Tides of Truth [02] Higher Hope (19 page)

I looked at Julie and put my hand over the receiver.

“It’s Mrs. Fairmont’s daughter. I wish you knew how to pray.”

“Have you been practicing communicating with her through the intercom connected to the apartment in the basement?” Mrs. Bartlett continued.

“Yes, ma’am. We do it on Tuesday and Thursday nights when she goes to bed. The reception is scratchy, but I can hear her.”

“Does she always respond when you call? I can’t get her to answer the phone most of the time, leaving me wondering if she’s lying on the floor paralyzed or watching a TV show with the sound so loud it’s about to blow the speaker. If you’d been here the first time she had a bad spell and they diagnosed that multi-infarct thing, you’d be nervous about leaving her alone for ten minutes at a time. It’s hard for me to get in eighteen holes without thinking something bad might be happening to her. And the only company she has here at the house all day is that miserable rat of a dog—”

Mrs. Bartlett stopped talking into the phone. I could hear her speaking to Mrs. Fairmont.

“No, Mother, it’s just a figure of speech. You know I don’t like dogs, and it’s unfair of you to subject me to an attack from that vicious animal every time I come to visit. You’d think seeing me would be more important than keeping an oversize rodent in the house. Tami, does your family keep a dog in the house?”

“No, ma’am. All our animals stay outside.”

“There you have it, Mother. Tami lives in a rural area where people have the good sense to know that God intended wildlife to stay out-doors and civilized people to live in houses, especially when they have antique rugs like the one in the blue parlor. That thing is worth a fortune, and it bothers me no end that you insist on showing it off.

Remember when Tami threw herself on the floor to keep it from get-ting stained by coffee when that dog scared me half to death?”

“I didn’t mind,” I interjected. “And frankly, I wish I’d had a dog in the house when I was growing up. The only way to get close to an animal is to share as much of your life with it as you can.”

“I can tell you’ve been listening to Mother’s animal psychology rubbish,” Mrs. Bartlett said. “And it’s not just the fact that he has a bad attitude. Most of the food that goes through this house is wasted because Mother drops half her meals on the floor for the dog to eat.”

“Flip’s stomach is about the size of a walnut,” I said.

“Which Mother is trying to turn into a tree.”

I wanted to be respectful, but it was hard not to defend the loyal little animal.

“Listen, I’ve got to be on my way,” Mrs. Bartlett continued. “Ken and I are going to a benefit dinner at a new golf club down the coast near Brunswick, and I have to find an outfit to wear. What time are you going to be home for supper? Gracie brought a small roast but didn’t have time to fix it before leaving. You’ll need to cook it when you get here. Surely the firm will let you leave early? The last bill Ken and I received from Sam Braddock had enough padding in it to allow you to bill a few less minutes.”

“I’ll do what I can,” I said, my heart sinking.

“Make sure you do. Mother isn’t feeling well, so I want you to keep a close eye on her tonight. And don’t let her propaganda about animals ruin the good upbringing you’ve gotten from your parents. Simplicity isn’t the same thing as being simpleminded.”

I wasn’t exactly sure what Mrs. Bartlett meant.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The phone was silent for a couple of seconds.

“Oh, yes—and if you see Sam Braddock, Mother sends her regards. Don’t mention what I said about the bill. He might double the next one out of spite.”

“Mr. Braddock isn’t that kind of—”

“No, Mother,” Mrs. Bartlett said. “Sam Braddock doesn’t own the house near the pier anymore. He sold it over ten years ago to—”

The line went dead. I hung up the phone.

“Well?” Julie asked.

“Dinner with Zach isn’t on the menu for the evening. I have to be with Mrs. Fairmont.”

“Maybe you should ask Zach to go to lunch,” she suggested.

I glanced at the clock.

“Good idea.”

I picked up the phone to dial Zach’s office number, then stopped.

Other than my father and brothers, I’d never invited a boy or a man to do anything with me. Modern conventions of male-female behavior hadn’t penetrated the social milieu of our church. Girls were always responders, never the aggressors.

For a moment I hung suspended between the propriety of a woman calling a man and the need to communicate important information. Mama wasn’t in the room to ask. I knew what Julie would say. I punched the first two numbers for Zach’s extension, waited, and pushed the third. I nervously listened while the phone rang. On the fifth ring, it went to Zach’s voice-mail message.

“This is Zach Mays. It’s Monday, and I’ll be out of the office until four o’clock this afternoon. Please leave a message and I’ll return your call as soon as I can, or, if you need immediate assistance—”

I hung up the phone.

“He’s not there,” I said.

The library door popped open. It was Vince.

“Are you free for lunch?” he asked, directing the question to me.

“Uh, Julie and I are going to grab a bite if you want to join us,”

I answered, nodding in Julie’s direction. “And thanks for the flowers.

They’re beautiful. Mrs. Fairmont put them in a vase in the blue parlor.”

“Flowers?” Julie asked.

I managed a weak smile. “Vince brought by a gorgeous bouquet of fresh flowers while I was out of town visiting my parents. And then he was nice enough to spend some time with Mrs. Fairmont. She loved talking to you about Charleston.”

“Let’s see,” Julie said, putting her finger to her temple. “Was it on Saturday that you and Zach tried to catch the runaway calf and fell on top of each other in the grass?”

I cut my eyes toward Julie and wished I were close enough to kick her under the table a second time.

“That’s not exactly the way it happened.”

“Why don’t you two go to lunch?” Julie continued. “I’m sure you have a lot to talk about without me getting in the way.”

“I’d like to go,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

Vince hesitated, his face serious.

“Okay, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

The door closed. I turned toward Julie.

“Don’t start,” she said before I opened my mouth. “Did you really believe you could keep it a secret?”

“No, but I hadn’t decided what to tell him. I like Vince and didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“And Vinny obviously likes you, which on TV soap operas is called a love triangle. If you’re going to be so righteous and unselfish about everything, you’d better be up front with Vinny and tell him that he’s not in the running before the race gets started. He’ll be hurt, but it’s less cruel than if you lead him on before kicking him to the curb.”

“That’s not the way I think.”

“But it’ll happen. I’m speaking from experience. I’ve been on the giving and the receiving ends of this type of tango.”

“Then you could have talked to me when he wasn’t in the room. Why bring it up like you did? It embarrassed both of us.”

“Because you have to learn to face things. You would have gone to lunch and kept him in the dark.”

I had to admit she was right, but I was still annoyed. She should have been more discreet.

“At least I’m honest,” she added. “You could stand a dose of that.”

Julie left the library. I put my head down on the table and closed my eyes. I heard the door open and looked up.

It was Zach.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“This is where I work.”

“But you’re supposed to be out of the office until four o’clock this afternoon. I just listened to the message on your voice mail.”

“Mr. Appleby and I had a meeting with a client at the harbor, but our main contact is sick and had to cancel. I just got back.”

“So, I have to go to lunch with Vince,” I replied miserably. My woes poured out. “And I can’t go to supper with you because Mrs.

Fairmont’s daughter won’t let me have the evening off. Then you’re going to be mad at me because when you check your computer, you’ll find an e-mail from Mr. Carpenter ordering you to supervise Julie and me in
Paulding v. Dabney
. I only suggested it because Mr. Carpenter was going to tell Ned Danforth to do it, and Julie had a run-in with Ned. I don’t want to know the details, but it happened on Ned’s boat, and if it was bad enough to upset Julie, it must have been horrible.”

The door opened and Vince entered.

“Hey, what’s this I hear about Tami teaching you calf roping?” he asked Zach, trying to sound nonchalant.

“It wasn’t calf roping,” I answered. “A calf escaped from the pen and had to be caught before it got into our garden.”

Zach’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I wasn’t teaching Tami anything.

It took me a couple of days to stop calling a steer a cow.”

Vince spoke. “Listen, Tami and I are going to grab a bite to eat.

Would you like to come along?”

My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t imagine being caught like a wishbone between the two males.

“Go ahead,” Zach said. “She and I will talk later. We have a new case to discuss.”

Zach left, leaving me wondering what he really thought. I picked up my purse.

“Where would you like to go?” Vince asked. “How about the place on West Oglethorpe Street?”

The first time Vince and I went to lunch he took me to a fancy French restaurant in the historic district. Since I was now courting Zach, it wouldn’t be right to make him pay for an expensive lunch.

“How about the deli on the river?”

“Okay, I haven’t been there in a while.”

We left the office and got into Vince’s car, a new BMW. He turned his head to back up. Vince had brown wavy hair and brown eyes that were both intelligent and kind. My eyes moved to a scar on the back of his right hand, the result of a severe burn caused by a careless lab mate in a high school chemistry class. At first I’d felt sorry for Vince when I saw the scar. Then when I heard the story and learned that forgiving the other boy had been a key part of Vince’s spiritual journey, I considered the scar a badge of God’s grace.

We parked near the river. It was a short walk across uneven cobble-stones that had originally served as ballast for sailing ships coming to the New World. We ordered our sandwiches and found a table in the corner of the restaurant.

“I should tell you about my weekend,” I said. “I invited Zach—”

“You don’t owe me an explanation.”

“But I should—”

“Try to relax. Look, I know Zach is interested in you. You’re such a great person.”

“I’m not a great person.”

“I didn’t say perfect, although you’re trying hard to be that, too.”

I smiled.

“That’s better,” he said.

A waiter brought our food. Vince took a bite of his sandwich.

“Do you know one of the main reasons I took the summer job here in Savannah?” he asked.

I didn’t know how many offers Vince had received. As a top student at an Ivy League school, he could easily have had ten jobs on the table.

“It’s close to your home in Charleston?”

“That’s one. But I also had a sense from the Lord that I would meet someone this summer who would be an important part of the rest of my life.”

I forgot to chew the bite I’d just taken. Then I was immediately thankful that a mouthful of food gave me an excuse not to say any-thing. One thing was clear. Vince wasn’t referring to Mr. Braddock.

And if Vince’s unidentified person was me, Julie was right. The law clerk from Yale wasn’t going to leave a bouquet of flowers at Mrs.

Fairmont’s house and retreat from the field of battle.

“Do you believe God draws people together?” he asked in a casual manner that made my head spin.

“That’s what I’ve been taught,” I managed as I finally swallowed my bite.

“That’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“How is your family doing?” he continued.

“Okay. I mean, things don’t change much in Powell Station.”

Vinny sipped his drink.

“I’d like to visit there someday.”

The prospect of returning to Powell Station with a different man made my head spin again. The expression on the twins’ faces when we walked through the door would be priceless; however, the look on Mama’s face would be less valuable.

“I’m not sure when I’ll go back,” I answered lamely. “Probably not until it’s time to return to school.”

Vince changed the subject and began asking questions about a re-search project he was working on that involved competing liens against manufacturing equipment. I’d already written a couple of memos on the topic, but it was hard to find the principles in the fog he created in my brain. Somehow I made it through the rest of lunch.

While we drove back to the office, I tried to get a grip on my situation. I wasn’t a foreigner to competition. I’d played four years of high school basketball, and there was rivalry among students at the law school. But I’d never been the object of romantic competition. In fact, I’d never had much hope for one romance, much less two. Vince held the door open for me at the office. I made my way back to the library. Julie was at a worktable. She glanced up when I entered.

“Are you still mad at me?” she asked.

“Not really.”

“Good. I can always count on you to forgive me.”

I sat down and turned on the computer. The answer to my dilemma wouldn’t be found in case law.

“Well, did you let him down easy or hard?” Julie continued. “Easy takes a skill that most girls don’t have. If a woman can dump a guy and make him like it, she’s destined for politics. Hard gets the job done, but there’s usually blood on the floor.”

“There wasn’t any blood on the floor. We ate at the deli down near the river.”

“Vinny likes that place. He’s taken me there twice.”

“He has?”

I turned in my chair so I could see her.

“Yeah, but it’s always to pump me for information about you. When I first met him, I thought he was a dud whose passion would be Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, but he’s pursued you as if he was preparing for the LSAT.” Julie paused. “I have a friend in Atlanta who might be perfect for Vinny. She’s tall like you and doesn’t have much experience with guys. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Agnes Scott and reads French novels in the original language. Vinny’s brown wavy hair and brown eyes would go great with her. She’s a dirty blonde. I could invite him to come home with me on a road trip and set them up on a blind date. They could jabber in French, and no one else would have a clue what they were saying.”