The Most Wonderful Time

by Fern Michaels

  Her normal reaction would be to snap at Keira, but it was time to get real. “Actually, she did. When Matthew finishes, I’ll explain.”

  They waited while Matthew finished ordering the pizza. He sat in his normal chair and placed his elbows on the table. Before she had the chance to ask him to remove them, he did. Well, she thought, he had been listening to her all these years. She smiled.

  Clearing her throat, Brandy felt more relaxed than she had in a very long time. And she knew it wasn’t the single glass of wine. “I know I haven’t been the most attentive mom since we lost your dad, but as of now, I promise I am going to do my best to change that. I know it’s hard to comprehend”—she paused to see if either would speak; when they remained silent, she continued—“why I’ve been so neglectful. I really don’t understand it myself, so I don’t expect you to, either. Your father and I were young when we married. Most of my adult life was revolved around him. Then you guys came along, and I loved, love being your mom more than anything in the world, but somehow I lost track of that. I know this doesn’t excuse my behavior, but I am going to try my best to make it up to both of you. If you’ll give me the chance.” She wanted to cross her fingers, but didn’t.

  “So Linda told you about Matthew’s issue?” Keira said.

  He perked up. “What are you talking about, Keira? What did you tell Mom?” Matthew seemed flustered.

  “Matthew, it’s okay. I know what your ‘issue’ is, and there’s no need to get upset.” She made a point to look at his clothes. He wore a pair of faded Levi’s that she knew she hadn’t purchased, nor had they belonged to Jeff. And as usual, he was shirtless and shoeless.

  He seemed embarrassed by her scrutiny. “Saturday morning, let’s go to the mall. I think it’s time we all did a bit of wardrobe updating. What about it, Matthew? Keira?”

  “That’d be great, Mom,” Matthew said.

  Brandy thought she heard relief in his words.

  “Keira? We can go to Hot Topic if you want.” Brandy wasn’t so out of touch that she didn’t know where her daughter’s clothing of choice was sold. She remembered seeing that store in the mall on one of her shopping trips when Keira was in middle school. They’d both commented on the strange clothes.

  “I’ll go shopping, but I don’t want to shop there,” she said. “Why would you assume I’d want to anyhow?”

  Brandy knew her daughter wanted to start an argument, but she wasn’t going to take the bait. Yes, she’d been neglectful. And yes, she probably deserved Keira’s scorn, but she was her mother.

  “Okay. Where would you like to shop? Anyplace in mind?” she asked her.

  “I’ll think about it. I just want some food right now. And speaking of food, you need to get to the grocery store. Since you started that stupid job, we’ve been out of milk and bread. There’s hardly any food in this place.”

  Brandy wasn’t going to let Keira continue. “Okay. Make a list of what you want. You too, Matthew. Then when we finish shopping at the mall, you two can go to the grocery store. I’ll just give you my debit card. I have a few things I need to do around here.” She waved behind her. “This place is in need of a major cleaning.”

  Keira’s black-rimmed eyes almost doubled in size. “You want me to take Matthew to the grocery store? Tell me I just imagined what you said. ’Cause there is no way I am going to do your job! You get our attention for five measly minutes, then the next words that come out of your mouth, you want us to do your dirty work. Well, Mom, thanks, but I have other plans! You can go to the store. Take Matthew. See if you even remember what he likes to eat. We’re both sick of frozen dinners and premade salads.” She stood up and stormed out of the room, calling behind her, “Come and get me when the pizza arrives.”

  “Keira, get your rear end back in here, now! And I am not playing games,” Brandy said. She raised her voice but only so that she could be heard.

  Feet stomping in the hall, then stopping, let her know Keira was returning to the dining room. Brandy was not going to utter a word until her daughter sat down.

  “I’m here, what did you want to say? You want me to clean the house, too? Do all the laundry that’s been piled up for weeks? What?”

  It was time to stop playing games. “Sit down, Keira. Now. I will take your car away. And don’t you dare smart-mouth me!” She must’ve hit a nerve.

  Reluctantly Keira sat in her father’s chair. “What?”

  Brandy knew this was a turning point in their lives, and it would affect all of their futures. “Matthew, I want you to listen to this, too.” Might as well go for the gusto and lay it all out on the table.

  “From this day forward, I have to work. Your father’s life insurance is almost gone. I’d like to save what’s left so we have a nest egg for the future. When I pass my ninety-day probationary period, I’ll be earning more and will start adding a little each month to our savings.” She took a deep breath. Both Keira and Matthew stared at her. “Your dad and I didn’t plan for the future. We were young, and death was the last thing on our minds. We’d just started talking about saving for college for both of you. I know we should’ve planned our finances better, but we didn’t. The house is paid for, that’s in our favor, but there are still taxes, utilities, and all kinds of expenses you two are unaware of. If your father were here, I doubt we’d be having this talk, but he isn’t, so you both need to know that our family situation isn’t that great. At least financially.

  “Keira, I’ve allowed you to come and go as you please, and I can’t stop you as you’re eighteen now. A legal adult in the eyes of the law. This is your last year of high school. I would love to see you attend college, but I won’t be able to pay for it. I’m thinking that instead of your hanging out with your friends after school, you might want to start thinking about a part-time job. A little cash to replace what I am not going to give to you but will place in a bank account for your future. It won’t be much, but I’ve been giving you at least a hundred dollars a week. I will pay for one tank of gas per week, enough to get you to and from school, plus I’ll continue to pay for your lunches as I’ve been doing.

  “This doesn’t mean I don’t want to do all those things for either of you, but it does mean it’s time for you to pitch in.” Brandy hadn’t said this many words at one sitting in ages. It felt good to get it out, to form a life plan of sorts, even if she was ad-libbing. This had been Jeff’s department. Now it was hers, and it wasn’t going to be footloose and fancy-free. Both kids needed to learn to be responsible. She and Jeff had pampered them too much, and while their intentions were good, she realized that the kids were spoiled. She was, too. She’d never wanted to work outside the home. All she had ever wanted to be was a wife and mother. She hadn’t picked her new and different life, but she had to learn to live with it, and they would, too.

  “Matthew isn’t old enough to work. You have to be sixteen to get a job in Florida,” Keira said, her tone hateful.

  “It’s okay, Keira,” Matthew interjected. “I can find something.”

  “Matthew, Keira’s right. You aren’t legally old enough to get a job, but you’re old enough to kick in around here. I’ve decided to stop the lawn service. We have a perfectly good mower in the garage. From now on, that will be your job.”

  He nodded and seemed okay with his new chore. “Might have to get the blades sharpened. Dad used to have them sharpened a couple times a year. And the weed whacker’s broken.”

  “We can take care of that. How did you know the weed whacker was broken?” Brandy asked.

  “Dad told me.”

  “Oh.”

  “Couldn’t you have waited to spring this on us until after Christmas? Or is this just another way for you to make the holidays miserable again?” Keira demanded.

  Brandy took a deep breath in order to keep her temper in check. Now wasn’t the time. “I’m sorry, Keira. You’re right. I should’ve waited. I just want our life to be normal again.” Tears pooled in her eyes. She didn’t try to hide th
em or make excuses for them.

  Right now, all she wanted to do was to crawl into bed and sleep. When she awakened, maybe she’d realize she’d only been dreaming.

  Chapter Nine

  The real estate agent sent the code to unlock the “hot tub house” in a text message. Lily was so excited, she could barely contain herself on the ride over. “This house doesn’t even need a key?”

  Ryan laughed. “There’s a special lock real estate agents have. I’ll show you.” He pulled into the circular driveway and shut the engine off.

  “Is this it?” Lily asked.

  “Yep, this is it. What do you think?” he asked as he unhooked Lily’s seat belt.

  “It’s so pretty, Daddy! It’s got a zillion flowers!”

  It was a beautiful home. More than they needed, but he was thinking ahead. Lily really would want to have pool parties in a few years, but that wasn’t the only reason he’d looked at homes much larger than their house. What if he met someone and had more kids? What if he met a woman with children? At his age, it was highly unlikely he was going to meet a woman without kids, so he thought long and hard when he’d narrowed his search down to three houses. Four bedrooms, three baths, a pool, and of course this place had the hot tub, plus so much more. The lawn was a dream. Though it might not have a “zillion” flowers, the landscaping was colorful, and the hibiscus were in every shade of the rainbow. There wasn’t a weed to be found in the plush green grass. Ryan liked tinkering around with plants and cutting grass. It would be a challenge to maintain this lawn, but he was up for it. The big bonus—direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. He’d wanted a boat forever, and maybe now he would buy one. He was in sound financial shape for a man his age. Good investments with the money from Anna’s life insurance policy ensured Lily’s education was paid for, and he would be able to live life as comfortably as Anna’s parents. They had insisted they buy life insurance shortly after they married. They’d been a bit creeped out at the time, but Phillip, a former investment banker, had explained to them in great detail why it was worthwhile. Now he was glad he had taken his father-in-law’s advice.

  He helped Lily out of the old car and thought maybe it was time to think about a new car, too. Taking his daughter by the hand, he led her to the main entrance. “This,” he said as he punched the code into a boxlike lock on the door, “is a special kind of lock. When real estate people can’t come to the houses they’re selling, they give clients the code, and the potential buyers can get in. But when a person or a family buys the house, this comes off and the new owners receive a set of keys.”

  He pushed the heavy doors aside and let Lily enter first. She pinched her nose. “It kinda smells funny, Dad. Like the laundry room at home.”

  “It’s the chlorine in the swimming pool,” he explained to his daughter. “You think it’s too bad to finish the tour?”

  Lily let go of his hand and ran to the sliding glass doors that led to the pool. “Let’s get this house, Daddy! Please, please, please?” Once they were outside, she raced around the pool, and before she fell in, Ryan grabbed her arm.

  “Careful, Lily. This pool isn’t like the plastic kiddie pool in our backyard. You have to learn how to swim.”

  “Oh, but will you show me how?”

  “We will make sure you have swimming lessons,” he replied, now wondering if a house with a pool was a good idea. Lily could’ve fallen in. He was getting negative, and he did not like negativity. They would simply have to get lessons and take the proper precautions until she learned how to swim. All this, and he hadn’t even bought the place. He smiled. This was a great house.

  “This,” he said as he removed a large plastic cover, “is the hot tub.”

  Lily peered inside. “Wow, Dad. This really is like a giant bathtub.” She poked her finger in the water. “It’s cold though.”

  “It has a heater. When you want to get in, you have to turn it on to heat up the water.” He played with a few switches, turning the hot tub’s power on. The jets spit and spewed a bit, then created tiny bubbles on top of the water. “These are the jets I showed you in the picture. Put your hand here.” He carefully guided her hand to the jet. She yanked it back.

  “That tickles.” She grinned. “In a good way. I want to get in now, but I know I can’t. It’s too cold.”

  “Smart girl. Now let’s see the rest of the house. I want your opinion.”

  He really wanted her to like the house because he guessed they would stay for a long time in whatever house he chose to purchase. Most likely, it would be Lily’s last home before heading off to college.

  They went down a long, brightly lit hallway. “This,” he said, opening the door, “would be my bedroom.” The room had doors leading to the pool and a private bath.

  “It’s as big as our house.”

  “Pretty big, but not quite that big. Let’s look in the other rooms. You can tell me which room you would like for yourself if we buy this house.”

  They went through the other three bedrooms, the two baths, and the kitchen. Lily didn’t care about the dining room or the four-car garage. She told him this, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

  “So, which room would you pick?”

  “I think I want the one next to yours. Just in case I needed to pee during the night. Your bathroom is the closest.” She said this so matter-of-factly, that he busted out laughing.

  “You’re a smart girl, you know that?”

  “I do. So, if we move here, could I have that room?” she asked.

  “Yes, you can. So, do you want to look at the other two houses Saturday? You might like them more than this one,” he explained as he led her out the front entrance. He replaced the boxlike lock and reset it so the code could be activated for the next potential buyer. Though something told him this was the house for him and Lily. It had everything he’d ever dreamed of, and more. It was in his budget, and close to school, and even closer to Phillip and Nan’s house.

  “Not really. I think we should move in here. Before Christmas. We could put the Christmas tree by those big doors. And we could put lights on that big-screen thing around the pool. Lots of people do that at Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa’s neighbor has lights on their screen thing now.”

  Yes, he agreed that it would be the perfect spot for a giant tree, but even if he did buy this house, could they actually move in before Christmas?

  Back in the car, he buckled her seat belt. “Let’s talk to your grandparents later and see what they have to say. But not tonight; for now, this is our secret, remember? Deal?” he said as he hooked his own seat belt.

  She held out her little hand to shake his. “Deal,” she said. “Dad, what about Mommy? Do you think she’ll see us from Heaven if we move?”

  He took a minute to form his next words. “Lily, no matter where we go, Mommy will always be watching over us. If we moved to Timbuktu, which we’re not, but if we did, Mommy would know, and she would be happy for us.”

  “Okay. I just wanted to make sure she doesn’t lose us is all,” she said. Childlike but serious as though she, too, knew this move was more than just another house. It was a new beginning for both of them.

  Minutes later, they arrived at Phillip and Nan’s. Anna’s parents were sitting on the front lawn beneath the one shade tree when they pulled up. Lily unhooked her own seat belt and raced out the door. “Daddy’s getting us a new house.” The words came out of her mouth so fast, she didn’t have time to think. She looked at her dad, realizing that he had asked her to keep their new house a secret. Tears spilled from her chocolate-brown eyes.

  “What’s wrong, sweetie?” Nan asked, taking Lily in her arms. She was still a very attractive woman in her late sixties. Silver hair cut short, and a slim figure courtesy of an active walking group, she looked at Ryan, questions in her bright blue eyes.

  He hadn’t wanted to break the news like this, but it didn’t really matter. He’d already listed his and Anna’s house; there was no turning back. They’d been after
him for months to move on, and now that he had started the process, he wasn’t sure how they would react.

  Sighing, he had no choice. Lily had been excited, and the words just tumbled out of her mouth. He shouldn’t have asked her to keep such a big secret. There really wasn’t any reason to, so he explained his plans. “I put the house on the market. I think it’s time,” he said. By this time Phillip had gotten wind of their conversation.

  “Personally, Ryan, I think it’s smart. The housing industry is starting to pick up. You’ll get a fair price,” he said.

  How could a man be so lucky? Most parents wouldn’t want the husband, the widower of their daughter, to move on. They were supportive of every decision he’d made since Anna had passed.

  “Thanks. I wasn’t sure what your reaction would be. I asked Lily to keep it a secret, but she’s too excited.” He told them all about the house and its location. The other two homes weren’t even mentioned.

  He’d make an offer on the Seahorse Lane house first thing in the morning.

  “There’s one other thing I want you all to know. Tonight’s going to be my last night at the grief sessions.”

  He waited for them to say something, but they just nodded, and Nan said, “It’s time, Ryan. You’re ready to move on.”

  And he was. Truly.

  Chapter Ten

  Brandy finished putting the last ornament on the tree and stepped back to view her work. Though the tree was artificial, it was stunning, if she said so herself. She’d spent hours adjusting the red and white lights, making sure they were perfectly aligned on each layer of branches. The bright red poinsettias clipped onto the branches looked real even though they were totally plastic. If she hadn’t put them on herself, she’d never know they were artificial. The Friends of the Library, at whom she was ticked at right now, had created some of the most beautiful handmade ornaments she’d ever seen.

  Some were glass, some were made from seashells, and others were little books, many of them classics. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, and Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. She liked those ornaments the most. There was even a book ornament depicting the cover of Clement C. Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas,” her very favorite Christmas story of all time. The Friends had really taken great care in choosing the titles of the little book ornaments, she could tell, but she was still mad at them for not helping her decorate the giant tree.