Page 14 of A Chance at Forever
Steve and Dannyhad planned a surprise for the women when they returned to Victoria’s home to deposit their purchases. After they unloaded everything and brought it into the house, they showed off the new front porch swing and wicker rockers on the back porch with a round table between them. But that wasn’t all they had done while the ladies had been shopping in San Francisco. Down by the lake, they had built a firepit and placed Adirondack chairs around it.
After the women exclaimed over their handiwork, Steve said, “We have hot dogs waiting to be roasted, potato salad, and fixings for s’mores. Hope you’re hungry.”
“We’re starving,” Mia declared.
“You look like you’re ready to keel over,” Danny commented. “Why don’t you gals sit down and let us wait on you?”
They plopped onto the Adirondack chairs and gazed at one another.
“Okay, they’re up to something,” Jonica remarked. “But what?”
“I don’t care what it is as long as they feed us,” Victoria replied.
Mia stared at the dark Victorian a few yards away. She caught Jonica’s eye, and a look passed between them that Victoria couldn’t miss.
“Somebody lives next door. They must be on vacation. Do you know who my neighbors are?”
“Well, um, it’s…” Mia’s voice trailed away when Steve and Danny returned with a cooler filled with food and drinks. “It’s food! Let’s eat!”
The friends laughed and joked among themselves as they roasted hot dogs and indulged themselves with the potato salad. Danny had brought Victoria’s guitar from the house, and they convinced her to play and sing while they made s’mores. At first, she protested, claiming to be out of practice, but their persistence wore down her defenses. She hadn’t touched a piano or guitar in the years since her mother’s death. Though her mother’s music lay trapped inside her and begged to be released, Victoria had resisted the impulse. Some memories were too painful to face.
However, tonight, with the moon shining brightly over the lake and the soft sound of the waves lapping against the shore accompanied by the hissing and crackling of the fire, Victoria relented. She strummed a few chords, feeling the familiar weight of the guitar in her arms and the tension of the strings beneath her fingers. It was like coming home and greeting her lifelong friends. Nostalgia gripped her. The words to James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” spilled from her lips. Unlocking the music inside her gave voice to her greatest fear—that her indiscretion with Alan would become public knowledge and ruin her.
Only later, when she lay in bed in her old room in Jonica and Danny’s house and on the verge of drifting off to sleep, did Victoria remember that Mia never answered her question about who owned the house next to hers. Feeling Bud’s warm body curled against hers brought to mind another disturbing image of golden god Rusty Sinclair. Punching her pillow, she flipped onto her side and banished him to darkness.
*
By Tuesday evening,when every piece of furniture was in its proper place and the last curtain hung, blessed silence filled the air. It had been a madhouse all day with delivery men running in and out. However, the end result had been well worth the inconvenience and the noise. Each room had its own distinct theme, but Victoria’s favorite was the library. Steve and Danny had built shelves into an entire wall where she could display her book collection, and she loved the comfortable sofa and rocking chairs she had purchased. Her new computer desk sat in front of the large glass windows facing the street so she could enjoy the view while working on her laptop. During chilly winter days, a crackling blaze in the now barren fireplace would create a cozy space.
On her way to the kitchen for a drink, Victoria stopped to inspect her gracious and inviting main room. The walnut furniture complemented the restored beauty of the hardwood floors, and she found the effect pleasing to the eye. When her gaze fell upon an exquisite upright piano, her heart somersaulted. The Steinway Crown Jewel in walnut finish had arrived yesterday, a housewarming gift from her father and brothers. Sheets of music and family photographs adorned the shiny top. Gently, she pressed a couple of the keys. The perfectly tuned sound sent a tremor through her. It was one thing to play her guitar, but the piano…
“I can’t do it,” she said aloud to Bud. “Not yet.”
Bud stared at her with a doleful expression on his face.
After pouring a glass of lemonade, Victoria went outside to enjoy the evening. She perched on a wicker rocking chair and gazed at the dark lake while Bud played in the yard with a tennis ball she threw and he fetched. A brilliant full moon cast its light upon the water. Crickets chirped, an owl hooted in the far distance, and frogs croaked along the edge of the lake. Hearing the familiar sounds filled Victoria with contentment and almost made her happy.Almost. Somehow Alan had managed to rob her of that, too.
*
Bud nudged Victoriaawake early the next morning. She let him outside to romp in soft green grass wet with dew, then fed him. He stood sentinel as she took a shower and dressed, and she chuckled to herself.More loyal and devoted than any man. After she drank a cup of coffee and ate a quick breakfast, she attached the leash to Bud’s collar and took him for a long walk around the neighborhood so he could get accustomed to his new surroundings.
Mia and Steve lived a few blocks away, and before she realized it, Bud had dragged her in that direction. Little Mark and Stevie were home from their vacation, and when they saw her and Bud, they squealed, “Aunt Tori!” and launched themselves at her and the golden retriever. Patient and good-natured, Bud delighted in the boys’ attention.
The commotion drew Mia from around the side of the house, and she invited Victoria to join her in the backyard where she was tending to her rose garden. After she had graduated from college with her degree in business administration, Mia had bought the florist shop in town when the previous owner retired. She had managed it herself before the boys were born, but now she allowed her employees to run it for her. As a self-employed CPA with an office in Marysville, Steve earned enough money to support his family without Mia’s income from the shop.
“I have something for you,” Mia said. She rubbed her dirty hands on her dungarees. On the patio stood several pots with blooming rose bushes. “These will look nice around your back porch once you plant them.”
“They’re beautiful. Thanks, Mia. I hope I don’t kill them.”
Mia let out a soft laugh. “These roses are pretty hardy. I’ll load them in the Expedition when I drive you home later.” She brushed strands of hair off her sweaty forehead. “I’m ready for a swim. How about you?”
Victoria always kept extra clothes at Mia’s house which included a bathing suit. “Sure. It’s scorching today.”
“Boys!” she called. “Go put on your swim trunks. We’re having a pool party with Aunt Tori.”
While they changed into their bathing suits, Mia phoned Jonica and invited her to their impromptu pool party. She arrived twenty minutes later with the ingredients for fruity sangria and chips and salsa.
“You’re corrupting us,” Mia complained with a smile as Jonica filled wine glasses for them.
