The worktable had half of the surface covered with soldiers waiting to be painted, which appeared to Caroline to be around twenty-five. Will had already finished painting five. Scanning the studio, Caroline saw little legions of clay soldiers on the other worktables and ledges, some fired some not.
“I like these. How many did you make?”
“Well, I suppose, let’s see I spent yesterday and last night… Probably have about two hundred by now with the ones in the kiln.”
“And each one is different?”
“Yea, well, not really, but yea.” Will still did not raise his head from the soldier he was painting.
Caroline reached over and picked up a little green and khaki rifleman, “Didn’t Michael have a set of these when we were kids?”
Will peeked over his glasses and smiled, “Yea.”
Caroline set the soldier down on the surface of the table, still holding the delicate soldier with her fingertips, imagining playing with the little form yet not letting herself dare to do so.
Now absently gazing down at the table, Caroline said nonchalantly, “When I spoke to Abby the other day I was under the impression she was going to stay a bit longer. She left kind of sudden.”
“Did she?”
“Well, I thought she would at least be here until next week.”
“I guess you don’t know,” said Will. He set the soldier on the table and peered intently at Caroline, “I asked her to stay.”
“What happened between you two?”
Will set the brush down, took off his glasses and stood up from the table. He rubbed his eyes with his forefinger and thumb. “I guess you could say that we had a few words the night before she left.”
“What does that mean?”
Will chuckled, he was still rubbing his eyes, “You’re asking me what it means? I haven’t been asleep in three days because I don’t know what it means.” Will dropped his head and turned toward the window. “Maybe it means I was a bad father, a bad husband. Maybe it means I was asleep at the wheel. It means I missed every clue for everything in my life that has been going on since Emily died…”
Will fixed his gaze on something out the window to the side of the studio, Caroline could not see at what. “Hell, I don’t know if I ever had a clue before that.”
“Wow, I guess you did have a few words. Sounds like you two went at it. Are you ok?”
“Yea, it was just about time for me to start thinking a little bit I guess.”
“Ok,” Caroline had expected there had been some type of quarrel yet Will was usually flippant about such matters, “so what are you thinking about?”
“I don’t know yet.” Will pulled his hand over his face and abruptly changed the subject, “I have some of your order about finished, and at this rate it will be done in plenty of time for me to get the other urns out on schedule.”
Caroline studied her uncle. His silhouette in the window amplified his stature. Changing the topic amplified his confidence. Caroline pressed him, “So that’s your plan, to work in the studio and hope every thing takes care of itself? You might want to rethink that.”
Will distanced his gaze out onto the lake, “What you suppose I should be doing?”
“Well how’s Abby? Have you talked to her?”
“She was ok when she left,” said Will.
“I know she was ok, I spoke to her and she sounded ok, but how are things with you and her?”
Will tipped his head down and let his eyes close. He had not slept in three days for more than a few hours in a stretch. His head swam with a rush of thoughts that he had been holding back, all of which were about losing his daughter. Teardrops formed fast in pools on his closed eyes and his lip began to tremble. Caroline realized she had triggered a repression to break free and went to him. She had paid her uncle a visit because she knew that the situation between Abby and him certainly would be amiss and she wanted to be sure of his well-being. Still Caroline was taken back by Will’s sudden turn to tears, she thought the visit would be a vane attempt to convince him to patch up whatever had been broken with Abby, rather the time had now turned to her nurturing her Uncle’s exhausted emotional state. She embraced him to calm him. Will felt Caroline’s head press against his back and her arms reach around him. “It’s all right,” said Caroline softly as Will let out soft intermittent sighs. Will’s exhaustion had driven his emotional state to a place he would not have gone.
“I’ve driven her away,” said Will.
“You just need to call her,” said Caroline. “Abby isn’t that far away.”
“I don’t mean now, I mean…”
“I know what you mean. Give her a chance, she’s given you plenty.”
“Yea, I guess she has.”
Caroline moved to Will’s side, “You really haven’t eaten anything have you?”
“No, I pretty much have been runnin’ on coffee and cigarettes.”
“Lets go in the house so I can make you something.”
Will walked with Caroline out of the studio toward the house. “You should knock some of the ice off those cables,” said Caroline. She Gestured up to the cable jutting from the studio to the willow tree. “At least over the walkway.”
“Yea, I suppose,” said Will.
Will surprised Caroline once again with his quick compliance. Most times he would have found a reason to not touch the cables for the sake of putting off the suggestion.
Caroline walked with him into the house and sat him at the kitchen table. The refrigerator had been stocked well since Nathan’s arrival and inside she found the eggs, milk, and cheese to make a quick omelet. Something with protein that Will could get down quickly to curb the state that had come over him when she had brought up Abby. She removed her jacket and went right to work while Will sat patiently. She changed the subject to the Johansson order to alleviate him and that helped immediately. Will sighed and struggled at first to put his thoughts around the order and then embraced the conversation. Soon Will was fervently speaking of the pieces that had been put together over the last couple of days. Caroline put a pan on high heat and whisked the eggs and milk together. After pouring the eggs, she put the kettle on. Deciding that Will had enough coffee in him for the time being, Caroline searched through the teas for something that would be soothing and relaxing to her uncle. Will commented that he liked the Black Breakfast tea and Caroline told him that she could do better. He nodded his head and continued to discuss the order.
When the eggs were done and the stove had warmed the kitchen, the breakfast aroma alone made Will’s shoulders melt into his chair. He had not realized how tense he had become. Caroline placed the omelet on a plate before him. Will wanted to tell her that she should not have bothered however when he raised his head to see the concerned expression on his niece’s face he thought best to simply smile and say thank you. Pleased that her uncle was feeling pleasant, Caroline smiled in return.
When Will finished eating, Caroline talked him into building a fire in the lake room so that the two of them could relax and talk. Will happily accommodated her and once the fire was going, he took a seat in his cushioned recliner. She spoke to him from the kitchen and he replied a few times. When she entered the room with a tray of tea and cookies he had already faded off to sleep. Caroline took the crocheted afghan from the couch and placed the blanket over his chest. She took the tray back into the kitchen to wait for Nathan.
When Nathan returned from the village, he parked behind Will’s truck so as not to block the Subaru in the driveway. He had not seen the Subaru at the house before and did not know the owner. The car was a typical for someone around the lake, though less likely to be one of Will’s cronies that dropped by on occasion.
When Nathan came into the kitchen, he was pleasantly surprised to find Caroline sitting at the table drinking tea and reading a magazine. Nathan recognized Caroline by description and had been anticipating meeting her as a manner of changing of the guard from Abby. Caroline stood and he quickly
and politely introduced himself, setting down one of the two bags he was carrying to shake her hand.
“Hello, I’m Nathan. You must be Caroline,” said Nathan.
“Yes, finally, nice to meet you. Let me help you with the groceries.”
“Thank you. Where’s Will?”
“Oh,” Caroline made a snicker, “He had a bit of a melt down. I fed him an omelet and tucked him in by the fire.”
“I’m not surprised,” said Nathan. “He has been showing signs of exhaustion.”
“Has he really been up for three days?”
“It’s not just that,” said Nathan. “He hasn’t had a drink for a couple days.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure. He’s been making up for it working around the clock.”
“Huh.”
The bags were empty with the last two items being some type of hot Italian meal in tin foil with a plastic top that Caroline could not decipher, “This isn’t meatloaf,” said Caroline.
“Chicken Parm, he hates meatloaf,” said Nathan.
* * * * *
Chapter 52
No one would accuse Abby Bellen of being low energy, however when she walked along the avenue with Jules, Abby was along for the ride. Jules Stalwart entering the building was never stealth nor a secret to anyone. Before entering any room she could be heard approaching halfway down a hall.
Jules was a tall feisty firecracker of a girl, with bright orange hair and emerald green eyes that lit up her clear complexion. A flash from Jules’s eyes said she knew something others did not, and if one were part of her circle, she just might clue them in.
Olivia had left the office early to run some errands for the baby in her belly, so Jules and Abby decided that they would follow suit. Rather Jules decided they needed to slip out to catch up. Before Abby could put up too much resistance, they were on their way out the door to the Lavender Room around the corner.
Typical of older hotel lounges in the area the Lavender Room was sparsely lit. A forest had suffered for the wood paneling covering the wall and the dimly lit mirror behind the bar, stained with an indelible mist, barely reflected anything beyond the row of liquor bottles lining the back. Per the lavender namesake, the room had a lavender décor from literal lavender blossom table settings to the colored fabric of the booths, napkins, and sashayed curtains that hung strategically through out. The bar even served a Lavender Martini as the house drink yet overall was known for great Appletinis, which Jules adored because they contained a light dash of rum that made them buttery. Abby was certain that Jules also liked the Appletinis because they highlighted Jules green eyes.
The girls chose two lounge chairs at a small table near the door. Not so close to the entrance as to be interrupted with any one walking in and out, yet close enough for Jules not to miss any potential opportunity to make eye contact with the young men that frequented the lounge.
Abby was pleased to be back in the city in the refreshing company of her friend. Jules ran rampant in discussion, unafraid to speak her mind and often unconcerned whether anyone could hear her. Abby enjoyed dishing all of the gossip with her yet there was always a risk that Jules would blurt out something just beyond Abby’s taste, usually sexually shocking statements that were not quite vulgar. At times there had been outright propositions to innocent male bystanders. Over the years, Abby had heard a long list of whom Jules would ‘Do’ and had ‘Done’, and she always chuckled at Jules’s pronouncements.
By Jules second Appletini, she was midstream in bringing Abby up to speed on everything she had missed while she had been gone. Olivia had given Abby a surface spin and now Jules was here with the drill down. Jules went through the checklist of office romances, people they both knew outside of the office, and then onto people that Abby had never met yet had heard about time and again from Jules. Abby punctuated Jules enthusiasm with an occasional “Really,” and “You know, I thought so.” Even the slightest show of response fueled Jules yet Abby was pretty sure Jules could go on talking with or without her participation.
After they had covered everyone that Jules knew came time to discuss Jules herself. Jules had been seeing a guy when Abby went out of town yet now that was in the past.
“What did he do,” asked Abby.
“It’s what he didn’t do. He didn’t excite me,” said Jules.
“What made him so boring?”
Jules raised her brow, “He didn’t excite me.”
Abby sighed briefly taken back, remembering she was talking to Jules.
“That’s a shame,” said Abby. Abby sipped her drink afraid for the next few minutes of conversation. Fortunately Jules eased off and said something to surprise Abby.
“It is a shame,” said Jules. “I really liked him.”
Abby saw a glimmer of sadness in Jules eyes which drew her back to missing Mitch. With the few Appletinis consumed, the thought of Mitch hit Abby with an alcohol driven nostalgic sensation. Ironically, at that moment Jules decided that Abby’s turn had come to talk about her time away.
“Did you hook up with any lake men up there in those woods?” asked Jules.
Abby hesitated, daring herself to answer, thus unleashing Jules on a whole new area of exploration. However Abby could not and did not want to keep to herself. With a blank stare, Abby fixated on Jules.
“Yes,” said Abby, and then nodded her head slowly, “Yes Jules, I hooked up with a great guy.”
Elated by the discovery that Abby had conjured up some form of romance on her sojourn, Jules fortified and furrowed her red brows, “So tell me. Who is he? What happened?”
“What happened, where do I start?”
“At the beginning preferably,” said Jules.
Abby gave Jules the run down on how she met, spent time with, and essentially ditched Mitch Carlson.
“So that’s it, you’re just not going to see this guy again?” asked Jules.
“Well I kind of messed it up.”
“You haven’t messed anything up yet, only if you let this go.”
“I suppose you’re right, I should give him a call,” said Abby.
“When?”
“Later I guess.”
“Now that’s messing up. Let me see your phone,” said Jules
“You can’t be serious.”
“Do or die honey, pull out your phone.”
Abby picked up her bag and began sifting through it, “I don’t know.”
“Listen, you’ll thank me for this,” said Jules.
Abby set down her purse, she had her cell phone in hand, “So what am I supposed to say to him?”
Jules stood up, “I don’t know. Tell him you miss him. If he’s everything you think he is, he’ll respond.”
“And where are you going?”
“I’m just going to step away for a minute, you can handle this on your own.”
Abby glanced down at her cell phone as Jules walked away. Abby suspected that Jules was going to slip outside and have a cigarette, having been a chronic quitter Jules could not resist a smoke after a few drinks. Abby did not have to search through the phones contact list. Mitch’s number was listed as recent under outgoing calls. She hesitated only for an instant before letting her thumb tap down on the send button. Holding the phone to her ear Abby heard the phone ring once, twice, and then Mitch’s voicemail picked up and his recorded voice asked her to leave her name and number. Not anticipating voicemail, Abby scrambled as to what to say, she started with “Um,” and quickly recovered, “Mitch, this is Abby. I was just calling,” she quickly ran through a list of reasons in her mind, “cause I was thinking about you and--,” her phone chirped loudly in her ear. Abby drew the phone away to see Mitch’s name blinking across the screen. Abby pulled the phone back to her ear, “—You’re on the other line. Just a second.” Abby held the phone away again, maneuvered a couple of quick gestures with her thumb and pulled the phone back to her ear. “Hello,” said Abby, “I was just leaving a message.”
“Yea, I guess that’s it right there,” said Mitch, referring to a beeping sound only he could hear. “So how are you?” asked Mitch.
“Oh great, yea everything is great here. It’s good to be back. You know,” said Abby.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
“Yea.”
“So what’s up?”
“What’s up?”
“Yea you called.”
“I called? Yea, of course I called. Well I was out with a friend. I am out with a friend. Jules, I told you about her. I think. She’s not here right now. Well any way, I was thinking about you.” Abby could not believe herself and was sure that she sounded like a fool.
“I’ve been thinking about you too,” said Mitch.
“Really?”
“Yea, I have.”
“I like that,” said Abby, and then thought to herself that she once again was sounding foolish. “I mean that’s nice.”
Abby then went on to tell Mitch about her day back at work and how her day was the day before. She began to tell him how sad she was that she left so quickly, that her father had upset her, and that she was still not sure how to handle that whole situation. Mitch listened on his cell as she peppered the conversation with information about people he knew nothing about from her conversations with Jules earlier. To Abby all of these conversational elements were contextual and to Mitch they were mostly all foreign. Most of all though Mitch was truly pleased to hear Abby’s voice and he did not mind listening to her rambling about the day’s events. That is until he could tell that she was working herself up emotionally and he thought best to ease things off. Mitch was satisfied to know that Abby had not left Willow Lake on his account.
“Abby?”
“Yea, Mitch?”
“Are you and your friend having cocktails?”
“A couple. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” said Mitch, “but maybe it would be better if we talked a little later. Do you think that would be alright?”
“I would like that,” said Abby. “How about if you call me tonight, before you go to bed.”
“Ok, I’ll do that,” said Mitch. “Bye, now.”
The Potter's Daughter (Literary Series) Page 17
