Treasured Past

by Linda Hill

  The procedure was simple enough, even for a gal like me who had never lived through the rite of passage that most kids do at one time or another. I’d never worn a McDonald’s uniform for a single day of my life. Although I did remember a time when, as a preteen, I’d envied the lime-green polyester uniform worn by the girls behind the counter. I remembered the wide round ring that was the zipper pull, and the matching lime-green hat. I’d thought that the outfit was absolutely stunning. It wasn’t until years later, when my mother reminded me of how desperately I wanted to wear that uniform, that I laughed until I nearly cried. The thought of hamburger and French-fry grease permeating the polyester outfit made me cringe when I remembered the uniform that I’d wanted so badly.

  I was smiling at the memory and only nodded when Annie made some kind of statement before she turned and left me alone behind the counter. I was on my own.

  The first two hours were rather uneventful. I managed to muster up a smile whenever a new customer opened the door. I had the checkout procedure mastered after only a couple of people brought their purchases to the counter. After a while, I found myself eagerly fielding questions, which of course I had no idea how to answer. But it gave me legitimate reasons to approach Annie to relay the question of the moment. After several hours, I found that I’d actually been enjoying myself, and was surprised and just a bit disappointed when it was almost time to close the shop.

  At about a quarter of five, a gentleman came through the door carrying a large paper sack and approached the counter. He looked to be just a bit older than myself, with premature gray streaks beginning to emerge at his temples. His smile was friendly but hesitant.

  “Hi. I don’t think I’ve seen you here before. Did Annie break down and hire someone to help her out?” He placed the paper bag on the counter.

  I smiled a bit warily. “I’m actually just helping her out today.”

  “Is she here?” he asked brightly.

  “She’s back there somewhere.” I pointed to the opposite end of the store. “Would you like me to find her for you?”

  He considered the question momentarily. “I think that would be best.” He patted the bag that he’d placed on the counter. “I made a purchase awhile back that I need to talk to her about.”

  I glanced at the paper bag curiously and nodded my head. “Okay. I’ll go track her down.”

  I glanced back at the man only once to make sure he was behaving himself before I found Annie in the farthest aisle, rearranging a display of crockery. She smiled as I approached.

  “There’s a guy up front that wants to talk to you. He says he bought something awhile back that he needs to discuss with you.”

  She frowned. “I hope he doesn’t want a refund.” She sighed and wasted no time in walking to the front of the store. I was close behind.

  “Jim. How are you?” She recognized him from behind, and he turned and smiled. I thought he looked nervous.

  “I’m fine, Annie. And you?”

  “Fine. Just fine.” She stepped behind the counter and faced him, the smile warming her face. “What can I do for you?”

  “Well, I’m a bit embarrassed about this.” He dropped his eyes and began to fidget with the paper bag. “I bought this Eoff and Shepard set a couple of months ago.” He opened the bag and pulled out what looked like a tea and coffee set. He placed all four pieces on the counter. “At least I thought it was an Eoff and Shepard.”

  Annie’s brow wrinkled as she shook her head. “Jim, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before. I don’t remember ever having it in the shop.”

  “I know.” He almost interrupted her. “I didn’t actually see it here in the store,” he stammered. He began to fidget, and my curiosity was piqued.

  “Your husband sold it to me.”

  “My –”

  “It’s a long story.”

  For a moment I couldn’t hear anything above the rushing sound in my ears. Annie was married. I thought my heart would fall right into my stomach.

  “So when I saw him I mentioned that I was interesting in finding a particular tea and coffee set by Eoff and Shepard,” he was saying. “About two weeks later he called and said he’d managed to run across a set. He even delivered it to my office.” He paused long enough to see the frown on Annie’s face. “But the problem is, it’s not an original. It’s a replica. I went to have it appraised for my insurance policy, and I was told that I’d been conned.”

  Annie looked dumbfounded. I could almost see the wheels turning as she considered his words.

  “But, Jim, that transaction has nothing to do with this store. That’s between you and —”

  “No, unfortunately that’s not true.” He fumbled as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a brown leather wallet. “I have the receipt.” He unfolded a piece of paper and placed it on the counter in front of Annie. It was undoubtedly one of her receipts, the white copy to be exact.

  “You paid six thousand dollars for this?” Her voice was incredulous.

  “Yes,” he nodded. “And it appraised at fifty dollars. I think you can appreciate my concern.”

  She raised tired eyes to his before dropping them back down to the sales receipt, studying it intently. As if suddenly remembering my presence, her gaze lifted to meet my intense stare, catching me off guard. I couldn’t read the thoughts or emotions that rifled her features. She was clearly disturbed, and for a moment I forgot about the fact that I was crestfallen. I excused myself, removing myself from their presence as gracefully as possible.

  So much for Beth’s matchmaking, my mind was speaking overtime to me. Even my own instincts had been incorrect. I had thought that Annie might actually be interested in me. So much for intuition.

  I pretended to be engrossed in a display of butter dishes while my ears strained to hear the conversation between Annie and Jim. It would probably have been classified as eavesdropping if I could have deciphered a word of what they were saying. But I could only hear mumbling.

  I picked up a dish and turned it over in my hand, pretending that I wasn’t watching as Annie pulled a large, oversize checkbook from underneath the counter and began scribbling a check. Then she was ripping it from the book, her face and voice full of apology as she handed it over to Jim. Her face was the highest shade of red that I had ever seen, and I wasn’t sure if it was out of embarrassment or anger.

  I didn’t approach her immediately. Instead, I busied myself until the last customer had left the store and Annie locked the door behind him. She looked weary as she flipped the sign in the window so that CLOSED appeared to anyone peeking in.

  I knew that she wished I wasn’t there, and I felt like an intruder invading her personal business. I decided that the best thing to do was pretend that I hadn’t witnessed what was probably a very embarrassing moment for her.

  “Should we go ahead and move the furniture in?” I asked breezily. “I’m sure you have plenty to do and are probably ready to get me out of your hair.”

  She was looking in my direction, but she seemed vacant, as though she were really seeing past me. She nodded, and without another word she motioned for me to follow her. I trailed several steps behind, noting the dejected way that her shoulders seemed to sag further with every step.

  We moved the furniture from the dock to inside the back corridor of the store in virtual silence. The only time she spoke was to give me direction. “Watch your step on the floorboard here” and “This is a tight corner, you’ll have to stay as far right as possible.”

  “Ready to go?” I could tell that she was forcing a smile as she locked up the store and we headed to her car.

  “Nice night,” I said lamely.

  “Kind of warm,” she replied, and I almost laughed. It was mid May. There was no such thing as too warm this early in the year.

  Her silence was stony as she drove out of Cambridge and through Watertown on her way to my home in Newton. She pulled into my driveway and finally spoke as she put the transmission into park.<
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  “I’m sorry about what happened back at the store. It was quite embarrassing, and I got flustered.” She wasn’t looking at me. Instead she stared directly ahead, focused on the garage door.

  “Don’t apologize. I didn’t even understand what was going on,” I lied. “And you know that I don’t have a clue about who Eoff and Shepard are.” I was trying to inject a little humor, and I was rewarded when I caught the slight lifting at the corner of her lips. But she said nothing.

  “Do you want to come in?” I finally asked. “You’ve already eaten the one dish I can prepare, but I can try to throw something together for us.”

  Her voice was tired. “I would like nothing more than to relax with you this evening.” She took a deep breath. “But no, unfortunately. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be very good company, and I have quite a bit of work to do.” Her voice seemed strained.

  “Okay.” I wasn’t going to push. I reached for the door handle and was about to open it when she interrupted.

  “I didn’t realize Beth had a little boy.” Her voice was quiet and even. “She’s not married?”

  Annie had no idea that she was opening up one of my wounds. “No, not anymore. She’s been divorced for a couple of years now. The whole case was a nightmare, actually. Maybe I’ll tell you about it sometime.” Why was I telling her this?

  Annie was nodding slowly, digesting this.

  “Are you and Beth partners?”

  “Excuse me?” I couldn’t be certain that I’d heard her correctly.

  She seemed to falter and appeared to be shocked by her own words. Her eyes met mine, and her smile was uncomfortable.

  “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.” Her eyes dropped, and she waved the topic aside.

  “No. It’s okay. I just wasn’t sure if I heard you correctly.” It crossed my mind again that Annie might be interested in Beth. Then I remembered that she was married.

  She looked at me squarely. “I asked if you and Beth are partners.”

  “I thought that’s what you said.” My laugh sounded strangled, and I caught my breath as I stared back at her. “No, we’re not. But not for a lack of effort on my mother’s part.” My laugh was hearty.

  “Your mother?” For the first time in hours, Annie’s smile was genuine.

  “Yeah, she adores Beth. My dad too.”

  “But there’s nothing between you?”

  Now that was a tough question to answer. “Well, we’ve known each other most of our lives, so there’s plenty between us. But nothing romantic. Not since about the seventh grade, anyway.”

  “Seventh grade?” Another leading question.

  “Yes. We were crazy about each other back then. We experimented a little…” I purposely let the sentence trail off.

  Annie’s smile was lopsided as she nodded. “Experimented, eh? I suppose that’s another story that you’ll have to tell me about sometime.”

  I shrugged, enjoying her banter. “Maybe,” I said. “I did invite you in.”

  “I know. I appreciate it. But I really should get some work done tonight. Can I have a rain check?”

  “Of course,” I nodded, reaching for the door handle once again. Then it struck me. She probably had to get home to her husband. My heart fell again, and then I thought about the confrontation that would probably occur when she walked in the door.

  “I didn’t know you were married.” The words were out before I could stop them.

  Her face held no expression. “I’m not. Anymore.”

  Her words were simple and direct, but said far less than the hard eyes that bore into mine. I felt a tingle somewhere between my heart and my belly and almost shivered. She wasn’t married. And the look she was throwing my way told me clearly that it wasn’t Beth that she was interested in.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Melanie Barnes looked better than I’d ever remembered seeing her. She wore a fine summer dress that fit snugly, quite a difference from the tan suit that I was wearing. She was a natural redhead, with the whitest skin and more freckles than I’d ever seen on another human being.

  She wrapped thin arms around my neck and gave me a big squeeze when she greeted me.

  “Kate, you look so good.”

  “You mean I look better than I did the last time you saw me,” I laughed.

  “You were beginning to look like you never went to bed,” she admitted. “I’m just glad to see that the change has been good for you.”

  “It has,” I admitted.

  The restaurant where we’d arranged to meet was near Copley Plaza in downtown Boston. The café had several tables outside, shaded from the strong sun. We decided to enjoy the fine weather and settled into a corner table, out of the way from most of the other clientele.

  We began catching up, Melanie filling me in on how everyone was and how they were doing. We ordered iced tea and waited for our salads to appear.

  “How’s Beth doing? Do you ever see her?”

  “She’s doing well. I see her all of the time.” It took me a second to realize that the last contact Melanie had with Beth was during Billy’s custody battle. She was studying my face carefully, and I knew where her thoughts were going.

  “She actually sees quite a bit of Billy, too. Her ex-husband came around after a while. Billy was having a lot of trouble adjusting, and so her ex finally gave in. She doesn’t have custody, but they get to spend a lot of time together.”

  Melanie remained silent, still studying me. “I’m okay, Melanie,” I told her.

  “It wasn’t your fault, Kate. Judge Leahy is a redneck son of a bitch.”

  I could see her beginning to get excited, and I did my best to intervene. “I know, Mel. Really. I’ve forgiven myself for losing the case.” I knew as I said the words that I was lying. I could have done more to win custody for Beth. “Beth and I have moved on, and life is good now. Stress free.”

  She narrowed her green eyes. “You certainly look happier.”

  “I am. I promise.” The waitress rescued us by placing two large salad plates on the table. I waited for her to leave the table before turning back to Melanie.

  “So why don’t we get down to business?” I watched her closely while I lifted a tomato slice to my lips. “I understand that the only joint property here is a home in Cambridge.”

  Melanie nodded. “The house originally belonged to my client’s parents. She inherited the house when they died about eight years ago.”

  I completely lost my appetite. “You mean they didn’t purchase the home together?”

  Melanie shook her head. “She only put his name on the title to keep the peace.”

  Swallowing hard, I dropped my fork to the table. “That son of a bitch,” I muttered.

  “Aha.” Melanie pointed her fork directly at me. “So you didn’t know about the inheritance?”

  I shook my head. “I knew that he was an ass. But I actually know very little about him.” I was steaming, shaking my head. “I had no idea about the house.”

  Melanie was carefully quiet, chewing pleasantly on a piece of lettuce. Trying to control my temper was difficult. I was walking a fine line with my old friend. I wanted to rant and rave and scream about the situation I was in, but at the same time I was acutely aware of my professional obligations.

  “He wants the house.” I was almost growling. “No ifs, and’s, or but’s.”

  Melanie took another bite of her salad, completely calm. “I’d call that stealing,” she said between bites.

  “Legal theft, I’m afraid.” My stomach was sour. “More like blackmail, actually.”

  I finally got Melanie’s attention. “What do you mean, blackmail?”

  “You don’t know?”

  Melanie shook her head, and I felt a sick kind of thrill at the irony of the situation. “I certainly don’t know the details,” I began. “But apparently my client witnessed his wife having sex with another woman.”

  Melanie’s grin was sinister. “Good for her, I say.”

  “
Melanie ...” I was exasperated.

  “Sorry.” She held up one hand. “I’m aware that my client was caught in a rather compromising position with another woman.” Her voice was almost prim.

  “In the home that they shared, in their bed.”

  “Which they hadn’t shared for four years,” Melanie interjected.

  I studied her closely. “The house or the bed.”

  “Both.” The sound of a carrot crunching between her teeth sounded far too smug. “They were separated.”

  “For four years?” I was incredulous.

  “Yep.”

  “Legally?”

  Melanie paused. “Nope. Got me there.” She took her time sipping from her glass of iced tea. “Apparently he couldn’t hold a job and kept floating from one thing to another. Finally she’d had enough and threw him out. She wanted a divorce but felt sorry for him.” She was chewing happily, watching my reaction. “She should have divorced him back then, and we wouldn’t be going through all of this.”

  Stunned by what I’d learned, I could barely gather my thoughts enough to figure out where to go from there. I remembered Donald Junior’s words to me several weeks before, and repeated them to Melanie.

  “He said that he’ll ruin her,” I said evenly. “He said that if she fights him on the house, he’ll make sure that everyone knows that she’s a lesbian.”

  Melanie’s thin brows pulled up slowly. “Interesting tactic,” she mumbled. “But not totally unexpected.” She placed her fork on the table beside her salad plate. “So basically there’s no compromise as far as he’s concerned.”

  “No.” I shook my head, my lips a careful line.

  Melanie studied my face for several moments. “And I’m supposed to take this compromise back to my client? If she fights him on the house then he’ll out her?”

  I nodded, sighing. “That’s pretty much the deal,” I cringed.

  I watched her face register fury before she calmed herself down and shrugged. “I’m not exactly surprised. He sounds like a real loser.” She picked up her fork once again. “So how did you get involved with this guy anyway?”