You Smiled (10 page)

Maddy watched them as they bounced off, talking and laughing. They seemed so happy to be out with their dad. It was a sweet picture, she thought as she turned to walk in the opposite direction
. I’ll bet their mom would love it.

“Let’s go, Burt,” she said, trying to remember what she needed at the grocery store. Who needed groceries when there were hammers, nails and paint to be purchased?

***

John pulled the sandpaper from the hardware store bag and put a fresh piece on the small hand sander. He turned back to the old Adirondack chair, and crouched low to finish the backside of one of the panels.

“I see you, Daddy!” 

John squinted through the slats and grinned at Parker, squatting and staring back at him from just inside the patio door.

Delighted with his discovery, Parker said, “Okay, now I’ll hide. You count.” Before John could object, his son jumped up and ran around the side of the house. 

Blake, arranging a rock collection on the edge of the patio, watched his brother with a smile. “Guess you’re playing, Dad.”

“Guess I am,” John agreed. “How about you?” Blake hesitated only briefly before taking off after his brother. 

“… Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty… Ready or not, here I come!” John took in the backyard with a sweeping glance. There was no sign of movement around the swing-set/fort that he built for the kids two summers ago. He made his way toward the side of the house where he prepared to jump on the nearest victim. No one was giggling among the neatly trimmed bushes, but he could hear someone rustling up near the garage.

“I can hear you hiding…” he called ominously as he walked slowly and heavily toward the front of the house. He heard a gasp and a giggle as at least one small hider realized that discovery was imminent. John jumped around the corner and crouched down, sending Parker squealing from his spot behind the garbage can. John grabbed him and swung him up onto his shoulder. 

“Blake, help!” Parker yelled.

“Yes, help, Blake!” John roared, marching around the yard with Parker flailing on his shoulder. 

“Let me go!” Parker giggled.

John set Parker down and growled, “Stay here while I go find your brother.” Parker lay laughing in the grass, and then quickly jumped up to hide again. John approached the front porch and almost tripped on Blake, who had hidden near the bushes. 

“I give up!” Blake shrieked, immediately wrapping his arms around his dad’s legs. 

John returned the hug with a laugh and grabbed Blake’s hand as they continued to circle the house.

“How about we just let Parker keep hiding, and we go have supper?”

John eyed Blake with a barely concealed grin. “How about we find him and make him finish sanding Grampa’s chair?”

“That’s even better,” Blake agreed. “I bet he’s in the fort.”

Rounding the house into the backyard, they heard a loud giggle, confirming Blake’s guess. John fired up the grill and Parker came down and sat on the deck in the unfinished chair, looking rather like an undersized king on a throne. 

“Do you think Miss Maddy’s dog could come over sometime?” he abruptly asked.

John looked up, surprised. “I don’t know, Parker,” he answered. “Miss Maddy and her dog are new to town, so they might not feel comfortable just, you know, coming over and hanging out with us.”

“I was thinking just her dog,” Parker clarified.

John shook his head with a smile.

“If they just moved here, they probably need some friends,” offered Blake.

“Burt is so hairy!” Parker exclaimed. He sat back and kicked his shoes together. “Miss Maddy’s pretty.”

“Did you think so, Dad?” asked Blake.

“I agree on both counts,” John answered carefully. “So, do we make these chili dogs or what?”

He retreated into the house for supplies. Yes, he’d noticed the post office girl, and his mind had drifted back to her pretty, laughing face several times throughout the afternoon. She’d been wearing jean shorts, a T-shirt and sneakers; nothing fancy.
Nice legs,
he recalled.

“I want cheese, too!” Parker called after him, then added, “Cheese,
please,
Daddy.”

“You got it, buddy.”

Blake followed him inside. “I’ll pour drinks,” he offered. 

“That would be great.” John pulled chips out of the cupboard, and thought again about the encounter downtown. She’d been a little flustered at first, but had recovered quickly. He liked how she interacted with his sons; there was something very natural in her manner. He smiled to himself as he put the simple meal together. It had been a long time since he’d felt a flicker of interest like this. 

“You okay, Dad?”

“Oh, I’m fine. I just can’t find that can of chili, and you can’t have chili dogs without chili.”

“It’s right there.” Blake pointed to the shelf in front of his father. “You’re funny, Dad,” he added as he walked out of the kitchen.

***

The church was very quaint, and though the benches were a bit hard, Maddy liked the feel of the place. She loved the setting of the historic building, and had walked past the old white church several times during the week. Curious about what it looked like inside, she decided to attend the Sunday morning service.

The walls were whitewashed and all of the woodwork was stained dark brown. The area in front was uncomplicated and, for some reason, it appealed to Maddy. A large wooden cross adorned the wall behind the altar, and wide windows along the sides of the church offered a view of the surrounding property.

She supposed she had no business in their church; or perhaps, it was business that she had, and little else. She needed to start establishing some contacts, and it seemed like as good a place as any to begin. Besides, she’d never been in a church that old.

The room was about three quarters full, and the families with young children sat toward the back. Maddy felt a familiar pang as she watched young mothers wrestling with their little ones, trying to get them to behave. She wondered where Parker and Blake were. Did their family go to church? 

“This seat taken, young lady?” Maddy jumped and turned to see Otis sitting down next to her. 

“I didn’t know you went to this church, Otis,” she said, moving over for him. 

“If I’d had the nerve to invite you, I could have offered you a ride,” Otis said ruefully. “I’m afraid I find it a little bit difficult to extend that invitation sometimes.”

“So do I,” Maddy agreed. It had been a long time since she’d attended church, much less invited anyone else to go. 

She looked back at the service folder in her lap. As happy as she was to see a familiar face, she didn’t like the idea of deceiving Otis. Maddy turned at the sound of the pastor’s voice as he welcomed the people to worship. 

“You’ll like him,” Otis whispered. “He knows the Word and he gives it to you straight!” He settled back with a satisfied smile.

Maddy smiled politely, but had no intention of getting to know the stranger in front of them. She was beginning to regret the impulse to attend church. Otis would assume that they had some weird religious bond, and worse, he’d expect her to come back.

***

As soon as the service ended, Otis invited Maddy to the fellowship hour in the basement.

“Oh, no thank you,” she replied. “I should probably get back and check on Burt.”

“Come on, neighbor,” Otis encouraged her. “The donuts are always good, and I promise I won’t make an announcement that you’re new in town.” 

Maddy’s determination started to crumble, and she paused long enough for him to grab her hand.

“Not that they won’t know, already,” he smiled back at her as they walked down to the basement together.

Maddy rolled her eyes and followed, nodding at the friendly greetings from the people they passed along the way. She had so wanted to make a quick escape. The connections she thought she should make now seemed too personal. She searched her mind for another excuse so that she wouldn’t have to extend her mistake through an endless cup of coffee.

“Miss Maddy! Look, Daddy, it’s Miss Maddy! Hey, I rhymed! Daddy and Maddy!”

Parker ran back around the corner as soon as he saw her, and returned a moment later, dragging his father with him. John appeared with an apologetic grin, which didn’t stay sorry-looking for long. 

“Good morning, Miss Maddy.”

Wearing khakis and a casual shirt, he definitely hadn’t lost his earthy appeal. Maddy was momentarily and uncharacteristically mute. Parker walked in circles around them while Blake stood quietly at his father’s side, holding a cup of punch. 

“Good morning, John,” Maddy finally found her voice. “Hi, Blake and Parker. I didn’t see you in church this morning.” She groaned inwardly at the needless revelation.

“Oh, we just come for the coffee.” John answered so seriously that Maddy looked up in surprise. He immediately smiled, and Maddy tried not to stare at his beautiful teeth.

Braces, for sure
, she thought. 

“Would you like a cup?”

“A cup of
…”
Maddy replied absently, despising her verbal ineptitude.

“Coffee,” he gently supplied, putting his hand on her shoulder to guide her to the refreshment table. “Clearly, you haven’t had any yet.”

“Clearly, not enough,” she agreed, as she allowed herself to be led through the gathering crowd. Suddenly, she remembered Otis, and turned to see him standing where she’d left him, watching her with a smile.

“Otis, I’m sorry!” She spun away from John and returned to her neighbor, grabbing him by the hand. “Otis, this is my new friend, John. John, this is my
…
also new friend, Otis.” 

John extended his hand. “John Fordham. I’ve seen you around church. You’re usually up in the summer, right?”

“Actually, I’ve become a full-timer,” Otis replied. “Name’s Otis Jensen. Maddy, here, is my date this morning.”

John raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Of course.”

“Miss Maddy, where’s Burt?” Parker had stopped running in circles and nibbled on a small frosted cupcake. He dotted his nose with the frosting as he tossed in the last bite. 

“They wouldn’t let me bring him in,” Maddy answered with a sigh. “He’d sure like this part of church, though.” She glanced at the crumbs covering Parker’s shirt. “He’d be your best friend right now.”

“Is he outside waiting for you, like at the grocery store?” Parker looked ready to investigate this possibility.

“Oh, no,” Maddy replied. “He had to stay home. I really should go and check on him.” 

“And miss out on coffee?” John asked. “How do you like it?”

Where’s the quiet lumberjack from yesterday?
“I’ll need some cream.”

“Got it,” John said. “How about you, Otis, do you like your coffee the way your girlfriend does?”

Otis chuckled. “She knows just how I like it. Don’t you, Maddy?”

“Black, but lots of sugar,” Maddy directed. “At least that’s how he likes it first thing in the morning,” she added, her voice low with the implied scandal.

John paused and eyed them both. That voice both surprised and intrigued him, and he wasn’t sure how to reconcile those feelings in the church basement. He turned to get their coffee.

“So, how did you like the service?” Otis asked.

“Oh, it was fine,” Maddy replied.

“I like Pastor Rob!” Parker piped in with enthusiasm. “He lets us come in front of the church and tells us funny stories.”

“Really?” Maddy didn’t recall that part of the service.

“Yeah, but not always.”

“He seems very nice,” Maddy said, nodding with a smile as John returned with their coffee.