Chapter 27
Hallie
Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think.
It’s splendid to find out
there are so many of them in the world.
~ L. M. Montgomery
Greyson and I finish our chili and I leave a little early so I can swing by my house to change into something that doesn’t look like I raided the men’s department at a sporting goods store.
Then I pick Mia up from school and bring her home. She fills the van with exuberant stories of her day and I mentally shift gears into my main role in life. I’m her parent—the only one who devotes themselves to parenting her. She is my priority.
Avery’s in the kitchen with Mom, chatting away about dating and saying something about Jonathan next door. Mia runs into her bedroom to change and I make my way to the kitchen where Mom and Avery are downing milk and freshly baked cookies.
“The kitchen smells like heaven,” I say, sinking onto a stool next to them and grabbing a warm chocolate chunk cookie off the plate. “What happened with Jonathan?”
“That man!” Mom says. “Turns out we have the same brand television. I was trying to watch my game shows while I was folding laundry in the front room. The TV kept going berzerk. He comes knocking at the door to see if something’s wrong with our cable.
Apparently, he was watching the Today show and his TV kept switching channels. Then you know what he did?”
Her question is rhetorical, but I still say, “No. Tell me.”
“Well, he up and points his remote right at my screen, and the darndest thing happened! It flipped channels. My TV. His remote.
“I said, ‘Do that again!’ So he did. Again and again. Then the volume. Then the power. Turns out all morning we were switchin’ each other’s TVs!”
I chuckle.
“Laugh all you like. But I don’t know how I’m going to watch the Price Is Right if he’s over there switchin’ to his talk show.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I promise Mom. “... or, you could get your own place. Far from his remote.”
“Ha ha ha. Not so fast, Missy. You know I’m doing you a huge favor being here. Especially with all the running around you’re doing with your friend lately.”
Avery’s eyes go wide. “Friend? What friend?”
I glance over my shoulder. Mia’s still in her room.
“I’ll talk to you in a bit,” I tell my sister.
“Oh no you won’t,” Avery says. “We’re talking now. Excuse us, Mom.”
“What do you have to say that you can’t say in front of me?” Mom pouts.
I say, “Everything,” at the same time as Avery says, “Plenty!”
We laugh and head to my bedroom.
I shout over my shoulder. “Only one cookie for Mia, Mom!”
“I’m the grandma. I don’t have cookie quotas like I did with you girls.”
I’m about to turn around to make sure Mom doesn’t over-sugar my daughter, but Avery grabs my elbow and pivots me, practically dragging me into my room and shutting the door behind us.
“Well?” She plops down on my bed.
“What?”
I’m suddenly shy, and questioning whether I should actually tell Avery about Greyson.
When it’s just the two of us—Greyson and me—everything makes sense. But as soon as I enter my real life here at home, I can’t see how or when he fits here. So far, I’ve been able to juggle two lives without getting whiplash.
Telling Avery feels like a turning point—a reminder that Greyson and I won’t be able to keep up this double life forever.
I tap a finger to my lip, which turns out to be a bad idea.
The touch barely tingles, reminding me of how it felt when Greyson’s lips met mine earlier today.
And now I’m thinking of his kisses while Avery stares at me from my bed.
“You are happier,” she muses. “And I have been wondering what’s been keeping you so busy. You barely answer my calls and texts. I was almost starting to worry. But now … a friend? Do tell all.” She rubs her hands together in anticipation of some juicy news.
It’s juicy alright.
“I’m seeing someone.” I plop onto the bed next to her and then I fall back, staring up at the ceiling.
“Oh. My. Gosh! You are! Who is he?”
I turn my head and look at my sister. “The hot coach.”
She squeals.
“Shhhhh!” I shush her. “Mia will be here in a second if she thinks she’s missing out on anything important.”
“You’re dating the hot coach?” Avery says in a stage whisper.
“Let’s call him Greyson,” I say.
“You’re the one who just called him the hot coach.”
“Okay. Fair. But now I want you to call him Greyson.”
“Fine. Fine. Whatever.” She’s bouncing in place on the bed.
“Tell me everything. When did this start? How? Who started it? Oh my gosh!” Her voice is still a whisper, but she’s so excited, it’s not exactly quiet.
“And what happened to He’s my co-worker and Mia’s coach. And I’m not looking for complications?”
“You remember that, huh?”
“I’m like an elephant. I never forget.”
“Well, we … he … I …”
“You ended up kissing,” she supplies.
“So much more than that. We’re together whenever we can be. Mia still comes first, but mornings, days off when she’s at school, after bedtime …”
“Oh! Hallie! I love this for you.”
I smile at Avery. “I love it for me too. He’s so amazing. So different …”
I don’t finish that thought, but Avery knows very well I’m talking about a man who shows up as opposed to one who leaves after he has a daughter.
“So? When are you telling Mia? She doesn’t know, does she? No. Of course she doesn’t. She would have said something. I would have seen you with him at games. Come to think of it, he does glance your way a lot from the dugout.”
“I know.” I practically groan. “We can’t help ourselves.”
“And that’s a bad thing because?”
“It’s wonderful. I never knew I could feel this way again.”
“Again?”
“Munich.”
“I knew you weren’t talking about the dipstick.” Avery uses her favorite nickname for Danny.
“It’s like Munich on steroids because we’re older and we know what we want. We’ve both lost a lot. And now, we’ve found each other.”
“Still not seeing the problem,” she says, her brows scrunching inward.
“Mia. And she’s not a problem. But I can’t introduce a man into her life right now.”
Avery goes quiet. I can see the argument on her face, but she has the sense not to push me.
She finally says, “Mom’s dating. You’re not traumatized.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Wrong example. I actually am traumatized.”
Avery laughs. “First-born children, I tell you. You’re sooo sensitive. But okay. Bad example. You are traumatized. But why? Seriously. Mom’s happy. She’s no longer sitting around the house lamenting the end of her marriage.”
“I know. The idea of her dating is growing on me …”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m happy for you. And for Mom.”
“Thanks. I know I’ll have to tell Mia about Greyson—eventually.”
“You will. In time.” She pauses. “And, honestly, as much as I hate to admit it, you’re probably right.
That whole family reunion thing Danny just pulled sent Mia into a little bit of a setback.
He does that every single time. Blows in like a summer storm, gone just as quickly.
You’re probably smart to give her time to stabilize here in Waterford. ”
Hearing Avery say she saw the setback too is a punch to the gut. I see how Danny’s inconsistency eats at my daughter in silent ways. To hear Avery confirm it boils my blood.
I have no choice but to allow his fair-weather fatherhood.
Danny has the right to spend time with his daughter.
And I can’t control how he goes about that—not unless I want to spend more time in court, which I don’t.
He’d likely push back and then things would really implode.
Or he’d get more time with her. Mandated time.
“I just need to know Greyson’s really all in before I bring him around,” I say. “Mia’s been through enough devastation.”
Avery nods. “Thanks for finally telling me about him.”
“I wasn’t trying to keep it from you.”
“I’m just giving you grief. You and I haven’t seen much of one another. This is the kind of news you share in person. I get it. And, I’m really happy for you, Hallie.”
“Me too.” I smile, thinking of Greyson hauling me across his porch in a fireman’s carry this morning.
“Oh, man,” Avery says, looking at my face and smiling extra wide. “You’ve got it bad.”
“I do.” I fling myself back on the bed again. “I really do.”
Avery sticks around for the rest of the afternoon and dinner. Then she heads back to her place.
I read a chapter to Mia and then I head out the door for my first book club meeting.
Mom shouts out the front door after me, “I’ve got this. Don’t you worry. We’re going to have the best time ever!”
“Just brushing teeth and bed, Mom,” I shout back.
Jonathan’s on his porch, watching us.
“I’m alone with my granddaughter,” Mom shouts over. “No TV for me tonight. You can click away all you like.”
Jonathan nods. “I’d rather enjoy the cool air after the storm.”
“Suit yourself,” Mom shouts, turning to head back inside.
Mia won’t die from one more night of Mom putting her to bed. She might need therapy in her adult years after enduring life with Mom as a housemate, but she’ll survive tonight.
I drive through town to the bookshop called Moss and Maple, located in a historic craftsman home that Daisy converted into a store. Or, I guess Patrick bought it for her and converted it. That’s what Dustin told me.
The shop is darling. If I had more time, I’d definitely be here more often.
I climb the wide front porch steps. The door is shut with a CLOSED sign in the window, so I knock.
Winona opens the door with a friendly smile. “Hey, you can just come in, even if it’s closed or locked. Well, I guess you can’t get in if it’s locked …”
“What she means is,” Winona’s twin, Cass, says. “Come on in. Make yourself at home. We’re so glad you made it!”
“Me too,” I say, following Winona and the rest of the women out of the main room. “Mia kept begging me to read another chapter, but I left her with my mom and promised an extra one the next night we read.”
“Awww, a child who loves reading. I love that,” Daisy says.
The shop smells like cinnamon and books, and the room we’re meeting in is filled with cozy chairs and loveseats all centered around a large coffee table. A row of low bookcases lines one wall and a window looks out toward the back yard.
The women all chat like old friends do, easy and bright, their words practically flowing on top of one another. There’s this sense of sisterhood in the way they touch one another’s arms or laugh in unison. Greyson’s words sound in my head. I hear his voice saying, Those women are solid.
I stand off to the side of the room, not needing to say anything just yet. Unsure what I would say if I had to talk. I wonder if Mia felt like this her first day of school. If she did, she never mentioned it.
“Help yourself to snacks and something to drink,” Emberleigh says, stepping up next to me.
I’m about to say no thanks when I realize the “snacks” are straight from Syd and Emberleigh’s bakery, so I grab a plate and take a pastry. Then I glance around the room trying to figure out where I should sit.
“Come sit here,” Winona says, pointing to an open chair. “I want you next to me.”
“I was saving a spot for her over here,” Cass says, patting the cushion on the loveseat.
“Well, I asked first,” Winona says.
“Ladies!” Daisy says. “Hallie won’t want to come back if she sees how crazy we really are on her first day with us.” Then Daisy looks at me. “We promise we’re mostly normal.”
I walk toward the chair next to Winona, giving Cass a smile. She smiles back.
“We’ve been reading A Lifetime of Tuesdays,” Daisy tells me. “But don’t worry, half of us haven’t kept up with the reading over the past few weeks. We’re not strict.”
Winona laughs, covering her mouth and talking around the bite she just took. “We’re the opposite of strict. We mostly meet for the chance to hang out and eat and laugh.”
“And the books,” Daisy adds.
“And the books,” Winona agrees.
Cass gets the ball rolling, sharing something about the book and then everyone discusses their thoughts for a while. But the conversation eventually drifts to our personal lives too.
“So,” Daisy says. “Patrick’s been very impressed with you.”
“With me?” I ask.
“Yes. Doesn’t he tell you?” Daisy asks.
“I think there’s an unspoken rule that you don’t compliment the rookie.”
I think about Greyson and the night Dustin caught us and called it a rookie training thing. My cheeks heat. If I knew these women better, I’m guessing I’d be confiding in them about Greyson—maybe even sharing that story.
“I hope the guys haven’t been too hard on you,” Carli says.
“Not too hard. I have toilet duty, but that’s sort of expected of rookies everywhere. They did pull a few pranks.” I pause. “That’s when I knew I was officially accepted as one of the guys.”
“One of the guys,” Cass says. “You’re so much better than one of the guys. You’re a female firefighter. I admire that more than I can say.”
“Thanks.”
The women insist I tell them about each of the pranks and we all end up laughing together.
“Dustin’s got a gig coming up,” Emberleigh says as we’re wrapping up our time, clearing trash and tidying the room.
“A gig?”
“Didn’t you know?” she asks.
“He plays music?”
“He hasn’t had a guitar at the station for a while,” she says. “You should hear him.”
“If you like country music, you should come out with us,” Cass says.
“I’d love that. Send me the details.”
“Dustin will probably invite you himself,” Emberleigh says. “He always invites the crew.”
“Cody, Patrick, and Greyson will all be there,” Daisy says.
So, Greyson and I will be out in public.
Only, no one can know we’re together.