Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon

by Melody Carlson

  “We’re all here together again.” Cherry came over and gave Hope a big hug—or as big as her petite five-foot-two frame would allow. “Wow, you look great, Hope. Is life treating you well?”

  Hope kind of shrugged. “All things considered.”

  “It was sad to lose Nona.” Cherry’s eyes grew somber as she turned to Avery. Hope was surprised to see mother and daughter were nearly the same height now. “Hey, Sweetie Pie, will you go and take a head count so we can figure out if we need to make another run to the store for buns or meat?”

  Avery trotted back outside to where other family members, probably ones Hope hadn’t seen since childhood, were gathered in the backyard. It even sounded as if a game of horseshoes was being played. So quaint and sweet…like old folks at home.

  “At least Nona died in her bed,” Cherry continued. No surprises that she’d take the positive angle. “Not a bad way to go if you think about it.”

  “That’s how I want to go,” Faye said soberly.

  “I don’t know.” Hope knew it was juvenile, but she wanted to show off just a bit right then. “I’d rather go doing something exciting. Like mountain climbing or skydiving or maybe even BASE jumping.”

  “You and Mom.” Faye just shook her head like her sister was a lost cause. “Thrill seekers.”

  Hope just laughed. But the truth was, she hadn’t done any thrill seeking for quite some time. Still, her family didn’t need to know everything.

  “Do you still do rock climbing?” Cherry asked with concerned eyes. “Just yesterday I saw on the news that a woman died from a fall over at Smith Rocks. She was in her early forties.”

  “I haven’t done any climbing lately.” Hope stood straighter. “But I might do some climbing while I’m here.” Okay, she knew that was a complete lie, but she just couldn’t help herself. As childish as it seemed, she needed something to own—or to call her own.

  “Do be careful.”

  “Of course.” She smiled at her sisters and wished for this day to be over.

  “You’re a mountain climber like Grandma Bartolli used to be?” asked a boy who had been sitting nearby, playing on a handheld video game. Hope studied him, realizing that he had to be her nephew since he looked just like his dad. It took Hope a second to remember his name, but then she recalled how Cherry had named him after her favorite actor.

  “Harrison,” Hope exclaimed. “Just look at you. You’re half grown already.”

  He stood straighter and smiled to reveal a pair of large front teeth. “I’m nine and a half, Aunt Hope.”

  “And I hear you’re good at sports,” Hope said. “Like your dad.”

  “But I want to climb mountains, too,” he said hopefully. “Like my grandma used to do…before she died.”

  “She was a good climber,” Hope told him. “She taught me how to climb.”

  “Will you teach me to climb?” he asked eagerly.

  “Why don’t you run outside and see if Daddy needs help with the hamburgers?” Cherry suggested as she nudged him toward the door.

  “But I want Aunt Hope to teach me to—”

  “Not right now, Harrison.” Cherry’s voice was firm.

  He went outside, dragging his heels all the way.

  “Ever since he saw old photos of Mom, he’s been obsessed with mountain climbing.” Cherry shook her head. “I’ve told him he’s too young.”

  “It’s too dangerous for children,” Faye added.

  “Mom took me up when I was his age,” Hope reminded them.

  “Mom was nuts,” Faye said in a matter-of-fact voice.

  “Mom was nuts?” Hope stared at her older sister. “How can you say that?”

  “Because it’s true.” Faye narrowed her eyes. “What kind of a mother leaves her children to go climb a mountain?”

  “A mother who wants to have a life,” Hope stated.

  “A mother has a life,” Faye protested, “and that life is to take care of her children, to put their needs above her own. But since you don’t have children, I wouldn’t expect you to know that.”

  Hope blinked.

  Faye just shook her head. “I’m sorry. There I go again, saying things that I don’t really mean…hurting people’s feelings.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  Hope put her arm around Faye. “What’s wrong is that you’re hurting, Faye. Anyone can see that.” Now Hope felt tears coming, too.

  Just then, their dad and stepmom entered the room. “Anyone home?” Dad bellowed as he pulled Cindy into the living room. “Oh, there they are now. The three sisters, in all their glory.” He came over to hug his daughters. “Say, you girls shouldn’t be crying for your Nona. She had a good life. Ninety-two years is a long time to live. She wouldn’t want you to cry.”

  “They’re not crying for Nona, Dad,” Cherry said quietly. “Faye and Jeff are split up, and Faye’s having a hard time with it.”

  “Oh, well, you kids can patch it up,” Dad assured Faye in a dismissive way. “Love gets rocky sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you give up. Right?”

  Faye just shrugged.

  Now Dad placed his hands on both sides of her cheeks and looked intently into her eyes like she was still a little girl. “What you need to do is fix yourself up a little, Faith. Lose some weight. Buy a new dress. Then go back to Jeff and show him what he’s missing. He’ll come around.”

  Faye pulled herself away from him and, with a choked sob, went running down the hallway.

  “That was great, Dad.” Hope rolled her eyes.

  “What’d I say?” He held up his hands in a helpless gesture.

  “Oh, Vitto,” scolded Cindy. “There you go putting your foot in your mouth again.”

  “What?” he persisted. “What’d I say wrong?”

  “I’ll go talk to her,” Hope offered. The truth was, she had no idea what she could say to encourage Faye, but she was eager to get away from the rest of her family.

  She found Faye in the bedroom that had once belonged to Hope, but now it appeared to be a guest room—because there were the fresh flowers and a mint on the pillow. Of course, with its slate blue paint and craftsman-style furniture and formal-looking Oriental carpet centered on the refinished hardwood floor, it looked nothing like Hope’s old room. And, although she wouldn’t have expected them to leave it the same, she still missed the pale pink walls and those eyelet curtains that she had sewn herself with Nona’s help. She sat down on the bed next to Faye. “Are you okay?”

  Faye fished a ratty-looking tissue out of the pocket of her sweater and loudly blew her nose. “That’s so like Dad to say, ‘go fix yourself and win back your man.’ Our father is so clueless.”

  “He’s from another generation.”

  “Another planet is more like it.”

  Hope laughed. “He loves you, Faye. And, being a man, he thinks he needs to say something to fix things and make it all better.”

  “And instead he just makes it all worse.”

  “But you can’t blame him for trying.”

  “No…,” she sniffed. “I suppose not.”

  “Hey, where’s Monroe?” Hope asked.

  “Who knows?”

  “Did he really get a tattoo?”

  “I think it’s his way of getting even with his parents for letting their marriage fall apart.”

  “Where is it?”

  “What?”

  “His tattoo.”

  “Oh.” Faye kind of smiled. “His left cheek.”

  Hope’s hand flew to her mouth. “On his face? He tattooed his face with a skull? Didn’t the tattoo artist know that it’s illegal to tattoo a juvenile? You could sue the pants off that—”

  “No, Monroe didn’t get a tattoo on his face, Hope.”

  “But you said his—”

  Faye pointed to her behind. “His other cheek.”

  Hope laughed. “Didn’t it hurt?”

  “Who knows.”

  “Well, at least you don’t have
to look at it.”

  “Except when his baggy pants slip too low.”

  Hope made a face. “Is he into that gangster look? You’d think that would be so yesterday by now.”

  “Not as long as we have rappers around to keep it alive. And if he can find any new way he can rebel these days, Monroe will try it out. Honestly, he’s making me crazy.”

  “Too bad. But it’s probably just a phase.” Hope remembered what a sweet little boy Monroe once had been. Red hair and ruddy cheeks like his dad, sparkly blue eyes like his mom…the kind of boy who would cry to see a dead bird on the sidewalk. How did someone go from that to skull tattoos?

  “I hope so.”

  “Avery said you’re thinking about moving back to town.”

  “I’m not thinking about it, I’m doing it.”

  “Seriously?”

  “I’ve already put a deposit down on a condo unit.”

  “At the Fourth Sister?”

  “No. I found a better place in Pine Meadow Ranch yesterday. It’s really nice and, because it’s been sitting there empty for six months, it’s a good deal. And it’s close to school and town.”

  “And you’re really going to do this?”

  Faye held her chin up. “I am.”

  Hope wondered how realistic this plan was. Could Faye really manage this? “Are you still going to teach? Are they hiring here?”

  Faye shrugged. “Maybe…or not. I don’t really care. Monroe and I could easily just live off of alimony and child support for a while…until I figure things out.”

  “Are you already divorced?”

  Faye nodded. “It was final last month.”

  “Seriously? How long ago did this all start?”

  “I found out about the affair last Christmas. I made Jeff leave, and I thought I’d keep the house. But I’ve been so miserable there. It’s like my whole life was blown to pieces when he did that to me. I gave my notice two months ago. Today was actually the last day of school, but I took this week off for bereavement time. I wasn’t doing a very good job in the classroom anyway. I doubt the kids even missed me.”

  “I’ll bet they did.”

  “But I’d already decided I didn’t want to live in that house anymore. And I reminded Jeff that I’d put a lot of my own money into it from Mom’s insurance. I made him refinance to repay me my share, which I should be getting by the end of the month. Jeff can do what he wants with the house now—keep it, sell it, burn it to the ground like he did our marriage.”

  “What about Monroe?”

  “He’s furious at me.”

  “You can’t really blame him, Faye. I mean you said your life was blown to pieces…what about Monroe’s life?” She wanted to ask what about Monroe’s right to have his father nearby…what about Jeff’s right to shared custody. But she decided not to let the lawyer in her take over.

  “I can’t help that.” Faye looked at Hope with watery eyes. “I feel like I’m hanging on by a thread here. And for some reason, it just felt right when I came to Sisters. I drove out here the same day that Cherry called to tell me about Nona. And as soon as I got to town, something in me just clicked. I saw those mountains and I knew I was home. I started looking at real estate immediately.” She blew her nose again. “Monroe will have to get used to it.”

  “What did Jeff say about it?”

  She gave Hope the blankest of blank looks.

  “He doesn’t know, does he?”

  “For months I didn’t know he was having an affair, Hope. Do you think he really deserves to know?”

  “You’re not moving here to spite him, are you?”

  “Weren’t you listening to me? I said that something just clicked inside of me. I got home, and I knew I was home.”

  “But what about custody…?”

  “What about it?”

  “Well, you’ve crossed the state line…and I assume you and Jeff share custody of Monroe.”

  “So?”

  “So…Jeff could press for full custody now, and he’d have a pretty strong case.” Hope didn’t add that it wouldn’t help matters that Monroe was fourteen and wanted to remain in Seattle. A good judge would take that into consideration.

  “And your point is what, Counselor?”

  “I don’t know, Faye. I just would hate to see you lose your son as well as your marriage.”

  “Jeff wouldn’t dare.”

  “Divorce does strange things to people, Faye.”

  “Tell me about it.” Faye rolled the tissue into a tight ball then tossed it toward the waste basket by the dresser and missed.

  “Jeff could use this against you in court.”

  “I thought you were a corporate lawyer. Have you suddenly taken up family practice?”

  “No, but I’m not stupid.”

  “Are you saying I am?”

  “I’m only saying that I don’t think you’ve given this enough thought, Faith.” Following her parents’ examples, Hope only called her sisters by their real names when she was aggravated at them. Like now.

  Faye suddenly stood. “All I’ve done is think about this. My heart’s been ripped from my chest. I feel like my life is over. If I can’t come home—to the only place I feel like I might really be at home—well, then I just don’t care anymore.” And Faye walked out of the room.

  Feeling like a failure as a family counselor, Hope stooped to pick up Faye’s tissue wad then lobbed it into the waste basket.

  “So you decided to stay with us after all?” Drew smiled at her from the hallway.

  Hope blinked and suddenly felt self-conscious over the fact that she was standing in her old room, the same room that she’d sneaked Drew into a few times back in high school. She refrained from putting a hand to her cheek, where she could feel her face warming with the flush of embarrassment over this thought. “I was just in here talking to Faye.” She came into the hallway, closing the door behind her. “But I must’ve offended her because she walked out on me.”

  “That used to be your room, didn’t it?” His voice sounded casual, but his eyes looked intense.

  “Yes. It’s changed some. Nice shade of blue. I’ll bet Cherry picked it out.” She was trying to keep her tone light and disconnected.

  “She’s the one with all the taste.” He frowned. “I’m just the one who pays all the bills.”

  “Well, you guys have fixed this old house up really nice.” Hope smiled blankly as she made her way past him.

  “So, how about it, you want to stick around and be our house guest?”

  “No, but I appreciate your hospitality.”

  “Too bad.”

  Her back was to him now, but something about the way he was acting and the way he said too bad made her uncomfortable…and yet she was curious. Had he really been insinuating what she thought he was insinuating? She paused and turned to see him looking at her with what seemed like longing.

  “Pardon me?” she asked as if she hadn’t heard him right.

  He stepped toward her now. “You’re sure looking good, Hope. The years have been kind.”

  She acted oblivious. “Thanks. But I suppose we’re all starting to show our age some.”

  He ran his hand through his thinning hair. “Some of us more than others, I expect.”

  “And thanks for the offer of a room, but I’ll be more comfortable at the Ponderosa.”

  “Well, I put your bag in the back of Nona’s car for you. But if you change your mind, I’ll be happy to go and—”

  “Thanks, but no thanks.” She laughed lightly then turned away. But as she walked down the hallway, returning to the now vacated living room, she remembered something she’d read in a magazine—if a guy cheats once, he’s likely to do it again. But surely Drew wouldn’t consider turning the tables by cheating on Cherry to be with Hope now. And even if he would stoop that low, Hope would never—not in a million years and even if he were the last man on the planet—give him the chance!

  Still, it brought her a tiny sliver of guilty pleas
ure to think that Drew might’ve been thinking along those lines—that he might still find her attractive or even wonder why he’d let her go in the first place. And yet she knew it was wrong to feel that way. Especially at her sister’s expense.

  Cherry might not have thought twice about stealing Hope’s boyfriend twelve years ago. And to be fair, Hope had broken it off with Drew at the time—mostly because she wanted the freedom to date a certain guy on campus. Even so, Hope would not repay her sister’s evil deed in kind. Hope would remain on the high road.

  Chapter Three

  In an attempt to avoid Cherry, and mostly because she had nothing to say to her, Hope went out of her way to visit with all of her other relatives. Not that there were so many, but Nona had borne four children by her first husband, a non-Italian man named Charles Emerson. And then she’d had two more children with her second husband—the Italian husband—Antonio Bartolli. Vitto Bartolli was Nona’s youngest child, and everyone assumed her favorite since he looked so much like his father.

  As a result of these six children, who were now in their sixties and seventies, Nona was survived by seventeen grandchildren, thirty-eight great-grandchildren, and by Hope’s best estimate, several dozen great-great-grandchildren. Not even half of Nona’s descendants were expected to attend the funeral tomorrow, but many of them were already in town, and most had descended on Cherry’s house for this impromptu barbecue. So it was a bit like a family reunion, and Hope found it somewhat interesting if not exhausting getting reacquainted with some of her now middle-aged cousins and their offspring.

  However, after an hour or so, Hope grew weary of answering the same old questions. “Are you married yet?” Or “How did a pretty girl like you avoid the trip down the aisle?” Or “Any children in your future?” And so she made her apologies to Cherry, saying she had a headache, which was actually the truth. Then, Cherry gave her the keys to Nona’s old Rambler, and Hope attempted to make a graceful exit, but instead nearly plowed down the attractive thirty-something man who was unfortunately opening the front door just as she was bursting out.