Where Azaleas Bloom

“Obviously, some parents do,” Mitch said. “I’ll look forward to meeting her.”

“Okay, so here’s the deal. I need to know if you’re gonna freak out if she stays in my room.”

Mitch sucked in a deep breath and lifted his eyes heavenward. “How about a little help here, Amy?” he murmured, trying to think how she would handle this. He knew as well as anyone that a twenty-one-year-old was likely to be sleeping with anyone he was dating seriously. And he had to assume this was serious if Nate wanted to bring the girl home. And yet he wasn’t sure he was quite ready to sanction such behavior under his roof.

“Sorry, pal. Not acceptable.”

“But, Dad,” Nate began.

“Your mom always had firm rules about this sort of thing,” Mitch reminded him. “You knew them when you went away to college. What you do at school is up to you, but in our house guests stay in the guest rooms.”

“It’s not like she’s a guest exactly,” Nate said. “I wanted to tell you this when we got there, but I guess I’d better do it now. We’re engaged.”

Mitch felt the sudden, unexpected sting of tears in his eyes. More than ever, he wished Amy were alive for this moment. She’d know what to say, how to react. He, however, had to force his enthusiasm. Nate was so darn young. His life hadn’t even started yet.

“Engaged, huh?” he said, trying to inject an upbeat note into his voice. “Congratulations, son. I mean that. I wish your mom were here. She’d be so excited for you.”

“I know,” Nate said quietly. “It’s kinda hard knowing she’ll never get to meet Jo, give her a stamp of approval, if you know what I mean.”

Mitch smiled. “I know exactly what you mean.” Amy had always been careful about sharing her opinion of the girls their sons had dated, but they’d known anyway. She’d been terrible about hiding her feelings. And those feelings had clearly influenced both Nate and Luke. The lousy choices had never lasted long, even though she’d kept her mouth clamped firmly shut.

“So, now that you know about the engagement, can she stay in my room?” Nate asked.

Mitch was still struggling with the idea of his son being ready to make such a huge commitment. The sleeping arrangements seemed minor all of a sudden.

“How about we talk about that when you get here?” He wanted to see for himself just how committed the two of them seemed to be. Or maybe he was just trying to postpone the inevitable—admitting that his son had grown up on him.

“Okay, Dad,” Nate said, conceding the point. “See you tomorrow night.”

“Drive carefully.”

“Always,” Nate replied.

There’d been a time when Nate might have rolled his eyes at the admonition. Luke, too. But since Amy’s tragic accident, none of them took anything for granted when it came to driving. Mitch knew one thing with one hundred percent certainty—neither of his sons would ever drive drunk. And even sober, they’d drive responsibly and defensively. He hated the way they’d had to learn that lesson, but he had to admit he was glad they’d taken it to heart.

Now he just had to pray that Nate had taken to heart everything Amy and Mitch had taught him about the responsibility that went along with love and marriage.

5

“I heard she might have to apply for food stamps,” a woman shopper at Raylene’s boutique said. Her entrance set off the bell that would have let Lynn know she was there. Her voice, unfortunately, was plenty loud enough to carry to Lynn in the back room, stopping her in her tracks. Lynn knew she should make her presence known, but instead, flushed with embarrassment, she waited to see what might be said next.

“You’re kidding!” her companion responded. “Isn’t Ed playing golf at Pinehurst or someplace like that this week?”

Lynn felt a chill. There was no doubt at all that they were speculating about her and the financial mess she was in. How was she supposed to go out there now and wait on them? Unfortunately, Raylene had just left for the bank and Adelia was off today. She had no choice.

She drew herself up, plastered a smile on her face and walked out front as if she hadn’t just overheard the two women talking about her. Worse, as soon as she saw them, she recognized them.

“Good morning, Alicia. How are you? And you, too, Kelly Ann?”

Both women, who’d been in school with her and now had kids about the same ages as Lexie and Jeremy, blushed furiously.

Alicia recovered first. “Lynn, I had no idea you were working here,” she said.

“Apparently not,” Lynn said wryly. Unable to stop herself, she felt compelled to add, “Unless, of course, you set out to embarrass me.”

As soon as she’d uttered the bold comment, Lynn formulated an apology, but to her astonishment, Kelly Ann walked over to her and gave her an impulsive and apparently sincere hug.

“Don’t you dare think a thing like that,” Kelly Ann admonished. “If anyone in this town ought to be embarrassed, it’s that no-account husband of yours.” She said it with unmistakable and obviously heartfelt disdain.

Lynn regarded her with gratitude. “I appreciate the sentiment, but please, if you hear people talking about what’s going on with us, try to quiet them down. I don’t want the kids to hear this kind of gossip. The situation is tough enough on them as it is.”

“We’ll put a stop to it,” Alicia promised, obviously eager to make amends for her careless comments. “I just wasn’t thinking. You know me. If I know something, I tend to blab it. I’ll watch it from here on out. I know how I’d feel if it were me people were talking about and my kids overheard it.”

“When did you start working here, hon?” Kelly Ann asked, thankfully changing the subject.

“Just a couple of months ago, part-time. Raylene has Adelia Hernandez working full-time. I fill in on weekends or when either of them is off during the week.”

“Does Raylene have you on commission?” As soon as she’d asked, Kelly Ann turned pale. “Is that too personal? I was only asking because I thought maybe we could make up for being so thoughtless before.”

Lynn nodded. “Salary, plus commission,” she confirmed.

“Well, then, Alicia, we need to whip out our credit cards and get busy,” Kelly Ann said cheerily.

Lynn, who hadn’t bought so much as a cheap T-shirt for herself since the separation, watched in awe as the two women quickly spent more money than she made in a month.

Kelly Ann stood back and surveyed their purchases with satisfaction as Lynn put everything into bags. She gave Lynn a wide grin.

“That ought to make up just a little bit for us coming in here and being so insensitive,” she said.

“I appreciate the sales,” Lynn said. For once it didn’t seem to matter whether the purchases were made out of guilt or pity. She simply focused on what a nice boost they’d be to her paycheck.

“Do you have a regular schedule?” Kelly Ann asked. “If you do, we’ll make sure to come in when you’re working.”

“No. I’m usually here three days a week, but I’m never sure which days those might be. It depends on when Raylene or Adelia need to be off,” Lynn said. Even though she was picking up more hours from Mitch, she added, “And if you happen to hear of anyone else looking for someone part-time or full-time, let me know.”

“We surely will,” Alicia promised.

Kelly Ann gave Lynn another hug before they left. Lynn stared after them. While it grated to recall how the encounter had begun, she felt better about how it had ended. It had been a revelation, in fact.

Maybe people in town really would take her side over Ed’s. She’d wondered about that. He was the son of a beloved insurance executive whose company handled policies for most everyone in town. Ed was now the big shot in charge, a position that commanded a lot of respect. She’d been so intent on running their home and being involved in a few things at school that her own circle of friends had grown smaller.

Just thinking about the possibility that she could have moral support while this awful mess played out buoyed her spirits. It was possible that the deliberate attempts to isolate herself to avoid the judgments she thought people might be making had been unnecessary. It was time to hold her chin up and start facing people.

* * *

When Raylene returned from the bank, she looked at the receipt book and whistled. “Nice sales!”

Lynn chuckled. “Guilt sales,” she said, then explained what had happened.