Uncharted Fate

by Racette, Cynthia

  "I know," she said with a sigh. "But in the meantime, it's hard."

  "Sure it is. It's something they have to do for themselves, though. You can't do it for them, no matter how much you want to. How's Mallory doing, by the way? Any better?"

  "Not so you'd notice. Worse, if anything. She's been antagonistic about everything. This blow-up today about our going out, however, is the worst one yet."

  "It stands to reason. She's afraid you're trying to find a replacement for her father, and undoubtedly long before she's ready to let you. Assuming she'd ever be ready, that is."

  "She's also upset about the fact I'm going out with you, in particular, since you were the officer who picked her up for shoplifting. She figures I'm a traitor twice over."

  "I hope she learned her lesson about that kind of thing." His brow furrowed and he looked worried. "She's too nice a kid to get mixed up in shoplifting and petty crime."

  "How could you even tell she was a nice kid when she was at the station?" Anna frowned. "You've only seen her bad side."

  "She was scared. I got her to talk to me a little before you arrived. She's pretty unhappy at the moment because of her father. Nevertheless, she's a decent girl. How's Brian holding up?"

  "Better, I think. Here're my pictures." She opened her wallet to show him their school pictures. "I know you've met them but I wanted you to see they were once happy, normal youngsters. Brian retreated into a shell after the accident, but he's coming out a bit now. He wasn't doing too great in school for a while there, either, but I haven't seen any bad papers lately."

  She signaled to the waitress for a refill on her coffee, then took a careful sip of the fresh, hot brew, wishing she had a job in a nice place like this. "Actually, I don't think I've seen any papers. I'll have to ask him about it."

  They sat quietly and drank their second cup of coffee. She wished he would reach over and hold her hand again. He didn't. When Anna looked up after draining the last of her beverage, she found Jeff's eyes on hers. Her glance skittered sideways self-consciously.

  "Ready to go?" He left the money for the bill and tucked a tip under his saucer. She looked at it in amazement. A tip like that would have made her week at the diner.

  They walked over to the mall and wandered around a bit. She splurged on a pretty lavender sweater for Mallory she saw hanging on a sale rack near the entrance of one of the boutiques. Jeff bought a book on soccer stars for Cam. On their way out, he spotted a display of books for boys Brian's age and bought a couple for Brian, after she told him Brian hadn't yet read them. They stopped at the pet store and admired the puppies and kittens.

  Then they noticed the stores were closing up around them, so they walked back to Jeff's small SUV and he drove her home. He pulled up the slight incline, cut the engine, and put it in park. When she realized he was going to come around to open her car door for her, she smiled and took her fingers off the inside handle. It'd been so long since she'd done anything but slide out with her arms full of bags, she felt a little uneasy. Damn, though, it was nice.

  She'd forgotten to leave the light on and the house was dark. At her front door, he handed over her bags, giving her a gentle smile as she stood tense and jittery, peering up through the darkness at him, wondering what he was going to do.

  "I enjoyed this evening very much," he said finally. "Thank you for coming with me."

  She laughed. "I don't recall having a choice."

  "Sure you did. You could have been out when I got here earlier. I thought for a minute there you’d ‘fled the scene,’ as we cops say."

  "I wouldn't have done anything of the sort to you."

  "Yes, I realize now. I did feel a few moments of panic until you opened the door."

  "I'm sorry." She leaned back against the doorframe for support. "I enjoyed the evening, too. Thank you. Would you—ah, like to come in for a small glass of sherry?"

  "Sounds nice," he said, his voice wistful. "But I don't think I should press my luck with your kids. They probably want you back. Alone." He stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets and took a step back. "I'd better go. I hope Brian likes his books."

  "He will. They're his favorites. Thank you for buying them for him."

  "I wanted to." He backed up another step. "Maybe I'll see you at Betty's. I'm on days this coming month."

  "It'd be nice to see you.” She reached for the door handle behind her. "Good night."

  Jeff hesitated, looking at her in the dark, before striding toward her. His fingers slid around her nape and pulled her in, dipping his head to meet her lips. He kissed her softly and tremors vibrated through her at his touch. Then it ended and he turned to walk toward his car, gunning the engine and backing down the driveway with a wave of his hand.

  Anna watched him drive away until his car turned the corner and she could no longer see his taillights. He was a nice man, but she didn't know what to think. She'd been shocked at the attraction she’d sensed between them. Even during the tension she’d felt at the police station, his presence affected her, although she hadn't analyzed the cause at the time.

  Tonight, when he'd been close and then had kissed her so lightly, she'd felt something a lot more powerful than expected. It had been a long time since she'd felt that sexual zing, not since her early days with Mike.

  Her husband had only been gone such a short time and yet here she was, attracted to another man. No, I can’t be. Mallory’s right, it’s too soon. It was disloyal to Mike's memory.

  She'd tell him she couldn't see him if he asked her again. The thought did not make her feel better at all, but it was the right thing to do.

  Except she found she missed Jeff already.

  On Sunday, a family with three small children came to look at the house, and they oohed and aahed over it the entire time they were there. Anna was certain they'd make an offer, and she dreaded both the possibility and the necessity.

  As much of a strain on her finances the monster was, she hated to give up the house until the last possible moment. It'd been a dream of hers and Mike’s for so many years, and they'd had such a brief time together in it. They'd worked for the future for so long that they hadn't enjoyed their present enough.

  Then, the fruit of their labors was snatched from them by an insane man and she'd only had memories of the past, those first few raw months alone. But Anna felt she was finally starting to live in the present.

  It was all she could do anymore.

  Chapter 10

  It was Tuesday and a lovely fall day, the sort of day to acknowledge God in His heaven, smiling in benevolence on the world. The breeze was warm and the sky a clear blue that only a humidity-free, cool fall atmosphere could bring. Jackets, appearing from time to time the last few weeks, were left in the closet, and children and adults alike played as if winter would never appear and snow wouldn't dare float down upon them any time soon.

  Anna decided to take full advantage of her half hour lunch for a change and about two o'clock, after the crowd thinned, she shed her cap and apron, and headed out the door to revel in the sun. She wandered around the neighborhood, much as she'd done the day she'd found the small sign in the window at Betty's that had changed her life.

  The storefronts had become familiar to her, but she never took enough time to look closely into their windows. When the stores began to peter out, gradually giving way to residential neighborhoods, she turned around and headed back toward the courthouse and Betty's.

  Two blocks after Betty's, she came to a small, elegant restaurant, named le Bistro, which served exotic sandwiches for lunch and unusual saucy foreign dishes at supper. They catered to the well-heeled businessman and those seeking unique French dishes. There was a small black and white engraved card in the window.

  ‘Waitress Needed. Inquire Within.’

  Anna remembered how she wished, the ni
ght she went out with Jeff, she could get a job in a more sophisticated restaurant and her heart started to pound. She looked dolefully at her stained uniform. It would have to do; she couldn't afford to take a chance on coming back later with better clothes on. The job might be gone. Smoothing out the wrinkles as best she could and scraping off a small glob of ketchup with her thumbnail, she took a deep breath and went through the door.

  She stopped at the bar. "I'm here to inquire about the waitress job."

  The barman looked her up and down, then nodded. "The owner is in the kitchen. Go through the door over there and ask for Monsieur Chartre."

  "Thank you." She opened the door to the kitchen.

  A small, thin man dressed in chef whites looked up. "How may I help you?"

  "I'm looking for Monsieur Chartre. I'd like to apply for the waitress job."

  "Ah, oui," he said with a slight accent. "I am he of whom you speak. Come with me into the office." He led the way through another door off the kitchen and seated her in a chair opposite his desk. "Please fill out this application. I can see you have experience."

  "Yes. I'm sorry about showing up for an interview like this. But I was passing by and saw the sign and didn't want to take a chance on waiting."

  "It is no problem. Take your time with the application. I have some soup simmering I want to check. I'll be back in about ten or fifteen minutes."

  She completed the application in five minutes because all the experience she could put on the form was Betty's. A few minutes later, he came back in.

  He sat down behind his desk and perused the form, nodding at the answers she'd provided. "Hmmm. Lamoreaux—is French, ne pas? You have relatives living in France, perhaps?"

  "No, I'm afraid not. My husband's great grandparents lived in Quebec."

  "I see. I must be honest and tell you I went down the street and talked to Betty while you were filling this out."

  She knew her face must have betrayed surprise and distress, but he smiled back at her. "I've known Betty a long time. We both belong to the downtown merchants' association. I decided it would be the easiest way to check your work references. Mainly I wanted to make sure it would be all right to steal you from her if I hired you. We're old friends. I would not abuse her friendship."

  "What did Betty say?"

  He smiled. "She praised you to the skies and said she would be sorry to see you go. She also said she would like to see you get a better job." His smile widened. "She thinks my prices are too high. She forgets that my prices would enable me to pay you more."

  Anna sat, stunned. Did he mean he was going to hire her? Just like that? "You mean—”

  "Oui, I do. I know that if you worked for Betty, you're good. Would you like to work here?"

  "Of course." Anna slid to the edge of her chair. "What—I mean, when do I start?"

  He chuckled. "I haven't heard such enthusiasm in some time. The pay will be two dollars per hour more than your previous wage. The tips are excellent because we get many businessmen on expense accounts. The hours are somewhat different. We do not serve breakfast. You will be working eleven o'clock to seven o'clock. We have another shift of part-timers who come in at six and stay until eleven. You'll have an hour off for lunch and we prefer our wait staff take their time between two o'clock in the afternoon and four o'clock when everything is slow. Can you manage those hours with your family?"

  "I'll figure it out." It would mean she could be there in the morning to see the kids off to school. Brian could stay with Rose after school until she got home. Mallory was old enough for permission to be on her own until supper.

  "Good. We are closed on Sunday and you will have one other day off. I think it is best if you work out the week at Betty's to give her a chance to find a replacement. You may start here next Monday."

  "It'll be fine. I'll be here." She glanced down at her uniform. "Uh, what should I wear?"

  "At the uniform store downtown, they have black skirts, slender ones. You know," he waved his fingers vaguely, "no pleats, no fullness. Then, whatever kind of white blouse you have will be fine to wear with it. Some of the other girls like to wear ones with ruffles or lace, and they look nice. Helps with the tips, also, they tell me. We try to make everything look elegant." He smiled at her. "Oh, I almost forgot. We give you a uniform allowance. You will have a credit balance of one-hundred twenty-five dollars to buy whatever you need there."

  "I think I have some blouses which would be all right." She stood up. "I'd better get back to Betty's. I'm late. Thank you very much. I look forward to working here." She reached out to shake his hand. "You've been kind."

  He squeezed her hand. "The pleasure will be mine, Mrs. Lamoreaux. See you Monday."

  "Fine." She smiled and turned to go, so excited, she didn't even think to look around the interior of the place where she would be working.

  Stepping back into the diner, Anna felt embarrassed as well as guilty. After working at Betty's for only six months, she was quitting already. Betty had been very, very good to her when she was desperate for a job, and now Anna was deserting her. She really couldn't afford, though, to give up the opportunity of a better job at much better pay. She had a family to think of.

  Betty was standing behind the counter with a big grin on her face. "He hired ya, didn't he? The bum."

  Anna nodded, uncertain.

  "Good for you. I knew you'd get a better job before too long."

  "You aren't too upset?"

  "Yes and no." She shrugged. "Sure, I'm sorry to lose you. You're a nice girl and a hard worker. You're conscientious and you make a killer potato salad. We been gettin' a lot of compliments on it since you started makin' it, you know. Let's face it. You got too much class for Betty's Diner."

  "Betty. What an awful thing to say. It's not true in the slightest." Anna slapped her hands on her hips. "I thought you'd be the last person in the world to make a remark like that. I've been happy here. This was my first paying job. I worked hard, and I enjoyed taking my paycheck because I knew I earned it. Shame on you, Betty."

  Betty grinned as she cleared dirty dishes off the counter. "Sweet of you to say it. I'm a realist, though. I know my limits. And I know you need a better job. How much of the mortgage on your big house on the South Side does your paycheck cover?"

  Anna stopped short, swallowing what she'd been going to say. "How do you know anything about my house?"

  "Your address is on your application." She took an efficient swipe at the coffee rings on the counter. "And everybody knows what kind of houses are on your street."

  "Now you sound like a reverse snob," Anna said in annoyance.

  "No, like I said—a realist."

  "Anyway, my house is up for sale."

  "Oh, now that's too bad, honey."

  Frowning, Anna put her purse away and donned her apron and cap. "I'm not sure anymore. I love the house and all, and I'm enjoying every day I get to spend in it until we have to move, but . . . I don't know."

  She shrugged, not sure how to express what she meant. “If I could do it over, I'd do it differently. The more I think about it, the more I think my big house was a mistake. If we'd gotten something more reasonable, we could have been in it a long time ago." Shaking her head, she mused, "We wouldn't have been forced to live in an apartment for thirteen years, saving for something Mike hardly got a chance to enjoy. We were living for tomorrow and in the end I think we ended up cheating ourselves and the children."

  There was no one in the diner who needed attention, and Anna leaned against the counter, her arms folded. "Another thing. I'm not sure I like living in a neighborhood like mine with its exclusive reputation. As much as I'll miss the house itself, I think I'll feel a good dose of relief when we do move somewhere else." She held her hand up when Betty looked like she was going to object.

 
"I'd rather be somewhere where the neighbors don't snicker if you don't hire a lawn service, where they don't cringe if the kids hold a bicycle derby on the street in front of your house. Somewhere where you can have a dog without worrying whether the neighbors will call the police if he happens to do his business on their lawn.”

  Betty stared at her with raised brows. "Who wound you up today?"

  Anna straightened and went to the coffeemaker. "Sorry. Things have been piling up in my head lately. I didn't mean to dump it all on you."

  "Your dog been crappin' on the neighbor's lawn?"

  Anna laughed, almost spilling her coffee. "No, we don't have a dog. It happened to my neighbor, Rose, last fall. I'll be sad to move away from her. She's been a great friend."

  "You can still be friends."

  "Oh, sure. It won't be the same as having her next door, but I know I'll see her now and then.”

  Anna nodded toward her section. “A group of ladies just sat down at one of my tables. I'd better get going. Don't want the boss to fire me." She glanced at Betty again. "My last day will be Saturday. Will you be okay if I'm not here next week? I'll be starting at le Bistro on Monday."

  "Sure. I can probably find somebody by then. If not, I can fill in for a few days until we do. In fact, take Saturday off on me. Then you can have a nice weekend before you start your new job. Henri's a nice guy, but the work isn't as easy as it looks. The kitchen's a long way from the tables 'cause the place is so skinny. Wear those comfortable shoes you got on."

  "All right, I will. And thank you for the day off." She gave Betty a quick hug. "You've been wonderful to me. You took me when no one else would, and I'll always remember your kindness."

  Betty beamed. "It's easy to be nice to you. You're a nice person, and a classy lady no matter what you say." She swatted Anna on the behind. "Now get to work. Those customers didn't come in to study the wallpaper."