Pulling up to the front of the house, he stepped out of the car, looked around to see if anyone was watching, then hurried up the walkway and rapped on the door.
“Hold on, I’ll be with you in a minute,” a reedy voice called out.
Earl stood waiting, the sun hot on his back, beads of perspiration rising on his forehead, and his stomach tied in knots. It seemed like forever until he heard the shuffling of footsteps coming toward him.
Pauline opened the door and smiled. “Yes?” She was as pale as a ghost and so thin it looked as though a stiff breeze could blow her away.
“Sorry to bother you,” Earl said, “but I’m looking for Bobby Doherty and thought…”
Raising a hand to block the sun, Pauline glanced up. “You don’t look well. You all right?”
He gave a nod and swiped at the beads of perspiration. “Just real warm.”
“Well, no wonder. Here it is October and still a hundred degrees out there. Come inside; I’ll pour us a cool glass of lemonade.” She pulled the door back and made way for Earl to enter.
“I can’t stay,” he said, following her into the kitchen. “I’m trying to find Bobby Doherty, and since you’ve got the same last name I thought maybe you’d know him and—”
“Bobby? I most certainly do. I’ve known him for ages. His daddy, Harold, was first cousin to my Elgin.” She handed him a glass of lemonade and pulled out a chair. “Sit,” she said, then dropped down in the chair on the opposite side of the table. “So how come you’re looking for Bobby?”
This time the question did not come as a surprise; Earl was ready. Smooth as molasses sliding off a spoon, he told the story of how he was working on a memorial for his kid brother. Adding one final flourish, he said, “I just know Bobby would want to be there.”
Pauline gave a lingering sigh and held her hand to her heart. “That’s just about the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Not wanting to blow it by appearing overanxious, Earl hesitated a second then asked if she could give him Bobby’s address.
“I would if I could,” she said. “But he moved two years back, and I don’t think I’ve got the new address.” She stood, crossed the kitchen, pulled a drawer open, and began rifling through a pile of papers. “I might have saved the envelope from last year’s Christmas card, and if so, this is where I would have put it.”
The anxiety spread across Earl’s chest like an army of red ants. “Bobby move someplace in Florida?”
“Uh-huh. West of here. A town with some tropical-sounding name. You’ve gotta wonder why anyone would give a town out in the middle of nowhere such a fancy name. From what Bobby said, I think it’d be better if they called it Nowheresville or maybe Lost Lakes…”
Pauline’s senseless chatter caused Earl to start sweating again. His shirt was stuck to his back, and he could smell the stink of himself. He was a hair’s breadth away from grabbing the drawer and dumping the contents onto the table where he could sort through them when she turned with a grin.
“Found it,” she said and waved a red envelope in the air.
No longer worrying about whether or not he seemed overanxious, he snatched the envelope from her hand and eyed the return address. Sure enough, it read Bob Doherty, 1476 Hibiscus Cove, Piney Acres, Florida.
A good thing he hadn’t given up, because now he had an actual lead.
Suzanna
The Start of Something Good
SUZANNA’S FIRST WEEK AT CAVALIER’S was more than she’d hoped for. Colette introduced her to customers, explained the nuances of various designers, and demonstrated how the right fashion choice could change a woman’s appearance.
There were dozens upon dozens of tips. One color to brighten a sallow complexion, another to lessen the ruddiness of weathered cheeks, styles to make a woman seem taller or shorter, styles to make her look younger, enhance an eye color, or compensate for a God-given flaw. Suzanna savored every word and tucked each thought away in the back of her brain. It would all be there when she needed it. By the end of the week, she could glide through the shop as gracefully as Colette and pluck a garment from the rack with a flourish that gave a simple wool dress the significance of a ball gown.
On Saturday Colette handed her a paycheck.
“Darla Jean, you really are a fast learner,” she said. “You’ve done well, and the customers like you.”
A tear rose in Suzanna’s eye, and she blinked it back.
“I think it’s because you believed in me and gave me a chance,” she replied. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
Even though the name she used belonged to someone else, the words came from Suzanna’s heart and were as sincere as any she had ever spoken. Leaving the store her steps were so light, it was as though she were floating. The Darla Jean she’d created was becoming real. She had a job, one that would be there tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. It was something Suzanna had prayed for. A stroke of good fortune. Maybe her lies had been forgiven, and this was her chance to start over.
——————
WHEN SUZANNA ARRIVED HOME, EVERYONE was gathered in the living room, the fireplace lit, and the room fragrant with the scent of pine logs. Gregg squatted on the hearth adding pieces of kindling to the fire; Ida and Annie sat together on the sofa, a jigsaw puzzle spread across the coffee table in front of them. The crackle of fall in the air and the promise of this place was as perfect as Suzanna had ever known life to be. She was a million miles away from the heartache and pain of Florida. Earl. Her father. Here, there was none of the shame she’d known. This was the second chance
