Annie's Answer (14 page)

“Poor kid,” he
said under his breath. He could only imagine how tired she must get working as
much as she did. For the rest of the drive home, he tried to think of ways to
make her life easier but came up blank. He was pretty sure she would turn down
any financial help he might offer.

The light on
her front porch was a yellow glow when he stopped in front of the two-story
frame house. Surprisingly she stirred but didn’t wake up. He unbuckled his seat
belt and leaned toward her.

“Annie,” he said
in a soft voice.

She moaned
softly but didn’t wake up.

“You’re home,”
he said a bit louder.

Her head
turned on the headrest, but she didn’t open her eyes.

Nathan did the
thing he wanted to do all evening. He leaned close and gently pressed his lips
against her cheek. Her skin was soft and smooth, scented as gently as a spring
day when the sun comes out after rainfall. She stirred but didn’t open her
eyes.

He laid his
hand on top of hers and brushed his lips against her forehead, tickling his
nose with her hair. If this didn’t wake her.…

But her eyes
opened, and he realized he wanted her to be fully awake the first time their
lips met.

Was this the
beginning of something significant? He drew back, knowing deep in his heart he
couldn’t have a casual relationship with Annie. He’d resisted commitment since
his first date at sixteen, and he still didn’t feel ready for the upheaval love
brought.

“Are we home?”
She yawned and quickly covered her mouth.

He nodded and
backed away.

“I’m so sorry.
I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she said in an embarrassed tone.

“No problem. I
had a hard time staying awake during the play.” He got out of the car and went
around to open the door for her.

When she
started to go ahead of him, he took her arm and walked her to the door.

“Thank you for
a nice evening.” She said the conventional words, but he really wanted to
believe she’d enjoyed some part of it.

“It was my
pleasure.” He was totally sincere, but where did they go from here?

After she let
herself in and closed the door, he stood on her  porch for several long
moments, regretting he hadn’t kissed her properly and wondering whether he
could walk away from her forever.

“Did you have
a nice time on your date?” Annie’s mother asked at the breakfast table.

Annie wasn’t
sure how to answer, so she delayed while Gramps dished out scrambled eggs with
chives and cheese, one of his breakfast specialties.

“The play
wasn’t very good, but we had a nice dinner,” she said, hoping her mother would
be satisfied with this brief account.

Mom made a
dismissive gesture with her fork, ignoring the eggs on her plate. “But how did
you get along with Nathan?”

“Fine.” She
wanted to confess she’d fallen asleep on the way home, but her mother would be
distressed and lecture her about working too much.

“Oh.” No one
could pack more commentary into a single short word than her mother.

“It’s nice you
had some fun for a change,” Gramps said tactfully.

Annie tried to
change the subject, but her mother was single-minded.

“I thought
your dress worked nicely,” Mom said, “but I think it’s past time for you to
have a new outfit for special occasions. Why don’t we go to the mall this
weekend—my treat. It’s the least I can do now that you’ve started to date
again.”

“I haven’t
started to date again, Mom. It was just a thank-you for helping Nathan with his
aunt. I really don’t need new clothes.”

“Would anyone
like more toast?” her grandfather asked, although neither of them had finished
the piece they had.

“No, thank
you, Dwight. Don’t you think Annie deserves a nice new dress?”

“Annie is
pretty, no matter what she wears,” Gramps said.

Hardly tasting
what she ate, Annie hurriedly finished breakfast and drove to the Sawyer house.
This was one morning when she really didn’t want to see Nathan. What could she
say about falling asleep on the way home? Did he think she was bored? Nothing
could be farther from the truth! Every moment with him had been precious, all
the more so because he’d probably never ask her to go anywhere with him again.

When she
pulled into the drive, Nathan was standing behind his car, doing something in
the trunk. He straightened immediately when she stopped the VW.

“Good
morning,” he called as she got out of the car. “I was just checking my jumper
cables. Can’t get ready for freezing temperatures too soon.”

“You’re
kidding.”

“Yes, I was
waiting for you,” he said a bit sheepishly.

“Is Mattie all
right?”

“Right as
rain—her words, not mine. I just wanted to tell you what a good time I
had last evening.”

“I did
too—but I’m so sorry for falling asleep. It wasn’t your company.”

“I never
thought it was.” He smiled, and it meant more to her than anything he could
say. “I’m sorry the play was so bad. Next time I’ll pay more attention to where
I’m taking you.”

Would there be
a next time? She didn’t know what to say. Maybe he was only trying to make up
for taking her to a boring performance.

“Afraid I have
to get to work. Mattie is looking forward to going to the church with
you—and I’m relieved she won’t make you do more jobs today. I’m not sure
how it would sit with my mother if she starts rearranging furniture or
uprooting shrubs or.…”

Annie laughed,
feeling a little sorry for his mother. No one liked to have someone else
changing things, although apparently Mrs. Sawyer wasn’t very interested in her
kitchen.

She watched
wistfully as he got into his car and drove off. Nathan was out of her league,
and she almost wished they hadn’t gone out. Being with him made her feel
cherished and special, but she was sure he was only being polite when he
mentioned taking her someplace else.

Walking slowly
toward the house, she tried to look cheerful for Mattie’s sake, but her
thoughts were gloomy. Maybe it would’ve been better if she’d never taken this
job.  Now there was a void in her life only Nathan could fill, but she
knew how hopeless it was to think of a future with a Sawyer.

“I’m ready to
go,” the older woman said as soon as Annie stepped into the house.

Much to her
surprise, Mattie looked ten years younger. She was wearing a light blue
pantsuit with a frilly white blouse. For the first time since Annie had known
her, she’d curled her hair and put on makeup, but it wasn’t just her
appearance. Mattie looked happy.

“I can’t tell
you how good it feels to be doing something useful,” she admitted on the way to
Annie’s car. “You can use those crutches to tie up tomato plants.”

Much to her
surprise, Annie’s mood lightened as she took Mattie to church and introduced
her to Grace, an older woman with a halo of fuzzy white hair and deep smile
lines on her face. The two women were soon chatting away like old friends as
they slowly and carefully folded Sunday’s bulletins. When they finished their
jobs, Mattie insisted on taking Grace and Annie to lunch.

“I know just
the place,” Grace said. “My granddaughter is part owner of the sweetest little
tea shop. I help her out from time to time by making my lemon tarts or working
the cash register.”

“You work
there?” Mattie asked, wanting to hear every detail of Grace’s participation.

“It’s the
highlight of my week,” Grace admitted.

The Cottage
Tea Shop was as quaint as the name suggested with small wooden tables and a
single flower on each one. Grace’s granddaughter turned out to be Jenny Tobias,
who’d been several years behind Annie in school. It was a real treat to have
dainty cucumber sandwiches and miniature cream puffs, but it was even nicer to
see Mattie enjoying herself so much.

“How often do
you help out?” Mattie asked, seemingly fascinated because Grace sometimes
worked there.

“Only on
Monday and Tuesday,” her new friend said. “On Wednesday my Bible study group
meets—I must introduce you—and I volunteer in the church library on
Thursday. I do like to keep busy.”

“I know
exactly what you mean,” Mattie said emphatically.

On the ride
home, Mattie couldn’t thank Annie enough for taking her to church and
introducing her to Grace.

“I didn’t
realize how much I missed being involved in church activities until today,” she
said. “I’ll be happy to help out whenever there’s something I can do.”

Unlike every
other day at the Sawyer house, Annie’s afternoon was free of chores. Mattie was
content to quietly read, dozing off in the chair and letting her book fall to
the floor after a while.

With no job
list, Annie started to feel guilty for taking money to be there. She wandered
out to the lovely garden, pulling a weed here and a dried bloom there. The
gardener did a good job, so there really wasn’t much to do. On impulse, she got
a knife from the kitchen and cut enough flowers for a colorful bouquet, putting
them in a clear glass vase she found in a kitchen cupboard.

She was
putting the arrangement on a table in the foyer when the front door opened.

“Nathan,
you’re home early.” Why was her heart beating faster?

“Home with bad
news, I’m sorry to say. Where’s Mattie?”

“Napping in
the den. She fell asleep reading.”

“Come with me.
Maybe you can help soften what I have to tell her.”

He didn’t
leave her any option. She fell into step behind him, hating the thought of
anything that would spoil Mattie’s pleasant day.

“Aunt Mattie,”
Nathan said in a soft voice, waiting until his  aunt was fully awake
before sitting down opposite her in one of the wing chairs and motioning for
Annie to sit too.

“Well, I must
have dozed off. I didn’t expect to sleep until you got home,” she said,
retrieving the book she’d been reading.

“I’m home
early. Aunt Mattie, I’m afraid I have some bad news from your attorney, Joshua
Baines.”

“Joshua got in
touch with you? He’s supposed to be looking after my affairs. Why didn’t he
call me?”

“This really
isn’t any of my business,” Annie said, starting to stand.

“No, stay,”
Mattie said. “I don’t have any secrets.”

“Joshua called
me so I could break the news to you,” Nathan said, looking unhappy and
reluctant to tell her.

“That doesn’t
sound good.” Mattie sat up straighter and squared her shoulders, bracing
herself to hear something bad.

“The
contractor he hired to fix your house said it can’t be repaired. It would be
cheaper to tear it down and build new. Besides the extensive tornado damage,
the foundation was weakened by termites.”

“The house was
almost ninety years old when Tom and I bought it,” Mattie said in a sad voice.
“We did a lot to improve it, but I guess nothing lasts forever.”

Annie saw her
eyes grow moist, but Mattie didn’t let herself cry.

“I’m truly
sorry, Aunt Mattie,” Nathan said.

“I guess it’d
be foolish to rebuild at my age.” She seemed to shrink before Annie’s eyes.

“Not foolish,
but maybe you can consider alternatives. Joshua also said he’s had a fair offer
for the land you have left,” Nathan said.

“I know the
alternative if I go back to Iowa: the old folks’ home. I don’t have the energy
to start over.”

“You’re
welcome to stay with us as long as you like,” Nathan said in a consoling voice.

“I respect
your mother, Nathan, but we’re like oil and water. It would never work living
in the same house.”

“You’ve
started to make friends here,” Annie said, wanting very much to ease the older
woman’s pain.

“That’s true.
We had a lovely lunch with a lady from your church. I’d like to participate in
your congregation,” Mattie said thoughtfully.

Annie told
Nathan about their day while Mattie lapsed into silence.

“You don’t
have to decide anything right now,” Nathan said. “My parents won’t be home
until after Labor Day. Anyway, it’s a big house. You could have your own little
apartment right here. In fact, I’m thinking of moving out. My space would be
perfect for you.”

“No, I’d still
be underfoot. It’s not like me to go all day without talking to anyone. Of
course, at home my friends and I would talk on the telephone quite a bit.”

“You can still
do that from here,” Annie said, trying to offer encouragement.

Mattie shook
her head but didn’t comment on the long call from her friend in Iowa.

“One thing I
am not going to do is move into one of those assisted living places. I want my
own home,” Mattie said decisively.

“There’s a
nice new apartment complex going up south of town,” Nathan said. “Some of the
units are ready for occupancy.”

His aunt only
thought about that suggestion for a few seconds.

“No, I’ve
never shared a wall with anyone, and I’m not going to start now. I need room
for a garden and a patio to sit outside. I’m going to buy a house right here in
Westover.”

“I’d love to
have you close, Aunt Mattie, but don’t you want to think about it before making
a decision?”

“No, I’ve
decided. Much as it hurts to know I can never go back to the house Tom and I
shared, it’s the right thing to do. I’ll be on my own but still have people I
care about close.”

Nathan stood
and gave his great aunt a big hug. “I’ll do all I can to help you find someplace
nice.”

“Annie will
help me. We’ve done enough fiddling around here.” She nodded her way.

“Maybe that’s
asking too much,” Nathan said.

“No, I’d be
happy to look at houses with Mattie,” Annie said.

“Good, we’ll
get started first thing Monday. I need a few days to get used to the idea.
Meanwhile, I noticed there’s a bell choir program at the church Sunday
afternoon. I always read the bulletin board for announcements.”