Actions Speak Louder

by Rosemarie Naramore

  He shook his head, to ward off the latter notion. Everybody counted—not simply those in her social circle. This knowledge was core to his belief that to whom much is given, much is expected. It’s why he donated his time and resources to a variety of local charities.

  He sighed loudly, feeling confused. His thoughts were just too jumbled right now. “I always believed success to be the cure all,” he murmured, snaring Thomas’s gaze. “Turns out, I was wrong.”

  “Oh, yeah?” he said, shaking his head confusedly. “Hey, are we still talking about Gwen? Or … something else?”

  Ethan sighed. He knew he wasn’t making much sense. He turned to Thomas. “I’ve realized that what Gwen and I had in common was our drive for business success.”

  “That makes a lot of sense,” Thomas conceded with a nod. “You’re both driven, all right.”

  “And, I figured that once we got here—to this place—I’d have everything I ever wanted.”

  “And…?”

  He smiled sadly. “I’ve realized the thrill is in the journey,” he said, shaking his head. “When I look around, at the things we’ve accomplished, I have to wonder, what next? What can we possibly do—possibly build—that can top what we’ve already accomplished?”

  “Who says we have to top anything?” Thomas asked. “Maybe it’s time to settle in and enjoy the ride.”

  Ethan laughed without humor. “Can you see Gwen settling—settling in or settling on anything?”

  Thomas met his eyes, nodding as if to convey that he understood. He smiled sadly. “You need to tell her.”

  Ethan nodded. Thomas was right. It was time to tell her once and for all that they didn’t have a future together.

  ***

  The next morning, Ethan took to his back yard with a vengeance, mowing, edging, pulling weeds, and trimming hedges. He had called Gwen first thing, to set up a meeting that evening, and the yardwork was a diversionary tactic—a means to take his mind off of the upcoming conversation.

  It wasn’t that he didn’t want to have the conversation. On the contrary. He wanted it over and done with. He simply dreaded the part about hurting her, although, on some level, he was confident she would rally. He knew if he was unable or unwilling to tow the party line—hers—then she wouldn’t want him anyway.

  He yanked a tall weed out of the grass and aimed a glance at Marcia’s house. He knew she was at work, but for whatever reason, he couldn’t get his mind off of her. When she showed up at lunchtime, letting the dogs into the back yard, he tossed a handful of weeds into a debris pile and walked over to the fence. He gave a wave in her direction.

  She waved in return, and then walked toward him. She smiled as she sent a glance at his back yard. “Wow,” she uttered. “You’ve been busy.”

  “I figured it was time,” he said. “I can mow yours if you like.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “I know it looks bad but…”

  “It’s not that,” he assured her, giving her a chagrined glance. “I just know how busy you are.”

  “That I am,” she conceded with a smile. “But I’m off work now.”

  “You are? What time is it? Noon? You closed the shop early?”

  “Angie is holding down the fort.” She glanced down at the dogs, dancing around her feet, and smiled fondly. “The girls’ folks are coming home this afternoon. We’re going to pick them up at the airport.”

  The dogs seemed to understand her, since they became even more animated, each barking eagerly and running in tight circles around her feet.

  “It’s as if they know,” Ethan mused.

  “Oh, they do,” she said with certainty. “They always seem to know when it’s time to pick up Dan and Tammy.” At the mention of their folks’ names, the dogs began howling and dashing around her feet with even more enthusiasm. “See what I mean,” she said.

  He nodded. “When are you leaving? I, uh, really need to talk to you.” Interestingly, the conversation he needed to have with her weighed heavily on him, perhaps even more so than the impending dialogue he faced with Gwen. That was strange, he realized, since he hardly knew Marcia. Why then did he worry so much about how she was going to react to what he had to tell her?

  She checked her watch. “Well, I should scoot. I have to leave in twenty minutes. I just need to change and then we’ll be on our way.” She directed the latter to the dogs.

  Ethan smiled. “The girls are going with you?”

  “Of course,” she said. “You should see them. When we get to within a mile or so of the airport, they go nuts.”

  He cocked his head slightly and narrowed his gaze. “I, um, well…”

  “Yes?” she prompted.

  “I … hmmm? I know I shouldn’t do this, since it probably isn’t very polite, but, may I ride along with you? There’s something I’d like to talk to you about?”

  He suddenly realized it might not be in his best interest to have the conversation while in a vehicle, but then, she would be a captive audience, which would give him time to fully explain himself. He hoped she wouldn’t be upset with him, but something told him he’d made a mistake by not being forthright from the get-go.

  “Well, if you’d like to ride along, I suppose you can…”

  He grinned. “Great. Give me five minutes and I’ll be right over.”

  She grinned back. “Give me ten minutes, and then come over.”

  “Okay,” he said, and then jogged off and into the bungalow.

  Inside her house, Marcia slipped out of her overalls and into a pair of walking shorts and a yellow top. Dashing into her master bath, she ran a comb through her hair, and then grabbed a mascara wand and hurriedly applied a light coating to her already thick lashes. After a quick application of lipstick, she slipped into sandals, and after checking herself in the mirror, went downstairs.

  Within a couple minutes, Ethan was at her door, his hair damp from a shower. Like her, he wore shorts. “Ready?” he asked, his eyes passing over her slim form.

  He had never seen her in anything other than the overalls and big robe, and had to concede, she looked beautiful in the yellow top that emphasized her thin, but curvy figure. Her legs were long and tanned, and he found himself swallowing. “You, uh, look great,” he told her.

  She laughed. “Well, thank you. You do too.”

  He smiled. “Are you ready to go?”

  She nodded and turned to call the girls, who came bounding up behind her, their tails wagging like helicopter propellers. “They know,” Marcia mused with a smile, which promptly fell from her face.

  Ethan noticed. “Everything okay?”

  “I’m going to miss them,” she said with a sigh. “After a week with them, they feel like my own dogs.”

  “You need a dog of your own,” he said adamantly.

  “Someday…”

  He nodded and followed her to her car. He paused. “I should have offered to drive.”

  She quirked a smile. “You don’t like my car?”

  He laughed. “Your car is fine. It’s just, I invited myself along, so I should have offered to drive.”

  Marcia glanced over at his extended cab truck, parked in his driveway. It was loaded with debris from his yard. “I don’t mind driving,” she assured him, and to her surprise, he walked around the driver’s side of the car to open the door for her. He put Allie in the car, bent to pick up Tootsie, and then nodded for her to climb in after them. He closed the door behind her. She watched him round the front of the car.

  Was she mistaken or was he wearing a grim expression on his face? He looked as if he had something serious on his mind.

  When he climbed into the passenger seat beside her and buckled up, she glanced his way. Sure enough, his face looked troubled.

  “Are you okay?” she asked tentatively.

  “Oh, I’m fine,” he quickly assured her, and then glanced down at Allie, who slowly climbed onto his lap. The dog stared him in the eye briefly, did several circles in his lap, and finally sett
led in.

  “She really likes you,” Marcia observed, still stinging slightly from the dog’s developing fondness for Ethan. If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought Allie liked him better than she liked her.

  Tootsie, beside her, stretched alongside her thigh and gave a contented moan. At least Tootsie still liked her best. Suddenly, however, the little dog rose up on her short legs, trotted over to Ethan, and stretched out beside him instead. He didn’t miss the cross look on Marcia’s face when the dog abandoned her for him.

  He laughed. “Hey, I’m just a novelty item,” he said. “I’ll be old news soon enough.”

  “Uh huh,” she replied dubiously, as she backed out of the driveway. As she steered away from her house, she spotted Mrs. Jamison across the street, watering her lawn. She lifted her hand in a wave, which the elderly woman ignored. She also smiled her way, but received no smile in return. “What the heck was that about?” she wondered aloud.

  “What?” Ethan said.

  “Oh, Mrs. Jamison just gave me the cold shoulder.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe she didn’t see you.”

  “Oh, she saw me all right.” She turned to give him an assessing glance.

  “What?” he said.

  She waved off the question. She could speculate as to the reasons her neighbor had turned unfriendly, but decided not to worry about it for now. Instead, she steered to neutral territory. “Hey, did you find anything in the traps you set in your attic?”

  He grimaced. “Yeah, I found the traps empty of the food I baited them with. Those raccoons are too smart for their own good.”

  Marcia nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard stories about their clever antics.” She furrowed her brow. “Is there anyone you could call to help out?” She searched her mind. “Animal Control? Fish and Game?”

  He shook his head. “I’m going to give it a few days, because…” His words trailed off as Allie abruptly rose in his lap and kissed him soundly on the mouth. He chuckled, staring into the dog’s eager face. “Thanks,” he said, sounding as if he meant it. She responded by kissing him again.

  He turned back to Marcia to speak, when Tootsie stood up and climbed into his lap. Allie gave a low, warning growl. “Hey, girls,” he chided, “there’s room for everybody.” The dogs apparently decided to share him, since both settled down for the ride. He began stroking both as he spoke. “I figure the raccoon problem will be remedied soon enough because…”

  “Yes?” she prompted.

  “I’ll be tearing off the roof soon.”

  She winced. “The … whole … roof?”

  “‘Fraid so,” he told her. “There’s so much damage up there, even separate of the destruction caused by my unwanted houseguests, that I’m better off starting from scratch.”

  Marcia gave him a concerned glance. She sincerely hoped the contractor was being forthright with him. The job he described would be a huge expense—heavy on the huge. She decided not to say anything now, since he’d apparently already made his decision. Besides, from what she saw of the house, the roof likely required a total tear-off.

  “Where will you stay during the rebuild?” she asked him.

  “At the bungalow.”

  “But you won’t have a roof for a while.”

  “Weatherman is predicting fair skies,” he told her confidently. “Besides, I actually can’t wait to look up from my air mattress at the starry skies above me.” He sighed. “It’ll be great.” Marcia harrumphed and he gave her a bewildered glance. “What?”

  “You know those big trees across the street, on Mrs. Jamison’s property?”

  He nodded. “Sure.”

  “At night, they’re full of bats,” she told him ominously. “When you glance up at the starry, starry sky, you’ll likely see a colony of them overhead.” She shrugged. “Heck, I’m sure several will happily join you as you camp on the second story of your house.” She returned her attention to the road ahead, biting back a chuckle.

  She heard him gulp. “Bats?”

  She nodded. “Hundreds. Maybe thousands.”

  “Hmm,” he said in response.

  “You might want to make other sleep arrangements,” she told him.

  “Yeah, maybe.” He grinned cheekily then. “I noticed you have a couch.”

  She was taken aback by the remark. Was he serious? She gave him a brief glance, but realized he was teasing when he spoke.

  “I’ll head back to the condo while the roof’s off. No bats there. Or raccoons, for that matter,” he added.

  Marcia smiled. “I’m sure your condo is more comfortable than my place anyway.” Not that she had any intention of letting him stay over. She hardly knew him, yet… It occurred to her suddenly—being with him felt comfortable. Why was that the case? she wondered.

  “So, you mentioned needing to talk to me about something,” she said, trying to divert her own mind from disturbing thoughts.

  She heard him gulp again. “Uh, yes. Yes, I do.”

  “Okay, well, let’s talk,” she urged, struggling to focus. But she just couldn’t seem to manage it. Why did she feel so comfortable with Ethan? Even now, she felt absolutely at home with him sitting beside her in the car. That just wasn’t like her. She was such a private person to begin with, but having him coming in and out of her life on a daily basis seemed … natural. It had never felt like that with Jay. With Jay, it had been work.

  She shook her head to clear it. Why was she thinking about the two men at all? Jay was ancient history, and surely the ease she felt with Ethan portended a friendship, rather than anything more. And that was good, because she didn’t want a relationship. A friendship? Absolutely.

  “Marcia…” Ethan’s voice penetrated her thoughts.

  “Oh, yes? What?” She turned to him, embarrassed. She noticed he was presently watching her with concern.

  “Where’d you go just then?” he asked, furrowing his brows.

  “Oh, nowhere,” she assured him, waving a dismissive hand. “What was it again you needed to talk to me about?”

  He opened his mouth to talk, when suddenly, both dogs leapt up and began bouncing in his lap. Allie emitted a shrill bark, which Tootsie promptly emulated.

  “What is it?” Ethan said, stunned by their behavior. It was then he saw the airport sign, indicating it was just up ahead. He laughed with chagrin. “You weren’t kidding when you said they know when they’re at the airport,” he said.

  “Sometimes I think they know how to read,” Marcia observed, sending the dogs a quick glance.

  No amount of soothing calmed the dogs, since they knew their folks were close by. Ethan berated himself. Why hadn’t it registered with him that the airport was only a short drive from his house? Why hadn’t he talked to Marcia when he’d had the chance? Now, they were drawing up to the sign directing them to “arrivals.” The dogs erupted into full-out howls now.

  “You were saying?” Marcia said over the din.

  Ethan sighed heavily. “As I said, I have something to tell…”

  Allie suddenly leapt up, planting her feet on the dash, and began bellowing even louder. Tootsie, who was still in Ethan’s lap, rose up and planted her paws on his chest. She stared intently into his face, albeit briefly, and then kissed him, before letting out a bellowing wail.

  “Oh, look,” Marcia remarked calmly, as if the dogs weren’t currently piercing her eardrums with their howls, “I see Tammy and Dan just ahead.”

  She pulled up to the curb, put the car in park, and hurriedly got out, careful to keep the dogs from bolting from the car. Ethan would have followed, but both dogs were scrambling all over him, and still howling at the top of their lungs.

  Since he felt wrong remaining in the car while Marcia helped her neighbors with their luggage, he scooped up both wriggling dogs and climbed out. He approached Dan as he was opening the trunk of the car. “Hello, I’m Ethan,” he said, still trying to keep the dogs from launching out of his arms.

  “Hi, I’m Dan,” he responded, sm
iling briefly before he reached for Tammy’s luggage. Once he’d situated everything in the trunk and closed it, he reached for Allie, tucked her in his arm, and then extended a hand in greeting.

  Ethan accepted his hand, careful to keep Tootsie from launching out of his arms. When Tammy approached to take her from him, the Dachshund practically went into orbit—her tail beating against him in a circular motion.

  “I’m Tammy,” she said, smiling.

  “Good to meet you,” he replied, as he carefully passed the Dachshund to her. “The dogs are awfully glad to see you.”

  “And we’re awfully glad to see them” she said, pulling Tootsie close in a hug.

  Soon the group was sitting in Marcia’s car, ready for the short drive home.

  As always, the girls settled right in with Dan and Tammy, promptly falling asleep in their arms. Marcia always marveled at their contentment once their people arrived home.

  “How was your trip?” she asked them.

  “Great,” Dan answered. “But it’s always good to be home.”

  “We really missed the girls,” Tammy said, stroking Tootsie’s soft head.

  The group was quiet for a moment, but Dan spoke from the back seat. “Aren’t you Ethan Winslow?” he directed to Ethan, his voice full of question. “I think we met at the fundraiser for the library—what? A year ago … March.”

  Ethan stiffened in his seat. He ventured a glance at Marcia, who had turned toward him.

  “Do you remember, hon?” Dan directed to his wife.

  Tammy nodded. “That’s right. It’s good to see you again, Ethan. I can’t tell you how much we appreciated everything you and your company did for our library.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Dan said with chagrin. “Heck, without E.J. Winslow Construction, the new wing would still be in the planning phase, and as far as funding..?” He laughed without humor. “Frankly, it was nonexistent until you came along.”