Chapter 7
An hour later, Callie was on her way out of the coffee shop when her friend Kate called out to her from the other side of the road.
“Callie, wait up!” Kate scurried over to her; a small stack of paperbacks balanced in her arms. “I’m glad I ran into you.”
“What’s up?” Callie frowned at the books. “Do you need help?”
“Hm? Oh, no.” Kate shook her head. “I’m fine. That’s not why I stopped you. I just wanted to see if you ever talked to Sasha about applying to work at the store? I need to hire someone before Thanksgiving so I can have them trained before everyone goes shopping this weekend.”
“I told her you were looking for help and last I heard she was planning on dropping off her resume soon. I think she’s overthinking the application process too much—it’s her first time trying to get a job since she was in high school and it’s stressing her out a little.”
“But you told Sasha I don’t need her to have any experience, right?”
Callie nodded. “Yeah, I made it clear that you weren’t going to be looking at her resume that closely, but she’s determined to put her best foot forward. It’s sweet, really.”
“Very sweet,” Kate agreed. “But is there a way you can tell her to speed things along? There are a few other people who’ve expressed interest in the job, so…”
Kate wasn’t saying it out loud, but Callie knew what she was getting at. If Sasha didn’t get her application in soon, she was going to lose out on this opportunity.
“I’ll talk to her,” Callie said. “And you know, Mallory might be interested in taking the job as well, so if for some reason Sasha doesn’t want it, I’ll make sure Mal comes to talk to you as soon as possible.”
“Oh, I thought Mallory already found a job.”
“Why would you think that?”
Kate shrugged. “I saw her hanging out at the computer repair shop for a while yesterday, I thought maybe she was working there...”
“No, she was just there getting David’s computer fixed. But now that you mention the repair shop, do you know the man who works there? James?”
“I don’t think so, why?”
“Just curious. I’m trying to learn a bit more about him.”
Kate raised a brow. “Ooh! I’m intrigued.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” Callie said, laughing.
“Like what?”
“Like you think I’m about to tell you some juicy gossip!
I’m not. Mallory and James went to high school together and when he came by to pick up the computer, I thought maybe I saw a little spark between the two of them.
But I figure it’s probably a good idea to make sure he’s not married or something before I get too attached to that idea. ..”
“First of all, that is a juicy piece of gossip. At least, by Ferndale standards. And second, I wouldn’t know about this man’s marital status. But someone in town does. I’ll ask around.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
Kate smiled wickedly. “I was going to do it anyway. You know I’m a sucker for this kind of thing, and I’d love to see Mallory find someone to settle down with. And if she falls in love with someone from Ferndale, she might move back!”
Callie put her hands up. “Whoa there! Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.
We don’t even know that he’s single.” But Callie didn’t actually have a leg to stand on with this comment.
She’d already jumped to those exact same conclusions herself.
In fact, she’d gone even further—daydreaming about what kind of wedding dress Mallory might pick out, and whether she and James would like a beachside ceremony.
“Not yet,” Kate said. “But I’m going to find out soon, mark my words.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you.” Callie shook her head, but she was smiling. “I have to get going, but I’ll make sure Sasha calls you about the job today.”
“Please do. I’d love to get her started right away!”
Callie waved and they went their separate ways.
It was a little cold out, but Callie walked to the cafe, so she had no choice but to walk back home.
At least the air was crisp and the coffee she’d drank earlier was still keeping her relatively warm.
She took a moment to admire the last leaves clinging to the trees, which created a beautiful array of oranges and reds.
The peak time of year for the colors had hit a few weeks back, and Callie had taken a long hike in the woods behind the house, seeing every fall color North America had to offer.
It only took a beautiful morning like that to remind her why Ferndale was her favorite place on the planet. She didn’t understand why David always wanted to go on long, lavish vacations. What did he feel was missing from a place as perfect as this?
Ironically, when she got back to the house twenty minutes later, she found David on the couch, trying to do some research on Dubai using his phone instead of his laptop.
He cursed under his breath and squinted at the small screen as Callie came into the room and set her work bag on the cushion next to him. “Everything okay?”
“It’s fine,” he grumbled. “I just hate having to book things on my phone. My fingers are too big to type well on the little keyboard, so I have to triple check everything before I submit any forms. And I still tend to mess stuff up.” He sighed and put his phone on the coffee table. “Oh, well. I’ll do this later.”
“Taylor offered to help you do research on new laptops when he comes to town,” Callie said, taking a seat in the recliner. “So, if you can hold off for a few days, I think his input will be really useful and then you can book things without any trouble.”
“Yeah, alright.” David sat back heavily into the couch and gave Callie a tentative look. “I’m actually glad you brought up Taylor. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about regarding the kids.”
“Should I be worried?” Callie asked, her face growing pale.
“No, not particularly.”
“Hmm, well that was convincing.”
He rubbed his hands on the front of his pants a few times. “The thing is—I’m a little nervous about having everyone under the same roof this upcoming week. I think we should come up with a game plan.”
“A game plan?” She frowned. “What are you talking about?” She laughed. “Wait, is this about Sasha? Because I told Taylor all about her this morning, so now all the kids know about her.”
“No, it’s not about Sasha,” he said. “It’s about us.”
Callie stiffened. “Oh. What about us?”
“You know.”
She didn’t argue.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had all our kids over here together,” he continued. “And their partners are coming too, plus Ariel’s kids. That’s a lot of people. A lot of people who might notice something’s going on with us…”
Callie whipped her head around to make sure nobody was within earshot. “Shh. Someone might hear you.”
“Mallory’s out and Sasha’s taking a nap with Dot. I think we’re safe.”
“Even still, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your voice down a little.
” She shifted nervously in her chair. Callie hadn’t expected this conversation, and it was making her stomach turn.
Or perhaps it was because of the two cups of coffee she’d downed that morning without eating.
Either way, she was itching to get this over with.
“I think you’re being a little paranoid. ”
“And, no offense, but I think you’re being a little naive. Where are we even going to put everyone?” he asked in a hushed tone this time. “There’s not enough room in the house.”
“Ariel, Chris, and the kids are staying somewhere else,” she said. “So, we’ll just have to find room for Taylor and Erica. I figured they’d want to sleep in his old room… Which I’m now realizing is the room Mallory’s been staying in.”
“Right.”
“Then we’ll put them in Ariel’s old room.
I can move the sewing table and machine into the basement and then we’ll have to bring the queen bed back up and swap out the twin.
” She clicked her tongue. “We really shouldn’t have gone with the twin in the first place.
I know the room is small, but when are we ever going to have a guest staying over who is small enough to be comfortable on a twin mattress? It makes no sense.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “But that’s not really the issue here.”
No, but couldn’t it be?
Callie was desperate to change the subject, but David was resolute.
“The reason I bring up the space is because I wanted to point out that we’re going to be on top of each other a little bit. Everyone’s going to be in everyone else’s business and that’s… not ideal for us.”
Callie furrowed her brow. “We’ve had everyone home in the past and things weren’t that crazy,” she noted. “And that was with Ariel, Chris, and the grandkids. This week we’ll have less people than that Christmas. We know how to handle things. Besides, the kids don’t suspect a thing.”
“I’m not so sure about that…”
Callie inhaled sharply. “Why? Did Mallory say something to you?”
David shook his head. “No. But she’s been really on edge lately. Acting kind of weird.”
“That’s just because of Sasha.” Callie let out a nervous chuckle. “She’s suspicious of Sasha, but not us. Taylor too. Honestly, I think the kids are going to be too busy trying to uncover information about our new guests that they aren’t going to pay us any mind.”
David rubbed his face a few times. “Well, I don’t exactly want them bothering Sasha either!”
“No, of course not.” She shot him a look and put a finger over her lips. “I’m just saying, I don’t think we’re going to have any problems. We’re going to have to play a little defense for Sasha probably, but other than that, everything is going to be smooth sailing. You’ll see.”
David looked down at the floor, visibly unconvinced.
“What?” she said, leaning forward. “What’s making you pause?”
“I guess, I’m just wondering if now is the time to tell the kids the truth...”
Callie snorted. “You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?” he asked plainly, as if she was the one being unreasonable.
“We’re going to have everyone together, in-person, which means we’ll have a chance to really explain the situation.
We won’t have to worry about one of them running off to tell their siblings a half-baked version.
Which is what I’ve always been worried about in the past.”
“Really? Because I’ve always worried that our kids are never going to talk to us again after they find out.”
“You’re not giving them enough credit,” David argued. “They’re all adults. They’ve matured a lot. Plus, to be frank, I’m getting really tired of keeping up this farce. Please, Callie. Let’s just come clean.”
Callie shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, but this isn’t the time.
The kids have too much going on in their own lives.
We need to wait until they are in a more stable place.
Taylor’s swamped with work, Mallory has obviously hit another brick wall, and Ariel—well, Ariel seems to be doing alright, but she’s still a busy mom with a lot on her plate.
We can’t tell them the truth right now.”
“You’re always going to be able to find a reason not to tell them,” he said. “But we can’t wait forever.”
“We could...”
David scoffed. “Not this again. We’re going to tell them eventually. I’m sorry, but I refuse to go to my death bed with this secret still weighing me down. Not to mention, by keeping this to ourselves, we are lying to them. Over and over again. Doesn’t that bother you?”
“Of course, it bothers me,” she snapped. “It eats me up inside, but that’s not a good enough reason to ruin their Thanksgiving! We have to wait.”
“How long?”
“I—I don’t know.”
“It’s a dangerous game we’re playing here,” he said in a warning tone. “Think about how hurt they’ll be if they found out on their own.”
“They aren’t going to find out.”
“We can’t be sure of that.” He arched his brows.
“I’m already having to field a lot of questions about my prolonged solo trips.
Maybe you’re not as stressed about this as I am because you rarely have to lie directly to our kid’s faces, but I’ve been forced to do so on multiple occasions recently. I’m not okay with it.”
Callie filled her lungs and let the air out slowly, calming her nerves before she responded. “That does sound stressful, and I’m sorry you’ve been put in that position but… I’m just not ready. Please, David. Can we give it a little more time?”
He laughed softly and muttered something about them having waited long enough, but after a short silence, he nodded.
“Alright, fine. If you want to wait, we can wait. I’m just warning you; it’s not going to be easy to keep this from all our adult children for a full week.
They aren’t nearly as oblivious as they used to be. ”
“We’ll be fine,” Callie said, mostly to herself. “I’m not worried.”
However, she was worried.
No, more accurately, she was completely terrified.