by Abigail Keam
Mary gave Eva a reassuring hug. “If we haven’t found her by the time you and I meet up with the boats, then we’ll call him. River, you come back to the motel instead of my house and stand by with the car, in case we need to make an emergency docking. We might want the transportation.”
River looked at Mary with renewed admiration. “What a keen mind you have, Mary Bishop. I’ll do whatever you say.”
He patted Eva’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, dear. We’ll find her. Won’t she’ll be in a world of trouble then! You can give Jenny a big hug of relief, and then tell her she’s grounded ’til she’s a teenager.”
Eva returned a faint smile.
“Everyone have their cell phones on?” asked Mary.
River looked sheepish. “Don’t have one. Sorry.”
“Here, take mine,” said Lillian, shoving it toward River. “Just call the motel’s number.”
River grabbed the phone and put it in his shirt pocket.
Mary continued, “Got keys?”
Everyone held up their keys.
“Okay. Let’s go,” commanded Mary as she tore through the office door.
Fierce wind was blowing over pool furniture and faint splats of rain hit them. The palm trees swayed as boats docked at the pier bobbed furiously. All the guests had taken refuge in their bungalows and lowered the hurricane shutters.
Mary looked at the dark sky. “I guess it’s not going to blow itself out.” Regretting having said that, she glanced at Eva, whose face had turned white. She gave her daughter-in-law a reassuring smile before heading to her car. Mary was thoroughly irritated with Jenny.
She was out of her mind with worry, but also thoroughly exasperated. If Eva didn’t wring Jenny’s neck, she certainly was going to.
31
Mary rushed home and was disappointed not to find Jenny waiting for her.
Lillian called only to report that Eva hadn’t found Jenny or the kayak, and was heading around the island. River had also reported in and found no one at his trailer.
Mary told Lillian that she had changed her mind about River and instructed Lillian to call him back, telling him to wait at the dock at his trailer park. She would pick him up.
Lillian agreed and said she had also called her boyfriend, Jim Masterson, and he was in his patrol car looking for Jenny on the highway.
Mary hated that Lillian had involved the police, but concluded it was better to be safe than sorry. Hanging up, she hurried to her Sea Ray and untied the ropes before jumping on. It took her only minutes to get to River’s trailer park’s dock.
River was waiting for her and jumped on board, not even waiting for the boat to stop. “Let’s go,” he urged. With a pair of binoculars, River scanned the coastline while Mary looked out at the sea while the rain poured down upon them. They saw brave or foolhardy souls, depending on your point of view, boating and kayaking in the turbulent ocean, but none of them were Jenny.
“Do you think someone might have picked her up?” asked Mary, who was now imagining all sorts of unpleasant things.
“Don’t be daft, woman!” exclaimed River. “Your mind will run away with you if you start down that path.”
“Well, those things do happen,” spat out Mary, trying not to think the worst.
“Be quiet now. Eva’s coming,” cautioned River as he spotted Eva’s boat round the bend.
River could see Eva’s expression was crestfallen when she spied Mary’s boat without Jenny aboard.
Eva pulled up alongside. “Nothing?”
Mary shook her head as she tossed Eva a line to secure both boats together.
River looked between both women, feeling utterly helpless.
Eva’s phone rang. She looked at the number. “Oh gawwd! It’s Mike.” Eva looked startled.
“You’ll have to tell him sometime,” reminded River. “Better to do it now while we’re with you.”
Eva nodded and answered, “Mike.”
“Hey, babe. Just calling in to see what you want to do for dinner. Jenny wants to get some pizza. This storm will probably blow out before long. How about it?”
Eva hissed, “Jenny wants to what?”
“We want to go out for pizza.”
“You mean Jenny is with you?”
“Yeah. Is there a problem? I got home and found her sleeping in bed with Snowball. I was going to talk to you about leaving her alone at the house. I think she’s still too young to be left by herself, but we can talk about that later.”
Eva’s face flushed an unhealthy red. “Oh, you better believe we’re going to talk about it. I’m coming home right now.” She hung up.
“Is Jenny all right?” asked Mary, trying to figure out the conversation.
“She’s at home with Mike. Apparently she went home to take care of Snowball and they were curled up asleep when he got home. He’s not aware of the panic, except he thinks I left Jenny alone at the house,” Eva fumed.
“Well, there now. That settles it. Everything turned out well, didn’t it?” cheered River. “Time for a nice drinkypoo to celebrate.”
Both women turned and glared at him.
“Or not,” he replied, slinking back to the stern of Mary’s boat.
“What am I going to do with that kid?” demanded Eva.
“I don’t know, but I’m too old to have many more stressful days like this. Something’s got to be done,” agreed Mary.
“But what?”
Mary leaned over and pulled Eva’s boat closer as she jumped into Eva’s. “River, take my boat back to your place and tie it up. I’ll pick it up later.”
“Goodbye, my sweet captain. Rest assured that your ship is in the capable hands of your first mate. I’ll take good care of it.”
“Boat. Boat. It’s a boat,” insisted Mary. “Aww, the hell with it. Let’s take off for your house, Eva.”
Glad that she was not going to face Jenny and Mike alone, Eva turned the boat around and headed for Plantation Key.
32
It took a few days, but things finally calmed down at the house.
After Mike learned what Jenny put everyone through, he called a family meeting at which he exploded. Both Jenny and Eva burst into tears while Mary tried to referee the situation.
When Mike finished his tirade, Jenny fled to her room, Eva went outside to be by herself, and Mike went to his office, slamming the door.
Mary stood in the kitchen by herself. “That certainly did not go well,” she murmured. She knew if something didn’t change with Jenny, Mike and Eva’s happiness might be in danger.
She went over to Jenny’s room and gently knocked on the door. She could hear Jenny sobbing. Slowly opening the door, she found Jenny clutching a picture of her mother while folded up on the bed. Snowball was sitting next to her looking confused.
Mary went over and sat on the edge of the bed. “Jenny, listen sweetheart, I want to talk with you.”
“I made everyone mad at me!” sobbed Jenny. “I just wanted to see if Snowball was okay.”
“You left the motel without permission and you didn’t tell anyone where you were going. You disobeyed Eva, and caused everyone a terrible fright. If you were worried about Snowball, think how terribly concerned we were about you.”
“I thought I could get to the house and get back before Eva noticed. Then when I found Snowball I just gave him a big hug. He started purring and we cuddled and I fell asleep.”
“That’s not true, Jenny.”
“What?”
“You’re telling a big fib.”
“No, I’m not.”
Mary smiled sadly. “Jenny, I know when a child is not telling the truth. You knew you wouldn’t get back, and that your little prank would upset Eva. I want to know why you would do such a cruel thing to a person who has been good to you like Eva.”
Jenny shrugged and wouldn’t look at her grandmother.
“Sometimes, children get angry or frustrated about things, and they don’t understand why because they don’t know
how to put their feelings into words. Let me help you.”
Jenny put down the picture of her mother and clutched Snowball.
Mary smiled and rested a hand on Jenny’s shoulder. “Here’s what I think.”
Jenny looked hopefully at her grandmother.
“I think a couple of things were going on. I think you were upset that you were not going to Orlando during the summer months. It meant you would be here in the Keys when the storms came, and that scared you.
“Since your dad and Eva love the water so much, you knew they would be out in the boat a lot, and you wouldn’t get to go with them unless you got over your fear of the ocean, so you tried the kayaking since you were familiar with it.”
Jenny brushed a tear from her cheek, but her eyes brightened.
“All these feelings got you confused. You were angry about not going to Orlando, but excited when you discovered that you could go out in the kayak. You also realized that you felt safe around Eva, but you were still scared your mother might be mad at you for loving Eva, so you wanted to punish Eva.”
“Golly, that’s what Mr. Egan said.”
“Really?” Mary raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn’t thought River was so perceptive.
“Close. He said my mother wouldn’t mind me loving Eva, and Daddy said so too, but I’m not so sure.”
“Oh, Jenny, how can we convince you that loving Eva is the right thing to do? Your mommy would be so happy.”
“Are you sure?”
“I knew your mother longer than you did–many years before you were born–Beth was such a fine person. She would only want what’s best for you.”
“Oh, Grandma, I feel so bad. I guess I really hurt Eva.”
“And you should feel bad, but if you apologize to Eva, I bet that by this time next week, your little act of defiance will be forgotten.”
“Really? You think so?”
Mary smiled and nodded. “Yep, I think so. Eva is outside if you want to talk with her.”
Jenny climbed off the bed still clutching Snowball. “Is it okay if I take Snowball with me?”
“Sure. Just don’t blame falling asleep on that poor cat. Come clean with Eva. You’ll find that she is a very understanding person.”
Jenny gave Mary a huge smile and ran out of the room.
Mary smiled to herself, sure that everything would be all right now in her little world.
But Mary was wrong.
33
The doorbell rang.
Mary opened the door after wiping her hands on apron. She had been cutting up potatoes for the pot roast she was cooking.
There stood River holding a large bouquet of flowers and a box of candy.
“River, you’re early. I’m not even dressed.”
“I wanted to talk with you before the others came.”
“Come in,” Mary said reluctantly as she moved aside. She noticed that River was wearing a new shirt and a brand new pair of shorts, and when he handed her the flowers, she noticed that it looked as though he must have had a professional manicure. “Recent haircut?” she mentioned.
River waved his hand over his new do. “You like it?”
Mary cocked her head from side to side. “It’s very becoming. Makes you look like a CEO of some big company.”
Grinning, River thrust the box of candy at Mary.
“My goodness, candy too? I only fixed pot roast.”
“It’s not for dinner. Flowers and candy signal a man’s intention to officially court a woman,” River announced as he bent down and lightly kissed Mary’s hand.
“You want to go steady with me?”
“Yeah, that’s funny. Mary, we’re not getting any younger. I don’t want to waste any time. I like you. I think you like me. Let’s spend some serious time together and see where it might lead.”
“Where it might lead?”
“I just said that.”
Mary was visibly flummoxed as she stood holding the candy and flowers. “Just exactly where do you want it to lead?”
“Maybe living together. Maybe marriage.”
Mary walked into the kitchen and placed the candy and flowers on the kitchen island. She thought for a moment and turned to face him. “River, I’m very flattered, but I will never ever live with a man, and I seriously doubt that I’ll ever get married again.”
“Why wouldn’t you live with a man?”
“Because I would share in all the negatives of a man’s life, but have none of the safety nets and rights that a married woman has. The woman always gets the short end of the stick when just living together, unless she has lots of money on her own, which I don’t.”
“And marriage?”
Mary didn’t answer, but shook her head, looking away.
River’s face fell. “Oh. So where does that leave us?”
“Why can’t we be friends?”
“I have friends, lots of them. What I don’t have is a female companion.”
“I am sorry to disappoint you, but the only thing I can offer is friendship.”
“You won’t even consider taking a chance on me?”
Mary shook her head again. “Out of the question. I only want to be friends.”
“All right then, Mary Bishop. You can look me up when you finally realize that babysitting Jenny and taking care of this house are not enough for you.” River turned to leave.
“Where are you going? Aren’t you staying for dinner?”
“This is supposed to be a family dinner, isn’t it?”
“Yes, my family will be here.”
“Then I’m sure I won’t be welcome, since I’m not part of your family.” River strode out the front door and closed it quietly.
After the door closed, Mary quietly called River’s name and took the first step to run after him, but stopped herself. This was crazy. All she had wanted was to have dinner for her family and a few friends.
She certainly didn’t anticipate a fight with River. Mary shoved her concern deep inside.
Mary was certain River would eventually realize they were too old for anything besides friendship and would come to his senses. She just had to wait.
34
Eva and Jenny offered to clean up the kitchen after eating Mary’s pot roast and chocolate cake. Glad someone else offered to clear the table, Mary and Lillian adjourned to the back patio.
They looked east at the brilliant night sky while Mike and Jim were having a beer in the study while watching an evening baseball game–the Cincinnati Reds versus the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Lillian and Mary could hear them cheering occasionally.
Mary turned so she could look through the back glass windows to check on Eva and Jenny. The two were laughing and chattering while they washed and put away the dishes. Lately it seemed things were going well there. Mary sighed with relief.
“You’re awfully quiet, Mary,” commented Lillian.
“Oh, I suppose it’s the heat. It wears me down in the summer,” Mary said, watching the boats settle for the night out on the ocean.
“Really? I thought it might have to do with River not being here tonight. I noticed a box of candy and a vase full of flowers in the laundry room. Care to enlighten me?”
“River did come and then he left in a huff.”
“What on earth happened?”
“He’s got some silly notion that he wants more than friendship with me. The candy and the flowers were his way of saying ‘let’s get it on, babe!’”
“I think that’s sweet in this day and age.”
“Sweet, huh? I think it’s crazy! What do I want with a man at my age?”
“My goodness, Mary, you sound like you’re ready for the boneyard. You have many good years left. Do you want to spend them alone?”
“I’ve got Mike and Jenny. Now Eva, too. That’s plenty for me.”
“Listen, Mary. I love my daughter and grandson, but I don’t want to build my life around them–the same way I didn’t want my mother-in-law or my mot
her to weave their lives around my family. They gave me space and plenty of it.”
“Are you saying I’m a burden to Mike and Eva?” asked Mary, aghast.
“I am saying that you are attractive, in good health, and have your own money. Let yourself live a little. Let Mike and Eva share their triumphs and their lumps without you hovering over them.”
“Oh, my gosh! Has Eva said something to you about me?”
“Heavens, no. Eva adores you. I’m just saying let them come to you. Don’t pay so much attention to them unless they ask. They’ll appreciate you much more that way.”
“In other words, don’t get in their way.”
Lillian smiled at Mary and took a sip of her wine.
Mary sniped, “That’s easy for you to say, Lillian. You’re younger than me. You’ve got time to get a new man. I’m too set in my ways for that foolishness now.”
“So you want your last years to be about babysitting Jenny? Once she hits twelve, she won’t even acknowledge knowing you. All teenagers are horrible animals. I don’t think they are human beings again until they can write a thank-you note without being reminded.”
Mary started to doubt her decision. “Lillian, I simply don’t know what to think anymore.”
“Spend some time with River. Cut loose a little. What’s the worst thing that can happen?”
“We could bomb as a couple.”
“So.”
“So?”
Lillian scooted her chair a little closer and patted Mary’s hands. “That’s what life is about. Taking chances and failing. Picking yourself up again and maybe succeeding a second time.”
“I don’t want the drama that goes with failing.”
“You’re halfway to success. You already have a man on the hook who is interested. I got to know River at the motel, and he’s lots of fun. He’s manly, and good-looking, if I may say so–I’ve given him the once over. He sincerely loved his wife, but he doesn’t talk about her every second of the day. He’s living in the present, and so should you. Just go out and have fun with him.”