Change of Heart (The True Heart Series Book 3)

by Layce Gardner

  Chapter Twelve

  Amy chopped potatoes while Parker marinated the steaks. “I wish I were looking forward to this evening. We haven’t seen Steph and Rosa in a while. It’d be nice if it were under better circumstances,” Amy said.

  “We’ll eat first so the meal doesn’t go to waste,” Parker said.

  Putting the potatoes on the tin foil, Amy said, “Are we making more of this than there needs to be?”

  Parker handed her the bowl of spice mix. “No. According to the recipe, that’s the correct amount per person.”

  “I’m not talking about the potatoes,” Amy said.

  “Oh,” Parker said, flipping the steaks in the marinade. “You mean the Susan and Carrie thing?”

  “Yes,” Amy said. “It’s probably harmless. Maybe Susan has told Tess already and everything is just hunky-dory.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not? Amy said. She sprinkled the spice mixture on the potatoes, carrots, and asparagus and wrapped them up tightly.

  “I don’t think hunky-dory is how Tess would feel,” Parker said.

  “Meaning that ex-girlfriends shouldn’t be helping each other out financially?”

  “Would you like it?”

  “I don’t know how I’d feel about it. You help people all the time and it doesn’t bother me—including Carrie.”

  “But I didn’t hide it either,” Parker said, wrapping her arms around Amy and kissing her.

  “You think for sure Susan didn’t tell Tess?” Amy asked, leaning into Parker’s chest.

  “Yes, and the reason is that Tess would’ve called me. I’m her sounding board. Her feelings about Carrie are fraught with fears about losing Susan. This is big enough to scare her off.”

  Amy looked up at Parker. “You’re right. If I were Tess, I’d be nervous.”

  Parker pulled her close. “I won’t do anything to make you nervous. We talked about telling each other all things, remember?”

  “I do. I trust you implicitly.”

  “Good. Go pick out some music,” Parker said.

  “Because music will calm the savage beast?” Amy asked. She walked over to Parker’s extensive vinyl collection.

  “Yes. It also adds a relaxing ambience to any social occasion,” Parker said.

  “How about Supertramp?”

  “Great choice,” Parker said. She flipped the steaks again in the marinade. Rascal came in from the deck and sniffed up at the counter. “Don’t even think about it. You’ve already been naughty once today.”

  “Speaking of naughty,” Amy said as she came up behind her. “Do we have time?”

  “The steaks need to marinate,” Parker said. She turned and kissed Amy. “We have half an hour or so.”

  “Plenty of time.” Amy took Parker’s hand and pulled her toward the bedroom.

  ***

  “What do you think this is about?” Steph asked as she drove up Parker and Amy’s driveway. “I hope they’re not calling off the wedding. I just bought Parker the Joy of Cooking anniversary edition for a wedding present.”

  “They’re still working on the wedding, so I’m pretty sure that’s not it.”

  “I’m glad we had a surprise wedding even though I was wearing a bad Christmas sweater instead of a tux,” Steph said. She turned off the truck, leaned over and pecked Rosa on the cheek.

  “Me too. No wonder Susan hired a wedding planner,” Rosa said.

  “Yeah, and look how well that worked out.” She shook her head. “I need to stop thinking about that damned botched wedding,” Steph said.

  “Maybe we all need to get over what Carrie did. Time is supposed to be the all-time, great healer.”

  “You go right ahead. I’ll never forget,” Steph said.

  “I’m not saying you have to forgive her. I’m saying let it go. We can all move on and let Carrie get on with putting her life back together,” Rosa said.

  Maybe Carrie was doing the same thing. No one, except Parker, was giving any thought to how Carrie felt. How would it feel to come back remorseful and face the fact that your once betrothed was in love with another woman? When Rosa was injured and being hateful toward Steph, she could’ve lost her if Steph hadn’t refused to give up. Rosa felt a rush of love for her beautiful and steadfast wife. “I love you, Steph.” She leaned over and kissed her ferociously.

  “I love you, too, babe. And you keep that up and we’ll never make dinner.” Steph smiled. She squeezed Rosa’s thigh. “I still can’t grant Carrie any kind of absolution. She can make amends for what she did by herself,” Steph said, opening the car door and getting out. Rosa followed her, climbing down carefully from Steph’s oversized Ram truck. Steph was already at her elbow to assist her.

  “I’m not ready for forgiveness either. The best I can do is try to forget. Now, let’s go find out what Parker’s big news is about,” Rosa said.

  “She’ll make us eat first, prepare yourself.”

  “Which is a good idea. I’d hate to have it ruin dinner, especially since the bachelors are doing the cooking.”

  Steph laughed. “Parker is pretty good with the grill. We should be safe.”

  Rascal came running at them. Rosa reached down and stroked his head.

  “Hey, big guy, what about me?” Steph said. Rascal bounced over, gave her a good crotch sniff and nuzzled her. “Okay, that’s better.”

  Parker opened the front door. “Are you all ready for a delectable delight?”

  “We are,” Steph said, grabbing two bottles of Merlot from the back seat of the truck. “Worse case scenario, we have lots of wine,” she called out to Parker.

  “Oh ye of little faith,” Parker said, over her shoulder.

  Amy was setting the table with the fancy china, the wine glasses, linen table cloths, and napkins. A silver candelabra was the centerpiece of the table. “See, us bachelors have good tableware,” she said.

  “You do know how to set a table, I’ll give you that,” Steph said, picking up one of the wine glasses and admiring it.

  “Is that Supertramp’s Breakfast Over America I hear?” Rosa asked, going over to the record player where the album cover sat propped up next to it. She picked it up. “I love this album.”

  “So what’s up?” Steph said, giving Parker a playful punch in the arm.

  “Not much,” Parker said. She handed Steph a corkscrew.

  “Parker,” Steph said. “Come on, throw me a bone here.” She opened the wine bottle.

  “After dinner. I’ve given it some thought and I don’t think it’s such a big deal,” Parker said, as Steph poured the wine.

  “Really?” Amy asked. “What changed?”

  Parker shot Amy an alarmed look. Amy quickly amended, “On second thought… It’s probably no biggie.”

  “Maybe I’ve got my nose somewhere that it doesn’t belong,” Parker said. Despite what she told Amy, she was having second thoughts. Amy seemed to understand that.

  “Why don’t you let us be the judge of that,” Rosa said. She accepted a glass of wine from Steph.

  Rascal barked from the deck, looking through the glass door at all of them. “Okay, we’re coming,” Parker said.

  “What does he want?” Steph asked.

  “To show you his new trick,” Parker said. She opened a kitchen drawer that was stuffed full of fluorescent yellow tennis balls.

  They all took their wine glasses out on the deck.

  Rascal jumped up and down on the deck, barking for the tennis ball. “Okay, here goes,” Parker said. She gave the ball a good bounce off the deck and it sailed out across the water. Rascal darted off the dock, leaped high, and caught the ball midair before crashing into the lake.

  Everyone clapped.

  Rascal swam back toward the shore, the ball in his mouth, gave himself a good shake, then ran for the deck. He dropped the ball at Parker’s feet. “Only three times,” Parker told him. She held up three fingers. He didn’t appear to be paying attention—his whole focus was on the tennis ball at
her feet. She threw the ball again.

  Amy went in and got the steaks and veggies. “You are going to thoroughly enjoy the bachelor-prepared entrée,” she said.

  “I’m starving,” Steph said.

  “You’re always starving,” Rosa said.

  “For you,” Steph said, playfully swatting Rosa’s butt.

  Parker threw one last ball and then took over grilling.

  “Do we really have to wait until after dinner before we can talk about whatever we’re going to talk about?” Steph asked. She was never one to control her curiosity.

  “Yes,” Parker said. She handed Rascal’s soggy ball to Steph and wiped her hand on a dishtowel. “Here. Throw the ball. Do something useful.”

  “Uck,” Steph said. She bounced the ball off the dock for Rascal. It didn’t have the same arch as Parker’s but Rascal dove for it anyway.

  “I really enjoyed your article on the Great Divide, but do you think it’ll do any good?” Rosa asked Amy.

  “I hope so,” Amy said, taking a sip of her wine. “My fear is that I’m preaching to the choir.”

  “Things are getting hotheaded out there. Mrs. Gilbert smacked her husband over the head with a broom yesterday,” Rosa said. “And then she called us to report a destruction of property complaint because it was a good broom that was damaged. Broke in half to be specific.”

  “Why’d she smack him?” Parker asked. She flipped the steaks to give them a good sear.

  “He made the mistake of telling her to shut up,” Rosa said.

  “Did he lodge a complaint? Or press charges against her?”

  “No, he was too embarrassed. He had Clyde at the barber shop sew up his head because he was afraid the doctor would report the incident to us.”

  “Was that safe?” Amy asked.

  “Clyde was a medic during the Korean war. He knows quite a bit about doctoring,” Rosa said.

  “I think I might have an idea about healing the rift,” Parker said. She flipped the steaks one more time and closed the lid on the grill. “Or at least building a bridge between the chasm of the sexes.”

  “What idea is that?” Rosa said.

  “I saw it on the Internet. It’s called the Red Shoe March. The men in town walk in a mile-long parade down main street, wearing red, high-heeled shoes, you know, so they understand how it feels to be a woman. It’s an exercise in empathy,” Parker said. “The best part is that people pay them to do it. All the money raised could go toward a women’s shelter or something like that.”

  “Brilliant,” Steph said. “I saw a video the other day where women in Mexico City set up cameras in the subway terminals that took live shots of men’s butts. The men got really weird about it—like they felt violated. It definitely gave them an idea of how it feels to be a woman. I don’t know how much good it did, but the video was hilarious. The funniest part was watching the men check out their own butts and being embarrassed about how they looked.”

  Rosa and Amy looked at each other. “This might just work,” Rosa said.

  “The butts or the shoes?” Steph asked.

  “Maybe both,” Rosa said.

  “I’ll run it by Millie and her Militia,” Amy said. “If anybody can get something started it’d be Millie.”

  “If we don’t figure this out we might end up with a civil war on our hands,” Rosa said.

  Steph threw the ball toward the lake and said, “If there is a civil war, the men don’t stand a chance.”

  They all chuckled and watched Rascal leap for the ball.

  ***

  “Okay, that was a rocking good dinner,” Steph said, dabbing at her lips with the linen napkin.

  Parker smiled broadly. She looked across the table at Amy. “See, we did good,” she said.

  “I am impressed,” Rosa said. She patted her full tummy for emphasis.

  “I hope nobody’s too full for dessert. I made chocolate mousse, which I’m pretty sure is edible,” Parker said.

  “I’ll get coffee going. Did you all want a cappuccino or a latte?” Amy asked.

  “You got an espresso maker?” Steph asked. She followed Amy to the kitchen.

  “We got it last week,” Parker answered.

  Amy added, “That way we don’t have to go to The Perk, for obvious reasons. And I get a latte in bed on the weekends,” Amy said.

  “You all are getting swanky,” Steph said. She watched closely as Amy set up the espresso machine. She turned to Rosa and said, “Babe. We need one of these.”

  “Your wish is my command,” Rosa said. “For your birthday or Christmas. Put it on your Amazon wish list.”

  Parker cleared the table. Rosa offered to help, but Parker wouldn’t allow it. Neither one of them acknowledged that at the end of the day Rosa’s back hurt and she needed to take it easy.

  Amy finished with the coffee and Parker served up the chocolate mousse. Steph moaned in pleasure after the first bite. “Parker, you never cease to amaze me.”

  “It’s good, right?” Parker asked. She looked like a little kid who needed praise for making an A on her homework.

  “No, it’s not good; it’s awesome,” Steph said. She licked her spoon and pointed it at Parker, saying, “You do realize that you’re going to be expected to up your potluck contributions to include food, not just a bag of chips.”

  Parker looked concerned.

  “Don’t panic. When you’re ready,” Steph amended.

  Rosa ate the last bite of her dessert and pushed her plate away. “Time to talk,” she said.

  Amy rose and cleared the plates. She avoided meeting anyone’s eyes.

  Parker took a deep breath. “I want everyone to stay calm, listen first, then digest before we get all stressed out, because it really could be nothing.”

  “It doesn’t sound like nothing so far,” Steph said. She sipped her latte and studied Parker over the lip of her coffee cup.

  Amy sat down and clasped her hands in her lap.

  “Millie saw Susan and Carrie coming out of the bank together,” Parker said. “And it wasn’t a coincidence.” She looked over at Amy. “You want to tell the Millie part so it doesn’t become the telephone game?” Parker said.

  “All right,” Amy said. “After she saw them at the bank together, Millie went in and inquired about what went on. She knows the loan officer. He told her that he had turned down Carrie’s small business loan application. Then she came back moments later with Susan in tow,” Amy said.

  Steph caught on quickly. “Oh no. Susan didn’t.”

  “Susan didn’t what?” Rosa asked, not grasping it.

  Parker nodded her head at Steph. “She did. She cosigned for Carrie’s loan.”

  “You’re kidding me,” Rosa said. She set her cup down with a clunk on the table.

  “That’s messed up,” Steph said. Her face was turning red.

  “Why would she do that?” Rosa said.

  “Why do you think? Because she’s still in love with her, that’s why,” Steph said angrily.

  “Or she wanted to help her out,” Parker said.

  “It’s one thing for you to help her out of a jam, you’re not her ex-girlfriend,” Rosa said.

  “And Parker told me about it,” Amy said. “It wasn’t a secret that was kept from me.”

  Rosa looked at Steph, then at Parker. “She didn’t tell Tess about it?” It was more of a statement than a question.

  “I don’t know that for certain,” Parker said.

  “But you think so?” Rosa asked.

  “I’m going on the assumption that Tess wouldn’t like it and she’d talk it over with me. And she hasn’t mentioned it,” Parker said. “However, that does not make it so.”

  “You have doubts then,” Rosa said.

  “Until Tess or Susan says something about it, then yes, I have doubts,” Parker said.

  “What we’re afraid of is that if Susan doesn’t tell Tess, the grapevine will,” Amy said. “Millie will keep quiet, but will the bank teller or the loan officer?
Or Carrie? There’s too many variables.”

  “Crap,” Rosa said. “This is bad.”

  “I know,” Parker said. “What should we do?”

  “You mean the fixer doesn’t have an idea?” Steph asked.

  Parker looked hurt.

  Steph picked up on it. “I’m sorry, Parks. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  Parker waved the slight away. “I’m at a loss here. Do we tell Tess? Or do we attempt some form of damage control?” Parker asked. The more this cloud of confusion loomed over her head, the more dread crept in.

  “How about a brandy out on the deck?” Amy suggested.

  “Sounds good. This situation definitely warrants a brandy,” Steph said.

  They took their drinks out on the deck. There was a full moon and it reflected off the water. The crickets chirped and buzzed. Water lapped gently at the edge of the deck. They sat quietly listening to the lullaby of nature for a full minute.

  “We need to tell Tess,” Rosa blurted.

  They all sat quiet. Rascal shifted his position on the dock and snored.

  “I agree,” Steph said. “I don’t want her finding out some other way. That’ll make it look like we colluded with Susan and Carrie at Tess’s expense.”

  “That’s not fair to Tess,” Parker said. She sipped her brandy. It burned going down, but it calmed her nerves.

  Parker could not imagine how Tess would feel when she found out. Now that Parker had Amy, the trials of keeping a relationship healthy weighed heavily on her. Before Amy, the problems she’d seen in other’s relationships were as abstract as an architectural drawing. But her own love affair—the walls and flooring, the HVAC, the placements of electrical outlets, drywall—made everything sharply real. The abstract was made tangible.

  “And I do not want to keep quiet when I know in my heart that my silence will only hurt another person,” Rosa said. “I’ve already done that once, thank you.”

  “Amy? What do you think?” Parker asked.

  Amy sipped her brandy and thought. They waited. “If I were Tess, I’d rather find out from my friends than strangers on the street. If we don’t tell her, Tess will think we’re on Carrie’s side and that’s not fair to Tess.”