Summer Wine

by Barbara Winkes

  “No. I just have another appointment in a bit.” Sometimes a little white lie didn’t do too much harm, did it? She sent a quick apology to the God she still believed had a long-term plan for her, and used the opportunity to flee. She didn’t need to explain herself, or Andy, for that matter, to anyone.

  Determined to forget about the small annoyance, she let herself into her home a few minutes later, wondering what Callie and Sean were up to. Maggie and Dina both spent the day with friends, as school was about to start soon again.

  Betty might come over tonight to discuss details for the reading next week…Rebecca had a sudden impulse to call her friend and tell her about the news right away. She jumped when the phone rang the moment she picked it up.

  The voice speaking on the other end of the line was the last Rebecca wanted to hear, but she’d indulge him. For now. After all, she was going to make a legal commitment to the woman she loved, and while he could keep her from going to church in her own town, he couldn’t keep her from taking that step. There was satisfaction in that knowledge.

  “Father Reynolds,” she said. “What can I do for you?”

  If he could read the irony barely hidden between the lines, he didn’t let on.

  “Mrs. Lowman, thank God you’re home.”

  Rebecca had often wondered if they were talking to, or about, the same God.

  “That’s a surprise.”

  “I need to ask you a favor,” Father Reynolds said, words Rebecca hadn’t thought she’d ever hear coming out of his mouth. This had to be some kind of emergency—or maybe he was just playing games the way he had since his arrival in Autumn Leaves.

  “I need you to come here right away,” he continued, and it wasn’t until now she realized how stressed he sounded.

  “Excuse me? Why would I do that after you tried to publicly shame me, more than once, I might remind you? I believe in forgiveness, but frankly, it can’t be a one way street.”

  “Please,” he said. “I’ll explain later. If you want, come back to church, I don’t care. Just come here now and we’ll talk.”

  “I swear if this is one of your—”

  “I apologize! I ask you to forgive me, Mrs. Lowman. I don’t think I was wrong, but I might have gotten overzealous with the means, and for that, I’m sorry. Whether you can forgive me or not--I need to talk.”

  “Okay. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  Rebecca disconnected the call, and, for a few seconds, stared at the phone in disbelief. Could it be possible? Did he really want to go back to the ceasefire, leave her and her family alone? It was almost too good to be true, but she’d give him the benefit of the doubt. For one more time. She was in a place where his prejudice couldn’t reach her anymore.

  * * * *

  Callie hadn’t meant to spill the secret—not that it was a secret in the first place, just something they wanted to tell everyone at the same time—but Roz could not be fooled. After bringing their orders, she paused to chat a bit and all of a sudden, did a double-take.

  “Does this ring mean what I think it does? That’s amazing, congratulations,” she said, not waiting for an answer, because she must have read enough in Callie’s face. “Is it going to be soon? Wait, you came for the wedding?”

  Sean shook his head. “I learned about it this morning, but they should hire you for the cake. How many stores do you have?”

  Roz laughed with glee. “You kids from the big city! We opened this spring…and I’d love to do something special for your wedding, just give me the word. Oh, and can we do brunch here? I don’t see how I could get away on Saturday.”

  “Sure. Betty is probably coming to dinner. I’ll ask her.”

  “Great. See you then.” Roz had to go as a group of women came in to occupy a table in the front of the café, but Jamie, returned a moment later with two glasses of sparkling wine.

  “Congratulations on the wedding,” he said. “I see family’s already in town. Enjoy.”

  “Asha, Mom and I were so wrong,” Sean commented after Jamie had left. “You are really at home here. Maybe aunt Valerie had a vision--though she did have a more practical view on these things than Mom, but still. She must have guessed something.”

  Based on her meeting with Toni, Callie wasn’t so sure about that, but like with other experiences of the Italy trip, she wasn’t quite ready to share yet. There was a reason why everyone in her family always informed each other, and she was joining the conversation late, if at all.

  She was lucky Rebecca understood her pace, like no one else she’d ever met before. Callie sighed, thinking that Asha would be a lot less understanding if she couldn’t deliver some work-related good news, and soon. The sound of her cell phone vibrating in her purse made her flinch.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Rebecca said. “I just wanted to let you know I’ll be out a little while longer. Father Reynolds wanted to talk about something…he sounded a bit strange.”

  “You’re going to see him?” The warm fuzzy mood was gone instantly. Remembering her last conversation with the minister and Andy—something they had lured her into, nonetheless—Callie couldn’t believe what she just heard.

  “Well…he apologized, kind of, and he said we could come back to church. I’ll see what this is all about and come home right after. Are you still sightseeing? Well, as much as there is to see in Autumn Leaves.”

  “We’re at Roz’s,” Callie said, still not reassured. “You really have to go?”

  “One last time. Who knows, maybe he’s really serious? I’ll hear what he has to say, get out of there as soon as possible and go back to my fiancée. How does that sound?”

  “Fiancée? Sounds wonderful. I’ll see you later then.”

  “How about you call Betty tomorrow, and we go out for dinner later? You guys can pick the place,” Rebecca said.

  “All right. That’s an offer hard to refuse.”

  * * * *

  After the urgent sounding call, Rebecca would have expected Father Reynolds to greet her at the door, or at least in the lobby, but the minister was nowhere to be seen. His car sat in the parking lot. He didn’t expect her to meet him in his private rooms, did he? She’d visited Father Langdon in his home, but that was different. They were friends, but she hadn’t been in the rooms behind the offices while he was still head of this congregation. She shrugged to herself, wondering if she should turn around right away. Frankly, Rebecca didn’t expect anything good to come out of this conversation--both of them had made their point clear some time ago.

  She’d ring the bell once, and if he didn’t answer…Rebecca checked her phone, but there was no new call. There was a strange gloomy ambience to these rooms, but that was probably all her perception. Last year, what seemed a long time ago now, she’d had contracts with the city and the church regarding their web presence. The mayor’s son had turned out to be a convicted criminal. Father Langdon had left, and from what she could tell, he was enjoying retirement and had no intention to come back. Rebecca had gotten used to driving to Marin County for Reverend Cole’s service, and these days, the present was more important than past memories anyway. No matter what Reynolds wanted from her that she could have used as leverage to let her back into church, she might not be coming back after all. As she stepped closer, she realized that the door to Reynolds’ private quarters was left ajar. Rebecca knocked, waiting with rising irritation.

  “Mrs. Lowman? Come on in.”

  Even as she walked along the short hallway into the living room, she had the notion that she should turn around and leave right this moment. Her heart started hammering even before she could make sense of the scenery, and when she did, Rebecca knew she had had a reason for wanting to run. Good instincts, a little too late.

  Father Reynolds stood to the side, nervously wringing his hands, looking like he desperately tried to keep still. On the couch at the wall sat Andy, her eyes widening when Rebecca came in. She was holding a gun, regarding it as if she didn’t quite k
now how it had gotten into her hands.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Okay, this is it. I’m calling the police.”

  “No!” The reaction from both Andy and the minister was instant and vehement, making her jump. Rebecca wasn’t sure how she’d managed to grasp a clear thought. It was obvious the same didn’t go for the two other people in the room, and that was frightening.

  “Please don’t go,” Andy begged, raising the gun. At herself. “I need to talk to you. I need you to understand.”

  Rebecca felt sick, unable to move, unable to turn away.

  Father Reynolds shrugged. “What was I supposed to do?”

  Even in her current state, some sort of protective shock mode that enabled her to act calmer than she felt, Rebecca realized at once what had happened. She’d been set up. It all made sense now.

  “Maybe do your job,” she snapped. “Something you should have done from the start, instead of messing with people’s lives. Oh God, Andy. What the hell is this? You don’t want to go there. You have a child!”

  Maybe Andy had actually expressed the wish to see Rebecca, but Father Reynolds’ strategy was clear to her. He had no idea how to talk down Andy. If this situation went horribly wrong, the failure wouldn’t be on him alone, or so he probably hoped. Andy laughed bitterly, her grip on the gun tightening. “A child who wants nothing to do with me, and they won’t let me see him again anyway. What’s the point?”

  “So you just give up? That’s your answer?” Rebecca stopped herself, thinking these wouldn’t be the words to convince someone who already was desperate. She didn’t want to be here. It wasn’t fair. She had plans, and while she didn’t think Andy intended to harm anyone but herself, Rebecca didn’t want to be a witness. “There have to be other ways.”

  “Not everyone is as lucky as you.”

  “Granted, luck might be a part of it, but that’s not all.”

  Rebecca cast a quick glance over to Father Reynolds who was clearly scared, trying his best to blend in with the furniture. She suppressed the impulse to shake her head. No point in asking herself how she’d managed to get into the middle of this—that part couldn’t be taken back. She had to find a way to make it out. “Why don’t we talk about this? I thought Amber and Father Langdon had found you a place. What happened?”

  “There is no place for me. None, I tried. I tried everything, and this is what I got.”

  There was no help forthcoming from the minister. Rebecca felt her fear turn to anger, against him, Andy, and everyone who had played a part in making the woman believe what she was, what they both were, should be a death sentence.

  “You might have gotten some things wrong, but I believe you wanted to help people. Even Maggie.” It was through gritted teeth that Rebecca said it, but still. “It’s not your fault you were made to believe something that is irrational and harmful.”

  Andy regarded her for a long time, enough for Rebecca to make some startling observations. She was surprisingly calm, as if she had given this a lot of thought. No tears.

  “I didn’t want to help you. I wanted you.”

  The disgusted expression on Reynolds’ face made Rebecca want to punch him. If the situation hadn’t been as serious as it was, she might have.

  “Don’t,” she warned him. “You put her up to all this. Why are you even surprised?”

  “I didn’t tell her to get a gun,” he returned, irritated.

  “Maybe not, but you—” Rebecca didn’t finish her sentence, as it seemed pointless.

  “No one even listens to me, ever,” Andy said sadly. “Same old.” The resignation in her voice was chilling.

  “That’s not true. I’m listening, right now, and I heard what you said. You know that I am with someone.”

  Andy might be past tears, but the thought of Callie, at this moment, made it hard for Rebecca to remain calm and understanding in the face of this tragedy about to unfold.

  “I’m not saying it’s easy, because it’s not. People will judge you, and they will be nasty about it, but I did find love, and you can too.”

  “Where?” Andy shook her head. “Has anybody ever been with you for what they called a pity fuck?”

  Rebecca cringed, but it was with some satisfaction that she noticed Reynolds did too.

  “I didn’t think so. Pity. That’s the best anyone can do for me. You…and even Callie.”

  Don’t you dare assume you know anything about Callie.

  “That’s not true. I’d like you to hear me out, Andy. I’ll talk to you like you asked, but I’d feel better if you put that gun aside. We’ll find a solution. I promise.”

  “What solution can there ever be?” Andy asked. “You know what’s the perverse thing about this? I know it doesn’t work. I’ve always known, and that was fine with me as long I could live my dirty little double life. Hang out with other women who were like me, bland and unhappy and grateful for a little adventure. I thought you were like that. I relied on you being like that when I first walked into your house for my assignment.”

  “Assignment,” Rebecca repeated, dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe, still, that anyone would in all seriousness, come up with that kind of scheme, and find people to work it for them.

  “You’re not hiding. You don’t hang out in bars on the weekend hoping to find someone who will tell you that you’re not a complete failure, no matter if it’s a lie. Instead, you live with her for all the world you see, with your kids, pretending to be a normal family!”

  “That’s because we are. It’s not too late, Andy, can’t you see? You can have all that. You have to give it time!”

  “How much longer? I’ve been waiting since the day my father beat the crap out of me for kissing a girl when I was seventeen. How much longer do you think it will take?”

  “I don’t know.” Somewhere in her heart Rebecca had always guessed and feared that Andy might have a story like this, after what Mona and Callie had said. It didn’t make right anything that Andy had done as an adult, intentionally manipulating the people around her. The fact did explain a lot though. “I don’t know, but I don’t think they should win, have the last word on this. You should live, prove them wrong.”

  “I don’t know how!”

  That, Rebecca couldn’t blame her for. Eventually, David had come around her family and friends had supported her—some right away, some after a period of adjustment. She didn’t know what she would have done otherwise. Callie’s friends and family had been welcoming, though Rebecca remembered well when Asha had viewed her with suspicion.

  “There is someone who can help you. A real therapist, not someone who feeds you the same old lies.”

  “This is inappropriate, Mrs. Lowman. You know very well that—”

  “Don’t start,” Rebecca cut him off. “The kind of help you thought I needed? I can see what it’s doing to people, and I’m sure Andy is not the first.”

  “Oh, so you’re an expert on the subject?” Fear might guide him at this moment, but between the lines Rebecca could detect something she had known was there—a meanness, dressed up in fake concern. “I can show you many examples of people who were able to turn around and adopt a healthy and normal lifestyle. Don’t blame the kindness of people who want to help them for a few who are resisting and too unstable to respond to the hand reaching out to them!”

  “Don’t listen to him. There’s nothing kind about forcing someone to go against the way God made them.” Rebecca could have sworn Father Reynolds scoffed at her words. “They took enough from you. Please, don’t let them take your life too.”

  Slowly, Andy shook her head, lifting the gun once more.

  “No. Don’t do this. You can come back to the group. I’m sure everyone will be a lot more understanding when they know what you were up against. Andy—no!”

  The expected sound never came. Andy stared at the weapon in bewilderment.

  This might be the moment to convince her, be it a coincidence or a sign, some sort of divine intervention.
As it was, Rebecca felt immobile, body and mind, utterly helpless. There were no more words.

  * * * *

  The prospect of getting married in a matter of months had been wondrous when it was a shared plan just between her and Rebecca. Now that she’d shared it with someone else, Callie felt even more excited, her mind filled with a number of questions that had instantly become relevant.

  What to wear? She would love to wear a white dress. It would be her first wedding after all. It wasn’t for Rebecca, and she might feel different about it. Callie paused briefly on the mental image of Rebecca wearing a tux. “Now that’s hot,” she said to herself, her words seeming to echo unnaturally in the silence of the house. She had left Sean to his own devices for a couple of hours. They’d agreed on Spanish for the night, a restaurant right across from his hotel.

  Callie had come home to relieve her conscience and do a bit of work on her book, but she was distracted for several reasons: the wedding preparation which weren’t that urgent yet, but something to consider—and Rebecca’s continued absence. What could Father Reynolds possibly want from her, something that would even convince him to drop his stance on her family coming to service? Like Callie, Rebecca had come to the conclusion that it was best to stay away from the likes of him and Andy. Why would she change her mind—and what was taking them so long?

  Callie stared at the Google window with the words “lesbian wedding” typed into the search box, admitting to the fact that she wasn’t getting any work done.

  Another call to Rebecca went to voicemail. Callie decided she was going to check on her, probably embarrass herself for being overprotective, but then again, she’d seen Father Reynolds’ little schemes at work. Ruefully, she thought that she should have gone with Rebecca in the first place.

  * * * *

  “I can’t do anything right!”

  “That’s not true. This is for a reason,” Rebecca insisted, desperate to make sense of what happened, for Andy, for herself.

  The moment he realized the gun wasn’t loaded, Father Reynolds left the room without a word. Rebecca hoped he’d at least have the decency to call an ambulance, and she could go home. Distantly, she remembered the plans to go out with the girls and Callie’s brother tonight. She needed to shower and change. She needed to be home. “Let someone help you, someone who knows what they are doing.”