Heart Echoes (13 page)

Chapter 24

So far, so good.
Seated by herself at a small corner table, Teal sipped from a triple-size to-go cup.
So far, so good
meant she had not yet shed a tear. What was there to cry about? Everything she had feared about returning home had gone
poof
the moment she first saw Lacey. That sight triggered emotions so deep, tears could not reach them.

A vaguely familiar man walked by. Dick, Mick, Rick, Nick? An old fisherman by the looks of his cap and weathered face. She returned his smile, struck by the friendly environment of Lacey and Will's place, the Happy Grounds Coffee and Gift Shop.

She sipped her latte and noted again it was nothing like she could get in Los Angeles–area chain stores. No surprise, given that she was in the Northwest, aka Coffee Country. But it was the best she had ever tasted in her entire life, and a teenager had made it. She eyed him now behind the counter. Baker—one name—was a big kid, more pudgy than muscular, and shy. He wore geeky rectangular, black-rimmed glasses. His hands moved with expertise on the espresso machine.

Will slid into a chair across from her and motioned toward her cup. “Good?”

“Way beyond good. We're into heavenly. I want to take him home with me.”

Will grinned. “Ivy League schools are after him already, and I want to tell him to forget college. The future is here, keeping my customers happy.”

Teal chuckled.

She and Maiya had greeted Will earlier, but when a tour bus unloaded curbside, he went back to work. Lacey declared she had the day off and promptly steered Maiya around the gift shop. Teal could see them now, smiling and chatting over marionberry jams and key rings made from myrtlewood as if they were treasures.

Teal turned back to her brother-in-law. She had always liked Will Janski Jr. well enough. Not that they had ever hung out together growing up, but he was her age. They graduated in the same high school class with sixty-one others. He was an extrovert who never met a stranger, the perfect personality to take over his parents' shop when they retired seven years ago.

With his open face, dark-blond hair, and slender, six-foot-plus stature, he had not aged much, except for the bags under his hazel eyes.

“Will, how bad is it?”

His face sort of folded in on itself briefly, as if a stiff wind had blown by. “She'll tell you, Teal. When she's ready.”

“Are you familiar with how children of alcoholics communicate with their siblings? They do not talk about the ugly stuff because if they do, that means it's real. She may never be ready.”

Will's chest rose and fell as he breathed deeply before he spoke. “She told you about the miscarriage.”

“How many months after the fact? And I never even heard she was pregnant.”

“Maiya seems like a great kid.”

Teal could have screamed. She leaned forward and whispered, “Is Lacey dying?”

“She asked me not to—”

“Will! Please!”

“They think the cancer is in remission.”

Teal sat back as if slapped. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her thoughts swirled. Her guess had been correct. Lacey had cancer.
Cancer.
What kind? When? Did she have surgery? She obviously had had chemotherapy; she never would have cut off the long hair that Will adored.

It was too much to take in.

She swallowed. “How are you doing?”

He blinked, averted his eyes, came back. “Let's say my knees are well acquainted with the floor, and that helps.”

Now Teal looked away. He had every right to be bitter, but it wasn't in his makeup. She liked him more than ever.

Lacey and Maiya made their way across the coffee shop. Lacey stopped at every table to introduce her niece to customers. Maiya carried a small brown bag with handles and green tissue paper. She politely greeted everyone.

By the time they reached their table, Teal and Will were talking coffee again.

Maiya plopped down beside Teal, laid the bag on the table, and began pulling things from it. “Mom, look at what Aunt Lacey gave me. She said I can have anything I want from the whole entire store the whole entire time we're here. I got bubble bath for us. Isn't this bracelet awesome? This clear stuff is beach glass, and these stones are amethysts.” She fastened it around her wrist. “Look at that funny joke book. And marionberry jam. I've never even heard of marionberries!”

Teal looked at her sister across the table. “Lace, come on.”

“Hey, she's my niece. I get to spoil her. And I own this shop.”

Will gave her an exaggerated frown.

She grinned. “
We
own this shop and
we
want to spoil Maiya. A little. I mean, it's not like we carry Gucci or Coach. So give it a break, Teal.”

“Yeah, Mom, give it a break.”

Aunt and niece giggled in unison.

Teal saw a familiar spark of joy in Lacey's eyes. It hadn't been there earlier. She would have noticed because it was the one Maiya had had since she was a toddler. It was one reason Teal often inadvertently called Maiya by her sister's name.

Maybe this visit was a good idea for reasons she could not fathom.

Teal wheeled her suitcase up and over the threshold and entered Moonbeam Cottage number three. One sweep of her eyes covered the combined sitting, dining, and kitchen areas. A hall led off from the center of the back wall. Three doors opened into it, two bedrooms and a bathroom.

“This is great, Lacey.”

“It's all right?”

Maiya walked in behind Lacey. “Eww!” She stretched the word into a long whine. “Aunt Lacey! This is, like, not the Ritz!”

Lacey fluffed her hair and pouted. “Yeah, but, like, does it matter?”

They both giggled.

Teal stared. The two of them already had inside jokes going?

“Mom—” Maiya lowered her voice to normal range—“she really thought I must be a ditz and shopped on Rodeo Drive.”

Lacey smiled. “Those are synonymous with Los Angeles. Anyway—” She spread her arms—“this place is clean and does not smell like mildew.”

Maiya rolled her suitcase toward the tiny hall. “With seventy-three inches of rain a year, I suppose mildew is an issue.” She disappeared inside one of the bedrooms.

Lacey looked a question at Teal.

“She likes to do research.” Teal shrugged.

“A dream student.”

“Are you sure you're okay with the whole tutoring thing?”

“Definitely okay with it.” Lacey sat on the couch, a saggy-looking plaid eyesore with wooden arms, and rested her head against the back.

“Mom,” Maiya called out, “Baker's going to help us with trig.”

“Baker, the coffee guy?”

Lacey nodded. “Smart kid. Do you think that table gives you enough work space? I asked for this cottage because it had the largest one. I'm afraid there's no wireless. You're always welcome to work at our house or the shop.”

Teal glanced around the room. Six chairs fit around the dining table that took up an entire fourth of the space. Opposite it the open kitchen consisted of the basics: sink, stove, fridge, and cabinets all lined up in a row along the back wall.

“The table will be just fine, and I can e-mail with my phone.” She sat on the recliner, a dark-yellow Naugahyde, comfy enough.

A braided rug covered the linoleum between her chair and the couch. The sparse furnishings included a coffee table, two lamps, and a television. Sunlight shone through several windows, a homey charm in their cheery yellow curtains and valances.

“It's a comfortable place. Thanks, Lace. Is that a pellet stove?” The cast-iron device next to the hall opening resembled an old-fashioned free-standing television with a chimney.

“Yes. Will said he'd get some pellets for you today, just in case. Mornings have been chilly.”

“Mom,” Maiya called out again. “Which bedroom do you want? Blue stripes or green plaid bedding?”

“You choose, hon.” Teal crossed her arms and focused on her sister's tired face. “Talk to me.”

Lacey's wan smile faltered. “Will said he told you.”

“No details, though.”

“I just couldn't . . . over the phone . . .”

“It's okay. I know. I haven't exactly been a confidante type of sister.”

“No, you haven't. You've been a pain in the tushie.”

“It's who I am. You're such a Goody Two-shoes.”

“It's who I am.”

They stared at each other for a long moment. Maiya's humming and the sound of drawers being pulled filled the space.

“Lace, I really want to hear it.”

“We tried to get pregnant for three years. Then it happened. Five months later, I miscarried. The doctor did a D and C. She found a tumor. It was ovarian cancer. Then I had a hysterectomy and chemotherapy. Now my hair is short and I don't surf anymore and I take naps most afternoons. I'm thirty-two and I have hot flashes. And I buy cookies for the shop instead of baking them myself.”

Teal moved over to the couch and pulled Lacey into her arms.

“And I am so sick of crying about it.” Lacey blubbered.

Teal felt dampness on her own cheeks. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

“Well, there is some good news. This week's tests said it's in remission.”

“Okay.” Teal sniffed. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

It didn't help much. They wept some more.

Maiya squealed from the other room. “Unbelievable! There is no TV in here!”

Teal sat up and wiped her eyes.

Lacey chuckled through her tears. “I'm so glad she got suspended so you felt the urge to come.”

“I would have preferred you just told me what was going on.”

“Whatever.”

Maiya strode into the room. “Whew. There's a TV out here. . . . What's wrong with you two?”

Teal exchanged a glance with Lacey.

Her sister nodded.

“Aunt Lacey has been sick.”

“I know. Uncle Will told me. But she's okay now. Right?”

Teal turned to Lacey. “Are you sure you're up for us?”

A softness pushed aside Lacey's tired creases. It was an expression reserved for elderly people who had found their way through years of ups and downs, finding at last a peace with life and death.

It took Teal's breath away.

Lacey smiled. “I am, without a doubt, up for you.”

Chapter 25

LOS ANGELES

River clung to the cell phone as if it were a life preserver. He eagerly drank in every sound of Teal's voice. It was less clipped than usual when she told him of Lacey's illness. A silent chuckle underscored it when she described the full-size beds that filled every inch in the bedrooms of the cottage that did not smell of mildew.

“Teal, I didn't think I could miss you this much.”

She groaned. “Come on, big guy. I need you to be all right without me there.”

“I thought you liked me being in touch with my feminine side.”

“Not this month.”

River smiled, but his gut twisted as if he'd just run the mile in six minutes. “I'm not all right, but I'll survive.”

“Promise me you will go home tonight.”

He glanced around his office space, at his sleeping bag on the floor, the disarray on his desk. The first night Teal and Maiya were gone, he had gone home at the regular time, eaten chili out of a can, an entire bag of Double Stuf Oreos, and a pound of shelled pistachios while watching eight straight hours of television.

Last night he ate dinner in the cafeteria with the live-in staff and fifty boys, gingerly shot some hoops with a group who promised not to elbow him, worked at his desk until ten, then sacked out on the office floor, which was warmer than his camper parked out back.

“River, it's Saturday. Even you occasionally take that one off.”

“Um, maybe.” At least he'd go home to get some clean clothes. What else was there? At the school he had food, showers, company, a quiet room. “I'm still behind on the auction prep work. It's easier to do it from here than home.”

The auction was a fund-raiser for the school, a huge affair that drew people from all over the county. Items were donated by the dozens—everything from cars to computers to Maui vacations—and auctioned off in October. After coordinating it for fifteen years, River had the process down to a science. The earthquake and the injured ribs, though, had thrown a wrench into his schedule.

“How's that going?”

He filled her in on the details of his annual major project. “Hey, thanks for listening. It always gives me a new perspective.”

“Here's a new perspective: take care of yourself. You reverting back to your bachelor days worries me.”

“You're the one in Camp Poppycock, sitting on the floor beside the front door because it's the only place your phone connects. I'm the worried one.”

“Go to church and tell everyone hello from me.”

He chuckled. In less than five years, Teal had overhauled his life. Not only did he now sleep in a bed and eat balanced meals, he also went to a church pastored by a widow who had been a television actress back in the day. Most of the congregation remembered welcoming Teal into their midst as an unmarried pregnant grad student. Many of them had babysat Maiya. Along with River's sister, these people had been all the extended family they needed.

Which made the flight to Cedar Pointe all the more off the wall.

“Okay, I will go to church. Any other instructions, Counselor?”

“I'm out of line. I don't mean to—”

“Hey, I'm kidding.”

“I'm not. Seriously, River, I'm not
gone
. I am coming home.”

He heard the unspoken:
I'm not gone like Krissy.
“I know.”

In the silence that followed, there were more unspoken words, tidal waves of pain, relief, utter joy, hope, despair, and in the end, an all-encompassing blanket of love.

“But,” he said, “I really, really miss you.”

“I miss you too. Really, really, really.”

“Truly?”

She laughed. “Maiya wants to talk to you.”

His heart leaped at the sentence.

He was in bad shape. Really, really bad shape.

“Maiya!” She spoke away from the phone. “I can't bring the phone to you. This is the only spot in the house. Here she comes.”

“I love you, Teal.”

“I love you, River.”

Maiya came on the line. “Hey, Riv!”

“Minnie McMouse! How's it going?” Again he listened to the day's events, laughing at his teenager's rendition. She sounded happy, at ease.

“River, have you seen Jake?”

He frowned. “Honey—”

“I just need to know—”

“He's fine.”

“What's happening?”

Should he tell her what he had not told Teal? Wiser not to. “He's fine.”

The truth was, Jake's boss and River had both spoken on his behalf, both promising to spend time with him. The judge set bail and the boss paid it. Jake was back to work and doing well.

Despite what Jake had done to his family, River could separate himself and speak in court as a professional. The kid needed to pay the consequences of unlawfully entering the school, but for nearly two years he had toed the line well.

“Come on, Riv. At least tell me if you've seen him.”

“All I'm going to say is that it will be a long time before I trust him again.”

“Do you trust me again?”

He melted at the anxious note in her voice. “I think this time away will be good for you, to help you learn about the consequences of your choices. But yes, I trust you.” He chuckled. “Mainly because you're my adorable daughter who has me wrapped around her little finger.”

She laughed loudly. “NW.”

NW. No way.
“Yes, way!” He dug in his jeans pocket and pulled out a folded-up piece of paper, his cheat sheet for text shorthand. “Just, well, just . . .” He scanned the list. “Just G-O-I!”
Get over it.

“W-E.”
Whatever.

“My brain is cramping.”

“N-P.”
No problem.
“G-2-G anyway.”

“G-2 what?”

She giggled. “Got to go.”

“Right. I heard you're having dinner with the grandparents.”

“Yes. Mom promised she would be civil.”

River clenched his jaw and a fist. Nine years ago poor Maiya had been traumatized by Owen's ranting. It still bothered her. Teal's history with the man was appalling.

Maiya said, “So no worries.” The little-girl voice carried a grown-up conviction.

He relaxed his muscles and eyed the texting paper. “Shoot. Are you sure? Because I really wanted to say H-O-T-Y-Z-I-G-T-B-A-B-R.”

“H-O-T—?” She burst into laughter. “Good one, Riv. L-Y-L!”

“Love you lots too.”

Still laughing, she cut the connection.

River's smile faded. He felt like he had on the garage floor right after the quake, hopeless and helpless with only one thing to do.

Even if Teal held her tongue, they would want to follow the acronym:
Hold on to your zingiezangers; it's going to be a bumpy ride.

“God, take care of them.”