Taking Charge (27 page)

“Cole, I know how scarred you feel from what Bryn and
Veronica did to you, but this isn’t the way to make things better.
We’ve been there with you making inappropriate decisions before,”
Martha reminded him.

“This has nothing to do with Bryn and Veronica—or
Dad. It has nothing to do with any of them. It has to do with me
and Robyn and how we feel about each other,” Cole insisted.

“I know they hurt you, more than you will ever let
on, but jumping feet first into a relationship won’t lessen the
pain. It’s something that will ease with time, moving on too
quickly will only make things worse,” Martha said.

“Mom, you’re not listening to me. I didn’t love
Veronica. When she did what she did with Bryn, I wasn’t hurt
because she was the love of my life, I was hurt because neither of
them could tell me how they felt. They went behind my back instead
of being honest with me. It was the lies and the deceit, not the
depth of my feelings. Robyn and I, we tell each other everything,
good and bad. The way I feel about her…it’s much more than anything
I’ve ever felt before,” Cole tried to explain.

Robyn blinked back tears as he spoke. The truth hit
her full force. He loved her. He really loved her, just how she
was. Flawed, crazy, and a little bit damaged.

“I don’t want you to do something now that you might
regret a little while down the line,” Martha said.

“Is that what your mom said to you when you told her
about Dad?” Cole asked.

“Yes,” Martha said with a laugh as she wiped at her
eyes with her fingers.

“Please, come to the wedding, Mom. You can stay here,
we’re getting married by the lake. It’s going to be a special day,”
Cole said, taking her hand.

Martha looked at Robyn. Robyn couldn’t stop the tears
from rolling down her face as she watched Cole with his mom.

“Well, how can I refuse an invitation to my son’s
wedding? My! I’ll need to buy a new dress and a hat!” Martha said,
dabbing at her eyes with her napkin.

“But no shoes,” Robyn said, stirring from her
trance.

“What?” Martha asked.

“It’s a barefoot wedding, Mom, no shoes allowed,”
Cole informed her.

“Does that have something to do with religion?”
Martha inquired, a puzzled look on her face.

“No, it has to do with algae from the lake. Get that
on your shoes and they’ll never be the same again,” Robyn said with
a smile.

“Have you got a dress yet?” Martha asked her.

“Er, no. I haven’t really had time, what, with my dad
and the roadhouse and the hockey team and…” Robyn began, looking
awkwardly at Cole.

“Then you must let me take you shopping. One day next
week, yes?” Martha offered.

Cole looked at Robyn encouragingly.

“Yes. That would be nice,” Robyn agreed with a
smile.

She’d promised not to sing but she did it every time
she dried the dishes. And today his mom had joined in! Some old
track by George Strait or Alan Jackson, Hell, he didn’t know.
Telling his mom about the wedding had been the right thing to do,
despite Veronica’s reservations. She had a sparkle in her eyes now
as she commented on Robyn’s floral blouse and scrubbed at the pot.
He still couldn’t contemplate Thanksgiving yet, but his mom was
smiling again, properly. He hadn’t seen her smile quite like that
in a long time.

“You should have called me last night. Has she been
out at all?” Robyn asked Pam when she let her into the house
later.

“No, and she hasn’t eaten anything either. I made
beef stew and it hasn’t been touched,” Pam said, leading the way to
the spare room.

“Hi, Robyn.”

“Hi, Robyn.”

Sienna and Sierra bounded out of their bedroom
wearing ice hockey pads, shirts, and helmets, all of which were far
too big for them.

“Hey, look at you! Where did you get the uniforms?”
Robyn exclaimed, admiring her nieces.

“Daddy got them for us. They’re secondhand, but
there’s hardly any wear,” Sierra announced excitedly.

“Mine has a number seventeen on the back,” Sienna
said, twirling around.

“Cool! So you all ready for tomorrow night? You’re in
charge of the water, that’s the most important job, you know. You
have to get it right,” Robyn told them seriously.

“We’ve been practicing at school,” Sienna replied
confidently.

“Great,” Robyn said, giving them a thumbs up.

“Sarah! Robyn’s here, she’s coming in,” Pam called,
tapping on the door.

There was no reply, so Robyn opened the door and
entered.

Her friend was sitting up on the bed wearing jogging
pants and a baggy t-shirt, staring vacantly at the television and
channel hopping. She didn’t acknowledge Robyn’s entrance and
flicked from the weather channel to a re-run of American Idol.

“You’re a hard woman to track down. You lost your
phone?” Robyn asked, sitting on the bed next to her.

Sarah didn’t reply, but Robyn saw that her cell was
right next to her.

“Okay, so what are you doing here when you have a
perfectly good home a few streets away?”

“I told you I was leaving Mickey and that’s what I’ve
done. I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t want to be a third-wheel
to you and Cole. Brad isn’t an option given the current
circumstances, so Pam was the only person I could think of that
would take me in for a while and not give me a lecture,” Sarah
finally said.

“You wouldn’t have been a third-wheel. Cole and I
aren’t dating,” Robyn announced quickly.

“Whatever.”

“Mickey loves you, he’s been crying on my doorstep.
He’s worried about you; he wants you to go home,” Robyn told
her.

“He doesn’t love me. He’s probably just wondering why
his dinner isn’t magically cooking on its own or why the laundry
hasn’t been done,” Sarah snapped.

“That isn’t true. He’s devastated. He’s drinking,
he’s taken time off work, he’s not himself, and he doesn’t know
what to do,” Robyn explained.

“Robyn, you’ve just described an adolescent. Need I
say more?”

“Listen, this is madness. Okay, he’s a bit slow at
coming forward, but last night, before he saw the suitcase and
everything, he was going to ask you to marry him,” Robyn told
her.

“Why? Because you told him to?”

“No, because he loves you.”

“I don’t believe you. I haven’t left him to prove a
point, you know.”

“No? Well, why have you left him?”

“Because I can’t see us growing old together. He’s
never going to grow up. We want different things, we’re two
different people who got together too young and settled for what we
had because we didn’t know any better,” Sarah tried to explain.

“That isn’t true.”

“Yes it is. You haven’t been around for years, you
don’t know how it’s been. You’ve been in England living an exciting
life with new people, experiencing different things. All I’ve had
is Portage, Michigan,” Sarah complained.

“This is a midlife crisis come early. You’ve flipped.
This isn’t the Sarah Gorski I know.”

“Maybe it isn’t. Maybe the Sarah Gorski you knew
doesn’t exist anymore, and maybe the new Sarah Gorski wants more
from her life than a town obsessed with ice hockey and monster
trucks and a boyfriend who still acts like he’s fourteen,” Sarah
blurted out.

“Then what do you want? You want to go to England?
Go! Live my so called exciting life. I worked on cars, I worked in
an office, and I slept with my fifty-five year old boss. I’ve
decided it’s not for me, but try it—it might be just what you’re
looking for,” Robyn yelled.

“It might! At least it isn’t here. At least I
wouldn’t be trapped with the same people and the same shit, day in
and day out. Everything’s just routine, drudgery, and discount
coupons.”

“You ungrateful bitch!” Robyn said, gritting her
teeth as she looked at her friend.

“What?”

“You heard me. You’re an ungrateful bitch. You know
why I left town. It wasn’t because I wasn’t satisfied with what I
had here. I love this place. I love the people and the places and
all the so-called routine and drudgery. I would have given anything
to have had that back. You’ve got a guy who’s loved you for as long
as anyone can remember. So, he’s got his faults. He drinks too
much, he likes hockey too much, he smells a bit after work, but
he’s real. You had a real life, doing things that real couples do.
I would have given anything to have had a piece of that. Excitement
and adventure aren’t real, they’re temporary feelings that don’t
last, and if you want to give up something genuine for that, you’re
a fool,” Robyn blasted.

“You don’t get it,” Sarah said, tossing the remote
control on the bed.

“No, I don’t. And I’m giving up trying to get it. My
dad’s having a heart bypass tomorrow, so excuse me, but I’m going
to visit him. I’m completely done here,” Robyn said, getting off
the bed and heading for the door.

She stormed out of the room and went marching up the
hallway toward the front door.

“Is everything okay?” Pam asked as Robyn prepared to
leave.

“No, it isn’t, she’s gone nuts. She’s having some
sort of menopausal meltdown. I’ve got to go, Nancy and I are going
to see Dad,” Robyn informed her, opening the front door.

“Oh, honey, give him these magazines. I keep
forgetting to take them every time I go,” Pam said, collecting some
ice hockey magazines and handing them to Robyn.

“Sure,” Robyn agreed.

“Oh, and someone called for you earlier, someone
named Trudy? She left a number.”

“Max! Oh, Max! Wakey, wakey old timer! Nancy’s
brought you your favorite chocolate muffins,” Nancy said, waving a
paper bag in front of his face.

“Chocolate muffins? You never told me you had those!
What are you trying to do to them?” Robyn exclaimed, snatching the
bag from Nancy’s grasp.

“Shh, they’re not really chocolate. They’re oatmeal
and raisin, but he won’t eat raisins anymore, so I say it’s
chocolate. Zip it!” Nancy hissed quietly to Robyn as she snatched
back the bag.

“What did you say? Stop whispering. What you got?”
Max asked, snapping his eyes open and surveying the goodies.

“Chocolate muffins, Max. Hey, Dad,” Robyn greeted,
moving over to her father’s bed and sitting down on the chair.

“Hey, yourself. What time d’you call this? I thought
you were coming earlier, it’s after six,” Eddie grumbled, checking
his watch.

“Yeah, I know. Sorry about that. It’s been a busy
day. The new tables and chairs arrived, then Cole’s mom came for
lunch, and Sarah left Mickey and…” Robyn began.

“Sarah left him in the end, did she? We weren’t sure
how that one was going to go after what Brad was saying. My money
was on Mickey popping the question,” Max said, chewing on a muffin
and spitting bits all over his covers.

“You can’t force someone to marry, though, can you?
It has to be for love,” Nancy said, putting her arm around Eddie’s
shoulders and kissing him on top of his head.

“Why aren’t you at the arena? Isn’t it training
tonight?” Eddie asked Robyn gruffly.

“Yes, but I wanted to see you. Grant’s there, I’m
going to go later.”

“You should be there now, you don’t want to let
things slide after the great result. Important game tomorrow, Grand
Rapids is climbing the table,” Eddie informed her.

“I know that, Dad, but you have your operation
tomorrow. I wanted to see you and wish you luck,” Robyn said, her
voice weakening.

“Wish me luck? I’m not a racehorse about to enter the
Kentucky Derby, it’s a bypass operation. If I need luck, then
there’s no hope for any of us in here,” Eddie growled.

“Robyn didn’t mean luck. She just wants to see her
grumpy old pop and wish him well. And to let him know that when he
comes round tomorrow, we’re both going to be here to nag him about
eating right and doing some exercise,” Nancy said.

“Yeah, that was it,” Robyn agreed.

“He’s made of stern stuff is Eddie. It’ll take more
than a few doctors poking around his beater to do him in,” Max
remarked, stuffing another muffin in his mouth.

“So how are things going with the roadhouse?” Eddie
asked.

“Great. Robyn’s doing a good job; we’re all set for
opening on Friday night,” Nancy told him.

“What she means is we still have a hundred jobs to do
before we’re going to be ready for opening night but we will be
ready—even if we all have to work twenty four seven,” Robyn
explained.

“She’s a taskmaster. A chip off the old block,” Nancy
said, smiling at him.

“And you’re getting along?” Eddie asked them
both.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t we be? It’s like having my
own daughter. We even cooked together,” Nancy said.

“Sounds touching, Eddie,” Max remarked.

“Sounds over the top to me. What are you hiding? You
had a fight you’re trying to cover up?” Eddie asked
suspiciously.

“No, Dad,” Robyn replied.

“I may be stuck in this bed, but it hasn’t affected
my mind,” Eddie assured them both.

“Everything’s running like clockwork, Eddie. When you
come home the Panthers will be top of the league and the roadhouse
will be the most talked about eatery in Michigan,” Nancy
assured.

“And what do you have to say about that?” Eddie asked
Robyn.

“Maybe not top of the league, but I agree with the
rest of it,” Robyn said.

“You’ve got something on your mind. Out with it,”
Eddie ordered.

Robyn shook her head.

“Listen, Buttercup, you may as well tell your dad
now, because I’m going to find out one way or another,” Eddie told
her.

“It’s nothing.”

“Nancy, she’s hiding something from me,” Eddie
stated.

“I don’t want to worry you, Dad, not now. I’ll tell
you tomorrow,” Robyn explained.

“Is it Cole? Has he gone back to the Wolves?” Max
guessed.