Page 23 of Second Chance in Charlevoix
One thing Izzy remembered about her former mother-in-law's dinners was that they were hearty. Meat and potatoes, gravy and more vegetables than you could ever eat. Izzy couldn't remember ever seeinga salad on this table. A guy who'd always been muscled and lean, Skipper had never had a weight problem. But Izzy didn't know if she could continue eating meals like this every night. Of course she didn’t say anything. Her sisters would be proud of her. “It’s not what you say,” Sam had always told her. “It’s what you stop yourself from saying. Always be kind.” Skipper’s mom was proud of her cooking and Izzy thanked her more than once during dinner.
After the meal Mrs. Malone went into the living room to watch the news. But Izzy didn't want her baby girl seeing those images at night, so she kept the runabout in the kitchen. Skipper turned on the local classic rock radio station. There weren't that many dishes and Izzy got to work. While she was filling the sink with sudsy water, Skipper grabbed a towel. Although he hated the job of cleaning the baking pans at the bakery, he didn't complain that night as they washed and dried together.
When Billy Joel came on the radio singing “Uptown Girl,” Skipper threw his towel onto the table and picked Holly up. Singing along with the music, he danced around the kitchen. Skipper had always been a good dancer and Holly giggled, trying to move her little body. When he set her down to dance with him, Holly swung her arms, bobbed and giggled, although she still wasn’t very sturdy on her feet. Before long the dishes were put away, but Izzykept that picture of the two of them deep in her heart.
“So are we all set with the apple tarts tomorrow morning?” she asked, drying her hands.
“You bet. First thing on my list.” His eyes narrowed with suspicion. “So what's up?”
“Oh nothing. I just thought I might mention it to Sam. She loves her apple tarts.”
“That’s sweet of you, Izzy, thinking of your sister.” Skipper didn't suspect a thing.
Later that night after Izzy had put the baby down in the Pack and Play, she went out into the hall and called Sam.
“How are things going over there?” her sister asked.
“Pretty good. I washed the dishes tonight.”
Was her sister laughing? “You washed dishes? Now that's the picture for your Christmas card next year.”
Why had she even mentioned it? “Thanks a lot. Skipper is helping me.”
“I’ll just bet he is. How is Holly doing? We miss her.”
“This was just the first day but I think she's fine.” She wasn't going to mention that Skipper was helping her more than she'd expected. Izzy didn't know how she felt about that. His mother had made more than one comment about this being “just like family.” Shedidn’t want Skipper’s mom getting any crazy ideas. “Has your furniture arrived?”
“Not yet. Next week, they think. Anyway that doesn't matter. We're having a meeting over here tomorrow evening. And it involves Seth Barrett. Can you bring the baby over? We miss her. He said the meeting would be short.”
What was this about? “Is there a delay we didn’t plan on? Something not in stock?” Izzy didn’t have time to be involved in details.
“Trust me, from the look on Aunt Cate’s face this is important.”
“Okay, I'll be there after I finish the dishes. Thought I'd give you a heads up. Skipper is making apple tarts tomorrow,” she told her sister. “You might want to stop in early. They sell out fast.”
“Couldn't you put a couple aside and bring them when you come?” Her sister sounded tired and out of sorts.
“You know how good they are when they're warm. Anyway, I always forget.” She never had brought the pear tarts to Sunnycrest. Instead she’d eaten them.
In the silence that followed she could imagine Sam weighing the pluses and minuses. This was how her oldest sister made all her decisions. “Okay. But if I don't get there tomorrow…”
“If you don’t mind cold pastries, then yes,I'll bring one over.” She’d narrowed it down to one tart, knowing her sister would want more.
They said goodbye and the call ended. By the time she came out into the living room, Skipper was taking his mother upstairs to bed. Mrs. Malone seemed pleased by the way her son scooped her up and carried her up those stairs. She shot a self-satisfied glance at Izzy. But maybe she was just imagining things.
Chapter 12
Samantha
The beauty of working from home was that Sam didn't have to dress up. Since her arrival at Sunnycrest, she'd resorted to comfortable warmup suits. The weather was still cool in Charlevoix and her old casual velour separates in rose or purple were perfect. Not the latest fashion but they’d do. Checking herself in the mirror, Sam pressed one finger on the circle under each eye. When had this happened? Sharing a room with Marlowe was not the sisterly bliss she’d imagined. Did her sister know that she snored?
Sam hadn't had a decent night's sleep since she’d arrived but what could she do? Since Marlowe had been able to relocate sooner than Sam, she’d set up Sam's bedroom as her own office. And while Sam was working through selling her Chicago home, she'd been finewith that. “Oh sure. We're going to share the room anyway.” But now that she was here, she felt differently.
When she’d arrived last week, Sam had been surprised to discover that her old bulletin board now had Marlowe’s to-do list on it. Although her sister had graciously offered to move her office to the dining room, Sam saw that it might be better if she took that space herself. “No problem. The dining room is perfect for me. I’ll set up my office down there.”
And in a way it was. A bay window overlooked the backyard, where she hoped to have a garden. There were a lot of things she'd given up in Chicago when her marriage went bad. Their advertising agency had been her life. If she were honest about it, Kurt had not pulled his own weight. In the process of their divorce, they’d divided up their clients, keeping the umbrella name of their agency, Ramsey & Company. Even though she’d taken back her maiden name during the divorce proceedings, she’d been fine with leaving the Ramsey name on the agency. No need to confuse their clients further.
Through some careful negotiations, they’d each taken fifty percent of the business. Sometimes she wondered how Kurt’s clients were doing. Was he covering all the bases, the way Sam was? She tried not to worry about it. Instead, she focused on her share of their healthcare clients but found that they didn't takeup her entire day. Of course, she planned ahead. That had never been Kurt’s approach.
