“Same here, I’m sure. Now, what are you two looking for?”
“A medium-firm pillow top,” Maddy answered decisively. Then, anticipating John’s interference, added, “He’ll tell you he likes a firm mattress, but don’t listen to him.”
“Well, well,” chuckled Steven. “I’ve got quite a variety, but I don’t think I can accommodate those two options in the same bed. Are you two sure you want to sleep together?”
Steven couldn’t have anticipated how long he would have to wait for an answer to his question, which was fine with him, because as far as he was concerned, it was rhetorical. He strolled up the aisle, leaving one discomfited and one thoughtful customer to follow.
Maddy was the first to move, glad to have a reason not to look at John. She just knew he was grinning; she could feel his gaze on her back as they walked.
“Now, here’s a fine mattress with a smaller pillow top. Might suit you both,” Steven was saying.
“Probably not,” Maddy found her voice. “John’s pretty fussy about these things. We should probably just buy separate mattresses, shouldn’t we, dear?”
“Now, that will never do,” Steven answered for him. “I’m sure we can find something that will work for both of you.” He maneuvered around the beds and gestured for them to follow. “This one over here has no pillow top, but it’s surprisingly comfortable for a firm mattress. Why don’t you give it a try, Maddy?”
“Maddy really likes her pillow top,” John joined in. “Let’s look at these over here.”
Steven seemed a little flustered, and Maddy felt bad that he was caught in the middle of their silly game. She decided to test and fall in love with the first thing she tried. It wasn’t difficult. The first mattress she lay down on, and she was careful to pick one that was on sale, felt more comfortable than any she’d tried at the other store.
“I do like this, Steven. What kind is it?”
Steven’s face lit up at her interest, and he immediately explained all the wonders of the mattress she had chosen. John sat on the edge of the bed and listened politely, and Steven sauntered over to him as he talked.
“Now you just give this a try, John. Your little lady likes it.” He nudged John on the shoulder, and he fell back onto the bed next to Maddy.
Maddy looked over at him. “What do you think, honey?”
“I think it’s great, darling.” He smiled at her and looked back at the clerk. “Do you think it will help with Maddy’s snoring?”
Maddy punched John’s arm, as Steven looked on with a kindly smile.
“Well, a good mattress has a lot of benefits, and if you’re sleeping better, there’s a good chance you’ll snore less. Or at least,” he added, his smile widening, “You’ll sleep right through it, John.”
“I sure hope so,” John answered with feeling. He was rewarded with another punch.
“Ouch! Maybe we should get separate mattresses.” John faked a yawn and stretched, effectively clothes-lining Maddy. Steven found the whole display very entertaining.
Maddy twisted out from under John’s arm and slid off the bed. “This is great, and it’s on sale, right? How much for one of these and three double sets?”
Steven was dismayed. “You really want separate mattresses?”
“I’m opening an inn down in Clairmont,” Maddy replied. “And I need to buy at least four mattress sets from you. I was hoping you could give me a deal.”
“But you’re not,” he sputtered, looking at John and back at Maddy.
“No, we’re not,” Maddy told him. “But I really do like your mattresses,” she added, noting the look of disappointment on his face.
“I just thought you made the nicest couple,” Steven said, feeling let down for all the wrong reasons. “I’ll go see what I can find out for you.” He walked away, muttering about snoring and pillow tops.
Maddy put her hands on her hips and looked at John. “You’ve been nothing but trouble today. Did you see how sad you made Steven?”
John laughed. “I made him?”
Maddy shook her head with a grin. Steven returned with his figures, and Maddy was pleased with the deal that he offered. She signed for the purchase, further delighted that Steven promised to throw in half a dozen pillows for free. When he assured her that they would be delivered within the week, Maddy felt her first twinge of disappointment. She didn’t know how long she thought it might take. She supposed she hoped Steven would follow her home in his big Mega-Mattress truck.
John and Maddy made it back to Clairmont just before six. He dropped her off with a disappointingly quick kiss, which did not do justice to a couple who pretended to be married for the afternoon. Maddy waved him off with a sigh and went in to update her lists.
seventeen
It was business as usual on Wednesday, and Maddy reminded herself not to be surprised at John’s distance when he was in “work mode.” It was just such a contrast from the day before, that she found herself a little concerned. She brooded over this as she arranged her things in her new room, gradually cheering as she put things away.
The men coated the bedroom floors with polyurethane, which filled the house with an interesting and decidedly unpleasant smell. Maddy walked Burt and then decided to shop for bedding. She needed to think about something other than her contractor. Being in the same house with him while he was so focused on anything but her was driving her crazy.
Shopping fulfilled its purpose on several levels. She found bedding, sheets and window treatments, and was happily distracted in the process. Armed with her purchases, she began the drive home, her mind now full of decorating ideas. Finishing the bedrooms was within sight, and outfitting the parlor, dining room and sitting room was around the corner. Then the kitchen… She sighed, wishing she felt more excited about that project. She’d have to take another look at her finances and see where she stood.
When she finally pulled into her driveway, only one truck remained, and Maddy smiled. It seemed natural to come home to John, and as she maneuvered her armload of packages through the house, her mind skipped ahead to the not-so-distant-future when his work on her house would be done. She pushed the door open into the kitchen, where he was bent over some paperwork at the counter. She smiled at his profile; his left hand braced his chin, his fingers rifling through the hair above his ear, as was his habit.
He finished writing and turned to her, his look of concentration replaced with a smile.
“Hey – you’re back.”
She set her bags down on the ground and tossed her keys on the countertop. “What are you working on?”
“We never had our financial update this week, and we need to do it before I leave on Saturday.”
Maddy frowned at the reminder. “I was thinking along those lines on the way home. How does it look?”
“I’ll need a few more minutes, and then I’ll let you know.”
Maddy disappeared into her room, and John smiled, listening to her hum while she put her things away. He was tallying another column of numbers when she re-entered the kitchen.
“Do you want something to drink?” she asked.
“I’m good.”
Maddy poured herself some iced tea, leaned against the counter and watched him. He felt her eyes and looked up.
“You okay?”
Maddy smiled. “Oh, I’m fine. I just like watching you work.”
“It’s a little distracting.”
Maddy circled around the counter and leaned into him while looking over his shoulder. John stopped and looked up into her mischievous face.
“Maddy, go away.”
He elbowed her and she giggled and went outside. She sat down on the rocker, taking in the view. She didn’t last long, and soon came back in with a bang!
John tried to give Maddy one of his ‘looks,’ but she was oblivious, marching past him to the pantry to get some pretzels.
“Oh – the new guy! Did he show up today? What’s he like?”
John put his pencil down. “He talks more
than Travis.”
“Get out.”
“But not more than you.”
Maddy drew breath to argue, looked hard at him, and then walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
He turned toward her. “What’s gotten into you today?”
Maddy grinned. “Well, you ignored me all morning, and I need some attention.”
“I ignored you so that I could concentrate on fixing up your house.”
Maddy grinned some more and rubbed her nose on his.
“I should be ignoring you now, so I can finish this, but you’re making it impossible.”
“Am I?”
“Don’t make me break a ban.”
“John, you wouldn’t!” Putting her hands on either side of his head, Maddy turned him to face his work. Her hands lingered as she smoothed the hair behind his ears. “Is that better?”
“Absolutely not. I have no idea what any of these numbers mean.”
Maddy laughed and dropped her hands. “I’ll leave you alone, now. I’m going to go make up my bed. I have a new bedspread,” she boasted, trotting off to her room.
John smiled, wondering how long it would be before she re-emerged. Although she didn’t actually leave her room, Maddy’s efforts at sabotaging his work were complete a few minutes later when she blasted her radio. He stacked his papers in a pile and pushed away from the counter. The work day was over. It was time to greet Maddy properly.
John leaned against the doorframe and watched Maddy at work. She balanced somewhat precariously between a chair and the window ledge in an attempt to remove the curtain rod. For a moment he thought she was going to fall, but she caught herself and continued to wrestle with the stubborn rod. She looked over at him.
“John! Hi! Did you finish your work?”
“No, Maddy, I had to give up.”
“I’m so sorry. Would you give me a hand here?”
John didn’t move. “You’re not sorry at all.” Maddy grinned in response. “But,” he continued, “I am. I’m done for the day, so I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”
Maddy was rather shocked. “You really won’t?”
“Nope,” he said, walking over to her.
She stood on her perch, looking down at him. “Fine, I’ll do it without you.” She turned back to the window and gave the curtain rod one more yank. When it came loose, Maddy lost her balance, and John reached up to steady her. His hands around her waist, he waited for her to find her footing.
“Thanks,” she grinned. “I thought you weren’t going to help.”
“I wasn’t going to watch you fall through the window.”
“Well, you’re my hero,” she replied matter-of-factly, returning to her work of threading the curtain rod through the curtain.
John watched her for a moment. “You don’t have to do that up there, you know.”
Maddy smiled sweetly and kept working. In the next instant she was up in the air as John pulled her off her perch and brought her down to the floor. She stood very close, looking up at him.
“You can’t just pick me up and put me places,” she scolded.
“Actually, I can,” he countered, still holding her.
“Well, would you put me back when I’m done?” Maddy made an effort to finish attaching the curtain. It wasn’t easy; she didn’t have a lot of space to maneuver.
“Maddy, I told you, I’m done with work.”
“Then why did you bring me down here?”
John took the curtain rod and set it on the bed, and Maddy very quickly forgot about her window dressing.
Maddy’s mood went south with John’s departure later that afternoon. She was in no mood for socializing when Otis showed up and reminded her of their dinner date with the neighbors. She all but scowled at her elderly neighbor, whom she had hardly seen all week.
“I’m sorry, Otis, I’m just not in the mood to be nice to people I hardly know. Any way we can reschedule?”
“Maddy, we’ve had this planned all week. They were kind enough to invite us, and you can’t cancel last minute.”
“Well, I’m not feeling that great,” Maddy replied lamely. She ventured a look at Otis. He wasn’t buying.
“What’s wrong, Maddy?”
“John’s leaving for vacation on Saturday.”
Otis lifted an eyebrow.
Maddy scowled. “And I’m going to miss him.”
“It won’t be so bad.”
Maddy checked the evil look she wanted to give him. “Yes, Otis, it will. It will be very bad.”
“Well, they haven’t left, yet,” he challenged her, “and it would be a shame to ruin the time you have remaining by complaining about it.”
Maddy grudgingly conceded his point.
“Let’s get over to the Browns’. I’m sure they have a nice dinner planned,” Otis suggested.
Maddy pushed her chair back. “Was I supposed to bring something?” It suddenly occurred to her that she may have forgotten more than just the invitation.
“No, they said they had it all covered. Now cheer up, and let’s go and be neighborly.”
They started across the beach, and the girls next door called out from their deck in welcome. Maddy smiled reluctantly. They were sweet kids, and it wouldn’t kill her to be civil for an hour or so. After that, she wasn’t making any promises.
Thursday morning’s overcast skies aptly mirrored Maddy’s outlook as she stomped around the house, getting ready for the day. She made the coffee extra strong, then sat, tapping her fingers on the counter, waiting for the pot to brew. It took an unusually long time, and Maddy was good and irritated by the time it was ready.
She thought briefly about her conversation with Otis the night before, and acknowledged that while his advice was sound, she didn’t have the wherewithal to take it. She’d spent the last bit of her happy energy pretending to be nice to the neighbors. The evening had passed pleasantly enough, but Maddy simply couldn’t relate to the rich and rather snobby outlook of her affluent hosts. After the fourth reference to their much larger home in the city, she almost jumped off the second-story deck. Otis kept her in line with his fatherly looks and she grudgingly behaved.
The morning did not bring with it a sense of new beginnings, as mornings were supposed to do. Instead, Maddy only felt the Fordham’s impending departure more keenly. As the clock ticked away the endless minutes until eight a.m., Maddy knew that there was only one solution. She had to pick a fight with John.
After slamming her finger in the cupboard in the laundry room, she was more determined than ever to be uncivil. By the time Frank and John arrived, the tension in the kitchen was acute.
“Hey, Maddy,” Frank greeted her cheerfully, almost immediately sensing that his enthusiasm would not be met.
“Hi Frank, John.” Maddy nodded at them and looked back down at her list. “Coffee’s on, but look out; it’s pretty strong.”
Frank raised an eyebrow at John, who shrugged. “Linda said you can call her any time next week to shop,” he said, hoping to inject some good news into the morning.
“I’ll be sure to do that. Thanks.”
Frank poured his coffee and hurried upstairs.
John walked over and sat down. “Maddy? You okay?”
“No, John, I’m not,” she answered crossly.
“You want to talk about it?” he asked gently.
She looked at him and didn’t know whether to punch him or throw herself into his arms. She decided instead to complain about her bathroom.
“I don’t know why I ever agreed to having just a shower in my bathroom down here. I need a bathtub.”
“Well,” John replied evenly. “We decided a shower would be better because of the space issue. You’ll have almost no closet left if we extend that bathroom wall any further.”
“It’s just the hall closet,” Maddy practically growled.
John cleared his throat. “I’ll lo
ok into it with Willy and see what he thinks,” he answered. “Maybe there’s a way to use the space more efficiently.”
“Are you just giving in to me because I’m being difficult?”
Good ol’ direct Maddy. “No, I’m looking into it because you’re the homeowner, and what you want is most important.”
“So, now I’m just the homeowner?” She warmed to the pointless argument.
“No, Maddy, you’re not just the homeowner, you’re my…”
She pushed back from the counter. “Don’t bother trying to define us; it’s impossible,” she stormed.
John followed her. “Maddy.”
She looked up at him and tried unsuccessfully to hold onto her pointless anger. Her scowl softened, and tears started to form in her eyes. That made her mad again, and she tried to push past him, but he gently blocked her retreat. She looked up at him defiantly, and then sighed and leaned her head against his chest. “I’m sorry.”
John wrapped his arms around her and held her, and she took another deep breath. The tears retreated, and she finally looked up at him.
“I don’t know why I can’t handle it that you and the boys are going away. I should be happy for you, but…” She tucked her head back into his chest.
Burt was getting restless, and John knew they only had a minute more alone. “I’m going to miss you, too,” he said quietly.
“Even after this?” came the muffled reply.
John heard the guys walking in the front door. He continued to hold her. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
Maddy looked up with a small smile. With her head no longer buried, she heard the footsteps as the rest of the crew made their way toward the kitchen. She ducked under John’s arm and dashed over to the coffee maker, just as the kitchen door opened.
“I’m glad to hear it,” she answered. “Morning, Travis, Willy. You must be Bill,” she said, extending her hand to the newest member of the crew.
John smiled at the transformation, marveling at how quickly Maddy could turn on the charm. The new guy was already stammering, although that wouldn’t last. He was far too good at incessant conversation to get hung up for long by a pretty face.
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