Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Magnolia tried to put on a brave face and act like everything was just peachy until Uncle Otis went to bed.
As soon as he did, she went to her room and sobbed in her pillow.
She sobbed even more when she glanced up and saw that Charlotte the spider had spun a web from the curtain rod to the peak of the little pink birdhouse.
Thank you wasn’t written in the web, but Magnolia knew it was implied.
She finally fell asleep a short time after all the clocks downstairs struck two. She woke the following morning to a knock on her door.
She sat up. “Come in.”
The door opened and Uncle Otis stepped into the room in a tattered robe and the Dearfoams slippers she’d gotten him last Christmas. “If you’re going to make your flight, we need to leave in an hour.” He peered at her over the rim of his glasses. “Unless you’ve decided to stay longer.”
“Thank you, Uncle Otis, but I need to get back to Daddy.” And away from the pain that was squeezing her heart in two.
Uncle Otis pushed up his glasses. “I think your daddy is a grown man who can take care of himself, Magnolia. But that’s not my decision to make.
” He glanced at the pink birdhouse in the corner, then did a double take.
She thought he would comment, but instead he just shook his head as if he expected her to have a pink birdhouse in her room.
He looked back at her. “Anyway, thank you. You did a fine job of taking care of the bookstore while I was healing up. I thought for sure you’d screw up my cataloging system, but you seem to be as good at it as your mama was. ”
“Mama worked in the bookstore?” That was news to her.
He looked surprised. “Your daddy didn’t tell you?
She loved the bookstore and worked here whenever I needed extra help.
” He paused. “She was the one I planned on handing it off to when I retire.” He frowned.
“Since your daddy has no intentions of coming back, it looks like I’ll have to sell it to some idiot when I retire.
An idiot who won’t understand how books should be shelved. ”
Magnolia hated the thought of the bookstore belonging to someone who would change it. But Uncle Otis was right. Whoever bought it wouldn’t keep the odd cataloging system. They probably wouldn’t even keep the clocks. And what would Time To Read be without clocks?
“You aren’t going to retire soon, are you?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t plan on it before the surgery, but after having time to read without being annoyed by ignorant customers who can’t find their way around an organized bookstore, I’m wondering if it isn’t time.” He backed out of the room. “Now you better get ready so we can get on the road.”
As she took a shower, she couldn’t stop thinking about the bookstore belonging to someone else. It just seemed so wrong. So completely wrong. After she finished getting dressed, she called her daddy.
“Did you know that Uncle Otis is thinking about retiring and selling the bookstore?”
“Yes, and I think he should. He’s worked hard all his life. It’s time he got to do what he wants.”
“But the store has belonged to our family for decades.”
“More like over a century.”
“See! All the more reason to keep it. And why didn’t you tell me mama worked here?”
“You don’t remember?”
She rarely lost her temper with her daddy, but lack of sleep and heartache had her losing it today. “No, I don’t remember. I don’t remember anything about mama because you never talk about her, Daddy!”
There was a long silence. “I’m sorry, Magpie, but I didn’t think you wanted to talk about your mama. You rarely asked me questions about her.”
“Because the few times I did, you looked so hurt I stopped asking. And I get it. Talking about her makes you sad. But she was my mama and I wanted to hear about her. I wanted to see pictures of her and know what she was like.” She paused. “I wanted to live in the house where she loved me.”
Her daddy sighed. “I guess Uncle Otis was right when he said I was doing you a grave injustice by moving you from Promise Springs. I was just convinced that taking you away from all the sad memories of your mama and bringing you to the land of sunshine and Disneyland was the best thing for you . . . the best thing for me. I thought if we could just move on, everything would be okay. If not for me, then at least for our beloved daughter. And you acted like you were so happy here.”
“I was happy, Daddy. You are the best daddy ever . . . it just would have been nice if we hadn’t left in such a hurry. It just would have been nice if I’d had a chance to . . .”
“Grieve your mama.”
“Yes. I get that you didn’t want me to hurt like you were hurting, but sometimes you need to feel all the pain of losing someone in order to move on.” She sighed. “And you haven’t moved on, Daddy.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Uncle Otis told me you’re not marrying Glenda.”
“I know you’re disappointed, Magpie. I know it’s your fondest wish that I find another woman I love as much as your mama. I appreciate all the effort you’ve put into finding her. But the thing is, honey, while you’ve been gone, I figured out that I kind of like not having a woman around.”
“What?”
“Now don’t get upset, Magpie. You know I love you to the moon and back. But you are a bit messy, a lot talkative, and extremely controlling. Just like your mama. Did you know she gave me a list of women in town I should marry if ever anything happened to her?”
“She did?”
There was a smile in his voice when he answered.
“She did. She couldn’t stand the thought of me being lonely.
But I’m not lonely. I have my work and all my friends at the university and a daughter who works overtime to make sure I’m happy.
And I am happy, honey. Yes, sometimes I do still miss your mama, but that’s just part of loving someone.
” He paused. “And speaking of loving someone, Uncle Otis seems to think there’s something going on between you and Dawson Hennessy. ”
Tears filled her eyes at just the mention of his name. She figured there was no way to avoid answering. Besides, it was time for the truth. Not only for her daddy, but for herself.
“I went and did what you warned me about. I fell for him, Daddy.” A tiny sob escaped.
“Oh, honey. Did he hurt you?”
“Actually, I hurt him. He told me he loved me and I brushed it off and acted like what we had meant nothing. All because I’m terrified of loving someone and losing them.”
He released a long breath. “I really did a number on you, didn’t I, kiddo?
I’m so sorry, Magpie. I thought you were too young to talk to about how I was feeling after your mama died.
Then when you got older, I just assumed it was best to not bring up old hurts.
But now, I see how wrong I was. How me not talking about my feelings made you fear love.
Yes, I was devastated when your mama died, but even if I had known what was going to happen, I still would have fallen for her.
I’ll never regret the time we had together.
Not one second. The love we shared was more than worth the pain of losing her.
I want you to experience that kind of love.
I might have chosen someone different for you, but if Dawson makes you happy, then don’t you dare let him go.
” He hesitated. “And I don’t think he’s the only thing that makes you happy, honey.
I think you’ve loved everything about this summer.
Working in the same bookstore your mama loved.
Hanging out with the A-Sisters. Helping Tully at Honky Tonk Heaven.
Living in a small town seems to suit you. Is that true?”
She swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Yes, but I love you too, Daddy.”
“I know you do. And I love you. But I think it’s time you make some decisions based on your own happiness, not mine. So, what will make you happy, Magpie?”
She knew. Deep down she knew. But it was still hard. Her daddy seemed to know that.
“You don’t need to figure it all out now. You have time. But I think it’s best if you stay in Promise Springs until you do.”
“But I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” He paused. “Maybe for fall break, I’ll come visit.”
“You mean it, Daddy? I would love that! We’ll have donuts at Grounds For Divorce and lunch at Sloppy Joe’s. We can go dancing at Honky Tonk Heaven. Dawson said you and Mama were great dancers.”
“Not me, but your mama was. She was the best dancer I’ve ever seen. In fact, I think I might have some pictures of her dancing with you. I’ll send them to you.”
She smiled through her tears. “I’d like that.”
After she hung up with her daddy, she sat on her bed for a few moments, allowing their conversation to soak in. She felt sad that they hadn’t been able to be as open with each other before today—all because they were afraid of hurting each other.
Being afraid of getting hurt seemed to be a theme in Magnolia’s life.
But that fear hadn’t stopped her from getting hurt.
In fact, it was responsible for the pain she felt now.
She’d been so scared of getting her heart broken, she’d cut off her nose to spite her face. She’d worried about losing someone she loved so much that she’d purposely lost someone she loved so much.
How stupid was that?
It was time to stop being stupid.
She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and quickly canceled her flight before she headed downstairs.
She found Uncle Otis waiting for her by the door.
“It’s about time you—”
She cut him off. “I need to borrow your car, Uncle Otis.”
He squinted at her. “I can’t let you take the book bus to the Austin airport. Then I’d have to figure out how to get it back. I’m certainly not trusting another one of them Ooo-bert drivers. The one who drove me here from the airport, almost killed me.”
“I’m not going to the airport. I’m staying here in Promise Springs.”