Chapter 5
Gideon drove to Pastor Thomas’s house, thinking about what his dad had said about the mayor. It had to be impossible that anyone could get away with what he suggested Fairfax was doing. What Gideon needed right now more than anything was to speak to someone with a clearer head, and Thomas was the only man he truly trusted in this town. Gideon had never known him to be anything but patient and sturdy. His words were kind but wise, and he never shied away from a difficult subject.
The house was the same. A small cape cod painted a different color than he remembered, but it was faded, so it must have been a while ago. It was in better shape than the houses around it.
An older woman opened the door when he knocked. “Yes?”
“Mrs. Morris?”
“Yes?” She leaned closer, pulling her glasses down her nose to peer over them. “Gideon Stone? ”
“You remember me?”
She looked him up and down. “My goodness. You’re not quite the boy I remember, but yes. You made a lasting impression. Thomas liked you a lot. And please, call me Beth. We’re all grownups now.”
“Beth, I was hoping to speak to him if I could.”
“Oh.” She folded in on herself. “You didn’t know. He passed away.”
“No, I hadn’t heard. I’m so sorry.”
She nodded. “Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?”
“Uh.” He was about to say no, but Beth looked so frail. She couldn’t have been more than sixty-five, but her bent posture aged her. “Sure.” He followed her to the kitchen.
“Have a seat,” she said, pointing at the table, then shuffled to the stove. “Nikki bought me one of those electric kettles, but I don’t think tea tastes the same when it’s not heated on the stove. It’s silly I know.”
He sat, running his hand around the metal edge of the small circular table. He’d sat here a lifetime ago. His tears had wet the laminated surface.
“You’re looking well,” Beth said as she filled up the kettle. “How’s your dad doing? I heard he had a stroke, but I haven’t seen him around town.”
“Thanks, yeah, no, he uh…his right side isn’t working like it used to.”
“He must find that hard.”
“He doesn’t seem to mind.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Yeah. ”
Beth hummed as she collected things from the fridge. “Are you hungry?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks.”
“How about a piece of cake? Homemade.”
“Okay. Sounds delicious.”
Beth took her time cutting up a small banana cake and arranging it on a plate. “I love to bake. Keeps me busy.”
The front door opened, then closed.
“Hey, Mom, I was thinking—” Nikki’s voice came from the hall, then she entered the kitchen, pulling an earbud from her ear. “Gideon. What are you doing here?”
Beth’s response was sharp. “Nikki, where are your manners. He’s our guest.”
Nikki’s lips flattened. “Right.” The look she gave him was hard to read. “Sorry. Welcome, Gideon. It’s lovely to see you again.”
“You remember Nikki?” Beth said.
“I didn’t at first, no. She was very young last time I saw her.”
The boiling water whistled, and Beth busied herself with the mugs.
“Why are you here?” Nikki said quietly.
“I came to see your dad. I hadn’t heard that he passed away. I’m sorry. He was a really good man.”
“Here you go.” Beth set a steaming mug on the table in front of him. “Nikki, did you want one?”
“No. I’m going to have a shower and get changed.”
“Did you enjoy your run? ”
“Yeah. It was fine.” She looked at Gideon. “Excuse me.”
Beth sat at the table. “She loves her runs, but sometimes I worry she pushes herself too hard. It’s good to escape, but you have to deal with things eventually.” A dark shadow clouded her face, then was gone. “And what have you been up to? I heard you were doing something with the military.”
“Yeah, that, uh—” If only Thomas had been around to talk to. Gideon hadn’t thought about everyone in town hearing what he’d told his dad, and now he didn’t know what to do with the rumors that had spread. “Not much to report. I spoke to Noah, and he told me about my dad having a stroke, so I came to see how he was doing.”
“How is Noah?”
“Still in prison.”
“Is he handling it okay?”
“He’s come to terms with it. He knows he deserves to be there.”
“That’s a tough break, though. I don’t imagine he meant to kill that young man.”
“No, but those are the consequences of his drunken brawl.”
“You two have had such a hard life. I don’t know what you and Thomas spoke about, but I know you had it tough.”
“A lot of people have. From what I see around Asher, things aren’t good here now either.”
Her hands slipped off her mug and into her lap. “No. Things haven’t been good for a long time. ”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s fine. There’s not much that can be done about it.”
“It looks like you’re making the most of your garden in the backyard, though. How do you keep it so green?”
Beth’s face softened at the mention of the garden. “It is lovely, isn’t it?”
“Are you the one with the green thumb? Or is that Nikki?”
“Oh no, Nikki is terrible at gardening. I won’t let her near my plants except to weed. Would you like to have a look?”
“I’d love to.”
“This way.”
Gideon followed her out to a small porch. The yard was covered in different plots full of various produce. “Is this where Nikki got her veggies for the market stall?”
“It sure is.”
“How do you do it? Everything looks so healthy.”
“Lots of love and care. And not going too big. That’s the trouble the farms faced. It’s one thing to water a small yard. It’s another when you have acres and acres.”
“Still. I wouldn’t have thought you could use enough water for this. Aren’t there restrictions?”
“We recycle our water. And this might sound farfetched, but I believe God blesses us.”
“I’m sure He does.” He walked down to the tomatoes. “Look at this one. It’s huge.”
“You can have that if you want. We’ve got plenty.”
“I can pay you for it.”
“No, we don’t need it. ”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Nikki’s business looks after us. We give away a lot of what we have, but Nikki has that business brain of hers, so she likes to sell it as well. It helps pay for my gardening addiction.”
“That’s smart.”
“I was sorry she didn’t finish her degree, but she’s a smart kid, and she’s made the most of the situation.”
“Mom would die if she didn’t have her garden,” Nikki said from the door.
Gideon turned as she ran her hand through her wet hair.
“You’re being overdramatic,” Beth said. “But yes, I do love it.”
“Mom, would you mind if I had a word with Gideon alone?”
“Is everything okay?” Beth slipped her gaze to Gideon. “Have I missed something?”
“Everything’s fine,” Gideon said with a soft smile to reassure her. “I ran into Nikki at the markets. We had an interesting conversation that I believe she’d like to continue.”
“Okay, then. You make sure you don’t forget the tomato.”
“I won’t. Thank you.”
Nikki sat on the steps of the small porch after her mom went inside. “She does a great job with the space.”
“She does. I can’t believe how much she grows. It’s fantastic. She said you have your own business?”
“Yeah. Pottery. I supply mugs, bowls, plates, and various other things to a business in New York City. ”
“Really? Those mugs that I saw at the markets?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re really good. You’ve found a way to not just survive but to thrive. That’s great.”
“Yeah. And I get to work from home with complete flexibility.”
“There aren’t many people anywhere who have that luxury.”
“Mom and I are part of the lucky few around here for more reasons than one. There aren’t many.”
“Where do you work from? Do you have a room in the house? I imagine it’s messy work.”
Nikki pointed at the shed at the back of the garden. “It’s in there.”
“Can I see?”
“If you really want.”
Gideon nodded, and she led him into her studio.
“Wow,” Gideon said as he looked at the items on the shelves. On one table, twenty identical mugs were lined up. It reminded him of the short time he was in the army. He picked one up and looked it over. “This is really good craftsmanship.”
“Thank you.”
“How do you make them all look the same?”
“I’ve been doing this a while. I went through a period where I was obsessed. Out here every afternoon practicing.”
“And now you do it for a living.” He picked up another and compared them. “But they’re really similar.”
“I weigh the clay to make sure I’m using the same amount on each one and do them one after the other. It’s not hard if you don’t get distracted.”
“What happens if you’re distracted?”
“I either have to start over or they make great pieces for the market.”
“Do you sell online?”
“I used to. That’s where I was discovered. If I can call it that.”
“Can I buy one?”
“The bird whistle you bought at the markets isn’t doing it for you anymore?”
“No, I’ve still got that. Have you heard it? It’s amazing.”
“I hear it every time I’m at the markets, but it is pretty cool.”
“I don’t know what I’ll end up doing with it, but the mug would be for me.”
“Feel free to take whatever you want. But those ones on the table aren’t quite ready yet.” She pointed at a shelf in the back. “Anything that strikes your fancy over there is yours.”
“How much?”
“On the house.”
“I’d like to pay for it.”
“Too bad. It’s a gift.”
“It’s not my birthday.”
“But it will be one day.”
He smiled. “Thank you.” Then he went to the shelf and selected a wide dark blue one. “I like this one.”
“I hope it carries many warm drinks for you. ”
“Listen, I wanted to apologize for not recognizing you before. It was my dad who told me who you were.”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t know if we said more than one word to each other growing up.”
“But you recognized me.”
She shrugged. “Is that why you’re here? To apologize for not recognizing me—no, that’s right. You were here to see my dad. He really liked you, you know.”
“That’s what your mom said. He was a good man.”
“Not everyone thought so.”
“He was a pastor. I think it comes with the job.”
“I guess.”
He noticed the grief that hung in her eyes and wished he could have done more to help her at the markets. “Did you want to talk about the incident earlier? Is that why you asked your mom to excuse herself?”
“You mean Deputy Cole?”
“Yeah.”
“I wanted to apologize for being so…rude to you. I know you were genuinely trying to help. You didn’t know what you were in for.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t stick up for you better.”
“It was my issue to sort out on my own.”
“My dad mentioned Mayor Fairfax. So, he really does have a stranglehold on this community?”
Nikki sighed. “It’s kind of a long story.”
“I have time.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. ”
“Then you’d better take a seat.” She nodded toward a stool.