Читать книгу A Family For Andi - Eileen Berger - Страница 11

Gram was waiting at the top of the steps, then led the way into the sanctuary, which looked different with perhaps a hundred brightly clad people in the pews. Andi felt conspicuous coming into the front of the large, sunlit room, but followed as Gram started back the outside aisle.

Smiling and nodding to friends, Gram led the way into the empty fifth pew, to sit along the center aisle. Andi had stepped back to allow Keith to precede her if he chose, but his hand on her elbow indicated that she should go first.

She wondered again about last night’s date. Might his having a not-too-unattractive, auburn-haired woman sitting by him in Sunday School and church cause resentment?

Gram got her attention. “That blonde—the third one coming into the front row of the choir—she’s Zack’s wife. Keith’s mother. A soprano…”

Andi smiled and nodded, but with the organ playing and choir sitting down, each member with head bowed, it seemed inappropriate to respond verbally.

“You’ll meet her at Karlyn’s—she did mention she’d like you to come to the picnic, didn’t she?”

Andi whispered, “Karlyn invited me after class.”

There was the call to worship. The singing of a hymn, which sounded familiar. Scripture reading and prayer. An outstanding, joyful choir anthem. Taking up an offering—and she had no idea how much to put in. Checks sent to charities were large, but here…?

Those beside her were holding envelopes something like Mother had used, so that gave no clue. She withdrew a ten-dollar bill from her wallet, folded it in half, then over again, and placed it, number side down, in the deep, highly polished wooden collection plate. As she passed it on, she noted bills of various denominations among the envelopes, so assumed she’d done all right.

The pastor, probably under forty, seemed comfortable conducting the service, and his sermon was well organized and interesting—though Andi’s attention was often on those around her.

Was Keith’s father here? She wished there had been pictures to go with the detective’s information.

And that reminded her to take her camera along. Candid shots shouldn’t raise suspicion, and she’d like to show them to Dad. And she’d probably want to look at them, also, after returning.

Andi had shared Gram’s hymnal for the two songs before the sermon, but Keith held his toward her for the last one. As she reached to hold it, her forefinger touched his. Did he notice that? Or hers quickly drawing away?

He was an excellent baritone, and she found herself smiling up at him as she shifted from melody to alto. As the organist put in extra notes between the last two verses, he whispered, “You have a lovely voice, Miss Marker.”

And she whispered back, “So do you, Mr. McHenry,” then wondered if people noticed their grinning at one another.

Gram knew everyone, and seemed to feel Andi should meet them, but it was Keith who introduced her to his parents, both of whom appeared friendly and outgoing.

“We’ll see you at Karlyn’s,” Shelby said. “I must get home and pick up the salad and cake—and get. into casual clothes.” She turned back to add, “Be sure to bring your swimsuit, Annie. It’s been warm enough that the water in the pool’s quite comfortable.”

“I—didn’t expect to swim, so didn’t bring one.”

“Don’t worry. I have extras.” And she was gone.

Andi looked after her, wishing she’d said not to bother. Oh, well, that didn’t matter—until she noticed Keith looking at her strangely, and wondered if he might be remembering her statement about usually wearing pants.

Back in her room, she hung her lightweight linen pants in the closet and took out a brightly colored sundress. It was long and full enough that the scars would remain hidden even when she was seated.

Keith had said he’d see Gram and her shortly, and she wondered if he might be going to pick up his date. I hope he does, she told herself. That would get her over this wondering, this silliness, this.…

No acceptable word came to mind as she leaned closer to the mirror to apply lipstick. But when she looked into the blue eyes in the mirror, she noted that the slight smile on her lips had failed to reach them.

Replacing the tube’s cap, she stifled a sigh. Rule number one, Miss Annie Marker, or whoever you are: Thou shalt not fall in love. Which was fine to say— but why did she even consider that warning?

Why should that word, love, have even entered her mind?

She was in the kitchen when Keith entered by way of the back door. “All ready?”

“I think so,” Gram said, “but it doesn’t feel right.”

“Why is that?”

“Karlyn made me promise not to bring more than one dish, so that’s the macaroni salad there.”

“You’re a literalist if I ever saw one. You cover the top with a whole bottle of stuffed green olives and a can of big, ripe ones, so you’re still bringing several foods, though they’re now in one dish!”

“Well—” tossing her head “—the kids like olives!”

“Yes, we do!” He popped the black one from the very center into his mouth. “So let’s go, ladies. My car’s blocking the alley.”

Andi opened the back door on the driver’s side as he assisted Gram into the front one. “Let me fasten the seat belt,” he said and drew it across. “You care for the salad.”

“And the olives,” Gram murmured.

“And the olives.”

They tried to include Andi in their conversation, but she didn’t identify the man about whom they were speaking—someone scheduled for a brain scan. They’d driven through town and out past the high school when Gram pointed. “That big stone house on the right is Karlyn’s. It was at the edge of town when they built it—before Joe Mueller died and his kids sold the farm to a developer!”

Andi wondered at the disapproval in her tone, but Keith reminded, “That was their right, Gram.”

“But Jake always had a fit about this sort of thing!”

“Not enough to make him put that stipulation in his will, however…”

Andi was brought back again to the major reason that she was here. In addition to getting to know her relatives, she must make sure that decisions concerning Dad’s will, and her own, cover as many bases as possible.

“Those cars nearer the garage won’t be able to get out, dear,” Gram murmured as Keith backed into the driveway.

He turned off the ignition. “But the road’s narrow through here, and I prefer not parking along its side. I’ll move mine if anyone wants to leave early.”

They were instantly surrounded by four excited children, introduced to her as Evelyn’s Brock and Melody, and Karlyn’s Jake and—Traci?

Uh-oh, that investigator had made at least a couple of slipups. Jake was undoubtedly a nickname for the “John” he’d reported, but he must have heard the name of the beautiful, dark-haired five-year-old and assumed her to be a boy, Tracy! She’d watch more carefully for other errors.

Karlyn had come to the corner of the house to invite them to the backyard, and Keith was escorted, tugged, by Brock and Jake. Gram, handing Andi the salad, was “helped” by Melody and Traci.

Keith’s parents were already there, Shelby giving Andi a special smile. “We’re so glad you joined us! Mom’s probably told you we have quite a few family get-togethers, and there’s always room for friends.”

Zack—tall, burly and middle-aged—strode over to take Andi’s hand. “I understand we let you down yesterday.”

“Nothing to feel sorry about, Mr. McHenry,” she reassured. “I’m enjoying my stay in Sylvan Falls.”

“Great!” His other hand clasped her shoulder. “It’s a wonderful place to live, and it’s good to hear that you appreciate it. If you’d like to stay indefinitely, we can keep putting off work on your car.” He waggled his eyebrows the way Dad sometimes did.

This can’t be genetic, can it? she wondered. But such a simple thing put her at ease. “Did your mother tell you I may stick around for a while?”

He grinned. “You’ll find that in our family, good news gets passed around real quick.”

She was glad that he stressed the word, implying they didn’t gossip in negative ways. “She told me about the carnival at the end of the week.”

His shoulders slumped and hands dropped to his sides. His words—“Don’t remind me of that!”—could have indicated despair, had his eyes not been bright with excitement.

“What’s your part in all this?”

“Well, for starters, we have floats to finish.”

“Floats? Plural?”

“Yep. Anyone can enter—churches, organizations, businesses. I happen to be active in First Church and in Rotary, and have a business.”

“You don’t need to help with all of them, do you?”

His wife responded to that. “For your own wellbeing, Annie, don’t even suggest he not work on all of them!”

Shelby was obviously teasing, so Andi felt safe asking, “Isn’t there something like conflict of interest involved here? I presume there’s some prize involved.”

Zack admitted, “They gave me a hard time about that when the garage won once, six years ago. But the church has received first prize—all of twenty-five dollars, incidentally!—six or eight times, and Rotary at least that often.”

“Congratulations!” Her head tipped forward in a nod of approbation. “So what’s the theme for yours this year?”

“Ah-ha! That’s what they all ask.” Again the active eyebrows. “But you have to wait like everyone else.”

Phyllis Bastian, Gram’s eldest offspring, was carrying food from the house to the long picnic tables, while Hal, her husband, turned hamburgers and hot dogs on the gas grill. “Hi, Annie.” He was waving long-handled tongs high in the air, and she recalled that he was a mechanic at Zack’s dealership. “I hear Keith made an unfortunate decision about your car yesterday.”

Keith didn’t look at all apologetic. “Once in a while I do make a decision.”

“…And now that I see what a knock-out you are, Annie,” he declared, “I see why he didn’t come ask for advice.”

“What can I say?” Keith looked at her with a crooked smile as he was dragged off by Brock and Jake for some game involving a beach ball.

Phyllis, whom Andi knew to be a second-shift supervisor of nursing at the community hospital, introduced her daughter, Evelyn Pinchot, as mother of Brock and Melody. They had little chance to visit, however, as the children soon came running to ask about putting on swimwear.

“Is Uncle Keith going in with you?”

Her daughter was bouncing up and down on tiptoe. “Can we, Mama? Can we go in swimming? He’ll watch us.”

“Is he putting on a suit and going in with you?”

The little girl’s lower lip pushed out in a pout, and it was Brock who turned to beg Keith, who had followed them. He rumpled the six-year-old’s hair. “Not. now, kids. Look at that platter of hamburgers and hot dogs and the rest of the spread! There’s no way I’m about to miss that!”

“Well, how ‘bout later? Will you go then?”

“We’ll see.”

They ran to check the last of the meat, being piled on top of the others by their grandfather. Their mother stood there, shaking her head. “I never thought you’d get away with such an evasive answer, Keith.”

“I can’t believe it either.”

Karlyn steered all four of the little ones toward the “wash-up station,” beside the house, stocked with a supply of towels. Evelyn followed, murmuring, “It’s simpler to prevent squirting one another with liquid soap than to give comfort after it’s in their eyes.”

Watching his sister with the children, Keith commented, “Karlyn’s a very good mother, and also an excellent second-grade elementary school teacher.”

Andi nodded, then asked, “Is everyone here?” She knew that Gram’s son, Bradley, had not arrived with his wife—nor had their daughter, who lived in Dalton.

“Aunt Paula doesn’t make it to many of our gatherings, but Vanessa usually does.” They were walking toward the laden table. “Will Uncle Brad be here, Gram?”

“I’m—not sure. Paula’s in the middle of that big defense case, you know. And Brad…is between jobs again.”

Keith’s lips tightened. “Oh.”

Oh?

“I called Vanessa—left a message on her answering machine. Unfortunately, I seldom get through to her.”

Andi wondered whether Gram’s disappointment about “getting through” to this granddaughter had to do only with the impersonality of equipment.

The long table, covered with red-and-white checked paper and with matching red tableware, was filled with meats, salads, rolls, vegetables, casseroles, relishes and beverages. Karlyn was the only one not seated when she announced, “Last chance, everyone. Look around. If things aren’t reported as missing, they won’t be forthcoming.”

Andi’s laughter joined that of Keith and the others. Then Karlyn was offering a prayer of thankfulness before everyone began talking at once and starting dishes of food around the table. Plates were loaded. “No, Melody, you can’t eat just pickles and chips,” Andi heard the child’s mother remind her.

A frankfurter fell off the platter as it got to Melody. “Yes, you may call the dog,” Karlyn said.

A second hot dog got dislocated at Karlyn son’s place. “Really? Another accident? Well, we’ll just put it up here on the table till the picnic’s over,” his mom said.

Andi, an only child, was enchanted by the teasing, the joking, the good-humored give-and-take, the sharing of memories—and just plain love evident around this table. She answered when people spoke directly to her, but was content to listen and observe, her gaze moving from person to person and ears catching not only words but nuances as she stored memories.

The food was delicious, but this whole experience even more wonderful.

Everyone was so stuffed later that it was decided to postpone pie and homemade ice cream until later. The remaining food was carried back to the kitchen, where the big job was finding and filling smaller containers for leftovers.

But Andi wasn’t part of that for long, as Brock and Jake coerced her and Keith into playing a game of croquet. “I’ve only done this twice in my life,” she admitted, “so you must promise not to be too hard on me.”

Jake informed them, “Brock plays better than I do, so he should be her partner. And I’ll play with Uncle Keith.”

Keith put a stop to protests from Brock. “Hey, guys, you asked Miss Marker to play, and now act like this? How would you feel if no one wanted to be your partner?”

Jake tried to bluster his way out, but Brock came to her. “I’m—sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

She had an almost overwhelming desire to throw her arms around him, to hug him close. “It’s all right, Brock.”

The six-year-old looked suspiciously close to tears. “I hate being left out!”

Never having been around young children much, she glanced up at the tall man beside her, needing guidance. Keith gave the tiniest of nods, which encouraged her to say, “Nobody grows up enough to not get hurt feelings sometimes, but I’m okay now.”

She didn’t look at Jake until he took a step closer and offered. “I’ll be partners with you if you want me to.”

Leaning over, she spread her arms to hug both of them. Looking up over their heads, she said to Keith, “I can play golf. Could that help at croquet?”

“I sorta doubt it. And to the best of my knowledge, the government hasn’t got around to using their multimillion-dollar grants to check out this extremely important matter.”

He looked and sounded so serious that the boys didn’t recognize this as humor, and Andi felt unexpectedly warmed at this interplay between him and her.

They decided against playing as couples; each would be on his own. This was accomplished with such laughter and enthusiasm that other family members gravitated to the lower, level portion of the property to cheer them on.

She was still trying to maneuver back through the middle wicket when Brock’s ball hit the finish stake, followed shortly by Keith’s. And she was delighted when Jake’s then made it on his second turn. Picking hers up, she carried it back to them. “You guys are wonderful!”

She’d half expected to play another game, but they were eager to swim. Evelyn produced suits and towels for Brock and Melody, who ran inside with their cousins to change. Shelby was beside Andi as they walked back up the gentle slope. “I brought a dark blue tank suit and a multicolored maillot, so you take your pick.”

I’d like to graciously refuse, she thought, even though I used to love showing off how good I look in swimwear. However, I’m here to learn about my family, not to be rude.

Accepting them with thanks, she went with her hostess into the huge stone house that looked as though it had been there for centuries instead of… “How long have you lived here, Karlyn?” she asked, after complimenting her on how perfect everything was.

“Nearly nine years. My ex-husband is co-owner, along with his father, of a large building supply company on this side of Dalton. They were just beginning their expansion into the construction business, as well—so our dream house was one of their first projects. Planned as a showpiece.”

“I love the spaciousness, the openness you’ve achieved. And all these windows!” Andi’s home in Chicago, built of huge sandstone blocks for some cattle dealer in the late 1800s, was almost castle-like with its many high-ceilinged rooms, but was darker inside than this house.

“My attorney fought hard to save this. It’s a lot of house for just the kids and me, but I couldn’t give it up.”

Karlyn put on a blue princess-style suit, while Andi changed into the maillot, and they walked together out the side door onto a wooden deck and down the steps to the large in-ground pool. The four children were joyfully and loudly enjoying the water. And Keith, at the far end, looked fabulous in white swim trunks.

But Andi’s stomach tightened. She wasn’t only seeing his long, tanned legs and torso; there was a striking blonde sitting beside him on the wood-crafted settee!

“Ahhh,” Karlyn murmured. “Vanessa did come.”

Andi should have recognized from Gram’s pictures that the tall, slim, golden-skinned woman was Brad and Paula’s only child. Walking toward them, Andi was even more conscious than usual of those ugly still-red scars on her leg and thigh. Some day she’d check with a plastic surgeon, but wasn’t yet ready to face another operation.

Karlyn continued, “…I’m glad she’s here. We don’t see enough of her anymore.”