by Emma Miller
“Okay, I think we’re done,” Hannah said, snapping the lid on a small paint can.
“But I can put lots more nail marks,” Kaden said.
“I know you can,” Mandy responded, “but it’s got just the right amount now, so we don’t want to overdo it. And we need to get ready for First Friday. You promised to help me at the shop, remember?”
“Oh, yeah, right.” Kaden grabbed up his markers and handed them to Hannah. “Thanks for teaching me how to make nail marks, Miss Hannah.”
“You’re welcome,” she said.
Autumn followed suit, handing her markers to her mother. Hannah put all of the markers and paints in a big green tote, hoisted it on her arm and then took Autumn’s hand. “Okay, we’ll see all of you at First Friday.” She took another look at the boxcar. “Turned out great. Tell Zeb he did a super job on the design.”
“I will,” Laura said.
Marjorie said goodbye to each of them and promised she’d see them again on her next visit to Claremont. Then David walked them all to the door while Marjorie and Laura marveled at the incredible reading area. “It looks terrific, Laura. And it was so nice of your new friends to do all of this for you.”
“I know.” She was overwhelmed with gratitude. An hour ago, she hadn’t been certain the boxcar would have been done by the time First Friday started. But now, it wasn’t even 2:00 p.m. and it was finished. “This is amazing.”
“That’s what I think, too,” David said, returning to stand beside them.
Laura turned to see his reaction to the completed boxcar, but he wasn’t looking at the prop. Instead, he was focused intently...on her. And Laura was pretty sure she wasn’t the only one who noticed. Her mother’s perfectly arched brows lifted and her blue eyes studied Laura’s friend-slash-boss.
A whistle sounded from the kitchen, breaking the tension in the room and giving Laura the impression that she’d literally been saved by the bell.
“I guess Mandy forgot that she’d wanted some tea. I’ll go take care of the kettle,” David said, turning and heading to the back of the store and leaving Laura alone to deal with her mother.
“Anything you want to tell me?” Marjorie asked.
“No.” Laura wondered if short and to-the-point would work.
It didn’t. Her mother forged ahead with the interrogation. “Didn’t you see the way he looked at you? And in case you’re wondering what you look like when you look at him, it’s pretty much the same thing.”
“I’m emotional now,” Laura said. “That’s all. And he’s protective, like any good friend would be for a friend that’s pregnant.”
A buzz sounded from her mother’s purse, and Marjorie placed the bag of clothes on the nearest table and then fished out her cell. She glanced at the display. “That was Thomas. He’s called eight times today, left five messages.”
Laura wished she’d texted her father and given him another update, but she hadn’t had time since lunch. He was probably finishing his school day now and wondering if he’d have a wife at home tonight. “Why didn’t you tell Daddy you were coming here?” Laura figured it didn’t hurt to ask what she really wanted to know. If her mother got mad, she was about to leave anyway.
But rather than telling Laura she should mind her own business, Marjorie merely turned and walked toward the front of the store. Laura followed, thinking that she was going to walk out without answering the question. But her mother stopped, peered toward the back and apparently realized that David was still occupied in the kitchen...and the two of them were completely alone.
“I’m sorry,” Laura said, uncertain whether she meant the apology or not, but this was the way it went. Her mother got mad or got her feelings hurt, and Laura—or, more typically, her father—apologized.
“This year has been tougher than all the others,” Marjorie whispered, staring out the window at the crafters setting up their booths.
“Why?” Laura asked.
Her head shook slightly, but she didn’t answer her daughter’s question. Instead, she continued, “Did I ever tell you your daddy took me to the fair? It was on our first date. He spent every dollar in his pocket trying to win me this big white teddy bear, and on the last throw, he did.” She smiled, and a single tear flitted its way across her cheekbone. She didn’t wipe it away, and it traced a slow path toward her neck, while Laura watched in awe.
She’d seen her mother mad, seen her upset. But she’d never seen her cry. “Mom?”
“I’d say I fell in love with Thomas when he finally won that bear, but I’d loved him well before that. I think I loved him the first time I saw him, you know. On the playground in junior high. I’d just moved to Nashville and it was my first day at a new school, and I saw him, and it was...I just knew.” Another sad smile. “I’ve loved him ever since, I suppose.”
Laura had never been more confused. Her head pounded, and her mind raced for the right words. But nothing her mother said made sense. She’d kept her father on edge for years with her running away, coming back, being sad, being happy. She was like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates—you never knew what you were going to get.
“This year, with you, the pregnancy and Jared... It’s just—been hard for me. I’m so sorry. I’m happy for you, and I want you happy. I want you to have...everything you want. I’d have loved for you to stay with us, but I understand. It would be hard to start a life where Jared is starting his new one. I wouldn’t want to do it.” Still looking away from Laura and toward the square, she shrugged one shoulder. “But I wouldn’t know about starting on my own. I’m glad, though. I’m glad that you didn’t end up with Jared. You deserve to be the one somebody chooses. If you aren’t, then—” another shrug “—then you always wonder, don’t you?”
“Mom? Are you talking about Daddy? Or...what?”
Marjorie turned, and both of her eyes were now swimming in tears, wet smudges of mascara marring her perfect makeup. “David. You may not see it yet, and you may not even want it yet, but that boy...he would choose you.”
Laura’s head was reeling, and she felt exactly the same way she did when she’d had the morning sickness so terribly. But this wasn’t the babies making her queasy. It was her mother. “Mama, Daddy chose you. He married you, and he loves you. He told me so today.”
She smiled again, but like before, it didn’t reach her eyes. “I knew he’d call you. He’s precious, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is,” Laura said, and immediately recalled that she’d used the exact same word to describe David. “Why do you keep leaving him the way you do? He doesn’t know, but he wants to. If you tell him what’s wrong, I honestly believe he’ll fix it.”
She shook her head again. “He can’t. And after all of the reminders of this year are done, I’ll be better again. I feel sure of it.”
“You’re saying you don’t think Daddy chose you when he married you? If he didn’t then who did he choose?”
Marjorie turned, hugged Laura tightly again and kissed her cheek. “I’m going home now.” Then, without another word, she walked out the door.
Shaken, Laura watched the blue pantsuit disappear in the crowd, her mother’s head bowed and looking at the ground as she walked, her posture a direct opposite of her typical confident gait. What had just happened? Laura felt like she’d finally glimpsed a little of what her mother kept hidden so well, but she still didn’t understand, not at all. And that realization sucker punched her. She grabbed a gasp of air, turned to release her cry...and sank into David’s embrace.
“Shhh,” he soothed, holding her close and running a hand up and down her spine. “I’m here. I’m right here.”
Chapter Six
David had returned from the kitchen in time to hear the last of Marjorie’s disjointed conversation, see her walk out the door and then witness Laura’s reaction. Holding her in his
arms seemed the natural thing to do, to provide comfort to his friend when she was hurting. Before this week, he’d never felt gratitude for his store being empty, but he did now. Because with the solitude came the ability to hold her as long as she needed. He ran his palm gently down her hair, while her face was still buried against his chest.
“It’ll be okay,” he said, and he prayed that it would. Laura had mentioned her mother’s moodiness through college, but what David saw a moment ago was more than moodiness. Marjorie Holland was an emotional roller coaster. No wonder Laura didn’t want to stay there to raise her little girls.
She shifted her head to the side, wiped her hand beneath her eyes and inhaled deeply. Then she wiggled out of his embrace and swiped under her eyes again. “Some employee I’m turning out to be, huh? Bursting into tears the first week on the job.” One corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile. “Ready to fire me?”
David wished she’d have let him hold her a little longer. He could tell she was still upset, but he could also tell she was ready to move on. He’d let her. “Why would I fire the one person who’s been able to bring paying customers? I’ve never had that much success at it. Just ask my accountant.” He hadn’t intended to say anything that would indicate his business wasn’t going well, so he attempted a laugh and changed the subject. “Hey, I made that tea for Mandy. Might as well drink it. You want some?”
“Sure.”
He started toward the back.
“And David?”
He stopped, turned. “Yeah?”
“Thanks. Not just for the tea, but for...everything.”
“You’re welcome.” He prepared the tea and returned to find her sitting in front of the boxcar and talking on her phone.
“Yes, she left a few minutes ago. She should be there in about four hours. No, she didn’t tell me,” she said into the cell. Looking up, she mouthed “thanks” when he placed the tea on the table beside her.
Wanting to give her privacy, he went to the computer at the counter and checked on the number of people registered to attend Destiny Lee’s signing. When he’d looked this afternoon, the number was just over 200. Now it was 283. “Wow.”
“What is it?” Laura asked when she’d hung up, leaning over the counter to see the monitor.
“There are nearly three hundred people registered for Destiny’s signing next Saturday. We’ll need to set up the tent outside and have them line up on the sidewalk.”
“That’s awesome.” She smiled and looked like she was feeling better, her eyes clearing up from her tears.
“You talked to your dad?”
She took a sip of her tea and nodded. “Yes. Mom said something about him not choosing her. I have no idea what she was talking about, but it didn’t seem like something to ask him on the phone. But he said he’s coming here the day after Thanksgiving. We can talk then.”
“The day after Thanksgiving? Aren’t your parents coming here for the holiday to see you? Or are you not going there?”
She took another sip of tea. “Our family has never done the typical Thanksgiving thing because Mom doesn’t want to have to cook a big dinner and get exhausted on Thanksgiving and then work all day on Black Friday. And she refuses to take off on Black Friday because it’s the biggest sale day of the year. Macy’s opens at midnight Thanksgiving night and stays open for twenty-three hours straight. It’s a pretty big deal for Mom.”
David thought Thanksgiving was a pretty big deal for most moms, but he wouldn’t point that out. Instead, he asked, “So you’ll be here for Thanksgiving?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to drive all the way to Nashville and back when they aren’t doing anything for the holiday. Our family dinner is just three people anyway—my grandparents have all passed on, and I’m an only child. Plus Dad is driving here on Black Friday since she’ll be working all day. I told him I was sure we’d have a big sale at the bookstore, too, and he offered to help us out.”
“You don’t have to work that day,” David said. “You can visit with him.”
“I know I don’t have to. I want to. We’re liable to sell all sorts of books that people can give for Christmas presents. We’ll want to stock up with the most popular ones, you know.”
He grinned. He may not have known how he could pay her, but it appeared if all of her sales ideas were right, she might actually save his business. “Okay, but if you’re staying here for Thanksgiving you’re going to have a real dinner. My folks are coming in for the holiday.”
“Oh, no, I am not going to intrude on your family dinner.”
He shook his head. “You aren’t. Mom isn’t about to travel all the way from South Florida and then cook, and I’m pathetic in the kitchen.”
She held up her cup. “Your tea is good.”
“I can handle tea and eggs. And grilling. Any guy can grill, but that’s it.”
“So do y’all go out to eat on Thanksgiving?” she asked.
“Nah, we join the others in town who have dinner at the church. Everybody brings a dish, and we all share. It’s fun, and we have some amazing cooks in Claremont. The best way to go for Thanksgiving. Trust me, you’ll like it.”
She looked skeptical. “But I’m not a church member there. And I haven’t even visited.”
“That isn’t a prerequisite,” he said, liking the idea of helping her have her first “real” Thanksgiving dinner. “It’s for the community, and you’re part of the Claremont community now.”
“Yeah, I guess I am, aren’t I?”
The bell on the front door sounded, and two dark-haired boys darted in, ran past David and Laura at the counter and made a beeline for the boxcar.
“Look, there it is!” one said.
“Yep, Kaden was right,” the other answered, while Clint Hayes entered the bookstore smiling and shaking his head.
“Hey, David, I’m assuming Matthew and Daniel found their way to the boxcar?” he asked.
“They ran by so fast I can’t for certain say it was the twins,” David said.
“That pretty much guarantees it was them.” He looked to Laura. “Clint Hayes. Please forgive my boys. I’d like to say this isn’t normal, but that’d be lying. Their mother jokes that we spent a lot of their first year trying to work them up to walking and we’ve spent the next nine trying to get them to slow down.”
Laura laughed. “They look adorable, from what I saw of them. David’s right, though, they moved pretty fast.”
The boys chatted away as they climbed in and around the boxcar, while their dad picked up a couple of Boxcar Children books from the stack by the register.
“They’re excited about the book club,” he said. “That’s a great idea, David.” He withdrew his wallet and gave David the money for the books.
“The idea was Laura’s. She and I went to UT together, and she’s helping me out at the bookstore until she begins teaching. She’s hoping to get a job at Claremont Elementary after she has her babies.”
“Babies? You’re having twins?”
“I am,” Laura said.
“Twins are cool!” one of the boys called from the reading nook.
“Twin boys?” the other one yelled.
Laura laughed. “Actually, twin girls.”
One of the kids emitted an “Eww,” and Clint quickly responded. “Matthew, that’s enough.”
“Well, at least it’s twins, even if it’s girls,” the other one added.
Laura laughed again, and David liked hearing it, especially after she’d been so upset by her mother’s unusual departure.
“Twins are a lot of fun, even if they can be a handful,” Clint said, taking his change from David. “By the way, the boys said all of the kids in their class at school were going to join your boxcar club. I think the majority of them are coming in tonight. That’s why we came early. My
wife thought it’d be smart to beat the rush.”
“That’s a good idea,” Laura said. “And because we do expect a lot of kids to sign up, we’re going to offer the book club each weekday after school. It’ll start at three-thirty and last an hour.” She reached past David to a stack of clipboards with signup sheets. David hadn’t realized she’d already prepared the sheets, but she had each one labeled and ready to go. He’d been impressed with her organizational skills throughout the week and now she’d impressed him again.
“You really are going to be an amazing teacher,” he said, as she handed Clint a pen to sign up the twins.
Clint put both of the kids on the Monday sheet. “We’ll go with Monday, since that one says it’s for nine-and ten-year-olds. The boys are ten. Plus Nathan and Autumn are down for that day. They’re in the boys’ class at school.”
“Sounds good,” Laura said.
“Cool! We’re with Nathan and Autumn,” Matthew told Daniel, still playing inside the boxcar.
“Awesome!” Daniel yelled.
“Okay, boys, we’ve got to go pick up your mom at the school. Let’s go. You can come back here tonight and play in the boxcar during First Friday.”
“Awwww,” one of the boys grumbled.
“It won’t be long,” Clint stressed. Then he said to Laura, “My wife teaches fourth grade. I’ll let her know you’re looking for a job and have her stop by to meet you tonight. She can tell you what you need to do to apply when you’re ready. And congratulations again on your twins. They really are a lot of fun.”
“Thanks,” Laura said as the boys ran by in a flash.
“Bye!” they yelled, brushing past their father as they flew out the door. “Last one to the fountain is a rotten egg!”
“And here we go. Pray for all of the vendors, and that my kids won’t take out too many booths,” Clint said, heading out the door.
