Page 25 of Memories of the Past

Peggy shoved the last of her muffin into her mouth and then stood up. “Well, I’m off. Oh, and next time he stops in, it’s okay to be a little bit nicer, especially if you really do feel that way.”

I smiled at my friend. “All right. Have a great day,” I called as I watched Peggy walk out the door. She turned and waved before she disappeared out of sight on her way to the flower shop.

I went back into the storeroom and pulled out a small box of books and had just come back out into the store in time to see Thomas’ truck pull up out front. I placed the box down on the counter and watched as he sat in his truck for a few minutes, then climbed out.

I took a deep breath. “Be nice, be nice, just be nice,” I reminded myself under my breath, then quickly busied myself, pretending that I hadn’t seen him at all and went to organizing one of the shelves.

“Hey, Trinity.” The little bells above the door jingled.

I turned and smiled. “Hey, good morning.” I smiled.

Only he didn’t smile back. He had a serious look on his face as he held my casserole dish in his hands. On top of the lid sat the diary.

“Did you read it?” I questioned, stopping what I was doing as I waited to hear what he thought.

Thomas nodded. “I did.”

“And? Do you think it was Jed?”

“I’m guessing so. I mean, if I could ask my father, I’d know for sure. He would have probably been just a boy when Jed would have started working for my grandfather. How much of the diary did you read?” he questioned.

“Well, I skipped a few parts. Well, many parts. After all, it is my aunt, and I really did feel like I was invading her privacy.” I shrugged.

“You really should read it…all of it.”

What more was there that I could possibly need to know? I had lived through the exact same feelings when Thomas had walked out on me. I looked at Thomas, at the strange look on his face. It was like he wanted to tell me something, some huge secret, but I knew my aunt. Sure, she had never told me about her younger years, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know her.

“Why are you being so insistent? What it that you are implying?” I asked, placing the dish and book down on the counter and crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“I just think that before you go off asking Vi about the things in this diary, you should read the entire journal. It may open your eyes a bit, about many things.”

“I’ve read as much as I need to. I think I know my aunt, Thomas. She’d tell me anything I’d want to know,” I bit out. “I certainly don’t need to go snooping through her most private thoughts.”

Thomas turned away from me, as if he were keeping some sort of secret from me that I really should know. “Okay, fine, suit yourself.”

The room grew quiet, and the tension once again creeped between us. It was different than the tension from the other night at his place when he’d approached me at the counter in his kitchen. This tension was full of coldness instead of heat.

“Will you be doing any work out front today?” I asked quietly, trying to change the tone of the room, while wishing that we really could put our past behind us and sort out some form of a new normal.

“Not today. I have other things I need to take care of.” I watched as he moved toward the door. He placed his hand on it and stopped, his tense shoulders beginning to relax.

“I’ll come by after the funeral. Friday work fine?” he said, looking down at the floor, then turning his eyes toward me, both full of pain and hurt.

It was in that moment that, once again, I’d been on edge, and my tone hadn’t changed. I was still barking at him. Then I heard Peggy in my mind, telling me to be nice. I let out a breath. It wasn’t him holding onto to the past; it was me; I was holding onto anger that I’d felt years ago and was using it to push him away from me. Problem was I had thought that I was long over that anger. I wasn’t being fair to him or to myself.

“Friday is fine,” I said, my tone a little softer this time. “I’ll see you tomorrow as well.”

His eyes met mine, a little shock in them at the fact that I was going to be at his father’s funeral.

“I’ll see you later.” He nodded, then slipped out the front door.

CHAPTER 11

Thomas

I followed the GPS in my truck out into a part of Willow Valley that I had never ventured. When I was a kid, there was nothing here but empty fields. Now as I drove down the road, a few small subdivisions lined the street. I could already see the retirement home in the distance. I pulled into the visitors parking and slid into a parking spot, cutting my engine.

I hadn’t planned on coming out here. I’d planned to go visit Jed in the hospital, but when I’d called earlier to see if I could come and visit him, they’d advised me to call his son. Jack was more than happy to hear from me and apologized for not calling sooner. He let me know that his father had decided to move into the retirement home upon release. So, he had obliged the old man and got him settled in. During our conversation, he did mention he was rather worried about his father and hoped that perhaps a visit from me might help lift his spirits.

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