Summer Wine

by Barbara Winkes

  Summer Wine

  (Callie & Rebecca IV)

  Barbara Winkes

  Copyright © 2017 by Barbara Winkes

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales are purely coincidental.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the expressed written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  A special thanks to Carrie Kimbrough for early input, and Martina Pilloni for translations!

  For D.

  …and all the readers who have been incredibly patient, waiting for the final story of Callie and Rebecca.

  Thank you!

  Chapter One

  Andy was missing.

  The grey clouds and rain made the scenery look more like a September day than late May. It made Rebecca think of the recent years, when the changing leaves came with inexplicable melancholy and longing. She never had much time to dwell on that emotion, other than during a second coffee in the morning when the girls were in school, or over a glass of wine in the evening after they’d gone to bed, and David was away on the job.

  Year after year, it seemed nothing ever changed in her life—the big events, marriage, birth of her children, had come and gone, and now, what?

  She hadn’t found an answer, because she kept busy, and after all, she didn’t want to look too closely at the time—until Callie came into her life.

  The previous fall, Rebecca had thought she made peace with her life as it was, her illusion shattered by the arrival of her new neighbor. The pieces of the puzzle came together forming a picture impossible to un-see. The path to awareness hadn’t always been peaceful.

  Rebecca was happy and in love, but she wasn’t fooling herself as to what it had taken her to get there.

  People’s stories differed. Andy was obviously unhappy, fighting awareness and change, to the point of running away from a difficult situation. None of this was Rebecca’s fault. Everything she might have done to encourage Andy to take this step was only in Andy’s head, and that of her enraged husband. Rebecca could have told her no matter how far you ran, you couldn’t run from yourself, or deny what you knew to be true.

  The water was boiling. Rebecca turned off the kettle and poured the water into three mugs. The scent of cherries and strawberries came wafting from the teabags immediately.

  She felt sorry for leaving Callie and David to themselves in a somewhat awkward situation, but she couldn’t help it. Rebecca needed a moment to herself to sort out her feelings about this news, coming after the perfect weekend getaway she had spent with Callie.

  She didn’t particularly care for Andy who had tried to turn her own daughter against her, scaring the hell out of Maggie in the process. Then she had come on to Rebecca and tried to paint herself as the innocent party. There was no doubt about it—Andy was a piece of work. Yet, Rebecca still had some sympathy for her. What was worse, she could detect a familiarity, something they had in common—disturbing, but nonetheless true. There had been a time when Rebecca wanted to run away from home and abandon all responsibilities, because she couldn’t see any other way out. She had been lucky. She had found love, a new home, and circumstances that allowed her to come to her senses. The same was probably not true for Andy.

  However, there was a difference. Rebecca might have been naïve at some point, in need of a reality check, but she had never believed that religious convictions justified prejudice or harassing children.

  She hoped Andy wouldn’t do anything ill-considered.

  The rain finally came to a stop.

  * * * *

  “So…you guys had a good weekend, I presume.”

  Callie appreciated David’s attempt of small-talk to overcome the prolonged silence, except she would have preferred any subject other than her and Rebecca’s spontaneous stay at an expensive hotel out of town. Even as she said, “It was nice, thank you,” she could feel herself blush. Not that David needed her to spell it out. His resigned expression told her that he got the bigger picture.

  After all the words they’d exchanged, some heated, some more thoughtful, she still felt uncomfortable alone in the room with him, and the sentiment was probably mutual. Maggie had left for her room after Eric, Andy’s husband, stalked off. Rebecca, for some reason, found it urgent to make tea right at this moment. Callie couldn’t blame her. Andy might be a self-righteous woman with a mean-spirited agenda, but there was no doubt she’d brought up some memories Rebecca would need a moment to deal with.

  The problem was, she and David had little to say to each other, and all of it had been said more than once. There had been apologies. They had come to a cease-fire, and that was probably all they could expect for the moment. It hadn’t even been a year since Rebecca left him, after all.

  “Thanks for helping us out,” she said. “I don’t assume guys like Eric would ever listen to any woman.”

  David shrugged. “I don’t think he’s listening to anyone at this point. I’m sure it’s scary, but he has no business coming here and yelling at you and Rebecca.”

  There were hints as to how he obviously still felt protective of Rebecca. Callie wasn’t sure how to answer that. To her relief, Rebecca appeared in the doorway, a rueful smile on her face. She was probably aware of the moment’s awkwardness.

  “I’ve made tea, would you like some?” She laughed a little. “I feel like something else, but it’s too early for that.”

  Callie got to her feet, glad to have an escape, while David excused himself.

  “Another time, thanks. I need to get back. I’ll just go and say bye to Maggie. Oh, by the way, Dina asked if Sara can stay over next weekend.”

  “Sure, that’s fine,” Rebecca said. “I’ll see Sara tomorrow anyway.”

  When he had left the room, Callie stepped forward and embraced Rebecca.

  “Don’t worry. This is not about you, or anything you said or did. She probably couldn’t stand her own lies anymore and…snapped.”

  “It was reassuring until the last part,” Rebecca said dryly, but she leaned into the embrace. “I know. Hopefully, she doesn’t put herself in any danger.”

  “I hope that too, but if she does, there’s nothing we can do about it.” Callie sighed when she became aware of the sharp edge to her tone. “There are only so many times you can reach out to someone. She came to the group to manipulate you, she preyed on Maggie. She attacked you in a restroom…”

  “That’s a strong word.”

  “It’s true. I can’t spare any more sympathy for her.”

  That moment, David returned from Maggie’s room, and the phone rang, giving them both a break. Rebecca went to see David out, and Callie picked up.

  “You’re back, good,” Betty LaRue said. “Have you heard?”

  Autumn Leaves’ grapevine worked perfectly.

  “I assume you’re talking about Andy? Eric just showed up on our doorstep.”

  “Of course I’m talking about Andy.” Betty sounded a tad impatient. “Is Rebecca there? We’re at Roz’s café. Why don’t you come join us?”

  “I’ll ask her,” Callie promised. This was not the kind of dirty laundry she had expected to deal with, but for once, she was glad not to be at the center of rumors. Besides, the fact that all of Rebecca’s friends were finally on the same page, could only be a good thing.

  * * * *

  Rebecca wondered how so many things could have happened while they were away for one overnight stay, and if she really could leave Autumn Leaves behind for weeks at a time, for their planned summer holiday. At least, the girls would be with them. Come to think of it, maybe they would simply stay…
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  Of course that wouldn’t happen, because moving to another country was more complicated than that, and truth be told, she didn’t want that. No matter what challenges they were facing here, Autumn Leaves was home.

  She couldn’t believe her friends had gathered in order to discuss the latest scandal, but then she realized this was probably happening in place of their usual brunch, and that everybody had learned in church that Andy was missing for reasons unknown.

  Delia, Callie and Rebecca’s neighbor, who had taken care of their dog during their absence, was there too, at the table in the backyard. Barney jumped in excitement when he recognized them, and Rebecca crouched down to pet him.

  “Hey there.” It hadn’t been their choice to become dog owners. David had bought him for the girls when he still expected both Maggie and Dina to live with him. Now that Maggie lived with Callie and Rebecca permanently, it had only been a matter of time until the beagle joined them.

  “Hi,” she said to her friends, straightening. “I guess there’s always a good reason for cupcakes.” This was with regard to the plate on the table, displaying a selection of Roz’s best.

  Betty shot her a surprised look, but she didn’t say anything. Roz appeared in the doorway, finally clearing up the situation.

  “It’s not like we’re celebrating anything. Eric came by earlier to ask me if I would put up some leaflets.”

  “Leaflets,” Rebecca echoed, feeling sick. “I got the impression she left him.”

  “A couple of days ago, from what I heard,” Betty said. “Since you guys were out of town as well, I guess he got the wrong idea.”

  “What, that we might invite her?” Callie’s sharp tone, as well as the content of her question, caused an awkward silence.

  Betty poured some milk into her coffee. Roz went to serve a customer. It would have been a comical moment, if the situation wasn’t so serious. Rebecca had always preferred clarity. She wanted to talk things through when they arose, and so she had tried to maintain a dialogue with Andy—which had gotten her nowhere, making her wish she’d never tried.

  “On a more pleasant note,” Betty said, “Callie, we were making plans for another fundraiser for the women’s shelter, so I’d like to book you for good if that’s okay.”

  “Sure. Let me know the date. I’ll be there. I’ll bring some books.”

  “That’s great. Thanks. How was your weekend?”

  Rebecca caught Callie’s bemused gaze, and she could guess what Callie was thinking. Strange how Rebecca had never realized before how odd some of those small town rituals really were, that they had become a little too interested in the lives of strangers. Gossiping after church on a Sunday.

  She couldn’t wait for their vacation to start.

  “Good,” she said. “I wish we could have stayed longer.” Rebecca was certain that Callie shared that sentiment too.

  * * * *

  “Nothing bad happened to her,” Callie said firmly when she once again caught Rebecca lost in thought. “I’m sure she’s hiding out somewhere trying to get her head straight.” She shook her head. “Well, good luck with that.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “It’s not that hard either, unless you believe in the BS that the crazies feed you. There’s a choice somewhere in that, isn’t there?” Callie sat next to her on the couch, snuggling up against her. “Besides, we have other things to think about. Italy. I’m thinking we might get a wedding invitation from Asha sometime soon and…wait, there’s a birthday party too!”

  Rebecca made a face. “I’d prefer you didn’t remind me.”

  “Come on, you said your mom was okay, and they would come. It will be fun.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one turning forty.” However, the banter made her feel lighter already, less tense, and grateful. It was true, both she and Andy were given a choice—to be happy, or to be miserable. Each of them had come to their own conclusion.

  “I’ve been thinking for a long time about what to give you,” Callie continued. “Not to spoil the surprise, but I have to give you a little warning for that, since it concerns the girls too.”

  “What are you talking about?” Rebecca asked, lazily brushing her fingers over Callie’s hair. For the first time since Eric had stormed their home, she was able to relax for as long as that would last.

  “I changed our trip a bit…I might have added a couple of days in Rome.”

  “What?” Rebecca was stunned for a moment, trying to imagine the logistics of those changes, cancellation fees, school for Dina and Maggie, transportation… “How?”

  Callie turned to her, all excited, ready to launch into a lengthy explanation. All Rebecca could think of that moment was how beautiful she was.

  “Did I do something stupid?” Callie asked, worried.

  “No. No, not at all. It wasn’t what I expected, but it’s great. Thank you so much.”

  “It is within the girls’ vacation time, so we just have to pack a few days earlier. When we meet Tomaso’s family…Dina says they’ll be okay, but we don’t know yet how that will go. I thought we should have a few days elsewhere, to ourselves. Have a glass of wine in the shadow of the Colosseum before we brave the in-laws.”

  Her choice of words made Rebecca laugh. “Oh my God, don’t say that. It’s hard enough to get used to the fact that Dina has a boyfriend.” She winced. “In-laws. Not within the next decade, I hope. I love the idea of a little extra time.” She leaned forward to kiss Callie, intended as a gesture to say thank you that turned horizontal soon.

  Callie looked up at her with a somewhat smug smile. “Forties looking any better to you now?”

  “Never looked better,” Rebecca confirmed.

  * * * *

  By Monday evening, when Rebecca arrived at Reverend Amber Cole’s house in Marin County, no one had heard anything from Andy. She hadn’t made a lot of friends in Autumn Leaves, except Father Reynolds.

  As Rebecca sat with the other women of her coming-out group, she remembered when Andy had joined them, trying to convince them they were all on the wrong path. News traveled fast in small communities, and so most of them had heard about her missing.

  “I’m not exactly a fan of hers, but I hope she’s okay,” Mona said, the others nodding. “Maybe she needs time to herself to sort things out.”

  That’s what Callie had said, that’s what they all believed. Rebecca hoped it was true. The evening with Callie had been a nice distraction, but now that the subject was back to Andy, she was once again tense with worry.

  “Isn’t Sara coming?”

  Amber shrugged. “I haven’t heard from her, so I was expecting her…I don’t know.” Sara was the youngest in the group. Unlike the others, she wasn’t interested in exploring questions of faith, after her parents had thrown her out claiming religious reasons. She attended most meetings anyway and had become friends with Dina as well. Rebecca couldn’t help but wonder if her absence was really a coincidence. There had been so many incidents in Autumn Leaves only in the past year that it was easy to get paranoid. She didn’t want to go there now.

  “That’s okay. I’ll call her later.”

  Her thoughts were drifting as she listened to the other women’s stories, spiritual and practical questions, confrontations with bigotry and bureaucracy. Andy had tried to kiss her, then blamed Rebecca, testimony to her confusion. Rebecca didn’t think that she was a horrible person through and through, just lost, but at what point was somebody so lost you couldn’t reach them anymore? She was irrationally worried about Sara as well.

  “Excuse me,” she said, getting up. “I’ll be right back.” In the backyard, Rebecca dialed Sara’s number, suppressing a relieved sigh when Sara picked up right away.

  “Where the hell are you?”

  “Oh. Rebecca. I didn’t see it was you.”

  “We’ve been waiting for you!” If she was overreacting, Rebecca knew very well what could have triggered this response. Halloween last year—o
r the stormy winter night Maggie hadn’t come home from her book club. Since she was hanging out with Dina, Sara had been a regular guest in Rebecca’s home.

  “Well, I’m sorry. I’m good, but I had to skip this week.” She sounded apologetic. “Don’t tell on me, okay?

  “I won’t. Sorry. David says you’re coming over on the weekend.”

  “Yeah, if that’s all right.”

  “Sure. I’ll see you then.”

  When Rebecca ended the call, she saw Mona standing in the doorway. “I wanted to escape too,” she said. “For some reason, I don’t feel like deep conversation tonight.”

  Rebecca made a non-committal sound.

  “You’re still worried about Andy?” Mona asked.

  “I don’t know. For sure, she hasn’t given that much thought to what she did to my family.” When Maggie had a long, frightening period of repeated nightmares, everyone thought it had to do with the kidnapping. It took a while to find out that Andy had scared her badly by suggesting she’d be sent to a foster family due to her mother’s sexual orientation. The memory, of those long nights and subsequent conversations with a stubborn and unrelenting Andy still made her shoulders tense with anger. It was true, Andy had created a situation for herself in which it was hard to forgive her.

  “Some people are like that, you know,” Mona said. “They mess with your life, and somehow they twist it around so that you’re the one who feels like you should have done better, tried harder. My ex had mad skills at that. Whatever Andy did, she has herself to blame for it.”

  “We can’t win, right? When you’re clever enough to realize what’s going on at a young age…look at Sara. Her parents tossed her out on the streets. When you’re older and you already have a life, you either keep lying to yourself, or it all comes crashing down.”

  “Not for you though,” Mona reminded her calmly. “Your ex-husband isn’t such a bad guy, your kids are all right, and this gorgeous woman fell for you. That’s the stuff of movies. You have no idea how jealous I am of you.”