on your own. I wish you had felt you could come to me. Just to talk, if nothing else.”
“Please don’t say anything about my mother, Lily. My dad would be very upset if he thought people were talking about her. Please, don’t say anything to Wyatt about it.”
“If that’s what you want, I won’t say anything.”
“Thank you.”
Lily patted Julia’s hand before pouring herself more tea. “I’ve never met Alex Campbell, though I’ve heard he’s a very good doctor. My friend Pat went to see him about her arthritis. She found him very helpful, and very sympathetic.”
Julia took a sip of her tea, averting her gaze. “Yes.”
“It sounds like Ava likes him.”
“Yes. He’s very good with children.”
Lily cocked her head to one side. “Do you like him?”
Julia put a neutral expression on her face and answered cautiously. “Sure, he’s a nice guy. We play ball together on Aaron’s team.”
“That’s good. You should go out. After all, it’s been three years since your divorce.”
“We’re not…there’s nothing…we just play ball on the same team.”
She couldn’t talk about her feelings for Alex, especially not to Russ’s mother. And she certainly couldn’t tell her about last night.
“That’s too bad. It sounds like he’s a very special person.”
Julia looked away. Very special.
Lily drank the last of her tea and got up from the table. “I should be going. I’ll start calling some of my friends today and see which of them can help.”
“That would be wonderful. I’ll do the same, and maybe we can put together a list and make some plans.”
“Okay. We’ll keep in touch.” She leaned over and kissed Julia’s cheek. “Don’t worry, dear. Edie’s going to be just fine. We’ll have the whole town pulling for her by the time we’re done.”
Julia smiled and rose to her feet. “Yeah, we will.”
“And you’re not alone.” She took Julia’s hand. “Whenever you need to talk, I hope you’ll come to me. I know we’ve been on opposite sides of the fence in the past, but I hope those days are over.”
“So do I, but I’m not sure Wyatt feels that way. I know how much he dislikes me.”
“He doesn’t really dislike you, honey. It doesn’t help that Ralph Sykes fills his head with nonsense about you.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that Ralph is spreading rumors about me, but I hate that he’s upsetting Wyatt.”
Lily sighed. “He’s still hurting over Russ. Our son has cut us from his life as if we don’t exist. It’s painful for both of us, but my husband is taking it particularly hard.”
This was news to Julia. She hadn’t known her ex-husband had chosen to ignore his parents the same way he pretended his daughter didn’t exist. “I’m so sorry.”
“It hurts, a lot, but what can we do? We’ve reached out to him, but he wants little to do with us. We can only hope his attitude changes in the future.”
“I hope so, too.” Did Wyatt blame her because Russ had abandoned them? She wondered what sorts of things Ralph was whispering in his ear. Was her job in jeopardy?
She walked Lily to the front door. “I hope you’ll come by again soon.”
“I’d love to. What if I come over Saturday afternoon? I can spend some time with Ava, and we can go over our lists, maybe do some brainstorming.”
“Saturday would be great. I’ll see you then.”
“Goodbye, dear.”
She stood in the doorway and watched as Lily walked to her car, gave one last wave, and drove away. Julia went back into the house and closed the door, determined to do something to help her friend.
For the next hour she phoned everyone she could think of, asking them to help Edie and her family. Almost everyone volunteered to do something. Several mentioned throwing a fundraiser to collect money for the family. It was a good idea. She imagined the cost of Edie’s treatment, along with transportation costs, hotel rooms, prescription drugs, and whatever else they were going to need, would be substantial. She’d talk to Lily on Saturday, and see what she thought of the idea.
She shook her head and smiled to herself. She hadn’t expected so much support from her former mother-in-law, but it had felt good to unburden herself about some of her problems. She’d been surprised at Lily’s positive reaction to Alex and the possibility of them dating, but she was sure Wyatt wouldn’t share her open-minded attitude.
It didn’t matter what they thought. Nothing more could ever
come from her relationship with Alex.
The thought caused her infinite sadness.
Chapter Thirteen
Alex sewed five neat stitches in Aaron’s left thumb, then wrapped the hand in gauze. His friend vibrated with anxiety.
“How could I be so stupid,” Aaron said for what must have been the tenth time. He ran his uninjured hand over his tired face. “I’ve drilled a thousand holes through two-by-fours and strung a million miles of electrical wire, and today I manage to skewer my own thumb with my drill. How the hell am I supposed to work with my hand wrapped up like a God-damn mummy?”
“You’re probably going to have to take a few days off. The stitches need to be in for about five days, but you’ve got to keep it clean or else you’re going to get an infection.”
“I can’t afford to take a few days off!” Aaron shouted. He closed his eyes and wiped his hand over his face once more. “Sorry, Alex. This isn’t your fault. I shouldn’t be yelling at you.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re entitled to do a little yelling. Edie’s surgery is the day after tomorrow, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. We’re leaving for Bangor tomorrow morning. They’re going to do some preliminary blood work and some other tests, and then her surgery is scheduled for early the next morning. I’ve got to spend three nights in a hotel and pay for meals and gas, on top of the cost of Edie’s surgery.” He lifted his bandaged hand. “And then I go and do this. I need to work! How stupid can I be?”
“Don’t beat yourself up. You’re under a lot of stress. Have you been sleeping?”
Aaron sighed. “Not a lot. Neither of us has.”
Alex nodded. “It’s understandable. But remember, Dr. Collins is very highly thought of. He’s going to take good care of Edie.”
“I know. He has to. If he doesn’t, I don’t know what the kids and I would do…” He looked away, his voice trailing off.
“Don’t even go there. Edie’s going to be fine.” He prayed he was telling the truth. “Listen, I’ve got a little extra money put aside. It’s not much, but you’re welcome to it.”
Aaron looked up at him in surprise. “I appreciate that, Alex, more than I can tell you, but I can’t take your money. Isn’t the whole reason you’re in Lobster Cove so you can pay off your student debt?”
One More Second Chance Page 14