Annie's Answer

by Hanson, Pam Andrews

  “It’s store policy,” the clerk said with a smug expression.

  “I’d like to speak to the manager,” Nathan said.

  “I am the manager. Installing batteries is too time consuming. Our first priority is to help customers with their purchases.”

  Pointedly looking around the empty store, Nathan took his billfold from the back pocket of his jeans.

  “No,” Annie said, quickly realizing he was going to offer the man extra money for performing the simple task. “Sir, I don’t know about store policy, but this watch belongs to an elderly woman who recently lost her home in a tornado in Iowa. She was only able to salvage a small number of her possessions. This watch is one of them, a gift from her late husband. Can you imagine how your mother would feel if she lost almost everything she owned?”

  “Well, that is unfortunate.” The man stammered but didn’t reach for the watch lying on the counter.

  “I work in the advertising department of the Westover Weekly News, so I know how important a good reputation is to a business like yours.”

  “Is that a threat?” He didn’t sound very sure of himself.

  “No, but this is. If you can’t do this simple thing to ease an older person’s pain, I plan to spend the rest of the afternoon in front of your store, telling everyone who even approaches the entrance how you treat people.”

  “That really isn’t necessary,” he said, angry but defeated. He took the watch to the back part of the store.

  “The kitten has claws,” Nathan said so softly she barely made out the words.

  “No wonder his store is empty,” Annie said, choosing to ignore Nathan’s comment.

  Apparently changing a watch battery did take a little time, but Annie stood her ground by a counter filled with gold chains and gemstone rings. She wished Nathan would stop glancing over at her as though she’d just grown an extra head.

  “Well done,” he said at last. “Aunt Mattie would be proud of you.”

  Did that mean he approved of her tactics? Or had she embarrassed him by insisting on a small service from the uncooperative clerk? After what seemed like ages but was probably only five minutes or so, the jeweler returned and placed the watch on the glass-topped counter in front of her. She’d forgotten all about having it cleaned if it didn’t work, so she picked it up, hoping to hear a tick-tock sound.

  “Battery watches are silent,” he said in a voice that would have embarrassed her if he hadn’t proved to be a jerk. “It’s working just fine.”

  “Thank you,” she said for lack of anything else to say. “How much do I owe you?”

  The battery was more expensive than she’d expected, but she handed over Mattie’s hundred-dollar bill without comment.

  “Don’t you have anything smaller?” the clerk asked.

  This from a man who sold things worth hundreds and thousands of dollars.

  “No.”

  When he handed her the change, not counting it out the way she’d been taught when she worked the cash register at the pancake house, she immediately handed it to Nathan.

  “For your aunt.”

  “She wanted you to keep it,” he said in a mild sounding voice.

  “Thank you, but no. I only accept tips when I wait tables. Now I’d better find my mother. She’ll be wondering where I am.”

  She didn’t wait to see whether Nathan managed to get his aunt’s ring cleaned and inspected. The whole trip to the mall had been a fiasco. Now her mother would ask her a million unanswerable questions about Nathan. Worse, she dreaded seeing him again. Did he secretly resent the way she handled the jewelry store manager instead of letting him persuade the man with money?

  It bothered her how much she wanted his good opinion, although she didn’t even want to think about why it mattered.

  Chapter 8

  “Don’t try to get out by yourself, Aunt Mattie,” Nathan said as he stopped his car as close as possible to the church entrance. If there was one thing he didn’t want, it was his aunt falling down and injuring herself even more.

  “I’m perfectly capable of standing outside while you get my crutches from the back seat.” She wouldn’t be his aunt if she didn’t argue, but at least she waited with the door open while he rushed to help her.

  “I’m not used to such a big church,” she commented. “I love our little wooden church in Iowa. The steeple reaches up to heaven, reminding us of why we’re there. How old did you say this building is?”

  “I didn’t,” Nathan said, handing her the crutches. “It was built while I was in college.”

  “The tan brick looks more like a bank than a church,” she said, “although I do like the stained glass windows. I recognize our savior with the sheep, but some of them are too modern to make out.”

  “The windows on the right as you go in are scenes from the New Testament. Those on the left are Old Testament.” Nathan remembered having the same conversation when he’d brought her to church last week. “I’ll walk you to the door, then park the car.”

  “I can make it that far without help,” she said, although he suspected she liked the attention.

  He was thankful it was a friendly congregation. One of the greeters came up to his aunt and asked about her ankle, giving her someone to talk to while he moved his car to a parking spot. When he came back she was leaning on her crutches and reading the bulletin.

  “It says here Reverend Dwight Williams is giving the sermon,” she said. “Is he related to our Annie?”

  Our Annie? Was Mattie planning to adopt her? His first instinct had been to find an older woman, maybe a retired nurse, to keep his aunt company. Had he made a mistake throwing Annie to the lion, so to speak?

  “Her grandfather,” he replied. “He’s the retired minister, but he fills in when Reverend Graham takes vacation time.”

  “Our minister didn’t believe much in time off. Good thing too. When he was gone, Fred Brewster read the sermon. He’s so boring the fish go to sleep when he takes a boat out on the lake.”

  A man nearby laughed at his aunt’s joke—or at his aunt. He didn’t want to know which.

  “Let’s go in,” Nathan said as the organist began playing.

  “I don’t recognize that hymn,” his aunt said. “Is it one of those in the green book? I can’t get used to the words up on those big screens at the front, but I guess it’s good for people who can’t see too well anymore.”

  Nathan put his hand lightly on Mattie’s arm, hoping to guide her down to the pew where the Sawyers always sat before she critiqued everything in the church.

  “Look, there’s Annie. I didn’t recognize her until she turned her head to the side. I see there’s room in her row.”

  “We usually sit on the left,” he reminded his aunt, not wanting to inflict Aunt Mattie on Annie when it was her day off.

  “I didn’t see your name on the pew,” she said, taking off on her crutches like a teenager and giving him no choice but to follow.

  At the end of the row, she greeted Annie in a whisper that could be heard six blocks away. “Mind if we join you?”

  “Not at all,” Annie said, looking a bit startled. “This is my mother, Laura Williams. Mom, this is Mrs. Hayward.”

  “Call me Mattie.”

  The two women exchanged a few words, but his aunt made no move to sit.

  “Aunt Mattie, I think the service is about to begin.”

  “Nathan, you slide in by Annie,” she said. “That way I can lean my crutches on the end of the pew.”

  She left him no choice. He sat down beside Annie, but in a few moments, the congregation rose for the opening hymn.

  Singing wasn’t his thing. He couldn’t read music in spite of the piano, violin, and flute lessons his mother had forced on him, none lasting more than a few weeks before his opposition forced her to give up. Nor could he carry a tune, whatever that meant. He’d been invited to leave the mandatory boys’ choir at his private school, instead spending the time helping the librarian shelve books.
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  Beside him Aunt Mattie sang with gusto, making up in volume what she lacked in voice quality. It took him a full verse of “Amazing Grace” to realize what a lovely voice Annie had. When he did, he gave up his own attempt to sing and listened to the sweet tone of her voice. It was worth giving up his accustomed pew to hear her.

  Annie was so conscious of Nathan beside her she started out whispering the lyrics, but the familiar words quickly drew her to sing with her whole heart. She loved the old traditional hymns, and it wasn’t until the end that she realized he hadn’t been singing. Had he stayed silent to listen to her? That didn’t make any sense. Hopefully he just wasn’t a good singer.

  “I’m glad your grandfather is preaching today,” he said in a soft voice. “I remember he used to give good sermons.”

  “He still does,” Annie said, trying to concentrate on the service. It was hard when Nathan leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. She could feel the warmth of his breath and smell the spicy aroma of his aftershave. She wanted to tell him to behave himself in church—or did she?

  Gramps didn’t let the congregation down. He talked about loving one’s neighbor as oneself. A small man, he was very large in the pulpit, and Annie thanked the Lord for letting him live with them.

  After the service, her plan was to leave quickly. She didn’t feel up to making small talk, especially not with Nathan, but she was thwarted by Mattie and her own mother. For two people who’d just met, they seemed to have a lot to talk about, a conversation they continued as the crowd around them thinned out. Nathan hovered near her, waiting for his aunt to leave but saying nothing.

  When the silence between them started to feel awkward, she asked, “Did you get your aunt’s ring cleaned?”

  “Yes, but I don’t think that store will get any of my business in the future.”

  When she thought of the case full of diamond rings, she couldn’t help but wonder whether he had plans to get engaged in the near future. As far as she knew, he didn’t date anyone in town, but the Sawyer family had connections across the country. She could imagine him with a New York society girl or a fashion model.

  Apparently Aunt Mattie had great hearing—or maybe it was her own special radar—but she interrupted what she was saying to make a comment to her nephew.

  “I should live to see the day when you walk into a jewelry store and buy an engagement ring,” his aunt said honing in on his mention of a jewelry store.

  Was that a flush on Nathan’s face? Annie only had a glimpse before she forced herself to look away.

  “Aunt Mattie.…” The look of exasperation on his face said it all. Not only was he not planning to get engaged, it must have been a sore subject.

  “I’m glad I got to visit with you, Laura,” his aunt said, ignoring Nathan. “You’re welcome to come visit any time.”

  “I’d love to,” her mother said, “but I don’t get many days off at the bank.”

  Just when Annie thought they could finally leave, her grandfather walked up to the visitor.

  “It’s nice you could join us this morning, Mrs. Hayward,” he said after Nathan introduced the two of them.

  “Please, Reverend, call me Mattie. I forget to answer to ‘Mrs.’ these days.”

  “I’m Dwight,” Gramps said.

  While Mattie raved about his sermon, deserved praise but greatly overdone, Annie tried to edge her way to the double doors at the front of the church. She managed to get outside without her mother or grandfather noticing, but she wasn’t alone. Nathan had followed her.

  “My aunt is a handful,” he said.

  “Yes, but she means well.” Annie did like the older woman, although she wasn’t exactly looking forward to being her constant companion for the rest of the summer.

  “It’s not your life she’s trying to orchestrate. If she were trying to find a match made in heaven for you—her words, not mine--you might feel differently,” he said.

  “I can sympathize, although people have pretty much given up on me.”

  “So there’s no one special in your life right now?”

  He threw in the question so casually Annie didn’t have time to think of a clever answer.

  “No,” she admitted.

  She didn’t want him to think she was a loser, but it would sound too lame to explain she simply didn’t have time to date, let alone find the man of her dreams.

  “Westover is a small town. Not many men for a nice girl like you to date.” He sounded downright gloomy about it.

  A nice girl? She might be working for him temporarily, but she was a career-minded woman, not a girl sorting through possible marital prospects.

  “I’m not looking for a man,” she said, trying to put ice in her voice.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest you were.” He glanced at the church door, obviously impatient for his aunt to get a move on. “My aunt really seems to enjoy your company. I don’t suppose you’d consider—no, I won’t ask.”

  “Won’t ask what?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear his question, but curiosity won out.

  “Really, it’s just a thought. I wonder whether you’d accept a job as a live-in companion, just for the summer, of course.”

  “Sorry, I have other things to do—my job at the pancake place, selling ads, helping in the church office. I couldn’t possibly accept.”

  “That’s why I hesitated to bring it up. But if you were willing to accept, I’d pay a salary to compensate for giving up your other jobs.”

  How wonderful would it be to have just one job? She could forget about waiting tables and Bob Hoekstra’s petty tyranny, not to mention running all over town begging merchants to buy ads in the paper. She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t tempted, but what would she do twenty-four seven with Mattie?

  The silence between them loomed large while she debated with herself. At last it wasn’t his aunt’s difficult personality that decided her. She just couldn’t imagine living under the same roof with Nathan—even though he had his own area in the big house. There would be a chance of seeing him every morning and every evening, not to mention all weekend.

  The situation was much too threatening to her peace of mind. She was already attracted to Nathan more than she wanted to be. The less she saw him, the safer she was. Regardless of whether he was unattached at the moment, he was too handsome, too charming—when he wanted to be—and altogether too appealing. She had to remember that wealthy lawyers who lived in mansions didn’t marry struggling waitresses.

  She absolutely could not let herself fall in love with Nathan Sawyer.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I couldn’t possibly accept a live-in job.”

  “Of course not. I shouldn’t have asked. It wouldn’t be much of a life for you, constantly at my great aunt’s beck and call.”

  Was the disappointment in his voice all about Mattie? For a brief instant, she thought he might actually want her around because he liked her. But that kind of thinking could only lead to disappointment and potential heartbreak.

  When her mother came to put an end to their conversation, Annie wanted to hug her. She knew how easily Nathan could’ve persuaded her to accept his offer, but she had to avoid him as much as possible.

  Think flower shop, she silently told herself. She wasn’t Cinderella, and this Prince Charming had no intention of sweeping her into his arms and carrying her away on a white horse.

  Chapter 9

  “I thought we could do something about the kitchen cupboards today,” Mattie said as soon as Annie showed up for work Monday morning. “I can’t abide a spice drawer that isn’t arranged in alphabetical order.”

  “Would Mrs. Sawyer want us to change things?” Annie asked, a bit skeptical about Mattie’s proposed project.

  “George’s wife is lucky if she can locate the stove. She lives on rice cakes and lettuce. No wonder my nephew eats out most of the time.”

  Annie couldn’t help but notice Mattie never spoke of Nathan’s mother as Linda. Did the Sawyers’ l
ong trip to Europe have anything to do the arrival of his great aunt? She hoped not. Families were a gift from God, and it distressed her to think Nathan might be caught in the middle of a feud.

  Mattie gingerly walked over to a drawer, using only one crutch and carefully putting her weight on the injured ankle. Would her job her end when the older woman was fully healed? Annie doubted it, but she still thought she’d made the right decision in not accepting Nathan’s offer of a live-in job.

  Apparently he’d left the house before she got there, although Mattie didn’t mention him. Annie tried not to feel disappointed, but it was difficult. She was thinking about him entirely too much for her own peace of mind.

  “Oh dear,” Mattie said, peering into the broad drawer filled with spice containers. “The paper lining needs to be replaced. I always line my cupboards with contact paper. It can be washed. Of course, I don’t have drawers of my own anymore.”

  Mattie sounded so sad Annie wanted to hug her, but she was leery of offering too much sympathy. Nathan’s elderly aunt wasn’t a person who felt sorry for herself. After a few moments, she sounded perky—and a bit bossy—again, but Annie could imagine how traumatic it must be to have a long-time home destroyed.

  “Oh, that’s for me,” Mattie said, digging a cell phone out of the pocket of another of her housedresses, this one a pretty patterned one in shades of bright pink, orange, and lavender.

  “Ruth, it’s good to hear from you. Hold on just a minute while I go sit down.” She held the phone away and spoke to Annie. “It’s a dear friend from Iowa. You can go ahead and wipe off the spice cans if they need it. I won’t be too long.”

  Annie had never seen Mattie look so happy as she hurried as quickly as possible to talk in the privacy of another room. It was nearly half an hour before she returned, practically glowing from the conversation.

  “Ruth and I went to high school together,” Mattie said, seemingly eager to share the welcome phone call with Annie. “We’ve been in the same bridge club since we were both newly married. Sometimes I can’t believe how old we’ve both gotten.”