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  “Listen, I’ll go over to the coffee shop for a while, since this is a fam-ily affair,” I say.

  “Yes, and you’re family,” Janni insists. “Please, Char? I’d like you to be here.”

  By the time we have the hot chocolate poured into mugs and placed on the table, the boys have joined us. They chatter about what’s going on at school, and at the first lull in the conversation, Janni jumps in.

  “Listen, boys, I have something I need to tell you.” When they look up at her, she tells them everything about Stephanie. Eyes grow wide, mouths drop open, then snap shut. When she’s all finished, the silence is deafening.

  Janni twists a handkerchief between her fingers, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry I’ve let you down, and I’m sorry I kept this from you all these years.”

  Silence.

  “We all make mistakes. We’re not proud of them. We wish we hadn’t made them, but we go on from here. We’re a family, and a family stands by each other, come what may,” Daniel says.

  A knot plugs the breath from my throat as we wait for the boys to respond.

  “Please say something,” Janni says, staring at her handkerchief.

  “Does this mean I can’t date her?” Blake asks with a straight face.

  “You idiot, of course you can’t date her. She’s our sister.” Ethan gouges his brother in the side, and they both start laughing.

  That simple comment and brotherly act sucks all the tension from the room. Both boys go over and hug Janni. “Nothing you could ever do would make us stop loving you, Mom,” Ethan says, quoting the very phrase I’ve heard Janni say to them so often over the years.

  “We love you, warts and all, Mom,” Blake says, also using her quote and holding her tight.

  Just then Stephanie enters the house. “Hi, everyone. Mom went to the store for some popcorn if you all—” One glance at everyone’s face, and she stops cold.

  Blake walks over and stops in front of her. “Welcome to the family, sis.” He pulls her into a bear hug. Chair legs scrape against the floor as everyone surrounds Stephanie, and soon the Ort family is a tangle of arms and tears.

  No one notices as I quietly slip away from the room.

  “Boy, this week has flown by,” I say with a yawn as I come down the stairs the next morning. “Between finishing up the syrup for another year and tying up loose ends for the party, I’m beat.”

  Janni flops her legs on the recliner footrest. “You got that right.”

  “Hey, sis, how about I treat you to coffee this morning at Smooth Grounds to celebrate your new family, the end of syrup season, the party, all that?”

  Her eyes brighten. Just as I suspected, she’s becoming like me, a true coffee connoisseur. “Do we have time? Is everything ready for tonight’s party?”

  “I’ll call the Carpenter Center and make sure everything is in place, see if they have any last-minute questions. Then I’ll swing by there this afternoon.”

  “Well, if you’re buying the coffee, I’m going.”

  We tell the others where we’re going and head out the door. By the time we reach the coffeehouse, a group of Tappery coffee drinkers are in line for their morning java.

  Coffees in hand, we peel off our jackets and settle in at a table.

  I take a drink. “I thought I’d go visit the Tuckers before I go over to the Center. The cake isn’t supposed to get there until this afternoon. By the time I get there, things should be pretty much set up.”

  “I’m just glad we’re still having a party. Mom and Dad sure didn’t make it easy on us.” Janni chuckles.

  “That’s for sure.” Another drink.

  “Why are you going to see the Tuckers?”

  “There wasn’t really time to visit when they bailed us out of jail, so I wanted to go back to their home and properly thank them. They’re such nice folks.” Never mind that I’m trying to get them to sell their house in a commercial deal so I can get a promotion. I mentally shake myself. What am I saying? Progress is a good thing. There’s no need to feel ashamed. After all, it’s not as though I’m making them do some-thing they don’t want to do. I’m merely presenting another option. “Then I’ll come home and get ready.”

  “Did you hear what you said?”

  “What?”

  “You called this ‘home.’”

  That little revelation startles me. “I did, didn’t I?”

  Janni smiles. “This trip has been good for you, Char.”

  “It really has. It’s changed my view of the past.”

  “And your outlook for the future?” She’s digging for information now.

  “Hey, have you been hanging out with Gail?”

  Janni cackles, and I hold my breath. The hyena doesn’t show. She’s getting better at stopping herself short of scaring people.

  “The boys took the news of Stephanie well, don’t you think?”

  Janni smiles. “Yeah, they did. Though Blake’s determined to change her health habits.”

  We both laugh.

  “I told Dad last night when he got home too.”

  “How did he take it?”

  “He told me it was about time he got a granddaughter.”

  “I’m happy for you, sis.” I take another sip. “So where do you think your relationship with Stephanie will go from here?”

  “We’re going to stay in touch, of course. She’ll come and visit from time to time. We’re planning gifts on birthdays, holidays, all that. She’ll be our daughter too, but at arm’s length, so we don’t intrude on Carol’s place.”

  “You’re a good woman, Janni.”

  “Oh, yeah, real good. I’ve made a mess of things, but somehow God was able to work through it in spite of it all. It’s hard to explain, but Stephanie seems to make our family complete.”

  “Must be nice to feel complete,” I say with a smile.

  “You’ll get there, Char. I’ve no doubt. I’ve seen the way Russ looks at you.”

  “He’s just checking out my teeth.”

  Janni giggles. “You’re awful.” She thinks a moment. “You know, you’re not rushing around like you did when you first came here.”

  “How so?”

  “Your steps are slower. You seem more relaxed. Not on the phone as much.”

  For a moment, I figure it’s because I’ve tied up most loose ends at work, but Janni’s right, there’s more to it than that.

  “I guess Mayberry’s getting to me.”

  Janni stops drinking short of choking and laughs. “We’ve helped more than one city slicker see the error of their ways.”

  “I’m glad.” Taking a sip from my own macchiato, I think about how amazing this visit has been.

  “Does this mean you’ll come back more often?” There’s an ornery flash in her eyes.

  I grin. “You can count on it.”

  While finishing our coffee, we talk a little more about our family and how things have turned out, the last-minute touches for the party tonight.

  “Well, I guess I’d better get moving if I’m going to have any time with the Tuckers before tonight.” We stand and throw away our cups.

  After dropping Janni off at home, I head for Tappery Assisted Living. The warmth of the Tuckers’s apartment hits me the moment I walk in the door. Wish I had my fan.

  “Charlene Haverford, as I live and breathe,” Mrs. Tucker says, extending her thick arms around me and pulling me into a warm hug—and I do mean warm. I can’t peel my coat off fast enough. Mrs. Tucker is five foot two and almost as wide as she is tall, but she has an even bigger heart.

  “Come sit down, dear.” She points toward the sofa. “Earl, Charlene Haverford is here,” she calls over her shoulder.

  “How about some iced tea with lemon?”

  “That would be wonderful,” I say, thinking I’ll dish out the ice cubes and stuff them down my shirt collar.

  We soon settle into our tea and polite conversation.

  “I want to thank you both for not prosecut
ing Janni and me for, well, breaking and entering your home.”

  Mrs. Tucker laughs. “I got a chuckle out of that one. I could almost imagine the two of you climbing that tree.”

  “Actually, I’m the only one who climbed the tree. I went downstairs and let Janni in. She didn’t want to come in, but I figured we could get a quick look and leave.”

  “Be sure your sins will find you out, I always say.” Earl gives a hearty laugh and winks.

  He’s been talking to my mother, I can feel it. He walks over to me and gives me a hug. “Great to see you, kiddo.”

  “You too.” We sit down. “So any luck on selling it?” I ask.

  “We’ve had some interest, but no one who fits the place yet,” Mrs. Tucker says.

  “That’s because you don’t want to sell it.” Mr. Tucker turns to me. “We’ll never be able to unload it because she’s trying to find someone who will love the house the way she does. Now, how you gonna know that?” He shakes his head and takes a drink from his glass of tea.

  “I would feel the same way. I’m a Realtor, and I’m very particular about matching up people with homes that fit their needs. To me the home is the foundation of a family, you know? A place of refuge where we return at the end of the day. I’m on a mission to match families with the right place, I guess. Well—that used to be my mission. I’m dealing more with commercial property these days.” My comment is sort of an epiphany for me. Russ has been right all along. My passion is working in residential property, helping families find the right place.

  “That’s exactly right. You understand why I want just the right family for our home.” Mrs. Tucker’s eyes light with gratitude, filling me with shame. “We’d be able to sell the house and a couple of acres, then parcel off the rest of the acreage, if we could find the right family. Wish we could find a Realtor like you. You still live out East?”

  I nod and explain about Aunt Rose’s cottage and how much I love it, but how I’m now a little torn about being away from Mom and Dad, Janni, the homestead. I don’t say anything about Russ.

  “Family becomes more important the older we get, that’s for sure,” Mrs. Tucker says, plumping a pillow beneath her feet on the coffee table. “I sure miss our daughter. She’s so far away.” She looks in the distance as though remembering better days.

  “How does Katy like Florida?” I ask.

  “Oh, she loves it. Just wish we could see her more.”

  “How does she feel about you selling the house?”

  “Oh, she doesn’t care,” Mr. Tucker pipes up. “She’s too busy with her own life to worry about the house.”

  “It’s a beautiful place. So many wonderful memories from my childhood were played out there.”

  We talk about the homemade apple pies, working in the orchard, all that.

  “Too bad we couldn’t get you to move back to Tappery. You’d be a perfect fit for our place.” Mrs. Tucker smiles gently, and we move on to the next topic, but her words linger in my mind and heart.

  Their home is much more valuable than money can buy. Somehow I know I’ve kissed that promotion good-bye, and the weird thing is I’m okay with that.

  thirty

  Though it was hard to keep things secret, Janni and I somehow managed to get Mom into the new cream-colored dress with gold trim we bought for her and Dad into his fine black suit by telling them we were taking them out for a special dinner. Mom seemed a bit distressed that their afternoon had gone by without a party, but she said nothing. That doesn’t fool me one bit. We both know if Janni and I hadn’t come through for her tonight, we’d need twenty-four-hour police protection by morning.

  I spared no expense for this affair, and one look at our parents’ faces when Janni and Daniel usher them into the room tells me it was worth every penny. Cameras snap and bulbs flash the moment their heels click onto the shiny hardwood floor. Crystal chandeliers sparkle overhead, while music from the grand piano and string quartet filters around the room, joining tinkling silver against china and ice cubes against crystal. The tables and chairs are laden with ivory linens. Greenery and tapered, gold candles flank the table centers while candles, greenery, and a bouquet of white roses decorate the honored couple’s table. Smiling faces of old and new friends fill the room.

  Mom cries and my heart warms to family in a deeper way than ever before. What started out as a plan to impress the town with the “new me” somewhere along the line changed to making this the most memorable night in Mom and Dad’s lives. By the look on their faces, I’d say it’s happening.

  I grab each parent’s hand and walk them over to the microphone in front of the tables. “Ladies and gentlemen, our guests of honor, Milton and Lavina Haverford.”

  The room erupts with uproarious applause as people stand to their feet, causing Mom to cry some more. This time Dad joins her. The only time I’ve ever seen my dad cry was when he prayed. A lump forms in my throat, and I dab at the tears in my own eyes.

  After Mom and Dad take a moment to welcome everyone, beautiful stringed music begins to play, while waiters serve each table. A movement at the edge of the entrance catches my attention. Gertie Becker. Just then Dad gets up from the head table where the family is sitting and heads toward Gertie. Janni is sitting beside me, so I nudge her with my leg. When I catch her attention, I nod toward Dad and Gertie. Suddenly, Mom notices them, frowns, and gets up from the table. Janni and I exchange a worried glance and follow after Mom.

  Dad and Gertie disappear around the corner into the entryway. Mom’s steps quicken, and we pick up our pace to a trot. Silverware clangs on china, the smell of gourmet food perfumes the air, and the quiet murmur of happy people follows us out of the room, but there’s a feeling of doom that haunts my every step.

  Upon nearing our parents, we hear Mom shouting something about Gertie and Dad in cahoots. We step around the corner just as Mom turns on her heel to leave.

  Somehow I imagined the memorable night a little different than this.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” Dad says, grabbing our shocked mother by the arm. “You will hear me out this time, Viney Haverford.”

  Mom turns to Dad, and we all stand frozen in time.

  “She saw me hugging Gertie, and she’s all in a snit,” Dad says to us by way of explanation. “What she doesn’t know is that Gertie helped me a lot in a certain matter, and I gave her a friendly hug in appreciation for her kindness.”

  “I don’t want to hear another word. You let me go right this instant, Milton, do you hear me?” Mom’s arms are in full motion, and I’m thinking once her legs kick into gear, look out.

  “We’re going back in there, and you’re going to hear what this is all about,” he says.

  Janni and I step aside as Dad holds Mom’s arm and ushers her back into the room with all the guests. With one look at a confused Gertie, I offer a weak smile, and we step back into the banquet room.

  “The next five minutes could make or break this party,” Janni says.

  I nod. “We should have thrown the party last year.”

  “People don’t throw big bashes for forty-nine years, Char.”

  Mom’s holding her tongue, but I’m sure it’s only because she has an audience. Dad grabs a chair for her, and she reluctantly sits down. He then lifts the microphone from the stand, walks over to where Mom is seated, and faces the crowd.

  “As I’m sure all of you know, I retired from the church several months ago. It’s hard to give up what I’ve done for so many years, but you’ve graciously loved us through it.” He turns aside to cough, says “Excuse me,” then looks at the people again. “Our daughter Char came back to help us with the syrup and to no doubt help out with this big surprise party, but I’m sure she and Janni, our other daughter, don’t realize they’ve done so much more.”

  Tears spring to my eyes, though I have no idea where Dad is going with this.

  “I’ve had trouble with the idea of retirement. After being busy and involved in people’s lives, it’s hard to sit i
n a recliner and watch TV.”

  Chuckles and nods ripple around the room.

  “Some pastors move from church to church, but as you know, we plunked ourselves down in this town forty-two years ago, and you’ve been hard-pressed to get rid of us.”

  More chuckles and shaking of heads.

  “I had gallbladder surgery recently, and I wondered if this is all I have to look forward to, sickness and boredom.” He turns to Janni and me and extends his arm so we’ll join them up front. “But I’ve watched our girls weather some recent storms and changes. They’ve made me proud and ashamed all at the same time. Proud of them for trusting God to see them through. Ashamed that I’ve not been as trusting. They’ve moved beyond the past, and they’re making a future for them-selves.” He squeezes my hand when I reach him, and Janni stands on the other side of me, both of us with tears streaming down our faces. “That’s what I want to do with the years I have left, make a future with my bride of fifty years, and continue to serve you folks—as your friend, not your pastor.”

  Now Dad turns to Mom. “When Viney and I married fifty years ago, we had little money in our pockets. I was only two years into pastoring my first church, where I met her. Needless to say, we had very little money to live on, but we had our love.” He looks at Mom and winks. She makes an attempt to smile, but it comes out as more of a smirk. I shove the memory of Victoria’s Secret away as quickly as I can.

  “I gave her a cheap wedding band as a symbol of our love, and she never complained. Through the years, we’ve counseled many young couples at our church, congratulating them on their engagements, and each time I saw a flashing diamond, I wished I could give Viney one. Oh, I know she doesn’t care about such things, but it was something I wanted to do for her.”

  He has Mom’s full attention now. In fact, the whole room seems to take a collective breath as Dad bends down on one knee. I’m wondering if we’ll have to get him up when this is all over.

  Reaching into his pocket, he pulls something out. He then lifts Mom’s hand and says, “You’ve deserved so much more, Viney, but as we begin this new adventure into retirement and a new phase of our lives, may this symbol represent my undying devotion to you now and for always.”