Too bad my nightmares had already started.
I stood up and grabbed cloths and the spray bottle from under the counter. After polishing away the smudges on the countertop, I tackled the windows, hoping to absorb some of the sun’s energy.
You have to do better, Lila.
Agreeing, I tried to make a mental grocery list, but gave up when I realized it was simpler to remember the couple of items that were in the fridge.
A lot better.
I was tucking away the cleaning supplies when the chimes announced Maureen’s return. She’d brought her husband and another man with her, and I braced myself just in time.
“Guess who we ran into at Café Salina? You remember Adam Mason! Oh, that’s right . . . you’ve never actually met him have you? Well, he’s married now, isn’t that wonderful?” Luckily for me, she occasionally needed oxygen, and doubly lucky for me, Phil cut her off before she could say anymore.
“Yes, sweetheart . . . she remembers. Hi, Lila.” He waggled his bushy, graying eyebrows, which meant that Maureen must have regaled him with a play-by-play of my idiocy from this morning. Phil had a gift for making people feel comfortable though. With his boyishly round face and unkempt salt and pepper hair, he always looked a bit off-kilter and ready to laugh.
After grinning a ‘hello,’ I looked to Adam. His name sounded vaguely familiar, but Maureen had tried to set me up with so many men that I couldn’t particularly remember him. “It’s nice to meet you. And congratulations!”
Adam’s return smile had a tiny twist to one corner. Apparently he’d also been privy to Maureen’s dishing.
“It’s nice to finally meet you.” His tease was subtle, friendly, and there was an underlying note of strength in his voice. A solid man, my grandmother would have said, but I didn’t notice anything beyond that because I was distracted by the white sparks zooming around him. Hundreds of them, infinitesimal, their movements exuberant as if all the angels in the world were celebrating.
“And they’re already expecting a baby!” Maureen trilled, “Isn’t that just too perfect?”
A baby! I’d never seen them do that before, but it made sense.
Maureen wasn’t finished yet. Shaking a finger at Adam, she said, “You need to bring Cara something! We have some lovely jewelry handmade right here in Wilmington. A lot of our items are made in the Carolinas. Lila sees to that!” She guided him over to a display while her husband watched his young wife in amusement.
“I’d better lose at poker tonight,” Phil stage-whispered to me.
“I’ll rescue him before she gets to the expensive stuff.”
Maureen pursed her lips, and Phil and I shared another grin. She was just too cute sometimes. Like my kid sister instead of my boss. When she wasn’t being a pain in the . . . Drat.
“Maureen . . . ? It’s time for me to get Eileen, but do you mind if I take the afternoon off? I didn’t think to ask earlier, so no worries either way.”
Before she could answer, Phil spoke up. “Not a problem. Then she can talk about you behind your back some more. Maybe I’ll help her track down that blond hunk.”
With an eye roll, I looked over to Maureen for official approval, and what could only be gratitude flickered on her face.
“Sure, I don’t mind. And I’ll ask all our customers to watch for him, too!”
“Joy, joy.”
“You say that now, but we can have you married off by the end of the week if you don’t interfere.”
With a little effort, I kept my smile in place as I grabbed my purse, but avoided looking at Adam again. I was almost to the door when his angels flooded around me. Surprised, I stopped in my tracks just as he stepped ahead to open the door.
“Why thank you, sir!”
“You’re very welcome, ma’am.” His smile matched his eyes, warm and crinkly at the corners from sunshine and a good sense of humor. Hazel eyes, like my father’s.
My chest tightened as I hurried along the street toward the parking deck. Hunching a bit, I told myself it was just that the air was chillier than I’d expected, but as I maneuvered between a family and a young couple holding hands, I noticed the angels still sparking around me.
Enough for today, I chided them. Enough! Go away!
Obediently, they all winked out, and I was left alone among strangers.
Coffee and Elvis
The next morning, Eileen and I were rushing to get her to school on time. After yesterday’s much-overdue trip to the grocery, we’d spent a lovely afternoon together, just hanging out and not doing anything special. I’d missed her mile-a-minute jabbering.
“Really, Mom! It’s like Amber doesn’t get that school is for learning! I was like, ‘How is texting your boyfriend going to help you remember how to work a quadratic formula?’ And then she looked at me like I was a freak, and then Mr. J. overheard us and took her phone, and then Amber told Alexa that I ratted her out on purpose, and then in Science, I ended up being picked last for the stupid new group project!”
She’d taken a deep breath, but plunged on before I could decide if she was ready for me to say anything. “And it’s on electricity! Why does it have to be a stupid group project? I stayed after class and begged Ms. Miller to let me do it by myself, and she said no!”
The silence had dragged on this time, so I’d known it was okay to speak.
“Sweetie, she just doesn’t want you to have to do all the work by yourself. Who’s in your group? Are you the only super-genius?” I’d glanced over and caught her eye, turning her frown into a goofy smirk.
“Yes. I am.”
“Ah, well, such is life, Leeni. Somebody has to take notes . . . is there a good note-taker in your group?”
It had been hard not to crack a smile. Thirteen was tough. My kid was very smart, very pretty, and very opinionated—a combo which didn’t sit well with most of the
