In This Life
Page 21
“So do you assume all single guys who don’t break the looking glass are unrepentant manwhores?”
She held my gaze. “No. I just thought you were.”
I snorted.
“You wanted honesty,” she reminded me.
“I did. And in the interest of honest disclosure, let’s just say I’ve learned from my mistakes.”
She was silent for a moment. She had to realize what I was talking about.
“I guess that’s all we can do,” Kathleen said slowly. “Learn from our mistakes and try to be better versions of ourselves than we were.”
It was kind of an odd, introspective thing to say. She twirled a piece of hair and looked troubled, suddenly lost in her own thoughts. I figured that whatever was swimming through her brain right now probably had nothing to do with me.
I drank my coffee and watched Colin pursue the prize of the pink pig, oblivious that anything else was going on in the room.
“By the way,” I said, suddenly arriving at a decision. “I’m going to give the store a chance.”
Kathleen’s eyes snapped to my face. “You are?”
I nodded and she positively beamed at me. In fact she looked so happy you’d think I’d just promised her a cruise to the Bahamas.
“Nash, that’s great. This will mean so much to the community. And you can count on my help.”
I felt like kind of a heel for accepting even more help from Kathleen but I was glad she offered.
“So what do I need to do first?” I asked.
She immediately became businesslike and started ticking off her fingers. “Well, for starters you need to reopen the doors as soon as possible. I’ll call Betty and Hayden, your employees, and work out a schedule. We talked about hiring another cashier to fill in the gaps, didn’t we? Yes, I think we did. I’ll place some ads on job sites and I can take care of the interviews if you want. Or you can do it. Just let me know. Oh, and you need to order more inventory. I recommend a visit to First Valley Bank where your accounts are. You’ll need to extend the store’s line of credit and meeting your account manager might help.”
“One thing at a time.” I held up a hand. My brain couldn’t keep up with all the chores she’d just rattled off. “Let’s start with the cash flow issue. I’ve got some money. I can arrange to have it wired from my bank today. And Steve Brown had mentioned something about life insurance funds so I can probably peel some of that off after I put away the bulk for Colin.”
“This is good.” Kathleen bobbed her head with eagerness. “This will work, Nash. I know it will.”
“Then I’ll borrow some of your optimism and agree.”
Colin enhanced the moment by swatting the pig and squealing.
Kathleen glanced at the clock above the stove. “I really do need to go.”
“Okay. I’ll let you.”
“You can call me later if you want to talk in more detail about a plan of action for the store.”
“Will do.”
She leaned over and kissed Colin. “Good bye, sweet face. Glad you’re feeling better.” Her handbag was on the kitchen table. She must have left it there last night before getting sidetracked by orgasmic amusements. She shouldered her bag and headed out. “I’ll talk to you later, Nash.”
“Talk to you later, Kat.”
She had her hand on the door and suddenly spun around. “What changed your mind?”
“About the store? I don’t know, I guess some of the things you said made sense.”
“I’m glad to hear it but I meant something else. What changed your mind about calling me Kat?”
“You said your friends all call you Kat.” I raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that right?”
She grinned. “Yes, that’s right.”
When Kathleen left there was an instant void in the room. Even Colin stopped waving his limbs around and just sat still with a thoughtful expression.
“Just you and me again, kid,” I said and I could swear he raised an accusing eyebrow.
“No judging, little brother,” I warned and picked him up out of the bouncer.
It was Tuesday morning when I ran into Jane Ryan wearing a bohemian dress in peacock colors and frowning over a pile of heirloom tomatoes at Windom Grocery on Garner Avenue.
“Kat!” Jane’s grimace vanished and she appeared delighted to see me. She had the classic Ryan family thick black hair and deep blue eyes, like her brother and her nephew. But where Chris’s hair had started to show streaks of gray hers was still lustrous and uniform.
“Hi Jane.” I hugged her.
When I was a kid Jane babysat for me a few times when my mother began dating her soon-to-be third husband (later to become her third ex-husband). Jane’s babysitting career ended the day we found a lost puppy at the park. Jane wrapped the struggling creature in her jacket in a misguided rescue effort. When we returned to my front yard the angry ball of fur leapt out of her jacket and fastened its teeth to my left arm. I screamed. Jane screamed louder. One of my neighbors heard the noise and jumped over a hedge to get to us. After he pulled the ‘puppy’ away it ran off and he asked why the hell we were playing around with a coyote. Jane hyperventilated and I needed to get a series of rabies shots. My mother was not amused.
“Nash told me what happened,” she said and I dropped the two boxes of cereal I was holding.
I bent down to scoop them up and regain some composure because I was sure my face was as flaming red as that tomato in Jane’s hand. I hadn’t thought of Nash as a hapless blabbermouth who would gossip to his aunt about his sexual escapades but I’d been wrong about people before.
“I’m so glad Colin’s okay,” Jane continued. “Kevin and I were over at the house last night. Thank you for everything you did for him. And for Nash. I know my nephew’s not always the easiest man to get along with. I’m so grateful you were there.”
I breathed easier. Nash had just told her about the midnight trip to urgent care. Not the after party.
“I was happy to come,” I said, nearly gagging over my words because they were true in more ways than one.
Jane studied me. “You look beautiful today.”
I touched my hair. “That’s nice of you to say.”
“Radiant.” Jane nodded.
“What?”
“You’re radiant. There’s this aura of gratified serenity surrounding you.”
“New skin product,” I said, hoping that would put an end to this particular conversational thread. It didn’t.
“No.” Jane frowned at me the same way she’d frowned at the inadequate tomatoes. “That’s not it. This is a glow that comes from within.”
I was bad at keeping a poker face. Jane was still scrutinizing me as if my forehead was tattooed with letters she could read.
And they’d say: I fucked Nash Ryan. And I liked it.
“The store is reopening this week,” I said as if that explained everything.
Jane blinked. “What store?”
Honestly, I loved Jane but sometimes the woman was daft. “Chris’s store. Hawk Valley Gifts.”
Instantly I wished I hadn’t brought up the name of her dead brother. Jane’s expression changed. “Right,” she said softly. “It was once my dad’s store. He used to keep a jar of penny candy sticks on the counter.”
I hugged the boxes of Emma’s favorite cereal to my chest. “The reopening is Friday morning,” I said. “I’m sure Nash would love it if you’d stop by.”
She held my gaze. “No. I just thought you were.”
I snorted.
“You wanted honesty,” she reminded me.
“I did. And in the interest of honest disclosure, let’s just say I’ve learned from my mistakes.”
She was silent for a moment. She had to realize what I was talking about.
“I guess that’s all we can do,” Kathleen said slowly. “Learn from our mistakes and try to be better versions of ourselves than we were.”
It was kind of an odd, introspective thing to say. She twirled a piece of hair and looked troubled, suddenly lost in her own thoughts. I figured that whatever was swimming through her brain right now probably had nothing to do with me.
I drank my coffee and watched Colin pursue the prize of the pink pig, oblivious that anything else was going on in the room.
“By the way,” I said, suddenly arriving at a decision. “I’m going to give the store a chance.”
Kathleen’s eyes snapped to my face. “You are?”
I nodded and she positively beamed at me. In fact she looked so happy you’d think I’d just promised her a cruise to the Bahamas.
“Nash, that’s great. This will mean so much to the community. And you can count on my help.”
I felt like kind of a heel for accepting even more help from Kathleen but I was glad she offered.
“So what do I need to do first?” I asked.
She immediately became businesslike and started ticking off her fingers. “Well, for starters you need to reopen the doors as soon as possible. I’ll call Betty and Hayden, your employees, and work out a schedule. We talked about hiring another cashier to fill in the gaps, didn’t we? Yes, I think we did. I’ll place some ads on job sites and I can take care of the interviews if you want. Or you can do it. Just let me know. Oh, and you need to order more inventory. I recommend a visit to First Valley Bank where your accounts are. You’ll need to extend the store’s line of credit and meeting your account manager might help.”
“One thing at a time.” I held up a hand. My brain couldn’t keep up with all the chores she’d just rattled off. “Let’s start with the cash flow issue. I’ve got some money. I can arrange to have it wired from my bank today. And Steve Brown had mentioned something about life insurance funds so I can probably peel some of that off after I put away the bulk for Colin.”
“This is good.” Kathleen bobbed her head with eagerness. “This will work, Nash. I know it will.”
“Then I’ll borrow some of your optimism and agree.”
Colin enhanced the moment by swatting the pig and squealing.
Kathleen glanced at the clock above the stove. “I really do need to go.”
“Okay. I’ll let you.”
“You can call me later if you want to talk in more detail about a plan of action for the store.”
“Will do.”
She leaned over and kissed Colin. “Good bye, sweet face. Glad you’re feeling better.” Her handbag was on the kitchen table. She must have left it there last night before getting sidetracked by orgasmic amusements. She shouldered her bag and headed out. “I’ll talk to you later, Nash.”
“Talk to you later, Kat.”
She had her hand on the door and suddenly spun around. “What changed your mind?”
“About the store? I don’t know, I guess some of the things you said made sense.”
“I’m glad to hear it but I meant something else. What changed your mind about calling me Kat?”
“You said your friends all call you Kat.” I raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that right?”
She grinned. “Yes, that’s right.”
When Kathleen left there was an instant void in the room. Even Colin stopped waving his limbs around and just sat still with a thoughtful expression.
“Just you and me again, kid,” I said and I could swear he raised an accusing eyebrow.
“No judging, little brother,” I warned and picked him up out of the bouncer.
It was Tuesday morning when I ran into Jane Ryan wearing a bohemian dress in peacock colors and frowning over a pile of heirloom tomatoes at Windom Grocery on Garner Avenue.
“Kat!” Jane’s grimace vanished and she appeared delighted to see me. She had the classic Ryan family thick black hair and deep blue eyes, like her brother and her nephew. But where Chris’s hair had started to show streaks of gray hers was still lustrous and uniform.
“Hi Jane.” I hugged her.
When I was a kid Jane babysat for me a few times when my mother began dating her soon-to-be third husband (later to become her third ex-husband). Jane’s babysitting career ended the day we found a lost puppy at the park. Jane wrapped the struggling creature in her jacket in a misguided rescue effort. When we returned to my front yard the angry ball of fur leapt out of her jacket and fastened its teeth to my left arm. I screamed. Jane screamed louder. One of my neighbors heard the noise and jumped over a hedge to get to us. After he pulled the ‘puppy’ away it ran off and he asked why the hell we were playing around with a coyote. Jane hyperventilated and I needed to get a series of rabies shots. My mother was not amused.
“Nash told me what happened,” she said and I dropped the two boxes of cereal I was holding.
I bent down to scoop them up and regain some composure because I was sure my face was as flaming red as that tomato in Jane’s hand. I hadn’t thought of Nash as a hapless blabbermouth who would gossip to his aunt about his sexual escapades but I’d been wrong about people before.
“I’m so glad Colin’s okay,” Jane continued. “Kevin and I were over at the house last night. Thank you for everything you did for him. And for Nash. I know my nephew’s not always the easiest man to get along with. I’m so grateful you were there.”
I breathed easier. Nash had just told her about the midnight trip to urgent care. Not the after party.
“I was happy to come,” I said, nearly gagging over my words because they were true in more ways than one.
Jane studied me. “You look beautiful today.”
I touched my hair. “That’s nice of you to say.”
“Radiant.” Jane nodded.
“What?”
“You’re radiant. There’s this aura of gratified serenity surrounding you.”
“New skin product,” I said, hoping that would put an end to this particular conversational thread. It didn’t.
“No.” Jane frowned at me the same way she’d frowned at the inadequate tomatoes. “That’s not it. This is a glow that comes from within.”
I was bad at keeping a poker face. Jane was still scrutinizing me as if my forehead was tattooed with letters she could read.
And they’d say: I fucked Nash Ryan. And I liked it.
“The store is reopening this week,” I said as if that explained everything.
Jane blinked. “What store?”
Honestly, I loved Jane but sometimes the woman was daft. “Chris’s store. Hawk Valley Gifts.”
Instantly I wished I hadn’t brought up the name of her dead brother. Jane’s expression changed. “Right,” she said softly. “It was once my dad’s store. He used to keep a jar of penny candy sticks on the counter.”
I hugged the boxes of Emma’s favorite cereal to my chest. “The reopening is Friday morning,” I said. “I’m sure Nash would love it if you’d stop by.”
