They sat down on the bench, still clutching each other’s hands. Jo didn’t say anything.
“I’m going to get a job as soon as I can, Ma. I don’t want you to feel obligated, but if you want we can get a place together. It’s up to you, okay?”
“I’d love that. Maybe after you’re all settled,” Jo said quietly. “You should get your life settled. You shouldn’t have to worry about me.”
Krista laughed and pulled Jo into a hug. “I’m not worried about you, Ma. I want to be with you if we can work it out! You shouldn’t worry about having a place for me. I should worry about having a place for you!”
Jo turned her watering eyes and gazed at her daughter’s face. She patted her cheek. “You’re such a good girl, Krista. How do I deserve such a good girl as you?”
Krista laughed again. “Only a mother could say that to a kid who just wrapped up a twenty-five-year sentence. You haven’t lost your sense of humor. So, how about it? Want to go tell what’s-her-name...Margie...that you’re taking a little time off?”
“I wish I could, honey. I wish I could, that’s for sure...”
“Sure you can! I’ll take care of you now. I don’t know exactly how, but we’ll figure it out.”
“Krista, honey, I know it doesn’t look like very much of a job, but it’s a good job. The owner has been really good to me—I have a decent paycheck and benefits and she’s flexible with my schedule. I wouldn’t take off without notice—I’m the manager. Margie just couldn’t handle it. She thinks she could but... It wouldn’t be fair of me—even if it’s because you’re home now. And me being sixty-five and without very many skills—good jobs don’t come along every day. You might think you’re going to get yourself a big fancy job that pays for both of us, but, Krista, honey, it just isn’t that simple anymore. We’re gonna have to take this a little slower, honey.”
“I know, I know,” Krista agreed, though reluctantly. “But, Ma, you have to come to the lake right away...please? Charley has it all fixed up—it’s more beautiful than it’s ever been before.”
“It is at that,” Charley said from behind them. They both jumped in surprise and turned to look at her over the back of the park bench. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. I parked over there,” she said, jutting a thumb over her shoulder. “Hi, Aunt Jo. It’s been a while.”
“Charley, look at you! Pretty as on TV!” Tears sprouting anew, Jo jumped to her feet and reached for Charley over the bench. They embraced, nearly crushing Krista in the process. “It’s so long since we’ve been together,” she wept. “So, so long...”
“Well, this doesn’t even resemble the welcome my mother gave me.” Charley chuckled.
“Oh, don’t you pay any attention to her,” Jo said, wiping at her tears. “She can’t help herself. That’s just her.”
“I agree with you on one count, but I do believe she could help herself. Which reminds me—I have something for you.” Charley pulled away so she could reach into her purse. She pulled out the recipe card. “I hope this makes you laugh.”
Josephine looked at the scrawled note from her sister. A small huff escaped her, but she was not as overcome as Charley had been. “It will be hard to pass up an invitation like that,” she said. She passed the note to Krista. Krista did not laugh at all.
“Good, I hoped you’d say that,” Charley said. “There was a little travel agent’s shop not far from Mother’s. I ducked in and picked up some round-trip bus passes for you. I don’t know what your schedule is like, but you should have these passes...” She flipped through the small envelopes as though counting dollar bills. “Three for you, three for Krista... Now you can get back and forth to see each other whenever it’s convenient. Aunt Jo, I know how you feel about Mother giving her okay for you to visit the lake house, and I know this note isn’t quite what you had in mind, but you’re just going to have to swallow your pride. Hope and the girls are coming in July.”
Josephine didn’t even look surprised. She just stared at the tickets. “I know, I know. Thank you, Charley. It’s a little more complicated than pride, but that will have to do for now.” She looked up at her tall, slender niece. She smiled appreciatively. Charley was elegant looking even in shorts and a T-shirt. “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you, sweetheart?”
“Not everything. Have you had lunch? I’m starving!”
“Mom says she couldn’t eat and—”
“And I can’t take too much time,” Jo said. “There are a lot of orders today for some reason. If I don’t finish up, I’ll be staying late.”
Krista frowned. She didn’t like the way her mother fidgeted over that job. It didn’t look like the kind of flower shop that had too many orders. And that Margie... Well, Krista hadn’t been around civilians in a long time. But if Margie worked for Jo, shouldn’t she be more accommodating?
“Charley? Want to get us a couple of sandwiches from that sub shop and just eat them here? If my mom only has a little time, I don’t want to waste it ordering food in a restaurant.”
“Good idea,” Charley said, lighting off for the sub shop immediately.
Krista pulled her mom back down on the bench. “Isn’t it amazing how I can ask a TV star to run an errand, go get me food, and she goes?” Krista laughed. “Ma, no one’s going to fire you for taking an hour or two with a daughter you haven’t seen in years. Come on, relax. I can only stay a little while, anyway.”
“Oh, Margie will probably try,” Jo said. “She’s ornery. But the owner is not, so I’m going to spend what little time I have with you.”
“When are your days off? When can you come to the lake?”
“That Charley,” Jo said solemnly. “She’s just thought of everything, hasn’t she?”
“I don’t know, Ma. You tell me. Can you come to the lake pretty soon? Maybe before Hope and the girls come? So I can have you to myself?”
“I’ll try, honey. I’ll talk to Margie today and find out when she’s free to help out. She’s a good worker—I just worry about her scaring off the customers. Maybe I can take a couple of days here and there...”
“What about your vacation?” Krista asked.
Jo merely laughed. “Krista, honey, we never even talked about it.”
Chapter Seven
As Charley drove toward Megan’s house so Krista could see her, she yakked excitedly. After all her hard work, things were coming together pretty much the way she had hoped. Even though items that had been ordered would continue to arrive for the next couple of weeks, the house was basically ready enough to take on summer visitors, once a couple more mattresses arrived. They could get Megan settled when John brought her in a few days. Hope and the girls were due in a month and Aunt Jo and Krista had their bus passes so they could see each other. “And as long as my mother keeps her word and promises not to come—” She laughed suddenly.
Krista was quiet.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Krista—you must have hated to leave your mother so soon,” Charley said.
“What do you suppose she’s hiding?” Krista asked.
“Hiding? What makes you think she’s hiding something?”
“She was so fidgety. So nervous about little things—taking time off, her job, going to the lake...”
“Krista, she’s probably worried and nervous about everything! Not the least of which is what she’s going to do if she pisses off my mother! You know, you haven’t seen Louise in a very, very long time, but she’s changed. She’s so bitter, so angry. It’s understandable that losing a child would take a serious toll, but nursing that anger for this long? I can’t imagine the effect on Jo. Jo always depended on my mother. Go easy—Jo wasn’t expecting you and she’s got a lot to juggle. Louise, having you home, seeing Hope and darling little Brattie and Turdie...”
“That would be Bobbi and Trude.” Krista laughed.
“Oh, heavens, my mistake! You know, when Eric was ten years old I had a business trip to Philly and I took him along so he could meet his cousins. I had already scared the shit out of him with Louise, then we went to Philadelphia, where Hope was struggling with these two subhuman creatures... Wait till you meet them, Krista. At fourteen and sixteen, spoiled and rich, they’ve got to be a treat. Just what Hope puts in the Christmas letter about them is enough to—”
“I don’t suppose you saved any?” Krista asked.
“Hope doesn’t send you her world-famous Christmas letter? The one that lists their latest vacations, brand names and important people they’ve socialized with during the year? I swear to God, she includes everything but Frank’s annual income.”
“She wrote me once,” Krista said. “When she was addressing her wedding invitations it occurred to her that if she was going to keep me a secret, she’d better tell me not to put the prison’s return address on the envelope if I ever wrote to her.” Krista cleared her throat. “That turned out not to be a problem.”
“Does she know you’re out of prison?”
“Well...I didn’t tell her.”
Charley chuckled and it had a decidedly evil sound. “This should surpass interesting,” she finally said.
* * *
After a brief reunion between Krista and Megan, Megan could not sustain the wait to get to the lake. She begged and pleaded until John brought her two days later, provided the new mattresses had arrived. They had. John and Megan both raved about how perfect the cabin looked, how homey and welcoming, making Charley proud.
John stayed only one night, then left to get back to the city to work. “I think he really left because he wasn’t able to stand three women talking and laughing nonstop,” Megan said. “That’s okay. He’ll be less in the way once we’ve had a chance to catch up.”