Читать книгу A Family For Easter - Lee Tobin McClain - Страница 14
ОглавлениеThe next day, Fiona and her four kids walked—or in Ryan’s and Maya’s case, ran—out of the little white clapboard church on the edge of Rescue River.
“Careful!” Fiona called. “Stay on the sidewalk!” But she couldn’t help smiling at her middle two children’s joy. Maya’s exuberance didn’t surprise her—at seven, Maya was her wild child—but Ryan, though only two years older, tended to be way too serious. It was good to see him run and play.
Beside Fiona, ten-year-old Lauren walked with more decorum, as befitted the dignity of the eldest child. Little Poppy nudged in between Fiona and Lauren and then reached up to grab their hands. “Swing me,” she ordered with the confidence of a three-year-old, and Fiona and Lauren held her hands tight while she jumped up, swinging her legs.
“Hey,” Ryan called back to them, “there’s Diego and Sofia!”
Fiona’s heart gave a tiny little leap as she looked ahead and saw Eduardo and his two kids walking in the same direction Fiona was heading. She always parked near the church’s little play area, and today Eduardo’s truck was next to her SUV.
Had he decided to take her up on her offer of the carriage house?
She’d seen Eduardo dressed up once before, on his date at Chez La Ferme, but he looked happier and more comfortable today, in his dark suit and open-collared blue shirt, laughing with his kids.
“Sofia! Hey!” Lauren dropped Poppy’s hand and ran toward the Delgados. Ryan followed suit. They played on the same coed soccer team with Sofia and Diego, and the four children were becoming friends.
A moment later, all of them were on the grass next to their vehicles. Ryan, Diego and Maya darted back and forth, burning off energy by throwing around the cotton-ball lambs they’d made in Sunday school.
“Is that sacrilegious, to play with the Easter lamb?” Fiona asked, half joking.
“Is it, Dad?” Diego clutched his lamb to his chest, his expression anxious.
Eduardo looked amused. “Not really. In some cultures, kids raise a lamb for Easter. I’m sure they play with it.”
“That would be fun!” Maya danced over to Fiona. “Can we get a lamb, Mom?”
“No.” Fiona tried to tuck Maya’s hair back into its ponytail holder without much success. “But we’re thinking about a dog when summer comes, and you kids can all help pick it out.”
“Yes!” Maya pumped her arm in the air and ran back to the game of toss-the-lamb.
Fiona glanced over at Eduardo. “I don’t think the kids would like what happens to the pet lamb at Easter.”
“Easter dinner?” He winced. “Good point.”
“Mom, can me and Sofia swing Poppy?” Lauren asked.
Poppy threw her arms around Lauren. “Please, Mommy? I wanna swing with LaLa!”
“If you’re careful. Not too high.”
“I know, Mom. Come on, Sofia.” Lauren picked Poppy up easily and carried her toward the swing set. At ten, she was tall and broad-shouldered, often mistaken for a teenager.
“Poppy’s cute,” Eduardo said, looking a little wistful. “I remember those days.”
“They go by too fast.” Fiona didn’t want to think about how she wasn’t going to get another baby, how Poppy was her last. So, she watched as Lauren set her little sister on a swing, giving her a stern lecture about holding on tight. Lauren liked to show off her childcare skills, and Sofia was a new audience.
Which was fine. To a pair of ten-year-olds, a toddler seemed like a doll, and Poppy was glad to play that role if it got her some big-girl attention.
Fiona and Eduardo stood together, watching their happy kids. Was the question of the carriage house hanging between them, making things awkward, or was it just her being silly?
She focused her attention on a robin pecking at the newly turned earth, pulling out a fat earthworm.
It was a beautiful spring day and the service had been uplifting, and there was no need to feel uncomfortable with family friends. If he didn’t want to take her up on her offer, that was perfectly fine. He probably had lots of friends to reach out to.
“If you were serious about renting to us,” Eduardo said to Fiona, “could we stop over and check out the carriage house sometime soon? I’ve been online and in the paper, and there’s not much out there to rent. I have an appointment to look at a trailer out on County Line Road, but it’s a little more isolated than I’m comfortable with.”
“Sure!” Fiona heard the enthusiasm in her own voice and toned it down. “Come out this afternoon, if you’d like. And you know, I also have a landscaping project I need done. Maybe you could take a look.”
“Are they coming over?” Maya had overheard, and a big smile broke out on her face.
“Maybe,” Fiona said.
“They might come over!” Maya rushed over to the big girls with her important news, followed by Diego and Ryan.
“They’re obviously on board,” Fiona said. “In fact, you’re welcome to come for some lunch. I have plenty of hot dogs and burgers—”
“No, thank you,” Eduardo interrupted, a shadow crossing his face. “That’s a nice invitation, but we have other plans.”
Heat rose in Fiona’s face, and she was sure it showed in her cheeks. The disadvantage of being a fair-skinned redhead.
The rebuff was so definite. He didn’t want to come. “I just thought... It’s always hard to figure out what to do for lunch after church, at least it is for me, and so if you needed...” Stop talking. He doesn’t want to be your friend.
“As far as helping with your landscaping...” He trailed off.
“It was just an idea. I know you have a lot going on.”
He looked at the ground and then met her eyes with a forthright gaze. “You didn’t suggest it to be charitable?”
“Charitable? What you do mean?”
“I just thought... Since we’re going to struggle a little, given what’s happened, maybe you were trying to help. And that’s not necessary.” His chin lifted.
“I’m sorry to say that didn’t even occur to me,” she admitted. “I’ve been meaning to look for a landscaper, but I haven’t gotten around to it. When I saw from your truck that you do landscaping, it seemed providential. If you’re not interested, it’s no problem.”
He opened his mouth to answer. But the kids had been conferring over by the swings, and before he could say anything, they ran over in a group.
“Are Sofia and Diego coming over?” Ryan was obviously the designated speaker.
Fiona glanced up at Eduardo, eyebrow lifted. His call.
“Yes, I think so,” he said. “A little later.”
“Well, we were wondering...” Ryan glanced at his big sister.
“We figured out a plan.” A winning smile broke across Lauren’s face. “Can Sofia ride with us?”
“And can I ride with Diego?” Ryan asked. “Please, Mom? I like their truck.”
“That won’t work.” Fiona looked over at Eduardo. “They’re coming over later in the afternoon. Right?”
“We have a stop to make,” Eduardo said, putting a hand on Diego’s shoulder and another on Sofia’s.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot,” Sofia said. “We’re going to the cemetery.”
“How come?” Ryan asked.
“Our mom is there,” Diego explained.
“Well, her grave is,” Sofia clarified. “Mama’s in heaven.”
“I know she’s in heaven. I’m not a dummy.” Diego’s face reddened, and he opened his mouth as if to say more. But Eduardo squeezed his shoulder and, when Diego looked up, shook his head.
Diego’s shoulders slumped.
“Our dad’s in heaven, too.” Ryan bumped against Diego’s arm in a friendly way and then dug up a pebble with his toe, booting it down the sidewalk. That was Ryan, kindhearted and empathetic. “C’mon!”
Diego pulled away from his father and jogged alongside Ryan, kicking a stone of his own.
“If she’s in heaven,” Maya said, looking up at Sofia and Eduardo, “then why are you going to the cemetery?”
Fiona blew out a breath and squatted down beside her inquisitive seven-year-old. “Every family does things differently. A lot of people like to put flowers on a loved one’s grave.”
“I’ll show you,” Sofia said, tugging the truck key out of her father’s hand. She clicked open the vehicle and pulled a pot of hyacinths from the passenger side. “Today, we’re gonna put these on Mama’s grave.”
“They’re pretty.” Maya stood on tiptoe to sniff the fragrant blossoms. “I never saw a cemetery.”
Fiona didn’t correct her. Of course, Maya had been at her father’s funeral, together with the other kids, including Poppy, who’d been just two months old.
“Some of the graves have tricycles on them, or teddy bears,” Sofia announced. “That’s kids who died.”
“Sofia.” Eduardo gestured toward Poppy, obviously urging silence in front of a little one.
“Sorry,” Sofia whispered and then squatted down on her haunches, holding out the flowers to Poppy. “Want to smell?”
Poppy did and then giggled as the flowers tickled her nose. Distraction accomplished.
“Can we go with them?” Lauren asked unexpectedly.
Fiona opened her mouth and then closed it again. She knew it was important to deal with kids’ questions about death, but really? “We don’t want to intrude,” she said, putting a hand on Lauren’s shoulder. “It’s their private family time.”
“We don’t care,” Diego said as he passed by, chasing the rock he was kicking. “We go all the time.”
They did? Fiona couldn’t help glancing at Eduardo curiously. He must still be grieving hard for his wife.
“We go once every month,” Sofia corrected her little brother.
“Why don’t we go to our daddy’s grave, Mom?” Maya asked.
“Because our daddy was bad,” Lauren said before Fiona could put together a response.
Poppy tugged at Fiona’s hand. “Was our daddy bad?”
Pain and concern twisted Fiona’s stomach, along with anger at Reggie. He’d hurt her, badly, but even worse was how he’d hurt his children.
Nonetheless, she knew what she had to do: keep her own feelings inside and be positive about the children’s father, lest they grow up worrying that they themselves carried something bad inside them. “He was your daddy who loved you and there was lots that was good about him,” she said, making sure her voice was loud enough for all the kids to hear. “But his grave is back in Illinois, where we used to live.”
“Our mom was the best,” Diego said. “Daddy has a picture.” He tugged the keys out of his sister’s hands and showed the photo attached to the ring.
Fiona squinted down at it, and Lauren and Maya leaned in to see as well. A petite dark-haired woman held a baby, with a little girl who must be Sofia leaning into her. Eduardo stood behind the woman, arms protectively around his whole family.
“She’s really pretty,” Maya said.
“Was pretty,” Lauren corrected in her automatic big-sister mode, then reddened and looked over at Sofia. “I’m sorry your mom died.”
Sofia nodded and leaned back against her father, who knelt and put an arm around her. Taking back the key ring from Diego, he held it so Sofia could see. “She was very pretty. Just a tiny little thing, but strong. You look a lot like her.”
“I don’t,” Diego said, obviously parroting what he’d heard before. “I look more like you.”
“Your mother loved both of you very much.” Eduardo squeezed Sofia’s shoulders, let her go and then patted Diego on the back. “She loved to cook for you, and play with you, and read to you. We’ll talk about her at the cemetery, like we always do.”
Fiona’s throat tightened. Helping kids through the loss of a parent was an ongoing challenge.
“Do we have a picture of our daddy?” Maya asked. “Because...” She looked up at Fiona, her face uncertain. “I don’t really remember what he looks like.”
“Back home in our albums, stupid,” Lauren said.
“We don’t call each other stupid,” Fiona said automatically. “And, speaking of back home, we should get going and leave the Delgados to do what they were planning to do.” Maya still looked unhappy—rare for her—so Fiona stooped down and grasped her hands. “Do you want to look at our albums when we go home? There are some good pictures of you and Daddy.”
“Okay.” Maya nodded, her momentary distress gone.
“Are we still having hot dogs?” Ryan asked. “I’m starving!”
“Yes. Come on, everyone in the car.” Fiona clicked open the door locks and then looked at Eduardo. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
He nodded, his eyes unreadable. “And I’m sorry for yours as well.”
As Fiona drove home, her mind kept going back to Eduardo’s family picture. Obviously, he wasn’t over his tiny, beautiful, loving wife.
She had no right to feel jealous just because she’d struck out in the marriage game. It was nothing more than what her mother had always predicted—at her size, and not being the brightest woman around, attracting any man at all had been unlikely. The chances of him being a good, responsible, trustworthy person? Just about nil.
She had more than she deserved in her four wonderful children, and she was content with her life now, as it was.
* * *
Later that Sunday afternoon, Eduardo pulled up in front of Fiona’s house, stopped the truck and waited. He knew exactly what his kids were going to say.
“That’s their house?” Sofia asked. “It looks like it’s from a movie!”
“It’s cool,” Diego said. “Is that where we’d live?”
“No. Mrs. Farmingham is looking to rent the carriage house, out back. I haven’t seen it, but I’m sure it’s nothing fancy.”
Diego shrugged, then poked his sister in the side. “C’mon, let’s go! There’s Ryan!”
“Wait.” Eduardo turned in his seat to face both of his kids. “We need to remember some things.”
“I know. Good manners.” Diego had his hand on the door handle.
“Like what?” he prompted.
“Wipe your feet, and say please and thank you, and be quiet inside the house.” Sofia recited the list with an eye roll that previewed the teen she would soon become.
“Good.” From the glove box, Eduardo pulled out two bags of mazapán, a round and chewy Mexican candy one of his aunts always sent them in quantity. He handed a bag to each child. “These are to share with everyone after we check with Mrs. Farmingham. She and I are going to be talking about work before we check out the carriage house, so I need you to be self-reliant. You can interrupt us if it’s an emergency.”
“Like fire or blood,” Diego said, and Eduardo let out a short laugh. He should never have said that to the kids, but one night when he’d been working on the books for his landscaping business, he’d ordered his whining kids to watch TV and only disturb him under those circumstances.
Of course, that’s what they remembered. “Right,” he said, “or anything else that you think is important. You both have good judgment.”
“Can we go now?” Sofia asked, and Eduardo looked at the house and saw that Fiona had come out onto the porch, holding Poppy on her hip. The other three kids were already on the stairs.
“Go ahead,” he said, taking his time about gathering up his tablet and a couple of plant catalogs.
He climbed out slowly. Fiona stood listening to his kids, and he saw her smile and nod. Sofia and Diego distributed pieces of candy all around and gave the rest of the bags to Fiona; then all of the kids took off for the big side yard.
Fiona was wearing jeans and a puffy kind of blouse, light green, that made her red hair glow. Behind her, the old two-story Victorian mansion rose in splendor.
It was exactly the kind of house he’d have bought himself if he’d had the money. The yellow paint with green trim was nice, but best of all were the wraparound porches, one on the first floor and one on the second. A couple of redbrick chimneys indicated fireplaces inside and a turret at the top, with windows all around, would make a great playroom for kids.
Or a relaxing spot for parents to kick back and watch the sunset.
He straightened his shoulders and glanced down at his Delgado Landscaping shirt. He’d debated wearing just ordinary casual clothes, but that would have misrepresented the relationship.
He was aiming to rent a place from her and maybe to do some work for her, too. She was a potential client and landlord, not a friend.
He walked briskly up the sidewalk and held out a hand to shake hers. “Hey, Fiona. Thanks for letting us see the carriage house. And for considering me for a landscaping job, too.”
She lifted an eyebrow and shook his hand. “Of course.”
Heat rose in the back of his neck. Why did he feel so awkward with her?
And her hand—which, he noticed, he was still grasping in his, and he let it go like a hot potato—wasn’t the well-manicured, callus-free one he’d expected, but strong, with plain short-cut nails.
Long delicate fingers, too.
“So,” he began.
“Would you like something—” she started at the same time.
They both laughed awkwardly. “Ladies first,” he said and then wondered if that had sounded stupid.
“Um, okay.” Her cheeks went pink. “What was I... Oh, yeah. Would you like something to drink? Coffee, soda, iced tea?”
“No, I’m fine. Thanks. And thanks for letting the kids come along. It’s a big help.”
“Sure. They’re all having fun.” She gestured across the yard.
The kids were running toward a play set situated near a tidy little outbuilding that must be the carriage house. Poppy couldn’t keep up and called out to the others. Sofia turned, went back to the little girl and picked her up.
His heart did a funny little twist at the sight of his daughter holding a toddler. Sofia would love to have a little sister. He and Elizabeth had hoped for that, planned for it.
Plans don’t always work out. “Does somebody live in your carriage house now?” he asked to distract himself.
“No. I was using it for my dog-walking business, but now...” She shrugged, looking away. “I just want to rent it out.”
“You’re not thinking of trying another business?”
“Well...I’d like to. But...no. Not for now.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
Clear enough. None of my business. “Why don’t you show me what you’re thinking of doing in the yard first, since that’ll take more time. I can look at the carriage house after.”
“Okay, sure.” She wiped her hands down the sides of her jeans. As she headed to the side yard, he fell into step beside her. It was nice that she was so tall. Easy for them to walk in step.
Unbidden, a memory of Elizabeth, scolding him for his tendency to outpace her, came to mind.
Fiona was talking, and he forced himself to focus. “So over here,” she said, “I’m thinking about digging up this whole section and planting vegetables. Corn and tomatoes and squash and peppers. I’d like to maybe slope it south? To catch the sun?”
“That makes sense.” He looked around the yard, measured it in his mind, pictured some ways it could look. “You thinking about raised beds?”
“Yes, if it’s possible.”
He nodded. “I think we could put in three small terraces. It would look good.” He bent down, pinched up some soil and squeezed it between his thumb and forefinger. Thick and hard; too much clay. “You’re going to need some soil amendments. In future years you can compost, if you’re into that, but you’ll probably have to shell out for commercial stuff this year. Peat moss, humus, maybe some mushroom compost. It’ll cost you.”
“That’s not a problem,” she said, and then a blush rose up her cheeks again and she looked away. “I...inherited some money. Nothing I earned myself.”
He’d known she was wealthy. A lot of his customers were. As a professional, he could look at it as a good thing. “Hey, it’s great you can afford to do that. It’ll get your garden off to a strong start. Mind if I take some measurements?”
“That would be great. And here’s the key to the carriage house. Go ahead and look around when you’re done.”
She checked on the kids while he measured and sketched. By the time they’d gotten around to the other side of the yard and discussed fruit trees and blueberry bushes, they were more at ease with each other. And when the kids came running up, thirsty, he helped her get drinks for everyone and accepted one himself.
While Fiona bandaged Ryan’s scraped knee and helped Poppy change into a clean outfit—some kind of a mud puddle accident—Eduardo went out onto the porch and tried to get started on an estimate.
He found himself thinking about Fiona instead.
Specifically, about her past.
It was common knowledge in town that Fiona had been married to a wealthy man. And that her husband had turned out to have a double life, but Eduardo didn’t know any of the details. Now he found himself curious and sympathetic. How did you explain something like that to your kids? How did you deal with it yourself?
And why on earth would anyone who was married to Fiona have felt the need for someone else?
Eduardo did another walk-around, checked a couple of measurements and looked up costs online. By the time he’d finished, the afternoon sun was sinking toward the horizon.
Dinnertime. He needed to take a look at the carriage house, collect his kids and go back to the motel where they were staying. He’d finalize the estimate tonight and email it all to her, and mull over renting the carriage house if it seemed suitable. It would mean a late night, but the job would be great for his bottom line, and the fact that he could work on it basically from home, if the rental worked out, meant that he could get to it quickly.
Sofia was running across the lawn and he called to her. “Get your brother,” he said. “I’m going to take a quick look at the carriage house and then go inside to talk to Mrs. Farmingham. After that, we’ll head home.”
“But we’re having fun!”
“Sofia...” He lifted an eyebrow. She was just starting to question his authority, and he understood it was a stage. But she needed rules and boundaries, and she needed to obey.
“I...” She seemed to read the firmness in his eyes. “Okay.” She gave him a little hug and then ran toward her brother.
Eduardo looked after her, bemused. How long would she keep giving him spontaneous hugs?
He walked through the carriage house. It was small but pretty and sturdy, well built. He checked the smoke alarms and found them all working. Three small bedrooms, a kitchen with space for a table, a sunny front room with hardwood floors.
If Fiona was charging a reasonable price, this place would be perfect.
He went to the front door of Fiona’s house, tapped on it, and when there was no answer, he walked inside. “Fiona?”
He heard her voice from the kitchen, so he headed in that direction. “Hey, I’m about done—” He broke off, realizing she was on a video call.
The image on her big laptop computer screen was blurry, an older woman, but the voice was perfectly clear. “You really need to watch what you’re eating, honey.”
“Mom, we’ve talked about this.” Fiona’s voice was strained.
“But you’ve gained so much weight, and at your height...”
“Heard and understood, Mother. I’ll get the kids.” Fiona turned away, stepped out of the computer camera’s range and buried her head in her hands. Her shoulders started to shake.
Eduardo backed away—nobody wanted a witness to their breakdown—but despite the fact that the old house had been beautifully renovated, you couldn’t eliminate creaky floors. He felt the loose board beneath his feet at the same moment he heard a loud squeak.
Fiona looked up and saw him, and her face contorted even more. “Get out,” she whispered through tears. “Just get out.”
