Grace pulled two sandwiches, cheese, grapes, and a pie from the basket and set out a lunch she had planned all week. When she and Joel finished eating, they broke out a buck-fifty bottle of table wine and enjoyed a cloudless summer afternoon and spectacular alpine scenery. Mount Rainier had never looked better.
"Are you having a good time?" Grace asked.
"Do you really need to ask? I'd have a good time watching you eat crackers."
She laughed.
"I'm glad we came here. I needed this."
Joel grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes.
"No, Grace, I needed this. I wasn't sure where I stood after our walk on Sunday. I've never been in this situation. This is new ground for me."
Grace met his gaze. She liked hearing those words. She liked it a lot. Humility was good. But she would need to see a lot more before jumping aboard the Buckaroo Express.
"You don't have feelings for Linda? Or anyone else?"
"I like Linda. I had two nice dates with Linda. I've had girlfriends too – several, in fact – but none like you. You make me bat-shit crazy."
Grace smiled.
"There are shots for that, you know."
He laughed.
Joel revealed more over the next hour. He said he had been smitten since his night on the bench and had continually sought opportunities to see her. He shared his positive thoughts about their mutual friends, living in Seattle, and working at Carter's Furniture and Appliance. He did not share anything significant about his first twenty-one years, eleven months, and three weeks – an omission that did not go unnoticed.
Grace knew she would probably not get all the answers in one afternoon, but she had expected more – much more. As the day wore on, she became increasingly concerned that the answers might not come at all. She did not have the luxury of time. With Paul returning to Seattle in three weeks, the clock was running.
She was about to ask Joel about his family when three couples in sunglasses walked past the picnic site on the narrow trail. All appeared to be of college age. Grace felt a chill, not unlike the one that swept through her at the Phoenician when Paula Caldecott came a calling, but it quickly passed. They were 110 miles from campus, not 110 feet. If there was one place in Washington where she could escape nosy neighbors and malicious whispers, it was this meadow.
When the hikers rounded a corner and dropped out of sight, Grace closed her eyes and said a silent prayer. She loaded several items in the basket, brushed a few crumbs off of her skirt, and raised another subject that was on her mind.
"I understand that congratulations are in order."
"What do you mean?"
"Ginny said you won a thousand dollars on Joe DiMaggio."
Joel laughed.
"Oh, that."
"Yes, that. Fifty-six is a rather unusual number on which to bet twenty dollars. Do you want to tell me how you knew his hitting streak would end there?"
"I didn't bribe any players, if that's what you mean."
Grace smiled sadly. She appreciated the deft way he handled the question but not his content-free reply. She suspected that there was a lot more behind his remarkable wagering success of the past five weeks and wanted candor. Secrets were not good. She picked up a bouquet of daisies and asters that Joel had illegally harvested near the lodge. She brought the flowers to her nose, inhaled, and stared wistfully at an affectionate couple sitting on a large log in the distance.
"I know you didn't. But that's not what troubles me. There is so much about you that I don't understand. There is so much about you I don't know."
"Do you need to know everything?"
She winced as she took in the words. It was clear now that the answers she needed would not come in a neatly wrapped package or come anytime soon. Joel Smith would not be a work in progress but rather a leap of faith.
Grace lifted her left hand a few inches off the blanket and rubbed the bottom of a shimmering gold band with her thumb. She studied the ring for nearly a minute, hoping to find wisdom in its shine. She remembered the night Paul had proposed, a night the world seemed blissfully free of complication. She dropped her hand and faced the enigmatic man at her side. It was decision time.
"Somewhere in Cambridge, Massachusetts, there is a man who means a lot to me. He is someone I have dated for several months, someone I love and respect, someone I have pledged to marry. He is a good man – a kind, honest, honorable man. He is training to defend our country, saving money for a house, and planning a future with me."
Grace took a breath.
"What am I doing here?"
* * * * *
The question hit Joel like a well-placed snowball from out of the blue, and it stung because the answer, for the past few hours, anyway, had seemed clear. Grace had cast her lot with him. But now he wasn't sure. Was this a date or an audition?
He replayed the day in his mind and realized he should have seen it coming. She had asked the question a dozen different times a dozen different ways. She had sought answers and clarity and hadn't gotten either. He had only himself to blame for that.
Joel understood her predicament. He had understood it from the start. Grace had a lot to lose. She had a ring on her finger and the promise of hearth and home. What sane woman traded love and security for a stranger who would not even come clean about his past?
Still, he found the question unsettling. They had made great strides in July, thanks in large part to Grace's own initiatives. The movies had been her idea. So had many of the walks and most certainly this trip. The kiss and the theatrics after the date with Linda needed no explanation. Yet here she was questioning her own handiwork.
Joel looked at Grace and saw a woman on the other side of a divide, a woman waiting for a signal. Despite all the attention and affection she had shown him, she had not yet decided to cross. Recognizing the danger that even a little doubt posed to their suddenly tenuous relationship, he moved swiftly to put it out.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "You're doing what you came to do."
Joel removed the cowboy hat from his head, placed it gently on hers, and gave her a long, soft kiss and the affirmation she needed.
"You're burning bridges."
CHAPTER 45
The spider patiently awaited her prey.
Curled in one corner of the sofa, Linda McEwan tightened the belt on her robe, placed a ceramic mug on an end table, and picked up a recent copy of the Saturday Evening Post. She had risen at seven – much earlier than usual – and made a pot of coffee before staking a position in the living room.
By half past eight two others had emerged from their rooms and found their way to the kitchen and a long counter that divided the house's eating and living spaces. Ginny Gillette had gone straight for the coffee and an open newspaper and Katherine Kobayashi straight for a frying pan, eggs, and a loaf of bread. When the small clock on the mantle chimed nine times, Katie walked into the living room with a cup of coffee and sat on the unoccupied end of the couch.
"You're up early," Katie said. "Did you have trouble sleeping last night?"
"I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night," Linda said. She sipped her coffee. "But I'm better now. There's nothing this stuff won't cure."
Katie smiled and grabbed an issue of LIFE magazine that featured Rita Hayworth on the cover. Another sleepy Sunday morning on Klickitat Avenue was under way.
Ten minutes later the last inhabitant of the rental house walked up the stairs, went into the kitchen, and poured a glass of juice. Wearing a yellow dress and a white straw hat, she spoke briefly to the journalist in residence and then headed toward the door.
The spider intervened.
* * * * *
"You seem to be in a hurry, Grace. Don't you want any breakfast?"
"No. I'm not very hungry."
"Oh," Linda said. She swung her legs over the front of the couch and put her magazine on the end table. "Did you have a nice day yesterday?"
"Yes, I did."
; "That's good. I did too. I had a particularly nice evening – or at least an interesting evening. Do you know what I did last night?"
"No," Grace said.
"I went to the Mad Dog."
"That's nice. I hope you had a good time."
"I did, for a while. Then I bumped into someone. Do you know who I saw at the Mad Dog?"
Grace knew immediately that the conversation would not end well. She desperately wanted to complete her walk across the entry and race out the door, but she knew she could not. Linda had set up a morality play and would not be denied her morning entertainment.
"No, I don't. Who did you see?"
"Why, I saw Betty. You know Betty – Betty DeConcini, our sorority sister, the one who helped you celebrate your birthday and your engagement to my brother?"
"Yes, Linda, I know Betty."
"Well, it seems Betty also had a nice day yesterday. She and Tony went hiking with four others at Mount Rainier." Linda got off the sofa and walked to the middle of the living room. "And do you know who Betty saw picnicking in a field at Paradise?"
"I'm sure you'll tell me."
"She saw none other than Grace Vandenberg. Only Grace wasn't alone. She was having a nice time with a tall, dark-haired man in a cowboy hat."
When Linda's voice took an edge, Ginny walked from the kitchen to the entry. She stopped a few feet behind Grace and leaned on a wall. Katie had long since put Rita Hayworth on a table. Like Ginny, she wore a look of concern.
"Let's see," Linda continued. "He was a tall, dark-haired cowboy. That doesn't sound like Paul, does it?"
"No, it doesn't," Grace said.
"You're damn right it doesn't."
Linda narrowed her eyes and folded her arms.
"How could you, Grace? How dare you! You're my friend. We're supposed to be sisters. Does that mean anything to you?"
Grace glanced at her interrogator but couldn't maintain eye contact. She had no answers to Linda's questions. The morning from hell was just part of the price she would pay for falling in love with two men.
"I'm sorry, Linda. Things just happened."
"Things just happened? Things just happened?" Linda exploded. "Day trips to Mount Rainier don't just happen, Grace. Cuddles at the theater don't just happen. Long walks on Tuesdays don't just happen. You've been planning this all along, even after Joel and I went to the dance and then to the movie."
Linda stepped closer to Grace and pointed at the accused. Her face was the picture of rage.
"And that's just me. What about my brother? Have you given him a thought since he left? He's serving our country and trying to better himself and here you are whoring around the state behind his back."
"That's enough, Linda," Ginny said.
"I'm not done! You're engaged, Grace. Engaged! Do you know what that means? It means you don't go running off to the woods to play with someone else. It means you stay faithful to the one you're supposed to marry. Did you get a room too? I hope so. I'd hate to think you'd wreck a lot of lives for a kiss."
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone," Grace said as tears cascaded down her face.
"I'm sure you didn't," Linda said. She lowered her voice to a loud whisper. "But you did hurt people. You did. And nothing you say or do now can change that."
Locked in a daze, Grace stared at the door as she considered whether to stay or go. It took all of her strength just to remain on her feet.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Linda asked. "Go to church. Say a prayer for my brother and maybe yourself. God may forgive you, but I never will."
Grace turned to face Ginny, then Katie, and finally Linda. The first two offered empathetic smiles, the latter a look of disgust. Seeing no option but to step forward, Grace walked out the door to the world beyond. She didn't return for a week.
CHAPTER 46
Grace fed a multitude with two loaves of bread. But she did not feel much like Jesus, and the gratitude and devotion of her followers, a dozen noisy mallards on the south shore of Green Lake, was fleeting. They scattered with the last crumb.
Turning away from the web-footed vultures, she took off her sweater and settled into a surprisingly comfortable wooden bench. She gazed at a designated swimming area fifty yards away, where two women tried to teach twenty kids the crawl stroke. Mesmerized by the sights and sounds of splashing, squealing children, she did not hear Seattle's most intrepid young reporter approach from behind.
"Katie said I could find you here," Ginny said. "Do you mind if I sit?"
"No. Please do."
Grace acknowledged her visitor with a glance but quickly turned away. She wasn't yet sure she wanted to look anyone in the eyes, even her oldest and dearest friend, following her total humiliation six days earlier. After walking out of Linda McEwan's kangaroo court, Grace had driven her uncle's Ford to a nearby Lutheran church and then to a Queen Anne-style mansion in Madison Park. When Edith Tomlinson saw her niece's red eyes, she made up a bed and fixed lunch but asked no questions. Virginia Gillette had no such reservations.
"Have you seen Joel this week?"
"We went for a walk on Tuesday, and he stopped by the library yesterday to bring me a sandwich, but that's it. He said he'd call today about a movie tonight, but he's not pushing. He's giving me room to sort things out."
"Is there still anything to sort out?"
"No. Not really. That's the one thing I'm sure of."
Ginny put an arm around Grace. In the distance quacking ducks competed with splashing swimmers, piercing the perfection of an otherwise tranquil Saturday morning.
"Ginny?"
"Yes."
"Do you think I'm an evil person?"
"Heavens, no," Ginny said, laughing and hugging Grace tightly. "You're a woman in love, though sometimes the two are one and the same."
"Do you think I'm wrong?"
"Now, that's a different question. I don't have a clear answer for you. We all have to decide what's best for us, particularly on matters as important as marriage. I like Paul, and I think he would make you very happy. But I know why you love Joel. He's like an ice cream sundae you get for lunch every day. What you have to decide is whether you want a sundae seven days a week or something a little healthier."
"Your advice is not very helpful," Grace said with a flicker of a smile. "You know how much I like ice cream."
"Oh, Grace, you are so precious! I've missed you. Katie has too."
"But not Linda."
"No, not Linda. She left on Thursday and moved into an apartment with one of her education friends. She said she'll remain active in the sorority, but I don't think we'll hear much more from her."
"What about our bills?"
"I'll pick up her share, for the rest of the year, if necessary. It's worth it to me to have you and Katie around. I could not ask for better friends and housemates."
"Thanks."
"Trust me, Grace, the money's no object."
"I mean thanks for coming out here. I know this is a busy time for you and that you have better things to do than manage my disaster of a social life."
"That's what best friends are for."
Grace squeezed Ginny's hand and gazed again at the lake. Several outdoorsmen in rowboats and sailboats plied the waters nearby, including a flirty lad in a dinghy who had waved several times at the occupants of the bench.
"Is something wrong?" Ginny asked.
"No. I'm just thinking. I still have unfinished business. Paul knows nothing about any of this. It's not fair to keep him in the dark. I need to write him before he gets his leave in a couple of weeks. He'll be here August 16."
Ginny smiled sadly and gave Grace a gentle hug. She took a breath and turned to face her friend.
"I don't think a full rundown of the particulars will be necessary."
"Why is that?" Grace asked.
"I'm afraid Linda has beat you to it."
CHAPTER 47
The café overlooked the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, a component of a canal that linked th
e saltwater of Puget Sound with the freshwater of Lake Washington. Grace picked the restaurant because she knew Paul McEwan liked its sandwiches. She picked a restaurant because she wanted to meet him on neutral ground.
Arriving a few minutes late in a light blue cotton dress, she walked through the café proper to French doors that led to a large, sunny patio in back. She moved quickly toward a uniformed naval officer seated at a far table. Except for an older couple enjoying coffee and a newspaper three tables down, they had the place to themselves. He stood up when she approached and gave her a warm hug and a kiss.
"You look stunning, Grace. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, Paul."
Grace tried to look happy, forcing a smile. She thought a happy face was the least she should give her fiancé after eight long weeks apart. But a few minutes into lunch, she realized that maintaining that face would be a challenge.
"I got your letters," Paul said, pulling two envelopes out of a jacket pocket. "I also got one from Linda. Do you want to tell me what's going on?"
"I've fallen in love with another man."
"So it appears."
"Do you want to tell me what some guy who jumped off a train two months ago has over me and everything I have offered you – and am still offering you?"
"I don't know, Paul. He's just different. He's interesting. I can't explain it. But this has nothing to do with you."
"The hell it doesn't!" Paul whispered loudly. "When I left Seattle, I thought we had an understanding, a commitment, a future. You took my ring. You said you loved me. Now, you're telling me it's over because some slick-talking salesman 'interests' you? What do you really know about this guy, Grace?"
"I know he thinks enough of me to let me work this through. He hasn't as much as called in three days. He knew you were coming and has given me time to think. I also know he is a gentleman and is very intelligent and has a wonderful sense of humor, just like someone else I know."
Paul scowled, shook his head, and looked away, toward the locks, where vessels of all shapes, sizes, and purposes came and went with each rise and drop of the water level. When the waitress brought his toasted tenderloin steak sandwich, he pushed it aside and tapped his fingers on the top of the small round table.
The Mine (Northwest Passage Book 1) Page 17
