Finally releasing her, Tunney sat down to breakfast. He tucked into his plate of bacon and eggs while she sipped her coffee.
“How come you never married?”
“I almost did. About five years ago.”
“What happened?”
“She left me two days before the wedding…ran off with her acting coach. He promised he’d make her a star.”
“Did he? Were you about to marry Angelina Jolie?”
“No. Susan Fitch. Never heard of her, have you? I guess he didn’t make good on his promise.” He buttered a piece of toast.
“But it’s been five years.”
“Yup.”
“No one special in five years?”
“I’ve dated, but mostly been too busy, building up my dad’s business, to get involved. The business grew to ten times the original size and provided the money to make Mom’s last few years great. Definitely worth it.”
“Can’t you still work and meet someone?”
“I guess. But you were living in New York…and married,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
“Hmm. Married…” she said, looking down.
“Don’t you have something you want to tell me, Kit?” he asked, pushing his empty plate away, picking up his coffee, looking hard at her.
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“Yes you do.”
She looked at him quizzically.
“Come on…no phone calls, no text messages…a closet full of men’s clothes in different
sizes…” He lounged back in his chair.
“Well…I…”
“Come on, Kit. Confess.”
This wasn’t how Kit envisioned their first morning together.
“Okay…I’m not married.” She plucked at the hem of her nightie.
“Knew it.”
“You did?”
“Yes…I suspected for a while. But as I was putting in the new pane of glass in the parlor window, the wind blew papers off your desk. When I put them back, I saw the divorce decree.”
“You did? Why didn’t you say anything?” she said, anger flashing in her eyes.
“I was waiting for you to tell me.”
“You’ve known for two weeks now…you let me continue with this charade?”
“Yes…and you did. Why? Why did you lie to me?”
“Because…because I was afraid. I didn’t want to have to deal with men coming on to me.
So when I met you at Bon Appetit, I lied so I wouldn’t have to deal with your interest in me.”
“But what about after? Why didn’t you tell me then?”
“You were a stranger when I told you I was married. But then you became… became…more…I’d lied to you. I didn’t know what you’d think. Every week the lie seemed to grow…I couldn’t stop. When I bought the clothes, everything got out of hand. I couldn’t face you. I thought you’d hate me.” Blinking hard didn’t keep the tears from spilling onto her cheeks. She wiped them away with her hand.
“In the beginning, I get it. But you know me pretty well by now.”
“I was wrong not to tell you. But why did you let me continue driving myself crazy figuring out how to keep this going when you knew all along? Why didn’t you confront me?”
“I thought you had some reason to keep it going, some reason to hide from me behind a bogus marriage.”
“My husband destroyed my life. I was afraid to trust…anyone. The truth is...I got dumped. Dumped after twelve years of marriage…left with no job, no apartment, no life,” Kit said, tears cascading down her face.
“But now you do have a life. And me,” he said, wiping her tears with his hand.
“Did I? Once you thought I was married, you put up a wall between us.”
“I don’t sleep with married women.”
“Of course, by last night you knew already.”
“I found out just as I was making plans to have my men finish the renovation. I couldn’t continue to be around you anymore and keep my distance.”
“You were going to leave me, too?” she asked, her voice shaking.
Tunney pulled her onto his lap.
“I had to. As long as you were married, there was no hope for me. But after I found out you weren’t married; I waited two weeks for you to tell me. When you didn’t, I almost gave up, figuring you weren’t interested in me since you were still using the phony marriage to keep me at arm’s length.”
“What happened to change your mind?”
“Yesterday, the way you were looking at me…I thought maybe you wanted me…not as much as I wanted you, but enough. So I took a chance and kissed you. You didn’t push me away, you got closer…you responded. Then I knew you could be mine.”
“The farce about the wedding ring...”
“I had to do something, since you still wouldn’t tell me. I couldn’t walk away any more, my resistance broke.”
The doorbell rang. The chimney sweep had arrived.
“I’ll get it. You might give Bruno a heart attack. “He pointed to her nightie.
Tunney took the man upstairs. When he returned, Kit had the kitchen cleaned up. She sipped the last of her coffee watching birds at the bird feeder. Tunney came up behind her, wound his arms around her waist and pulled her up against him.
“Are there any more secrets you want to tell me…like your father has three heads or you’re really an axe murderer?”
She shook her head.
“Good. You got dumped. I got dumped. All in the past. Now we have each other. One thing…”
“What?”
“No more secrets. No lies. Total truth…all the time,” he said.
“Total truth, I swear,” she replied, standing on tiptoe to give him a kiss.
Chapter Fifteen
Thanksgiving loomed ahead, only one week away. Kit made a list of the remaining projects. Tunney transferred her list to a calendar, parceling out tasks to be completed each day to finish most of the renovation by the time Zoe arrived. He abandoned his business for the week so he could spend every waking moment with Kit getting the house ready.
“I love a woman who makes lists,” he said, putting the final touches on the calendar.
“Do you? I love to make lists.”
“A match made in heaven,” he said, spreading a plastic drop cloth in the living room. When he finished the plastering, she painted. On big stretches of flat wall, he applied blue tape, she painted. On complicated moldings, she applied blue tape, he painted. Kit got paint in her hair, on her arms, on and under her fingernails, even on her toenails.
After every paint job they raced to see who got first crack at the shower. The third time Kit lost the race to Tunney; she barged into the bathroom anyway.
“I’m coming in,” she said, shedding her clothes then opening the shower curtain.
“I got here first!”
“I know but I’ve got paint drying in my hair! I’ll let you scrub the paint off my chest, if you share the shower…” she said, sticking her head under the spray.
“An offer I can’t refuse.”
“That’s what I thought.” Her eyes twinkled.
He pulled her closer to him to kiss her under the sprinkling water. She put her arms around his neck and returned his ardor.
“It could take a long time to get clean with both of us in here,” he whispered, tightening his grip on her then sliding his hands down her back to her bottom.
“I’m in no hurry,” she said, turning her chin up for his kiss.
Night after night they fell into bed exhausted, but never too tired to make love. Kit woke up happy to find him sleeping beside her. Early morning hugs were shared. She opened her eyes, then disappeared into his warm embrace before the alarm went off.
With a mug of coffee in her hand, she turned on her computer.
Hey, Sarah –
The house is coming along. I can’t wait for you to see it.
Kit
Hey, Kit –
How are things with the
new man in your life?
Sarah –
Renovation of my life is moving faster than the renovation of the house! LOL.
In two days, all the remaining cracks in the living room and dining room were repaired. They painted the living room a soft gray. By Friday they had painted all the rooms downstairs except the parlor. Zoe’s room became dark gray, and the master bedroom—now Kit’s room—a light turquoise blue with white trim.
On Friday morning, Kit wiped her hands on her smock to pick up her phone. With spackle knife in hand, Tunney finished plaster work in the parlor. When she hung up, she danced.
“Did you just win the lottery?”
“Almost. I sold my apartment!”
“Congratulations,” he said.
“Some sucker bought the place even with the tenants…for my asking price.”
“Why is this guy a sucker?”
“Because he didn’t even make a counter offer. I would’ve accepted less. How did you know the buyer was a guy?”
“Just a lucky guess.” Sweat broke out on his forehead.
“Now I have the money to buy this place,” she said, hugging him.
“I think the price just went up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars…” he said, a smile teasing the corner of his mouth.
“I don’t think so! You told me two twenty…that’s what you’re going to get, Mr. Nichols,” she said, shaking her finger in his face in mock anger.
“I guess I should break out the lavender paint?”
“I want to get the dining room re-painted before Zoe gets here. Where’s the blue tape?”
Tossing her the roll, he said, “Speaking of Zoe. What are you going to tell her about us?”
“I’m going to tell her you are my boyfriend.”
“What about sleeping arrangements?” He followed her into the dining room.
“Maybe you should spend nights at your house—”
“What happened to the pledge to tell the truth?”
“Isn’t there a difference between truth and privacy?” She unrolled some blue tape, applying it to the wood trim hugging the archway.
“Privacy means keeping our door shut, not lying about our relationship.”
“She’s only eleven. With things the way they are…with her spending Christmas with her father…what if I lose custody because you’re sleeping here? I don’t know the rules of parenthood after divorce yet.”
“Point taken. Okay. I’ll go home over the holiday.”
“I’ll miss you.” She ripped off a piece of tape before turning to face him.
“Me, too,” he said, kissing her neck.
After cleaning up the dining room, they stood for a moment to look over their work. While all the old furniture had not yet been replaced, several pieces had been cleaned or recovered. Fresh coats of paint, like brand-new dresses, made the rooms look fresh and beautiful. Though the wood floors in the downstairs still needed refinishing, the house resembled a home again.
“I want to get the biggest Christmas tree possible.”
“A bit early?” He scratched the stubble on his face.
“Zoe can decorate now, since she won’t be here later.” Kit sucked on her lower lip.
“Some of my family’s Christmas decorations are in boxes upstairs. Come on.”
He stood up extending his hand to her. They took coffee to the third floor to go through boxes. They uncovered antique and homemade tree ornaments as well as odds and ends for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Tunney dusted off electric candles to put in the windows.
“Can we use these? I know they’re yours,” Kit said.
“Of course. These bring back memories.” Tunney wrapped his fingers around an old wooden Santa Claus ornament his dad made for him when he was young.
“Happy memories?”
He nodded.
“My mother went all out for holidays. Holidays kept her going when my dad went MIA.”
“Let’s use the Thanksgiving decorations now.” She pushed to her feet, gathering two porcelain turkeys plus a tiny wicker basket containing handmade wooden fruit into her arms.
They cleaned and placed Thanksgiving turkeys, cornucopias plus other harvest symbols around the house. Then they tackled cleaning and sorting the Christmas decorations. He made a list of what they had while Kit made a list of what they needed. She put one electric candle in the living room window as a tribute to Mary and Dan’s love.
The day passed quickly. Tunney bought a seven foot Christmas tree then set it up while she went to pick up her daughter. When they returned, Zoe saw the giant tree in the living room window.
“A Christmas tree, already?”
“So you can decorate.”
Zoe’s eyes lit up.
“Thanks.”
Kit hugged her daughter. Arm-in-arm they climbed the front steps.
Inside, Tunney plugged together string after string of tree lights.
“Hi, Tunney.” Zoe put her small suitcase down by the stairway.
“Welcome to Christmas at Thanksgiving, Zoe.” He made a little bow.
“What a huge tree!”
“Your mom wanted the biggest tree we could get in the living room.”
Zoe sniffed the air. The musty old house odor she detected on her first visit had been replaced. Now there was only the fresh scent of pine mixed with the lingering aroma of fresh paint and gingerbread cookies Kit baked earlier. It smelled like a home. Kit smiled to see Tunney had a fire going in the living room fireplace.
“Did you fix my room?”
“Take a look,” she said.
Zoe took her suitcase and ran upstairs.
“The tree is perfect,” Kit said, kissing him.
“Might take us three days to decorate this monster,” he said, pulling her close for another kiss as Zoe came down the stairs.
“He is your boyfriend, Mom, I called it.”
She pushed away from him, her cheeks burning.
“How do you like your room?” Kit hung her coat in the vestibule closet.
“The gray is definitely better than pink.”
“Zoe, want to help me with these lights?” he asked.
“Sure. Are you sleeping with my mother?”
He dropped the string of lights he held and whispered a curse word. “Ask her.”
“Mom, are you?” Zoe brushed her long hair back from her shoulder.
“Zoe! What a personal question!”
“So?”
A lie formed quickly on the tip of her tongue until Tunney stared at her. She had pledged to tell the truth.
“Yes,” she said, turning away from them, heading into the kitchen to cover her embarrassment.
He handed Zoe three boxes of lights.
“Here, unpack these…let your mother breathe a little, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, taking the boxes.
Zoe and Tunney added all the lights to the tree before dinner. When Kit entered to call them in for the evening meal, her breath caught at the sight of the mammoth tree full of blinking lights.
“Beautiful job,” she said. “Dinner’s ready.”
She held her breath as they entered the lavender dining room. In the center of the big table, a place of honor, sat Zoe’s favorite cauliflower and cheese casserole.
“Wow! Lavender walls. Cool, Mom. The house looks great.”
“Thank you. We worked hard to get this far before you came.”
Kit glanced at Tunney before expelling a long breath.
“How about decorating the tree after dinner?”
“Okay.”
After dinner, he moved boxes of old Christmas decorations into the living room while Kit dragged out a few bags from the closet. She put Christmas music on the CD player, and set out gingerbread cookies on a plate.
It almost felt like old times…only better. In the past, Johnny had worked at night and slept during the day, so every year, only Kit and her daughter decorated the tree. This year she had Tunney too.
Maybe Johnn
y was right, maybe our marriage had grown empty. We rarely spent time together. Tunney’s presence appeared to be the missing piece in the puzzle for her new life.
Sex had been Johnny waking her up at four o’clock when he got home. There hadn’t been much time for foreplay. Often she’d be half asleep. Sometimes unable to get back to sleep afterward, she’d arrive at work dead on her feet. Satisfaction always seemed just out of reach.
Zoe wanted to stay up late to watch TV.
“So, am I staying, since she knows about us?” he whispered to Kit, slipping his arm around her waist.
“No reason to pretend now.”
“Excellent. Let’s go then.” He planted a light kiss on her neck.
“But Zoe is still up.” She locked the front door.
“She’s not a baby. She’s not going to set the house on fire. It’s vacation for her, but I have to work tomorrow. I’m not going without you.”
“Sweetheart, do you mind if we turn in? We’re tired. Tunney has to work tomorrow.” Kit popped her head into the parlor where the TV was set up.
“No problem.” Zoe gave a half wave.
“Good night, dear.”
“’Night Mom.”
“Good night, Zoe.”
“Good night, Tunney.”
They shut their door then got undressed and into bed.
“Would you rather just sleep tonight?” he asked, pulling her up against his chest.
“I think…uh…yes.”
He wrapped himself around her, resting his hand on her breast. They fell asleep.
In the morning, he got up early, showered, shaved, then dressed in a suit and tie. Kit awoke in time to have coffee with him. She wore the black nightie with the red bows.
“Do you have to come down here wearing that, as I’m about to leave?”
“I can’t very well come down here naked…”
“Naked wouldn’t let me get out of here either.” He pulled her into his arms for a long kiss.
“You look very handsome, all dressed up.”
“I’m not always Tunney the handyman.”
“I like you like this, the successful businessman. You’re very sexy.”
“Your timing is lousy. Now if you’d said those words to me before I put on my suit…”
Now and Forever 4, The Renovated Heart Page 13