Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
CATE
N ew Year's Eve shimmered with excitement. Was Cate the only one who felt that way? Of course there was an underlying sadness too. They were all going home. Marlowe had her bag half-packed and so did Sam. The sad look on Isabel's face had put Cate’s plans on hold. The house would probably feel so empty for Isabel and little Holly if they all took off at the same time. Sam would take Marlowe to the airport the day after New Years’s Day and take off for Chicago from there. Cate would stay here a little while.
Today was Holly’s birthday. One year ago Holly had come into an uncertain world in Appleton, Wisconsin. Four days later, Isabel had taken the Ludington ferry over to pick her up. Debbie had gone with her. Her bravery never ceased to amaze Cate. One year old and they were going to celebrate! So she’d ordered a circus cake with a big candle of the number one.
While the girls sat and visited that day, Cate had taken Sam's car into town to pick up the food. Although Sam had volunteered, it seemed to Cate that her niece's ankle was still bothering her. At least she thought that's why Sam seemed so preoccupied. After lunch, she'd started putting paper plates into the dishwasher until Marlowe stopped her with a laugh. “Are you serious, girlfriend? Really? These paper plates belong in the trash.” Sam had pretended it was all a joke.
When they’d finished a dinner of fried chicken, coleslaw and hummus with triangles of pita bread, Isabel and Cate disappeared into the pantry to get the cake. Cate was so grateful to be part of this special family moment. While she held the plate, Isabel lit the single candle.
“Do you believe this?” Isabel’s face glowed in the light of the one candle. The circus animals prancing around the edge of the cake looked magical. “Thank you for ordering this cake. I can’t wait to see her expression.”
“Happy Birthday to you…” They began to sing. With Cate right behind her, Isabel entered the kitchen where Sam and Marlowe sat waiting. The cake quickly caught the baby’s attention. Her mouth dropped open while everyone sang. After a couple seconds, her lips moved. The sweet thing wanted to join in the celebration.
The look on the baby’s face when they approached would stay with Cate forever. The little thing absolutely beamed at the wonder of that cake. Instead of being frightened by the blazing candle, Holly reached for it as they drew closer. Cake in hand, Isabel had to stand away from the highchair while they sang. The baby clapped her hands, turning inside out with excitement.
“Blow, Holly! See…” Although Isabel showed her to expel the breath, the sweet baby got confused. What did Mom want her to do now? So Isabel made a wish for the baby and then blew out the candle. That’s when the trouble started. For a second Cate thought Holly might cry when the candle went out. Her delicate lips quivered with disappointment and her outreached hands dropped.
But once her mom placed a slice on Holly’s tray with a plastic spoon, wonder of wonders, Holly looked straight up at Isabel and said, “Tu-tu, Ma-ma.”
They all applauded and Holly joined in the clapping, smacking her frosting-covered palms together with delight. Face glowing, Izzy cherished her baby’s words. Cate got busy dishing out spumoni ice cream while Isabel cut generous slices of the yellow cake. Before dinner Cate had unbuttoned her slacks to accommodate this meal. She intended to buy some slacks with elastic waistbands. They’d never been her favorite but what was a woman to do when confronted by mounting Christmas calories? No way was she going to cut down on her fun. Not yet, anyway.
The laughing and teasing went on for a while. Finished with the messy cake, Holly made it clear that she wanted the wooden circus animals. Whisking them from the cake, Marlowe rinsed them off and handed Holly the monkey and the giraffe, which seemed to be her favorites.
While her sisters straightened up the kitchen, Sam drifted toward the living room with Holly in her arms. My, she seemed quite taken by the baby, but weren’t they all? Although there had been some half-hearted offers to take down the tree, Isabel wasn't having it. And Cate was glad. The tree was so beautiful and because it was fresh, it hadn't dropped many needles. Well, except for those knocked off by Bogart when he was batting around one of the ornaments.
Soon they were all seated in front of the fire that Marlowe started so efficiently. She sure was an expert at that. Cate settled into the large chair and grabbed the Snoopy blanket. Her three nieces cuddled on the sofa. Holly was having a great time playing with her circus animals on a quilt in front of the tree.
“Gonna miss you guys when you leave,” Isabel said with one of her little girl pouts.
“Are you going to miss my Florida charm or my skill with the fireplace?” Marlowe asked with a grin.
“Both,” Isabel said. “This has been the best Christmas I’ve had in a long time.”
“Before long I'll be back,” Marlowe threw back without missing a beat. “You'll see. I'll be underfoot all the time. You’ll want to get rid of me.”
“Do you have any plans yet?” Cate asked, wildly curious but not wanting to nag. “Thoughts about time period, that sort of thing?”
Marlowe sent her a sly look. “Always conniving.”
“You got that right,” Sam said, slouching lower on the couch.
They're ganging up on me. “Didn't mean to pry.” Cate settled the blanket snug around her. Was it wrong to try to keep her family together? Family unity didn’t just happen. Sometimes it had to be helped along. Developed. Plans had to be made. Dates had to be put on a calendar. But she could almost feel Monty shaking his head at her with disapproval.
Well, right back at you. You aren’t here to help me with this anymore.
“I have a lot of calls set up with realtors here in town.” Marlowe took out her phone and scrolled through her contacts list. That girl was really on top of things. “A lot of them weren't around because of the holiday. Over the past couple days I grabbed business cards as I went around town.”
Cate was pleased and not at all surprised by Marlowe's plans. “Sounds promising.”
“And how do those phone calls you keep getting figure into your plan?” Only Samantha was brave enough to ask. “Haven't noticed your phone vibrating recently.”
Cate was so glad Samantha had pressed that point with her sister. Something was very fishy about that vibrating phone that Marlowe never answered when the family was around.
Pocketing her phone, Marlowe took in a quick breath. “That part’s history. Bad judgment and a mistake on my part.”
Her niece looked so downhearted that Cate had to speak up. “There are no mistakes in life, Marlowe. Just poor decisions we make with the facts at hand. Sometimes those mistakes lead us to a better solution.”
“Well I’m finished with poor decisions,” Isabel sputtered. Leaving the sofa, she crouched next to the baby to smooth the curls springing up on Holly’s head. “I’m on to better things, like being a good mom.”
She hadn't been clear and Cate was glad Isabel had called her on that. “I meant that there really aren’t any bad decisions, not if we learn from them. And then we take another direction, sweetheart. This time a better one.” Then Cate zipped her lips because she was hoping Marlowe would elaborate. Simply for the purpose of education, of course.
“My decision wasn’t bad, it was rotten,” Marlowe finally said after a few seconds that felt like an eternity. “Came from not thinking things through.”
You could have heard a pin drop in that room. Only it would have been a pine needle, not a pin. Her sisters wanted to know more and so did Cate. Marlowe did not disappoint. “Some men are available and some men are not. And they're not honest about it.”
So that's what it was. Wanting to strangle the man involved, Cate felt her heart break for Marlowe. But it sounded as if she’d come to her senses. And maybe this trip to Charlevoix had brought her to that point.
“So sorry, sis.” Sam reached over to squeeze Marlowe's hand.
“Okay, at least I know I'm not the only one making poor choices or bad decisions––whatever you call a man who's, you know, not right for you.” By that time Isabel was stretched out next to Holly on the floor. Leaning her head on one hand, Isabel threw her sister a mischievous smile.
Cate wished she could feel better about Isabel’s choices. With Skipper in her kitchen, Cate wasn’t convinced that her youngest niece was on the right path. But these girls were adults and they had to live their own lives. Cate hated to see Isabel alone. There was no reason for it. Certainly someone appropriate would come along.
“Hey, is that another present under the tree?” Marlowe pointed. For a second, Cate thought her niece was kidding, diverting everyone’s attention to avoid more questions. But yes, deep under the green boughs sat a gift wrapped in green tissue with a big red bow. How had they missed it? Marlowe dug it out and read the tag.
“Looks like this is for you,” she said, bringing the gift over and depositing it in Cate’s lap.
“What is this?” The tag said From Your Loving Nieces . “Oh you shouldn’t have, really. My, this is heavy.” When had they shopped for this? The gift sat like a rock in her lap. She tore off the tissue, gasped and felt the tears start.
“The mirror. Where did you find it?” The mirror she’d made so many years ago from the broken shards of the blue pitcher was more beautiful than she remembered. It was as if her mother had sent her a sign that she could and should move on with her life.
“In one of the boxes in the attic,” Marlowe said. “I figured it had to be up there somewhere.”
“Oh, thank you. You are all so sweet.” Sniffling, she swept them with a wobbly smile. “I’m getting the message.”
“I’ll hang it up in your bedroom upstairs,” Marlowe said. “Unless you want to take it back to New York.”
“No. Absolutely not. The mirror stays here.” While Cate sat there praying to her sister Joanna to help her find her new direction, Holly flipped over on onto her stomach and began to whine. Tired after a long day, she seemed perplexed about how to flip back over.
“Looks like my little girl is ready for bed. Can you guys watch her while I heat a bottle?” Isabel jumped up. Sashaying off to the kitchen, the sweet thing looked as if she were twenty-five, not thirty-five. “Holly should be ready to go down pretty soon.”
Of course they all agreed. No one was ready to go to bed yet. They talked late into the night while the fire burned down into embers and their heads filled with plans and promises.