A Different Light (32 page)

“I’ll try it without.”

She poured small amounts over ice, then added water to one glass, explaining, “You might be game, but I can’t drink it undiluted.”

“Whoa.” Quentin knocked back the first sip. “It’s a
bit heady, isn’t it?”

Athen laughed and reached for his glass, but he waved her hand away, saying, “No, no. I’ve handled heartier stuff than this. I just didn’t expect the bite.”

She watched his face as he took another, more cautious sip.

“It has an interesting flavor. I get the brandy, but there is another note to it. I like it.”

The muffled sound of the front door quietly closing sent Hannah to welcome Callie home from a birthday party. Athen wondered how Callie would react to finding Quentin Forbes alone with her mother.

A slight movement at the doorway caught Athen’s eye. Callie stood with her hands on her hips, surveying the scene.

“Did you have a good time at the party, sweetie?”

“I guess it was okay.” Callie appeared to be awaiting an explanation for their guest.

“Can you at least say hello to Mr. Forbes?” Athen tried not to glare at her daughter.

“Hello, Mr. Forbes,” Callie replied flatly.

“Hi, Callie.”

“We saw a really good movie tonight,” Athen told her.

“You didn’t tell me you were going to the movies.”

“Well, I didn’t know when you went to Julie’s that I would be going out,” Athen said without apology.

Callie remained at her post in the doorway.

“Well, I should be getting on home.” Quentin stood up. “I’ve got an early date with Ms. Evelyn in the morning, and I don’t want to keep her waiting.”

“Ms. Evelyn?” Callie asked, her curiosity piqued. “You’re going to see Ms. Evelyn tomorrow?”

“Yes,” he replied casually. “I promised to be Ms. Evelyn’s mule this weekend.”

“What does that mean?” Callie kicked off her sneakers, intrigued in spite of herself.

“It means she has some heavy work to be done, and I offered to do it for her.”

“What work?” Callie asked.

“She needs help cleaning up some vacant lots she wants to transform into a Garden of Eden.”

“A real garden?” Curiosity trumped animosity.

“Oh, yeah,” he assured her. “She’s going to grow a little bit of everything: vegetables, flowers, even some fruits. She started a lot of the plants in her greenhouse.”

“Who’s the garden for?” Callie’s stockinged feet padded into the room.

“It’s for the people who live in the city who can’t afford to buy a lot of fresh produce in the supermarket, or who don’t have money to spare to buy a bunch of flowers to brighten up their home.” Quentin became serious. “Some people don’t know how to grow things, so Ms. Evelyn offered to teach them so they could learn to grow good foods for their families.”

“Why did she ask
you
to help?”

“Well, actually, I volunteered,” he told her.

“Why?” Callie pressed.

“Because we’re friends, and she has a very big job to do, and friends help friends.” He turned to Athen and said, “Maybe if you have a few hours to spare tomorrow, you can come down and give us a hand.”

“I don’t know how much help I’d be,” Athen said with a laugh. “I never planted anything before last weekend.”

“No, no, there will be no planting tomorrow,” he
explained. “We’re going to spend the entire day just clearing the ground. It’s overgrown with weeds, litter, trash. Right now, we’re talking strictly dirty work. You game?”

“What time?” Callie asked before Athen could respond.

“Anytime,” he told her. “We’ll be there all day.”

“Can we, Mom?” Callie begged.

“I guess we can drive down and see if there’s anything we can do to help,” Athen readily agreed.

“Let’s get up real early. What time are you going, Mr. Forbes?” It was the first time Callie had spoken rather than spit his name.

“Probably around seven, but you don’t have to go that early.” Quentin made a point of addressing Callie rather than her mother. “There’s some equipment that’s being delivered—small tractors, some Dumpsters, stuff like that. But if you come around ten or so, I’ll bet there’ll be plenty for you to do.”

“Thanks, Mr. Forbes.” Her smiling face was evidence that he had gone from suspect to ally, all in the course of one brief conversation.

“Well, if we’re all going to be working hard tomorrow, I guess it’s time to say good night.” He winked at Athen and headed for the front door, stopping to pick up his jacket from the chair.

“Mr. Forbes, will you tell Ms. Evelyn that I’m coming to help?” Callie had followed close behind him, climbing two steps up the stairwell to bring herself to his eye level.

“Of course. I’m sure she’ll be delighted. I know you’re a big favorite of hers.”

“She told you that?” Callie bit her bottom lip to conceal her pleasure.

“On more than one occasion,” he assured her.

“She’s one of my favorite people, too,” Callie said. “She always makes me feel good when I talk with her, and she never makes me feel like a pesky kid.”

“Well, I think that’s her way of showing her respect for a fellow gardener,” he told her.

“Hmmm …” Callie considered this. Just as she turned to go up the steps to her room, she glanced at her mother, who was leaning against the kitchen doorjamb.

“Mom, the least you could do is walk Mr. Forbes to the door. …”

WHAT DO YOU THINK, MOM?”
Callie asked over breakfast the next morning. “Jeans and sweatshirts?”

“Hmmm?” Athen glanced up from the newspaper. She’d been trying unsuccessfully for ten minutes to read the same article, her mind insisting on dragging her back to the night before, to long deep kisses in the darkened doorway that had rattled her to her soul and kept her riveted to the spot even after Quentin closed the door behind him.

“I said, maybe we should wear jeans and sweatshirts,” Callie repeated. “It’s a little chilly this morning.”

“Maybe something a little lighter. It’s supposed to warm up later.”

“Okay.” Callie poured herself a bowl of granola.

“Sounds like a good plan.” Athen folded the paper and reached for her coffee. It seemed like a lifetime since she had been kissed that way. …

“This will be fun.” Callie spooned yogurt on top of her cereal. “I wonder what Ms. Evelyn will want me to do. Mom, why are you grinning like that?”

“What?” Athen, shaken from her reverie, covered quickly. “Oh, I was just thinking about … about how nice
it is to help a friend.”

“I agree.” Callie dug into her breakfast. “It was sure nice of Mr. Forbes to say we could help. Maybe he’s not so bad, Mom. I mean, he was really pretty nice to me, even though I haven’t been real nice to him. I’m going to run up and get dressed so I can take Hannah for a walk before we go.”

Callie disappeared from the room in a flash, leaving Athen to shake her head.
Sometimes being a parent to a preadolescent child is like doing penance. One day, they’re sullen and moody; the next day, they are responsible and resourceful. Then, suddenly, they are four years old again, dependent and demanding.

“You are amazing,” she’d whispered to Quentin the night before. “You totally turned her around in a flash. How did you know how to do that?”

“Kids like to be treated with respect and like to be recognized for their accomplishments,” he’d said with a shrug. “Callie admires Ms. Evelyn and that admiration is returned. I thought it wouldn’t hurt if I let her know.”

“Callie hasn’t treated you with much respect,” Athen had reminded him.

“Sometimes kids need to know that you respect them first.” He had started to nibble on her bottom lip, and if there had been further conversation after that, she couldn’t recall what it had been about.

“Mom, you’d better get dressed.” Callie breezed through the room, Hannah’s leash over her shoulder, the dog bouncing and hopping merrily behind her. “Come on, girl. Mom, try to be ready when I get back, okay?”

“WOW!” EXCLAIMED CALLIE WHEN SHE
and Athen approached their destination on foot. They’d parked almost three full
blocks away due to the many cars that were parked along the street by the volunteers who had arrived before them. “Look at all the people!”

Scores of workers bustled about, filling the vacant lots. Some carried old tires and broken pieces of furniture to the Dumpsters that lined the Schuyler Avenue side. Some were carefully picking up broken bottles, while others were removing rocks so that the large lawn mowers could cut down the high grass. Along Third Street, other volunteers awaited the tractors that would turn over the hard, long-neglected ground into which another army of volunteers would work truckloads of topsoil and cow manure, the pungent aroma of which was just beginning to drift on a slight breeze.

“Hey, Ms. Evelyn!” Callie’s face lit at the sight of the old woman in overalls and sunglasses who directed the activity.

“No, no, Joe, you have to finish clearing that side section before you can bring that mower in there.” Ms. Evelyn pointed a long thin brown finger toward the back of the lot and addressed several people at the same time without missing a beat. “Now you, Thomas, go see Ms. Adeline for a bandage for that cut. I told you to watch out for broken glass. Callie, I heard you and your mother would be helping out today. I’m so happy that you came by to give us a hand.”

“What would you like us to do?” Callie asked eagerly.

“Well, I see my good friend Timmy Forbes is still moving rocks over there by the back fence. I bet he’d appreciate your help,” Ms. Evelyn suggested.

Athen closed her eyes and held her breath, awaiting Callie’s protest.

“Sure.” Callie drew heavy canvas work gloves from
the back pocket of her jeans and took off without a backward glance at her startled mother.

Ms. Evelyn smiled and patted Athen’s arm. “Let me see if I can find something suitable for our mayor to do.”

“No, no.” Athen shook her head. “I’m here as a friend, just like everyone else. I’ll do whatever it is you need done now.”

Ms. Evelyn surveyed the work in progress. “Why don’t you join Georgia—she’s the young lady in the green shirt over there. She and Mr. Tate are picking up bottles and other trash. There are recycling baskets for the glass right there by the sidewalk.”

Athen picked up a basket and headed toward her assigned work crew, trying unsuccessfully to catch a glimpse of Quentin in the crowd. She introduced herself first to Mr. Tate, who looked to be in his eighties and who was hard of hearing, and then to Georgia, a slender, pretty young woman with skin the color of cocoa and eyes like chunks of coal who proved to be an amiable work companion. Georgia hummed and sang softly in a lovely lilting soprano as they carried out their chores. Athen found herself wishing she could carry a tune so that she could join in. At one point, a photographer from the
Woodside Herald
snapped a picture of Athen as she lifted a load of glass.

She glanced over her shoulder to locate her daughter in the ever-growing crowd of workers. As she scanned the throng, she found not only Callie standing next to Timmy, but Quentin as well. He was speaking to both children, and had the total attention of both. She smiled to herself as she watched him place a hand on his son’s shoulder.

Far from being the wisecracking reporter she’d first met, he was now a man of strength and humor and a gentleness she hadn’t expected. Not to mention that he’d
awakened something inside her she’d assumed she’d never feel again.

“Well, I see you’ve met the boss.” Riley Fallon exchanged a loving look with Athen’s companion.

“Oh, you’re Georgia’s fiancé?” Athen was roused from her musings.

“Riley and I will be married in August.” George beamed.

“Best wishes to you both.” Athen smiled with genuine pleasure even as she sneaked a peek over Riley’s shoulder. The children were back to work carrying rocks. Quentin was nowhere to be seen. “I wish you every happiness.”

“Thank you, Athen,” Riley said as a loud whistle pierced the din created by a hundred or so chattering voices.

“What was that?” Startled, Athen flinched.

“The signal for lunch break,” Georgia told her.

“Gosh, it didn’t occur to me to pack lunch.” Athen thought aloud. “I’d better grab Callie and run out to pick something up. She’s probably starving by now.”

“That’s all been taken care of,” Georgia assured her. “When you work with Ms. Evelyn, you don’t have to worry about going hungry. I’d better go see if I can lend a hand.”

The young woman followed a path through the high grass to the sidewalk, where boxes were stacked high on tables covered with white cloths. The ladies of the AME Church of the Brethren were about to serve lunch.

“Ugh!” Athen studied her dirty hands, wondering how she could eat anything these fingers had touched. She waved to Callie as her daughter and Timmy approached her.

“Isn’t this fun, Mom?” Callie’s eyes sparkled.

“Let me see your hands,” Athen demanded, and the
child held out two blackened paws for inspection.

“Not to worry, Mom.” Callie pointed to the line forming across the street.

She should have known Ms. Evelyn would think of everything. A hose hooked up to the faucet on the front of the row house across the street spewed water, and one of the AME ladies offered liquid soap in a large pump container. Rolls of paper towels were stacked in the back of a nearby station wagon and large trash cans stood by for the discards.

“Hey, this is great stuff,” Callie exclaimed as she opened her box lunch. “Look, Mom, ham sandwiches, apples, brownies. Cool!”

They sat on the ground under a tree, surrounded by others seeking shade from the bright afternoon sun. Athen gratefully propped herself against the rough bark, happy to give her aching back a respite from bending over countless times to retrieve discarded bottles in the high grass. She popped open a can of soda and explored the contents of the white box.

“Hey, Timmy, over here!” Callie waved, then turned to her mother and pleaded, “Don’t say it, Mom.”

“Don’t say what, Callie?” Athen suppressed a smile.

“Don’t say, ‘I told you he was a nice kid,’ okay?” Callie whispered.