It was one she particularly liked, snapped just after Toby had scored a goal playing soccer in his freshman year of high school. He looked so young and boyish, with his chipmunk cheeks and enormous adult teeth, and so thoroughly pleased with himself.
Her hand lingered over the photo. She would never admit it to anyone, not even Bill, but she had missed Toby terribly since he’d left for college. Maybe it was because he was her firstborn, maybe because their personalities were so similar, but she had felt as if a part of herself had suddenly gone missing. She smiled. But now he was coming home again and the family would be whole again. She would be whole again.
Hearing the school bus she glanced at her watch. Goodness, where had the day gone? She’d been so busy she hadn’t noticed the time, and no wonder. She’d cleaned both bathrooms and the kitchen and had tidied and dusted the entire house. Only one job remained: evicting Elizabeth. She went to greet the girls.
* * *
“Where’s Toby?” demanded Zoe, breathless from running all the way up the driveway.
“He’s not here yet,” said Lucy.
“Why not?” demanded Sara, dropping her bookbag on the floor with a thud.
“It’s at least a five-hour drive, and he probably had classes this morning. I bet he’ll get here around dinnertime.”
“Oh, goody,” said Elizabeth, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I can’t wait.”
Lucy bristled. “You still haven’t moved your things out of Toby’s room like I asked you to,” she said.
“I’ll take care of it,” replied Elizabeth, draping herself languidly on one of the kitchen chairs.
“It’s still his room, even if you have been using it. I don’t want Toby to feel that this isn’t his home anymore.”
“Well, it isn’t, is it?” demanded Elizabeth. “He’s not here anymore. Why does he get a whole room that he’s not even using when I have to share with these cretins.”
“What’s a—” began Zoe.
“Am not!” screeched Sara, spraying everyone, and the table, with milk and chocolate chip cookie crumbs.
“That’s disgusting!” exclaimed Elizabeth, reaching for a napkin to wipe her face as Sara beat a hasty retreat.
“Sara! Get right back here and clean up the mess you made, including your backpack!” yelled Lucy, shouting up the stairs.
“And you . . .” Lucy had turned to glare at Elizabeth. “I want you to clear your stuff out of Toby’s room right now.”
Lucy narrowed her eyes and Elizabeth shrugged. “Okay.”
“And as for you . . .” Lucy turned her baleful stare on little Zoe, who was struggling with a gallon jug of milk. “Let me pour that for you.”
* * *
By 6 P.M. everything was ready for Toby’s homecoming. Elizabeth had taken her things out of his room and Lucy had made the beds with fresh sheets.
The table was set for seven and Toby’s favorite meal, lasagna, was cooking in the oven.
Lucy inhaled the aroma of herbs and cheese as she went from room to room, closing the blinds and turning on the lights. In the lamplight, she decided, the house looked attractive and welcoming.
“Hey,” called Bill, as he pushed open the door and dropped his lunch box on the kitchen counter. “Where’s Toby?”
“He’s not here yet,” said Lucy, taking Bill’s jacket and hanging it on a hook.
“Not here? What’s keeping him?”
“I don’t know,” said Lucy in a tight voice. “I haven’t heard a word from him.”
“Now, don’t worry,” said Bill. “I’m sure everything’s fine. They probably left later than they planned. You know how kids are.”
“I’m sure that’s it,” said Lucy, pushing thoughts of squealing brakes and ambulances to the back of her mind. “Besides, we’d have heard if . . .”
“Right,” said Bill. “The roads are clear. It’s not like there’s a storm or anything. I’m sure they’re fine.”
“Fine,” repeated Lucy, peeking in the oven. “I know. Let’s have a glass of wine and I’ll hold dinner for a while. Say fifteen minutes? After all, it’s Toby’s favorite.”
Bill opened a bottle of chianti and they sat at the kitchen table, fingering their glasses.
“How was work?”
“Fine.” Bill took a sip of wine. “How was your day?”
“Okay. I have a meeting tonight.”
“What time?”
“Seven.”
Bill looked at the clock.
“Don’t you think we’d better eat?” he asked.
“I guess so,” said Lucy with a big sigh.
CHAPTER 7
Zipping down Red Top Road on her way to the town hall, Lucy had only one thought on her mind: She didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay home to wait for Toby. Instead, she would have to sit in an overcrowded meeting room, facing the members of the board she’d so self-rightously blasted in last week’s paper. What would their reaction be? Would Howard White publicly admonish her from his lofty perch as chairman? Would Bud Collier give her hurt, reproachful glances?
Worst of all was the knowledge that Ted had offered to cover the meeting for her and she’d turned him down. She had been sure Toby would arrive earlier in the day and there would be plenty of time to catch up at dinner. What had she been thinking? she wondered. How could she have forgotten that college students operated on a different clock from the civilized world, staying up until all hours of the night and sleeping late in the morning?
She braked to turn into the town hall parking lot and groaned aloud. Every spot was filled. That meant she was going to have to park across the street at the library. Not a good sign. The meeting room was obviously packed with people eager to express their opinions; it was going to be a very a long meeting, indeed. She wouldn’t be home until eleven, at the earliest, and that was assuming she survived the roasting the board
