Mark’s face grew serious and he seemed to be considering his answer. “Actually, as I was young and immature at the time, I’m not sure that my opinion of your father was accurate.”
She nodded. “Yes, I can understand that, but I’m curious about how you perceived him.”
“Do you mind?” Mark nodded to the desk chair as if he wanted to sit down.
“Of course, have a seat.”
“Thank you.” He sat in the chair and ran his hands over the smooth surface of the desk. “Very nice.”
Alice sat down in an easy chair across from him. This evening felt very odd. She felt almost as if she were an actor in a movie, as if none of this were really happening.
Mark was looking at Alice as if perhaps he, too, thought it was all a bit strange.
“In answer to your question about your father, Alice, I suppose … well, I may have thought your father was a bit stuffy.”
Alice blinked. “Stuffy?”
Mark’s brow furrowed with what appeared to be regret. “I know, I know. I probably read him completely wrong. I’m sorry.”
“No, I appreciate your honesty. Really, it’s rather interesting. Anything else?”
“Well, I could tell that you and your father were quite close. I suspected you were his favorite—”
“His favorite?” Alice shook her head. “Oh no, I don’t think Father ever had a favorite.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. You two seemed to have quite a connection. I suppose I might’ve been a bit jealous.”
“Jealous?”
He nodded. “It sounds silly now.”
She smiled. “I suppose so. That was so very long ago.”
He sighed. “Yes, it seems like another lifetime. I think I am a completely different person now.”
“As am I.”
“Yes. We’ve both changed considerably.”
She sighed. She was not sure if it was a sigh of relief or perhaps disappointment, but she suspected that they had just confessed that what had happened so long ago was really and truly over.
“Would you like to see the rest of the house?”
He said that he would, and Alice, playing tour guide, showed him through the parlor and the sunroom, pausing at the staircase. “I’d show you the guest rooms upstairs, but they’re all taken. Well, except for one.”
“Actually, I think I will be staying in that one.” She nodded.
“Of course.”
“I’m sorry if my unexpected visit took you by surprise, Alice,” said Mark as he ran his hand over the smooth banister. “Susan didn’t mention you or even tell me she was staying at your family’s home. She did pique my curiosity when she said it was in Acorn Hill, and I thought it would be fun to see this town again. I knew there was a possibility that you might still live here.”
“Well, I’m glad you came.” She could hear laughter drifting out from the kitchen, and part of her longed to be there, out of this uncomfortable situation.
“Really?” His eyes lit up slightly. “I wasn’t sure.”
She looked down at the floor. As usual, the carpet in the foyer had a wrinkle in it. She controlled herself from bending down to straighten it. She looked back up at him. It seemed the least she could be was honest. “I have to admit that it was a bit of a shock but, yes, it’s good to see you again.”
“Do you ever think—”
“There you two are,” said Susan as the three women emerged from the kitchen. “Well, did you get the full tour, Mark? What do you think?”
“This is a beautiful home,” he told her. “These ladies have done an incredible job restoring the place.”
Susan came up and linked arms with her brother. “I thought you’d like it. I’m so glad you could get away. I feel as if I haven’t seen you in ages.”
Alice could feel Jane’s eyes on her, and she suspected she would be fully interrogated before she was allowed to go to bed tonight.
“You must see this kitchen,” said Susan as she led Mark toward the back of the house. “It is so charming.”
“How’s it going?” Jane asked as soon as Mark and Susan were safely out of earshot.
Alice could see that her sisters were eager for a report on Mark. It was one of the few times in her life when she was certain that she had the undivided attention of both of them. “All right.”
“Come on,” said Jane. “That’s not an answer.”
Alice looked from Jane to Louise and just shook her head. “I can’t believe you two. I assume you were in on this too, Louise?”
Louise’s lips curled into what looked more like a smirk than a smile.
“My own sisters.” Alice tried her best to appear betrayed.
Jane took Alice by the arm. “How else could we have gotten you to cooperate?”
“Cooperate?”
“Yes. Think about it, Alice. What do you think you would’ve done if I had announced that Mark Graves was joining us for dinner?”
Alice shrugged.
“Oh, come on. You would’ve been a bundle of nerves. You might’ve even made up some lame excuse not to join us. I just figured this way would be easier for everyone.”
“But, Jane, you lied to me.”
Jane shook her head. “No, I did not lie. Believe me, I was very careful not to lie.”
“But you told me you had some art people coming to—”
“No, Alice, I said, ‘what if’ I had some art people coming to dinner.”
“Oh, Jane, this is so—”
Just then the phone on the reception desk rang. “Goodness,” said Alice slightly startled. She picked it up and said, “Hello, Grace Chapel Inn.”
“Alice?” cried a shrill voice. “Is that you? Oh, mercy me, I need help for my Daisy. She’s not doing well and I….” The old woman broke into sobs.
“Clara. Now calm down. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“I think she’s dying,” she sobbed.
“Hold on, Clara. I’ll be right over.” Alice hung up the phone and ran to the kitchen, where Susan was just showing her brother the handmade tiles that Jane had put up.
“I have to excuse myself. Clara’s pig is in distress. I’m going over right now to see if I can help her to—”
“I’ll drive,” said Mark. “I have a medical bag in my car.”
The two of them took off in his SUV, speeding toward Clara’s house on the other side of town.
“I’m sorry to have involved you in this—” began Alice.
“Are you kidding? This is what I do for a living, Alice. I love saving animals.”
Alice smiled to herself. Mark was a good man. She had always known that.
“This is it,” she told him.
“Now, it’s possible that we may need to operate. Are you okay to assist me? I know that you used to be a nurse.”
“I am still a nurse,” she told him as he grabbed his bag and they both jogged toward the house.
Mark was right; Daisy did require surgery. Alice quickly sterilized Clara’s kitchen table and told the old woman to wait in the living room until they were done. Fortunately, the surgery went perfectly. Mark quickly located the source of Daisy’s digestive problems. “I think it’s some sort of pit,” said Mark as he pointed to the dark object.
“I’ll bet it’s a plum pit,” said Alice. “Clara’s tree was loaded this year.”
“Uh-huh,” said Mark as he began to stitch Daisy back up.
Soon he was finished and Alice went out to the living room to tell Clara the good news.
“Oh, you really are an angel, Alice. But where did you find the pig doctor?”
Alice laughed. “Actually, he’s a famous veterinarian who has treated exotic animals all over the world.”
Clara blinked. “And he came all the way here just to help my Daisy.”
Alice nodded.
“Glory be.”
Alice returned to the kitchen to clean up. Mark was still keeping an eye on the piglet’s recovery. Alice knew that recovery time was just a
s important as the actual surgery. Things like heart rate, blood pressure and breathing needed careful monitoring.
“She’s a cute little thing,” said Mark as he set aside his stethoscope.
Alice laughed as she gave the kitchen table one final wipe down. “Not everyone in this town would agree with you on that account.”
“That’s too bad. These little guys really do make excellent pets. They’re very intelligent and can be trained to do just about anything.”
“But don’t they grow up to be enormous? Jane said they could weigh up to three hundred pounds as adults.”
“Not these little ones. This is a miniature Vietnamese potbellied pig.”
“A miniature?”
“Yes. See how tiny she is now? If she were a regular one she would already be weighing in at twenty-five pounds. But as a miniature, that’s about all Daisy will ever weigh when she’s full-grown. And she’ll only be about twelve to fifteen inches tall.”
“Really?” Alice paused with the sponge still in her hand. “Only twenty-five pounds. Why, lots of dogs are bigger than that. I’ll bet that Harry is even bigger than that.”
“Harry?”
“Viola Reed’s cat. He helps to manage the Nine Lives Bookstore.”
“Wow, that’s a good-sized cat.”
“But anyway, this means that people shouldn’t be picking on her.”
“Viola?”
Alice laughed. “No, Clara. Some folks in town have been giving her a hard time. Some even thought she was getting senile.”
“Because of her pig?”
“Because they didn’t like the idea of a giant hog walking down the streets of Acorn Hill.”
“Most towns have ordinances against farm animals within the town limits.”
“According to the mayor, who is also my Aunt Ethel’s beau, we apparently do not.”
Mark started laughing now. “This town sounds more and more like something out of an old TV sitcom. Like Mayberry RFD, or maybe it was Green Acres. Didn’t they have a pig on that show?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been much into TV.”
“Why should you? You’ve got enough entertainment in this town to keep you going for years.”
She smiled. “So, maybe now you can see why I wanted to come back here.”
He checked Daisy’s pulse again. “I can now. It wasn’t quite so obvious forty years ago.”
“Forty years?” Alice shook her head. “That doesn’t even seem possible.”
He looked up at her. “You sure don’t look forty years older.”
She laughed and felt herself blushing. “Well, thank you, Doctor. You don’t either, but I suspect we’re both suffering from diminishing eyesight.”
“And your sense of humor has only improved over the years.”
“I suppose I used to be fairly serious.”
“And, as long as I’m handing out compliments, you were an excellent assistant in that surgery. You ever consider taking up animal medicine?”
She chuckled. “Now, wouldn’t that be something.”
Soon they were both satisfied that Daisy was making a perfectly good recovery. Mark wrote down some very specific instructions for Clara and promised to check on Daisy the following morning.
“Thank you for coming, Dr. Graves,” said Clara. “You’re a real answer to prayer.”
They did not speak much as he drove back to the inn, but Clara’s words played over and over in Alice’s mind—“a real answer to prayer,” “a real answer to prayer.” Whose prayer?
Chapter Twelve
Good morning,” said Mark as Alice came downstairs to help Jane set up breakfast. “I’ve already been out to check on our patient, and she’s looking fit as a fiddle.”
“Oh, that’s such good news. I’m sure Clara is feeling relieved.”
“Yes, she insisted I take home some of her pickles.” Alice smiled as they walked into the dining room together. “They’re really quite good.”
“I felt just like James Herriot.”
Suddenly Alice realized that Mark was probably used to collecting some considerable sums for his medical expertise. “Uh, instead of billing Clara, since she lives on a very tight income, do you think you could just bill me instead?”
He firmly shook his head. “Are you kidding? Do you think I’d actually let you pay me for the fun we had last night?”
“That doesn’t sound very good,” said Mr. Parker as he closed the Philadelphia Inquirer with a loud snap. He scowled up at the two of them as if they were teenagers caught sneaking a kiss on the front porch.
“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Parker,” said Alice in a formal voice.
“Good morning,” said Mrs. Parker with a smile. “We took your sister’s advice and drove up north yesterday and—”
“Wasted another perfectly good day, not to mention a full tank of gas,” said Mr. Parker. He looked toward the kitchen. “What does a guy have to do to get another cup of coffee around this place?”
Alice felt Mark’s eyes on her as she hurried toward the sideboard and picked up the nearly full carafe sitting on the hotplate just a few feet away from Mr. Parker. “Here you go,” she said as she refilled his cup.
“Oh,” said Mrs. Parker, “I didn’t even notice that sitting there. Anyway, as I was saying, we saw some nice fall color.”
“Ha,” grunted Mr. Parker. “We saw a couple of trees that were barely turning.”
“They came up here from South Carolina,” Alice explained to Mark, “in hopes of seeing some fall foliage.” Then she turned back to the Parkers. “I’m sorry, this is Dr. Mark Graves. He is a well-known veterinarian of exotic animals.”
“How interesting,” said Mrs. Parker.
“I think I’ll go give Jane a hand in the kitchen,” said Alice, eager to escape the Parkers.
Mark looked at her hopefully. “Mind if I join you?”
She smiled down at Mrs. Parker, then spoke in a conspiring tone. “Normally, we don’t allow guests in the kitchen, but Mark is like family.” Then she led him through the swinging doors, suppressing her laughter.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I don’t think I could’ve taken another word from that guy.”
Jane nodded as she rinsed a mixing bowl. “He’s been making me crazy all morning. First of all, they were already up when I came down here, just sitting in the dining room waiting to be fed.” She shook her head. “Good grief, it was six o’clock in the morning, and we make it clear that we begin serving breakfast at seven.”
Alice laughed. “Well, maybe they have big plans for the day.”
“I hope the plans are to leave and never come back.” Jane smiled at Mark. “So what’s the prognosis on Clara Horn’s pig?”
“She’s going to be just fine,” said Alice. “Mark had to operate last night and he did a brilliant job.”
“I figured it must’ve been something big,” Jane glanced curiously at Alice and turned back to her omelet, carefully laying in sliced vegetables, “since you guys got home so late.”
“Daisy had ingested a plum pit,” said Mark as he pointed to a plate of freshly made scones. “You mind?”
“Not at all. That’s what they’re for,” said Jane.
“Would you like some coffee or tea?” asked Alice.
“Coffee would be grand. Black.”
Alice poured him a big mug out of the fresh pot that Jane had just brewed and set it in front of him, along with a pot of homemade raspberry jam.
“Mmm, a guy could get used to this.”
Jane glanced at Alice, lifting her brows.
“What can I do to help?” asked Alice.
“How about flipping those pancakes,” said Jane. “I think they’re ready.”
Soon Louise joined them, and, with the kitchen now crowded and breakfast in full swing, Mark made himself scarce—to Alice’s relief. Her respite was short-lived, however, since his exit signaled the start of Jane’s inquisition.
“So, tell us,” said Jane.
“How did it go last night?”
“The surgery went perfectly.” Alice turned the last pancake over. “Mark is a great animal doctor.”
“I don’t mean that,” said Jane.
“So Clara’s pig is all right then?” asked Louise as she sliced up a cantaloupe.
“Yes. She was plugged up with a plum pit, poor thing.”
“Enough with the pig talk,” said Jane, clearly exasperated now. “I want to hear the good stuff.”
Alice looked at her younger sister with wide innocent eyes. “The good stuff? Whatever do you mean?”
Jane glared at her and then turned back to the omelet to layer in shredded cheese. “You know what I mean, Alice. How did it go with Mark?”
Alice pretended to look confused, but at the same time knew she was not much of an actress and would not be able to hold off her persistent sister for long. “It went fine with Mark.”
“Did you guys talk?”
“Of course, we talked. Did you think I would just sit there like a dummy?”
Louise laughed. “That thought did cross my mind.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Alice began removing the pancakes from the griddle, carefully stacking them on the heavy platter that Jane had already warmed. “Shall I take these out now, Jane?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m done with the omelet. Looks like everything’s ready.”
The Fisks came down for breakfast, and the dining room was filled with cheerful chitchat. Clara Horn’s pig was the hot topic of the morning, although Mr. Parker thought it was all a bunch of nonsense. But he would.
“We always let our guests know that they are welcome to join us at church,” announced Louise. “The service starts at ten and lasts about an hour.”
“Casual dress is perfectly acceptable,” added Alice, since she had come to notice that many of their guests did not bring outfits that they felt were suitable for church.
As it turned out, the Parkers and the Fisks checked out, and only Susan and Mark joined them for church, sitting with Alice and her sisters. Alice felt vaguely surprised by their attendance and found herself distracted from the message as she wondered what they would think about Pastor Kenneth’s sermon. She knew that Mark had not grown up in a religious family. In fact, she remembered how he had described his parents as “free thinkers who embraced scientific theories more readily than religion.” Indeed, the topic of religion was one of the major areas about which Mark and Alice could not find common ground.
Hidden History Page 10