Chapter 14
Blake was finishing the meeting with Ross when Vi called. “I’m about to leave the 709. My meeting with Gran was so sad. I haven’t eaten yet and I’m hungry. Let’s meet someplace that serves lunch and compare notes.”
He’d already eaten, but wanted to talk. “How about the Come on In?” Some five miles south of the retirement home, it wouldn’t take him long to get there. “See you soon.”
It was a beautiful afternoon. Maybe he’d go riding later. He found Vi in a booth reading through the menu and slid into the banquette across from her. “Sure is a pretty day.”
“A welcome change from dark, gloomy Gran.”
A waitress stopped by. Vi ordered a burger and fries, and he asked for a pop.
She looked at him like he was crazy. “You’re passing up a burger here?”
“Sadly, yes. Ross and I ate at Hastings. I’m coffeed out, too.”
“Is he still doing a good job?”
“I’m happy with him so far. That meeting was a whole lot better than sitting with Grandpop this morning. He was in a foul mood.”
“Like I said, Gran was pretty down. She’s still really mad at him. I wish they were less hardheaded.”
“You can say that again. Malcom refuses to apologize.”
“So Gran said. She even asked him to.”
“This is what we wanted, for them to split up.”
The food arrived, and Vi dug in. “This is so yummy. It really is the best burger around. You say you’re not hungry, but the way you’re staring at my food makes you look the opposite. Or did some of the sauce drip on me?” She frowned down at herself.
“No drips.” Blake hadn’t been looking at the burger, he’d been watching her face change when she bit into it. An eager, hungry expression that reminded him of their kisses the previous night. He wanted more, but she’d said she didn’t. Before lunch ended, he intended to set her straight about who he was.
“Blake? I’m offering you some of my burger. It’s way too big for me to finish.”
She mesmerized him. Now, when they were talking about burgers and grandparents? What was the matter with him? He tore his gaze from her. “Hey, if you need help, I’m your guy.”
Looking happier than she had a few seconds ago, she gave him half the burger and a generous portion of fries.
“That’s too much,” he said, “but I know you’re depending on me to eat it.”
She laughed, and the world brightened. “Back to Gran. She’s not eating or sleeping much. From her slumped shoulders to her listlessness, unhappiness hangs all over her. I’ve never seen her this down. She even cried, which as far as I know she hasn’t done since her husband died when I was a teenager.” Vi chewed her lip. “Seeing her like that shredded my heart. She loves him, Blake, she told me so. Is Malcom as upset as she is?”
Blake recalled how miserable and defeated his grandpa had been. “He’s a mess. He didn’t use the L word, but he’s suffering like a man whose world has tilted off its axis.”
“Were you able to talk to him about that?”
“I tried. I suggested he apologize. You know him. He wasn’t buying that. Let’s hope what I said will sink in. I’ll lay low for a day or so.” Blake thought of something else. “One thing I didn’t say but wish I had was that if he doesn’t apologize and make things right, he’ll lose her.”
“He might need to hear that. I feel for both him and Gran, and I’m rethinking my opinion that they should break up. I don’t mind if they’re together as long as they slow down.”
“I’m no fan of seeing Grandpop messed up like that, either. So, yeah, what you said.”
She flirted with a smile. “Look at us, the flexibles.”
For all his worry, Blake also brightened up. “It’s unexpected, for sure.”
“If only we knew what to do next.”
“That could depend on what Caroline decides about her living quarters,” Blake said.
“She’s going to stay in her current unit. Her insurance check hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m sure it will.” Vi thought a minute. “If not, she’ll have to move out. With the shortage of available units at other retirement facilities, she’ll need an apartment for a while. My friend Carmie works at Port Simms Apartment Rentals. She’s good at her job. If we need her to find something for Gran, she will.”
“Good to have a backup plan. It’ll be hard on them if they continue to live down the hall from each other.”
“When I brought that up with Gran, she got huffy and pointed out that she knows how to be civil.” Vi rolled her eyes. “They remind me of teenagers. On the plus side of her staying in her own unit, they won’t need to rush into marriage if at all. Of course, they may not make up. But if Malcom apologizes to Gran, I know she’ll take him back.”
“He wants that, too, but he refuses to do what you and I think he should.”
“At least they know how each other feels about money and keeping secrets. They both need to work on their communication skills.”
Blake was glad she’d brought that up. “Like we do.” She gave him a sideways look. “I’m thinking about last night.”
The waitress stopped by with a dessert menu. Vi ordered pound cake with strawberry syrup, then continued. “I thought I was very clear—no more kisses.”
“Yes, I heard you. But if you changed your mind, I wouldn’t complain.” Her eyes narrowed slightly and she pursed her lips in disapproval, and he stopped the teasing. “Some of what you said last night was confusing.”
“The part about me sending you mixed messages—I thought about that and agree. I won’t do it anymore. If I do, remind me.”
It was good to know she was still willing to see him. “Okay. I meant the comment about me jumping from one woman to another. That’s false, by the way, but we’ll get to it later. You mentioned not wanting to be in that situation again. Someone must’ve done a real number on you.”
She turned red, which was interesting. After the waitress delivered the dessert and two forks, Vi cleared her throat. “I may as well tell you. I don’t talk about this much, because it’s old news and there isn’t much to say. I’ll keep it short.”
She slid the cake plate between them and nodded at Blake to help himself but didn’t pick up her own fork. Wanting to pay full attention to her, he ignored the cake as well.
“I wasn’t popular in middle school or high school. People called me egghead, humorless, ugly—you name it,” she went on.
Hard to believe. “No way,” he said, frowning.
“It’s true. I had a lot on my shoulders with taking care of my sister, cleaning house and staying on top of my homework, and I guess I was an easy person to make fun of.”
She paused to sip water, and he imagined her as a young girl being saddled with responsibilities no kid ought to be carrying. He understood—he and especially his sister had been in a similar position.
Vi continued. “Things changed some when I went to college. My junior year, I met this guy, Devin. He worked on the grounds crew and wasn’t a student. He was good-looking and sweet and built, and he was interested in me. Not one of the other prettier girls he could’ve chosen, me. I was surprised and flattered. We started seeing a lot of each other.”
She paused and stabbed a bite of cake, but set the fork back down. “This is boring, huh?”
Wanting to hear the rest of the story, Blake shook his head. “Not at all. Please, go on.”
“I fell for him hard. Things were good for a while, but then he changed. He borrowed money from me several times. I didn’t have much to spare, but he was in a bind so I helped out.” Her face clouded. “Cutting to the bottom line, I saw him kissing another girl. When I confronted him, he didn’t apologize or try to defend himself, just headed for the door. I asked him to pay me back the money I loaned him. He didn’t. After that, we avoided each other.”
“So he borrows money and doesn’t pay you back, and cheats on you, too?” Blake wanted to punch the guy. His hands curled into fists. “Sounds like a real ass.”
“Times ten. He ripped my heart in half.” She fiddled with a leftover fry. “Ever since, I’ve steered clear of getting involved with certain men.”
“Such as?”
“I don’t want to talk about that. Let’s dig into the cake, okay?” She finally tasted what she’d forked. “This is delicious.” After a moment, she added, “Anyway, last night triggered me.”
The bite Blake had popped into his mouth lost its flavor. He was astounded. Did she think he was like that grounds crew jerk? “Comparing me with a liar and a cheat is insulting. In the first place, I’d never borrow money from you. Even if I did, I’d pay you right back. For the record, I don’t cheat or flit from woman to woman. That’s not who I am. Sure I date, but if we’re not a good match and things don’t work out after a few dates, we go our separate ways. I don’t jump into bed with everyone I go out with, either.” He met her gaze straight on so she’d know he meant it.
“Daisy thought you were a good match. She proposed to you.”
Should’ve explained that earlier. “During the six or so weeks we dated, I never led her on. I kissed her goodnight the first few times we went out, but there was no chemistry. I was ready to call it quits and was going to tell her over dinner the same night she proposed in the parking lot. She wanted a man to take care of her and thought I fit the bill. It shocked me. We never talked about anything close to marriage, let alone dating each other exclusively. That’s God’s honest truth.”
“I never imagined… Thanks for setting me straight.”
The apology helped. “What happened to Devin?”
“I haven’t kept track, but Carmie has. According to her, he lives here in town, has been divorced three times and works as a day laborer at some roofing company around here. I rarely think about him.”
“But you did last night.” Man, that bothered him.
She grimaced and nodded. “Now you know.”
But he didn’t, not really, and was deeply offended. Too much so to hang around with her and talk anymore. He stood, pulled his wallet out of his pocket and laid a couple of bills on the table. “Time for me to go.”
Vi drove home in turmoil.It was obvious her story had upset Blake. She hadn’t liked talking about it, but now it was out in the open. All of it except for the humiliating way she’d begged him to stay. Only Carmie knew about that. Vi wanted nothing more than to move on and think about other things. Like Rose coming home tonight and work Monday and Gran and Malcom, but her mind refused to cooperate.
She hated how she and Blake had parted ways, with him all tense and her feeling icky as she always did when she thought about the past. She was about halfway home when her Bluetooth signaled a call from Rose. “Hey, you,” she said, happy to have something to take her mind off him. “What time do you get home tonight?”
“I just landed. Peter said he’d pick me up, but he’s at a medical conference in San Francisco to give a talk about a surgery of some kind. He was supposed to arrive about the same time as me, but he texted seconds before my flight took off and let me know he won’t be home till tomorrow night.”
Vi couldn’t tell if that was good or bad. “So you’re going home to an empty house.”
“Once I get there. It’s a three-hour drive from SeaTac airport home, but at least I won’t be the one driving. The person behind the wheel will make good money. After a week apart, I was looking forward to seeing Peter. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised. This happens a lot at medical conferences.”
Having never been to one, Vi had no idea about that kind of thing. “That’s a shame.”
“As you always used to say about stuff we couldn’t change, it is what it is, right? I’ll pour myself a glass of wine, take a nice, long soak in the tub and catch up on one of the shows I missed while I was gone.”
“Were you sorry to leave the spa?”
“Yes, and I’ve already decided to go back again next year. Have you thought anymore about joining me?”
“Depends on my finances, but I’m thinking about it. If you have time tomorrow, Gran would love to see you. When I visited her this morning she was disappointed you weren’t with me. I don’t know why she thought that—she knew you were getting home around dinnertime tonight. Maybe because I dropped by unexpectedly.”
“That’s not like you, Vi. You always set up things like that in advance. When I call her later, we’ll figure out what time works for her.”
“I didn’t want her to know I was coming because…” Vi paused. There was so much to say, and she wasn’t sure where to start. “I’d better update you first,” she said as she neared the complex where she lived.
“More about the car accident? Is she hurt worse than you thought?”
“The opposite—she’s healing nicely. This has to do with her and Malcom.” Vi filled her in as she pulled into her garage and headed into the house. A wind had kicked up and clouds scuttled across the blue sky. She hoped it wouldn’t rain.
“You didn’t tell me about the fight at the restaurant,” Rose said. “All that yelling must’ve been so embarrassing.”
“I guess I forgot to mention that. It was uncomfortable, at least for Blake and me. Gran semi-apologized in passing, but as far as I know Malcom hasn’t said a word about it.”
“Poor Gran.”
“Malcom, too. They’re both suffering. Blake and I are changing our minds about them getting involved so quickly.”
“That’s twice you’ve mentioned him in the last few minutes. How is he?”
“Hello, Mr. T,” Vi crooned as she entered the house and silently thanked him for saving her from talking about Blake. The tom meowed and twined himself around her ankles. “Sorry, it’s too early for dinner.”
“Give that sweet boy a smooch for me,” Rose said. “My ride’s here. Hey, why don’t you come over around dinnertime?”
“I was about to invite you to the townhouse. We’ll get takeout, okay?”
“All right. I’ll show you my photos and tell you about my trip. And you can talk about Blake.”