Home > The Best of Us (Sullivan's Crossing #4)(10)

The Best of Us (Sullivan's Crossing #4)(10)
Author: Robyn Carr

“And you’re skiing?” Helen asked.

“Not much beyond the few lessons I took last winter. I went with Maggie’s other sister-in-law, Sidney. This time I’m going to make sure you meet some of these people. You’ll get such a kick out of Sidney. She’s an amazing woman—consults in quantum physics at UCLA. She and her husband are going to move to Boulder at the end of the summer. She’s taking a position at the university and her husband is going to get his teaching certificate. Apparently he’s always wanted to teach high school.”

“I hope he’s got nerves of steel,” Helen said.

“You loved teaching,” Leigh said.

“My current job is much more flexible.”

“After we get all of your luggage sorted out, we’ll go and get something to eat. There’s a little pub in town owned by a guy I know—Sid’s brother, Rob. It’s kind of lively on Saturday nights, especially during spring break, and it’s always spring break somewhere. But I’d like you to meet him. He asked me out on a date. I patched up his son after an accident.”

“Did you go?” Helen asked.

“It’s for tomorrow night. I’m going to introduce you, tell him you’ve come for a visit, and I’m sure he’ll invite you to join us.”

“Have you been seeing him long?”

“No, Auntie—he just asked me. First date, though I’ve known him since I moved here. I think he’s just being neighborly because I put stitches in his son’s hand.”

“What a crock,” Helen said. “If he was thanking you for the stitches, he’d give you a plant or fruit basket. This sounds like a real date. I’ll look him over, and if I like what I see, I won’t join you.” Then she smiled her dazzling smile.

Leigh thought Helen was beautiful. She hoped to be that attractive and youthful looking at sixty-two. Leigh sometimes worried that Helen had never married because of her. As far as Leigh could remember, Helen hadn’t even hinted that she had any interest in a love life until Leigh was in college. After Leigh’s breakup with Johnny, during one of their teary heart-to-heart talks, Helen admitted that some of her many evenings with friends or book club nights or faculty meetings had actually been dates. But none of the men were ever all that serious, not much more than friends.

Helen was tall at five foot eight, her back straight and her head held high. She kept her hair colored a rich dark brown; she was trim and athletic. She was just beginning to show the true signs of aging, laugh lines around her mouth and crow’s-feet around at her eyes, but these little things did nothing to diminish her attractiveness. She had a beautiful, joyful smile. She didn’t look like a woman trying to appear thirty-five, not at all. She looked exactly like who she was—an honest, vibrant, healthy sixty-two. She loved her age and was reaching it with grace and humor. Leigh wanted to be just like her.

Together they unloaded Helen’s luggage and got her partially settled in the guest room. Leigh hadn’t had time to set up a work space in that room for her, since she arrived so quickly. “Just as well,” Helen said. “I’m going to want a small bookcase and a worktop of some kind. Maybe a sturdy folding table or maybe a desk—not a fancy desk. Just a place for notebooks, Post-its, those little things that keep me organized. The boxes contain office supplies—from printer to pens. I don’t actually sit at a desk to work and we don’t work off hard copy anymore—it’s always on the computer screen. I like to move around a lot, sometimes sitting on the porch, sometimes in a cozy chair, sometimes at the kitchen table. Sometimes in a coffee shop or bar.”

“Make this room any way you like,” Leigh said. “I want this to be your house, too. I want you to spend as much time here as you want. If you decide to stay for months or even years, that would make me so happy. If you just want to visit, I understand.”

“I’m going to stay a good long time while I look this place over,” Helen said. “Then we’ll see.”

* * *

The pub was warm and woody and the place was hopping, laughter ringing out from the busy bar area. It looked to be populated mostly with college students. They were supposed to be over twenty-one but who knew how many fake IDs were floating around the room.

“Let’s see if we can get a table or booth that’s a little away from the bar,” Leigh said.

“Why are there so many young people here?” Helen asked. “Skiing is over, isn’t it? Please tell me it’s over.”

“It’s almost May, it’s pretty slim pickings even at the higher elevations,” Leigh said. “But the trails and rock climbing all around us call to these young people. A lot of them come here to camp, hike, bike and climb.”

“Let’s spend spring break in Timberlake, Colorado? That can’t sound too exciting on the campuses in the north. I thought the kids all went to Florida,” Helen said. “Or Mexico.”

“The majority probably do, but as you can see, there are quite a few right here. Sully’s campground is always full during holiday breaks and weekends. Lots of families and quite a few students.”

They settled at a table near the front window and Helen immediately picked up a menu. She slid on her reading glasses and scanned it. “You can’t eat here too often and keep your figure. Hamburgers, pizzas, wraps, wings...”

“Pub food. I can direct you to some dishes that aren’t too heavy or greasy,” Leigh said.

“Maybe next time, dear,” she said. “Look at these hamburgers!”

“And I can vouch for them, too. They’re wonderful. You do like your occasional hamburger, don’t you?”

“It might be my favorite meal. I’ve just never been any good on the grill. I can’t do it every time I eat out or I’d be as big as a house. But I’ve worked hard the last few weeks! Time for a treat. Let’s start with wine. What’s good here?”

“You pick,” Leigh said.

A few minutes later, their wine barely delivered, people began to drop by their booth to say hello. First was Eleanor and her husband, Nick. “Auntie, you remember Eleanor, don’t you? The best nurse in the county?”

“Of course! So nice to see you again!”

“I hope you’re staying awhile this time,” Eleanor said.

“I plan to be, until I get the itch to go somewhere.”

“Spring and summer are beautiful here,” Eleanor said.

Just after ordering their food, Connie Boyle approached the booth, carrying a large take-out sack. Leigh introduced Helen and asked about his wife, Sierra.

“She’s ripe as a melon and should pop in around a month or six weeks. She said she was dying for Rob’s potato skins and wings, so here I am. I’ve found granting every wish of a pregnant wife is always in my best interest.”

“Connie and Sierra have a one-year-old son and a daughter on the way,” Leigh explained to Helen.

“That’s cutting it close,” Helen said, sipping her wine.

“Good thing we like kids, huh?” Connie said with a smile.

Just as their food arrived, Tom Canaday and his fiancée, Lola, stopped by to say hello. Leigh explained that they were two single parents who had combined families and together had six kids between them. “We threw a pizza at them and ran for our lives,” Tom said.

“We really needed a night out,” Lola said.

All through dinner people stopped by to say hello and meet Leigh’s aunt. When Helen finished her hamburger and dabbed her lips with her napkin, she said, “That was fabulous. The meal and your neighbors. We often ran into people we knew when we were out at home, but nothing like this. You must feel positively embraced.”

“It doesn’t take long to begin to feel like a part of the community,” she said. “I want you to meet Rob but I only caught a glimpse of him and then he disappeared. I’ll ask about him.”

Before she could do that, an obnoxiously large piece of mud pie covered in whipped cream was delivered by the waitress. “Compliments of the management,” she said.

Leigh craned her neck and saw Rob behind the bar. He gave her a wave.

“Tell him if he has a minute to come over. I’d like to introduce him to my aunt.”

Leigh and Helen shared the dessert, though both of them were too stuffed to make much of a dent in it. Coffee was served and Leigh began telling Helen of the things she might like to explore—national parks, hiking trails, fancy spas, scenic railroads...

“It sounds like this could be a season of outdoor activities,” Helen observed.

Then Rob appeared. He said hello to a few patrons as he passed them, then slid into the booth next to Leigh.

“Ladies, how are you tonight? Everything okay? Can I get you anything else?”

“Everything was wonderful. Rob, I’d like you to meet my aunt Helen. She arrived just a few hours ago.”

“Pleasure,” he said, reaching across the table to shake her hand. “Is this your first visit to Pleasantville?”

Leigh saw Helen smile and could tell she was already charmed.

“I’ve made a couple of quick trips. Last fall, before winter settled in. Beautiful little slice of the world you have here. I’m going to stay a bit longer, see a bit more of it this trip.”

“You won’t be disappointed. Any way I can help, please call on me.”

“Your pub is outstanding,” she added. “And you do quite a business.”

“Thank you. The weekends are busier, of course.”

“Tell me, is it rewarding?” Helen asked.

“I love this place,” he said. “It was in lousy shape when I bought it, but with a little renovation it turned into a top-notch pub. I’ve been lucky enough to find great employees. It’s a small town so there are only two major eateries in town—the pub and the diner—and two different cuisines. The diner is more home cooking, no alcohol, great breakfasts and dynamite coffee. We have the best burgers, but there are plenty of good meals for the nonburger fan.”

   
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