Using his drink container, Barry gestured at her shirt. “Catch the game yesterday?”
“Not until I got home last night at seven. I don’t know how I managed to get through the day without hearing anything about it, but I’m so glad I went into that third quarter completely ignorant of just what excitement awaited me.” She took another bite and washed it down with coffee. “I imagined you couldn’t even sit down.”
“I had to pay for my room for Sunday night, too, so that I could stay and watch the game. Worth every single dime.” Barry shook his head while he grinned. “It was crazy. I thought they’d kick me out of the hotel. I kept screaming at the television.”
“It’s really turning out to be a great season.”
Barry took another long pull of the drink then put the lid back on and tossed it in his bag. He picked up his own bagel and ripped it in half, then bit into it and gestured with the remaining piece. “Hey. You want to go to the game with me this Sunday?”
Maxine raised an eyebrow and ran her tongue over her teeth. It took her about a second and a half to grin and agree. “Heck yeah, I want to go.”
“Great.” He glanced at the massive watch that he sported on his left wrist. Maxine couldn’t help noticing that it didn’t look too massive on his arm. It would swamp most men. “I have to go. I have to be at the courthouse at eight-thirty. I’ll be outside the gym at six Wednesday morning if that works for you.”
Maxine raised an eyebrow. “You will?”
“Of course.” Barry stood with a grace a man his size shouldn’t have. “You didn’t think today was it, did you?”
She’d hoped not but didn’t dare ask. “I didn’t think about it, honestly.”
His face became very intense as he put both of his massive hands on the little round table and leaned forward. “We just breached the bare surface. There are so many things that you could do that you don’t, that you should do that you don’t know about. First of all, start eating right today. Maxine, diet is 90 percent of the whole thing. If you’re serious about wanting to get fit and healthy…”
Maxine nodded and interrupted. “Of course I’m serious.”
Barry straightened and pulled a ski cap out of the pocket of his pants. “Then I’ll see you at six on Wednesday.” He slung the bag over his shoulder and started to leave the bakery but paused and turned around. “Thank you.” With eyes turning very serious and very somber, he said it again. “Thank you for Thursday. I needed that.”
Maxi tilted her head and gave a slight nod. “Glad I could help.”
He paused for a long time, two heartbeats, then three, before pushing open the door and walking away. The bell on the door jingled as it shut behind him, sending a draft of cold air toward Maxine’s table. She couldn’t take a sip of her coffee until she quit smiling the ridiculous smile that had somehow taken occupancy on her lips, but she just honestly couldn’t help it.
CHAPTER 6
A hard rock “hair band” from several decades earlier beat a frantic rhythm and exclaimed that it had been a long time since they’d rocked and rolled while Maxine played with the background color of the template she had designed on her computer. She lifted a finger to adjust the earbud of her MP3 player while she clicked between a violet and a blue-violet, trying to decide the best interior wall colors for a set for a bedroom furniture commercial that would shoot next month. The white headboard and bedding would really pop in front of purple walls.
She’d used the MP3 player since she’d worked in a cubicle as an intern and needed to isolate herself from the world. For the last year, she’d worked from the privacy of her own office complete with the services of a secretary she shared with three other associates. Even though she could shut the door and play music at a somewhat reasonable level, the habit of total isolation had long been established and she found she worked better with it.
As she reviewed her notes to make sure she had incorporated all of the elements in the original design, the song ended. Before the next one could shuffle forward, her door opened. Maxine popped the earbuds out of her ears before her rather eclectic secretary could wave her bejeweled arms to get her attention.
“Mike Robison is on six,” she said, as the sound of a dozen bracelets clinking together preceded her handing Maxine a stack of messages. “You said to flag you when he called. And your meeting with the design department for that,” she gestured to the computer, “has been pushed back an hour. The director is tied up somewhere else.”
“Thanks, Julie.” As her secretary turned to go, Maxine called her back. “Hey, Julie. Violet or blue violet?” she asked, pointing to the computer monitors on the credenza behind her.
Julie raised a hand to her bangs. “My hair? It’s more like an eggplant, don’t you think?”
With a chuckle, Maxine shook her head. “I like the eggplant. It works well. I’m talking about the walls of the bedroom.”
Julie walked around the side of the desk to peer closer at the monitors. “I’m not seeing a difference,” she said when she straightened.
Maxine laughed as she picked up the phone and hit the flashing light for line six. “No biggie. Thanks.”
“Sure.” With a swoosh of her long fuchsia skirts, Julie left the room.
“Mike,” Maxine said, “thanks for calling me back.”
She could hear the sound of the police station in the background of the phone. “Sure,” he said. “We still on for tonight?”
Opening her desk drawer, she drew out a new pack of raw almonds, recommended by Barry’s book as an in-between meals snack, and used her letter opener to break the seal on the package. “That’s why I called. I have to cancel.”
“Why?”
The incredulous tone had her frowning. She grabbed a handful of nuts and piled them on her desk before putting the package back in her drawer. “Something else came up.”
“What could possibly come up instead of Monday night football at O-Leary’s pub?”
Absolutely nothing could possibly come up. Even the atmosphere at O’Leary’s didn’t appeal to her if she had to go with Mike. She hadn’t enjoyed spending time with him for the last few weeks, and decided that it was time to end it. After a few weeks, every man she’d ever dated wanted to take their relationship to the next level, to the physical level, and Maxine just didn’t do physical. Ever.
She found it best to just end it instead of trying to explain that, yes I like you, and thank you for dinner, but, no, I’m not going to hold your hand or kiss you good night or sleep with you and thank you for not touching me. Even thinking about a man’s touch made her stomach crawl and her blood run cold. The two times in her past when she’d actually tried to explain the why’s just didn’t go well, and were experiences she personally never wanted to relive.
Julie cracked open her office door and gestured at the phone, mouthing the word, “Robin,” and held up four fingers. Maxine closed her eyes and sighed. “I have to go, Mike. Have fun tonight.”
Without waiting for a response, she disconnected and hit the button for line four. “Hey.”
Little fingers of anticipation danced up her spine, tightening the muscles on her neck. She wondered if Robin was still really mad at her. “Hey. Can we have lunch?”
“Of course,” Maxine said in a rush, wishing she could read more into the tone. “Where?”
“Hank’s if you can make it out here. If not, tell me where to meet you.”
Closing her eyes and thanking God for the shift in the meeting with the set people, she agreed to meet at Hank’s in an hour. With Monday traffic, Maxine decided she probably needed to start heading in that direction. Her sister’s restaurant was well outside the city limits, closer to one of the colleges, and the spits of snow out there would make traffic beastly.
MAXINE tapped on the frosted glass of the door leading to Robin’s office. With Hank’s not open on Mondays, Robin would be in there doing whatever she did to manage one of the best family restaurants in the Boston area, if the food crit
ics could be believed.
Robin’s voice beckoned her inside. When she opened the door, she found her older sister standing by the tall bookshelf stretching her lower back, rubbing one hand over her incredibly pregnant belly. An open cardboard box lay at her feet, and a picture of her and Tony on their honeymoon in Italy lay on a piece of newspaper on the corner of her desk.
“Moving day?” Maxine asked.
“It is. Our new manager starts Wednesday. I needed to take a break from working on the computer and move around some.” She gestured at her desk. “Casey made us some hamburgers.”
“That’s awesome. I’m starving.” She couldn’t understand why she was so hungry since she’d been eating every two hours following Barry’s book, but the sight of the hamburger with melting Swiss cheese sitting on two sourdough buns made her mouth water and her stomach grumble with anticipation.
Robin met Tony when he bought Hank’s place back when she worked there as a bartender. He promoted her to manager when they pulled the bar out and added more seating. Maxine knew that Robin didn’t intend to work once the baby came.
Robin finished stretching and came forward the three steps to hug Maxine. As she released her and stepped back, Maxine put her hands on either side of her sister’s swelling stomach, leaning her face close enough that her nose touched it. “Hello little niece or nephew.” She smiled as she received a kick in the nose. “Hey, let’s sit. You can put your feet in my lap.”
Robin smiled as they took a seat at the desk. “I don’t need to put my feet up, but thank you.” She held her hand out and Maxine took it and bowed her head. Robin blessed the meal, thanking God for the food and for the relationship that only sisters could share.
Maxine felt the sting of tears in her throat when it was over. It wasn’t until she chewed and swallowed the first heavenly bite that she asked, “What did you want to talk about?”
Robin washed down her own bite of hamburger with a long pull of water before answering. “I want to start off by apologizing for getting so angry with you. That was wrong of me. Please forgive me.”
Maxine cocked an eyebrow. “Sure.”
Robin put a hand on the side of her stomach and shifted. “Secondly, I want to ask just what you’re doing.”
“I’m sharing lunch with my sister. What do you think I’m doing?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been a big fan of your closeness with Barry. He is …“ she paused and corrected herself, “… was married and you two spent an awful lot of time alone.”
Maxine felt some heat creep into her cheeks. “Alone while his wife was …”
“There’s no reason that one person’s wrong should justify another’s.”
“Barry and I were only friends. It never went further.”
“I understand that. But you just used past tense, and now that there isn’t a wife in the picture, will it stay that way?”
“How should I know the answer to that?” Maxine surged to her feet and grabbed an empty box. She snatched a picture frame off the desk and shoved it into the box.
“Maxi …”
A paperweight and a stress ball followed. “No. I’m not listening to anymore. I admire Barry’s ability to have worked at being faithful to that – that woman he was married to. I don’t know what will happen in my future or his future. I just know that he is one of my best friends and I have always enjoyed spending time with him. I realize that you’ve never understood my relationship with men and that you condemn it in your mind, but I can watch a football game with a widower and not end up like our mother!”
Robin’s eyes widened. “Is that what you think this is about?”
“What else is there?”
Robin teetered her way out of the chair and put a hand on her lower back. “Maxi, I’m concerned about you. Not because our mother was a drug addict who moved from dealer to pusher and hauled us with her. I’m concerned because Barry has been pulling away from God, and I’m worried about his anger right now.”
All of the steam left Maxine and her hands stilled. “His anger?”
“His anger. He’s spent weeks pushing everyone aside. He won’t even talk with Tony or pray with Tony about it. He is full of anger about Jacqueline’s pregnancy, his marriage, her death. I’m worried that he’s going to go through some all out rebellion and take you with him.” Her eyes filled with tears and she dashed them away with jerky movements.
Maxine rushed forward and took Robin’s hand. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Maxi, I know you believe in God. But I also know that you go to church to please me and Sarah. I know that. I know you don’t have the zest I have. But I also know that you will. One day, the Holy Spirit is going to knock you in the head with a two by four and you’ll not be able to deny it. But starting a relationship with a man who is so angry will pull you away from God.”
Maxine couldn’t fathom why Robin was so upset. It didn’t make sense to her. She put her hands on either side of Robin’s belly. “You have so much going on right now that worrying about whether I will start a relationship with Barry Anderson should be at the bottom of the list.” She pulled her close and hugged her. “I love you. And I so appreciate how much you love me. Did you know that?”
“I know you do.” She pulled back and looked deeply into Maxine’s eyes. “But, please. Keep this conversation in mind as you go forward from this day.”
To make Robin feel better, she smiled. “Of course.” Gesturing back to the desk, she said, “Let’s get that meal eaten. I’d hate to face Casey’s wrath if we sent back plates with just one bite out of each burger.”
“After work tonight, can you help me run an errand?”
“Sure.” Maxine sat back down in her chair and picked up her hamburger. “Where are we going?” She took a big bite of the delicious sandwich.
“I have a box of Bibles and hymnals I need to take to Craig at the prison. Tony usually goes with me, but he’s not free tonight, and they need them for a worship service Craig’s leading tomorrow.”
Craig Bartlett was Robin’s biological father who was currently serving the remainder of a 20 year sentence for a double homicide committed decades in the past. One of the lives he had taken had been their mother.
Maxine nodded and swallowed. “Glad to help,” she said.
Robin put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Thank you.”
CHAPTER 7
BARRY didn’t know what to expect when he walked into his offices after court on Monday afternoon. He felt a very real uncertainty about how people would treat him. Almost all of the staff had attended the funeral, and those who hadn’t attended had most certainly heard about his outburst by now. So if he felt a bit of trepidation as he stepped off the elevator, certainly some justification for that feeling existed.
The receptionist’s face flushed and she stammered as she bid him good afternoon. He thought she would actually thank God outright when the phone interrupted them. As he walked through the outer area and past secretaries’ cubicles and desks, a wake of first silence then murmuring and whispering followed. When he finally made it to his office area, his own secretary quickly hung up the phone and stood. “Mr. Anderson,” she said, grabbing at a stack of messages. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to be in or not today.”
A war widow with two teenage sons, his secretary, Elizabeth, had worked for him since he opened his own practice. Her knowledge of the law often rivaled his junior associates, and he occasionally wondered why she didn’t bite the bullet and take her husband’s pension to attend law school herself. She typically dressed in conservative pantsuits and wore cross necklaces in all different styles and colors – whatever matched her suit of the day. She wore her hair in a long braid every day, and had never removed her wedding ring.
He paused beside her desk and set his briefcase on the floor by his feet and his travel mug of herbal tea on the corner of her desk so that he could thumb through the messages. “There’s no reason for me not to work today,
” he said.
As he thumbed through the dozens of messages, she let out a breath. “I’m not quite sure what to say about that.”
The wall of callous defense he’d shorn up before entering the building fell at the look on her face. He immediately felt like an inhuman heel. “I apologize. I think I was prepared for this to all be a bad experience. I was defensive before there was cause, and that made me rude.”
“May I say something?”
“Of course.” He gripped the messages and mug in one hand and bent to pick up his briefcase.
“I realize that your marriage to Mrs. Anderson has – had – been strained for sometime. But despite that, she was a human being whom you shared a house with, if not a portion of your life. If you don’t allow some grieving, despite everything, you’re going to regret it at some point.”
“I appreciate that, Elizabeth. Thank you.” He gave her a slight nod. “Now I have work piled up from the last week, I’m sure, and I need to get to it.”
He left her standing there, gripping her necklace. He imagined her thinking about her late husband and wished that anything to do with his late wife wouldn’t cause her any pain. Elizabeth didn’t deserve any pain for anything.
Shutting the door behind him, a signal to everyone in his firm not to bother him, he entered his office. A decorator had taken the former football player persona to the extreme, but he’d never had it redone. People who came to see him because of his past life expected the decor to be what it was, so it did no harm. The dark green walls with stark white trim held shadow boxes of signed footballs, autographed photos, and Super Bowl posters. The hardwood floor had scattered rugs that mingled the colors of his former team with the colors of the wall, and flowers and knickknacks around the room drew it all together.
Emerald Fire (Christian Romance) (The Jewel Series) Page 6