Belated Kiss

by Abby Tyler

  “But…”

  “Theodore is different. We are both a little flighty. It was fun. We always ate dessert first. It became our silly little thing. Your father would’ve had a fit.”

  When she looked back at her daughter, Christina’s face was crestfallen. “Mom. You can’t just let this go. If you didn’t meet anyone like him for all these years after Dad died, you might not again.”

  This was a turnaround. Ruth watched the ripples in her tea as she swirled the bag in the steaming water. “I’ve lived a very good life, Christina. It’s fine.”

  Christina jumped up from her chair, causing it to push back with a screech on the tile floor. “Mom! You make it sound like you’re ready to die! You’re healthy and beautiful and why wouldn’t you want to find someone who makes you eat dessert first?”

  This conversation certainly was nothing like the last. “Christina, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Have you put together the recipes for tomorrow?”

  Christina stood there, watching her mother in disbelief. “So that’s it?”

  “There’s nothing more to talk about. Let’s have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I do like Jason’s parents. I think we’ll have a lovely time.”

  “What is the mayor doing for Thanksgiving? Could he fly here?”

  Ruth sighed. “I’m sure he’s with his son and that new grandbaby.”

  “But will you see him when you get back?”

  “I honestly don’t know. Like I said, things cooled. Some relationships don’t work out. You know this. You dated before Jason.”

  Christina held Ruth’s gaze a moment more, looking a lot like the teen who sometimes rebelled at a curfew. When Ruth said nothing else, she relented, turning to gather several cookbooks stacked beside the stove.

  She brought them to the table. “It’s the first time I’ve hosted Thanksgiving,” she said. “I’m a little nervous.”

  Ruth relaxed. The hard conversation was over.

  “We’ll go over everything today,” she said. “We’ll make sure the turkey is thawed, and we’ll decide exactly when to put it in, and how everything will be organized tomorrow. It will be lovely.”

  As the two of them chose between their family stuffing and the one Jason’s family loved most, Ruth tried to put Theodore from her mind. She would wish him a Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, and he would most certainly respond in kind.

  Probably the relationship needed a boost of some sort or it would die on the vine. But honestly, she didn’t know where a kickstart might come from.

  T-bone

  Thanksgiving was a busy one for T-bone.

  Boone’s sister Flo was managing the food. They thought it would be a slow day of eating and watching football.

  But then Officer Jack had called, saying he’d found a whole litter of newborn puppies dumped on the side of the road outside Applebottom. T-bone and Luke had run out there in Luke’s truck to fetch them.

  Jack had his police lights going on the squad car and stood tall and stern over the pups.

  “Don’t look more than a couple of weeks old,” he said. “Four of ‘em.”

  Luke knelt down. They were a pug and boxer mix. Three of them were squirming, but one lay on its side, belly barely heaving in and out.

  “It’s a cold day. Don’t know how long they’ve been out here.” Jack shook his head. “People are the worst.”

  “This your towel?” Luke asked.

  “Yeah. I keep a couple in the trunk.”

  “Okay.” Luke turned to T-bone. “Can you fetch me the kennel with the heating pad? It’s the gray one.”

  T-bone hustled back to the truck, a frown tugging at his mouth. That wee one didn’t look good for sure. It was always a crapshoot with pups this small. Whoever dumped them could have at least left the mama with them, gave them a chance.

  He set the kennel on the ground near the towel of pups.

  “If you could open it, I’m going to transfer them,” Luke said. “They’ll need to be warmed up and settled in before we try to feed them.”

  He carefully shifted each pup inside the kennel and passed the towel back to Jack.

  “Dad, why don’t you drive. I’m going to hold them and cushion them from bumps as we get back.” He nodded at Jack. “Thanks for calling rather than trying to bring them in. They probably wouldn’t have made it on the seat of a squad car.”

  “I figured you’d know what to do. Happy Thanksgiving.” Jack gave him a quick nod.

  “Happy Thanksgiving,” Luke said. “Give our regards to Louisa.”

  Luke texted Savannah to prep the incubator kennel as they drove back to the shelter. He kept his hand inside the crate, holding the pups in place so they wouldn’t shift around. The little one was still breathing. That case was the most urgent. He probably would have been at risk even safe with his mother.

  He and Luke set to work when they got back, warming newborn formula and taking turns feeding the pups.

  “Heck of a day to dump a litter,” T-bone grumbled.

  “I’ll say.” Luke ran a thumb along one of the little heads. They all fell asleep after only a few sips. “But this one is hanging in there.”

  It was true. The little one had perked up with a few suckles on the formula bottle.

  “We should call that one Lucky,” T-bone said. “Will he be all right?”

  “We’ll know by tomorrow. If they survive all night after a trauma like this, they usually make it.”

  Savannah stood in the doorway between the house and the kennel room. “How are they?” Her eyes were misty.

  “All doing fine,” Luke said. “I’ll let them sleep a bit and check on them in an hour.”

  “We set out some cheese and things for snacking,” she said.

  Luke lowered the head of the last pup and closed the incubator. “We’ll be right there.”

  T-bone waited for Luke to put away the formula and wash the bottles. He patted his back as they passed through the kennels, most of the dogs sleeping, although a few woofed at them as they approached.

  He checked his phone as they sat down for a midday snack, the smell of roasting turkey filling the kitchen when Flo opened the oven.

  Nothing from Ruth today. He expected she might quit writing him eventually.

  But it was a holiday, and the pups had gotten him in a mood. He tapped out a quick, “Happy Thanksgiving” and stuck his phone in his pocket.

  The buzz came right away. “Have a wonderful holiday with that new grandbaby.”

  He let out a long breath. Even if they weren’t actively dating, they could certainly still be friends.

  The pups made it through the night just fine, and it turned out Savannah already had a waiting list for puppies. So all were promised to homes as soon as they were weaned off formula.

  T-bone checked on the pups and Maybelle every couple of days. The little one was the cutest of the batch, and his new family had agreed to call him Lucky. Mission accomplished.

  On Wednesday of that week, T-bone got a surprise voice message left on his line at the mayor’s office. A woman named Christina called, saying she was Ruth’s daughter and they were throwing a surprise party for her mother’s 55th birthday. She’d heard all about the mayor boyfriend and wanted to invite him, as everyone was eager to meet him.

  He left his office and trudged to the pie shop for a slice. Gertrude took one look at his long face and called, “Maude, come figure out what’s making the mayor look like a dog in a ditch.”

  Maude brought chocolate pie and coffee and leaned opposite him on the counter. “Trouble in romance land?”

  These women always knew. He grunted, diving into the pie.

  Maude ran a damp cloth over the counter. “So what happened?”

  T-bone finished off the pie and pushed the plate aside. “She lives in a mansion. Her husband was a doctor. And now her daughter’s invited me to some big shindig.”

  Gertrude set a pie plate down with a bang. “Run away, T-bone. You’re never gonna live up to that.”


  “Gertie, you hush.” Maude folded the cloth into a neat rectangle. “So are you going?”

  “I can’t go to some party with her fancy friends.” T-bone stared down at his beat-up hands, grease staining the creases. Her husband’s hands must have always been perfectly clean, washed between patients.

  “Let me tell you something, mister,” Maude said, her tone switching to one you might use on a dog that done dug up the rosebushes. “I’m a widow, and I know how a widow thinks. If she’s got money, she’s not looking for it. If she’s had love and a decent man, those are the qualities she’s seeking. She doesn’t need you. She likes you. The you she’s seen plenty of.”

  T-bone hadn’t thought of it that way. He and Ruth were both independent, and by all accounts, living lives that suited them.

  But they’d made time for each other.

  “What if they make fun of me?”

  “Why would they do that?” Maude asked.

  Gertrude chimed in. “His leather vest. His grimy hands. His twenty-dollar loafers.”

  Maude sent Gertrude a look that could have withered an oak tree.

  Gertrude flung her hands in the air. “All right, I’ll go wash the mixing bowls.” She headed off to the kitchen.

  “I’m not saying you show up in your muddy boots and your leather,” Maude said. “You pay respect to the party. But don’t think you’ve changed because you put on some nice clothes and cut your hair. Whatever she’s seeing is about more than the way you dress or where you live. It’s the way you and her get along. And that’s good, right?”

  T-bone nodded, shame flooding his face. He’d been the one who’d been intimidated. Ruth had been nothing but kind and eager.

  Maude took away his plate and mug. “You get on out of here. Get yourself a sports jacket and some dress shoes. Showing your best self doesn’t mean you aren’t still who you’ve always been.”

  T-bone pushed away from the counter. Maude was right. It wasn’t like he’d hid anything from Ruth. She’d seen his little house, his convenience store, his RV park. She knew his town was small, and him being mayor was no great feat of politics. Just community service.

  She deserved the best. Both T-bone and Theodore.

  Ruth

  Birthdays were always the worst.

  It was bad enough growing up with a birthday in the no man’s land between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even as an adult, the overwhelming number of holiday parties filled the calendar, leaving little opportunity to put together so much as a small dinner.

  After Christina moved, Ruth more or less ignored the day, opting to do a normal shift at the hospital. Her only concession to the new year attached to her age was stopping off for a bit of cake.

  But this year, the scheduler at the hospital gave her the day off. Some new policy, she said, though that was hogwash. Her coworker Yolanda’s birthday had been only two weeks ago, and she’d worked the full twelve hours.

  But Ruth couldn’t exactly force them to make her work, so she hung around the house, cutting back the plants that were dying now that the weather was cold. She hadn’t heard from Theodore, but she didn’t expect it. They never learned each other’s birthdays. He wouldn’t know today was hers.

  Ruth was startled to hear a car door in her driveway. She paused, listening, then heard the front door to her house slam.

  Her heart hammered as she crept along the side wall to peer around the corner.

  A green taxi, the kind she usually saw at the airport, pulled away from her curb and headed down the street.

  Who rode in that? She rushed to the front door and found it unlocked. She was quite certain it had been locked all day, as she had gone outside through the back door.

  She opened the door slowly, wincing at the creak. Her heart was in her throat. Who was here?

  She’d barely gotten the door open halfway, when it bumped into someone.

  Ruth jumped back until she recognized the ensuing squeal.

  “Christina?”

  Her daughter’s head popped around the door. “Mom? It’s just me.”

  Ruth pressed her hand to her hammering chest. “What a surprise! What are you doing here?”

  “It’s your birthday! Happy birthday!”

  Ruth smoothed Christina’s flyaway hair back from her face. “What a lovely thing to do! I assume you just got in?”

  “Fresh off the plane. I left at five a.m. my time. So I was extra devoted.”

  Ruth held her daughter close, drawing in the sweet smell that was as familiar as her own skin. “Did you have something to do with me not working today?”

  Christina pulled back, her bright brown eyes peering into her mother’s. “Guilty as charged. Henrietta was super nice about it. I called a month ago.”

  “You’ve been planning this for a month!”

  “Four, actually. I had to get plane tickets ahead.”

  Ruth squeezed Christina’s arm. “You are a real delight.”

  “I thought we would have a nice day together, just the two of us. It’s been a while.”

  “That sounds like a perfect way to spend the day,” Ruth said. Her heart felt like it would explode. She never could have guessed that Christina would do this so close to Ruth having visited her in California.

  “I booked us a manicure and makeover,” Christina said. “You game?”

  Ruth hadn’t done those things in ages. “Of course I’m game!”

  “You might want to change. The salon is pretty open-minded, but Dad’s old flannel and your mom jeans with hot pink crocs might not be a common combination among their clientele.” She grinned with mischief.

  Ruth laughed. “Of course. How long do I have to get ready?”

  “Hours. It’s fine. We have all day.”

  Ruth did indeed feel pampered. They had their hair and makeup done, then their nails. On a quick stop by their favorite boutique, Christina helped her select a new dress and shoes.

  They never even went home, changing into the new clothes at the shop and heading straight to reservations at an upscale restaurant.

  When they were seated, Ruth said, “What an amazing day it’s been. Thank you so much. I never seem to do much on my birthday anymore.”

  Christina shook out her napkin to lay on her lap. “Maybe we can make it a tradition.”

  “We’re usually traveling at Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Ruth said. “It seems like a lot to squeeze in something else in between.”

  “You did get a bummer of a birthday,” Christina said. “Thank you for being much more reasonable with my April date.”

  This made Ruth laugh. “We had absolutely no control over that.”

  “Was getting pregnant hard?”

  Ruth’s heart sped up. Why was Christina asking her this? “It wasn’t as easy as some people made it out to be.”

  Christina nodded. When she said no more, Ruth ventured carefully, “Were you thinking about trying soon?”

  Christina shook her head fervently. “Oh no. I just got my glassblowing credentials. Being pregnant around all those furnaces wouldn’t be the best thing, at least until I was used to it.”

  That was certainly true. Ruth tried to quell her disappointment. But she knew this was what Christina wanted right now. There was lots of time ahead for grandbabies.

  Her thoughts shifted to baby Maybelle, and what Theodore might be doing with his family on this lovely Friday.

  Christina lifted her water goblet. “You probably told me this as a kid, but why don’t I have any siblings?”

  “Just never seemed to happen again. But you are absolutely perfect, and made our family complete.”

  “I probably would’ve murdered a pain-in-the-butt baby brother anyway,” Christine said with a smile.

  “There were many times I wanted to kill your uncle.”

  “Will we see Uncle Craig and the cousins this Christmas?”

  “I’m not sure. Three of the kids are still in school. It’s hard for him to travel.”

  “We
should go to New York to see them next year.”

  “I totally agree.”

  The dinner passed quietly, with lovely courses and a bottle of wine. Christina suggested they hold off on dessert, since she had plans for that back home.

  “I love that there’s another surprise,” Ruth said once they were walking out of the restaurant. “Did I see a box on the coffee table in the front room?”

  “Maybe,” Christina said, nudging her mother’s shoulders as they headed back to the car. “So how is it going with your mayor?”

  “We still speak most every day.”

  “That’s good,” Christina said. “Really good.”

  “I thought you weren’t in favor of my dating.”

  Christina shrugged as she unlocked the car door. “I’m in favor of you being happy.”

  Ruth watched Christina from the corner of her eye as she drove back to their house. If she wasn’t mistaken, her daughter had something up her sleeve.

  T-bone

  T-bone wished for a familiar face as he parked his truck down the street from Ruth’s house. Ruth herself was off with Christina, and the party would assemble ahead of their arrival to avoid spoiling the surprise.

  Everyone had been instructed to park a few blocks away. Ruth certainly would have recognized T-bone’s truck.

  Ruth must have had a service put up her Christmas lights. They were impressive, each tree wrapped in white strands, and giant wreaths on every upstairs window. It looked like something from a movie.

  An old man sat on a chair by the front door. “I’m the lookout,” he said. “You must be the mayor.”

  T-bone shook the man’s hand. “I’m Theodore.”

  “Roger Thomas. Go right on in. My better half Shirley will catch you. She’s designating the hiding spots.”

  T-bone stepped inside the foyer. The inside of Ruth’s house was even more decked. Pine boughs wound up the staircase, mixed in with white lights and poinsettias. An enormous tree soared past the first story and halfway up to the second, wrapped by the staircase.