Tail of Two Hearts, page 17
“Disappointed. Rory kept saying he’d done the vandalism for his father. He thought if the crime rate went up, that Joe would have to rehire his dad.” Sam unzipped his jacket, revealing a Bygones High School T-shirt.
Vivian could certainly sympathize with the boy’s situation: one more tragic outcome from the closing of the factory.
The bookstore door opened again and in walked Chase wearing his chinos and a long-sleeve polo shirt.
A flutter of pleasure wove its way around Vivian’s heart, and she smiled.
Chase stopped abruptly just inside the door. “Wow. I didn’t know there was a party going on.”
“Not exactly a party,” Sam said. “I came looking for advice about Rory Liston from the wise woman in my life.”
“I’m afraid I’m the one who caught Rory red-handed. Literally,” Chase admitted.
Allison let Rosie slide down to the floor. The little girl headed right back to the Kids’ Korner, no doubt to find her favorite book.
“I’m not sure I have any advice for you, Sam. Sounds to me like the boy was trying to solve a problem that’s way over his head. Maybe he could use some counseling to help him through this hard time.”
“If they could afford it,” Sam said. “His dad’s been out of work since the summer. Money’s tight. That’s hard on a family. I’m just glad the boy was caught—thanks to you, Chase—before he slid into anything more dangerous than graffiti and knocking over a few picnic tables at The Everything.”
“I hope getting arrested will scare him straight and teach him a lesson,” Chase said.
“Me, too,” Sam agreed. “He’s a really good kid. Just mixed up.”
Nicky asked for more paper by pointing and saying, “More.”
Allison handed him a scratch pad to scribble on.
“Chase, did you come over for something special?” she asked.
He gave her a lopsided grin. “Two things, actually.”
“I hope they’re good things,” Allison said. “Having his star player arrested hasn’t made for a good day for Sam.”
“They are good. Better than good. First, I tallied up the donations to Happy Havens this morning.” He handed Allison a ledger sheet with the summary of receipts. “We’ve topped sixty-five-hundred dollars.”
“My goodness! We’re more than halfway to our goal.” Allison’s hand flew to her chest. “I never really expected—”
“That’s wonderful, Chase.” Filled with joy, Vivian slipped past Nicky and held up her hand to give Chase a high five. He came closer, caught her fingers between his and held on. A ripple of awareness, the heated memory of nursing his scrapes, sped down her arm to lodge in her chest. “I’m so glad for you and Annabelle and all the animals.”
“You’re the one who really organized the read-a-thon,” he reminded her without releasing her hand.
“I’d say we’ve all done it together,” Allison said. “And we really owe much of the success to Matt and his YouTube video.”
“I’ll send him another email to let him know how well it’s going,” Vivian volunteered. She looked at Chase and reluctantly withdrew her hand. “You said two things?”
“Right.” He stuck his thumbs in the corner of his front pockets and rocked back on his heels. “You are looking at the proud employer of one part-time employee. Maureen Jenkins.”
“You hired her?” Vivian cried.
“She starts Friday. The day after Thanksgiving.”
“I’m so happy for her.” Vivian leaped up to wrap her arms around Chase’s neck and hug him. “And for you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Chase, shifting their positions slightly, hugged her back. Vivian felt herself melting against him. Catching the scent of his shaving lotion. Wanting the happily ever after she’d only read about in books and didn’t dare dream would come true.
“Hey, hey.” Sam laughed. “Children present. Easy does it, you two.”
Chase released Vivian, and she instantly missed the strength and warmth of his arms around her.
“Sorry.” Heat flooded her cheeks. She hadn’t meant to make a scene. But she’d been so happy for Maureen, who really needed the job. And so grateful to Chase for hiring her.
Still chuckling, Sam came around the counter to lift Nicky into his arms.
“Come on, buddy. That’s enough writing for now. You can finish your novel later. Let us and Rosie get on home and start dinner. With a little good timing, Allison will join us for dinner, and it will be ready when she gets there.”
“Sounds like a wonderful idea to me,” Allison said, her eyes glowing with happiness and love. “I’ll be there in an hour or so.”
“Speaking of dinners, Chase,” Vivian said. “My mother wanted me to make sure that all the new shopkeepers in town had a place to go for Thanksgiving dinner. You’re invited if you’re interested. We usually eat around three.”
Chewing on his lip, he held her gaze for a moment. “I, um, don’t know. I haven’t thought that far—”
“It’s okay.” She masked her hurt with a bright smile. “Just know there’s always room for one more at the Duncan table.”
Sam said goodbye, and he and his children were going out the door when Vivian’s cell phone vibrated. She pulled it from her pocket and checked the caller.
Jackie at the adoption agency.
Walking into the back room to take the call, Vivian held her breath, hoping and praying that it wasn’t bad news.
Chapter Fourteen
Chase noticed Viv’s worried look as she went to the back room to take the phone call. He’d hang around for a few minutes. There might be a problem with her folks. Or a sibling. With six kids in the family, one or the other probably had a crisis regularly.
Or maybe the call was about Theo.
Chase didn’t like the thought of that.
“Is there something else you wanted?” Allison asked. With Sam and the twins gone, it was just the two of them in the bookstore now.
“Hmm, no, not really. Maybe I’ll browse around for a book.” He wasn’t much of a reader. But maybe he should be. If he found a good book to read, he and Viv could talk about it. That would be something nice to share over a cup of coffee some morning. Or maybe over lunch at the Red Rooster. Except they wouldn’t be having lunch together again. Or coffee. Because Chase had told her in no uncertain terms that that was the way he wanted it.
“Take as much time as you need,” Allison said. “If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them.”
“Thanks.” He found the mystery section and picked up a book at random. He knew nothing about authors. He did watch a few mysteries on TV and late-night crime shows.
He sensed more than heard Viv return to the front of the store.
Glancing around, he saw she had Theo in her arms. Her beautiful blue eyes swam with tears.
In two steps he was beside her, one hand on her shoulder, the other caressing Theo’s back. “What’s wrong?”
Her chin trembled. “That was...the adoption agency.”
Allison, apparently realizing there was a problem, came closer. “Is there something wrong with Theo?”
“No.” Viv drew a shaky breath. She blinked, squeezing out a single tear.
“What is it, Viv?” Chase brushed back a few strands of hair that had fallen across her face. His stomach clenched. What had happened? Did the fool agency tell her she wouldn’t do as a mother?
“A relative...Theo’s aunt.” Vivian hiccupped. “She’s thinking about adopting him.” She placed Theo’s head against her shoulder and held him tight.
“They wouldn’t give Theo to this aunt, would they?” Allison sputtered. “I mean, where has she been for the past four or five months? If she was so anxious to adopt Theo, why hadn’t she said something ages ago?”
“Is that what’s happening?” Chase wasn’t sure if Viv would survive giving up Theo. It would break her heart.
“It may be.” Viv carried Theo over to a reading chair in the corner and sat down. Her grip on the baby was so strong, he started to squirm.
“They can’t do that!” Allison insisted. “It’s crazy. I know you said it was a possibility. But you’ve bonded with Theo, and now they want to take him away from you and give him to a complete stranger? Nonsense.”
Chase tended to agree but he didn’t get a vote. “Viv told me when she got Theo that it might be temporary. That if a relative decided to—”
“Don’t you dare say I told you so,” Viv snapped, glaring up at him.
He took a step back. “I didn’t mean—”
“You warned me not to get too attached. Well, that’s just too bad because I am attached, and I can’t undo that. Not now. Not ever. I love him too much.” Her chin wobbled and another big fat tear edged down her cheek.
Feeling helpless, Chase stood there like a dunce. He didn’t know what to say or do, and didn’t think Viv wanted him there at all. He had been afraid this would happen. That Viv would be hurt if she cared too much. Now it looked like his fears were coming true.
More times than not, dreams didn’t come true. Like his mother never getting a chance for a promotion. Or a big raise. Or Chase not going to college because he had to help his mom pay the bills.
He was so sorry Viv had to learn about disappointment the hard way.
Allison knelt next to Viv. “Let’s take this one step at a time. What exactly did the agency person say?”
Viv adjusted Theo to a more comfortable position and gave him a rattle to play with. “She said the aunt was considering adopting him.”
“So it isn’t a done deal?”
“Not yet.” Viv lifted her head, her eyes red-rimmed. “I had so many plans for Theo’s first Christmas. And now...”
“I’m sorry, Viv,” Chase said.
She didn’t seem to hear or care about his apology, and he felt a fissure open in his heart. A painful rupture he hadn’t experienced before.
“So how soon is this aunt going to decide?” Allison asked.
“I don’t know.” Viv wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Whenever she does, she’ll have priority over me. She can be Theo’s mother just by saying she wants him.”
“I’m sure she’ll have to go through a screening process,” Allison said.
Pulling a clean tissue from his pocket, Chase handed it to Viv. She barely nodded in acknowledgment.
Allison smoothed her hand over Viv’s hair. “Well, I for one don’t think you should give up on Theo yet. Since this woman didn’t come forward until now, I’m not convinced she’s serious about adopting Theo.”
Chase figured Allison was trying to give Viv some hope. He wasn’t sure that was the right thing to do. Adoption agencies no doubt had their rules, and it wouldn’t be easy to get them to change their minds.
“Do you really think the aunt will decide not to adopt him?” Viv asked.
Her plea came from some reservoir of hope and faith that Chase had never had. He wasn’t confident it was real and would be afraid to count on it.
“I don’t know what will happen,” Allison admitted. “Why don’t we pray and put it in God’s hands?”
The two women put their heads together, and Allison began to pray for guidance and the Lord’s help.
Chase didn’t have an up-close-and-personal relationship with God. And he sure didn’t pray often. But he closed his eyes, bowed his head and joined his silent prayer with theirs.
Maybe God would be so surprised to find Chase praying for the second time in a week that He’d listen and grant Viv her deepest wish: to be Theo’s forever mother.
* * *
Somehow Vivian managed to drive home after work without running off the road. Her whole body had been shaking since the phone call from Jackie.
Jackie had been kind, of course. And tried to tell her to relax, that nothing would change with Theo immediately. But Jackie did feel obligated to warn Vivian that Theo’s aunt had inquired about adoption. Jackie and her staff would be interviewing the aunt this week and checking her background.
And then what? Would that take days? Or weeks?
Vivian couldn’t bear to think what might happen next.
At home she fed Theo a bottle and held him for a long time. Her cell phone sat on one of the red garden stools she used as a coffee table. A part of her wanted to smash the phone into tiny bits, pick up Theo and run as far away from Bygones as she could. Vanish into the crowds of a big city. Or hide out in Tahiti.
None of that was possible.
She’d known from the start that she might lose Theo. That a relative might decide to adopt him. That she might have to hand him to another woman to hold and love and raise.
But the instant love she’d felt for Theo hadn’t allowed her to even consider that possibility. She’d been in denial.
Now the reality had slammed into her like a summer tornado. Her whole life seemed out of kilter. The balance she’d tried to achieve had slipped away, replaced by fear and despair.
If only...
A knock on the door startled her.
Her very first thought was that Chase had come to comfort her. That he would hold her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right. That he’d be the strong one to see her through this nightmare.
But when she looked through the side window, she saw the figure of her mother silhouetted by the front porch light.
She swallowed the bitter taste of disappointment. Chase had made it clear he didn’t want to be a father. She couldn’t count on him to understand how much the thought of losing Theo hurt. How it burned a hole deep inside her that would never be filled again.
Carrying the sleeping baby in her arms, she opened the front door.
“Hi, honey.” Her mother, dressed in her warm coat, smiled brightly. “I was coming home from Mildred Farnsworth’s house. Her daughter is having a baby, and she gave her a baby shower. I saw your light on...”
Vivian lost what little control of her emotions she’d managed to hold on to since the phone call. She wept the tears that hadn’t yet fallen.
“Mom,” she wailed. “I may lose Theo.”
* * *
Chase had worried all night about Viv, and how she was coping with the news about Theo. He had tried to think of something he could do to help her, and he’d come up empty.
He hefted Pepper’s cage from its spot in his living room. “Come on, big guy. Time to open up the shop and meet the crowds that await us.”
“What’s up? What’s up?” Pepper clung to his perch as Chase carried him downstairs.
He glanced behind him to be sure Boyo was coming, too. Couldn’t run a pet store without his feathered and furry friends, he thought, as Fluff shot past him ahead of them all. His small menagerie of friends.
Shortly after Chase switched the sign on the front door from Closed to Open, a man who looked to be in his fifties strolled into the store.
“What’s up? What’s up?” Pepper greeted the gentleman.
“Good morning,” Chase called from the puppy pen, where he had been giving them fresh water. The video to publicize the financial need of Happy Havens had also attracted potential owners for several puppies, and he had borrowed more from the shelter to show off in the shop. “I’ll be right with you.”
“No rush,” the customer responded.
Boyo left Chase’s side to perform his welcoming duties at the front of the store.
Chase gave the pair of poodle-terrier mix puppies one last pat then strolled up to the front counter. “How can I help you?”
“I’m Stuart Peckam. I called a few days ago about the parrot you have for sale. Guess this is him, huh?”
“Oh, right.” Chase had almost forgotten about that phone call. Now he felt a moment of...panic? Which was ridiculous. The whole idea of taking in Pepper was to sell him for a profit. “His name is Pepper. He’s a green-cheeked Amazon. You can tell by the red topknot. Pretty rare bird.”
“Pretty birdie. Pretty birdie,” Pepper announced, hopping around on the floor of his cage.
“Does he talk a lot?” Stuart asked.
“When he gets rolling, it’s like a monologue. You can’t shut him up,” Chase told him with a certain amount of pride, like a parent might brag that his child was good at arithmetic.
Avoiding Boyo, who was sitting right in front of him, Stuart walked around the cage peering at Pepper. The parrot kept his beady eyes on the stranger, mimicking the man’s movements, following his every gesture.
“The thing is, since our kids moved out, my wife gets lonely in the house all day with no one to talk to. I was thinking a parrot might help her to not be so lonely.”
Pepper squawked. “Polly’s not here. Polly’s not here.”
“I imagine having a parrot would help.” Although Chase thought it might be better if his wife got out of the house more and interacted with actual people.
“Tomorrow’s her birthday. I thought I’d surprise her.”
Chase sensed a red flag. “I don’t know about surprising her with a parrot. Maybe she ought to come into the shop to meet Pepper first. Unless getting a parrot is her idea.” Not every Tom, Dick or Mary cared for big birds.
“Good birdie,” Pepper crooned, weaving his head back and forth.
“Well, she’s allergic to cats. Besides, cats just sort of lay around, so a cat wouldn’t be much company for her.”
“How about a puppy? I’ve got a couple of cute little guys from the shelter available for adoption.” Why he was trying to talk this man out of buying a six-hundred-dollar parrot was beyond him.
