Coming to Rosemont (7 page)

Chapter 8

The remainder of the week flew by
for Maggie. Wednesday was chaotic with movers packing and loading all day. She
decided to ship her car to Westbury and keep Paul’s car to use in California.
The twins had an early release day from school on Thursday, and Mike brought
them over to Maggie’s so she could spend the afternoon with them. The day was
clear and mild, so Maggie took Sarah and Sophie to the park near her house.

She planted herself on a bench and turned her face
to the sun. The happy shouts of her beloved granddaughters and the occasional
“Gramma, watch this!” filled the space. How dreadfully she would miss this.
Maybe her kids were right. Maybe this move was ill conceived. Maggie abruptly
stood up and strode onto the playground.

“It’s not time to go, is it?” Sophie asked,
surprised that her grandmother was coming toward them.

“No. Not even close. I just need a hug,” Maggie
said as she scooped her into an embrace and Sophie nestled close.

“Gramma, push me!” Sarah called.

“Come on, Sophie. I can push both of you.”

They set off for home, hand in hand, when the
sun’s rays slanted low through the trees. Over the girls’ favorite dinner of
mac and cheese and hot dogs, Maggie asked if their dad told them she was moving
to a great big house in Westbury. They nodded sullenly. “Don’t be sad,” Maggie
said with a brightness she didn’t feel. “I’ll come here all the time for
business, and we’ll see each other as much as ever,” she assured them. “My new
house is so big and grand it even has a name. Rosemont. Everyone in town knows
the house by its name.”

“Like a castle?” Sophie asked. “Does it have a
drawbridge and moat and stuff?” Sarah chimed in.

Maggie smiled. “Not quite like a castle. It’s not
that old. No moat or drawbridge, but lots of nooks and crannies.” They were
quiet as they considered this. “Would you like to come visit me there this
summer? You could help me explore the house and the big yard around it,” she added.

This definitely hit a respondent cord. “Oh, could
we?” Sarah breathed. “That would be fun,” Sophie agreed.

“Absolutely,” Maggie said. “There are five extra
bedrooms—you can take your pick, and you can share one or each have your
own room. And you can meet my new dog, Eve,” she added.

“You have a dog?” both girls cried at once. “Daddy
didn’t tell us,” Sophie said rather indignantly.

“Yes. You’ll love her. She’s a doll. You can take
her on walks and play with her. She’ll adore you,” Maggie promised. “Let me
show you photos,” she said as she opened her laptop and brought up pictures of
Rosemont and Eve. They were full of questions about both, but Eve was
definitely the bigger attraction. “The one thing Rosemont doesn’t have is
toys,” Maggie continued. “So when you come, we’ll have to go out and buy new
ones to keep at my house.” And with this happy prospect before them, Maggie
sealed the deal. They would most definitely visit this summer.

***

Maggie finished the week with an
impromptu going-away party thrown for her on Sunday afternoon by Helen Farley,
the one friend she would sorely miss. Helen and Maggie ran in the same circles
and had many common acquaintances. The turnout was good, and Maggie was
satisfied that she got to say goodbye. She could sense the unspoken
astonishment at her decision to pull up stakes. She didn’t supply any details
about her new home and skillfully sidestepped the occasional intrusive
question. The exception to this was Helen; she gave Helen the whole story,
including her intention to return frequently on business and rent or buy a
place in the area. “Okay,” Helen said. “I’m not going to pretend to understand
all this, but I’ve known you long enough to know when you’ve made up your mind.
I’ll miss you terribly. You better keep your promise to stay in touch,” she
added tearfully. Maggie hugged Helen long and hard and promised that she would
hardly notice that Maggie had moved.

***

Susan picked Maggie up the next
morning to take her to the airport. She was sullen and uninterested in small
talk. When they parked at the terminal, Maggie turned to Susan. “I know this is
sudden and difficult. It is for me, too. I know you and your brother will be
fine with me a bit further away. I wouldn’t be doing this otherwise. I could
never start over again and form a new life for myself if I stayed here. I’ve
always supported you in your dreams,” she said, turning to look directly at
Susan. “I now expect you to support me in mine.”

Susan sighed heavily. “You’re right, Mom. I know
you are. And you know that I love you and want you to be happy. I guess it’s
just a little scary for me to be so far away from you,” she said with an embarrassed
laugh. “I may be a high-powered litigator, but I guess part of me still wants
my mom around.” Susan smiled at Maggie. It was Maggie’s turn to stifle her
tears. “Let’s get your suitcase out of the trunk before we both start
blubbering,” Susan said.

They walked to the security checkpoint going over
the details that would fill the next week for each of them. “I’ll be back
before you know it,” Maggie assured her. They held their hug a bit longer than
usual. Maggie picked up her carry-on, and turned toward her future.

Chapter 9

Maggie’s flight arrived late, and
she hurried to the rental car company. She was relieved that there was no line
and she was able to walk right up to the counter. Her hopes of getting on her
way quickly, however, were dashed by an agent in a talkative mood. He didn’t
take the hint from Maggie’s clipped answers that she was in a hurry. She did
her best to act with patience she didn’t feel, and snatched the keys from his
hands when he finally held them out to her. She firmly declined his offer to
review the features of the car and headed to the lot at a trot.

If she made really good time, she would get to the
Westbury Animal Hospital in time to pick up Eve. Maggie was anxious to see her
new companion and was equally as anxious to avoid a night at Rosemont alone.
She called the hospital from the car and said she was on her way but might be a
few minutes late. The young man told her that he had to leave on time that
night but that Dr. Allen was usually there for a while after closing and would
probably let her pick up her pet. He promised to let Dr. Allen know she was on
her way.

Maggie concentrated on the drive. This was no time
to miss her exit. She arrived in the parking lot at twenty minutes after six.
The lot was empty and her heart sank. She stumbled as she hurried to the door
as it was flung open and an ecstatic Eve bounded out to greet her.

Maggie dropped to her knees and threw her arms
around the squirming dog. “You don’t know how much I appreciate being able to
have Eve with me tonight.” She beamed up at John. “My flight was delayed, and I
had a Chatty Cathy car rental agent. I drove like a maniac to get here. I’m
really very grateful you waited. The lot was empty, and I thought that I was
too late.”

“It was no trouble. I was catching up on
paperwork,” John assured her. “I live on the other side of the square and walk
to work, weather permitting. I usually stop at one of the restaurants on the
way home for dinner.”

“Are you done? Would you like a lift home?”

John knew an opportunity when he saw one. “I just
need to lock up,” he said. “Are you hungry? Or are you full of delicious
airline food?” he teased. When she shook her head and said that she was,
indeed, starved, he proposed that the three of them walk over to Pete’s for
dinner. They could leave her car at the hospital, and she could drop him off at
his house after dinner.

Pete tucked the three of them into a cozy table by
the window. Only a handful of the other tables were occupied, but Pete was also
handling a robust weeknight takeout business. The special was old-fashioned
baked ziti with homemade bread and a salad. A sign announced that customers
could add Laura’s Pie of the Day—which today was blueberry—for five
dollars more. “I wish I could have fed my family at Pete’s when my kids were
little,” Maggie mused.

John helped her out of her coat, and she relaxed
back into her chair. Eve curled up at their feet. Maggie ordered rainbow trout
and a house salad. John opted for salmon on a cedar plank and a cup of homemade
vegetable soup. While they waited for their food, Maggie filled John in on her
preliminary conclusions from her review of the bank statements.

John whistled softly. “We’ve got trouble in River
City, that’s for sure,” he said. “I know a pretty fair percentage of the people
in this town,” he continued. “Hardworking, decent people who take care of their
families, their homes, and their neighbors.
Give-you-the-shirt-off-of-their-backs kind of folks. We can’t let a few crooks
ruin what so many have worked so hard for. I won’t stand by and let that happen.”

“I’m looking forward to getting together with the
committee again. I’m sorry that the subject is so dire, but it’s helping me
meet people and makes me feel useful.” John considered this silently.

“I was always so busy helping my husband with the
social obligations of his job. We had something on the calendar almost every
night of the week. Paul used to say that if they gave awards for best
supporting actress in real life, I would win hands down.” As she said this,
Maggie realized that Paul hadn’t said that for many years. And she wasn’t so
sure that being the best supporting actress in someone else’s life was such a
compliment, anyway. Maybe she was just a really good doormat. She shifted
uncomfortably. “After Paul’s death, all that stopped. The college got a new
president, and he and his wife took over. I’ve been feeling adrift. I have a
lot of energy and time on my hands. Tonya Holmes really impressed me. I’m
looking forward to helping her.”

 John smiled. “So tell me more about this
mysterious Maggie Martin that’s just blown into town.”

“Believe me—I am not the least bit
mysterious,” she replied with a laugh. She told him about her education, her
consulting business, her kids, and her childhood. He kept her talking through
the main course and into the piece of blueberry pie they agreed to split. His
question about what she liked to do for fun caused her to pause. “You know, I’m
not sure.” She smiled ruefully. “Most of our free time was focused on
activities connected with the college. I’m not really sure that I enjoyed a
whole lot of it. I was too involved in the doing of it all,” she admitted.

John looked into her eyes and waited patiently for
her to continue. “To be honest, I’m glad to be making a fresh start in
Westbury,” she said. “I didn’t feel at home last week in California. My only
second thoughts are about leaving my granddaughters. But I’ll be back on
business regularly and will see them almost as much as I ever did. I guess that
should tell me something. Shouldn’t it be hard to turn your back on a life
you’ve spent more than twenty years living?” She shrugged.

“I’ve monopolized the whole conversation,” she
said apologetically. “I’ve been around self-absorbed people my whole life, who
do just that. I positively hate it. And now I’ve done it! I’d like to know more
about you, John,” she said. “Were you born and raised here?”

John looked at his watch as he snatched the check
from Pete. “I’d be happy to tell you about myself, but it’s getting late. I
think that discussion will have to wait. How about we do something Saturday
night?” he asked. “Maybe it’s time you found out what you like to do for fun.
Is there anything that comes to mind, or do you want me to surprise you?”

Incredibly, she heard herself accepting in a voice
that sounded absolutely giddy. “Surprise me,” she added, to her further
astonishment. Maggie barely paid attention to their conversation as they
strolled through the cold night to collect her car. Her mind was racing as she
realized that she had just accepted her first date in more than twenty years.

Chapter 10

Maggie slept long and hard, and the
sun was pouring in through the cracks in the shutters when she reluctantly
pushed herself up and out of bed the next morning. She fed Eve and took her
coffee into the library to set priorities on her to do list: find a good dry
cleaner; find a gym; find a new nail tech. The list was long. She needed to
prepare a report for a client. And she wanted to check with her realtor to see
if her California house had any showings over the weekend.

Maggie was hunting for the realtor’s card when she
heard a car on the drive. She looked out the library window to see Sam pulling
up to her mailbox and stuffing a large envelop into it. She rapped on the
window and motioned to the door. He removed his parcel from the mailbox and met
her at the door.

“Good morning,” he said cheerfully. “Tonya told me
you’d be back and asked me to bring you these reports on the pension plan for
the last seven years. That’s all we’ve kept,” he added apologetically.

“That’s wonderful, Sam,” Maggie assured him. “Most
people don’t keep any of this. I’ve got a ton of client work today, but I’ll
crack them open tonight. I was going to call you,” she added. “I’d like to
tackle the kitchen first. It needs new appliances and a coat of paint, but the
cabinets and countertops are fine, don’t you think?” Sam agreed and Maggie
continued. “Where would you suggest I go to buy the appliances, and can you
install them if I have them delivered?”

“Mayfair Appliance on Sycamore has all the
high-end stuff you’ll want,” Sam replied. “Why don’t you pick them out and let
me buy them with my contractor’s discount. I can install everything. I don’t
have any extra work scheduled right now, so I can start painting as soon as you
decide on the color. Go down to Westbury Hardware—they’re two blocks
south of the library—and select your color. I’ll pick it up after school
and get started. Or whenever you have time,” he added hastily.

“Perfect. I’m anxious to get going on this. Pencil
me in for every afternoon until we get Rosemont up to snuff. If you get called
out on an emergency for another client, I’ll understand. Everything I want to
have done can be put off if necessary.”

Sam was delighted at the prospect of a steady
stream of work. And Maggie was glad that she could help supply some of his
much-needed supplemental income.

With the happy obligation of shopping for home
improvements on her agenda, Maggie dove into the report she promised her client
and pushed the send button on her email just before noon. Anxious to begin
putting her own stamp on Rosemont, she headed out to Westbury Hardware.

As she considered colors and selected paint chips
to take home, her mind kept returning to her upcoming dinner with John. He was
certainly an interesting man. She found herself listing his attributes as if he
were a sales prospect: calm, an animal lover (obviously), smart (well, he was a
doctor, after all), articulate, concerned about others, probably financially
well off, fun, easy to talk to, comfortable to be with, and darned good
looking. And interested in her.
Or was he?
She thought so, but maybe she
had been out of circulation so long that she couldn’t really tell anymore.
Maybe she was just kidding herself. And was she ready to date again? Did she
ever want to date again? She had been telling herself that she would never get
involved with another man after finding out that she barely knew Paul after all
those years of marriage. And yet here she was daydreaming about a man she
barely knew, like she was in high school. She forced her attention back to the
stack of paint chips she was holding with the thought that maybe John wouldn’t
follow up about this weekend. Maybe she didn’t have anything to worry about
after all.

She returned home, and after careful consideration
of her options, left a message for Sam that she wanted her kitchen to be
painted a warm beige called Toasted Coconut. She selected a soft yellow with
the happy name, Yellow Ducky, for her bedroom. Sam arrived shortly before five
with the paint in hand and began to prep the kitchen, and Maggie retreated to
the library to work.