“Didn’t you get my text?” Nicole asked cheerily.
“What text? No, wait. Maggie, could you go to your room for a little bit?” Callie thought it might be good to have a witness for this conversation, but she couldn’t bring herself to draw an eight-year-old child into this mess.
Maggie nodded, giving Nicole a quick sideways glance. Good instincts. Callie felt bad for her. Obviously, all the bad things had started with somebody new appearing out of nowhere. Believe me, I want “stable” just as much.
When Maggie had closed the door to her room behind herself, Callie spun around to face her bold ex-girlfriend.
“What makes you think you can just come here? I said I accepted your apology, not that we would become best friends!”
“Then there is something we agree on, after all. I’m not sure I could be best friends with you. Callie—”
Callie held up her hands. “Don’t say it. Don’t even think it.”
“I was right about her, wasn’t I? Unless that little girl is yours and you’ve been keeping a secret from me all along. Not that it would be the first time.”
“I have a family now, Nicole,” Callie said, keeping her tone as cool as she possibly could. “One that doesn’t include you. I’m sorry, I don’t believe in second chances, once you’ve crossed a certain line.”
“I’m not the same person anymore! I’m better. Callie, I never stopped loving you. I want—”
“I don’t care. You leave this house right now.”
She could tell that Nicole was struggling to keep in character of her new persona. Callie was struggling too. All the distance she thought to have gained seemed to vanish in the face of this unpleasant surprise.
“I’m going,” Nicole said, “but I owe you the truth. I owe myself to try, at least, especially when I see where you are now.”
Callie didn’t take the bait, but breathed a deep sigh of relief when the front door fell shut. She got up, trying to ignore how shaky she felt and went to get Maggie for her intended interview.
Maggie showed her all the books that had been featured recently in the book club.
“Sometimes, when there are girls, they don’t get to do anything.” She frowned. “I don’t like that.”
“Yeah. I never liked that either. The boys have all the fun.” Callie almost hoped that she had forgotten about the visit, and for a moment she entertained the idea of not telling Rebecca about it. This new, reformed Nicole felt strange to her, and in a way, as disturbing as the familiar one. The night when she had made the decision to leave, Callie hadn’t spent a single thought on filing a report or a restraining order. If Nicole contacted her one more time, she’d consider it.
* * * *
Rebecca felt incredibly relieved after her meeting with the Tunisian couple who had opened their restaurant last fall. They had liked her work, didn’t require too many changes, and she had a check in her purse. Life was looking up. She didn’t look forward to the viewing of the house with David, but it had to be done at some point. Maybe they could get away with some cash even after paying David’s mother her share. There was pain in handing over something that contained so many memories. In the end, though, she always known that with the decisions she’d made, there would be consequences like this.
She took her time looking at some dresses in a window, mentally calculating how long this check would last her, and how long until the next one. When she turned, there was someone familiar coming her way. For some time, Betty had changed the sidewalk pretending not to notice Rebecca when they met in town, but it was too late for that now. She had wanted to talk after all.
“Rebecca,” she said stiffly. “I didn’t know you were back in town already.”
Rebecca had been angry at her, especially after she’d learned about the visit Betty had paid Callie last year, ranting about sin and punishment. At the moment, all she felt for her one-time friend was sympathy.
“We were just gone for a week,” she said. “I talked to Roz. Seems like a lot happened while we were gone.”
“Sure did,” Betty mumbled, looking around as if she was trying to see who witnessed her interaction.
“How are you?”
“Fine.”
“Everything all right with Charles and the kids?”
“Of course. Look…Rebecca.” Finally, Betty met her eyes. “I know we have to talk at some point. I don’t like the way things are between us now. You’ve always been a good friend.”
“Okay. You know there’s still brunch on Saturdays. You could come.”
“Are you sure about that?” Betty asked, more hopeful.
Actually, Rebecca wasn’t, but she couldn’t take back her offer now. “It would be a start.”
“I’ll think about it. Can I call you?”
“Please do. It’s going to be the usual time.”
Betty smiled ruefully. “Thank you.”
Rebecca watched her walk away, uncertain if their communication had been a successful one. In any case, she felt even more like spending a little money now.
* * * *
The emotion came out of the blue, a wave that threatened to sweep her off her feet. Callie had shared a late lunch with Maggie since Rebecca hadn’t returned from her meeting yet. Her mind had taken an abrupt trip down memory lane.
“Who is that friend of yours you don’t want me to meet?
“Are you cheating on me?
“Tell me the truth!”
It was during those last weeks that Nicole would yell at her, not caring if the neighbors overheard anything. For a long time, Callie hadn’t seen through her scheming. All she knew was that she was feeling miserable all the time. The last few weeks of their relationship, she was no longer just miserable, but scared.
“Just leave it,” she told Maggie when the girl began to put the dishes in the sink. “I’ll take care of that later.”
In the bedroom, she sat on the side of the bed. Leaning forward, Callie rested her head in her hands as she tried to clear her thoughts. How could she ever handle this? Callie had no desire to go back to Autumn Leaves’ police station. There was a whole different set of upsetting memories waiting for her there. She couldn’t have Nicole show up like this all the time. She should talk to Beverly Wilkins, the new sheriff, just in case. Wilkins had replaced Rebecca’s former brother-in-law Craig Lowman. She was a smart, sensible woman. Callie would prefer to talk to her rather than Craig for a multitude of reasons. She had no idea where to start.
Outside, the sky was starting to cloud over. More snow to come. If it wasn’t for Rebecca, Callie might have considered California an option—no winters like this, and many more miles between her and Nicole. She lay down, wondering if Nicole was honestly thinking they could start over after everything that had happened. It seemed that way, since she was putting a lot of time and effort into the attempt.
Callie needed to go clean up, the living room where she’d left all the papers, the kitchen too. She felt incapable of doing either. She just wished Rebecca would come home.
* * * *
Maybe it was normal to feel a little paranoid after somebody had broken into your house, threatening your loved ones. While putting some gas into her car, Rebecca turned around twice, unable to shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She cursed the men she knew to be responsible, checked one more time, then she went inside to pay. There was no other customer. She shivered.
Rebecca hadn’t planned to stop on the way, but she didn’t want to be stuck halfway without any gas in the tank. There weren’t a lot of people on the road as it was, only the headlights of one other car behind her. It was following her all the way to the exit that led onto the road to her home street.
She sighed a little at finding this morning’s dishes still in the sink, the coffee table covered in notes. A matter of habits, she had to remind herself. Things had worked differently when she’d lived in the house across the street. Work stayed mostly restrained to the office space. She had worked at the ki
tchen table sometimes, but all would be cleaned up by the time everybody was home. Keeping the home intact, in a figurative and literal sense, had been her main task, down to some minor plumbing jobs. David had never been particularly talented for or interested in these things.
Everything was different now: This was Callie’s house, and if she wanted to spread her work all over it, it was her choice. Rebecca went to Maggie’s room first.
“Hey. Homework’s all done?”
Maggie looked up from the library book she was reading.
“Of course.” Rebecca walked further into the room and sat beside her on the bed. “Everything okay otherwise?” Are you happy? She wanted to ask.
“Yes, why?”
It was getting so hard to figure her out, quiet Maggie with her nose always in a book. In a way, she had more in common with Callie than with anyone else in the family. Both of them spent a great deal of time in that place in the clouds.
She might not always understand them, but Rebecca couldn’t imagine her life without either of them.
“No reason. How is school?”
“We got sent home early, because of the snow.” Maggie didn’t indicate whether or not that was a good thing. She was a good student overall, but clearly preferred when she could retreat to her own world. Rebecca hugged her close while getting only minor protest in return, then let her get back to her book, something about vampires as the cover suggested.
Callie was asleep in the bedroom, fully dressed.
Rebecca unpacked her purchases and, as she removed the tags, wondered if they had been really necessary. Maybe it would have been better to just put some money in the bank. There was no way to tell when the house could be sold. There was one piece though she didn’t regret, at all.
She turned around to find Callie watching her.
“I’m sorry. This took longer than I thought it would. Maggie came home early?”
Callie nodded, sitting up.
“The mess outside this door is all mine though. She did all her homework by herself.”
“Math?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” They shared a knowing smile.
“By the way, I got a check today, and I came by Sandra’s…I thought you might like this.”
“Really? Wow. Thank you!” Callie got up to pull her shirt over her head to try on the black sweater with the lacy neckline. Rebecca smiled at her enthusiasm, glad she had taken the time. The garment fit perfectly as she had known.
Callie’s eyes shone which was a result of more than the unexpected present. “We never went shopping together. I mean, in New York we went for Dina but—”
“I’m used to buying things for people you don’t want to or can’t be present. Otherwise, the girls and David would have been running around naked for most of the time. Anyway…” She cleared her throat, not sure if the reference was welcome.
“You won’t have to run around naked. Even though…”
Callie threw a pillow at her, and they both laughed.
“It’s too early yet for dinner. Come here with me for a moment?” Rebecca’s hesitation hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“I know it’s hard for you to slow down, but Maggie will be fine for a little while. She’s hell-bent on finishing that book. No need to feel guilty.”
“You don’t have to,” Rebecca said with a wistful smile, tapping Callie’s temple gently. “You’ve got so much going on in there. I guess you need a time-out every now and then.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.”
“It’s good to be here,” Rebecca said, curling up against her with a grateful sigh. “You’re right. I need to slow down. Earlier when I left the gas station, I almost thought somebody was following me.”
“Following you?”
Rebecca had been on the verge of drifting off into a light sleep, Callie’s exclamation startling her.
“Oh no.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nicole was here today.”
“Nicole? How…She took a plane and came here? I hope you didn’t let her in.”
“Maggie let her in. I threw her out when she suggested that she and I should get back together.”
Rebecca shook her head, now as far from sleep as she possibly could be. Would the bad news ever end? She didn’t like the idea of this woman in town.
“Just how dangerous is she?”
“She won’t do anything stupid now.” Callie didn’t sound convinced. “I told her not to come back. She’s going to get it.”
“I don’t know. You told her the last time, and still she follows us all the way here? That doesn’t seem to be very insightful. I don’t want her around you, or around my children.”
“I can handle Nicole,” Callie said, the sharp edge to her voice making Rebecca flinch. She wasn’t ready to back down on the subject.
“Let’s talk to Bev.”
“Rebecca, please. Nicole is not welcome here. I made sure she knows.”
Rebecca thought a restraining order would go a long way to making the woman understand. People could change only so much, and she didn’t have a good feeling about Nicole.
The next day, she had to put all of this aside, though, in order to get through the viewing. They met on the front porch, David, Rebecca, both realtors, and the potential buyers. Sarah, who had found this house for David and Rebecca in the first place, kept giving Rebecca sympathetic sideways glances as she introduced everyone. Martin and Delia Waters had two kids, a twelve-year-old son and a baby boy whom Delia carried in her arms. They were looking for a more rural environment for their kids, but not too far from schools, stores, and other comforts of the city.
David and Rebecca waited downstairs with their realtor, while the couple went to look at each room with theirs.
“It’s a beautiful house,” Sarah assured them. “You kept it up to date, so you’re going to get a good price.”
Rebecca studied her feet, wondering what this other couple would see, how they imagined their life in what had been Rebecca’s home for sixteen years. She remembered bringing Dina, and six years later, Maggie, home from the hospital. Both of the girls had taken their first steps here. David and Rebecca had celebrated their ten-year anniversary, and then the fifteenth. She had known this moment was coming. Still, she felt like sitting in a corner to cry.
“I talked to Mom,” David said. “She doesn’t want her share, so any profit off this is ours.”
Rebecca forced a small smile. “Tell her thanks, then. That’s very generous.” In fact, she didn’t like that solution. It meant that she’d owe Laurie forever. Then again, she wasn’t in a position to look a gift horse in the mouth. She looked up to find David’s gaze still on her. Sarah had to have been aware of it, too, since she excused herself.
“I’ll see what they think. You guys have a lot to talk about now.”
“They seem nice,” David said after she had left.
“Sure. David, if you don’t mind…I’m not sure I should be here for this. I trust you, and it’s easier for Sarah if she doesn’t have to consider both of our schedules.”
“There is that. I never did much around the house, so I guess the least I can do is get us some money out of it now.”
“That’s not how I meant it.”
“I know how you meant it, Rebecca, but believe me, it’s not any easier for me.”
“I didn’t say that…”
She broke off her sentence, and both of them smiled as Sarah returned with her colleague and her clients.
Delia Waters’ smile was a whole lot more genuine.
“I’m sorry for you that you had to give it up, but I have to tell you, this is such a wonderful home. The master bedroom, the kids’ rooms—and oh my God, that kitchen!”
Rebecca noted with a hint of irritation that she talked like she was already living here. Yes, it was a beautiful kitchen where she had spent many hours. She’d been standing by the window, the morning when Callie moved into the house
across the street.
“We didn’t want a long tedious search, especially considering it’s still winter,” her husband added. “I think we’re ready to make an offer, so we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
“Thank you,” David said. “We’d appreciate a quick transaction as well.”
Rebecca nodded, because she didn’t trust her voice.
Sarah clapped her hands. “I love it when a plan comes together,” she said. She had probably hoped to get a different reaction than the rather awkward smiles.
Rebecca followed David to his car.
“Don’t you want to come in and say hi to Maggie? I’m sure she’d be happy to see you.”
“Just for a few minutes,” David said after a moment of hesitation. “It’ll take me forever to get back in this weather anyway.”
There was a note from Callie on the kitchen table that she had gone into town for some quick errands. Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the cease-fire between them, Callie and David in the same room was still something she tended to avoid. David seemed to think the same way.
He went to Maggie’s room while Rebecca put some water on the stove for tea. Children made a separation complicated, she’d learned, yet in some ways easier. You couldn’t slip up, because you couldn’t expect them to be the adult. She prepared two cups, sitting at the table with her own, inhaling the aroma of strawberry and cherry.
“She’s got a nice room,” David said when he returned. It was more small talk than anything. He saw the room before. “I think she’s really happy here, with you.”
“Everything is working out fine…with Dina?”
“Oh yes.” He smiled. “That New York trip really inspired her. She’s now looking into exchange programs and scholarships. That tutor we got her for chemistry and physics also really made a difference.”
Rebecca opened her mouth then thought twice about a retort. That was something David had decided with Susan, obviously, because she didn’t know about it. Dina hadn’t considered it necessary to tell her either.
“Would be great if that lasts. I’m afraid, though, at the moment, she is really into that boy Tomaso.”
“Nice boy. We said hello online.”
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