by Ann McMan
“Él quiere ayudarle.” The mother smiled at the little boy, who looked up at David and nodded shyly. She met David’s eyes. “Gracias . . . thank you.”
David smiled back and then slid onto the floor to sit next to the child. They worked the puzzle together quietly. The only sound in the small waiting room was the tick of the long second hand on the wall clock, and the occasional shuffle of paper as Peggy continued to manipulate her patient folders.
WHEN MADDIE RETURNED to the waiting room with Héctor, she explained to his mother that he was in the early stages of developing a strep infection. She had given him an antibiotic shot, and said that he should be feeling better within twenty-four hours. She knelt next to the little boy and pulled a cherry lollipop out of her lab coat pocket.
“Fuiste muy valiente.” She smiled at him.
Héctor took the treat and nodded. Then he stepped forward to hug her before retreating quickly to stand next his mother. Maddie pulled a second lollipop out of her pocket and extended it to his brother, who still sat quietly on the floor beside David.
“¿Quieres uno también?” she asked as she extended it. The little boy took it eagerly.
She stood and addressed his mother, explaining that she should call her at once if she or any of the other members of her family developed a sore throat or began running a fever. She handed her a white bag containing throat lozenges and analgesics for Héctor.
The woman took the bag and held onto Maddie’s hand for a moment. “Gracias, Doctor. Bless you.” She looked down at her son. “Gabriel, escoge un juguete.”
David helped him collect the puzzle pieces and stow them into a battered box. Gabriel placed it into his mother’s canvas bag while she helped Héctor into a coat that was sizes too large for him. She made eye contact with David as he discreetly slipped the Subway sandwiches into her large bag. They stared at each other for a moment, and then she smiled shyly and nodded.
David and Maddie stood together as the small family left the clinic. He nudged her playfully.
“A-hem.” He cleared his throat.
Maddie looked at him. “What?”
“What am I, chopped liver? Where’s my lollipop?”
Maddie rolled her eyes. “After your lunch, and then only if you eat all of your sandwich.” She looked him over. “You know the rules.”
“Yeah, well . . . about lunch,” David demurred. “Fancy a couple of hot dogs from Freemantle’s market?”
“What? Why would we . . . ?” She glanced down at the empty bench behind them and looked at him with unbridled affection. “C’mon, I’ll drive.”
MADDIE AND DAVID sat with their hot dogs and bottles of water at one of several small tables scattered along the back wall of Freemantle’s mini-mart. The business was primarily a service station, but in recent years, Curtis and Edna had started serving hot sandwiches and pizza by the slice. The hot dogs were surprisingly good, and even though she normally shied away from any kind of fast food, Maddie would often make an exception on busy clinic days and drop by the market for a quick bite to eat.
David shoved his open bag of Cheetos across the chipped Formica tabletop. “Eat some of these. I refuse to be the only person at this table with orange fingernails.” He licked his fingertips. “C’mon . . . they’re the crunchy ones.”
Maddie shook her head. “Forget it. Those things are disgusting. I can’t believe you eat crap like that.” She took a bite of her hot dog.
David nodded at Maddie. “This from a woman with a mouth full of meat by-product?”
Maddie swallowed. “You don’t really think you can toss out a phrase like ‘mouth full of meat by-product’ and think I’m going to let it slide, do you?”
“Oh, I tremble before your rapier wit.” He gave the bag another shove in her direction. “Come on. I know you hoard junk food at home. I’ve seen the empty Ambien bottles in your trash.”
“You’re nuts, David.”
He held up a crusty, twisted Cheeto. “You know you want it . . .”
She growled at him.
“It’s the perfect remedy for sexual frustration.”
Maddie rolled her eyes and snatched the blaze-orange treat from between his fingers. “I hate you,” she muttered as she popped the fried morsel into her mouth.
He chuckled. “So tell me all about your tête à tête with the lovely Ms. Murphy on Sunday after the opening.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “What makes you think we spent time together after the opening?”
“Puh-lease. My mamma didn’t raise no imbecile.” He regarded her with an amused expression. “You looked like a deer in the headlights when she walked up behind us.” He paused. “It was really pretty sweet. I haven’t seen an expression like that on your face since the third grade, when you had that crush on Mavis Blankenship.”
Maddie looked at him with calm indifference. “I refuse to share any details with you.”
“Well now, that’s a pointless exercise. You know I can make you talk.”
Maddie sat back and crossed her arms. “Oh, really? What are you gonna do if I refuse? Hold me down and make me listen to your Judy Garland albums?”
“Maybe.”
Maddie shook her head. “God. Mavis.” She looked at him with wonder. “How do you come up with this stuff?”
David looked over her shoulder toward the front of the market. “Hold that thought. I think the future Mrs. Stevenson is headed our way.”
Maddie twisted around on her plastic chair to see a smiling Syd headed toward their table. She was wearing faded blue jeans and a dark burgundy sweater. Her short, blonde hair shimmered under the fluorescent lights.
Maddie let out a slow breath. Somebody up there hates me.
David got to his feet as Syd approached, and Maddie belatedly followed suit. Syd was carrying a container of yogurt and a large package of batteries.
David pulled her into a hug. “Yogurt and batteries? I read about this diet in O Magazine. They said that David Hasselhoff lost eighty pounds in two days.”
Syd laughed and turned to Maddie. They hesitated for only a moment before leaning in and exchanging quick pecks on the cheek.
“I didn’t know you ate here,” Syd said to Maddie. “I’m surprised I haven’t run into you before now. I probably come in here four or five times a week.”
So will I, from now on. Maddie gave her a guilty shrug. “I have a hidden passion for junk food.”
Syd smiled as she brushed orange Cheeto dust off the lapel of Maddie’s lightweight leather jacket. “Apparently.”
“That isn’t the only passion she keeps hidden,” David added in an undertone, winking at Syd.
Maddie glowered at him. “Whoa there, Miss ‘Let’s put on a prom gown and go eat at Waffle House.’ I really don’t think you want to go down this road.” She lifted her chin in challenge. “Do you?”
He threw up his hands. “Okay, okay. Truce.” He touched Syd on the elbow. “Sit down with us.” He gestured at her yogurt. “Are you going to eat that?”
She looked down at the small container. “I was, but I don’t want to intrude on your lunch. I really just ran in to pick up the batteries. I have to stash some boxes in the crawl space and my flashlight’s D.O.A.”
Maddie pulled another chair over to their small table. “Well, sit with us for few minutes. I have to be back at the clinic soon, anyway. We were just grabbing a quick bite.”
Syd put her items down on the table. “Okay, but let me go and get some water.”
“No, no. I’ve got that. You sit down.” David jumped to his feet and trotted down an aisle.
Maddie and Syd sat down and faced each other.
“So, how’s your day going?” Syd asked.
“Pretty typical. But I just saw my third case of strep throat in as many days. Be sure to wash your hands a lot at work.”
“Yes, Doctor.” Syd reached for a Cheeto. “May I?”
“Oh, I insist. David was just trying to browbeat me into eating them by explain
ing that they’re a great cure for sexual frustration.” Jesus . . . why did I just say that?
Syd paused mid-chew. “Really? I wonder if I can get a case discount?”
Maddie looked at her with surprise before bursting into laughter. “Wanna go halves on a skid?”
Syd’s green eyes twinkled. “Maybe strep isn’t the only malady making the rounds up here.”
David returned with Syd’s bottle of water. He also gave her a cellophane-wrapped package of Oreos. “Sweets for the sweet.” He fixed Maddie with a level gaze. “I thought about picking up something for you, too, but ‘doughnuts for the dour’ was too lame an alliteration, even for me.”
Maddie smiled sweetly. “I appreciate your condescension.”
“So, Syd,” David began. “You’ll never guess who just booked one of our best rooms for three nights over Thanksgiving weekend.”
Syd looked amused. “Oh, I just bet I can. George and Janet Murphy of the Towson Murphys?”
He nodded. “That would be correct. Thanks for the sterling recommendation. But I think you might have gone a bit overboard with your praise. Your mother seems to think she’s going to be staying at a Helmsley Hotel.”
Maddie snorted. “Oh, you can pull that off, David. Just wear the taffeta.”
David gave her a withering look. “Don’t you have some kidney stones to pulverize? We’re having a conversation here.”
Syd smiled as she opened her container of yogurt. “Well, be forewarned. My mother makes Mr. Clean tremble.”
“Interesting.” David snagged another Cheeto. “Well, since Michael emerged from the womb waving a bottle of Windex and a Scotch Brite pad, I’d say she’s about to meet her match.”
Syd laughed. “Still, I think I’ll hedge my bet and go ahead and apologize in advance. I confess that I’m surprised they’re making the trip. I wonder if my erstwhile ex doesn’t have a sticky hand in this.” She looked at David. “My soon-to-be ex-husband made an unannounced visit on Sunday night. I think he’s angling for a reconciliation.”
Maddie gave her a startled look. “You do? What makes you think so?”
Syd sighed. “He called me last night and said as much. It was no accident that my mother called about thirty minutes later to tell me they’d made reservations at the Inn for Thanksgiving.”
David leaned forward on his elbows. “Good lord. What are your thoughts about all of this?”
“I don’t know.” Syd lowered her eyes as she rotated her plastic spoon around. “I told Jeff I’d meet him for dinner tomorrow night—hear what he has to say.” She looked up and met Maddie’s concerned eyes. “I can’t deny that reconciliation would make a lot of things less complicated for me, but I’m still not certain that I trust him.”
Maddie didn’t fully trust herself to speak. She wanted to be supportive, but right now, she wasn’t sure what form that should take. Should she encourage Syd to give Jeff a fair hearing, or should she fall to her knees and plead with her to roar ahead with the divorce? She was in a ridiculous place—a place she had no business inhabiting. The confusing web of her own emotions was beginning to immobilize her and cloud her judgment. She glanced at David, and saw that his eyes were fixed on her with interest.
She turned to Syd. “Maybe it’s best that you do meet with him—try to get greater clarity,” she said with a calm she didn’t feel. “You don’t want to make a mistake or do something that you might end up regretting.”
Syd looked at her with an expression that was hard to read. “You’re right. I don’t want to make a mistake.”
David sighed. “Well, it seems like there’s only one thing for you to do, then.”
They looked at him expectantly.
He threw his hands up. “Duh! Tell us where you’re meeting him so we can accidentally show up and eavesdrop.”
Maddie threw a Cheeto at him. “You seriously need to have your meds balanced.” She looked at her watch and sighed. “I feel like this is rotten timing but I have to get back to the clinic.” She touched Syd on the shoulder as she got to her feet. “Can I call you later?”
Syd smiled up at her. “That’d be great. I’ll be at the library until at least six, then you can find me at the apartment.”
David collected all of their trash and tossed it into a nearby receptacle. Syd retrieved her batteries and her small packet of cookies and walked with them to the front of the market. Edna Freemantle was behind the register, restocking a cigarette display. David went to greet her.
“Hello again, Edna. Great hot dogs.” He fished his wallet out of his back pocket. “Can I get a pack of Camels?”
“Sure thing.” Edna snagged a pack from her display and pushed them across the counter toward him. “That’ll be three-fifty.”
David pulled out three singles, and then looked expectantly at Maddie. “Got any change?”
She crossed her arms. “You’re kidding me with this, right? You don’t seriously expect me to collude with you in your pursuit of this vile habit?”
“Why not? You collude with me in the pursuit of most of my other vile habits.”
“Name one.”
“Okaaaayy.” He leaned against the counter and prepared to tick items off on his fingertips. “Number one: Cheetos—which we’ve already established. Number two: a fondness for videos starring a certain tall, leggy—”
“All right, already.” Maddie dug two quarters out of her jacket pocket and slapped them into his palm. “Don’t come crying to me when your lungs turn to charcoal.”
He smiled sweetly at her. “Oh, I promise.”
Edna shook her head at Syd as she took the money from David. “Just like peas in a pod. They’ve been this way since they were knee-high to a grasshopper.”
“Sans the cigarettes, of course,” Maddie drawled.
David pocketed his Camels. “Thanks, Edna, see you around.”
Edna smiled at the three of them. “Have a nice afternoon.”
They walked out into the parking lot.
David gave Syd a quick hug. “Keep it between the ditches, cutie pie. Michael will give you a call about food options for your folks. He’s all jazzed about cooking some kind of exotic goose concoction on Thanksgiving Day.”
Syd smiled into the wool of his blazer. “Thanks, I know it’ll be wonderful.” She stepped back. “See you soon.” She turned to Maddie. “Talk to you later on?”
Maddie smiled at her. “Count on it.”
Syd climbed into her Volvo, backed out, and waved goodbye as she pulled onto the main road and headed back toward the library.
“Well, I know one thing for sure,” David commented as they watched her car disappear around a bend.
“What’s that?”
“Hers isn’t the only goose that’s about to be cooked.” He turned to Maddie. His brown eyes were uncharacteristically serious. “Be careful, missy. Don’t get hurt.”
She thought about protesting, but it was pointless. He knew her better than she knew herself. “I don’t want to get hurt, and you can help me avoid it by giving up on these clumsy attempts to push the two of us together.” She laid her hand on his forearm. “Please.”
He covered her hand with his own and gave it a warm squeeze. “I always want what’s best for you. I’m just not sure yet what that is.”
“Well, I know what it’s not. And I don’t want to wade any further into this particular bed of quicksand.”
“For what it’s worth, I think she’s just as confused as you are.”
Maddie gave him a hopeless gaze.
David sighed. “So, I guess that means you’re not calling her later?”
Maddie shot him a withering look. “Let’s go. I’ve got an appointment in ten minutes.”
David chuckled as they climbed into her Jeep. “Thought so.”
SYD WAS GLAD that she hadn’t agreed to let Jeff pick her up at the library. He pressed for that, but she insisted that they meet at the restaurant. She chose McGinty’s, a locally owned pub in Wytheville. It was close
to the highway, and had a decent atmosphere and a good salad bar. When she arrived a few minutes before seven, she saw that Jeff’s dark red 4Runner was already in the parking lot. It was covered with mud and packed to the gills with gear—he rarely traveled light. She saw him waiting for her just inside the door.
He stepped forward as she approached and kissed her on the cheek.
“Thanks for doing this. I was afraid you’d back out.” He smiled as he took her elbow and guided her toward the hostess station. He was dressed in stylish outerwear, looking as if he had just stepped from the pages of a Territory Ahead catalog.
“I won’t pretend that I didn’t think about it,” she said. She had no reason to be less than honest with him.
He gave her a sorrowful look. “Well, that’s an auspicious beginning.”
“We’re way past beginnings, Jeff. You know that as well as I do.”
The hostess seated them at a booth near the bar area, and they sat for a moment in awkward silence as they contemplated their menus. Jeff ordered a draft Stella Artois, and Syd settled for a bottle of Pellegrino. She wanted to keep her wits about her, and she didn’t want to prolong the evening by lingering over drinks. Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” pounded away in the background, and she was tempted to smile at the irony. Their waitress brought the beverages and hovered by their table for a moment as Jeff made small talk with her. She was a perky, twenty-something named Randi. In short order, Jeff learned that she was a sophomore at nearby Radford University, majoring in Speech Communication.
Right now, she was having no problems communicating with Jeff.
When she left their table to return to the bar, Syd watched Jeff’s eyes as they discreetly moved up and down her retreating back.
She sighed. “Isn’t she a little young—even for you?”
He looked at her with surprise. “What do you mean?” He slapped his menu down on the table in exasperation. “Give me some credit, Syd. I was just being friendly.” He picked up his frosted pilsner glass and took a healthy sip of beer. Syd noticed that he wasn’t wearing his wedding band.