by Melinda Metz
“Nate!” Rich called to him. He turned and saw Rich and Regina coming toward him. They both usually ate a little later. Something was wrong, he realized as they reached him. Rich’s face was tight with worry, and Regina looked like she’d dressed hurriedly, her hair brushed, but not perfectly styled the way it usually was.
“Good morning. What’s up?” Nate asked, making sure to keep his voice level and calm.
“Max just called me. He’d been checking social media to see if there were any mentions of The Gardens after last night’s meeting,” Rich told him. “A bunch of things popped up. There are new one- and two-star ratings on some sites. Senior Living, Geek Geezers, Assisted Living Search.” He turned to Regina. “What was the other one?”
“Retirement Home Compare,” she answered.
“Max says he wants to help turn it around. He’d been texting with Hope. They’re both studying marketing, and they are going to come up with some social media strategies. Can you meet with them this afternoon?” Rich asked.
“Absolutely.”
“I want to help,” Regina said. “I may not be up on all the social media outlets, but I know my way around a computer. There must be something I can do.”
“You never know when you’ll need a poet. I can write limericks about how great The Gardens is.” He pulled out his notebook and pencil. “There was a place called The Gardens.”
“Maybe something about how it wouldn’t make hearts harden?” Regina suggested.
“Possibly, possibly,” Rich said. “How about we meet up at three?”
Nate nodded. “Let’s use the bungalow next to Gertie’s. I’d like some privacy, and it’s empty until next week. Unless the woman moving in goes to any of the sites you mention. Sounds like the reviews would keep anyone away.”
“We’re going to take care of that,” Rich promised. “Now, I need coffee if I’m going to finish this poem. And I’m sure you’ll want your peppermint tea,” he added to Regina. He linked his arm through hers, and they started for their usual table.
Nate stared after them, momentarily distracted from their news by their behavior. Regina had offered a line for a limerick, when usually she’d have made a comment about how the form shouldn’t even be considered poetry. Rich had remembered the tea she drank, and he’d taken her arm. Nate didn’t think he’d ever seen the two touch before. Had something started up between them? It wouldn’t be completely crazy. They actually shared a lot of interests—crosswords, art, literature.
He got his brain back where it belonged. He needed to check out those websites. He chose a table by one of the windows and pulled out his cell. When the waiter came by, he asked for the fruit salad. If he was going to be eating three times in the next few hours, he needed to pace himself.
By the time he got his food, his appetite had disappeared. The reviews felt like an attack, a personal attack. Why wouldn’t they? Nate spent the majority of his time working to make The Gardens the best place it could possibly be for the residents. Before those few days with Briony it was pretty much all he did, that and problem-solve for his mom and sister.
His thoughts veered to his father. That kept happening, even with everything else he was dealing with. It was like a wall inside him had crumbled, the wall he’d erected years ago to keep out all thoughts about his father. Focus, Nate told himself. He’s not worth even a few seconds of your time. You’ve got more important things to deal with. His father was nothing to Nate after being gone all these years, after deserting his family.
“Nate. Hello.”
He’d been staring blankly down at his plate, and now he looked up and found Briony sitting across from him. “Hey, you came.”
“You asked.” She smiled. “How’re you doing? You were so deep in thought, I hated to interrupt you.”
“I’m glad you did. I was thinking about my father. And I don’t have time for that right now. I just found out there’s a smear campaign going against The Gardens on the interwebs,” he told her. “If you can call it a smear campaign when what people are saying is true.”
“Oh, Nate, no!” Briony reached for his hand, then hesitated and pulled it back. He got that. He had no idea where they were. They were in a good place, a friendly place, but more than that? Now wasn’t the time to try to figure it out.
“Yeah. My average rating—I mean The Gardens’ average rating is already way down. A bunch of one-stars will do that fast.” He forced himself to take a bite of the fruit salad. It was amazing, like everything LeeAnne made. She’d drizzled on some kind of yogurt dressing. He realized his appetite was back and took another bite. “Have some, until someone takes your order.” He spotted a server already coming toward them.
“Thanks.” She picked up her fork and stabbed a star fruit. “What are you going to do? Any ideas?”
“Hope and Max are coming over at three. They’re getting some suggestions together. They’re both getting marketing degrees.”
“Guess Hope was wrong. She seemed to think Max never talked to her because he felt superior to her, with his family being so wealthy and her working here in the kitchen.”
“She was insanely wrong,” Nate answered. “I’m pretty sure Max doesn’t talk to her because she’s so pretty it makes him nervous and when he gets nervous the stutter he had as a kid comes back. He stuttered some when he was talking to you on Family Night.”
“And she was being rude to him, because he wasn’t talking to her. It’s like that story with the guy who sold his watch to buy his wife hair combs and she sold her hair to buy him a watch chain,” Briony said. “Actually, no. That doesn’t quite make sense. It’s like the reverse of that, kind of. No, not really that, either.” She frowned, then shook her head. “They were both acting badly, because they were both making assumptions about how the other one felt. Forget the whole hair and watch thing.”
Nate laughed. “I love to hear you ramble.”
“I don’t ramble. Much. Except sometimes.” She pressed her fingers to her lips. “Stopping now,” she mumbled, and he laughed again. “Can I come to the meeting? I want to do something to help. You should ask your sister, too. Caleb told me she really feels bad that she hasn’t been involved and wants to do more.”
“She’ll be at work this afternoon. And after that she’ll probably be off hugging my father.” He could hear the bitterness in his voice and tried to explain it to Briony. “She can do what she wants, but I cannot understand how she could forgive him. She didn’t even ask for an explanation.”
“Were they really close, before he left?” Briony asked.
“Yeah. Closer than I was to him. My grandfather expected him to be more interested in The Gardens, and I agreed. But shouldn’t that make it harder for her to forgive him? Shouldn’t she feel more betrayed when he left, because they were so close?”
“I’m not the best person to ask about what emotions are appropriate,” Briony said, with a wry smile, then her eyes widened. “He’s here. Your father.”
“Here?” He thought he’d be able to choose when—and if—he wanted to deal with the man. He couldn’t believe his father had had the balls to come over here. Although Nate shouldn’t be surprised. His father had had the balls to come home after all these years. He’d walked right into the house, even though no one was home, like he still lived there.
“What are you going to do? Are you going to talk to him?” Briony asked.
“Is he coming over?” Nate didn’t want to turn around and check.
“No, he’s just standing over by the door. But he’s looking over here.”
Nate stood up. “I may as well get this over with.”
“Should I head home?” Briony asked.
“Have breakfast. I’ll come find you when I’m done.”
“Good. I want to know how it goes.”
At least there was that. She’d be waiting for him, once he got this over with. Nate turned and walked over to his father, who started speaking immediately. “I know I said I’d wait to talk to
you. But I can’t let you keep thinking I could be behind the sabotage. This place means something to me, Nate.”
Nate gave a harsh bark of a laugh. “Yeah. You’ve really shown that.”
“It was started by my grandfather, run by my father, and now by my son. I would never do anything to hurt The Gardens,” his father insisted.
“You walked out on this place, same as you did the family,” Nate told him.
He didn’t speak for a long moment. “You’re right,” he admitted.
“I don’t want to talk in here. Let’s go outside.” Nate didn’t wait for him to agree. He headed out the door and out of the community center.
“Do you believe me?” his father asked once they reached the sidewalk.
“No. Maybe you’re telling the truth. Maybe not. But I can’t take your word for anything. It’s worthless.” Nate began to walk, unable to stand still. His father fell into step beside him.
“Fair enough. Fair enough,” his father repeated. “Let me ask you this. Before you knew I was back, who were you thinking was behind the sabotage?”
“I had no idea,” Nate answered. “I couldn’t, I can’t, come up with one other person who’d want to destroy this place. You have a reason that makes sense. Money.”
“How can I convince you that—”
“You can’t,” Nate told him. “I’d have to trust you, and I don’t.” He stopped abruptly and faced his father. “Do you have any idea what you did to Mom? You wrecked her. She’s in her fifties, and she acts like she’s ninety. She has no confidence in herself. You smashed it. It’s like she’s afraid to do anything. She hardly goes out. She doesn’t have friends. She has me, and Nath, and the grandkids.”
“That’s actually a lot,” he answered.
“And Nathalie. She’s a mess. She goes from loser guy to loser guy. It’s like she picks the ones who will disappoint her. The way you did.”
“What about you, Nate? What did I do to you?”
“Nothing. I was too busy taking care of everything to even miss you,” Nate answered. “What I want to know is what you have planned now. If you’re telling the truth, and you didn’t come back hoping to force us into selling The Gardens, what are you here for? Are you thinking you’ll get back together with Mom? What exactly are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you. I don’t have a plan other than that. I hope you’ll let me get to know you again. You and Nathalie. And my grandchildren.”
“You don’t get to call them yours. As far as they’re concerned, they don’t have a grandfather.” His sister’s ex was out of the kids’ lives, and so were his parents.
“So now I have a plan. My plan is to stick around long enough to change that. I’m renting a room in a house not too far from here. I’m looking for a job. I don’t really care what it is. It’s just a way to be here.”
“And Mom? You didn’t say what you want from her.”
He shook his head. “That’s up to her. If she’s willing, I would like to get to know her again, too. None of the choices are mine. I know that.”
“Right now, I have enough to deal with. If I want to see you, I’ll let you know.”
His father nodded slowly. “All right,” he finally said. “Your mother knows how to reach me.” He started to turn away, then hesitated. “The place looks good, Nate. The place looks really good. Your grandfather would be proud.”
Nate stood there and watched him walk away, then he returned to Briony. “What happened?” she asked.
“Can you ramble about something for a while?” he asked. “I’d like to sit here for at least a few minutes and not think about my family or The Gardens.”
“Sure. I can do that.”
* * *
Mac watched Gib as he picked up the present Mac had brought. He didn’t hold it to his nose. Not good. Mac had been able to smell the present from at least a block away, but he doubted Gib would be able to understand what was special about it unless he took a good whiff. Maybe not even then.
“Well, I know you must think this is pretty special,” Gib blah-blahed. “And for that reason, I thank you. What you imagine I’ll do with a pink sock with daisies on it I’ll never know. Even if you’d brought two, they wouldn’t fit and they aren’t my style. But you deserve a sardine for the effort.”
Sardine. That was a word that made Mac pay attention. He trotted to the kitchen ahead of Gib. He wound himself between Gib’s ankles as Gib took out the beautiful red-and-blue can. Then pop! That wonderful sound. Mac gave an impatient mew as Gib pulled the top back much too slowly. Then he placed three of the sardines on a plate and set it in front of Mac. Oh, Holy Bast, they were good, salty and oily and oh, so fishy.
Gib must have loved the present to give Mac this kind of award. But Peggy . . . she was almost as bad as Jamie. Jamie was a little worse. Sometimes she threw his presents away. Peggy had just returned hers.
She’d really liked the sparkly he’d brought her, though. He’d seen it around her neck. Then the other human had taken it away.
Well, Mac knew where that other human was. He’d just go and get the sparkly back. After a few more sardines. He gave a long meow to tell Gib he’d like seconds.
* * *
Nate told himself to stop reading the new reviews of The Gardens while he waited for everyone to arrive for the meeting. It wasn’t productive. He didn’t think this meeting was going to be that productive, either. He appreciated Hope and Max wanting to develop a strategy for combating the negative publicity, but that was only a Band-Aid. What Nate needed was to find the person behind the sabotage.
His father still seemed like the most likely person. It was too much of a coincidence that he’d shown up at the same time as the sabotage, and it sounded like he needed money. He was renting a room, and he didn’t even have a job. But could his dad really have been willing to kill someone to get what he wanted? Nathalie would say no. His mother too. Nate wanted to believe the answer was no, but he didn’t feel certain of anything where his father was concerned.
A knock pulled Nate away from his thoughts. He put on his game face. He wanted everyone to see confidence when they looked at him. When he answered the door, he found Briony, Caleb, and a fiftyish woman in turquoise cowboy boots on the porch.
“This is Ruby. My first LA friend,” Briony announced. “She thinks she can help out. She’s in the movie biz and thinks getting some video of the place and some testimony from the residents who adore you, as most of them do, would be a good idea. People would rather watch than read.”
“I appreciate it. Come on in.” Before Nate could shut the door behind them, Max, Hope, Regina, and Rich turned up the walkway.
“LeeAnne will be here in a minute. She’s bringing leftover pie,” Hope told him as they came inside.
“I hope there’s some of the butterscotch-and-chocolate-pudding pie left,” Max said. Nate noticed he didn’t get hung up on a single word. He must be more comfortable with Hope now that they’d actually spent some time talking. Didn’t surprise him. Hope was a sweetheart.
“If there isn’t, I’ll make you one,” Hope told him. “LeeAnne has been slowly trusting me with her secret recipes, and that’s one I know.”
“That would be awesome.” Max smiled at Hope. Briony caught Nate’s eye and smiled at him. He decided the meeting was worthwhile, even if they only ended up with a Band-Aid. It had gotten Hope and Max, who was also a sweetheart, or whatever the guy version of that should be called, more time together. And it had given him more time with Briony before she left. He didn’t even mind that Caleb was here.
“Sit down, everyone.” The TV lounge and library were back in use, but they hadn’t moved the furniture back into storage yet.
“Is there a secret handshake? It feels like there should be a secret handshake.” This time it was Gib who’d arrived just as Nate was about to close the door. “I’m not sure how much help I’ll be, but I wanted to be here.”
“Thanks.” Nate hadn’t even mentioned the me
eting to Gib, but here he was. Nate was struck by how tight he and Gib had gotten over the years since Gib had moved in. In truth, the man was his closest friend. If his food poisoning had been more serious—Nate didn’t want to think about it.
“Hold the door!” LeeAnne called. She wheeled a cart loaded with pies toward him. Amelia followed, with one of the Ne-spresso machines cradled in her arms.
Amelia gave Nate a wink as she passed by. “In case we need help espressoing our thoughts.” She laughed. She almost always laughed at her own jokes.
“Is that everybody?” Nate asked, hand on the doorknob.
“Your sister is taking off from work early to come,” Caleb answered. “You mom wanted to be here, but she’s going to watch the kids.”
Did that mean his father would be spending time with the kids? Nate didn’t think that was a good idea. Not until he knew for sure who was behind the sabotage.
“We told—” Regina began.
“Peggy and Janet,” Nate finished for her. “I see them coming down the sidewalk.”
“I’m surprised either of them wanted to come since Archie’s not going to be here,” Gib muttered. “He’s not, is he?”
“I think Archie would be on our side,” Regina said, and Rich gave a snort from the seat beside her. “But we don’t want his granddaughter to know what we have planned. We don’t want her to be able to take countermeasures.”
LeeAnne and Amelia began taking coffee orders, and Hope jumped up to help. Max immediately got up, too.
