Sunset Over Misty Lake

by Margaret Standafer

  “How long is this going to last? And is there anything I need to know about what to do and what not to do?”

  “I don’t know how long it will last. As far as what you need to know, not much. Alex will likely tell you how he or she is going to proceed, what to expect, and ask if you have any areas that are bothering you that need special attention or areas that should be avoided for whatever reason. You mostly just need to relax and enjoy.”

  “Everyone keeps saying that. I haven’t quite figured out how I’m supposed to relax.”

  “Joe—”

  “But,” Joe said over Karen’s exasperated plea, “but, I’ll try.”

  They were quiet for a few minutes. Karen let herself float on the music, inhale the scents, and tried to empty her mind. Just as she felt her eyes start to close and was nearly slipping into that delightfully confusing state between wakefulness and sleep, Joe shattered the calm.

  “Is this what you did when you went to Vegas? You said you went to a spa, right? Was it like this?”

  Karen’s heart slammed into her ribs and her entire body tensed. The hand that had been loosely cradling the water glass jerked, and the glass clattered to the floor. Karen flew to her feet just as there was a tap on the door.

  “Are you both ready?”

  “What? No, no!”

  Karen yanked a towel from the nearest table and dropped to the floor. She swiped the towel furiously back and forth over the mess. She heard nothing, saw nothing, except the water that she had to clean up. Immediately.

  “Karen. Karen. It’s okay, it’s only water.”

  It wasn’t until Joe put one firm hand on her arm and stilled her hands with the other that she paused. The towel was twisted around her hands and it appeared she’d succeeded only in sloshing the water farther across the floor instead of making any headway in drying it. She sat back on her heels and tried to free her hands from Joe’s. He held tight.

  “Let me get it.”

  As he unwound the towel, Karen caught movement out of the corner of her eye. A tall redhead stared, mouth slightly agape. Next to her stood a much shorter, sturdy-looking black woman. Her eyes caught and held Karen’s and all Karen could think was that they were the darkest and most understanding and knowing eyes she’d ever seen. When the woman began talking, there was no question as to who was in charge.

  “Shauna told me you’re Karen. She also told me you’re a momma. I can tell already you’re a fine one. Look at you, so concerned with cleaning up a bit of water, with taking care of everyone and everything else, that you don’t even notice you’ve got a nasty little cut on your skinny little knee. Hmmm, hmmm.” She shook her head as she grabbed a fresh towel, nudged Joe and Karen aside, made quick work of the spill, and retrieved the glass from near the wall.

  “Not a crack,” she said as she examined the glass before moving it and the towel out of sight. In a flash, she opened cupboard doors, wet a cloth, and produced a bandage from somewhere in the depths of her pocket. “Let me have a look.”

  She crouched down in front of Karen, who hadn’t moved from her spot on the floor. The woman dabbed, with a surprisingly gentle hand, at the drops of blood on Karen’s knee. It was painless, Karen hadn’t even realized she’d been cut, but the contact with the wet cloth shocked her back to reality.

  “You don’t have to do that. It’s nothing, really.”

  “Well, you’re right that I don’t have to do it, and you’re mostly right about it being nothing, but what you may not know is that I’m a momma too and it’s in my nature to fix things, same as it’s in yours.”

  Karen made a move to back away, but one look from the woman in front of her had her settling back in place.

  “There now. All taken care of. It’s a little cut. Since that glass didn’t break, you must have scraped your knee against a rough surface.” She ran her hand over the chair’s frame. “I’ll be sure to mention that to Ms. McCabe.”

  “I’m sorry for the trouble.”

  With a wave of her hand, the woman brushed aside Karen’s concern. “Nonsense. It’s no trouble.” Then she smiled and held out her hand. “Better late than never. I’m Trina. This is Alex. We’re here to let you know that we’re ready whenever you are. Why don’t the two of you hop up onto these tables, you here, Karen, and you here, Joe, I assume? You get yourselves all cozy and settled under these blankets and we’ll be back in a minute.”

  As fast as they’d appeared, Trina and Alex disappeared. Karen’s head was spinning.

  “What just happened?” she asked Joe.

  “That’s what I want to know. Are you okay? You were as white as that robe a minute ago. What’s wrong?”

  A chill made its way up Karen’s spine and she had to fight mightily to keep her face impassive.

  “I guess I was nearly asleep and when they knocked on the door, it startled me. Clumsy of me to drop the glass.”

  Joe was shaking his head before she finished. “No, it was more than that. I think—”

  Karen rose to her toes and kissed his cheek. “We need to get out of these robes and onto these tables before they get back.”

  Fear flashed through Joe’s eyes as he gripped the robe and spun toward the door. “They’ll knock before they come in, right?” But he didn’t take any chances. In an instant the robe was off, and he was diving under the sheet on the table Trina had directed him to. “Like this? Just lie here?”

  “Just like that.”

  Karen settled herself on her table. Settling her nerves was another matter. Thankfully, before Joe could ask any more questions, there was another tap on the door.

  “Come in,” Karen nearly shouted.

  Karen watched Trina stride into the room, her eyes scanning the scene and nodding to herself. Alex followed, looking much less confident. She glanced around as if she expected chaos to erupt from one corner or another.

  “Well now, this is more like it. You’re both looking comfy. That’s good. We’ll get started in a moment. Before we do, Alex and I will let you choose from a few different oils. We’ll also discuss with you what you hope to get out of today’s session as far as any trouble areas you may have and whether there’s anything you need us to know before starting. Joe, unless you have any general questions, I’ll let you and Alex get acquainted while I tend to your lovely wife.”

  When Joe shook his head, Trina winked at him then turned her full attention to Karen. Karen heard Alex speak softly to Joe, heard Joe mumble replies, but their voices were no match for Trina’s.

  “Now honey, it may be a few years since I was having babies, but I remember it like it was yesterday. You don’t sleep, you don’t eat, you don’t have time with your husband. What you do is take care of everyone but yourself. We’re going to fix that tonight. I’m going to make you feel like you did before those babies of yours were a twinkle in your eye. Twins, Shauna told me. That means you’re carting not one, but two bundles with you most of the day. And I heard about Dylan. A two-year-old is helpful sometimes, but the older ones always get a little jealous when someone new comes along and takes away some of their time with momma. That means you’re carrying him too. That’s fifty pounds of kids, for heaven’s sake. Your shoulders hurt, your back hurts, oh, who are we kidding? Everything hurts. I’m going to fix that. You take a whiff of these oils and tell me which one you like, then we’ll get started.”

  It took a moment for Karen to catch up when Trina finally stopped for a breath. The woman was a dynamo. All the while she’d been talking, she’d been gathering bottles of oils, arranging warm blankets over Karen, and adjusting the lighting in the room. While Karen supposed Trina could be plenty intimidating when she wanted, Karen felt nothing but a sense of calm. Five minutes ago, she never would have believed it, but now she hadn’t a doubt Trina would accomplish exactly what she promised.

  Choosing an oil proved to be a simple task. One whiff of the blend that smelled mostly of lavender and she was sold. Whatever concoction Trina had come up with, it was nothing sh
ort of divine.

  Karen’s brain wanted to take advantage of the quiet and focus on fine-tuning her plans, on how to explain her behavior if Joe asked more questions, on what was happening at home, but after a couple of minutes under Trina’s magic hands, Karen found she couldn’t focus on anything other than how wonderful she felt. Stress melted away, aches and pains dissolved with each stroke. The only coherent thought she had was that she’d been a fool to even consider not taking advantage of Shauna’s offer.

  Aside from a few whispered requests to shift slightly or turn over and the occasional rustlings and murmurs from Joe, the next fifty minutes were blissfully silent. Karen’s mind remained equally as silent. It wasn’t until the massages were done and Trina and Alex excused themselves, that Karen’s brain turned on again. She realized she’d enjoyed the silence as much as she’d enjoyed the massage.

  Easing from the table, Karen looked over at Joe. He appeared half asleep with his eyes nothing more than slits, but those eyes were trained on her and followed her as she stretched then reached for her clothes.

  “Are you going to get up or take a nap?”

  “Right now, I’m going to watch you.”

  “Don’t watch too long. Alex will be back to check on you in a few minutes.”

  “I don’t think I care.”

  Karen turned and stared. Joe’s voice was slow and soft. He hadn’t moved a muscle, unless she counted his eyes, which were now completely closed. If anything, he looked even cozier snuggled under the pile of blankets. A far cry from the panic she’d expected when she’d suggested Alex’s imminent return.

  She finished pulling on her clothes, then put a hand on her hip and cocked her head.

  “I take it you liked your massage.”

  He didn’t answer right away, and Karen thought he really had fallen asleep. Then, eyes still closed, he hummed out a long, contented sigh.

  “Mmmm. I liked it. And I know you’re trying to get me worked up about Alex, but it won’t work.”

  “All the worrying, all the grief you caused Shauna, and all it takes is one massage? You’re easy, McCabe.”

  He opened one eye and grinned at her. “I can be.”

  Karen laughed as she threw his clothes at him. “Get dressed and let’s see what else we can fit in before we have to head home.”

  Karen treated herself to a manicure while Joe chose to wander and check in on the yoga classes. She was admiring her smooth, even, freshly painted nails when she met up with Joe and most of the McCabes in the juice bar.

  It was a bright, pretty room that broke somewhat from the color scheme of the rest of the rooms. The sage green and tan were there, but splashes of pink and orange punched up the color and gave the room a lively, fun feel.

  Karen hung back and watched the McCabes do what the McCabes always did when they were together.

  Frank snickered as he slugged Riley. “At least I didn’t fall over.”

  Riley scowled and slugged him right back. “At least I didn’t kick my wife.”

  Frank sobered and turned to Cassie, his face pained. “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked.

  “I’m sure. It was nothing,” Cassie assured him, but Karen saw Cassie rub her calf under the table.

  “I liked Dalton,” Susan said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve taken a class with anyone besides Shauna or you, Cassie. Not that you guys aren’t great, you are, but he had a different style. Shauna made a good choice.”

  Karen turned to the other side of the room when familiar-sounding shouts got her attention. It wasn’t a surprise to find Rose and Kate in the center of the melee.

  “You said Dalton would be teaching at our building. He told us he didn’t know who’d be teaching our classes.”

  Kate’s voice joined her sister’s. “I’ve told everyone he’ll be taking over the class. Don’t you make me a liar, Shauna Marie.”

  Shauna raked a hand through her hair as she sliced her eyes toward Cort. “He’ll probably be teaching the class. We’re in the process of finalizing the schedule. We may alternate teachers.”

  “Alternate teachers? What’s that supposed to mean? You’ll send us whoever draws the short straw that week? We want the hottie,” Rose said.

  “Rose, it’s not like that.”

  “It’s more a matter of deciding who gets to teach the class,” Cort intervened. “Dalton wants to teach it and has been lobbying hard, but Arielle has a great deal of experience running classes for seniors and for those with physical disabilities so she’s also eager to show you what she has to offer. That’s why we’re considering alternating teachers as they’ll both have different styles and different strengths. We want to give you the best possible experience.”

  “I think the best possible experience would be Dalton,” Kate said with a stomp of her foot, “but I suppose we could live with alternating teachers. What about you?” she nodded at Shauna. “Does this mean you won’t be teaching our classes any longer?”

  Shauna reached for Cort’s hand and even from across the room, Karen could see calm wash over Shauna with just a touch. “My plan is to run an occasional class in your building. It’s become one of my favorite hours of the week and I’d miss it if I didn’t do it at all any longer. Assuming that’s okay with you?”

  “Of course, it’s okay, dear, Rose said. “We were hoping you’d still come by now and again. You got us started doing something Kate and I never dreamed we’d do and now it’s become something we look forward to. We understand you’re busy with running this place, but hopefully you’ll find some time for us.”

  “Rosie’s right. Although, I have to warn you. A new woman moved into the building. Lorraine.” Kate looked at Rose and they both snorted. “She’s a snooty thing, runs around in yoga pants all the time and claims she’s been doing yoga for years. Says she can’t wait for classes to start up. She’s going to be trouble, mark my words.”

  “I’ll keep an eye on her,” Shauna assured her great aunts.

  Kate and Rose, apparently satisfied with what they’d heard, turned away from Shauna and Cort and put their heads together. Their voices carried, and Karen heard them continuing their discussion of their building’s newest resident.

  What would Rose and Kate have to say about her, Karen wondered, if things didn’t turn out as she hoped they would? What would everyone have to say?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  KAREN HEARD JOE’S car from a half block away. If they didn’t make time to get that muffler fixed, one of Jake’s deputies would likely be paying them a visit soon. “Add it to the list,” she mumbled to herself.

  With one last fortifying glance at the pamphlet she’d been studying for the better part of the last two weeks, Karen tucked it into the junk drawer and took a deep breath. She’d do it today. She was ready. And it would work. Because it had to.

  “Hi, honey,” Joe said as he walked through the door. He kicked off his shoes, dropped his backpack, and walked to her.

  “Hi. How was your day?”

  He kissed her lightly before answering. “Good, considering we’re nearing the finish line. The kids are antsy.”

  Karen smiled. “So are the teachers.”

  “So are the teachers.” Joe peeked into the living room. “How are things here? Where is everybody?”

  “Sleeping, if you can believe it. All of them. At the same time.”

  Joe’s eyebrows registered his surprise. He crossed the room back to Karen and put his arms around her waist. “We should probably take advantage of that,” he said as he leaned toward her.

  Karen wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss. How she loved being next to him…the closeness, the comfort, the security. She soaked it all in before she pulled away.

  “Maybe we could talk about something since we have some quiet.”

  “Doesn’t sound nearly as fun as my idea, but sure. What’s up?”

  Karen watched Joe fill a glass of water and grab an apple from the bowl on the counter. He bit into h
is apple, then leaned back against the counter and looked expectantly at her.

  For as much as she’d rehearsed, now that Joe was there in front of her, waiting, Karen found she was tongue-tied.

  “What is it? Something with one of the kids?”

  He looked worried. Karen shook her head. “No, it’s not that. It’s, um, well, you know I’ll have to head back to work soon.”

  “I wouldn’t say soon. You still have a couple of months. Please don’t worry about it already.”

  “I’m not worrying about that, exactly. I’m just thinking about going back, about making a change. I told you the head nurse job in the ICU is up for grabs come the end of the year. I’m thinking about applying.”

  “I thought you didn’t want it, didn’t want all the paperwork and the headaches that come with a supervisor position.”

  “You don’t think I should do it.”

  “I’m not saying that. I’m wondering about your change of mind. If it’s about the money…”

  “It’s about the money, how can it not be about the money, but it’s also about pushing myself, furthering my career. I’ve been doing the same job for years. Dr. Westrum talked to me about the position before I left, asked me if I’d be interested, and hinted that he thought I should apply.”

  “You didn’t tell me that.”

  “At the time, I didn’t think I was interested, but I keep running the numbers and I know it’s going to be tight with three kids in daycare. Really tight. The bigger salary that comes with the job would help.”

  Joe paced. “There are a couple of coaching positions open for next school year. We’ve talked about me going back to coaching. And tutoring. Actually, I was going to run the idea of tutoring over the summer by you. I’ve had a few parents email me already asking if I’d be willing to tutor their kids to prepare them for their AP classes next year. It wouldn’t be that much money, but it would be something. I don’t want you to feel like you have to take on a position you don’t want just because you’re worried about money. I can take care of my family.”