Chapter 14: Chapter 14
Reid found Mrs. Gregory in her kitchen sipping a cup of coffee with a catalogue in front of her on the island, the heavenly aroma of sugar cookies radiating out of the oven. She looked up as he walked in, and setting her cup down said, “Did you get it all patched up?”
“I did,” he assured her with a smile. “I think it’s in pretty good shape, and I trimmed the tree back a bit more while I was up there so you shouldn’t have to worry about it anymore for a while.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” she exclaimed with a smile. “One less thing to worry about.”
“Do you mind if I use your sink?” he asked. He’d taken his work gloves off for part of the more delicate repairs and now his hands were dirty.
“Not at all,” she said, hopping up to fetch him a clean towel. “You’ll sit a spell with me and have a cup of coffee before you go, won’t you?”
Reid turned the faucet off and accepted the towel she was holding out. He glanced over his shoulder at the wall clock and saw that it wasn’t quite 2:15 yet. “I suppose I have a few minutes before I have to go pick Michael up from school,” he said. Mrs. Gregory was not only one of his best clients, she also told all of her friends about his services. Her referrals alone had made him enough money to pay the mortgage this month.
“I can’t believe they suspended him from the bus!” she exclaimed, reaching into the cupboard to find a clean coffee mug. She retrieved it and poured his coffee. “If you wait long enough, I’ll have fresh cookies.”
Taking the mug, he said, “Oh, thank you. Your cookies are delicious, but I’m afraid I’ll need to leave in a few minutes.” He sat down on a bar stool, and she went around to her original seat. “I guess I can’t blame them for temporarily suspending his bus riding privileges. He did forge a note after all.”
“That bus driver should’ve known better than to accept an unsigned note.” She was wearing a Christmas sweater today that some might classify as ugly, but on her, Reid thought it just looked festive.
“Michael might be cute, but he isn’t perfect. He can get into mischief,” Reid reminded her, taking a sip of his coffee, which had a distinct note of hazelnut. “It’s an inconvenience to have to go get him every afternoon for the next week and a half, but at least I get to spend a little more time with him.”
“I think he might need an outlet for some of the mischief,” Mrs. Gregory said, a bit of an impish gleam in her eye.
Wondering what she might suggest, and how he might politely decline, Reid asked, “Did you have something in mind?”
“I’ve been asked to direct the children’s portion of the Christmas Festival program this year,” she said, setting her cup down and putting both hands on the island, her smile beaming. “Wouldn’t Michael just love coming up on stage with the rest of the kids and singing a song or two? He could even have a little speaking part.”
“I thought that’s what you might be proposing,” he said, running his hand through his hair and managing a nervous smile. “Mrs. Gregory, I really appreciate the sentiment, but church just isn’t our thing.”
“Isn’t Michael’s thing or isn’t your thing?” she asked, leaning forward in her seat, her face taking on a more serious expression. Before he could respond, she continued, “Reid, people don’t usually say something like that unless there’s been some sort of an event to precipitate it. I assume that means you’ve gone to church before, and something has happened to make you decide it’s not for you?”
He nodded but didn’t say anything. While he both liked and respected the older woman, there was no reason to drag up the past just now, and he refused to reopen old wounds and pour his heart out, even if she might be able to give some useful advice.
She offered him a small smile of encouragement. “I won’t ask you what happened; it’s not my business. If you’d like to talk about it, I’m always willing to listen. What I will say is, I don’t think you should let your past interfere with Michael’s present—or his future. I understand you don’t want to go, and I can appreciate that. But I am more than willing to pick him up and drop him off if you feel that it is something he would enjoy.”
Unsure if it was just the fact that they lived in a small town where everyone seemed to run in the same circles or if it was happenstance that everyone seemed to be talking about the Christmas Festival, he thought back to a conversation he’d had with Michael just the night before. A few of his friends at school had been talking about the it and how they’d be singing on stage. Michael had asked if he might be able to do it, too, and while Reid had told him not this time, he knew Michael really would love it if he was allowed to participate. With a weak smile, he asked, “Are you sure it’s not any trouble, Mrs. Gregory?”
She was grinning now. “Not even the least little bit. I have a booster seat that I use when my grandson comes to visit, and I know where you live. It’s not all that far from the church or my place.”
“Well, okay then,” Reid said, accepting that he could no longer allow the negative experience of his past to prevent his son from taking part in an activity he would likely really enjoy.
“Great! I’ll pick him up at 5:30 and have him back by 8:00. Oh, he’s going to love it! He’ll even get to see his favorite gal, Melody, a bit while he’s there.”
At the mention of her name, Reid felt his countenance change. His heartbeat hastened a bit, and he felt those butterflies in his stomach again. “Oh, that’s right,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm and even. “He really will like that.”
“Yes, that Melody sure is a nice girl. And so smart. Did you know she was the salutatorian of her graduating class? She got a scholarship to go away to school, too. Her folks sure were proud of her.”
Not exactly sure how to reply, Reid took the easy route. “Michael sure does like her.”
Mrs. Gregory took a sip of coffee and set her mug back down. “Why do you think that is?” she asked, her expression unreadable.
Reid had been asking himself the same question for a week now, not because he couldn’t think of a thousand reasons why a person might like Melody but because he wasn’t exactly sure what it was about her that had Michael longing to spend as much time with her as he could. “I’m honestly not sure,” he admitted. “She’s nurturing but not matronly by any means. She’s old enough to be a mom, but not quite Michael’s mother’s age. And she looks absolutely nothing like his mom. I’m not sure if there’s just something about her smile, the way that she listens to him, or another quality he’s picking up on that has him enthralled, but whatever it is, she’s just about the only thing he talks about.”
He glanced across the island to see Mrs. Gregory’s wide smile, her eyes dancing and realized he may have said more than he’d meant to. “Melody has that effect on a lot of people,” she replied as simply as possible. “I think, if you have the opportunity to spend more time with her, you’ll learn to see what your son sees.”
Deciding not to give Mrs. Gregory any more hope that he might be ready for a relationship with Melody—something he hadn’t even allowed himself to consider, as much as the thought lingered in the periphery of his mind—he smiled and said, “I think it’s about time I go get myself in the parent pick up lane. I’m told if you’re not there plenty early, you’ll find yourself pretty far back in the line.”
“All right. I guess I’ve done enough prying for one day, anyway,” Mrs. Gregory said with a wink. “Please tell Michael I am very excited to see him tomorrow afternoon.”
“I will let him know,” Reid promised, wondering how he’d let Mrs. Gregory influence his decision making so drastically in a ten-minute-long conversation. This woman was both wise and perceptive, two qualities that could potentially cause problems for him if he wanted to continue to leave his past buried. She might just force him to confront some issues he’d been unwilling to address for quite some time. But then, she might also convince him that he really was ready to try his hand at love again, and if the other component of that equation happened to be with the pretty brunette his son was entranced by, well then, maybe Mrs. Gregory’s powers could be used for good after all.