by Judi Lynn
“Me too!” Adele looked proud of herself and Joel’s mom glanced at her affectionately.
“Our girl here is pretty talented. We sure enjoyed having her on our trip.”
Joel’s dad changed the subject. “So, how’s the brewery coming? Is it ready to go?”
The conversation turned to how many tanks Joel had, then to how many people he could seat, and on and on. Finally, Joel’s mom interrupted. She turned to Miriam. “What about you, hon? How do you spend your summers when you don’t have to teach?”
“I love to read and garden.”
That’s all she had to say and his mom jumped up, grabbed Miriam’s hand, and tugged her toward the back door. “You have to see my flowerbeds.” She glanced at Adele, but the girl shook her head. She was happy cozying up in her big chair.
They left the men in the house, talking business, and she led Miriam to the backyard. They went from one bed to another. Each was immaculate, with every group of flowers neatly mulched. Miriam’s beds were well-tended but a bit unruly, one set of plants bumping into another. Miriam stopped and took a deep breath when they reached his mom’s irises.
“I’ve never seen orange ones like those.” They were stunning. A brilliant, bright orange, and she lusted after them.
His mom gave a satisfied smile. “We drove to a nursery near Churubusco to buy them. Once I saw them, I had to have them. They’ve multiplied a lot since then. If you come with Joel in the fall, I’ll dig up a few starts for you.”
Miriam’s hand went to her throat. What a kind offer! “You would? Are you sure?”
“For you, hon, of course I would.”
Miriam reached out and hugged her but jerked away when she saw her raise a hand to dab at a tear. “Oh, I’m sorry. You don’t know me that well. I didn’t mean . . .”
His mom shook her head. “It’s not like that. April would hardly even talk to me. She’d never touch me. I always wanted . . .” She stopped and pressed her lips in a firm line, then took a deep breath. “I’m so glad you’re a hugger.”
At that, Miriam crushed her in a tight embrace. She felt for this woman. “Joel’s so lucky he has you two. You remind me of my parents. You’re going to have to come to Mill Pond to meet my family sometime.”
His mom gave a happy sigh, then pulled away to regain her composure. “You’ve been wonderful for Joel. He needs someone who laughs, who enjoys life.”
“I laugh too loud.” Miriam shrugged. “There are worse sins, right?”
“I’d rather hear someone laugh than sit there like a stick.” His mom grimaced. “Sorry. I don’t know where my manners have gone.” She motioned toward the house. “Walt’s going to want food soon. That man’s stomach came with a timer. Are you ready to eat?”
“Joel says I’m always hungry. I’ll help you carry stuff out.”
His mom looked stunned and shook her head.
Miriam misunderstood. “I want to help.”
“I’m not going to get all weepy again, but April never lifted a finger. She came here and expected to be waited on.”
Miriam barked a laugh. “My family gets together every Sunday, and if you slack on pitching in, God help you.”
“I like that.” His mom nodded approval. “But it’s going to take me a minute to get used to it.” She smiled and slipped her arm through Miriam’s. “You’re a breath of fresh air.”
Adele came to join them in the kitchen, and the two women teased her until they had her laughing. Joel and his dad came to pitch in, and before long, the patio table was covered with food—sliced brisket, spoonbread, green beans with onions and bacon, and a fruit salad.
Joel’s dad talked about the car he was working on—an ongoing project—and his mom told them tidbits from their trip, with Adele chiming in. Miriam sat back and let them talk, a feeling of belonging sweeping over her. It went so deep and felt so good, it surprised her. Her family was so warm, so wonderful, she’d never felt lacking. She’d never considered the fact that two families might be better than one. Actually, she’d heard so many horror stories about in-laws that she’d considered them a hurdle rather than a blessing. But she was wrong. These people made her feel accepted, loved.
They lingered over their meal, then helped with cleanup and stayed a while longer, until Joel finally said, “Thanks for everything. It was great seeing you. I love you guys, and thanks for giving Adele such a good time, but we have a long ride home. We’d better get going.”
They walked out the front door on their way to his pickup, everyone feeling happy and satisfied, and his parents were giving them good-bye hugs when a man with Joel’s light-brown hair and gray eyes pulled a car to the curb and parked. He got out and paused when he saw Joel. Then he squared his shoulders and walked up the drive.
“Hey, Bro!”
His walk was a little unsteady and he carried a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag.
Joel’s voice was tight when he said, “Miles, meet my friend, Miriam. Miriam, my brother, Miles.”
Miriam glanced at Joel’s mother. Her expression said it all. Miles had fallen off the wagon again and she was crushed.
“Hey, Mom and Dad!”
Joel’s dad put on a grin. He reached out a hand to his son. “Hey, kid, come on in the house. Your brother’s about to leave. We have lots of leftovers. You hungry?” He wrapped an arm around Miles to keep him steady and led him inside.
“Mom?” Joel hesitated, not sure what to do.
She smiled. “We’ve had a wonderful visit. Let’s not ruin it now. We’ll deal with this. You guys head on home.”
Her voice held a note of steel, and Miriam realized how strong the woman was.
Joel nodded. He understood. “If you need me, call. I’ll come.”
“I know that.” She hugged him. “Now get out of here. We loved seeing you.” And she turned to walk to the house.
The ride home wasn’t as ebullient as it should have been. Joel was lost in thought. So was Miriam. And Adele, bless her, spent most of the time in her own little world.
Chapter 25
Joel dropped off Miriam at her cottage, then headed to his apartment in town. Adele had had enough stimulation for a while. A nice, quiet night would be good for her.
Before Miriam got out, she asked, “Do you and Adele want to come to my parents’ house for our Sunday get-together?”
He knew she expected a yes, but he shook his head. “Not this time. I want to take it easy before opening day on Monday.” Everything had been rushed lately. He wanted to settle in to focus. Next week was going to be stressful. He and Miriam could cuddle again next Friday and Saturday . . . after he’d survived opening week.
She forced a smile. “No problem. I’ll see you Monday.”
It was awkward. For the first time, he felt weird around her. “I appreciate your volunteering to help. Thanks!” When he pulled away, it felt odd, leaving her place.
Back at their apartment, Adele went straight to her chair in the sitting room and turned on the TV. He let her watch the last half hour of an old movie on the Hallmark Channel while he unpacked her clothes and tossed them in the laundry basket. While he sorted through colors, he thought about Miles.
It was a Saturday, so his brother hadn’t had to work. Did he let himself drink on the weekends? Did he stay sober during the week? Joel had played with the idea of moving into the trailer until he found a house for him and Adele, but he decided against that now. If Miles drank on a Friday night and Saturday, soon he’d be drinking in his evenings after work. Eventually, he wouldn’t wake up for work. It was only a matter of time before he got fired and ran out of money. Then he’d have to move back in with their parents.
Joel didn’t want that.
He started a load of darks and went to check on Adele. “Are you hungry?”
She shook her head. Neither was he. He’d eaten too much of his mom’s home cooking. “I have an idea. What if I make popcorn and ice cream sodas and we watch a movie together? It has to be something I like,
too.”
“The Little Mermaid?”
“One of my favorites.” Not really. He’d watched it with her a hundred times but didn’t mind. It always made her happy. When the movie ended, she was getting tired but wasn’t ready to go to sleep yet, so they watched a TV show about people who bought little houses. Some of them were on wheels and could be moved. He’d feel claustrophobic in such a cramped space, but Adele gave a happy sigh and turned to him.
“I wish I could have my own little house and be a grown-up like other kids.”
“And leave me? What would I do without my sunshine?” But her words made him sad. She wasn’t like other kids. Never would be.
In bed that night, his thoughts drifted to Miriam. Maybe he wanted too much. What woman would want to marry him and take on Adele? It was asking too much. Miriam’s idea of friends with benefits was a lot more realistic.
Before he’d moved to Mill Pond, some friends who’d known him a long time had told him that he should consider putting Adele in a group home. “She’d be surrounded by other people, taken care of, and you could have a life.”
He knew what caring for Adele cost him. He looked at the empty pillow on the other side of his bed. But he’d shaken his head. “I can’t do it.”
“Listen, Joel, maybe it would be the best thing for her. You wouldn’t be abandoning her. You could visit her every day. And you need to think long term. What’s going to happen to her when you can’t take care of her anymore?”
His biggest fear. What would happen to Adele when he died? He’d have to come to terms with that someday but not now. Not yet.
Chapter 26
Miriam dragged herself out of bed on Sunday morning. She hadn’t slept well last night. There was no Joel pressed against her. She missed the sex, but she missed the man more.
The cats followed her to the kitchen and she fed them while the coffee brewed. Then they all headed out to look over the lake. This time the duck swimming past her cottage didn’t even give her a glance. No handouts here.
She opened the Sunday paper and glanced through its pages, but she couldn’t concentrate. She and Joel usually yakked about the headlines with each other. She tossed it aside. She went in the house and returned with the book she was reading. She gave up on it after a half-dozen pages.
Damn. The lake usually brought her a sense of serenity, but no leg was rubbing against hers. No Joel was sitting in the Adirondack chair next to hers. She got up and stalked into the house. She opened the refrigerator and frowned. Joel fixed her eggs in the morning when she woke up hungry. She closed the door and peeked in her cupboards. No cereal. With a sigh, she slid two pieces of bread in the toaster. Back to the usual routine.
When it was time to go to her parents’ house for the big Sunday meal, she didn’t bother to put on makeup. What was the point? When she walked into the kitchen, her mom and sisters were laughing and talking. Good. Conversation would make the time pass.
“No Joel today?” Mom asked.
“His grand opening’s tomorrow. He needed a quiet day today.”
There must have been something in her tone. Her mom and sisters all zeroed in on it.
“Is everything okay between you two?” Sue-Ellen focused her full attention on her.
“Sure, we’re fine.”
They knew her too well. “Then what’s bothering you?”
The truth spilled out. “He brought up living together, but that’s a big step, so we decided to just spend our weekends together. He and Adele will be here next Sunday.”
Clair frowned. “You both decided, or just you?”
“What is this, the Inquisition? I waffled, okay? Adele’s a big responsibility to take on. I don’t want her to think Joel and I are together when it might only be temporary.”
Sue-Ellen stared at her but didn’t say anything—something unheard of. Clair stared, too.
But her mom always spoke her mind. “You knew Joel and Adele were a package deal when you met him. If all you want are some romps between the sheets, you’re fine, but if you want that man, you take his daughter, too. And you’d better know which you want, because Joel isn’t the type who’s going to be satisfied with booty calls for long. Sex is like fast food—a lot of empty calories.”
Sue-Ellen put her hands on her hips. “Do you love him?”
Miriam rubbed her forehead. Maybe she should have called with a lame excuse to stay home today. “I don’t know.”
It was Clair’s turn. “How would you feel if he decided to call the whole thing off?”
“You mean end it? No more anything?” Miriam felt coldness seep through her body. She hugged herself.
Sue-Ellen shook her head. “Yup. That hug says it all. You’re nuts about the guy.”
Her dad walked into the kitchen and came to her defense. “Leave her alone. How long has she known him? If Joel has any balls at all and wants her, he’ll hang in there.”
Did Joel want her? As a friend? A lover? What if he only wanted to live together and nothing more?
Her mother used to say Be careful what you wish for. That’s what Miriam thought she wanted. But was it enough? Would it be enough for Joel? That hinted at temporary, that when the going got rough, you moved on. Could she cope with that?
Her dad wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You’re going to be fine, kid. No one said romance was easy.”
No kidding. She used to laugh at the sappy romance movies that came out every year. The angst and suffering felt like soap opera antics to her. Was it really like that? Lord, save her! She might be in for a bumpy ride.
Chapter 27
Sunday was torture for Joel. He missed Miriam. He fretted about the grand opening. He should have taken her up on her offer to go to her parents’ house for their big family meal. He wouldn’t be thinking the same thoughts over and over like a hamster in a wheel in his mind. Would customers come? Would they like his beer? His food? Would the bright colors, so different from everything else in Mill Pond, turn them away?
When those worries would start to subside, he’d think about Miriam. He wasn’t sure how he felt about her suggestion to spend weekends together. He’d thought they were a good fit, but she’d run from the idea of living together. Maybe all she wanted him for was sex. Not that they weren’t great in bed together. They were, but that wasn’t what he was looking for at this stage in his life. It wasn’t enough.
Adele had watched TV while he started the laundry and got a few things done around the apartment, so he said now, “Let’s drive to the national park and hike a trail. It’s June. It should be beautiful.” He needed to get out of the apartment, to keep busy with other things besides worrying himself to death.
Hikes weren’t Adele’s thing, so she balked at the idea. “I’m still tired from my trip. I’d rather stay home.”
He wasn’t buying that, but his daughter could be stubborn when she dug in. He wasn’t up to arguing with her, though, so he said, “Okay, what if we drive to Bloomington to window-shop and eat out?”
That perked her up. Her tiredness quickly fled. “Will any of the shops be open?” She loved to shop, loved knickknacks, and her allowance had gone into her account at the beginning of June, so she had money to spend.
“I can’t say for sure, but let’s find out. Bloomington’s not that far from here, so if you see something you really want, we can always drive back to buy it.”
She turned off whatever show she’d been watching and went to get ready. Joel reached for his cell phone to call Miriam to invite her to go with them, then remembered she’d be at her family get-together. The one he’d turned down. So he turned off his cell. Why had he done that? Decided to stay home? It had seemed like the responsible thing to do at the time.
Once they were ready, he helped Adele into his pickup. The first step was high and she had trouble with it, but he’d needed a pickup for the renovation work he’d used to do on the strip malls. And then they set off.
It was evening when he’d driven here with
Miriam. He appreciated the rugged scenery even more in the daytime. Tyne had told him it was easy to find geodes in the rock walls and streams in the area. When he was a boy, he’d bought a geode to keep on his desk to use as a paperweight.
He drove to the center of downtown again and parked in the area that catered to college kids. It had a different energy about it than the more upscale shops near the Malibu Grill, and a few artists had set up booths on the sidewalks, peddling their wares. They walked up and down the street and stopped in a shop that sold smoothies. Adele found a picture of a guardian angel hovering over a young girl and bought it. She had a lot of angel knickknacks packed in a box to set up in her bedroom when they finally found a house.
A shopkeeper told Joel about a nearby mall. They drove there and wandered in and out of shops. Adele found a T-shirt with a line of cats across its top and bought it. Two shops later she started to limp. It happened every time she got too tired, so he said, “Let’s find someplace to grab some supper. You ready?”
“Can we go back to the sandwich place in town? You get to choose your own toppings.” She liked anything new. That shop had music blasting and had all kinds of mix-and-match items scribbled on the walls.
It took her a while to decide among the many choices, and when they finally sat down to eat, they couldn’t hear each other speak over the music. Summer students were scattered at different tables, a few of them working on laptops while they ate their food. Adele looked around and preened, feeling part of it all. He’d have to bring her here again.
Finally, it was time to head home, and they were both ready. Halfway there, her arm started to jerk and he knew they’d overdone it a little. “Did you take your pill?” he asked. She usually watched the timing religiously, but this time she shook her head.
“I forgot.”
“Better take it now, then.” He always carried a bottle of water in the truck, just in case. Ten minutes later her arm relaxed.
