Home Again

by Lisa Emme

  “I’m Madeleine, by the way. Madeleine Pundyk. I’m sure you’ve heard of me.” Madeleine primped her hair again.

  “No. Should I have?”

  “From channel 10 news? I do the weather and special interest stories.”

  “Oh sorry. I don’t get cable.”

  “Oh my God! You can’t even get cable out here?”

  “It’s not that we can’t get cable, I just…oh, never mind.” Allie shook her head. “What are you talking about, money doesn’t matter?”

  “Oh well, you know. With his family, there’s plenty more where that came from.” Madeleine waved her hand in the air.

  “His family?”

  “Do you mean you don’t even know?” Madeleine looked at her incredulously and then gestured to the shelf behind her where there were half a dozen bottles of wine. “I mean you sell his family’s label.”

  Allie turned to look at the bottles, all labelled ‘Finnovar Estates’, and gasped in surprise. “Mike’s family owns a vineyard?”

  Madeleine gave her a ‘poor ignorant you’ look. “Well yes, one of the largest in the country. And when Michael sees me again I’m sure he’ll realize he’s meant to be with me and he’ll want to move back home. His family loves me, you know,” Madeleine blathered on oblivious to Allie’s shocked look.

  “But what about his new girlfriend?” Marla asked, earning another glare from Allie.

  “Oh her? Michael was always one to pick up strays. He’ll be ready to move on once he realizes what a backwater this town is.” She blinked, as if just realizing what she had said. “Oh, no offence. I’m sure you know what I mean. Some people are just meant for better things in life.”

  “Oh, none taken.” Allie rolled her eyes. She’d had enough of this particular conversation. “You’re in luck. I think Michael is stopping by soon.”

  ***

  Another unbearable hour later, in which Allie had to watch Madeleine prance around the bar handing out autographs like some sort of celebrity - of course Allie reluctantly had to admit that she probably was, at least judging by the reaction of the rest of the people in the bar - Mike finally showed up.

  He strode into the bar, freshly showered, his eyes on Allie. That’s probably why he didn’t notice Madeleine flanking him until she shrieked his name and threw herself into his path, her arms circling around his neck.

  Allie had to admit, the look of sheer horror on Mike’s face seemed genuine enough and even somewhat funny; at least until she remembered that she wanted to strangle him. Mike stood unmoving, Madeleine wrapped around his neck like a baby monkey, his arms held out in a ‘hands off’ gesture. He looked across the room at Allie. When their eyes met, Allie turned away abruptly missing Mike’s frown.

  ***

  Mike was shocked. The last person he’d expected to see when he walked into Rowdy’s that night was his ex-girlfriend, Madeleine. He had broken it off with her over six months before, after he’d caught her cheating on him. Although it was devastating at the time, it turned out to be one of the best things that had ever happened to him. In retrospect, he couldn’t imagine what he had been thinking or what he had even seen in her. And to think, he had actually been planning on proposing. He felt like an idiot. How he could have thought what he felt for Madeleine was love, was beyond him now, especially when compared to what he felt for Allie.

  Speaking of Allie, he looked across the bar at her. How long had Madeleine been here? And worse, what the hell had she been saying? Allie looked back at him, pain reflected in her eyes. She turned away abruptly, but not before Mike saw the pain replaced by steely determination. Great. It was worse than he thought. Not only was she feeling hurt and angry with him, she was going to use this as a way to back things off between them.

  Madeleine was still nattering at him. He pulled her arms from around his neck and strode towards the bar.

  “Michael. Michael!” Madeleine stamped her foot. “Aren’t you even going to say hello?”

  Mike watched as Allie finished serving up drinks to the couple at the end of the bar and then turned to face him. “Yeah, Michael,” she said. “Aren’t you going to say hello to your fiancé? Maybe I should crack open a bottle of champagne?”

  “My what?” Mike was clearly surprised. “Allie, listen to me.” He reached out to touch her arm, but she pulled it away like she’d been burned.

  “I’m sorry. Kind of working here.” Allie turned away and busied herself behind the bar.

  Marla barged up past him to the counter setting her tray down with a crack. “What the hell, Mike? You been playing our girl?”

  “What?” Mike looked at Marla uncomprehendingly. He shook his head in denial. “No. Of course not.” He pushed past Marla to stand in front of Allie. “Allie, listen to me. I don’t know what Madeleine has been saying - ”

  “A hell of a lot more than you have,” Allie hissed back at him throwing her bar rag on the counter. She leaned over, grabbed a box of empties and stomping around the counter, shouldered past him on her way to the storeroom.

  Mike started to follow but was stopped by Madeleine who rushed up beside him and grabbed his arm. “Michael, just what is going on here? I drove all the way out to this backwater town and you don’t even have the decency to say hello?” She frowned, looking at Allie’s quickly retreating form then turned back to Mike. “Who the hell is that girl?”

  “Yeah, Mike. Tell us, just what is Allie to you?” Marla asked with venom in her voice.

  “Allie? That’s the name…that’s the girl you’ve been seeing? That, that….bartender?” Madeleine’s voice rose above the din of the bar, drawing attention. Mike cringed, grabbed her elbow and hauled her across the room towards an empty table.

  He pushed her into a chair and then sat down across from her. He watched as Allie came back into view her face a steely mask. She stopped for a second looking around then, spotting Mike, quickly made a beeline back behind the counter. Mike sighed. He definitely had some bridges to mend, but first, first he had to get rid of Madeleine.

  ***

  Allie re-entered the bar from the storeroom and looked around for Mike. At first she didn’t see him and her heart sank. He’d left with that plasticized woman. When she finally spotted him sitting at a table off to the side of the room, her heart did a little flip. Traitor. She hustled back to the safety of the bar. Hopefully Mike was planning on ordering drinks so she could spit in them.

  Allie kept herself occupied, fussing behind the counter. Luckily, it was crowded in the bar, so she had lots to do and didn’t really have to fake being busy. Much. She did her best to avoid staring at Mike and Madeleine, but didn’t really succeed. The two were having a heated, but quiet discussion; Allie couldn’t catch a word of it, but Mike was scowling and Madeleine looked like she was going to turn on the waterworks at any second. At one point, Mike looked over at her, his eyes full of concern, but Allie looked away, her emotions in turmoil.

  When Sal came out of his office to give her a break, Allie tried to make a quick escape outside without Mike noticing. She grabbed her sweater and headed out the back, hunkering down in the shadows of the building to stew. The light behind the bar still hadn’t been replaced but the darkness suited her just fine. Allie felt miserable and wanted nothing more than to go home, climb into bed and pull the covers over her head, but she had two more hours until the bar closed. Besides, that wasn’t her style, not really. After all, if it had been, after the rough few months she’d just had, she probably should still be there under the covers.

  The sound of the employee door at the back of the bar slamming shut snapped Allie out of her thoughts. So much for avoiding Mike. Who else would have followed her out here?

  Still, it was a shock to see him, or rather, his boots, come to a stop in front of her. She scrambled to her feet fully intending to tell him that she didn’t want to talk to him but
instead took a quick step forward and pushed him away with both hands on his chest. “I trusted you!” she hissed. Mike staggered back a step from the assault but remained silent, his eyes filled with pain.

  “I trusted you,” she said again, her voice almost a whisper. She accentuated her words with another push and then turned her back to him. She hugged herself, blinking back tears. There was no way she was going to let herself cry. No way.

  Mike took a step towards her. He reached out, but then stopped, letting his hand drop away before it touched her shoulder. “I know,” he said quietly, his voice laced with regret. “I know.”

  He came to stand right behind her, but didn’t touch her. Allie could feel the heat of his body radiating out towards her. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and his breath tickled her neck. “I should have told you about Madeleine.” He shifted and even without being able to see, Allie knew he was running a hand through his hair. “You have to believe me, there is nothing going on between us anymore. It was over long before I ever met you, no matter what delusional little world Madeleine is living in.”

  “But you didn’t.” Allie turned to face him, taking a step away to distance herself from him. “You know everything about me. Everything. My life has been a frickin’ open book. But you didn’t think I deserved the same honesty? The same openness?”

  “No, that’s not true.” Mike looked surprised. “That’s not true at all.” He reached out to her, but she shrugged his hand away. “I never lied to you. Never. The only reason I didn’t tell you about Madeleine is because she was that unimportant. I haven’t thought of her once, since I met you.”

  “And what about your family Mike? Are they that unimportant too?” Allie’s words dripped with venom. “So unimportant that you neglected to tell me anything about them or the family business?”

  “I…I may have skirted around the issue a little,” Mike confessed.

  “A little? You told me that they ran a small business down east. Oh, I’m such an idiot. It was right there in front of me. You even brought a bottle of your family’s wine to my house the night of the fair.” She looked at him accusingly. “Did you have a good laugh over it? How you pulled one over on the, hmmm, how did Madeleine put it? Oh yeah, the hippy farm girl?”

  “It wasn’t like that at all and you know it. The opportunity to tell you just hadn’t come up.” Mike looked frustrated. “I didn’t tell you right away because I didn’t want to scare you off. You were already skittish enough about even dating me, I thought if you knew…” Mike shrugged. “Would you have dated me if you knew?”

  “Well, I guess we’ll never know, will we?” Allie stepped around him, heading back towards the door. “I have to get back to work.”

  “Allie, we need to talk about this.”

  “I’m done talking.” She kept walking.

  “Well, I’m not done with you. Not by a long shot,” Mike muttered.

  ***

  When Allie entered the bar, Madeleine was gone. Good riddance. She was relieved that she didn’t have to face another couple of hours of the plastic fantastic. Of course, that didn’t stop her from wondering where she had gone. Especially since Mike didn’t return to the bar after their confrontation.

  When closing finally came, Allie hurried through her end of shift tasks. Home and bed couldn’t come soon enough.

  Allie groaned and looked over at the bedside clock. Nine thirty-five. Well, she at least got a bit of a lie-in, even if she didn’t actually sleep. After dragging herself home the night before, she had written a quick note to her aunt saying she wasn’t feeling well and really needed some extra sleep; measured out Dougie’s morning meds; and then had fallen gratefully into her bed with the idea of not getting out again until lunch. Too bad she was used to being an early riser. She had woken up automatically at her usual time and then couldn’t get back to sleep. Instead, she had lain in bed for the last couple of hours, her mind churning through the events of the previous night. And if that wasn’t bad enough, when she wasn’t rehashing last night’s painful memories, she was thinking about everything that needed to get done today but wasn’t because she was still in bed.

  “Argh!” She threw back the covers. “Alright, alright. I’ll get up.” She sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, running her fingers through her bed-head hair. When the phone on the table beside her rang, she jumped, startled, but managed to pick it up before the second ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Allie, omigod! Are you okay?” Lori asked, her voice full of concern.

  “Wow. You’ve heard already? That must be a new record for this town’s gossip mill.”

  “I was at the post office first thing this morning and Darlene Phelps was there flapping her gums to anyone who’d listen.” Lori went on, barely taking time to breathe. “Her husband Zeke was at Rowdy’s last night and she was bragging about how he met Madeleine Pundyk from Channel 10.” She paused taking a breath. “Is it true? Is it true what she said? That Mike is engaged to Madeleine Pundyk?” Her voice was incredulous. “That rat-bastard,” she added with venom. “Do you want me to send Tommy over to break his kneecaps or something?”

  Allie laughed in spite of how she felt. “No, no. I don’t think that will be necessary.”

  “Oh good. I don’t think Tommy could do it anyway. The man doesn’t have a violent bone in his body,” Lori replied relieved. “So what exactly is going on then?”

  Allie sighed and filled her friend in on what had happened the night before.

  “Holy crap!” Lori shouted, practically deafening Allie through the phone. “ Finnovar Estates? I love their wine.” She paused then added, “Wow, they must really be loaded.”

  “You think?” Allie added sarcastically. The phone beeped in her ear. “Just a sec, Lor. I’m getting another call. It’s probably Becky.” She clicked the phone and switched to the incoming call.

  “Hello?”

  “Allie? Allie, is that you?”

  “Hey Becks.”

  “Don’t hey me. What the hell is going on? My mom just called me. She was at Hanley’s and was talking to Erma Botley and she said…”

  “Hold on Becky. I’ve got Lori on the other line. I’m going to conference you in.” She pressed a series of buttons on the phone. “Hey… you both there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh yeah. Now what the hell?” Becky’s voice was full of concern. “My mom said that Erma Botley said that Mike is engaged to some TV star?”

  Allie snorted. “Hardly. She’s a TV personality. And they aren’t engaged. That’s just wishful thinking on Ms Channel 10’s part.”

  “Okay. Someone better tell me what exactly is going on, or I don’t care if my feet are so swollen I can’t wear shoes or that I’m so huge I barely fit through the door…”

  Allie chuckled. “Relax, relax. We don’t need some pregnant mama breaking down our door.” She quickly outlined the events of the night before once again.

  “Sounds to me,” Lori said, “like Mike wants nothing to do with that nutcase.”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Becky added, her voice full of regret.

  “Why? What else have you heard?” Allie asked.

  “Well…my mom was also at Red & White Groceries and bumped into Mrs. Stockton. She lives over in the same apartments Mike does.” She paused, swallowing audibly.

  “And?” Allie coaxed.

  “And, she said she saw Mike taking a strange woman into his apartment.”

  “It must have been Madeleine Pundyk!” Lori exclaimed. “I mean…I, uh…he must have been giving her a place to stay,” she added quickly. “I mean it would have been too late for her to head back to the city last night and the motel will be all full up because of today’s auction at the cattle yards.”

  “Yeah, that Mike. What a gentleman.” Allie scoffed.

  “Oh come
on now,” Becky interjected. “Lori’s right. It’s probably just like that. Mike is head over heels for you. He wouldn’t cheat on you.”

  “No, but he’ll lie through his perfect white teeth,” Allie practically growled.

  “But he wasn’t lying about Madeleine,” replied Becky. “I watch Channel 10 news. The ditz just got married to some poor schmuck a few months ago - a plastic surgeon or something. What do you want to bet her marriage is already over so she has come sniffing back looking for Mike?”

  “Omigod!” Allie laughed. “She probably got the new rack in the divorce settlement.”

  When the laughter died down, Allie sighed. “It still doesn’t change things. Mike lied to me. He didn’t trust me with the truth about his family.” She swallowed down the tears that threatened to spill over, her voice cracking. “How can I ever trust him again?”

  “Oh sweetie,” Lori’s voice was full of sympathy.

  “Come on, Allie-Cat. Buck up. So the guy’s loaded. Is that really a reason to break up with him?”

  “Becky…” Allie started to complain.

  “Mommy, Mommy!” Dougie burst through her door followed quickly by her aunt.

  “I’m sorry, dear,” Elaine said looking apologetic. “He heard the phone and realized you must be up.”

  “C’mon Mommy. I want to go riding today. You promised.”

  “Just a second little man, you’re interrupting.” Allie turned back to the phone. “Listen guys. I’ve got to go. We’ll talk later?”

  “Okay. Hang tough Allie.” Lori signed off.

  “Yeah. Call me later, girlfriend. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.” Becky laughed. “Hang in there kiddo. Things will work out.”

  “Thanks, Becks.”

  Allie hung up the phone and smiled at her aunt. “It’s okay Aunt Elaine. I was just getting up anyway.”

  “Are you feeling better dear?” Elaine asked, concerned.

  “Sure. I’m fine.” Allie looked down at her son who was standing between them, sawing his head back and forth. “Hey little man. How are you?” She reached out and Dougie ran into her arms. She hugged him to her tightly. At least one person in her life would never let her down.