The Chesapeake Diaries Series (95 page)

“Maybe you should take more time off to think things over a little more carefully. You’ve been through a lot over the past few months, you know. Decisions made in haste, and all that.”

“In all fairness to Ted, he has a business to run. He
can’t wait indefinitely for me to show up. He wants to get this new line of beer into the stores for the holidays.”

“He wants to get
your
beer into the stores for the holidays. With his labels on the bottles.”

Wade nodded.

Berry poked him playfully on the arm. “You know, St. Dennis has never had its own beer. You could call it ‘Berry Beer.’ ”

He laughed in spite of himself. “I’m afraid Berry Beer doesn’t have a particularly manly ring to it.”

“Perhaps not.” Berry smiled. “But I still wish you’d stay awhile longer in St. Dennis.” She sat back in her chair and gazed out toward the Bay. “I haven’t had nearly enough of you or of that boy of yours.”

“Don’t you miss having your house to yourself? With Dallas and Cody here, and now Austin and me …”

“Bite your tongue. I wasn’t aware of just how quiet things were around here until they no longer were. Frankly, I’m enjoying it. And look at it this way”—she leaned over to confide—“it’s keeping me young. Why, it’s almost like having Ned back again.”

“Ned? You mean my father?”

Berry nodded, a faraway look on her face. “What a delightful boy he was. From the moment of his birth until the day he left us, he was the greatest joy of my life.”

“Were you there, when he was born?” Wade asked.

“What?” Berry slowly turned to him.

“Were you there with your sister, when my dad was born? You said, from the moment of his birth …”

“I meant, from the time he was a newborn, of course.” Berry turned her face back toward the Bay.

“I guess you and my dad were really close. I remember seeing pictures of him here in this house when he was really little.”

“He stayed with me from time to time, when I was between pictures. Sometimes I took him to California with me, and several times to Europe.”

“But not so much his sisters?”

“They were a pair of twits.” Berry dismissed them with the wave of her hand. “Neither particularly smart nor interesting as children, less so as adults. Unlike Ned.”

“How did your sister and brother-in-law feel about that? About you taking their son on trips but never their daughters?”

Berry shrugged as if it mattered to her as little now as it must have back then.

“So, in other words, you didn’t care what they thought about that.”

“Not in the least.” She slanted a glance in his direction. “Why all the questions? Why the sudden interest in your father’s early days?”

“I’m just curious. And it’s not so sudden. I’ve always been interested in my dad. I was only seven when he died, remember?”

“I remember. Your mother brought you and Dallas here in the middle of a thunderstorm—at night—and essentially just dropped you off before she headed back to New Jersey.” She smiled at Wade and added, “Which was perfectly fine with me, since Roberta and I never got along all that well.”

“Why was that? I mean, I know my mom can be difficult at times …”

“Truthfully, I just never thought that she …” Berry paused, as if remembering that this was Roberta MacGregor’s son she was talking to. “I never felt that she and I were on the same page much of the time. Conflicting personalities, and all that.”

“How did she get along with Grandma Sylvie?”

“About what you’d expect,” Berry sniffed. “My sister wasn’t involved as much with Ned as she was with her daughters.”

“You and Grandma Sylvie were twins, right?”

She nodded. “Physically, we were identical, but our temperments, our personalities, couldn’t have been more different.”

“How about Grampa?”

“Duncan went along with pretty much whatever Sylvie wanted, as far as the children were concerned. I believe he thought that taking care of the children was her realm.”

“Even when it came to having his only son spend more time with you than he did with them?”

“Even then.” Her eyes narrowed. “What brought this all on today? Has someone said something to you about your father that you’d like to discuss with me?”

“No.” Puzzled, he shook his head. “What would someone have said?”

“Nothing of any consequence, I’m sure.” She turned her wrist to check her watch. “Oh, look at the time. I told Dallas I’d pick up the sale papers for the warehouse she’s buying from Hal Garrity when I was in town today. I’m meeting a friend for lunch at Captain
Walt’s, but I wanted to get the paperwork on the property resolved. It’s going to make a fine movie studio for Dallas. I suppose I needn’t tell you how thrilled I am that she’s formed her own production company and she’s going to be making her own movies.”

“Would you like me to drive you?” Wade asked.

“Why on earth would I want you to do that?”

“I just thought maybe you’d like the company.” He couldn’t bring himself to say the words, that he was concerned about her. This morning had been the first time since he’d been home that Berry’s memory had seemed a bit short-circuited. He’d have to ask Dallas if she’d noticed anything similar since she moved back.

“Dear, these days, I have all the company I need.” Berry stood and stretched her back, then called Ally back from the dock. “Besides, one would almost get the impression that you think I might not be capable of driving myself.” Her eyes narrowed. “I may get distracted from time to time, Wade, but I am not getting senile. Please feel free to ask Dr. Harmon, who keeps a close eye on such things. It may be hard to believe, but I have a number of things on my mind right now, any one of which would distract—dare I say it?—even someone
your
age.”

“I’m sorry that the kids and I—”

“Oh, pooh on that.” She shot him The Look again. “I’m talking about real distractions. For one thing, I’m preparing to return to the screen in my first film in … well, in more years than I like to think about.”

“
Pretty Maids
. The film Dallas is going to make.”

Berry nodded. “There’s going to be a tremendous
amount of pressure on me. Everyone in Hollywood will be looking to see if I screw it up.”

“You won’t screw it up, Berry.”

“Well, of course I won’t, but it takes a lot of focus to get into a character like Rosemarie.” She rested her arms on the back of her chair and looked toward the Bay. “I don’t want to let Dallas down.”

“You won’t.”

“And we’re having a huge party here for Dallas’s birthday, and then I suppose we’ll be planning a wedding at some undisclosed future date. And there are … other things. Things I don’t need to be discussing with you here in the backyard.” She tried to smile. “At least, not yet.”

“Are you okay? You’re not sick or anything …?”

“No, no. Nothing like that. Just … things I have to work out for myself. Decisions to make.” She turned to the dock. “Ally, leave those poor geese alone. Come along, pup. It’s time to go in.”

The dog flew to her side, the geese apparently forgotten, and Berry bent over to stroke her head.

“You are such a good girl, Ally. Such a good and obedient girl. Let’s go inside and see if we can find a treat with your name on it.”

She tapped Wade on the head before starting toward the house. “And you’re a good boy. A bit misguided at times, but a good boy all the same. Perhaps we’ll find a treat for you in the kitchen as well.”

Wade laughed in spite of himself, and set off for the carriage house to fix the ladder.

“Oh, and Wade?” Berry called to him. “Please don’t make dinner plans for tomorrow night. We’re having a guest. Someone I’d like you to meet.”

“Sure. Who’s coming for dinner?”

“My beau.” Berry smiled and continued on to the house.

“Your
beau
?” Wade repeated, then called to her retreating form, “Did you say, your beau?”

Whether Berry had not heard him, or had heard and was ignoring him, he wasn’t sure, but she never acknowledged his question.

“Berry has a beau,” he muttered as he picked up the hose. “Does anyone even say ‘beau’ anymore …?”

Berry was still on Wade’s mind when Dallas came into the kitchen while he and Austin were eating lunch.

“What’s this about Berry having a beau?” Wade asked.

Dallas grinned. “Oh, so she told you about Archer.”

“Who’s Archer?”

“Archer Callahan, who, I suspect, was the great love of Berry’s life.”

“How come I never heard of him?”

“I hadn’t heard about him until this summer. I think she kept that part of her life to herself, but once he retired—he’d been a judge and then went back to practicing law and then I believe his wife died—anyway, he and Berry have gotten back together.”

“You’ve met him?”

“Oh, sure. He comes for dinner every week, spends a day or two, then goes—”

“Spends a day or two where?” Wade frowned.

“Well, here, of course.”

“Where does he sleep?”

“Anywhere he wants,” she replied playfully, and poked her brother in the ribs.

“Seriously. Does he stay in the guest room?”

“Of course not. He stays with her.”

“With Cody in the house? You think that’s okay?”

Dallas stared at him. “Excuse me while I go into the basement and check for pods.”

“Dallas …”

“Ha!” She snapped her fingers. “They’re in the carriage house, aren’t they?”

“Stop fooling around,” he said. “You think it’s okay for her to have a man sleeping over and staying in her room? With her?”

“Don’t try to change the subject, Pod Person. Somehow you’ve changed my wild child brother into a prude.”

“I’m not a prude, I just think she—”

“Should do exactly as she pleases because (a) she is an adult”—Dallas held up one finger—“and (b) this is her home. I don’t comment one way or another because of
a
and
b
, and because it’s none of my business.”

“All good points.” He nodded. “Still, what do eighty-year-old people …” He paused. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

Dallas laughed and went to the sink to fill the teapot with water.

“I did want to talk to you about Berry, though,” he said. “She’s going to be eighty-two on her next birthday, right?”

“Right.” Dallas grinned. “Good luck getting her to admit it, though. Why do you ask?”

Wade related the conversation that he’d had with their great-aunt earlier that morning.

“You’re saying that she had a problem following the conversation?” Dallas proceeded to make herself a cup of tea.

“You’ve been here much longer than I have this year. Have you noticed her having any memory lapses or forgetting things, that sort of thing?”

Dallas shook her head. “Well, nothing out of the usual.”

“What’s the usual?”

“You know, coming into a room and forgetting what she came in for, but I do that myself.”

“Does she do it often?”

“Just occasionally.” Dallas took the chair across from Wade at the table. “I haven’t noticed anything that gave me pause, though. Nothing that’s been a red flag.”

“Do you think maybe we should have her make an appointment with her doctor, have him check to see if she has any other symptoms.”

“Symptoms of …?”

“Well, you know. Forgetfulness. Confusion.”

“Oh, for crying out loud, Wade. Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a wee bit?”

“I don’t remember her being forgetful like that before.”

“You haven’t really been around her very much these past few years,” she reminded him.

“True enough. But she is past eighty, whether she wants to admit it or not.”

“Are you sure it’s really a problem? Maybe you’ve just forgotten that the elderly sometimes do things
like that if they’re not focused on the conversation. Did you call her on it this morning?”

“She said she was just distracted, that she has a lot on her mind.”

“Of course, she has a lot on her mind, Wade. She’s planning on making a film—a film in which she will be the big star name—for the first time in decades. She and I have been rehearsing lines every afternoon, she’s so determined to give the exact right performance.” Dallas went to the fridge and took out some cheese and an apple. “Sweetie, you have no idea how difficult it is to give a great performance—and Berry has always prided herself on being great. ‘Good enough’ has never been good enough for her, understand?”

Wade nodded.

“And she probably is distracted,” Dallas continued, “with the kids and you and me here. She’s used to a quiet life, she’s lived alone for years. I know that she says she loves having us—and I’m sure she does—but maybe it’s too much for her,” Dallas said. “But of course, that won’t be a problem in another few months. Grant and I will be getting married, so Cody and I will be moving into his house.”

“So he’s really the one? No more Mr. Hollywood?”

Dallas made a face. “I can’t believe how lucky we are to get a second chance. When I think of all the years we’ve wasted …”

“So now you can make up for lost time.” Wade patted her hand. “Grant’s a terrific guy. I couldn’t be happier.”

“Me either.” She opened the flatware drawer and searched for the cheese slicer and a paring knife.
Finding both, she returned to the table. “I feel like the luckiest person in the world right now. I really am the woman who has everything. A great guy, a great kid, a great opportunity to make films of my choosing right here in St. Dennis.”