Just Killing Time (16 page)

“Wow, you really love it here.”

“Coming to Orchard saved me,” he said, suddenly very serious.

I wanted to ask how, but I could tell Ben wasn't going to tell me by the way his jaw was clenched and his grip on his steering wheel. He was fighting something.

“How well do you know the Reeds?” I asked, carefully changing the subject.

“I eat most of my meals at the Sleeping Latte, so I know Moira and Nancy pretty well. Why do you ask?”

“Pat mentioned I shouldn't ask Moira about her brother, Ryan. I hadn't thought about it, but if there is something I should know . . . Just wanted a heads-up before I showed up for dinner.”

“Ryan's the reason last night got canceled, but I'm hazy on the details. The Reeds are a private family. I'm just there to lend a shoulder when Moira needs it. Ryan lost his football scholarship last spring after he busted his knee. The whole family has been hustling, trying to figure out how to keep him in school. The only person who isn't hustling is Ryan, or so it seems. I think Moira is getting a little fed up.”

I wasn't surprised. Ryan was always a great guy, lots of fun to be around, and the anointed male child in the Reed family. But I remembered when Pat asked my grandfather to give him an after-school job to keep him out of trouble, and my grandfather had to fire him after a couple of weeks
of missed shifts and shoddy work. Pat had stopped working with my grandfather for a while after that, but by then I was really interested in learning the trade and I stepped in more to help. By Christmas Pat was back in the shop. I'm pretty sure my grandmother had everything to do with the detente. Thankfully, after a couple of months, everything was back to normal between G.T. and Pat.

Moira and I never talked about it or about Ryan. I didn't talk about my parents either. That wasn't what our friendship was about. It was just about us and being the best friends we could be. Again, I was struck by what I'd left behind in Orchard and how easily I'd let it go.

“Ruth, you still here?” Ben asked.

“I am. Just thinking about how complicated families can be. And how hard regret is.”

“This is none of my business, but you should know how proud your grandfather was of you. When he got your postcard last week, he about popped a button.”

“He told you about the postcard?”

“It made his week. And that's a quote,” Ben said.

I stared hard out the window. “I'll never forgive myself for staying away so long.”

“Ruth, I don't know you well. I don't know you at all. But I knew Thom. That's not the way he'd want to be remembered by you. You know what he would want? For you to figure out what happened, take care of Caroline and the shop, and have a great life. In that order.”

I hated that the tears were threatening to flow again. Ben reached behind me and took out a tissue box, handing it to me. “Here's a tissue. I'm just rambling. I hate it when people
cry. Just know that if you need help, I'm right next door. Okay?”

By now Ben had pulled up to the curb in front of the Reeds' house and stopped the car. He reached over and took my hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Let's go let Nancy feed our feelings,” he said.

“R
uth, you come right in here this minute,” Nancy Reed said when she opened the door. She gave me a big hug and then turned toward Ben, slapping him on the shoulder.

“What were you thinking, driving her over in that death trap? We could hear you coming a mile away.”

“Nance, I keep telling you, it's one of the great rides. I'd be happy to take you out for a spin anytime.”

“Oh, you!” Nancy said, giving him another swat, this time more gently.

“Stop flirting with my mother, Ben,” Moira said, coming out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel, which she tossed at Ben. He caught it and smiled.

“Hi, Ruthie. Sorry about last night. Hope you got the message. I lost your cell phone number and Chief Paisley
wasn't giving it up.” Moira gave me a quick hug and then guided me into the living room.

“No worries,” I said, sitting on the couch. “I went by the Corner Market and got some food.”

“The store looks good, doesn't it?” Pat said, coming into the room. I stood up and gave him a hug.

“It does,” I agreed. “And I met Ada Clark.”

“Ada's a nice young woman,” Pat said. He didn't sound overly convinced.

“She seems nice enough. Though she was a little weird with me.”

“Weird, how?” Nancy asked, glancing over at her husband.

“I don't know. I'm likely being paranoid. She kept saying how sorry she was about G.T.'s passing, but I got the sense that she wasn't really that sorry. It's probably just me.”

“No, probably not just you,” Nancy said. “Stop looking at me like that, Pat, you know it's true. They blamed Thom for putting a hold on their building permit, even though he didn't have a thing to do with it. And then Thom had some words with them after that slick developer met with them, and they were none too pleased with that, let me tell you.”

“How do you know, Mum?” Moira asked.

“Moira, I do work for them. While I'm making my deliveries, I can't help if I overhear conversations, can I?”

“I wish you wouldn't do business with the Clarks, Nancy,” Pat said.

“Their money is just as green as everyone else's, and it helps us all make ends meet. What's wrong with that, may I ask?”

“Nothing. Nothing. Listen, we'll talk about this later. How you holding up, Ruthie?” Pat asked.

“I'm holding up. How about you?”

Pat didn't answer right away. Instead his lips moved in and out and he cleared his throat.

“Enough of that now,” Nancy said. “Ruth, I don't want to rush anyone, but dinner's ready. And honestly, I didn't make any appetizers. Would it be rude to suggest that we eat?”

“No, of course not,” I said.

“Good. Let's go in then, shall we?”

We walked through the double arch into the dining room. I always loved the Reeds' house. Their post–World War II colonial was just so normal. And it was always so full of love. These were two concepts that my childhood lacked for a bit. I noticed that there were only five place settings on the table, so no Ryan tonight.

I moved toward the single seat on one side of the table, but Moira moved me. “No, sit here, next to Ben,” she said. I complied, plopping down between Ben and Pat as Nancy ladled out pumpkin soup. Between the smell and my first sip, I was transported back to when I was about twelve and Nancy taught me how to make this very soup. I'd wanted to make it for my grandmother, since it was always her favorite. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes.

“Is it all right?” Nancy asked, sounding anxious.

“It's perfect, thank you. I was just remembering when you taught me to make it, so I could surprise Grandma.”

“Well, don't fill up,” Moira said. “Mum's been cooking all day. Turkey, corn bread stuffing, maple brussels sprouts, Boston cream pie.”

“Thank you for going to all this trouble, Nancy.”

“Please, no trouble. I only wish it was under happier circumstances.”

“I wish it was too.” I picked up my spoon, but couldn't bear to take another sip. I looked around the table. Everyone appeared transfixed by their own bowls, but no one was eating.

“So, tell us what you've been up to for the past few years, Ruth. We all lost track,” Nancy said, breaking the silence the way only she could.

“Mum!” “Nancy!” Pat and Moira both called out at the same time.

“Wow,” Ben said under his breath.

“What?” Nancy said, waving her spoon in the air. “I'm making conversation!”

I looked at Nancy and then around the table.

“It's fine, really. Lots to tell, but told pretty simply. I got married, he left me, I got divorced. I've been leading a freelance life, working for different shops on a project-by-project basis.”

“Okay, I'll admit it. I did some more Internet stalking,” Moira said. “I saw a picture of you with this beautiful clock you designed. Is that something you're doing?”

“Yes, sort of. I have been working on my own pieces, more art pieces than clocks, but clocks are part of them. Hard to explain.”

“It's great that you are making a living doing the family business,” Pat said.

“None of this pays the bills, but that's all right for now, because I'm living with friends. And I had a job that I loved at a museum, but there are some funding issues, so they had to lay me off for a bit while they try and find more money. Basically, you know the rest.”

I grabbed a roll from a basket Pat passed to me. Ben slid
the butter dish over to me and gave me another reassuring smile.

Pat turned to me. “Sounds like you've had a bit of a rough go, Ruthie. I am sorry to hear that. We knew bits and pieces, of course. The Internet is a wonderful thing, even if Moira is the only one of us who uses it. I'm sorry about your marriage. Is that recent?”

“The divorce was final last month.” I started to break off small chunks of bread and nibble it slowly.

“Are you in touch with your parents?” Nancy asked. Pat glared at her. “What? They need to be contacted.” She got up and cleared the soup dishes. Moira helped.

“We've e-mailed, but I haven't spoken to them about G.T. yet. But Caroline talked to them.”

“So they won't make it back for the funeral?”

“No, they won't make it back for the funeral or whatever service we decide to have. Or, put it this way, we won't hold off on having it until they arrive.”

“So there's going to be a funeral after all?” Nancy asked. “I thought Thom didn't want one.”

“Caroline and I are going to talk about it some more tomorrow when she comes to the shop. But yes, I think we should have some sort of service, don't you?”

“Of course I do. People will want to pay their respects. Thom was a good man,” Nancy said with a nod. “So tell me, you've never met Caroline, is that right? What did you think? What are you looking at, Moira? We need to catch up.” Nancy went back in the kitchen, which allowed me time to regroup. Nancy Reed had always been forthright. That was the term my grandmother always used. My grandfather said she spoke her mind. Moira was always embarrassed by her
while we were growing up. I never minded. And didn't really mind now. I always figured she cared enough to ask. Besides, I had nothing to hide.

“Caroline was not what I expected.”

“Well, Ruth,” Pat said, passing me a plate with turkey on it. It looked like the rest of the sides were going to be served family style. “I think you'll like her. She's not much like your grandmother, except that she also took good care of your grandfather. She made him happy. And kept him from being lonely these past few years.”

“And she helped run the business,” I added.

“She did. For a while, we all thought Thom was going to sell, but she got him reinspired to stay with it.”

“But he may have been thinking about selling again recently. Did he mention that? He was talking to a real estate agent.”

“He got an offer recently, yes. He wanted to know how the offer stacked up. But he wasn't going to sell, not for a while. Wanted to build up the nest egg a bit more.”

“I talked to Jonah Winter about that. It didn't seem like the sort of thing my grandfather would do, buying up all that inventory.”

“There were lots of reasons for him to want to get some more clocks in the shop,” Pat said. “Thom had a master plan. The clocks were part of it. Also, getting some capital, trying to get interest around the clock tower. He was working on that with Grover Winter, right up until Grover passed. Lots of folks thought Thom would let it go, but he kept at it.”

“I knew about the clock tower idea back in the day, but why was he so focused on it now?”

“We've got a new boss in town, acts like she's the mayor
and not a hired hand. Anyway, Kim Gray, she has big plans for Orchard. Rebuilding part of Washington Street is part of her plan. She was trying to get a community center built. That meant tearing down the old Town Hall. But Grover and Thom, they had plans to restore the clock tower. They'd filed paperwork to make the Town Hall a historical site a while ago, and Grover had kept it up. The title to the building was lost, so it's all at a standstill right now, though Grover Winter claimed he owned the building. Thom and Grover were working with the Board of Selectmen, trying to get that passed.”

“Where does it stand now?”

“Your grandfather was never a great politician. But Caroline was helping, at least before she had to leave town. They were making headway. Now, without Thom, I'm not sure what's going to happen at the vote on Thursday. It could go either way. It would be a lot cleaner if someone found the deed to the Town Hall.”

“What about the Winter family? Are they helping?”

“Jonah isn't much of a leader. And that sister of his? She's had her own difficulties. We're not in a position to help right now either. It looks like the clock tower dream is going to die, right along with Thom.”

“Maybe not,” Ben said. “Some of us newer residents think it's a good idea. Thom was winning us over. Even the Clarks were coming around. The more folks look into Kim's building plans, the less they like them. We just have to keep the pressure up, and someone needs to step in for Thom. And we need to find the deed.”

Everyone turned to look at me. I focused on my plate.