Page 106 of Just Like Starting Over
I smile. “Okay. Just you.”
He nods and offers his hand. We shake on it, very solemnly, then he pulls out his phone and gets ready to record our conversation. “Are you Mike Cavendish?” he asks before he turns it on.
“I am.”
And away we go. “I’m Noah MacLaughlin and I’m on the scene at The Carpe Diem Café where a new greenhouse has just been installed on the roof. If you’ve been following me this morning, you’ve already seen The Empire Chronicle’s coverageof the installation from the street. If not, check our archive. Right now, I’m on the roof with Mike Cavendish. Tell me, Mike, what’s the plan for this greenhouse?”
We’re sittingat the bus depot, waiting for Sierra’s bus, the windows rolled down and a cool breeze flowing through the cab. Una looks really weary and I had to lift her out of the wheelchair at the hospital and into the truck. I think she’s dozed off until she speaks.
“I was friends with Dianne, you know.”
I turn to look at her, surprised by her words. “My mom.”
Una nods, a strand of silver hair blowing across her face. Her gaze is fixed on the distance. “I liked her so much. We were so different, not just in age, and I admired her greatly.”
I don’t know a great deal about my mom. She died when I was four so I don’t remember a lot about her either. There are a few pictures at the house, mostly of her laughing with a swarm of little boys around her knees, and I think I remember the sound of her laughter. She was beautiful. The old photos remind me of that.
“I’ve been thinking of her a lot lately,” Una admits. “She had an ability to just carry on, to smile through anything, and do it so well that you never guessed her heart was breaking.”
I glance at Una again in surprise. “When was her heart breaking?”
“Most of the time.” She gives me a shrewd look. “I always kept her confidence, because it seemed like the right thing to do, but now I wonder if that’s creating more trouble than it should. I want to tell you about her, if you don’t mind.”
“I’d love to know more.”
“I thought so.” Una nods, choosing her words. “I supposethat when you have several children, you’re not supposed to have a favourite, but you were always Dianne’s favourite. And you were the one she worried about. You were a serious child, always, slow to anger, patient. She always worried that your loyalty might lead you astray. She knew that once you admitted someone to your inner circle, you would trust them completely, maybe do anything for them regardless of the price to yourself. That kind of honour is rare, Mike, and it can tear someone apart if it’s abused.” She takes a breath while I’m absorbing this. “That’s one of the reasons she was going to leave Patrick.”
“What?”
“Oh yes, your mother wanted a divorce. They had a whirlwind courtship, from my understanding. She always got this dreamy expression when she talked about it. I will guess that Patrick decided she was the wife for him. I’ll guess that he overcame every objection with persistence and style, so that all that remained was for her to agree. Maybe she was infatuated with him. Certainly, her parents encouraged the match. A beautiful wedding, she told me. A fairy tale come true.” Una shakes her head. “And then the babies began to come.”
“Three boys,” I provide when she falls silent.
“Three very hard pregnancies,” Una says, which I hadn’t known. “There are women who love being pregnant. I was one of them. I never felt better than when I was carrying Liam. I would have had a dozen children willingly, but that wasn’t meant to be. Liam wasn’t even two when Jacob died, and there could never be another man for me. Liam would be my only child.” She sighs and I don’t know what to say. I remember that Sylvia’s parents were killed in a car accident when she was small, but it seems a bit late to offer condolences. “Dianne, though, had nothing but difficulty during her pregnancies. If she wasn’t sick to her stomach, she had aches and pains. Bed rest a lot of the time. She never had the bloom that manypregnant women get. She always looked a bit off. And the deliveries, well, she had a hard time with those, too.”
I had no idea. Memories of my mom aren’t exactly common in Candace’s house.
Una shakes her head. “She was determined, though, to do right by Patrick and give him sons. She thought she was done after you arrived – an heir and a spare – but that wasn’t enough for Patrick. She was sure that the proverbial store could close after Austin’s arrival, but Patrick disagreed.”
I could believe he would.
“I worked for Doc Miller in those days. Started there as a receptionist after Jacob died, but I ended up doing more than managing his appointments. My mother was a bit of a healer. She made a lot of herbal teas that were particularly of help with women’s concerns. When I saw women with painful periods come to the doctor and leave without answers, I wanted to help. Doc Miller wasn’t overly impressed at first, but he also didn’t like that he couldn’t help them. He used to research the ingredients first. A tea made from raspberry leaves isn’t going to hurt anyone, which was why he agreed. I think he was surprised by how much difference those teas could make. And so, he often told his women patients to talk to me.” She smiles. “I remember the time I made my mother’s red clover tea for a baby with a persistent cough. He was so excited when that child just coughed up the phlegm and began to breathe more clearly. Nothing else had worked.”
“You must have talked to my mom a lot.”
“I did. And over the course of those three pregnancies, she began to confide in me. I might have been the only one who knew that she wanted to leave Patrick.” Una is silent for a moment as a bus comes in and disgorges its passengers. “I’m certainly the only one who knew that she encouraged his interest in Louise Jones.”
I stare at her in shock and she smiles sadly.
“Consider your father’s nature, Mike. He wants what he wants when he wants it. He doesn’t compromise. Dianne knew he would never agree to a divorce so long as he wanted her.”
More than that, Dad has never been tolerant of divorce or the gossip that might ensue. And I would bet that any insinuation that the split was his fault wouldn’t sit well.
“Don’t think she planned it all out or anything. She just saw that he noticed Louise when he came to pick her up at the salon. Louise was a pretty thing and she had a touch. Everyone in town tried to get a hair appointment with her, and Dianne had a standing appointment each week. Any man would have noticed Louise, with as sweet a nature as she was lovely, and Dianne knew Patrick well enough to guide him along a path he already wanted to follow.”
I’m so fascinated by this new-to-me story that Una has my undivided attention.
“And then, because God likes a good joke now and again, just as Dianne’s plan was coming together, her father died. Dianne came from an affluent family and the will made her a rich woman in her own right. Around about this time, Louise realized she was pregnant, which likely meant she had some expectations of Patrick. He went straight home to consolidate his marriage with Dianne, no doubt to secure that money for the expansion of Cavendish Enterprises. There was a kind of a reconciliation, though Dianne wasn’t happy. She did, however, conceive Abbie then.”
