worked together in
the hospital. I was head nurse on the unit.”
Ah, that explained a
lot -- the pushiness, the determination, the anguish. Ms. Vinson
must have had a crush on Thaddeus, even though he was married. Now
that he was widowed, she probably thought she had a clear path to
her goal. At the moment, though, my mother was standing in her way,
and I wanted to make sure she didn’t steamroll right over
Laurel.
“I could be good for
him,” Florence said, more to herself than to us. “I can take care
of him, especially if he is going to need more surgery. Why would
he want to saddle himself with a woman in a wheelchair when there’s
so much I can do?”
“Excuse me,” I cut in,
offended by her callous dismissal of my mother’s worthiness. “I’ll
have you know, Ms. Vinson, that woman you’re so cavalierly
discussing is my mother. She may not have your mobility, but she
certainly is a very decent, intelligent, and interesting
woman.”
“What?” The look on her
face was one of shock. For a split second, I considered I had
crossed a line of social propriety, but then I remembered
Thaddeus’s reaction to the woman. He wasn’t interested in pursuing
their old connections.
“Dr. Van Zandt told
you....” I started to sputter, but Lacey put a hand on my arm, her
fingers squeezing me into silent mode.
“Scarlet, I think I
dropped my compact in the church. Will you be a dear and go look
for it?”
“But....”
“Please?”
With a heavy sigh, I
handed her my car keys before I turned on my heel and headed back
inside. I wasted five minutes on my hands and knees between pews
before I realized there was no compact. When I got back to the
parking lot, I found the two women had climbed into the back seat,
where Florence was now weeping loudly on Lacey’s shoulder, tissues
in hand. That left me little choice but to chauffeur them back to
the inn. This time around, I took the most direct route. By the
time we arrived at the front steps, Florence had dried her tears
and was already talking about booking an earlier flight back
home.
“I think it’s for the
best, dear,” Lacey agreed. “After all, there’s no shame in loving a
man, but you want to be able to hold your head high. You gave it a
good shot, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Would you like me to
drive you to the airport?”
“Do you
mind?”
“Not at all. You let me
know what time your flight is, Florence. I’ll run you out
to...ah....” Lacey suddenly stopped talking. “Scarlet, what are the
dogs doing outside on their own?”
“Excuse me?” Sure
enough, Huckleberry and January were sitting side by side on the
front porch, with no one around. Given the fact that the Four
Acorns Inn sat at the edge of some prime wilderness, complete with
bears, fisher cats, coyotes, and even foxes large enough to view
tiny dogs as appetizers, this was not good news. That’s why we had
signs posted throughout the inn to warn guests that our pets were
not to be let out, not even Scrub Oak.
“Is Jenny
there?”
“I don’t see her,”
Lacey told me.
“Could you make sure
the dogs get inside, while I park the car?”
“Sure.”
Two minutes later, I
shut the automatic garage door and headed toward the brick walkway,
intending to enter through the sun porch. Instead, I found myself
greeted by a pair of tail-wagging pups, who rushed out of the open
door, sprinting towards me. “Ah ha! So, that’s how you rascals got
out!”
I climbed up the steps,
shooing them back, and as I stepped inside, I heard a crunch under
my sandaled foot. Shards of broken glass were strewn across the
painted wood floor.
“What the....” I
glanced down at the sight and then back at the door I had just
shut. There was a pane missing just above the doorknob. “Son of
a....”
My first move was to
call Bur and tell him to get his fanny down to the inn pronto. My
second was to call Kenny. After all, what’s the point of having a
boyfriend who had recently retired as
the hospital. I was head nurse on the unit.”
Ah, that explained a
lot -- the pushiness, the determination, the anguish. Ms. Vinson
must have had a crush on Thaddeus, even though he was married. Now
that he was widowed, she probably thought she had a clear path to
her goal. At the moment, though, my mother was standing in her way,
and I wanted to make sure she didn’t steamroll right over
Laurel.
“I could be good for
him,” Florence said, more to herself than to us. “I can take care
of him, especially if he is going to need more surgery. Why would
he want to saddle himself with a woman in a wheelchair when there’s
so much I can do?”
“Excuse me,” I cut in,
offended by her callous dismissal of my mother’s worthiness. “I’ll
have you know, Ms. Vinson, that woman you’re so cavalierly
discussing is my mother. She may not have your mobility, but she
certainly is a very decent, intelligent, and interesting
woman.”
“What?” The look on her
face was one of shock. For a split second, I considered I had
crossed a line of social propriety, but then I remembered
Thaddeus’s reaction to the woman. He wasn’t interested in pursuing
their old connections.
“Dr. Van Zandt told
you....” I started to sputter, but Lacey put a hand on my arm, her
fingers squeezing me into silent mode.
“Scarlet, I think I
dropped my compact in the church. Will you be a dear and go look
for it?”
“But....”
“Please?”
With a heavy sigh, I
handed her my car keys before I turned on my heel and headed back
inside. I wasted five minutes on my hands and knees between pews
before I realized there was no compact. When I got back to the
parking lot, I found the two women had climbed into the back seat,
where Florence was now weeping loudly on Lacey’s shoulder, tissues
in hand. That left me little choice but to chauffeur them back to
the inn. This time around, I took the most direct route. By the
time we arrived at the front steps, Florence had dried her tears
and was already talking about booking an earlier flight back
home.
“I think it’s for the
best, dear,” Lacey agreed. “After all, there’s no shame in loving a
man, but you want to be able to hold your head high. You gave it a
good shot, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Would you like me to
drive you to the airport?”
“Do you
mind?”
“Not at all. You let me
know what time your flight is, Florence. I’ll run you out
to...ah....” Lacey suddenly stopped talking. “Scarlet, what are the
dogs doing outside on their own?”
“Excuse me?” Sure
enough, Huckleberry and January were sitting side by side on the
front porch, with no one around. Given the fact that the Four
Acorns Inn sat at the edge of some prime wilderness, complete with
bears, fisher cats, coyotes, and even foxes large enough to view
tiny dogs as appetizers, this was not good news. That’s why we had
signs posted throughout the inn to warn guests that our pets were
not to be let out, not even Scrub Oak.
“Is Jenny
there?”
“I don’t see her,”
Lacey told me.
“Could you make sure
the dogs get inside, while I park the car?”
“Sure.”
Two minutes later, I
shut the automatic garage door and headed toward the brick walkway,
intending to enter through the sun porch. Instead, I found myself
greeted by a pair of tail-wagging pups, who rushed out of the open
door, sprinting towards me. “Ah ha! So, that’s how you rascals got
out!”
I climbed up the steps,
shooing them back, and as I stepped inside, I heard a crunch under
my sandaled foot. Shards of broken glass were strewn across the
painted wood floor.
“What the....” I
glanced down at the sight and then back at the door I had just
shut. There was a pane missing just above the doorknob. “Son of
a....”
My first move was to
call Bur and tell him to get his fanny down to the inn pronto. My
second was to call Kenny. After all, what’s the point of having a
boyfriend who had recently retired as
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