Chapter Ten
Chase hung up the phone and relaxed against the sofa where he sat.
The smile refused to leave his face. He sobered up quickly as soon as it hit him that against his better judgment, he’d called Maisy.
He’d repeatedly told himself it would be pointless, that he had no reason to speak to her again, and yet he had.
For weeks she’d been heavy on his mind. He’d resisted, reminding himself it would come to no good. He had accepted that any connection between them would be futile and decided to leave matters as they were. He’d do as she asked and pay her kindness forward.
Then he’d found the card and learned Maisy had attended his mother’s celebration of life.
It stunned him, knowing she’d been there and he hadn’t.
Complicating his feelings was the discovery that his mother had friends and sobriety.
A good life, which he knew nothing about.
Maisy’s card and the others were the painful reminder of all he’d lost.
He had no one to blame but himself.
Maisy had confused him on their first meeting and even more so now. Really, what kind of person went out of their way to be helpful and not expect something in return? It had knocked him off balance that she wanted nothing more from him than to pay her kindness forward.
Out of curiosity, he’d asked his assistant to do a search on Maisy.
Tristen had discovered Maisy was everything he’d hoped and feared: Her entire family were active members of their church and involved in work with the homeless.
From a background check, he’d discovered she lived with her family and struggled financially, due to a failing business.
It appeared that the death of her father had contributed to their money troubles.
Digging even deeper, he learned Maisy had dropped out of the nursing program at Seattle University.
That couldn’t have been an easy decision, and he suspected she agreed to forgo her education in order to help her family.
He didn’t understand someone like Maisy and couldn’t grasp why he continued wasting time thinking about her.
Likely, it had to do with her request that he pay it forward.
He’d thought about satisfying her challenge with the donation to the country club.
Even at the time, as he wrote the check, he knew this wasn’t what Maisy intended.
His gaze went back to the phone. Earlier, he’d mulled over an idea, one that would help her friend Laura. First thing in the morning, he planned to put it in motion. His shoulders relaxed, and he couldn’t help imagining Maisy’s reaction once she’d heard what he did.
There it was. Again. He was thinking about Maisy and feeling this sense of excitement and anticipation.
It made no sense. They lived in completely different worlds.
Sure, she was pretty, but not strikingly beautiful.
Some might find her attractive, he supposed, with her auburn hair and disarming green eyes.
Those eyes. They’d seemed to laser straight through him as clearly as sunshine.
Her oval-shaped face was expressive. The woman would never make a good poker player.
She was average height, around five-six, if that.
She was normal in every way. Nothing exceptional stood out about her, other than her caring heart.
That was what drew him to her, he realized.
Her generosity and kindness, the way she considered others.
No wonder she wanted to become a nurse. If he were ever hospitalized, he’d want someone just like her looking after him.
Chase feared the call to Maisy had opened Pandora’s box. One conversation and he found he was hungry for more. Even as disciplined as he was, Chase was unsure he would be able to stop himself from reaching out to her again.
—
The day had been especially rewarding for Maisy.
A submariner from the base at Bangor in north Kitsap County had come seeking an engagement ring, one her uncle, Fred, had designed.
The Navy man had saved for months, wanting to purchase a diamond large enough to convince the woman he loved to marry him.
“If she loves you, she won’t care how big the stone is,” Maisy assured him. She noticed how nervous he was. She’d spent well over an hour showing him engagement rings within his price range, but he always came back to the one her uncle had created.
“We’ve talked about getting married,” he’d said, as he held Uncle Fred’s ring in his hand.
“What makes you think she won’t jump at the chance to be your wife?”
He glanced up at Maisy and held her look. “I got orders today and will be at sea for the next six months. That’s a long time to wait…I don’t know if she’ll be willing, you know?”
Seeing the love in the young sailor’s eyes mingled with hope, it was all Maisy could do not to reassure him. She knew nothing of this woman he loved. With all her heart, Maisy hoped his young woman would appreciate the sacrifice this man had made to offer her an engagement ring.
In the end he chose Uncle Fred’s design, the diamond surrounded with rubies. Since he wasn’t sure of her ring size, Maisy assured him if the ring didn’t fit that the charge for sizing was included in the price.
Although tired, Maisy was on an emotional high after selling the ring. It was her only sale of the day.
When she arrived home, she found that her mother was out of the house for choir practice at the church.
Sean wasn’t home, and Maisy suspected he was at the local pub with Katie.
Patrick was at the park, playing baseball with his friends.
She sat down for an easy dinner, a premixed salad with chicken, corn, and black beans, since she hadn’t had time for lunch.
She was about to take the first bite when her phone rang. She recognized the number from the call she’d gotten from Chase a few nights earlier.
“Hello.”
“Maisy, it’s Chase Furst,” he said, as if speaking to a client. For whatever reason, he sounded upset.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“No, no, it’s nothing,” he said, softening his words.
Maisy had been shocked to hear from him after all this time and was even more surprised he’d called again.
“I want to apologize for the other night,” he said, sounding much calmer now. “I lashed out at you when I was upset with myself.”
“No apology is necessary. Seeing my name on that card must have come as a shock.”
“It was,” he agreed, “along with all the other cards. I had no idea Michelle had made a new life for herself.”
“I’m happy you learned the truth.”
“So am I.”
He paused as if he was about to end their conversation, and then said, “I have to say you’re the most complex, confusing woman I’ve ever met. I can’t understand why you do the things you do.”
He sounded honestly perplexed.
“I’m little more than a stranger to you and my mother was a complete unknown, and yet you attended her service. I don’t understand you.”
“I’m not that complicated,” Maisy said, finding their conversation amusing. “My philosophy in life is to always do the next right thing.”
“Always?” Now he sounded skeptical, as if he found that hard to fathom. “I’d been so rude to you and your friend and yet you were willing to help me.”
“You were in a bind and agitated. I knew I could help; it was a small thing to drop you off, especially since the funeral home was close to where I live.”
“A normal person wouldn’t think to offer. What makes you care?”
She needed to think before she could answer. “The truth is, I likely wouldn’t have, but I recognized that you were in emotional pain, even if you weren’t willing to admit that was the case.”
“You’re wrong,” he insisted. “I hadn’t given my mother a thought in years, and why should I? She was the one who abandoned me. I had absolutely no feelings for her one way or another.”
He didn’t see it, but Maisy had. Hesitating, she was unsure how far to press the point. Her hope was that, now that he had a better perspective on his mother’s life, he’d be willing to acknowledge her loss.
“While you claim Michelle was a nonentity, your behavior that day said otherwise,” she reminded him. Chase wanted to believe her death didn’t have an effect, because otherwise he’d be forced to admit that, deep down, he cared.
“My behavior was due to the frustration of having to deal with her funeral arrangements,” Chase insisted.
“Which you likely could have managed without the necessity of traveling all the way from Chicago to Seattle.”
The phone went silent for a long moment before Chase exhaled softly and said in a voice barely above a whisper, “Funny, I never once considered that.”
Maisy smiled, her point made.
“You appear to live in a bubble. You’re far too trusting and care too much.”
He made it sound like she should consider counseling.
She rolled her eyes. “Thank you. I think.”
“No, that was definitely a compliment.”
Maisy was enjoying their conversation.
“I called for more than to apologize,” Chase continued.
“I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for what you told me about Michelle. After our conversation, I logged on to the Eternal Rest website to the page dedicated to my mother. Several of the comments came from the names I recognized on the cards that were sent. I’ve reached out to a couple of them, and we’ve had long conversations.
None of this would have happened if not for you, so thank you. ”
“That makes my heart happy, Chase.”
“Also, I have a question.”
“Fire away,” she said, although she didn’t know what she could tell him.
“When we first ran into each other you were chatting with your friend in the Chicago airport.”
“That was Laura.”
“Right, Laura.”
There seemed to be a smile in his voice as he repeated Laura’s name, which caught Maisy’s attention.
“You are in a nursing program together, right?”
“I was,” she clarified, wondering how he knew that. She didn’t remember mentioning it. She must have; otherwise, how would he have known?
“And you dropped out?”
“To help my family.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, and his sympathy felt sincere.
“It happens that way sometimes. However, I’m a big believer that life turns out how it’s supposed to. I’m taking an online class and will eventually get my degree. I strongly believe God’s timing is perfect.”
He appeared not to know what to say.
Maisy couldn’t keep from smiling.
“That kind of trust is foreign to me. If it were me, I’d feel resentful.”
“Don’t think it was easy,” she countered.
“I struggled for a long time and went through a period of self-pity. In the end, I recognized it was the right thing to do for the good of the family. Mom knew how hard it was for me to drop out of school and has been the one to encourage me to take a class here and there, so when I do return, I’ll be current. ”
For someone like Chase, who never had to worry about money, it was hard to understand sacrifice.
“You’re good friends with Laura, right?” he said, turning the subject back to her friend.
Maisy couldn’t help being curious about where this was going.
“Yes, we talk all the time.” They talked for nearly an hour the night before last.
Chase seemed to be waiting for her to tell him more, as if he wanted to divert their conversation.
“I heard Laura mention that she was afraid Bella would make the same mistakes she did. What mistakes did she make?”
Maisy wasn’t inclined to share the details of her friend’s life. “That’s not my story to tell.”
“It seems to me your friend is carrying a heavy load. You mentioned she held down a couple of jobs. Sounds to me that she’s someone who could use a helping hand.”
“You’re right, she could. Laura said no one has complained to her supervisor. You didn’t report her, did you?”
“No, I was out of line. If anything, I owe her an apology.”
“Thank you for that. Laura needs that job. Her schooling as a nurse practitioner is much more extensive. She’s determined, though; I have every faith that she’ll eventually earn her degree.”
“Does Bella have any contact with her father?”
“None, which is probably a good thing, although with her mother working two jobs, Bella sometimes feels like both her parents have abandoned her.”
Maisy realized Chase had suffered the same sense of neglect when his parents divorced, and his mother had left him behind, and his father had ignored him. “I’m sorry,” she said, filled with remorse. “That must have brought up unwelcome feelings for you about your mother.”
“Not at all,” he insisted. “At the time Michelle’s life was spiraling downward, Dad and I were better off without her.”
Maisy didn’t believe that but resisted saying as much.
“Why all these questions about Laura?”
“No reason.”
“But you seem to know a lot about her life.”
“Lucky guess.”
“It seems more than that, Chase.”
He ignored her comment. “Tell me more about your friend.”
Maisy was beginning to get an inkling of where this conversation was leading. Chase was considering paying it forward by helping her friend. She sincerely hoped that was the case.
“Laura’s such a good mother. She does her best,” Maisy continued. “College is expensive. She works part-time at the airport and does odd shifts at the hospital. Laura does her best, and Bella does, too, but it’s hard being a teenager these days.”
His voice was low. “It was hard for me, too.”
She knew it must have been. Chase had been a vulnerable age when his mother left. Even though she’d never met Michelle, from the things Maisy had learned from her friends, his mother had lived with a lifetime of regrets.
Chase was silent for several moments.
“Anything else you’d like to know?” she asked.
“No, not really.”
“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he assured her.
A long silence followed, and Chase seemed to be deep in thought. Finally, Maisy said, “It was nice talking to you.”
“Yeah,” he answered, his mind elsewhere.
She found his response almost comical. “Have a good evening.”
“You, too.” With that, he ended the call.
What an unusual man. Shaking her head, Maisy returned to her dinner salad and checked for text messages on her phone.