by Darien Gee
“Hey Yvonne!” Bettie calls over her shoulder. “I ordered some new 3-D stickers just for you. It’s the ‘Home Improvement’ line—you can even lift the lid on the toilet! Will you be at the next scrapbooking meeting?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” Yvonne gives them a wave as they merge onto the crowded sidewalk.
“What was that?” she asks as she follows Isabel inside. She puts the bottle of wine on the side table. “That look that Ava gave you just now?”
“She’s trying to keep it under wraps because she knows it makes me nuts when she gets all emotional and Pollyanna about everything,” Isabel complains. “I threatened to lock my bedroom door and never come out if she says thank you one more time.”
Yvonne laughs as the doorbell rings.
Isabel opens the door and a throng of children are on the porch, their pumpkins and treat bags thrust at Isabel. They’re all talking at once and Yvonne has to whistle to get their attention.
“Is she gone?” one kid asks breathlessly. It’s a boy, and he’s dressed like a Dr. Seuss character, a tall red and white striped hat leaning precariously to one side. “I heard she emptied out Stewie Lane’s entire stash!”
“And she yelled at Bernadine Preston,” a girl says snootily. She’s wearing an angel costume but hardly looks angelic.
“That’s because Bernadine made fun of her costume,” another boy says loudly. Isabel would recognize that shock of red hair anywhere. Jacob Eammons is dressed like Tom Sawyer, which is as perfect a costume for this kid as any. “Bernadine’s mean; she deserved it.”
“You kids should consider yourselves lucky,” Isabel tells them. “My ex-husband was a dentist and he used to make you brush, spit, and floss before leaving the porch.”
There’s a shocked hush as the kids just stare at her.
“Nice way to kill the crowd,” Yvonne whispers as she grabs handfuls of candy and starts dropping them into outstretched bags. “Happy Halloween!”
“It was a joke,” Isabel mutters. “I stink at this kid stuff.”
“You’ll do better next year,” Yvonne assures her as the kids walk away. “Max will make sure of that.”
“It’s so different having a kid in the house,” Isabel says. “And not just any kid, but Max. He wants to know everything—the questions are never ending. And I don’t have the answers. My favorite was, how big is the sun? I couldn’t tell him to go look it up since he can’t even read yet.”
“You don’t have to have the answers,” Yvonne says. “But you can help him figure them out. It takes a village, remember?”
Isabel makes a face but then the two burst out laughing. Isabel’s sure there hasn’t been a village quite like hers before.
“I’m glad things are working out for you, Isabel,” Yvonne says, giving her a hug. “I know you’re disappointed that Bettie didn’t move in, but this ended up happening instead. You might have gone through with the sale of your house otherwise.”
“I know,” Isabel says. There’s knocking on the door as little voices call out “trick or treat!” They go to answer it and start passing out candy. “And the funny thing is that Bettie is here anyway. Ava and Max still sleep in the same room because he’s not used to the house yet, so the other room is basically a guest room for Bettie to take naps or whatever. She sneaks over all the time, which drives Imogene and Abe crazy, but I think it’s great for them, too, because it gives them a break. During the day Ava and I will both be working, so Bettie’s better off with Imogene during that time. So far we don’t have to hire anyone else to help with her, it seems to be working between our two houses.” Isabel looks guilty. “Though I guess it’s lonely for you, since we were going to be housemates for a while there.”
Yvonne gives her a big goofy grin. “Oh, I don’t know about that. I think it might work out well for me, too.”
“Oh?” Another wave of children heads up the walk. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Their candy supply is depleting quickly, and Isabel’s wondering if maybe Bettie had the right idea after all.
“I’ll tell you later,” Yvonne says, smiling at a little girl dressed as a mermaid. “When it’s a good time.”
Isabel turns to face her friend. “Yvonne Tate, it’s never a good time,” she reminds her. “This is life, remember? Tell me now!”
“Okay, okay.” Yvonne clutches the candy bowl in her arm and waits until the last child has disappeared from the porch. “I saw Sam the other day. He came to Avalon.”
“Sam?” Isabel is confused at first, and then recognition crosses her face. “But how? Where?”
Yvonne’s eyes are shining. “He’s living in Bangor, Maine. He’s a forest ranger. After this whole thing with Hugh and watching you with Ava … I wanted to know, you know? If he was all right, if things had turned out okay for him. I didn’t want any unfinished business between us.”
“That was pretty unfinished,” Isabel agrees. Then she looks at her friend, eyebrows raised. “But now?”
Yvonne doesn’t say anything, just gives a small nod, her face bursting with happiness. “It’s good. We’re good. Sam’s not married. He thought I was married and living in New York, a socialite, two-point-five kids in private school.” Her face clouds for a moment. “My parents and sisters—they didn’t tell me the truth about Sam. And they didn’t tell Sam the truth about me. You’d think after all these years I’d know not to trust them, but for some reason it was all so awful and all so possible that all I could think was that it had to be true. All this time, lost.” She looks into the waning night, lit up with lights and laughter.
“I’m sorry, Yvonne,” Isabel says, sensing her friend’s sadness.
Yvonne quickly looks back, wipes her eyes. “No, it’s okay, Isabel. Sam and I talked about it and we both feel the same way—we weren’t old enough to know better, and getting married might not have worked out anyway, because I was still listening to my family. My family is all about control, financial and emotional. If we had gone through with it, they would have found a way to sabotage or break up our marriage, I’m sure of it. But now …” She smiles. “It’s just us. And I don’t care what they have to say about Sam or my life anymore.”
Isabel’s mind is spinning. “If you weren’t standing here in front of me, telling me all this, I wouldn’t believe it.”
“I know. I’m waiting for the eyeball roll,” Yvonne says, poking her friend.
Isabel shakes her head. “Not this time. I like the idea that two people can find love. It’s nice to know that anything is possible.”
“Well, you’re living proof of that.”
Isabel grins. “I guess so.” She looks at Yvonne. “So what now? If he’s living in Maine and you’re in Avalon …” A thought crosses Isabel’s mind and she clutches Yvonne’s arm. “You can’t move!”
“I’m not planning on it … yet. He was only here for a day, Isabel, but we’ve been talking and emailing and we’re going to set our schedules so we can see each other every week. He’s flying here again next weekend and you’ll get to meet him then. He’ll also be talking to his boss at work—Illinois has over sixty state parks so he wants to see if there are any opportunities nearby.”
“Wow,” Isabel says. Things are moving so fast for Yvonne and while Isabel is happy for her, she doesn’t want her to get hurt, either.
“I know it seems fast,” Yvonne says, reading her mind. “And while we both agree that we need to spend more time together to get to know each other again, we both also know that this is it. We’ve been waiting for this moment, Isabel, and we aren’t going to sit around asking each other about our favorite movies or our idea for the perfect vacation. We’re past all that. We just want to be together.”
“Don’t get angry,” Isabel says. “But what if it doesn’t work out? If you move or he moves, what if you do all this and it still doesn’t work out?”
“Then we’ll know. I’m not scared to try, Isabel. I’m more scared not to try.” Yvonne continues handing out candy to t
he kids.
Isabel thinks about this. “Better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all?” she quips.
“Or …” Yvonne takes her friend’s hands in her own, gives them a reassuring squeeze. “Maybe it’s better to have loved and lost and then found love again.” Yvonne gives her a knowing look and Isabel knows Yvonne’s not talking about herself, but Isabel, too.
“Sheesh, get a room already,” comes a call from the walkway. They turn and see Bettie marching toward them, hand in hand with Max, their plastic jack-o’-lanterns already overflowing.
“That was quick,” Isabel says, giving Yvonne’s hands a final squeeze before turning to face them.
Ava looks a little dazed. “Bettie knows everyone,” she says. “People were very generous with her and Max. I think someone even gave her a ham.”
“The Jaffertys. Horace and Aurora owe me big-time for the time I helped them find Chuckles, their pet iguana. It was the day before the state competition. Chuckles ended up with a blue ribbon, he did.” Bettie nods, satisfied. “I told them we’d pick it up in the morning. It’s frozen, so we can save it for Thanksgiving.”
Isabel is staggered by the thought. Thanksgiving already? They haven’t even gotten through Halloween!
And then, of course, the holiday rush won’t end. Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Easter. Max’s birthday, Ava’s birthday. Isabel’s birthday. Bettie’s birthday. Yvonne’s birthday. April Fool’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day. The list goes on and on.
Isabel looks at the people around her, talking and laughing all at once. This is it, she realizes with a smile.
This is my life.
“Trick or treat!” The kids line up outside Frances’s house, clamoring for the apples dipped in caramel and wrapped in an envelope of wax paper.
“I still cannot believe that you did this,” Reed says in amazement, looking at the trays and trays of apples. He had to work late at the office and has just arrived home, his tie pulled loose around his shirt collar. “How many did you make?”
“One hundred and fifty,” Frances says. “But I took a couple of shortcuts. I used those mini Braeburns and the microwave to melt the caramel.” She hands the apples out, making sure each one has a tag with their name on it. She doesn’t want the neighbors worrying about the apples or where they came from, so she included their name and phone number just in case.
Reed looks around. “I think kids from Barrett and Laquin are here,” he says. “Word spreads fast.”
Frances smiles. “I have extra candy in case we run out.”
“Where are the boys?”
“Nick took them out with a couple of his friends. They have a parent with them, so don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried,” Reed says. There’s a chorus of delighted screams from across the street. “What the …”
“Oh, that’s just Ida Church,” Frances explains. “She decided to dress up as an alien this year and scare all the kids. She has a fake spaceship in the driveway but that’s a decoy. When you walk over to it, she jumps out from behind a tree. The big kids love it, of course, but I told Brady and Noah they can’t go over. I don’t want them having nightmares.” There’s another chorus of screams and Frances shakes her head, a smile on her face.
“You’re doing too much,” Reed tells her as he watches her unwrap another tray of caramel apples.
“No, this is good,” she insists. “I’m glad to be busy. I can’t bear the waiting anymore.” She hears all sorts of stories from the adoption boards about last-minute crises or glitches. No matter how close they seem, Frances isn’t going to be able to relax until Mei Ling is home with them.
“Come inside for a second,” Reed tells her gently, and Frances hears something in his voice that makes her freeze.
If it’s bad news, she won’t be able to take it. If that’s what this is, another delay or unforeseen problem, a complication with Mei Ling’s condition, Frances will be a mess. Okay, a bigger mess. As it is she can hardly sleep at night.
The look on Reed’s face—impassive, giving nothing away—makes Frances pull back. She’s not ready for whatever it is he has to tell her.
“It’s trick-or-treat rush hour,” she tries to joke, but Reed shakes his head.
“Come on, Frances,” he says, and pulls her into the house.
“What is it?” she asks. She’s shaking, and the doorbell is ringing with more trick-or-treaters. Her nerves are shot and she’s going to throttle her husband in a second if he doesn’t stop pacing and answer her. Now. “Reed, tell me!”
He turns to her and pulls an envelope out of his suit pocket. “It’s here, Frances. Our official approval to travel to China. We can get Mei Ling in three weeks. Three weeks!” He sweeps Frances up in a hug and swings her around. “She’ll be home with us for Thanksgiving!”
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” Frances can’t believe it. “Oh my God!” She’s laughing and crying, the dam of emotions finally let loose. “Where are the boys? The boys! We have to find the boys!”
“Frances, slow down …” Reed says, but he’s laughing, too, his eyes shiny as well. “Let them enjoy themselves, and we’ll tell them when they come home on their sugar high.” He pauses for a moment and then catches her in his arms again, tight, and kisses her. “She’s coming home,” he says to his wife, and it starts to sink in.
Mei Ling is coming home.
And then the excitement takes over again.
“I have to book flights,” she says, her mind racing. “The hotel. Finish packing. Oh, we have to call your mom, my parents! And her room! I have to wash the sheets, and an advent calendar! I want her to have an advent calendar so she can open a door every day until Christmas! And I have to let the school know when the boys will be gone … My God, Reed, it’s happening. It’s really happening!” Frances is literally jumping up and down, tears streaming down her face as she runs around the house, not quite sure of what she’s doing or looking for, but knowing no other way to contain her joy. Sometimes it’s just best to let it all out.
Across the street there’s another round of screams from Ida Church’s driveway, but it can’t compete with the screams of joy coming from the Latham household.
Chapter Twenty-five
Connie looks over the spread of baked goods, checks the carafes for hot water.
“We’re all set,” she declares, turning to look at Madeline and Hannah. “We’re ready for members of the Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society to descend upon us.”
“Good,” Madeline says, nodding. “We’re expecting a full house tonight.” She glances at the clock.
Hannah peeks out the window. “Here they come!”
And here they come indeed. It’s many of the same people from the last meeting and they’ve brought food along with scrapbook albums of different shapes and sizes. They place them on a table up front. Isabel is already there, talking earnestly with Ava and Yvonne.
Frances Latham walks through the door, comes over to Hannah and gives her a quick hug. “I’m so sorry I can’t stay,” she says. “We leave this weekend for China. I’m so excited I think I might faint.” She hands Connie a platter. “Cōng yóubǐng—scallion pancakes. I think I’m getting pretty good at them now—my boys are addicted.”
“I’m addicted,” Hannah tells everyone, sniffing appreciatively. “Frances makes the best cōng yóubǐng. You’ll love them. I’ll bring the dish back for you, Frances.”
“Thank you,” Frances says, smiling at her friend. She dabs at her eyes. “Gosh, I’m a mess! I can’t believe that we’ll be home with Mei Ling the day before Thanksgiving. I can’t wait for her to meet all of you.”
“And we can’t wait to meet her,” Madeline tells her. “We also know it may take some time for you to settle in as a family of six, so we’re going to make sure you and your family are well fed in the meantime. When you get home, we’re going to have a food tree waiting for you, just like we would for any new mother. And if you’d like to join us for Th
anksgiving dinner, we’d love to have you, but I completely understand if you want some peace and quiet.”
“Or sleep!” Hannah adds.
“Thank you so much,” Frances says. “I don’t know what to expect—we’re going to play everything by ear. We’ll follow her lead.”
“Take lots of pictures when you’re in China,” Connie says. “It’s on my list of places to visit one day.”
“I will,” Frances promises. “And I’m going to be putting everything on my blog, too. I’ll try to post something every day while we’re there. Pictures, observations, everything. When I come home I’ll put it all together in a memory book.” She looks at her watch. “Oh, I have to go! Reed and the boys are waiting for me.”
“Go home and finish packing,” Hannah says.
“Here,” Frances says, holding out a small booklet to Madeline. “I don’t have a lot of pictures of Bettie, but she was kind enough to contribute to Mei Ling’s quilt. I took a picture of her square, and then of the entire quilt. I also included Mei Ling’s picture in there. I wrote a short explanation under each picture. I was going to wait until I could get a picture of Mei Ling with the blanket, but I can add that later. I want Bettie to have something for tonight.”
“It’s lovely,” Madeline says when she sees it. “I’ll take it over and add it to the table. Travel safe, Frances, and we’ll see you when you return.”
Frances waves goodbye, and Hannah grabs a couple of tissues from a nearby tissue box.
“She’s making me think of adopting someday,” Hannah says, dabbing her eyes. “I never thought about it much, but it seems like a beautiful way to grow a family, you know?”
Connie puts an arm around Hannah’s shoulders. “You’re going to make a great parent someday,” she tells her. Hannah smiles and gives her a hug.
Connie sees Imogene and Bettie coming up the walk. “Hurry, everyone! Here she comes!”
There’s a commotion as people rearrange themselves in the tea salon. Isabel throws a sheet over the table filled with albums.
