Belated Kiss

by Abby Tyler

  When he showed up at the pie shop, Maude offered to give him a sample of their pies like he was a stranger to their store.

  But Gertrude recognized him right off.

  “So it finally happened,” she said. “Somebody tamed T-bone.”

  This drew gasps from everyone at the tables. All eyes were on him as he approached the counter. “Luke and Savannah had their baby girl.”

  Maude clasped her hands together, her bright eyes sharp. “What a delightful day! When will they bring her home?”

  “This afternoon. I’m about to head over to pack the room.”

  The door flashed open and Betty, who owned the tea shop, popped in, her gray hair bouncing. “Who was that walking up Town Square? Somebody said it was T-bone!” She cast her gaze about the room.

  T-bone turned to wave. “Just me. Same ol’ T-bone.”

  Betty’s hands flew to her cheeks. “What happened?”

  Gertrude plunked a piece of icebox pie in front of him. “He grew up. Grandbabies can do that.”

  T-bone shrugged and picked up his fork and pie plate.

  Betty straightened the velour jacket of her pantsuit and followed him. “What did she have? Girl or boy?”

  T-bone dropped into one of the dainty chairs. “Baby girl.”

  Betty plopped down next to him, unexpectedly spry for her seventy years. “We need to prep the house. Who’s with Boone? We’ll start a sign-up for dinners.”

  T-bone stuck his fork in the pie, not sure he’d get a chance to eat it. “Boone’s sister’s already on it. The first meals will come from the diner. Give y’all time to organize. I figured you’d want to be involved.”

  “We haven’t had a newborn in Applebottom since Officer Jack brought in baby Ellie,” Maude said to Betty, coming out from behind the counter. She turned to T-bone. “What are they calling her?”

  “Maybelle Lena.”

  “Too lovely. Just too lovely.” Maude dabbed at her eyes with a napkin.

  “Stop the waterworks,” Gertrude snapped. “You’d think somebody died.” She turned her beady glare back on him, her gray hair bobbing as she nodded sagely. “Though I think somebody done killed the old T-bone.”

  T-bone carved out a bite of pie. “Didn’t want to scare the wee thing.”

  “Is she just the sweetest baby ever?” Betty asked.

  Maude leaned in. “You have pictures?”

  T-bone saw his opportunity to eat, passing his phone over for the ladies to coo over Maybelle while he tucked into his pie.

  Babies sure did attract a lot of attention. Maybe Maybelle would keep anyone from noticing him on his upcoming date.

  Ruth

  Ruth normally worked hard not to give preferential treatment to one hospital patient over another. But Theodore’s family was in room 506, and she couldn’t resist the temptation to pop in a bit more than usual to check on them.

  Savannah had managed her latch with baby Maybelle. Luke was perfecting his blanket burrito wrap. They were an adorable couple, and Ruth was pleased as punch at how wonderfully the two of them worked together.

  There had been talk of Savannah’s Aunt Flo bringing Boone to see the baby yesterday, but apparently he hadn’t had a good day. So they didn’t risk it. A few more tears flowed, and Ruth couldn’t help but do some extra pillow fluffing and room arranging, telling the young woman that her father would get to see the baby soon.

  Ruth went so far as to grab a bite to eat with a nurse she knew from the memory care wing, where the Alzheimer’s and dementia patients were diagnosed and treated when their health was too fragile for home or rehab. Ruth asked how dementia patients acted around babies.

  “Babies and dementia are a good mix,” Angie assured her. “You have to be vigilant, of course. But many studies have shown how patients perk up in the presence of babies and children. It touches the parts of us that dementia can’t take away.”

  Theodore arrived later that afternoon to help the kids pack their room. Ruth took pictures with his phone, and more than once she caught Savannah watching like she might be catching on. Theodore hadn’t wanted to take away from the excitement of the baby with news about their date, or plans for a second. So they were careful not to lock eyes too long or stand too close.

  When Ruth got to the end of the day, she was rewarded with a call from Theodore, where they talked about Boone, and Ruth relayed the conversation with Angie.

  “He did all right.” The rich timbre of Theodore’s voice settled Ruth right down. “When Savannah laid that sweet girl in his lap in his big chair, his eyes got bright. He said she was the vision of Savannah on the day she was born. It’s not usual he even knows who we are.”

  “I bet there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”

  “Not a one.”

  “Did they get all the help they needed?”

  “Flo’s been watching over Boone, and a couple of high school kids are feeding the animals. A professor from the vet school is sending students to help with the appointments Luke’s missed and overseeing anything complicated. It seems handled.”

  “I’m sure small towns can be a blessing when a lot of hands are needed.”

  “Ours is.”

  They sat in silence for a moment, but there was no anxiety in it. Ruth heard voices and a car door through the phone. “You sitting outside?” she asked.

  “On the front deck in front of the store. It’s closed up and the camp is mostly quiet. Only a couple of the hookups are taken right now.”

  “I can’t wait to see it.”

  “Still Friday?” he asked.

  “Still Friday. I’ll be able to find the dock easily?”

  “It’s one of the few places here that Google gets right.”

  She laughed. “All right then. Let me know if Luke and Savanah need a nurse’s opinion on anything with the baby.”

  “I rightly will.”

  Ruth set her phone on the bed. She liked ending her day with Theodore’s voice. This was going better than she’d expected.

  She was about to place the phone on the charger when it buzzed again.

  Christina’s image popped on the screen. Ruth answered the call greedily. “Hey, baby girl. How’s California?”

  “Beautiful as usual. Is it cold there yet?”

  “We’re having a warm fall so far. You been to the beach lately?”

  “I swear we thought we’d be there every weekend but we only went once last summer!”

  Ruth laughed. “You might have gone more often when you lived in the Heartland!”

  “I spent more days there, that’s for sure.”

  Ruth settled back against her headboard, delighted to have a lengthy chat. “Tell me about your newest glass work.”

  Christina told her all about it, a vase, a bowl, and a more ambitious project, a swan. “I’m hoping to get more time. Another slot is opening soon. Carly is moving.”

  “They’ll let you take it rather than give it to someone on the waiting list?” Christina always struggled to find time at the industrial-sized furnaces to work.

  “I get to put in a request. It’s based on the work you’re producing and your impact on the market.”

  “My fingers are crossed for you!”

  “Me, too! What about you, Mom? Anything new?”

  Ruth hesitated. She rarely had anything exciting to share. But she decided to let the idea sink in. “I went on a date.”

  Christina’s pause made Ruth’s heart hammer. “Still there, Christina?”

  Her voice had an unmistakable dark tone when she asked, “With who?”

  “A man I met at the hospital. His son had a baby.”

  “So he’s a grandpa?”

  “Well, that’s the age. I’m coming up on fifty-five myself.”

  “I know, Mom!”

  Ruth drew in a slow breath. This was a bigger reaction than she’d expected, given Christina had teased her about not dating on multiple occasions.

  “I’m sorry if it’s a shock. It’s nothing y
et. Just a stroll down the boardwalk a few nights ago.”

  “And you’re just now telling me?”

  “I’ve been on twelve-hour shifts.”

  “But you had time for a date.”

  Ruth realized she was gripping the bedspread and released it. “I’m seeing him again on Friday. He’s the mayor of a small town.”

  “You’re dating a politician?” The last word had a shrill quality.

  “It’s just a small town. No big campaigns or anything.”

  Christina’s breathing became audible, a wind sound across the receiver.

  “Darling, it’s all right. I’m allowed to have a good time.”

  After another long pause, she said, “What’s his name?”

  “Theodore.”

  Ruth could hear her clicking on the other end. “Theodore what?”

  “Davis. Theodore Davis.”

  More clicking.

  “Are you Googling him?”

  “I don’t want some axe murderer dating my mother!”

  “I doubt a town would elect an axe murderer as their mayor.”

  The clicks resumed, Christina still breathing rapidly into the phone. “There’s nothing. Haven’t you looked him up?”

  Ruth had, and she knew there was nothing unless you knew the name of the town.

  Christina apparently had no intention of letting it go. “Why does a mayor have zero hits on the internet?”

  “Apparently they call him T-bone.” Ruth hadn’t brought that up with Theodore, although she did find it interesting.

  More clicking. “He’s the mayor of Applebottom? That little town across the lake?”

  “Christina, it’s all right. I’m going to see the town on Friday with him. I can give you more answers after that, if you’re so concerned.”

  “There’s nothing about him anywhere other than on the town’s web site. Not even a picture.”

  Ruth had noticed that, too. “He’s quite dapper. Short gray beard. Gray hair. Bright eyes.”

  “An axe in his shed?”

  Ruth sighed. “How about I see if I can drum up a shot with him for you on Friday. Is that better?”

  “All right.”

  “Is this about your father? It’s been almost ten years.”

  Silence.

  Ruth tried again. “Dating someone new changes nothing about how I felt about him.”

  “I know.”

  “I thought you wanted me to put myself out there. Wasn’t it you who loaded Tinder on my phone as a joke?”

  “I did. Wait. You didn’t find him on Tinder and are making up the story about the hospital, are you?”

  “No. I deleted the app. Though it was funny to look.”

  “You looked!”

  “You put it on my phone.” Ruth ran a hand over the bedspread, smoothing out the wrinkles.

  “All right, Mom. Call me Friday. By midnight! If you don’t answer my call by then, I’m contacting the police!”

  Ruth held back the chuckle that rose up, hearing the words she used to say to her daughter when she was dating. “Understood.”

  “And send me a picture.”

  “I will.”

  “Goodnight, Mom.”

  “Goodnight, my darling.”

  Ruth placed her phone on the charger, a frown pulling on her lips. She hadn’t expected that to be quite so difficult.

  T-bone

  By Friday, Luke, Savannah, and the baby were all settled in their house. A regular parade of citizens came through to help with the cooking and cleaning and taking care of the animals in the adjoining shelter.

  T-bone noticed the clock as he dropped a bag of dog feed inside the back room of the house where the kennels were kept.

  Luke grinned at him. “What’s got you eyeing the time?”

  T-bone figured he better fess up. Before he and Ruth had walked two blocks in town, every gossip line in Applebottom would be lit up like an old-fashioned telephone switchboard.

  “I’ve got a lady friend coming to take a look-see at the town.”

  Luke carefully placed a Rottweiler puppy in his kennel and closed the door. “A lady friend?”

  “We went on a date recently and decided to do it again.” He decided not to mention it was the same day Maybelle was born.

  Luke leaned against the wall of kennels. “So you’re dating?”

  “If two dates make it dating.”

  “Who is she?”

  T-bone hesitated. He wasn’t sure what Luke would make of his father dating the hospital nurse. “Her name’s Ruth. She’s about my age, maybe a year or two younger.”

  Luke crossed his arms over his T-shirt. “Ruth? Wasn’t that the name of our nurse —” He grinned. “You sly dog.”

  T-bone busied himself arranging the bags of feed. “She walked me down to the cafeteria. We hit it off all right, I guess.”

  Luke came up behind him and clapped him on the back. “She was right kind to us in the hospital. I hope it all works out for you.”

  T-bone’s shoulders relaxed. “We’ll see how it goes. I’m kind of an old codger and not used to ladies.”

  Luke told Savannah at lunch time. T-bone took a turn holding baby Maybelle while Savannah inhaled a warmed-up serving of tuna casserole.

  “Really?” Savannah said. “Nurse Ruth? And she’s coming to Applebottom?”

  T-bone figured he’d be repeating this news over and over again once word got out. “She wants to see the RV Park.”

  Luke plopped a heap of tuna noodles on his plate. “You need any help cleaning up? Is it ready for a lady?”

  “It’s good enough for paying customers,” T-bone said with a grunt.

  Luke laughed. “Don’t get me wrong, Pops. The park itself is fine. Your house, though, can be a little rough around the edges.”

  “I picked up. I don’t expect us to be in there.”

  Luke and Savannah shared a glance. “You don’t, huh?” Luke said.

  That was enough of that. Maybelle shifted on T-bone’s shoulder and he stood up. The baby liked it best if you kept on a walkabout, and it was a good excuse to escape the speculation. “I’ll take her where it’s quiet,” he said.

  In the living room, Boone sat in his armchair, focused on his television program. His eyes shifted to T-bone, pausing on the baby, then moved back to the screen.

  T-bone thought the infant hadn’t registered in his thoughts, but then the man patted his thigh.

  Savannah had a particular way she placed the babe with her father, but T-bone had seen it enough. He picked up a donut-shaped pillow and set it on Boone’s lap. Then he covered that with a blanket.

  Boone’s eyes stayed on the television until the moment T-bone laid the baby in the donut. Then he stroked her little forehead beneath the hat.

  “Savannah,” he said. “You’re a good girl.”

  T-bone sniffed. “Aye, she is,” he said.

  The two men watched over the infant until she woke and broke into a startled cry. Savannah had eaten by then and came to fetch her. “Don’t you two look a picture,” she said. “Two doting grandpas.”

  T-bone always wondered how Boone could make the shift from thinking the baby was Savannah when the grown version showed up as well. But Boone just patted the baby as Savannah lifted her away. Then he focused on his TV show once more.

  Someone inside a person always knew family, T-bone guessed. Didn’t matter who. Maybe in Boone’s mind, two Savannahs made perfect sense.

  Ruth met him late afternoon at Applebottom Park, and T-bone took her for a stroll along the water’s edge and down the dock.

  “I could stand on the Branson shore and wave,” Ruth said. “You think you’d see the speck of me on the other side?”

  “I reckon I’d know you were there.”

  She slipped her hand in his, and the way his heart pattered made him feel like a boy of seventeen.

  They sat on the end of the dock, watching the water sparkle over the lake. The wind picked up, and Ruth snuggled close. He li
ked that. She had no hesitation at them touching.

  They looked at each other, their faces very close. He could lean in and kiss her easily. Should he?

  A clatter on the boards made them turn. Roscoe, a giant brute of a Great Dane, pounded down the dock toward them, his owner Ginny at the other end of the leash.

  “Incoming!” she called out. “He always knows when there’s somebody new to sniff!”

  T-bone wasn’t sure how Ruth might react to such a large dog, especially one that towered over them as they sat on the dock. One good push, and either one of them could end up in the lake.

  Ruth turned just as the Great Dane nudged her. “Oh!” Ruth said, tilting toward the water.

  T-bone caught her by the shoulders. “No taking a swim today,” he said.

  Ruth scooted back on the planks. Rosco licked her chin, sending her into a burst of laughter. She turned to kneel in front of him, well away from the dock’s edge.

  “What a good doggie!” she said, rubbing both hands on Roscoe’s broad neck. “Such a big boy!”

  Ginny arrived, breathless. “I shouldn’t have let his leash unroll,” she said. “I didn’t see you there until it was too late.”

  “We’re all right,” Ruth said. “What’s his name?”

  “Roscoe,” Ginny said. “I got him as a rescue. Every time I think we’ve got him trained, something new comes up we have to teach him to manage.”

  “A new person is always going to get them excited.” Ruth pressed her forehead to Roscoe’s. “Isn’t that right, you big lug?”

  “I’m Ginny,” Ginny said, and T-bone realized he should have introduced them. He was no good at situations like this.

  “I’m Ruth. I live across the lake in Branson.”

  “How lovely,” Ginny said. “I guess you’re a friend of T-bone?”

  Shoot. T-bone never told Ruth that he wasn’t widely known as Theodore. But she didn’t seem surprised. Maybe Luke and Savannah had given her the heads-up in the hospital.

  “I am,” Ruth said. “We met just this week.”

  “Well, I won’t intrude,” Ginny said. “I need to get this naughty boy back home anyway.” She pulled on the leash. “Roscoe, heel!”