At Seventeen

by Gerri Hill

  “What’s wrong?” she asked again.

  “You…you remembered,” Madison whispered. “You always brought me a cake the day after my birthday.” Their eyes held. “Our own party.”

  Shannon reached out, brushing a tear from Madison’s cheek. “Yes. And this made you cry?”

  “I missed you.”

  Shannon took a deep breath, then pulled Madison to her, folding her in her arms. “I missed you too.”

  Their hug was tight, almost desperate, but they pulled apart guiltily when the French doors opened. Ashton, still wet from the pool, was watching them.

  “Mom?”

  Madison stepped farther away from her, motioning him inside. “Ashton, honey, you remember Shannon, don’t you?”

  He was much taller than she remembered, but of course he was five years older too. She felt as if she was being inspected head to toe.

  “I remember,” he said, but his glance went back to his mother. “Why are you crying?”

  “Nothing, just…old memories,” Madison said, smiling.

  He looked back at Shannon accusingly, and she thought they owed him an explanation.

  “See, when we were kids, I wasn’t allowed to attend any of your mother’s birthday parties. So every year, I’d get my mother—Alice—to make a small cake, and your mother and I would have our own little party. Always the day after,” she said. She pointed to the cheesecake on the counter.

  He tilted his head, still studying her. “Why weren’t you allowed to go to her parties?”

  Shannon looked at Madison and shrugged. “You want to answer that one?”

  “Your grandmother wouldn’t let me invite her,” Madison said simply. “I didn’t realize how wet you are. Outside,” she said, turning him around. Madison held her hand out to Shannon. “Come see the patio.”

  Whiz kid or not, Ashton was still just a kid as he ran toward the pool and splashed in. It was only then that Shannon realized Madison was wearing a beach cover-up, not an oversized T-shirt. Which meant she was wearing a swimsuit. She also realized she was staring as her gaze traveled over Madison.

  “Yes, I’m wearing a swimsuit,” Madison said with a grin. “We decided to have a play day and take a break from shopping.”

  “And I see where your priorities are,” she said. “Your patio is furnished but not your house.”

  Ashton hung on the side of the pool watching them. “Why wouldn’t she let you invite her?”

  “Are we still on that?” Madison asked.

  “Because I was the maid’s daughter,” Shannon supplied. “We weren’t supposed to be friends.”

  “Oh.”

  “Can you stay?” Madison asked.

  Shannon shook her head. “I’ve got some things I need to do. Jarod’s coming back tomorrow, bringing his family. Have you met Joan?”

  “No, I haven’t. Alice tells me she’s the perfect daughter-in-law, though.”

  “Yeah, she’s great. And the kids are tolerable,” she said with a laugh.

  Madison laughed too. “Maybe I’ll need to invite them over to swim this summer.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure they’d like that.” She looked down at Ashton. “Good to see you again. Good luck at MIT.”

  He smiled. “Thanks.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Madison offered.

  Back in the kitchen, Madison walked over to the cake. “I’m sorry about earlier. It was so sweet of you,” she said. “I was touched.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “Would you like a piece?”

  “No. You and the Whiz Kid can enjoy it. I should get going.”

  They stood staring at each other and it took all of Shannon’s willpower not to pull Madison into her arms again. She was aware, however, of a very curious young man watching them from the pool. Madison finally looked away, releasing her.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Madison knew it probably wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had—inviting Shannon over for an afternoon swim and dinner. She put the neatly folded towels on each chaise lounge, wondering if she should call and cancel.

  In the last two weeks they’d seen each other three times, twice at Alice’s for lunch and once for dinner when she’d met Jarod’s family. She had been surprised they’d included her in the family dinner. She didn’t know if it was Alice’s doing or Shannon’s. She had enjoyed herself nonetheless, but she and Shannon hadn’t had a single moment alone.

  She remembered Shannon’s hesitation when she’d invited her to come over. Yes, they would be completely alone, something that hadn’t occurred in nearly two months, not since the afternoon they’d gone house hunting. Whether it was wise or not remained to be seen, but she missed her.

  God, I hope she wears a bikini.

  She shook her head and smiled at her thought. No, it would definitely be better if Shannon did not wear a bikini. In fact, the more she thought about it, the idea of them swimming was looking worse and worse. Ashton was no longer there to act as an unwitting chaperone; it would just be the two of them.

  “We’re adults, for God’s sake,” she muttered. Besides, Ashton had quizzed her extensively after Shannon’s last visit. She had assured him that there was nothing going on with Shannon. They were friends. Nothing more. For all of Ashton’s brave words regarding her happiness, she could tell he was upset that she and Stephen were divorcing. She suspected the only thing worse would be to find out his mother was having an affair with another woman. Which would not happen. She and Shannon had each said there would be no affair.

  Then why was she so nervous? Well, she had no more time to contemplate it. She heard Shannon drive up, heard her truck door slam. She hurried back into the house, taking one last look around, making sure everything was in its place before answering the door.

  “You got furniture!” Shannon exclaimed as she inspected the great room.

  “Yes, finally. None of which I have used yet. I spend all my time in the other room,” she said, leading Shannon back toward the kitchen.

  “So you are enjoying your house?”

  “Very much. It’s been fun decorating it the way I want. Of course I’ve not had my parents over yet. I can only imagine what my mother will say.”

  “It’s a great house, Madison. If you like it, then that’s all that matters.”

  “I do love it.” She laughed. “In fact, I could probably live with just my bedroom and this,” she said, waving at the open kitchen and informal sitting room.

  “Glad you got the pool, huh?”

  “Oh, yes. I’ve enjoyed the patio immensely.” She pointed at the bag Shannon held. “Did you bring your own dinner?”

  “Wine. I wasn’t sure what you were having,” Shannon said. “But I see you’re stocked,” she said, motioning to Madison’s wine rack.

  “I got it last week. I didn’t really need one that held thirty bottles, but I wanted one with a wineglass rack too,” she said.

  “What are we having, by the way?”

  “You don’t trust my cooking?”

  Shannon looked at her skeptically. “Do you not remember your attempt at spaghetti?”

  Madison laughed and took the wine from her. “Well, like I said, you’re very hard to cook for. So I stuck with Italian but ordered some dishes from Sapori D’Italia,” she said. “We’ll just have to warm them later.”

  “Good idea.”

  They were quiet for a moment, and Madison tried not to stare, envisioning what Shannon was wearing beneath her clothes.

  “Feel like a swim?” she finally asked.

  “Sure.”

  Madison raised her eyebrows. “Bikini?”

  Shannon laughed. “Gonna hold me to that one, are you?”

  “Of course. That’s the only reason I got the pool,” she said with a wink, shocked that she was actually flirting with Shannon. Talk about playing with fire.

  But fire was exactly what she felt as Shannon stripped off her clothes, revealing a tiny black bikini. Shannon had been twenty-one years old th
e last time she’d seen her…naked. The years had been kind to her. As a thirty-eight-year-old woman, she was as attractive to her as ever. She finally let her breath out after Shannon dove into the pool, disappearing beneath the surface.

  “Oh…my,” she whispered.

  “Your turn.”

  Shannon hung on the side of the pool, her dark hair slicked back from her face. Madison nodded, feeling Shannon’s eyes on her as she took off her cover-up. Even though her suit was a one-piece, she still felt exposed. She paused, looking down at Shannon. Their eyes met, held, and she was surprised to see an old, familiar look in Shannon’s. Now, like all those years ago, it caused her pulse to race.

  She walked over to the edge of the pool, pausing only a second before diving in. The cool water helped temper the sudden heat in her body, and she surfaced on the other side, away from Shannon.

  Shannon looked at her, one eyebrow arched. “Do we really think this is a good idea?”

  “It’s most likely a terrible idea,” Madison agreed. “But you owed me a bikini,” she said with a laugh.

  By mutual—and silent—agreement, they let the subject of swimwear drop. They enjoyed almost an hour in the pool, their conversation hitting many topics but never once delving into their past or, more importantly, their present.

  Shannon had brought a change of clothes, so while she went into the spare bathroom to change, Madison put their dinner in the oven to warm. She was heading to her own bedroom when Shannon came back in.

  “Open a bottle of wine, would you?” Madison asked.

  “Any preference?”

  “You choose,” she called over her shoulder.

  She stopped for a second, taking time for a quick glance around her bedroom. She loved it. She kept the drapes pulled open until bedtime; the setting sun was casting soft shadows inside now. For some reason, she found peace in this house. She didn’t know if it was the fact that she was alone and on her own, free to do as she chose, or if it was that she finally had escaped the confines of a totally controlled life. She felt relaxed, calm and peaceful. It was almost as if her life was going in slow motion and she was afforded the time to enjoy—savor—every moment. For her, that was so different from the life she had been living, simply getting through each day, wishing for it to be over with and then doing it all over again the next day.

  She put on a pair of her new jeans, wondering if Shannon would notice. Even in high school, she only owned a few pairs of jeans, but they were designer jeans, the only kind her mother would allow her to wear. Now she wanted something more casual, like what Shannon wore. She admitted she felt a little self-conscious when she was shopping, at first going to the places her mother always dragged her to. But the clothes that were there were just what she already had in her closet at Stephen’s, clothes she planned to donate. She wanted nothing to remind her of those lost years. So she went to one of the department stores in the local mall, knowing her mother would have been embarrassed to no end had someone recognized her there. She escaped without notice but had had so much fun that she’d been back three times. Her new closet was filling with new clothes, mostly casual and mostly fun. Her mother would be horrified.

  Shannon was standing at the French doors, looking outside as dusk settled over the backyard. The pool lights were on, turning the water a pretty blue. Shannon turned when she approached, her glance taking in Madison’s attire.

  “Wow…you look nice,” Shannon said.

  “Thank you. I don’t know if I told you, but I didn’t take a single article of clothing from the old house. I wanted a completely fresh start.”

  “A little more casual?”

  “Yes. I want my whole life to be more casual, not just my clothes,” she said.

  Shannon had already filled two wineglasses. Madison picked one up and handed it to her, then took the other for herself. She lightly touched Shannon’s glass and smiled.

  “Thank you for coming over today. I’ve enjoyed spending time with you.”

  Shannon nodded. “I’ve had a good time too.”

  “You don’t mind eating at the bar, do you? I haven’t bothered getting a formal dining table yet,” she explained.

  “I don’t mind at all. As you know, formal dining is not really my thing.”

  “I know. And honestly, I’ve had enough to last a lifetime,” she said, knowing it was true. Her mother had been a stickler for it, of course, but even Stephen insisted on a proper evening meal in the formal dining room. Agnes was only too happy to oblige him. She and Ashton had hated it and on nights when he was away, they would eat at the table in the kitchen, something Agnes frowned upon.

  “You’ve changed, Madison.”

  “Have I?” She went to the oven and peeked inside. “Maybe outwardly. You of all people should know I never really wanted any of that.”

  “No, you didn’t want it. You just couldn’t say no to any of it.”

  Madison wanted to be angry, but she knew it was the truth. “I didn’t know how to say no.”

  “Does it feel good to say it now?”

  Madison nodded. “It feels…freeing. Of course my relationship with my mother is in tatters,” she said. “She still thinks if she badgers me enough, I’ll come to my senses, as she says.”

  “And Stephen?”

  Madison was surprised Shannon had brought up Stephen. She rarely mentioned his name. “He’s dragging it out. I’ve stopped taking his calls. He’s either angry at me, or he’s upset and hurt, or he’s trying to make me feel guilty for breaking up our perfect little family.” She shook her head. “All of which is ridiculous.”

  “So he’s not ready to sign?”

  “No. And as much as my father has helped me, I’m trying to let the attorneys handle it. But I won’t wait much longer before getting my father involved. I’m ready for it to be over with.” She sighed. “But I really didn’t invite you over here to discuss all that. Let’s eat.”

  As she took the four dishes out of the oven, Madison was at a loss as to how to serve it. She had dishes and place settings, but she didn’t really have serving dishes. Shannon must have sensed her hesitation.

  “How about we leave them on the stove and eat buffet-style,” she suggested.

  “Is that okay?” Madison asked.

  “Casual dining, remember,” Shannon said. “And it smells delicious.”

  “I wasn’t sure what all to get. There’s vegetarian lasagna, a spinach and mushroom fettuccini Alfredo dish, and this,” she said, lifting the lid, “is broccoli and mushrooms in a pesto sauce over angel hair pasta.”

  “Oh, that looks good. I love pesto.”

  Madison pointed to the last dish. “That one you won’t want, but it’s something I love. Linguini with clam sauce.”

  Shannon smiled. “Yeah, I’ll let you have that one all to yourself.”

  They filled their plates. Madison knew she’d never be able to eat that much but it looked so delicious, she wanted to try it all. Shannon brought the wine bottle over and refilled their glasses before sitting down. Once again they touched glasses.

  “Everything looks wonderful, Madison. Thank you.”

  The only sound in the room was their quiet moans as they took their first bites. Shannon’s “mmm” was all she needed to hear to know she was pleased.

  “This is fabulous,” Shannon mumbled as she chewed on the fettuccini.

  “It’s my favorite Italian place, although I haven’t had any of these dishes before, except the clam sauce,” she admitted.

  “Do you go out to eat much? I assumed you had a…well, a cook or somebody,” Shannon said.

  “Agnes,” Madison said. “And she caters to Stephen’s every whim. Dinner was rarely out but lunch, I would meet Mother, or Stephanie sometimes. There was a group of us that would meet once a month.”

  “Country club friends?” Shannon guessed.

  “I wouldn’t exactly call them friends,” she said as she sampled the lasagna. “But I haven’t seen them since, well, since I left
Stephen. Stephanie has called me once, not to see how I’m doing but to let me know I had made a huge mistake that I would regret very soon.”

  “And do you?”

  “God, no. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.” She took a sip of her wine, watching as Shannon twirled angel hair pasta on her fork. “Why do you think we never talked about us?” she asked suddenly.

  “Us?”

  “I mean, in high school, all that we did, why do you think we never talked about it?”

  Shannon took a sip of her wine too. “Maybe we were afraid of it. You know, I told you I was telling my friends about us.” She paused. “Charlotte is a psychologist, so I’m not sure if she was genuinely curious or if she was practicing her craft,” Shannon said with a short laugh. “Anyway, when I was telling them my side of the story, they asked what you thought about it or what you said about it all. I told them we didn’t talk about it. They were floored that with all that was happening between us at that young age, we never talked about it.” Shannon shrugged slightly. “She asked me that same question. Why? Why didn’t we talk? And I really didn’t have an answer. I guess I thought, what was there to talk about, you know? We both knew what was happening and we both knew how it would end.”

  Madison nodded. Yes, they had known.

  “We knew you would get married,” Shannon continued. “But if you look at it from the outside, it is odd that we never spoke of it.” Shannon’s eyes held hers. “What was there to talk about? It just…”

  “It just was,” Madison supplied.

  “Yeah. It just was. What would we have talked about? We knew what was going on.” Shannon shrugged again. “But we were kids.” She sighed. “Crazy stuff.” She shook her head with a smile. “I can’t believe we did all that and we never once—”

  “Got caught?”

  Again, their eyes held. “Yeah. Got caught.”

  As was often the case, the underlying tension between them flared up. It seemed to grow each time they saw each other. Madison felt it. The look in Shannon’s eyes said that she felt it too. They continued to eat in silence, both surprisingly finishing most of the food on their plates. Shannon finally put her napkin down and picked up her glass, finishing the last of her wine.