Bev gave her a sympathetic smile. “No, sweetie, it’s not wrong at all. You’ve worked hard and you’ve been very honest about your plans from the beginning. Maybe Dean was just feeling a little insecure and needed to know that you...you know, need him too.”
“I do! I do need him,” Abby argued. “But he made it all seem so...black-and-white! Like I was wrong to want both or...or...that I should just be happy that he’s ready to settle down and it should be enough for me. We’ve never talked about what else I want for the future beyond this studio! Shouldn’t he have at least talked to me about this?”
Rather than answer right away, Bev grabbed a couple of napkin dispensers and began filling them. After a few minutes, she looked at Abby. “Let me ask you something – does Dean Hughes strike you as a man who is a good communicator?”
“What?”
“I’m serious. Think about it. He’s been on his own for a long time and before that, when he lived with his family, he pretty much kept to himself to stay under the radar.” Reaching out, she put her hand over Abby’s. “Most men suck at communicating, Abby. Like, they seriously suck at it. I’ve been married for over thirty years and I can say this with great certainty. I think Dean was just feeling a little left out and he just sort of...acted like a man.”
“And what does that mean exactly?”
“A jerk. He acted like a jerk,” Bev said flatly.
“No argument there,” Abby murmured and then sighed. “So what am I supposed to do?”
“If it were me, I’d give yourself a couple of days to calm down and hopefully he’s doing the same. You’re going to see him when he picks up Maya from ballet classes so it’s not like you’re going to be avoiding each other, right?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Trust me. Sometimes everyone just needs to retreat to their corners and think things through. By this time next week, you’re going to be fine. I know it.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Abby, I’ve been in your shoes enough times to know that the old adage is true – absence makes the heart grow fonder.” She smiled. “Give him a little time and Dean will realize that he was wrong.”
While Bev walked away, Abby stayed in her seat and thought about what she’d just heard.
It made sense. Sort of. And really, the time apart was exactly what she’d recommended to Dean last night so maybe it was the right thing to do.
She just didn’t want them to be apart for too long.
****
Patti Foster showed up in Silver Bell Falls the day before the big Christmas recital and was instantly concerned.
“Oh, Abby,” she said when she first saw her daughter, “you’re working too hard. Look at you! Are you eating or sleeping at all?”
They were standing in baggage claim waiting for her mother’s luggage and it was the last place Abby wanted to be having this conversation.
Or any conversation for that matter.
She had taken the last couple of days off from the diner to get ready for the recital and luckily, her mother had taken the red-eye flight so that Abby could be back in Silver Bell in time for her afternoon rehearsals.
“Abigail,” her mother stated firmly, “you are going to be of no use to your students if you are falling down because you aren’t taking care of yourself.”
“I’m fine, mom,” Abby said distractedly, watching the carousel for the incoming luggage. “Is that your purple suitcase with the yellow ribbon on the handle?”
Patti was wise to her daughter’s distraction tactics. “You know it is.” But before she could go and get it for herself, Abby stepped over and grabbed the luggage. “I only have the one bag.”
With a nod, Abby walked toward the exit. Mentally she worked out how long it would take to get back to town and have lunch at the diner before getting her mom settled in so she could head to the community center for rehearsals.
They walked in silence.
They even drove for the first thirty minutes in silence.
Patti was the first to speak.
“Have you tried calling him?” she asked finally.
It was pointless to pretend that she didn’t know who her mother was talking about. “No.”
“And why not?”
“I kind of took the hint when he didn’t drive Maya to classes last week or pick her up. He had Kathy Jones do it and don’t think people didn’t notice. So then I had to deal with all of the inquiring minds who wanted to know what went wrong.” She sighed. “I thought, okay, he just needs a little more time. And then this week he did come and pick her up, but he waited at the door and wouldn’t come more than a foot into the classroom.”
“So again I have to wonder why you haven’t called him to talk about it. Maybe he’s waiting for you to make the first move.”
“And maybe I’m waiting for him to apologize for being such a jerk!” Abby snapped. Then she felt guilty – after all, it wasn’t her mother’s fault – and immediately apologized. “I went over and said hello to him and talked to him about the rehearsals and about the recital and he barely said two words to me. I swear, it reminded me of when I first started working at the diner and met him. It’s infuriating!”
“Abby, sometimes you have to be the one to make the first move, even if you don’t want to.”
It took everything she had not to scream in frustration. Instead, Abby mentally counted to ten before responding. “I have spent a large portion of my life being the one to make the first move whether I was in the wrong or not. For once – just once – I’d like someone else to make the first move, especially someone who claims to be in love with me! Is that too much to ask?”
“Abby...”
“Mom, if I give in to this, it’s just going to set a precedent for the future. Dean will do something that hurts me – hurts my feelings – and I’ll be the one going to him to make it right. Well, you know what? It’s not right. It’s not okay.”
“Is it right that you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face?” her mother asked evenly.
Leave it to a mom to come back with logic. And Abby was old enough to know that she wasn’t going to win this argument. Or discussion. Or whatever it was they were having. A change of subject was in order.
Again.
“I told Bev we’d stop in for lunch when we got back to town,” she said pleasantly. “Dan even made your favorite – chicken-fried steak!”
“Well isn’t he sweet?” Patti said with a big smile, not in the least bit fooled – again – by her daughter’s change of subject. “What’s the plan for the rest of the day?”
“After lunch we’ll go to the house and get you settled and then you can drop me off at the community center and that’s where I’ll be until about nine tonight.”
“And this is why you look like hell,” her mother murmured.
“Excuse me?”
“When are you going to eat dinner?”
“I was planning on packing a sandwich,” Abby said with a hint of defiance. “And an apple.”
Patti chuckled softly. “Do you really need to be there that late? Are you holding rehearsals up until that time? It seems a little too late for younger ones to be out on a school night.”
“The last group will take the stage by eight but I’ll be there until nine straightening up and getting things ready for tomorrow.”
“I thought you had volunteers for that.”
Abby shrugged. “I feel better if I’m there with them.”
“No one likes a control freak, Abby.”
Ugh. Why had she thought it would be fun to have her mother in town for the recital? Another mental count and she was ready to respond. “I’m not being a control freak, Mom. I’m making sure that we have everything we need for tomorrow night. It’s my recital, my classes, my students. I need to oversee everything.”
“I’m not going to split hairs with you,” Patti said with a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll just plan to pick you up at ten.”
&n
bsp; “Nine. I said I’d be done at nine.”
Patti shrugged. “I have a feeling it will be closer to ten. If you’re done sooner, call me and I’ll come and get you. I just hope I’ll still be awake. I was up very early today. Didn’t sleep very well on the plane either.”
Oh Lord, she thought. Here we go...
“Fine! I’ll leave at eight and let the volunteers do their thing. They all know that you’re here so I’m sure it will be fine.”
Reaching over, Patti gently pat her daughter’s hand. “Thank you, sweetheart. I appreciate that.” With a happy sigh, she relaxed in her seat. “So tell me about Maya. Did you already get her a Christmas present?”
Thirteen
“Abby, go!” Kathy Jones said with a sympathetic smile. “Everyone’s been picked up and we’ve just got a few things left to do here. I’m sure your mom is already outside waiting for you. Go and spend some time with her.”
Doing her best not to roll her eyes or complain about how pleasant the last six hours had been without spending time with her mom, Abby simply said thank you and went to grab her gym bag. Truth be told, she was tired. Exhausted, really. She hadn’t slept well in weeks and she was fairly certain that it was partially responsible for her short temper with her mother. Normally the two of them got along like best friends so it had to be the stress and lack of sleep.
With a final wave to the girls, Abby walked out to the lobby as she slipped her coat on. Maybe tonight would be the night that she finally slept. Maybe tonight would be the night she didn’t lay in bed and stare at the ceiling until she thought she’d go mad.
And maybe tonight would be the night that she didn’t curse being alone.
Sure. And maybe tonight would be the night she learned that Santa was real and saw reindeer fly.
“I think I’m getting delirious,” she murmured, stepping out into the cold night air. There were some light snow flurries blowing around and she felt bad because her mom hated driving in the snow. “Figures.”
Slipping her hands into her pockets, Abby looked around the parking lot but didn’t see her mother anywhere. They had said eight o’clock and it was only eight-fifteen, so where was she?
Off in the distance, she saw a pair of headlights coming her way and sighed with relief. Her mother knew her too well and probably figured to come a little late since it wasn’t feasible for her to be out the door at eight o’clock exactly.
With a slight shiver, Abby adjusted the strap of her gym bag on her shoulder, straightened her posture and put a smile on her face and...
Realized it wasn’t her mother pulling into the parking lot.
Dammit.
The car turned just before the entrance to the lot.
With her smile gone, Abby pulled out her cell phone, quickly scrolled to her mother’s number and hit send. Maybe she really was tired and had fallen asleep. The phone rang and rang and rang and even though Abby’s first response was panic, she knew there was a very real, very logical explanation for her mother not to answer.
“Okay...now what?”
She could always go back inside and ask one of the girls to drive her home, but they were busy and now Abby was starting to feel a little anxious. Looking in the direction of the diner, she decided to run over and see who was working so maybe someone there could give her a ride. She made it as far as halfway across the parking lot when a car pulled in.
“Thank God,” she said quietly, thinking for a minute that it was her mother. The lights were a little bit blinding and once it got closer, she groaned. Not her car. Not her mother. “Damn.” It was cold and she was tired and all she wanted was to get home so she started walking again. The car pulled up beside her and she gasped when she turned.
It was Dean.
Great.
“Where’s your car?” he asked with a hint of annoyance.
For a minute, she wanted to be snarky and say something about how his sweet words made her heart flutter but opted against it. “My mother has it. She was supposed to be here to pick me up but she’s late and she’s not answering the phone.”
“So you’re going to walk home? That seems a little crazy. It’s twenty degrees out there.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” she snapped back and then started to walk again.
“Abby? Come on. Get in and I’ll drive you home.”
Again, she wanted to argue, but it was more important to get home and make sure her mother was all right. So she climbed into the car with a mumbled thanks. When Dean didn’t move or start to drive, she looked over at him expectantly.
“Uh...Dean? This is the part where you actually drive me home.” Yeah, she knew she was being bitchy but the last thing she needed today was to deal with him – especially when she was already emotionally on edge.
His expression was neutral – much like he used to look at her before they started dating – and it made her heart hurt a little. When he finally nodded and turned to face forward again, Abby tried to tell herself that she was relieved.
But she wasn’t.
She wanted to talk to him – to reach out and touch him and feel his arms around her – but that wasn’t possible. And she was just too damn tired to do anything about it right now anyway. Maybe after the recital they’d finally have a moment to talk. Then she remembered the parade was on Saturday. Okay, so maybe after that.
Yes. Yes, definitely after that.
Feeling like she had made the right decision, Abby quietly sighed and relaxed in her seat and closed her eyes for just a moment.
****
Dean parked the car in the driveway and looked over at Abby and smiled.
She was asleep.
It was no wonder. She looked exhausted and he knew for a fact that she was working way too hard. From what everyone in Silver Bell told him, she was pushing herself too hard – just as she did every year at this time – and they were all worried about her.
So was he.
“Abby? Abby, you need to wake up. We’re home,” he said softly.
She hummed a little and turned toward him but didn’t open her eyes. Dean smiled because this was what she normally did when he tried to wake her up. It always took a little coaxing to get her to open her eyes, but he didn’t think it would be appropriate for him to try and wake her up the way he’d done in the past.
Gently, he shook her shoulder. “Abby?”
“Mmft...”
He chuckled softly. “Abby? I don’t see your car here. We need to go inside and see what’s going on.”
That woke her up. She quickly sat up and looked around. Her eyes were wide and a little dazed. “What? The car’s not...oh my God!” She climbed out of the car and ran up to the front door as she pulled her phone from her pocket.
Dean followed and took her keys from her hands when she kept missing the lock. “Let me.”
“C’mon, Mom,” she murmured into the phone. “Pick up. Just pick up the phone.”
Opening the door, Dean ushered her inside and shut the door behind them.
“Why won’t she answer the damn phone?” Abby cried out and looked at him in complete dismay. “Did you see my car on the side of the road on the way here?”
“Don’t you think I would have stopped if I had?” he asked, calmly and evenly.
“I think I should call Josiah...call the police...call someone! Obviously something’s happened and...” She turned around when Dean tapped her on the shoulder and held out his phone. “What? Did you already call Josiah?” She grabbed the phone. “Josiah? My mother is missing! I need you to...”
“Oh for crying out loud, Abigail, there’s no need to call the sheriff.”
“Mom?!” she cried and then looked at Dean in confusion. “Where are you? How did Dean know how to reach you? Why weren’t you answering my calls?”
“One question at a time and...wait a minute...yes, Maya, you can have the last cookie. Go ahead, sweetheart.” She paused and then said, “I forgot how little ones can totally manipulate you into givin
g them just about anything, but she’s so darn cute that I don’t even mind giving her whatever she wants.”
“You’re with Maya?” Abby asked in confusion, still looking at Dean.
His expression was mildly amused but he could tell that Abby wasn’t feeling quite the same way.
“Why...how did you end up with Maya?”
“I ran into Dean after I dropped you off at the community center earlier.”
“Oh really? Where?”
“At his house,” her mother replied levelly. “It’s such a lovely home and their tree is magnificent!”
“Mom, focus! Why would you do that?”
“Compliment the tree? Because it’s beautiful. You know I’ve always loved a live tree. I don’t do one back in Arizona but...”
Abby sighed loudly. “Mom...”
“Sweetheart, I need to go. Maya and I are going to read a story while we finish our milk. Go and talk to Dean and I’ll talk to you later.”
Before Abby could say anything, Patti hung up.
Without waiting for her to say anything, Dean took the phone from her hands and put it in his pocket. “So she’s all right,” he said lightly.
Abby’s gaze narrowed at him and rather than responding, she spun and walked away, shedding her coat and tossing it on the chair that sat in the corner of her living room. He knew he needed to give her a minute and when she began to pace he feared that maybe this whole idea wasn’t so great.
“She didn’t mean to worry you,” he began. “I guess we didn’t think that you’d get upset about it.”
The pacing immediately stopped. “Didn’t think I’d...?” With a growl of frustration, she came right at him. “She was late, wouldn’t answer her phone and the car was gone! What conclusion should I have come to?”
“Okay, okay...you’re absolutely right,” he said calmly. “At the time we didn’t really think about that.”
“Of course not. Because that would mean you were actually thinking about me and my feelings,” Abby snapped.
Yeah. He deserved that one.
“Do you have any idea...”
“I’m sorry,” Dean interrupted. It wasn’t quick, it wasn’t hurried, it wasn’t even a plea. Hell, it was barely a whisper.
Christmas On Pointe (A Silver Bell Falls Holiday Novella) Page 17