“. . . so I said, consider my hat my calling card.” Hugh Anthony twirled his fedora in the pause as he delivered what must have been the punch line. Laughter swelled and rolled through the room like a wave, and he flashed a hundred-watt smile that rivaled the gleam of the gold buttons on his smart tan blazer and green vest. He ran his free hand over wavy gray hair that was brushed back from his high cheekbones and curled just above the collar of his crisp white shirt. The amber topography of his face—a map of lines, wrinkles, and crevices—was the backdrop for light-brown eyes that seemed to weigh and measure each face before moving on to the next.
Maxine whispered over her shoulder, “I bet he was quite the man about town back in his day. He wouldn’t have had to shake his glass to get some attention from the ladies. I could cut myself on the crease in those slacks.”
“Child, come from that door. You’ve got work to do.”
“Right.” Maxine returned to her post beside Mama Ruby.
“I’ve got the cake, nieta. Why don’t you take the crates and load them in the van.”
“Right, Granddaddy.” She wiped her hands and stacked a tray atop the others on the cart, then pushed the cart through the back door into the alleyway behind the building. She resolved to crawl into the cradle with Lauren when she got to Evelyn’s. If she got there.
“Ma’am?” an aged voice called from behind her.
Maxine closed her eyes and clenched the handle as she prayed for strength. She slowly pivoted, half-expecting to see someone shaking an empty glass.
“Teddy?”
“Baby.” The “elderly” gentleman she’d soon pledge her life to smiled and held out his arms wide enough to embrace her, the cart, and any other baggage she toted. Teddy pressed her close and buried his face in her hair. “Mmm. This is what I needed. You smell so good. You feel so good. Miss me much?”
Maxine barely got to nod before his lips touched hers. For a few seconds, she was fully present, relishing the feel of his hands on her back, his mouth on hers, and his heartbeat against her chest. But then inch by inch she withdrew from him. At first her thoughts flew to another time, another place, to another unexpected reunion. She braced her arms against his chest. Her pulse slowed to a faint crawl while his heartbeat continued to race in his chest. Maxine couldn’t breathe.
Teddy pulled away and held her at arm’s length, his physical retreat mirroring her emotional one. “What is it, Maxine? You’re not happy to see me?”
“Of course. It’s been a long day.” A long life. She tried to smile as she removed her glasses to clean them with the edge of her shirt. “You caught me off guard. What happened to your day out with your mother? I thought I was picking you up on the way to Evelyn’s, not meeting you here in Raleigh.”
Teddy captured her fingers. “Mom wanted to do some shopping and try out a new place in the area for brunch. When I checked your location, I saw we weren’t that far from you, so I asked her to bring me here. I thought maybe you needed me.”
She caressed his face. “I always need you. But I hate to steal you away from her when she’s only here for the weekend.”
He brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed them. “Dropping me off now just gives her more time with Dad. Come say hello to the first Mrs. Charles, Future Mrs. Charles, before she leaves.”
“I should really get back to my grandparents. They’ll think I ran away.”
“You’ll only be a minute. Just a quick hug.” Teddy grabbed her fingers and tugged her toward the corner of the redbrick building.
Maxine swallowed. “Okay. I wish I’d had time to freshen up. I’m a mess.”
He gave her a quick once-over. He licked a finger and swiped at her cheek. “You’ll do. She knows you’ve been helping your grandmother.”
You were supposed to say, “You’re a vision. As always.” Maxine shrugged away the memory and smoothed her hair back. She whipped off the white jacket with the Manna logo on its pocket as they approached his mother’s sedan. Maxine waved at the diminutive woman who stepped from the car. “Mrs. Charles, hi! Good to see you.”
“Hello, dear. It’s good to see you, too. It’s been too long.” A cloud of Estée Lauder enveloped Maxine as Corinne Charles kissed each cheek. When she pulled back, she nodded at the younger woman’s feet. “Working hard, I see?”
Maxine grimaced at her sturdy black loafers. “I had to wear my clodhoppers today. Manna needed a fill-in while my folks are in the mountains.”
She smiled. “Ooh, a getaway! Celebrating something?”
Maxine returned the smile and put a wink with it. “Yes, getting away from their troublemaking daughter.”
Teddy laughed, and after a quizzical look at them both, his mother joined in.
Maxine noticed some people slowly making their way from the building. “I should get back. The luncheon must be over, and Mama Ruby and Granddaddy will need my help packing up.” She embraced her future mother-in-law. “It was good to see you again. You look beautiful. As always.”
“And you, too, chérie. Did you enjoy those pralines I brought you from New Orleans?” Corinne squished the name into one reimagined word, Nahlins.
“Yes, and so did my hips! You must not want me to fit into my wedding dress.”
The woman’s eyebrows knit together. “Oh, did you have your next fitting? I’d hoped to accompany you on my next trip to North Carolina.”
Teddy’s face mirrored his mother’s disappointment. “Yes, I thought she was accompanying you?”
“No, no, don’t worry. You haven’t missed it. Of course we’re still going together—you, Mother, and me. Next month, right?” Maxine looked over the woman’s shoulder. “I really should go. They sent me out here to load the van, and I went missing. Mama Ruby was already irritated with me. Long story,” she added quickly with a wave of her hand. “I’ll call you about a time for the fitting.”
“Okay, darling. Teddy, I’ll see you later.” Mrs. Charles climbed into her car and slowly pulled away.
Maxine looped her arm through Teddy’s as they headed toward the kitchen entrance. “It’s really sweet of you to surprise me like this.”
He winked. “It is, isn’t it? Plus, we never had our date with your grandparents, so I hoped to squeeze some time in, have a two-for-one day before we see Reverend Atwater again.”
Maxine shook her head as they reached the cart, still piled high beside the Tagles’ van. “Always Mr. Practical. And here I thought you just wanted me.” She squeezed his fingers before letting them go. She reached for a box. “Since this is all official, you can help us pack up the rest of the stuff in the kitchen.”
But he reached for her. “Maxine, you seem different.”
“Is that you, Theodore? Yes, it is you!” Ruby set her load atop the pile on the cart. “Maxine, you didn’t tell me Theodore was comin’!” She enveloped him in a hug and glared at her granddaughter over his shoulder.
“I didn’t know, Mama Ruby.” She steadied the precarious tower.
“Really, she didn’t know, Mrs. Tagle.” Theodore kissed the wrinkles on Ruby’s cheek. “I thought it’d be fun to surprise her.”
“Then how did you know where to find her? Lerenzo, put that stuff down before you hurt your back.”
“I’ll take that, Mr. Tagle.” Theodore took Lerenzo’s armful and slid it into the van.
“Gracias, hijo.”
“I used my iPhone. Maxine has shared her location with me, so Mom dropped me here.”
“Shared her location? So you did tell him, Maxine.”
Maxine laughed out loud for the first time that day. “No, Mama Ruby. That’s not—never mind. I apologize for holding you up. Teddy surprised me, and we took a few minutes to say good-bye to his mother.” She hauled shut the door.
“Why don’t you take Maxine and go? Lerenzo and I can handle the rest. We’re about finished anyhow.”
“Oh, we are?” Lerenzo chuckled when Ruby shot him a look. “Sí, sí, we can finish up.”
“No,
Granddaddy, we won’t end our date early, right, Teddy? Besides, many hands make light work.”
Teddy took her hand. “Especially these beautiful hands. Mr. and Mrs. Tagle, lead the way.”
Ruby seemed unconvinced, so Maxine tugged Teddy toward the building. Her grandparents’ footsteps crunched the gravel beside them.
“I’m sorry we missed seein’ your mama, Theodore. How is she? I’ve been praying for her, that the house will sell soon and she can move up.” Ruby clasped the younger man’s arm.
“I can tell, thank you. They’re considering an offer that came in this morning. You must have been praying for my school’s graduation, too.”
“Why is that?” Ruby’s brow furrowed.
Maxine answered for him. “The commencement speaker canceled last week, and he’s been searching for a replacement. Did something happen, Teddy, or should we get Hugh Anthony McMillan?”
“Hush your mouth!” Mama Ruby chuckled. “Let Theodore talk.”
Teddy shook his head. “I don’t know who that Hugh guy is, but I have a good idea who our speaker will be.” Teddy held open the back door.
“Really? That’s great, sweetie!” Maxine squeezed his arm as she entered the kitchen.
Inside, Ruby and Lerenzo wiped the countertops and swept. Maxine and Teddy folded the remaining tablecloths and napkins and collected stray utensils in the banquet hall.
“I’ll check behind Granddaddy and Mama Ruby and make sure none of the servers mixed up our equipment. Then we can go, Teddy.” Maxine stuffed the last of the linen into baskets.
“Just in time!”
“For what?” She didn’t break her stride toward the swinging door.
He picked up the baskets and fell into step beside her. “What do you want first—the good news or the bad news?”
Maxine stopped walking and gave him the eye.
“The school secretary just texted me. It’s official. We have a commencement speaker.”
“I take it that’s the good news.”
He smiled a little. “Yes, but it means I need to work on the program this afternoon.”
“Okay, I can deal with that kind of bad news. We can stop by the school on the way to Evelyn’s. It’ll give me time to change out of these work clothes into something cute. Look at you, Teddy, a three-for-one day! You get to work and put two dates under your belt.” She winked at him and pushed open the door.
Teddy cleared his throat.
“Uh-oh.” Maxine’s inquiring eye pinned him to the spot.
“Don’t give me that look.”
“What—the ‘you’re canceling our date with Evelyn and Kevin’ look?”
“Not canceling, per se. Reconfiguring. I’ll ride with you to their house and explain what’s going on. Then I’ll take your car back to the school because I’ll need to spend the better part of the day ironing out the details about graduation. I’ll pick you up, maybe in time to meet you for dessert even?”
“Teddy!”
“Maxine, I’m sorry. You know this isn’t what I wanted, but we don’t have long before the big day. My first as headmaster, you know.”
“Uh-huh.” Maxine started opening lower cabinets while Ruby checked the uppers, using the time to work through her thoughts. Lerenzo snapped closed the dishwasher and gave a thumbs-up. Maxine moved toward the master switches, barely glancing at Teddy, who had remained by the back door. After they filed past her, she turned off the lights.
Teddy made a back-and-forth motion in the air between the two of them as they trooped behind Lerenzo and Ruby to the parking lot. “Are we good?”
Maxine wanted to ask, “How can you really know me without learning about all the puzzle pieces—my friends and my family—that make up my life? These dates aren’t about checking off Reverend Atwater’s list.” Instead, she nodded and fed him a line he’d find more palatable. “I’m really disappointed, but I understand the position you’re in.”
Teddy took her hand. “I know, and I appreciate you, babe. I just don’t know what else I can do. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to get together with Evelyn and Kevin, but I have only one chance to get this right. I have a feeling this speaker is going to make this graduation, at least from what I know so far.”
As they walked to the car, Maxine half listened as he described his school board’s search.
“. . . better than our original choice, actually. Local student makes good, returns home to give back. He wasn’t one of the academy’s students, but he’ll still connect with the graduates.”
A frisson of fear crept up Maxine’s spine as she finally fully attended to Teddy. She stopped by the back door of the van. “You said it’s a local student returning home?”
“Yep. I think he graduated a few years ahead of you, or maybe while you were in Alabama. His name is James Lester, and he was an attorney in New York. Ever heard of him?” Teddy set the hampers inside the van and closed the door as Ruby and Lerenzo climbed in. He waved good-bye to the Tagles as they drove onto the main road.
Chapter Twenty-Six
THEODORE SHIFTED in the passenger seat and faced Maxine. “You’ve barely said anything for more than thirty minutes. Are you still upset?”
“Go. And sin. No more.”
She brushed away the command like it was a worrisome hair tickling her cheek. “Yes. No.” She fiddled with the air conditioner.
He filled the extra heartbeat Maxine took to consider her answer. “Which is it?”
“Both.” When she touched the radio dial, she felt his fingers wrap around hers.
“Both?”
Maxine’s eyes skipped to his and back to the white lines dividing the highway. “No, I’m not still upset. But you asked me if I know JD—Mr. Lester—and I didn’t answer. Yes, I know him. He’s Evelyn’s brother-in-law.”
Theodore’s fingers loosened their hold on hers. “Her brother-in-law? What are the chances?”
“Apparently, pretty good,” Maxine muttered. She adjusted the volume and MercyMe reminded her that she was redeemed and more than enough. She pushed another preprogrammed station and Kirk Franklin was saying good-bye to fear because grace had replaced it. She depressed the radio dial and redirected the air vents. Silence wrapped itself around them for a moment.
“So. Do you know this JD person well?”
An artificial breeze lifted Maxine’s bangs, cooling her brow. “We went to high school together, and yes, to your earlier question. He was a couple years ahead of me.”
“Is there another ‘no’ coming with that?”
Maxine’s eyes skipped to his and back to the road. “No. I mean, yes, kinda. We dated.”
Theodore’s head rocked back a bit, like he’d taken a soft punch to his chin. “Kinda yes, or you kinda dated? You’ve never mentioned him before.”
Maxine kept her eyes on a slow-moving minivan she passed. She waved to one of the children making funny faces in its back window. For a few minutes she listened to the hum of the engine. The staccato of the turning signal broke the quiet as she flowed right off the interstate onto a grooved road that created its own duet with the tires.
“Maxine, how long did you go out?”
“Long enough,” she murmured. Subconsciously she pressed the accelerator, and the speedometer crept past the posted forty-five miles an hour limit . . . to fifty . . . to fifty-five. A textile mill was a blur on their left as she sped over the bridge denoting Mount Laurel’s city limits. Soon they were passing fallow fields filled with junky, rusting cars and farmland dotted with cattle.
Theodore braced a hand on the car’s roof. “Hey, you nearly hit that dog back there. Why are you in such a hurry?”
“I’m not in a hurry, but didn’t you say you needed to get to the school to nail down your graduation speaker?” Maxine relaxed her foot on the gas pedal.
“It sounds like he’s more your graduation speaker.”
Maxine braked suddenly, making their seat belts lock and their heads rock forward. As she resumed a legal speed,
she glanced at him.
His eyes narrowed, the humor fighting a losing battle with doubt in his face. “What? Is that what he was? A boyfriend?”
Maxine tucked some hair behind her ear and considered how much truth to share, if this was the time. She fought the urge to accelerate again. “Maybe. Yes.”
“Maybe or yes?”
She couldn’t run from that Voice in her mind, that spoke to her heart. “Yes. He was my boyfriend. We met when I was a freshman and he was a junior in high school. We dated until he went away to college. To Princeton.” Maxine’s eyes flicked to her engagement ring sparkling in the afternoon sunlight.
“Hmm,” he murmured, his mouth an upside-down U and his eyebrows the mirror opposite.
I wonder what made the bigger impression—dating me or going to Princeton? She focused on her turn, trusting her ears to piece together his true emotions.
“That sounds serious.”
“You could say that. Didn’t you date in high school?”
“Sure, but nothing like that. I was having too much fun on the soccer field. Of course, if I’d met you then, maybe you would’ve changed that.”
And after meeting her, a lot of things changed for JD. Maxine cleared her throat. She hadn’t intended to open up this mental yearbook. She pushed down the signaling arm. After a U-Haul rumbled by, she slowly turned left on the lane leading to the Lesters’ neighborhood.
She saw only the back of Teddy’s head in her peripheral vision. She sensed that he wasn’t staring at the stately brick homes rising behind the wrought iron fence, however. Maxine expected Teddy to pepper her with more questions as he worked through their conversation, but uncharacteristically, he said nothing. By the time she negotiated the twists and curves to Evelyn’s cul-de-sac, she was so unsettled she’d begun to lose feeling in her fingers gripping the wheel.
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