After All These Years (29 page)

Her mother wasn't finished. “I think we're called to give him the opportunity to change. Your dad agrees.”

He nodded.

Lia sighed, still struggling with the decision. “And you promise you won't let him talk you into letting her spend the nights with his family? That's asking too much of Chloe.”
And me.

Her dad crossed his arms, her mother lowered her eyelids. No, of course they wouldn't. They loved Chloe as much as she did, and the schedule was set. Nelson would take her for Friday evening dinner and then a visit to the zoo on Saturday. No more.

“Maybe you'll visit the zoo this weekend? You haven't been there for a while, have you?”

Her dad narrowed his eyes slightly. Lia knew he was trying to hide the twinkle. He'd probably considered the very same thing.

She stood, teacup in hand. “All right. I'd better get back downstairs.” She had left Dot in charge of the pharmacy counter, knowing she would call if things got too busy. The remainder of the store was in Anne's capable hands.

Her mother smiled. “We'll wait here for Chloe.”

Her dad put on his glasses and held the newspaper up in front of his face.

“Your dad doesn't want to get in Dot's way.”

Lia grinned all the way down the staircase.

A short time later, quick goodbyes were said on the sidewalk in front of the shop, squeezed between the filling of prescriptions. Lia kept telling herself it was better this way. If they lingered, she could very well lose control and change her mind. Extra-tight hugs were shared all around.

Anne and her daughter Mandy stood with her, waving until the Neuman car could no longer be seen across the town square. Mandy went to Anne's car parked nearby on the street.

“Be right there, punkin,” Anne called. “Lia,” she said in her matter-of-fact tone, “you're coming to dinner tonight.”

“Celeste already invited me.”

“Are you going?”

“No. I'd rather curl up with a good book. You know, I never have enough time to read…” Her voice trailed off.

“And cry yourself to sleep.”

She met Anne's penetrating gaze. “So?”

“So, nothing.” Anne hugged her. “Call me or just come over if you change your mind and want company. We'll be home all evening.”

Lia waved as her friend drove off, blinking back the tears, fighting down the nausea, wishing she hadn't let Chloe out of her sight.

The night was long. Lia curled up all right, but it was in the dark without a book and nearer a fetal position than a cozy one. Things only got worse when little Soot leaped onto her bed and nudged herself under her hand. She must have been lonely in Chloe's room.

Lia cried her eyes out and finally began to name her concerns out loud to Jesus, wanting desperately to feel His arms around her.

“Please, don't let him drink. He promised not to. Please, don't let his children be mean to her. Please, let the zoo outing be fun tomorrow. Please, if his wife is there—Oh, Lord, how can she forgive him? Does she know You? Or is she just so out of touch…”

It struck her then. That's what she should be praying for: his entire family. What a dysfunctional mess they must be! And she'd sent Chloe right smack into the middle it!

She moaned through the scenarios which that thought created, until at last even she tired of her complaints. Sitting up, she began to focus on praying for the Greene family.

After a time she felt calmed and reassured. God was with Chloe, and He loved her better than she could.

Before snuggling down under the covers, Lia went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Even with the blinds closed, the street lights lit her way, shining brightly through the windows that faced Walnut. At the sink she peeked through the lace curtain. A squad car was parked just across the alley, in the small lot behind the grocery store, facing her back door. A shadowy figure sat behind the wheel. A rather large shadowy figure.

Well, it wasn't the arms of Jesus around her…but it came pretty close.

“Cal!” Tammy pouted.

He kept his poker face. No two ways about it, the woman knew how to whine, drawing his name out into two syllables. “Tam, it's business. I'll be right back. Don't pay the check.” She had a thing about picking up the check, making a show of treating him. It had begun to feel belittling.

Tammy's blonde hair swung as she turned her head toward the window.

Cal slid from the booth and moved across the noisy, crowded main room of the Pizza Parlor. The building was turn of the century, an unlikely spot for pizza, but the Parlor had been serving the best homemade food in a 30-mile radius since he was a sixth grader. He grabbed a vacant chair and carried it to the booth where Isabel and Lia sat.

“Hey, ladies.” He swung the chair around and straddled it. “Mind if I interrupt a minute?”

Lia glanced over. “Hi, Cal.”

“Cal.” Isabel shook her head. “You are such a romantic. In uniform, at the Parlor, on a Saturday night date. You can't top that.”

“Mind your own business, Mendoza.”

She rolled her eyes. “It's his cop tone.”

He leaned toward Lia. “We're still looking over your papers. So far everything is in order, numbers and dates add up. I don't know what to say.”

She pushed a fork through her salad. “Go back to your cop tone. Tell me you've got it all under control.”

He heard the worry in her voice. “More phone calls?”

She looked up. “Occasional hang-ups.”

“Nelson Greene?”

“I don't think so. We've talked a couple of times, and Chloe is with him now. I don't think he has a reason any longer to intimidate me.”

“Maybe not.”

“Nice goatee.”

He stroked his chin, proud of his five-day effort. “Thanks.”

Isabel added, “Fall must be here. So what do you think of Lia's hair?”

He exchanged a glance with Lia. They both chuckled self-consciously. He switched subjects. “How's business?”

“It's great, for the moment. I've got until the end of the month before the insurance company pulls out. In the meantime, Alec Sutton is working on things at Agstar. We hear he has some influence.”

Isabel laughed. “Anne calls him a
semi
bigwig.”

“And, of course,” Lia continued, “I'm not the only one who needs their support. All the independent pharmacies in the other outlying towns need it, too. A lot of people are working on it. We'll see.”

He asked, “Otherwise?”

“Otherwise, Cal,” she said, her voice softly going up a notch, “I quit and spend the rest of my life paying off a business loan.” Her forehead wrinkled.

Isabel poked his arm. “Hey, Huntington, we're having a night off here. Don't you ever take a night off?”

No, he didn't really. Tonight's standing dinner date was pizza wedged in before he left to take over Hawk's shift because Hawk was taking off early. When that shift ended, Cal's would just be starting. The dinner date also happened to include subtly interrogating a business owner who had
the motive and the means to steal her own supply of morphine.

He stood. “Have a nice night, ladies.”

Lia cut into her steaming manicotti. “It's a weird feeling. I don't know if I've been robbed or not. The evidence is there, but not the means.”

Concern lined Isabel's face. “Do you want to stay with me? I have an extra bed.”

“Thanks, but no. I refuse to let it disrupt my life. I've got to get over this Chloe-Nelson hurdle first. And you're helping with that by offering to hang out with me tonight. After Thursday and Friday nights, I've had my fill of self-pity.”

“My pleasure. It's not like I had anything else going on.”

“Tony's gone?”

“Indefinitely. Back to Chicago.”

“I can't read you,
Izzy
. Are you happy or sad about that?”

“Hmm… content. Lia, um, I've never told my Valley Oaks friends about part of my past with Tony. We lived together for a few months before he graduated. Thank you for not looking disgusted or shocked.”

Lia laughed. “We all do things we wish we hadn't.”

“Did you?”

“Of course.”

“Live with someone?”

“No, but I had my sister for a role model of what not to do, and I had my hands full caring for Chloe. Now what guy is interested in that? Anyway, Isabel, my life isn't over yet. We don't need to compare wrong choices.”

“Sins.”

“Right, sins.”

“Okay. Tony graduated and left without even saying see ya, it's been fun, goodbye, keep in touch.
Nada
.” She paused, glancing around the restaurant. “I…I spent that summer with my grandmother. The guilt became unbearable, but I didn't take her advice to just confess it and ask forgiveness until years later. All I wanted was Tony. I thought he loved me and would come for me. But he didn't. You know what I finally had to face? I've been holding that against him.” She held out her arms, palms up. “After all these years, I just forgave him last week. Isn't that wild? And besides that, I admitted feeling that there was no way God could really forgive me for my relationship with Tony. Well, that's just denying everything about my faith in Jesus. So I had a long talk with Him and…and I finally let it sink into my heart.”

Lia smiled. “It's a lifelong process, huh?”

“Amen.” The worry left Isabel's eyes. “I even hated the name Izzy because it was his special name for me. It seems so childish now. Anyway, this all came together Sunday afternoon. That night he came by my girls' group at church. I wanted him to stay so we could talk afterwards. I hadn't planned on discussing premarital sex with the girls, but it came up, and I felt it was time to share my story.”

“Kids need to hear real stories like that.”

“I hope so. I didn't use his name and say outright that the guy sitting by the door was the one I lived with. He left before I noticed, so we didn't talk. I…I don't know how he reacted. Another non-goodbye. He probably thinks I'm a real fruitcake. Maybe I won't hear from him again, but that's fine.” She sounded as if she meant it, but chewed her bottom lip.

“And yet…you care about him.”

“Oh, Lia, once I got over fussing about him being in town, it was like we picked up where we left off seven years ago.
Like a hand in a glove.” She waved her fork, dismissing the thought. “History. Now, what's this between you and Cal?”

The water halfway down Lia's throat changed direction. She choked. No words came out. She clamped a napkin to her mouth and coughed.

Isabel burst into hysterical laughter and collapsed against the back of the booth, sliding down the seat.

Lia wiped her eyes. “Noth—”

“No way! You can't deny it now, girl!”

People in the booth across from theirs turned to watch them.

Isabel waved.

“Isabel!” Lia hissed.

“They can't hear us above the music and that group of kids behind you.”