Winter Storm (2 page)

“We just decided to go to the library now,” Callie said. “The storm is not as bad as they predicted, and you’ll have more time to work that way.”

“That’s nice. Thank you.”

Maggie beamed. She was the quiet, easy one. Rebecca hoped the impression wasn’t only surface. The thought scared her sometimes. Maggie reminded her too much of the way she’d been at her age, but there was a huge difference. Contrary to Rebecca, Maggie wasn’t growing up with cool, distant adults. She had both of her parents to turn to, her sister, and Callie. Rebecca hoped that it would be enough.

“How’s work going?” Callie asked softly.

“Let’s say, when I’m done with this, I’d be okay with taking a break from the Mediterranean cuisine for a while. I’ve been staring at these pictures for, I don’t know how long.”

“You will be fine.”

There was no point in thinking otherwise, was there?

* * * *

Rebecca took a break from work to start lunch. Standing at the stove over a pot of pasta, she wondered if she should advertise. That would mean another investment, but maybe it was wiser to try and find clients outside of town. The married mother “turned” lesbian still presented somewhat of an attraction in Autumn Leaves. The truth was a lot more complex than that, and she hadn’t turned into anything she hadn’t been before, but preconceived notions were persistent. A few miles further, people might care less. It was worth a try.

She started to heat vegetables in a pan, the smell of food comforting. Rebecca always loved cooking for her family, enjoying meals with people talking and laughing around the table. By the time the doorbell rang, she was feeling a lot more optimistic. Callie and Maggie had obviously cut the library time short which was a good idea since it had started snowing again. She wiped her hands on a dish towel and went to answer the door.

“Perfect timing. Lunch is ready.”

“Hello, Rebecca,” David said.

She was dumbfounded, just standing in the doorway for a moment until she became aware of the snowflakes drifting inside.

“You’re going to let me in?” he asked ruefully.

“Of course. I’m sorry. I…I didn’t expect you.”

“I figured.” He shook the snow out of his scarf. “The weather’s crazy. We didn’t have that much snow in December.”

“It’s late this time.” Rebecca was sure he hadn’t driven all the way here to make small talk about the weather. She couldn’t help the feeling that he was trying to ease her into a subject she wouldn’t like to hear about.

“Would you like some coffee? You could have lunch with us too.”

“No thanks, I won’t stay that long. Coffee would be nice. You don’t have to make it just for me though.”

“That’s okay.”

David followed her into the kitchen, silence settling between them as Rebecca busied herself with making the coffee and putting the food in the oven so it would stay warm. She could look at their shared situation with some detachment. It was ironic how people and their relationships changed—sad, sometimes. Rebecca had never liked change until she found herself in a moment from where it was impossible to turn back. She waited.

“I won’t take much of your time,” he said. “I was in town, and I thought we could talk about the details in person rather than over the phone.”

“The details of what?” Rebecca asked, perplexed.

David looked confused too. “Wait a minute. Dina said everything was cleared with you except one little detail. It’s no big deal. I know she loved New York the last time, so—”

“What? It’s a business trip for Callie. We’re not taking the girls.” There went detachment. Unexpected change of plans was another thing Rebecca wasn’t too fond of.

“Wow. Okay.” He sighed. “Dina said otherwise. She also said you were worried about the money. You know, we’re still their parents. When it concerns the girls, I need you to tell me if there’s a problem.”

“There’s no problem.” Rebecca poured a cup of coffee for each of them with a sinking heart, realizing she might have to make a few things even clearer to Dina.

“Rebecca,” he said softly. “They don’t have to miss out on anything just because we’re separated.”

“I don’t think Dina’s missing out on anything,” Rebecca said, barely reining in her irritation. “It’s work. It’s Callie’s work. When we go on a vacation again, of course Dina can come if she wants to.”

“Oh boy.” David gave her a sheepish smile. “I’m afraid you’re not going to like this, then. Please keep in mind that our daughter did not give me all the information.”

“David…”

“She was so down about it, I gave her my credit card to book a flight on the same plane.”

Rebecca was speechless with the turn of events. She’d have to have a few stern words with her older daughter. One thing hadn’t changed for sure. When it came to the girls, David could not say no.

* * * *

At some point during the past year, Callie’s life had felt overwhelming, out of hand. It was ironic to remember that after inheriting her aunt’s house, she had been looking for peace and quiet. She wanted to concentrate on finishing her book, stay away from all drama, relationships, and neighbors. She’d done the complete opposite. Callie had never envisioned children in her life, but she’d found that dealing with Maggie was a lot easier than she’d feared. Getting excited over a trunk full of books reminded her of her own childhood and the happy times spent with her mother in spite of an absent father.

On the way home, she bought a hot chocolate for each of them. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea before lunch. She was in a mood, though, and if that meant spoiling Maggie a little, she didn’t mind.

“I talked to your teacher the other day,” she told the girl. “Ms. Romano says you do great with reading and writing.”

Maggie smiled, pleased with the praise. “I like stories. I just wish you’d write them faster.”

“Wow.” Callie laughed. It was true: She had neglected the children’s stories segment of her work for a while now, with her life being all about adult problems. After the New York trip she’d try to rectify that. Having a child under her roof who loved books might just help.

“So maybe you should try to write your own too?”

Maggie frowned. “You’re just saying that.”

“No, I mean it. I’m sure you could.”

“Really?”

“Really. You’re still hungry for lunch, I hope?”

Maggie pretended to think about it and giggled. “’Course.”

“I’m glad. Your mom would not be happy with me otherwise.”

Callie hadn’t paid attention to the car across the street as it was, like all parked vehicles, covered with a thin layer of snow. She unlocked the door and closed it behind Maggie, both of them taking off their boots and putting coats and hats away. Walking in the living room, Callie wished she would have been more attentive and recognized David’s car. It was rather uncommon that he came by here by himself. Maggie was happy to see him, of course, running to hug him.

“Hey! How was the library—did you leave any books there?”

“Daddy, come on.” Maggie chided him for the silliness, but her smile was happy and genuine. So was his. Callie suppressed a sigh. Two cups sat on the table. David and Rebecca obviously had something to talk about. She just hoped it wasn’t connected to Dina’s early morning call. She wanted Rebecca with her in New York, for the sake of both of them.

“Callie,” he finally greeted her. “I’m sorry for intruding on you. I was just about to go.”

“You don’t have to, if there’s something—”

“It’s okay. We were done.” Rebecca’s smile was strained. “We’ll come by tomorrow afternoon to bring Maggie then.”

“You do that,” he said, ruffling Maggie’s hair. “Bye.”

They had lunch in relative quiet. Callie waited until Maggie was done and off to her room to start on her homework, until she asked.

“What was he doing here?” Rebecca looked startled, and Callie rephrased her question. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like that. Is Dina all right?”

“Yeah. There’s something I need to talk to you about, though. Dina—” She shook her head with a rueful smile. “I had no idea this was so important to her. Would you mind if Dina came with us?”

“To New York?” Callie asked unnecessarily.

Well, in a way, she did mind. She had been craving a few days out of town with Rebecca, spending time with her alone. Callie had been looking forward to enjoying all the experiences—cultural, culinary, and more—that Autumn Leaves couldn’t offer, including the luxury of a posh hotel room. The Christmas vacation had been planned as a family trip. This wasn’t. However, she knew she had to do her part. Rebecca’s family was hers now, too, to some extent. Dina was still on the fence sometimes when it came to judging Callie. If she wanted to gain the girl’s trust, here was a golden opportunity.

“If she can take the school days off, it’s okay with me. We’ll buy a ticket and—”

“I’m afraid David already did.”

“Oh.” For the moment, Callie had nothing more to say.

“I know we said not this time. I told her no this morning. Obviously, the message didn’t get across.”

Callie did not say out loud what she was thinking.
You could always give the ticket back.

“Come on, I said it’s okay.” She reached out to take Rebecca’s hand on the table. “Why David though? I would have paid for it.”

“Now why is everybody acting that way? I’m not starving and neither will one of my children. I’m sorry, Callie. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Rebecca didn’t sound angry, just tired and resigned, her slumped shoulders adding to the impression. It made feel Callie bad about her own jealous antics.

“It’s okay. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, but you know you can come to me with anything, right? That’s what we signed up for.”

“I know.” Rebecca’s tone was soft and apologetic. “One day, I’ll give you a reason why you put up with all of this.”

“You do. Every day.”

They held each other’s gaze, their fingers still linked on the table. At moments like this, it took a lot of effort and self-restraint to go back to work in your home office, when one shared look opened up a world of fantasy. Callie reminded herself that Dina was old enough to put up with a “do not disturb” sign for a significant part of the trip.

* * * *

They had to be at the airport around six thirty in the morning, about an hour drive from Autumn Leaves. There was a lot of packing left to do, including for Maggie’s week with David and Susan. Rebecca was quite sure Dina would not be all ready once they arrived at David’s new house. Of the two sisters, Maggie was clearly the neater one.

Callie, even though she was the most important person here, seemed surprisingly relaxed. Then again, she was familiar with this world. A couple of casual outfits, work-appropriate, a little black dress for the award gala—she packed like someone who was used to packing up and leaving without a fuss. Without attachment.

Rebecca looked over to the bed where she had narrowed down her own choice of dresses to three, of which none seemed to be appropriate for a rather relevant GBLT event. Of course, it wasn’t like she had any idea at all what would be appropriate.

“Either way, I’ll have to put up with a lot of women staring at you,” Callie predicted. “How about the red one?”

“Isn’t it too much? I don’t know…I don’t want to embarrass you.”

“How? By being beautiful?”

It was frustrating for Rebecca that she didn’t even know how to explain her concerns. She always considered herself fairly smart and educated, but even after coming out to practically the whole village, in church nonetheless, she felt painfully out of her league. A few things were for certain. She had chosen the truth, this new life, with Callie. Rebecca just didn’t know how to fit into a community she knew next to nothing about, nothing that wasn’t a cliché or from a book.

Callie sat beside her on the bed, leaning against her.

“See, you don’t have to worry about anything. It’s a gala. No one will look strangely at you for wearing a dress, if that’s what you mean. Well, they will look at you for sure, but that’s another story. Now remember what it was like when I first came to Autumn Leaves. I had no idea what I was doing, in this town, with all its implied rules. You made me feel comfortable, and I’m going to do the same for you. It won’t be that bad though. No one’s going to slap you.”

“Don’t remind me,” Rebecca said ruefully. The circle of close friends she’d relied on for many years had been falling apart over the past few months. One of them, her sister-in-law, had died in a car accident. Betty LaRue who had been her friend for the longest time in Autumn Leaves, had somehow succumbed to small-town bigotry. If she always been there, Rebecca hadn’t noticed before. She hadn’t been paying attention regarding a lot of things, as it seemed.

“Okay,” she said with a sigh. “The red one it is. Asha will be there, I assume?”

“Yeah. I’ll tell her, no red.”

Asha Malik, Callie’s editor and also ex, had been friendly the last time they’d met. At least there would be one familiar face even though Rebecca still found her intimidating.

“Thank you.”

“You’ll be fine. There’ll be just a bunch of people talking about books. Some of these people might even be interested in having a website built or overhauled for them. Most of all, though, I want to spend time with you. No,” she said when Rebecca was about to speak. “It’s okay that Dina will be there. She’s a big girl. We won’t have to watch her every minute of the day, or night. Especially not at night…”