Whisper's Edge

by LuAnn McLane

  “No, I’m told that my parents were declared unfit, so they didn’t give me up, just didn’t take care of me. I was removed from their care at about the age of two. Sometimes I wish I remembered them but I guess in a sad way I’m blessed that I don’t recall the conditions that led to me being taken away. Couldn’t have been good, that’s for sure.”

  He reached over and covered her hand with his. “I’m sorry. My comment about being a mama’s boy was callous.”

  “You didn’t know,” she said. And when he squeezed her hand she said, “You gotta play the hand you were dealt.”

  “That’s true.” Tristan thought once again about his own childhood without a father figure and a grandfather who resented him. But still, he’d always felt loved by his mother. “But you know what they say: it’s not the hand you were dealt but how you play the game, right?”

  “Yeah, buddy, and I sure had to do some bluffing along the way.” She remained thoughtful for a moment and then said, “There was one year when I had seven different addresses.”

  “Wow.”

  “It was my normal so I just dealt with it. I didn’t have a clue as to what it felt like to have a real family. I could only go by books and television, so my idea of the whole thing was probably a little bit unrealistic. There weren’t shows like Modern Family back then.”

  Tristan nodded. “I never knew my dad so I could have used a show like that too.”

  “I’m sorry, Tristan. Here I am going on and on. We all have our story, that’s for sure.”

  “Not that I’m comparing it to your situation.”

  “Like I said, it was my normal,” she replied, but then something flickered in her eyes. After a moment she said, “Oh, but going to those adoption fairs was not my favorite thing.”

  “Where prospective parents come to adopt?”

  “Yes.” Savannah nodded. “When I was really little it was just a fun afternoon of activities usually held at a park or something like that. I had no idea what was really transpiring. Later on, the whole thing just made me nervous and ultimately disappointed.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It was like speed dating for kids.”

  Tristan found that concept unsettling. “That had to be difficult.”

  “It was horrible for me but lots of cute kids got adopted so it is a method that works.”

  “I guess so, but seriously, I would have thought you would have been chosen right away.”

  “Are you kidding?” Savannah rolled her eyes. “I was born extremely pigeon-toed so I had to wear braces on my legs for a couple of years. Of course now they say braces don’t even help and that the condition would have corrected itself. To top it off, remember I had this neon orange curly hair.” She pointed to her head. “I looked like Orphan Annie on a good day and a Carrot Top mini-me when it rained. I was teased like crazy.”

  “I’m really sorry to hear that.”

  “Ah, don’t be.” Savannah waved a hand at him. “Kate says that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” She laughed. “I guess I’m pretty damned strong.” She bent her arm and flexed a muscle. “Maybe even have superpowers that I haven’t discovered.” She took a sip of wine and shrugged. After another minute she said, “Aging out is the hardest part.”

  “Aging out?”

  “When you’re too old to remain in the system. You’re kind of just like shoved off into the big, bad world.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair.” Tristan felt his anger rise.

  Savannah toyed with the stem of her glass. “What other choice is there? The sad thing is that lots of kids end up getting into drugs and land in jail. Pregnancy…poverty. It’s a cycle that starts all over again. I, at least, finished high school and I tried so hard—I really did—but couldn’t support myself. It was tough to make ends meet on minimum wage. I didn’t have a car at first so getting to work was an issue. I finally bought this old heap of junk that lasted for about six months and then croaked.” She paused for a second. “I’m embarrassed to admit it but I ended up homeless and just started…wandering. Kate found me here when this place was empty.” After her quiet admission she lowered her gaze and fell silent.

  Caught off guard, Tristan searched for something comforting to say. But having trained himself to stay emotionally detached, he remained at a loss for words. He liked to stick to graphs, charts, and reports and hard data. But when she took a sip of her wine he noticed a slight tremble in her hand, and it was his undoing. “You have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about,” Tristan said firmly. “Look at you, Savannah. You do a lot of good around here. You’re one of the ones who broke the cycle.”

  She glanced over at him. “Thanks for saying that, but I was fortunate that Kate took me under her wing. Who knows what might have become of me.”

  Tristan had a sudden urge to reach over and take her hand but refrained. “I have a feeling you would have made it. I’m just sorry that your journey was such a tough one.”

  “Well, the journey led me here and I’m grateful. Hey, I have a nice home and lots people who care about me. I enjoy my job. Not everyone can say that.”

  “I really do admire your positive attitude.”

  “It wasn’t the best of circumstances growing up, for sure, and boy, I saw some crazy stuff over the years, no doubt about it, but all in all I feel pretty lucky. Some of the other kids came from hideous abuse and acted out.” She shuddered as if from the memory. “I just tried to stay away from trouble.” She gave him a crooked smile. “Let’s just say that if I could have had a superpower it would have been invisibility.”

  Something inside him rushed up to defend her. “Again, you don’t give yourself enough credit! Sounds like you made your own luck.”

  She lifted one shoulder and looked at him. “Don’t we all?”

  “To a degree, I guess.” Tristan watched her while she traced the rim of her wineglass and looked out over the yard.

  After a moment she turned to him and smiled. “Well, there’s always an upside to everything if you look hard enough.”

  “A silver lining?”

  “Yeah, the cool thing about being poor is that you’re so thrilled with such little bitty things. And my escape was always reading. The library was free! I spent a lot of time there as a kid. My afternoons weren’t filled with playing soccer or at Girl Scouts meetings. I still visit the library whenever I can get the chance. It doesn’t take much to make me happy and I appreciate everything I have. And, wow, that was a long speech.”

  “Savannah…”

  She laughed. “Oh, don’t look at me like I’m some kind of saint. I have my moods. Just ask Kate. I can moan and groan with the best of them.” She made a big show of moaning and groaning until Tristan laughed with her.

  “Okay, I get the picture,” he said, but when her eyes suddenly turned serious again he asked, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  “Well, it’s just that…” She shook her head but then put a hand up to her lips. “Nothing.”

  “Savannah? Seriously, did I say something wrong?” The thought that he could upset her hit him like a sucker punch. “Tell me.”

  “Well, there is one thing that I don’t like about working here.”

  “What? Is it something I can fix?”

  “I wish.”

  “Savannah, I’ll try. What is it?”

  She sighed deeply. “Well, this is a retirement community, you know. People here are up in age.” She swallowed hard. “It’s tough when we lose someone or something serious happens like a stroke or heart attack. That’s why I always try to have lots of exercise and activities.”

  He thought about the water aerobics class. “I’m certain it does a lot of good.”

  “I know but it still sucks. Sometimes leaving a spouse behind who has a hard time coping is just so painful to witness. I don’t know if there is such a thing as dying of a broken heart but I’ve often seen the surviving spouse go not long afterward. And I know that there are lonely seniors living up in t
own. I wish we could make room for more of them.” She rolled her eyes. “Oh, would you listen to me going on again? I’m so sorry!”

  “Don’t be, Savannah.”

  “Well, thank you, but you must think I’m one hot mess.”

  “No, I don’t. I think you care. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “Thank you, even if you’re not being completely honest.”

  “I’ve been honest about everything I’ve said to you tonight,” he answered, even though the word honest bothered him. “I guess seeing people living here in their twilight years makes you appreciate life more. I know it’s cliché but I suppose it makes you remember that we’re only here for a short time and that we should try to make the best of it.”

  She sat up straighter. “Oh, that is completely true! Now you know why I have a bucket list.” It looked as if she was about to say something else but suddenly shook her head. “I’ve gone and talked your ear right off! You’re probably bored to tears. I think that charcoal is darned good and ready. What do you say we put those steaks on the grill?”

  “Sure.” Tristan nodded, but when she rose to go inside he reached out and grabbed her hand. “Savannah, I enjoy talking to you. I’m not one bit bored.”

  “I’m glad,” she said with a smile, but as she pulled her hand away Tristan held on just tightly enough to allow the contact to linger. He really couldn’t remember when he had enjoyed the company of a woman more.

  Tristan sighed as he watched her walk into her house, wishing that Savannah wasn’t connected to Whisper’s Edge, especially after hearing her story. He thought about the meeting he had later in the week with Mitch Monroe, who was one of the partners in the Cricket Creek stadium project and the developer of Wedding Row, the strip of shops near the river. In Tristan’s recent research he’d read that with the success of the Cricket Creek Cougars, Mitch Monroe was hoping to add a convention center and perhaps a hotel in the future. Tristan’s hope was that Monroe would either want to purchase the property as part of the development or perhaps have an interest in investing in the marina that Tristan had in mind. Either way it could be a lucrative deal and add to the satisfaction of making his grandfather eat crow.

  He should be over-the-moon excited.

  But Tristan just wasn’t sure he could handle seeing disappointment in Savannah’s expressive eyes. Whisper’s Edge meant so much to her and to the residents who lived here. How in the world could he take that away?

  14

  Midnight Confessions

  “WOW, SAVANNAH, YOU’RE RIGHT,” TRISTAN COMMENTED after he swallowed his first bite of steak. “The flavor of real charcoal is amazing.”

  Savannah watched him dig in with relish and felt a sense of satisfaction that he was enjoying the meal. “Yep, my little ole grill isn’t fancy but does the job. Sometimes simple is better. No bells and whistles need apply.”

  “Mmm…” Tristan nodded in agreement as he happily chewed on another bite and then pointed to his plate with his fork. “No-frills baked potato and a nice crisp salad is one of my favorite meals. Thank you.”

  Savannah shrugged. “There’s nothing too fancy about me, Tristan. I’m pretty straightforward.”

  “You sound as if you’re apologizing for that.” He shook some salt onto his potato and then looked at her. “Believe me, I find your candor incredibly refreshing.”

  “Thank you.” Savannah accepted his compliment but she wasn’t quite sure what candor meant. She kept the smile on her face, even though she felt a quick stab of insecurity poke her in the gut. He was a lawyer. He went to school for a million years. She had been lucky to finish high school. If they got into an intellectual discussion about something like politics or art she was going to be toast.

  “So have you needed to rescue Willie lately?”

  Ah, a safe subject. Savannah breathed an inner sigh of relief. “No, the Camden brothers have been careful about keeping the gate closed. They might have acted all huffy about the situation, but Miss Patty pretty much rules the roost for the most part.”

  “That’s good to hear.”

  “Oh, not so fast. Willie did, however, dig up Etta Mae Baker’s petunias a couple of days ago. Well, I should say allegedly. Miss Patty tried to blame deer, but they tend to eat flowers and not dig them up. Etta Mae was madder than a wet hen! She was yelling really loud since Miss Patty is a tad hard of hearing, or so she says. I sometimes think it’s selective hearing on her part. Anyway, I had to come between the two of them and attempt to smooth their ruffled feathers.”

  Tristan grinned. “And how did you do that?”

  Savannah put her fork down and said, “Well, as you already witnessed, Miss Patty can be pretty stubborn and protective where her dear Willie’s concerned. When Etta Mae demanded new petunias, Miss Patty wanted to know if there were any witnesses to Willie’s said destruction of her flower bed.”

  “And was there?”

  “No, but Etta Mae threw out there that every other dog must adhere to the leash law so it must have been Willie.”

  Tristan angled his head. “But that doesn’t mean that another dog couldn’t have gotten loose.”

  “That’s what Miss Patty said in a snippy tone that totally ticked Etta Mae off even more. At that point Etta Mae even hinted that the destruction was an attempt to keep her from winning the best flower bed award for the week. That comment blew the lid off any niceties, and, Tristan, they got nose to nose. Etta Mae was pointing her finger and shaking her head so hard that I was afraid that her false teeth were going to go flying out of her mouth. Lordy, I thought I was going to have a dire situation on my hands!” She leaned forward. “That’s when I had to literally get between them, and it was a tight squeeze.”

  “So what happened?”

  “One of the Camden brothers, I think it was Clovis, yelled ‘cat fight,’ from where they were observing the tussle from across the street, drawing Etta Mae’s attention. She tried to lure them over with a sweet smile. I swear she even showed them some leg.”

  “Are you kidding?”

  “Nope, she used to be a dancer and her legs are still in great shape. She shows them off at every opportunity, ticking the other women off something fierce.”

  “So she was hoping to get the Camdens on her side?”

  “Exactly. I took the brief opportunity to lean over and advise Miss Patty to just give in and replace the petunias to avoid having the possibility of having Willie’s no-leash freedom revoked at the next council meeting.”

  “Did she agree?”

  “Yes, but very reluctantly. Then there was the added dispute of who would plant the petunias. Miss Patty would not offer to do the planting but Etta Mae knew she was pushing her luck and gave in pretty fast on that one.”

  “Good job, Savannah. You’re a good mediator.”

  “Thanks. I guess I get plenty of practice.”

  “So, I have to ask…off the record, of course. Do you think Willie was the culprit?”

  Savannah started slicing her steak. “Well, like Miss Patty pointed out, there weren’t witnesses but, yes, most likely. Willie likes to bury bones here and there and when the spirit moves him he runs off and digs one up and then eats the dirty ole thing.”

  “And do you think Miss Patty knew it was Willie all along?”

  “Oh, without a doubt, but admitting it might also get Willie’s wings clipped. I knew she’d never come clean in a million years. And of course only Willie knows for sure and he isn’t talking.”

  “Well then, you did an excellent job. Nice legal work, Savannah.” He reached over and gave her a high five.

  “That’s quite a compliment coming from you.” Savannah looked closely at his expression to see if he was teasing but he seemed sincere.

  “Well, you’re a natural. I wouldn’t want to face you in court.”

  The thought that he really did admire her made her feel pretty proud. “I’ll fully admit that keeping the peace sometimes takes some doing. We have our fair share of grumpy
old men, angry disputes, and…dare I say it?” She nibbled on the inside of her lip and remained mum.

  “Oh, come on, don’t leave me hanging.”

  Savannah put her fork down and leaned closer. “Love triangles,” she told him in a stage whisper.

  “You’re pulling my chain.”

  Savannah pressed her lips together and shook her head slowly. “Nope, the men here are outnumbered two to one so it’s slim pickings for the single ladies.”

  Tristan chuckled. “I guess you do have your hands full.”

  “Sometimes it’s like dealing with elderly teenagers but I love each and every one of them. I have a bird’s-eye view of aging, and at least I know that growing old doesn’t have to be boring. I swear I could write a book.”

  Tristan angled his head. “Well, then, you should.”

  “What?”

  “Write a book.”

  Savannah waved a hand at him. “Oh, I was just joking.”

  “I’m not.” He took a swallow of his beer and looked at her after setting it down. “You said you were an avid reader. Writing would probably come naturally. Have you ever tried it?”

  “No…”

  “Then you should.”

  “Oh…Tristan,” she scoffed but a flutter of excitement went through her stomach. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

  “Jot down some anecdotes or vignettes.”

  “Good, idea,” she said, nodding.

  “Savannah, you’re creative, smart, and funny. You just might be on to something.”

  She thought she should remind him that she had only been joking but he seemed serious and so she nodded. “Maybe…”

  “You could show that growing old doesn’t have to be a bête noire.”

  “True,” she agreed but then tried to piece together in her brain what that could possibly mean. “I could go that route…but I have to confess that I have absolutely no clue on God’s green earth what bête noire is.”

  Tristan chuckled. “It means something you dread. And hey, only a geek like me would use that term.”