Enright Family Collection (128 page)

He just didn’t have much left to deal with Georgia Enright.

With any luck, his contact with her today would be minimal. He wondered if her friend—had his name been Lee?—would be there. The thought soured his mood even more—another bit of business he didn’t feel like thinking too much about right now.

There were more cars than he’d expected already parked along both sides of the drive leading to the farm, and Matt had to weave between a dark green
mini-van and a long Mercedes sedan to get to his usual spot under the oak tree back near the barn. He glanced at the sedan as he walked past, wondering which of Ally’s friends had parents prosperous enough to afford such a vehicle.

Music from the barn’s second floor told him that the dancing lesson portion of the festivities had already begun. He stood near the barn door debating whether to go up and watch or to sneak into his apartment via the outside steps. He would have loved to skip the rest of the afternoon completely, but this was Ally’s day, and she would want him to see her dance.

“You sit, Artie. Stay right here till I come back. And don’t go chasing after that little porker, hear?” Matt told the dog, who flopped under a nearby tulip poplar tree and watched with soulful eyes as his master walked away.

Matt blew out his resignation in a long thin stream of air and opened the barn door. Once inside, the music was loud and full, and he started up the steps reluctantly.

Matt didn’t know much classical music, but he recognized the piano tune that had been playing the first time he’d barged into Ally’s dance class. The tempo had segued from lively and spirited to light and delicate, and halfway up the steps he almost stopped, knowing
she’d
probably be wearing that pink thing. He wasn’t sure he wanted to subject himself to that again. He just didn’t think he was up to it.

But it was Ally’s birthday, and she was expecting him.

When he reached the top of the steps, he was surprised to see how the old barn had been transformed. There were folding chairs—with pink and lavender balloons tied onto their backs with long strings—in a semicircle around the makeshift dance floor, and upon the chairs sat the mothers of a few of Ally’s friends, and a few other adults Matt did not recognize. There was only one seat left, that being next to a kindly looking older woman in her mid-sixties with straight salt and pepper hair who turned upon hearing Matt’s footsteps. She smiled at him pleasantly as she removed her sweater from the vacant chair and patted the seat, inviting him to sit. On her right sat a pretty and obviously pregnant woman with masses of blond curls pulled back from a delicate face, and next to her, a dark-haired man who appeared to be in his early thirties who watched the ballet lesson with mild amusement. Laura sat near the opposite end of the row whispering something to a woman Matt recognized as the mother of one of Ally’s friends from Bishop’s Cove.

From her place behind her chair where she had lined up in third position, Ally bounced up and down with glee when she realized that Matt had arrived.

“Hey, Uncle Matt! You were late and we had to start without you!” She cupped her hands to her mouth and stage whispered.

“Sorry, sugar. I got a late start.” He whispered back.

“It’s okay. You’re here now and you can watch me!”

“I’m watching, Ally.” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs, his hands dangling
between his knees, and tried to pretend that he did not see Ally’s ballet teacher.

He had been right. She was wearing the pink thing, only today she also wore a light pink chiffon-y wrap skirt thingy that tied around her tiny waist. She had piled her hair atop her head, but it was too thick and too heavy to stay there. Long tendrils had escaped to flirt with the back of her neck and the sides of her face, which was flushed as pink as the leotard that was leaving little to the imagination as far as that petite and perfect body was concerned. Matt decided he was better off keeping his eyes on the students and away from the teacher.

There were a dozen or so little dancers who had been invited to spend the day with Ally, and they all hung on Georgia’s every word. Surprisingly, there was no horseplay and very little giggling while the steps were being taught, nor any later when each of the girls had a turn to perform the positions along with the teacher. All of the adults, on the other hand, ooh’d and ahh’d at the girls’ efforts. In particular, Matt noticed a handsome looking woman with short, soft hair the color of champagne sitting five seats away who beamed with pleasure as she watched the dancers follow their instructor around in a circle to end the performance. The small audience applauded the efforts of the children as the class came to an end.

“And that concludes our lesson for today,” Georgia bowed first to the audience, then to her class, telling them, “Girls, there’s a cooler over here with popsicles if you’d like one ...”

She laughed then, as the small sea of sprites in various colored leotards engulfed her, and she
opened the cooler and took a few steps back to permit the children access to the treats. As she did, she caught Matt’s eye. She’d known he’d been watching her, had felt his eyes on her before she’d been aware of his arrival. She tried to smile at him as a sort of peace offering, to make him feel at ease, surrounded, as he was, by Enrights and near-Enrights, but he appeared to be making polite conversation with August Devlin, who was seated on his right. Georgia wondered if Matt knew how close to the enemy camp he had been sitting, then realized that he had no way of knowing that many of those in the audience were members of her immediate family.

“Is there anything more
earnest
than little girls who are just learning their first ballet steps?” The woman who sat next to Matt patted his arm. “Aren’t they just delightful?”

“They are cute, yes, ma’am,” Matt nodded.

“And have you ever seen anyone more graceful than Georgia?” The woman shook her head slightly in admiration, then added, in Latin,
“Vera incessu patuit dea.”

It took a minute or so for his four years of high school Latin to kick in so that he could translate the phrase.
By her walk the true goddess was revealed.

He smiled wryly and asked, “Virgil?”

“Good for you, my boy.” The woman laughed. “I’m afraid I forget myself at times. I taught Latin for more years than I care to admit to, and old habits, you see, do indeed die hard.” She said as she stood, dropping the forgotten sweater. Before Matt could respond, she asked, “Now, did I hear Ally call you ‘uncle’?”

“Yes,” he said as he bent down to pick up the sweater, earning him a smiled thanks as he handed it to her. “Ally is my niece.”

“Then you must be Matthew. Laura’s brother.” She touched his arm softly with the fingers of her left hand.

“Yes,” he nodded.

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Matthew,” she said with a smile that revealed dimples in her softly lined face. “Laura’s told us so much about you. And of course, we’ve all been looking forward to meeting you.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you are ...?”

“Terrible of me.” She flustered. “I’m August Devlin.”

The name rang familiar but not familiar enough for Matt to readily identify it. His blank expression gave him away, and she laughed again, saying, “Which tells you nothing, I would guess. I’m India Devlin Enright’s aunt.”

“Oh,” he said, not quite sure of who India Devlin Enright might be, other than to know she was a part of Laura’s life that did not include him. “Nice to meet you. If you’ll excuse me, I just want to see my sister for a minute ...”

Matt’s head had begun to pound as he walked toward Laura, the barn walls closing in upon him. How many of the people surrounding him were members of her new family, and why hadn’t she prepared him? He stopped halfway across the scuffed pine floor and caught Georgia’s eye. He wanted to pretend he had not seen her, but there was something in her expression—a wary, uncertain welcome—that
spoke to him whether he wanted to listen or not, and for a moment he felt as if he had read her mind. The unexpected intimacy spooked him, and suddenly, speaking to Laura did not seem so very important after all. He turned and walked toward the stairwell, fishing in his pants pocket for his keys. By the time he had reached the door to his apartment, the key was in his hand and slid into the lock in the blink of an eye.

Georgia’s eyes were on him every step of the way.

He’s fled like one in fear—or in pain,
she thought.
Perhaps a bit of both ...

She bit her bottom lip, wondering whether to follow her first instinct—to follow him—or to let it go.

“This was lovely, darling,” Delia approached Georgia from behind and kissed the side of her daughter’s face. “What a wonderful place for a dance studio, such wonderful space. Although you really do need some mirrors and a real barre. And you really should do something about the lighting.”

“What?” Georgia, whose mind had not been on her surroundings, tuned back in. “Oh. Yes. Well, you know I’m only staying month to month for the time being, so I have to make do.”

“Maybe you should think about looking for a more permanent spot. Your little dancing school has tremendous potential. All the mothers are talking about signing their daughters up for regular lessons. You could have quite the lively business going. I can just see the sign out front,” Delia mused. “Ballet in the Barn ... at Pumpkin Hill.”

Georgia laughed. “Why, thank you, Mother. If I
decide to open a real dancing school, I just might use it. It does have a certain flair, doesn’t it?”

“You are a wonderful teacher, Georgia.” Zoey joined them. “You had those little ones eating out of your hand. And you looked like you were having such a good time.”

“I was. I really enjoy working with them more than I ever imagined.”

“Well, I for one am very impressed.” Delia said. “Your little students are adorable, and you look better than I have seen you look in years. I had the same feeling I used to get, watching you dance so long ago. You look, well,
happy,
Georgia.”

“I am happy, Mother.” Georgia’s eyes kept returning to the door in the wall at the top of the steps to see if Matt had reappeared. He had not.

Georgia handed Delia the tape deck and said. “Mother, would you take this down with you? We’re going to need these chairs outside for the party—some of the mothers are staying plus there are so many of
us
—so I want to get Nicky and Ben and Zoey to help carry them. Oh! And there’s Gordon Chandler. Ally must have invited him.”

“Gordon Chandler ...?” Delia’s eyebrows knit together in concentration, as she tried to place the name.

“Oh, Mother, you’ve met him. At a book convention or something a few years ago, he mentioned it. He’s a ship salvager ...”

“Of course! I remember him.” Delia smiled. “Fascinating man.”

Georgia grinned and her eyes began to sparkle. She
leaned close to her mother’s ear and whispered, “Intelligent. Handsome. Witty. And he’s a widower.”

Delia laughed and took the tape player from Georgia’s hands. “I’ll certainly be interested in seeing him again. Now, did you want this in the house, sweetie?”

“The girls might want to play some music later, so I guess you can leave it on the big folding table that Laura is setting up in the yard.” Georgia turned and called to her brother, “Nicky, there are four more chairs along the wall there ...”

The children had taken off down the steps, headed for the house where they would change into play clothes, the mothers who had attended following behind, all enthusiastically discussing their plans to not only sign up their daughters for regular lessons, but to talk Georgia into having an adult class as well. The chair brigade had formed and was on its noisy way toward the ground floor. Georgia watched as the Enright crew passed by.

Nick. India. Aunt August. Zoey. Ben. Corri. Mother. Me.

It must seem to Matt that there are so many of us.

And only one of him.

She paused at the top of the steps, her hand on the light switch. Matt would still be in his apartment, right behind that door.

He must be feeling so alone. So overwhelmed ...

Without a second thought, Georgia knocked lightly on the door, which swung partly open at her touch. When Matt did not answer, she pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped into the small kitchen.

Matt stood at the sink, a glass of water in his hand, his gazed fixed upon the farmyard below.

“Excuse me,” she said softly from the doorway. “May I come in?”

“It looks like you already have.”

She smiled wryly, then took a few steps into the room that was rapidly filling with tension. She took a deep breath.

“Ally is having a wonderful birthday,” she began. “She was so afraid you wouldn’t come.”

“I have never missed Ally’s birthday.” He said somewhat stiffly, trying to ignore the faint trace of honeysuckle that seemed to accompany her. He knew the scent well, it being the only fragrance his aunt had ever worn. “She knew I would be here.”

“I’m glad you are.”

Georgia took another tentative step toward him, as if approaching a rabbit that was likely to take off at any minute. Searching for the right thing to say, she followed his gaze to where the strangers gathered below.

Perhaps,
she thought,
if the strangers had names
...

“That’s August Devlin, in the blue and white dress. The woman you sat next to during the dance class.”

“She introduced herself.”

“Then you know that she’s India’s aunt.”

“Yes.”

“India is that beautiful young woman with the honey-blond hair. She’s married to my brother, Nick. She’s pregnant.”

“That would explain the maternity clothes.”

Georgia ignored the sarcasm.

“Nicky is the man in the yellow sweater.”

Matt did not respond, so she took a step forward, and continued.

“Nick’s a marine biologist. He and India live on the Delaware Bay with their daughter, Corri.” Georgia ventured close enough to put a finger to the window pane. “Corri is the little girl with the long brown braids. We’re also celebrating the finalization of Corri’s adoption today. She had been adopted previously by India’s brother, Ry. India kept her when he died. She’s a wonderful little girl, and we all love her so much. And she’s so thrilled to find that she has a cousin. She and Ally have become fast friends.”