Mia had to admit, her logic made sense.
“So, you and my Dad are serious, then?”
“We are. I’m not going to confuse you with double talk ... I love your Dad, very much. He’s a good man, he makes me laugh and we have fun together.” Kris nodded, pulling the massive car into a double wide spot at Pikes Place.
“Can I ask you something kind of personal?” Mia couldn’t stop herself now, Kris was so candid and forthcoming, she wanted to press a little more.
“Of course … ” Kris replied climbing out of the car.
“You were married before, right?”
“Yes, I was.”
“Why didn’t that ... work out?” Mia felt her face burn with a fresh blush.
“I was very young when I got married, not much older than you.” Kris chirped the locks and kept pace with Mia as they walked across the empty parking lot, the weather keeping the crowds at bay. “We were high school sweethearts, and he asked me to marry him on our graduation day.” Kris smiled at the memory.
“We went off to college together, married the summer after our freshman year. We worked our way through, graduated, bought a small home not too far from where you live now—Gig Harbor. He went into law school immediately, and I started working as a photographer. We were like ships passing in the night, he was always at school and I was on the road building my portfolio and taking any job that came my way. But, we made it work—we really, really loved each other. So, okay, after he graduated law school and went into a well established practice, he figured we should start a family. He was settled, he’d reached his goals, he was working at a job he loved, making solid money ... he felt finished—if that makes sense.
“For my part, I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but my career was just taking off. I was starting to get the sort of jobs that paid a lot of money, and I was starting to get noticed—doing what I loved to do, it was bliss for me, I loved it. But those sorts of successes require a lot from the pursuer. I traveled all the time, I worked crazy hours editing and developing, I was always involved in something ... it just felt to me like, having a baby ‘right then‘ would be unfair to child. And honestly, I wasn’t ready to settle down and do the whole ‘Mom’ thing. But, he was. He wanted kids and all that went along with them, he didn’t want to wait and I felt it was unfair to ask him to ... so we went our separate ways—it wasn’t because we hated each other, or because our relationship was bad, but I loved him enough to let him go find the things that he really wanted—and in turn, he did the same for me.” Kris pulled her wool sweater tighter across her middle.
“Did you ever get remarried?” Mia knew she hadn’t, he father had only mentioned one divorce, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“No.” Kris shook her head.
“Do you wish you had, you know, done the kid thing?” Mia asked, painfully curious now.
“Wow, these are heavy questions,” Kris laughed before continuing. “Yes, of course, I wish I had a child or two or ten. Kids are great, I have nieces and nephews and when I’m with them, I see what I missed out on. Like now, with you, I see what I missed.” She gestured to the space between them.
“But, I made a choice. I can’t say it was the wrong one, but with every choice—even the right choice—there is always a sacrifice. Even when it’s something as simple as ordering dinner— if you choose one entree, you miss out on all the others. But, I never really thought, when I decided to leave my marriage that having children ... the dream of that ... was over for me. I figured I meet someone later, when the time was right, and I’d do the whole parenting thing ... but that obviously didn’t happen.”
Kris read like an open book, and Mia found it hard not to be drawn into her center of light. She was warm, and honest and friendly. She was easy to be with.
“Thanks for being honest with me,” Mia added. She wanted to tell Kris she would have been a great mom, but wasn’t sure those words were loaded or not.
“You’re welcome, any time.”
They walked in companionable silence for a while, passing stalls of fresh seafood and produce, weaving their way towards the artist booths.
“So, what is it you’re looking for?” Kris chimed in.
“I need stuff for Dad, Ginny, my Aunt Soph—and her three boys, Bryan, my friend Sarah …” Mia rattled off, mentally adding Kris to that list.
“I know this great artist ... here, follow me.” Kris grabbed her hand and tugged her through the masses of people towards a small stand.
The small shop was perfect. Filled with hand knit scarves fell lightly from rods, colorful hats strew across table tops, mittens filled glass bowls. It was beautiful and colorful stale off winter odd and ends. Mia gravitated towards an emerald green thick knit scarf with shots of copper thread through it. She gently lifted it off the rod, and knew this was perfect for Kris. She grabbed another in pumpkin for Aunt Sophia, a cheerful red one for Ginny and a hot pink one for Sarah. She found matching mittens and hats, and added those to her basket as well.
“That was successful.” Kris noted the overstuffed brown bag Mia carried.
“That place was awesome!” Mia agreed.
“The boys now?”
“Yeah, they’re younger than me ... ” Mia chewed her lip, looking around for inspiration and finding none.
“Oh! You know what? There is this store right by my house, tons of video games and music and books. Want to go there after the spa?” Kris suggested.
“Sure, that’d be great,” Mia agreed, thinking she’d snag the boys something along those lines.
They travelled the rest of the market, Mia picked up a piece of pottery for Aunt Sophia, a hand thrown bowl for Ginny, a silver and sea glass bracelet for Kris, a handmade watch for her father, and a jar of preserves for everyone to share on Christmas morning. For Bryan, she found a hand stamped wallet with the Seattle University logo pressed into the tanned leather.
“Mia, do you like crab?” Kris asked impulsively as they made their way to the exit, their arms loaded down with Mia’s scores for the day.
“Sure.” Mia nodded.
“This booth has the best crab, why don’t I grab us some for dinner?” Kris fished around her purse and handed Mia a wad of bills. “You can run over there and grab some stuff for a salad, would you mind?”
“No problem.”
“Great! Your dad will be happy we’re not eating out every night.” Kris’s eyes crinkled around her smile. “Meet me by the exit?”
“Yep.” Mia turned towards a booth overflowing with local produce.
She gathered a head of lettuce, a few heirloom tomatoes, a thick cucumber, a few green peppers and a bag of homemade croutons. She spotted a bottle of homemade apple dressing and added that to her haul as well. She also grabbed a couple pints of blackberries, figuring she’d make dessert and hoping Kris wouldn’t mind.
“Ready?” Kris smiled as she spotted Mia walking towards her.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Mia said, holding up the thin plastic bag. “I bought some blackberries, I was going to make dessert ... ”
“Mind? of course not! I’m excited, thank you for thinking of it!” Kris gave a wide, perfect smile and started through the door. “What are you making?”
“My mom’s blackberry cobbler,” Mia answered, avoiding the sudden onslaught of weekend shopper skillfully.
“Oh.” Something Mia couldn’t read crossed Kris’s face, but she recovered smoothly, smiling brightly. “Sounds great.”
“It’s good ... I promise. When I was a little girl I thought I would hate it, then I tried it, and discovered I actually liked it a whole lot,”
~ * * * ~
Mia looked closely at her reflection in the mirror. Kris had been right, the gold facial did make her skin glitter. She had added on an eye brow wax and thin skin was still pink and strung a little. Her toes were professionally painted the same glittery red as her nails, and felt soft standing on the small paisley in front of the dresser rug.
She thought a lot about today as she appraised her freshly scrubbed skin and manicured brows, she liked Kris, she decided. She was an interesting enough person, and her dad seemed happy, almost like he was lighter with her around. They bantered back and forth teasingly, laughed at all the same things—even the stuff Mia didn’t find remotely funny. The atmosphere around, when they were together, was warm and swimming with love.
Her phone vibrated loudly on the nightstand.
“Hello?” Mia grab it quickly and punched the answer button.
“Hey babe, what’s up?” Bryan said on the other end, his voice was elixir, smooth and sweet.
“Not much, just hanging out before dinner. How’s camping?” Mia asked, twirling a fine piece of hair around her finger, watching the curl stretch and recoil.
“We didn’t go. Griff has some sort of flu,” Bryan answered and disappointment edged his tone.
“That sucks, is Sarah stick too?” Mia made the mental note to call and check on her later.
“I don’t think so ... but who knows. So tell me, how’s Kris?” Bryan sounded genuinely interested.
“So far so good, she’s actually pretty nice. We went shopping today, and got facials at the spa. It was really fun.”
“That’s great, babe.”
“Yeah. And I can tell my Dad is super happy with her, so that’s nice.”
“I’m happy it’s going well, are you coming home tomorrow?”
“That’s the plan, probably not until late—but I have my car, I can leave whenever.” Mia knotted her hair at the nap of her neck in a tight coil, and wiggled her toes, admiring the precision paint job.
“Cool. Well, call me if you get in early, we can go to a movie or grab dinner or whatever, okay?” Bryan offered.
“I’ll call you.” Mia stretched.
“Have a good time babe, love you,”
“You too.” Mia clicked the end button and replaced the phone.
In the kitchen, Gabe was stirring a wild rice on the stove and Kris was sprinkling freshly grated cheese on a salad. Red, steaming crab legs sat on a large oval platter beside small dishes of melted butter and cocktail sauce, juicy wedges of lemon filled a bowl. Her cobbler sat neatly on a cooling rack beside the stove, and Kris had thoughtfully set out cinnamon and sugar. The kitchen smelt savory and sweet and was warm despite the heavy rain and the wind howling against the building.
“This looks ... amazing,” Mia appreciated, taking in the delicious bounty that flooded the room. “I thought you said you couldn’t cook?”
“I can do some things. And, thanks.” Kris grinned, helping Gabe transfer the rice into a serving bowl. “I hope you’re hungry, we have enough to feed an army!” Her laugh, like bells, rang out.
“Starved. Who knew a day of complete relaxation could totally exhaust you?” Mia joked as she slipped onto her chair at the table.
“So you girls had a good time?” Gabe asked, placing the rice on the waiting hot pad at the table.
“It was great, but you better watch out Dad, I think this was the first of many facials. Thanks again, Kris, that was really nice,” Mia teased lightly.
“It was my pleasure. I’m so glad you liked it. Do you have many spas in Port Angeles?” Kris asked.
“Some, not a ton and nothing as nice as that place we went today.” Mia took a heaping of salad and drizzled it with the fancy dressing she picked out today.
“Well, maybe next time I’ll come to you—I haven’t been to Port Angeles in years,” Kris speared a crab leg and dropped it on her plate, splashing a lemon against the white meat.
“You should come out when you get back from St. Kitts,” Gabe offered, forking the mound of rice onto the plate.
Kris glanced at Mia, awaiting a reaction before answering. “You should totally come out,” Mia agreed nodding, taking a sip of her soda.
“Really? That would be … nice. Thank you Mia, Gabe.” Kris seemed touch by the invitation and dabbed her eyes quickly with the corner of her napkin.
“Well, can I just say, I’m happy you two girls had fun.” Gabe smiled, something deep and real in his eyes, a genuine contentment.
“Yeah, we had a blast. I got that jam, so Ginny is going to be thrilled.” Mia took a small bite of the crab, savoring the way the flavor, salty and sweet meat exploded over her tongue. “Oh my God,” Mia said, her mouth still full with pulpy flesh.
“What? Is it okay?” Kris asked quickly, a concerned look creasing her brows.
“It’s amazing. Dad this is seriously amazing.” Mia gestured to the leg, giving Kris a thumbs up.
Kris just laughed, taking a healthy bite, closing her eyes around the flavors, enjoying it.
~ * * * ~
Mia dropped her dirty clothes in the laundry room and made her way back to the family room. The television flashed brightly against the black windows, Bryan lay sprawled out on the overstuffed couch, his eyes glued to the screen.
“So when is your dad coming back?” Bryan asked and Mia flopped down beside him.
“Tomorrow I guess,” Mia yawned and allowed her head to flop back against the fluffed pillows. “He had early meetings and there was no point in coming back here to go back first thing in the morning. Besides, I think he wanted to celebrate the successful weekend with Kris.”
Bryan nodded, shoving a fist full of popcorn in his mouth.
Mia had driven home early in the afternoon, kissing her father goodbye and hugging Kris. She had placed Kris’s gifts on her coffee table before leaving, not wanting to make a spectacle of it, along with a note wishing her a safe trip and thanking her again for a really fun weekend.
Ginny had been waiting in the drive way when she pulled in a few hours later, waving jovially and giving her a huge hug, peppering her with all sorts of questions. Aunt Sophia was flying in the following morning with the boys, and Gabe was coming home for the balance of the week. The holiday’s were rapidly approaching and Christmas Vacation from school was a much welcome break.
“Are you excited to be going to see your grandparents?” Mia asked conversationally.
Bryan was leaving for the full two weeks, off to Oregon to spend time on his grandparents’ ranch for the holidays.
“Sure.” Bryan’s lopsided grin crossed his face.
“I wish you were going to be around,” Mia added, feeling slightly glum. She had wanted Sophia to meet Bryan.
“I got you something.” Bryan reached into the pocket of jeans and pulled out a small silver wrapped gift placing it in her hands, “but you can’t open it until Christmas morning,” he added for good measure.
“Bryan!” Mia gushed, holding the small box in her hand. The unmistakable swish of velvet under paper piqued her interest.
“It’s nothing crazy, just something to remind you of me.” He kissed her quickly.
“I got you something, too. Hold on.” Mia hurried to her room where her bags and suitcase lay strewn across her bed. She found the leather wallet she had picked for him, and closed the Kraft box lid before hurrying back to the family room. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to wrap it.” She handed him the bland cardboard box, which he turned over in his hands slowly.
“Can I open it now?” Bryan asked.
“No way, that’s so not fair. You can wait until Christmas, too!” Mia laughed and placed the small silver present under the fresh cut tree in the corner of the room.
“And if I let you open yours now?” Bryan raised an eyebrow, offering a trade.
“I could be convinced,” Mia joked lightly.
“Please?” Bryan let his tone turn pleading, and his brown eyes melted into pools of irresistible chocolate.
“Nope!” Mia collapsed into fits of laughter, taking the gift from his hands and placi
ng it on the end table, wrapping her arms around Bryan’s thick neck.
“Really?” Bryan asked, fixing his lips into a pout, his eyes open wide with mock horror over her little joke.
“If we’re not going to see each other over the holidays, the least we can do is open our presents during them.” Mia kissed his pout again, pulling him hard against her.
“I’m going to miss you, Mi,” Bryan breathed into her ear.
“It’s only two weeks, you’ll survive,” Mia teased, knowing she’d miss him in equal measure.
“I’m ... going ... to ... miss ... you ... Mia,” Bryan repeated, slower this time, ignoring her dismissal.
“I’m going to miss you, too,” Mia relented, hugging him tighter to her.
“That’s more along the lines of what I was hoping to hear.” Bryan kissed her neck lightly, sending a wave of chills through Mia.
Mia wondered, fleetingly, with her arms around Bryan’s neck and with his lips pressed against hers, if this was how her mother had felt. If somewhere in the back seat of a blue Mustang, the same feelings crested for her as they did Mia, the desire. If Jenna didn’t feel the same waves of passion looking into the eyes of a boy going off to do a man’s job, the man she loved, knowing he was leaving her. Mia was sure it was a different scale with higher stakes, but the thought of being away from Bryan, even for a couple of weeks, hurt her and she wondered how her mother managed to survive a more permanent separation.
“Argh, I should go.” Bryan pulled away, moaning.
Mia knew they had been toeing a very fine, delicate line lately.
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” A warm blush bloomed on her chest and her heart pounded in her ears.
“I’ll call you,” Bryan promised, patting the pocket where his cell phone bulged out, reaching for the gift on the table in the same moment.
“Okay.” Mia walked to the door slowly, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
The Milestone Tapes Page 25