Page 66 of Castings & Curses

I sighed. Of course, sis would say something to Nan. I bit my lip, I really hoped that didn’t mean the entirety of Duchamp and Belvoir County knew why I was home.

Duchamp was barely more than a crossroads. The college was pretty much the only reason there was a solid dot on most maps, and not simply a name identifying an area. There wasn’t even a town square. Duchamp had a triangle. The college took up one side, with what was left of town on the other two.

It took the definition of small town to heart. Everyone knew everyone else, and they were all up in each other’s business. When I was younger, Nan and Gran would sit out on the porch and drink sweet tea when they visited, and they talked about everyone. I guess it made sense that now Terri-Ann was the lady of the house that she would visit with Nan in a similar fashion.

I couldn’t decide if it was better for everyone to already know why I was back, or to have to constantly answer the questions I would get when I finally decided to show my face at more than just the park.

“I’m sure she did,” I said.

“You get that girl settled down, and come on back for a chat,” Nan said as she followed me into the house.

It never occurred to me to tell Nan Weiss no. That would be like saying no to my own Gran, and that simply was never an option.

“Kid, you are going to have to stop growing,” I muttered as I hauled Liv upstairs to the guest room we were sharing.

She flopped back onto the mattress and let out a soft baby snore. The pediatrician was always telling me that babies don’t snore when I questioned her about Liv’s noises. I don’t know what the pediatrician defined as a snore, but the rumbling through that kid’s sinus passages was snoring as far as my friends, insomnia and heartburn, were concerned.

Nan had two tall glasses full of iced tea waiting when I returned downstairs. She knew her way around the kitchen as if it were her own. Then again, she had been friends with Gran for a long time before Terri-Ann and I were around.

I sat across the kitchen table from her. It felt odd. I had seen her and Gran in these exact spots so many times during my youth, now to be included. It felt weird.

“Do you get to visit with Terri-Ann much?” I asked.

“Not as much as I would like. She has her family, and I have my little hobbies to keep me busy.”

“You still run the Ladies’ Auxiliary? I remember you and Gran always fussing about one thing or another setting up your festivals and quilt shows.”

“Oh, I still keep my toes in it.” There was something almost mischievous about Nan’s smile. “Terri-Ann failed to tell me how big your little girl was. I was expecting a toddler.”

I snorted softly. “Liv was a toddler the last time Terri-Ann saw her. She probably fixed that image in her head.”

“Even so, she should have made accommodations when that little girl was chasing after her cousins. They are so much older than she is.”

I nodded. Vidalia didn’t have much patience for Liv. And Kurt was a boy, and allowed to get away with far too much damage because of it. I wish Liv had taken to the animals, they would at least return some semblance of affection. She wasn’t getting as much attention as I had hoped for.

“We try to get to the park, so she can have kids her age to play with,” I said. I didn’t want to hurt for my baby, but it was obvious to me that she needed a friend and her cousins were not filling the need.

“How old is she now?”

“Liv is four.”

“And?” Nan nodded at my belly.

I ran my hands over the roundness that was my second child. “Just about six months.”

“And the father?”

I let out a sharp laugh.

“That bad?”

I shook my head. “I was that stupid. He handed me the divorce papers the day I was going to tell him I was pregnant. I decided not to, and then I wouldn’t have to deal with custody issues. At least that’s what I thought. He doesn’t want to be a father, but he fights me over custody visits whenever he feels like it.”

Nan nodded back at my stomach. “That one will need a father, and your other one will too.”

“It’s not like I can go out dating right now. And I don’t want to, even if I wasn’t pregnant.”

Nan took a long sip of her tea. “It’s going to be a hot one tomorrow.”

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