False Impressions (25 page)

She looked from Mary Lou to Tina. They hadn’t taken their eyes off each other’s faces. J.B. had two strong women in his life, that was for sure. April suspected they were more alike than they knew.

“Lived with you?” Mary Lou said, her words clipped and cold. April felt another chill. It was her fault Tina was here. She’d brought this woman into their lives and now she wasn’t even sure J.B. had loved her.

“Listen, why don’t we get together and talk this out?” April said. “You can come to the barn a little later. After the Ice Festival. The Campbells are away, and I’ve got some great wine. We can talk . . .” She glanced at Deana.

Deana smiled at April. She liked the conciliatory tone April was trying out. Mark’s hands were crossed in front of his body, and he had on his neutral funeral-director face. Ready for anything. Peter was coming toward the table with a plate of food. He was grousing that he had no time to eat. He’d heard the announcement, too.

April glanced out of the tent. Streams of people were heading toward the ice-sculpting area. She would never get over there in time unless she left right now.

“I’ve got to get back,” April said. “Mitch . . .”

Tina and Mary Lou ignored her.

“We’ll be there for the judging,” Deana said.

She started to move away. “Okay, how about it? Say, eight o’clock, my place?”

Mary Lou seemed to be waiting for Tina to agree first. Tina appeared to be thinking about it. She placed her hands on the front of her coat. One on top and one on the bottom, cupping her belly. Mary Lou’s eyes widened.

The air horn blew a two-minute warning. April had to fly.

As she snuck through the stakes at the back of the tent, she heard Mary Lou say, “You’re pregnant?”

April raced back to their station, skidding into it seconds before
the final air horn sounded the end of the contest. She saw Kit on her way to the food tent.

Mitch put out his hand to stop her.

The announcer said, “Chain saws down. Cutting tools down.”

“Glad you could make it,” Mitch said.

She bent over to catch her breath. “Oh man, you won’t believe what’s going on in the food tent. Tina, J.B.’s girlfriend, is talking to Mary Lou. Mary Lou just noticed she was pregnant. I think I saw Kit heading there, too. It’s going to be a bloodbath.”

She looked up. Mitch was not listening at all. He was fussing with the blue tarp he’d thrown over his work. She looked around the circle. The judges were making their way around the circle. Peter Rosen must have skipped his meal and taken a shortcut.

What was going on between Tina and Mary Lou? April couldn’t stand the suspense. She strained to see the food tent. The sun had set quickly and it was completely dark. The lighting around the ice sculptures didn’t put a dent in the black.

Mary Lou was bound to be unhappy when she realized Kit knew about Tina’s existence. Because of April.

A round of applause brought April back to the contest. The first sculpture had been uncovered. April’s breath caught in her throat as she saw an icy locomotive with realistic steam rising from the stack.

She put her hand through Mitch’s arm. “Wow, that is something. Let me see ours.”

“Not yet,” he said, unhooking himself from her.

He was acting so weird. He must be really nervous, April thought. He walked several steps away from her and back again. He cracked his knuckles loudly. She remembered the treats in her pocket. Maybe if he stopped long enough to eat a cookie, he wouldn’t implode before the judges got there. She tried to get close to him, but he stepped on her foot.

“Ouch,” she yelled, louder than she’d intended, but her extremities were so cold already that his misstep really hurt. She hopped on the other foot, futilely rubbing her toe through her thick boots. “I was just trying to give you these cookies I bought for you.”

“Careful!” Mitch warned. He ran behind her, making sure she hadn’t rattled his sculpture. She’d gotten too close.

Tears sprang to April’s eyes. Her big toe throbbed. Her face hurt from being outside in the cold all day. Mary Lou and Tina were having it out, and she wasn’t there. Mitch had worked on his mysterious piece all afternoon without her.

“Pardon me for living!” she yelled.

Mitch turned back to her. “No, no, I’m sorry.”

“We’re here,” Deana called. She and Mark were in front of them. Mark was filming with his little video camera.

“Smile for me,” he said. “How about a picture of the happy couple?”

Mitch grabbed April in for a hug. She slipped on a piece of ice on the ground, her boots going out from under her. She lost her footing and began to slide precariously close to the statue. Mark reached in and grabbed one arm. Mitch got the other and they righted her.

She stood still, brushing off both men. Mitch looked at her pleadingly. He pouched out his lower lip. “Sorry,” he mouthed. She took in a breath. All she wanted now was to go home.

“Where are those judges?” April said. She looked, but instead of judges, she saw the local TV station coming her way. Jocelyn Jones was the same reporter who had come to the corn maze event at Suzi’s last year. The spectators shifted, following the news crew. Suzi and Rocky were in the crowd behind the reporter. April watched to see where the crew was headed. Probably going to film the winner for the six o’clock news.

To her surprise, they stopped at her station. Her heart skipped a beat. Had Mitch won? Her spirits lifted. She looked at him, ready to forgive him.

“April Marie Buchert,” Mitch said. His voice sounded unusually loud. April looked at him. Behind him, the crowd was getting bigger.

The light on the TV camera came on, blinding April. She turned her head away. “What’s going on?” She turned back, her vision slowly righting itself. The spots grew farther apart.

To her shock, Mitch was on one knee, in front of his piece, which was still covered. April looked to Deana and Mark, who were grinning widely. Rocky elbowed her way to the front of the crowd.

The announcements that had been ongoing were silent, and she could hear Mitch’s loud breathing. He was miked. She saw the black thing attached to his collar. She looked at the TV reporter. She waved, grinning widely.

“April Marie Buchert,” Mitch said again. His voice was so loud, she put her hands over her ears. The cameraman raised his camera again.

“Get up,” April whispered. She leaned into Mitch and tugged at his arm. “Please get up.”

To her horror, her voice was amplified through his mike. Panic clawed at her throat. What was he doing? Had he lost his mind?

“What? I’m going to ask you to marry me.” He looked bewildered. He pushed off one knee and stood, taking her hand in his.

She held her hand over his lapel mike. “What makes you think this kind of public proposal is what I would want?”

“Every girl likes a grand gesture.” He wasn’t getting how far off the mark he was.

“Not me. You should know that.” Mitch’s bewildered look felt like a stab in April’s heart. He looked up at her, searching her face for the reason for her freak-out.

“Look, I appreciate . . .” she began, seeking for words that would mollify him. She didn’t want him to look like a complete fool in front of the whole town.

The crowd was shifting, waiting for the next act. Mitch turned to his statue, pulling off the tarp with a hard yank.

“I want you to have this.”

He swirled the tarp off with the aplomb of a bullfighter. The piece was revealed. The cameraman moved in. Jocelyn stood, microphone at the ready.

April’s heart sank even further. The sculpture seemed to be glowing in the dark. It was not her design, not her entwined hearts. It was a giant ring, with a huge faceted stone. An enormous diamond.

The crowd burst into applause.

“Are you kidding me?” April burst out. Mitch looked startled. He reached up for her hand, but she snatched it away. “That was supposed to be the marketing piece for our new Stamping Sisters line. You ruined it.”

She caught Rocky’s eye. Rocky was clearly torn between her brother and business. But she’d gone for the grand gesture, too.

Mitch stood and said plaintively, “I just wanted you to move in with me.”

She seethed. She didn’t trust herself, so she clamped her mouth shut and remained silent.

“All right,” Mitch said, covering up the mike with his hand and standing up. He brushed off his knees. “I get it. You don’t want to move in with me.”

“Right now,” April said through gritted teeth, “I don’t even want to see you.” She could just picture the evening news. She could hear that helmet-headed witch now.
“April Buchert thwarted her boyfriend’s big proposal at the Aldenville Ice Festival today. Evidently, his six-foot-high diamond ring wasn’t big enough.”

April faced Mitch, her back to the ring. She didn’t even want to look at it.

Everyone had gone quiet.

She gathered every good feeling she had for this man and tried to channel them. It wasn’t working. She could feel nothing but anger. But she wasn’t going to fight with him in front of this crowd.

“Mitch, honey.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” he said.

“You succeeded. Can we talk about this later?”

Mitch studied her face. He drew in a deep breath, then exhaled mightily. He turned on his heel. “Sure,” he said. He made a cutting motion across his throat. The bright lights went abruptly off. April blinked trying to adjust to the darkness.

She took a step and felt her foot land on something round. A piece of ice, a rock. She felt her feet go out from under her, seeking more secure ground. But not finding it. She found nothing but uneven slipperiness.

Arms windmilling, she lost her footing and fell heavily into the ring. It crashed into the ground, breaking into a thousand pieces.

April fought to right herself. Mark stepped up and helped her. Mitch hadn’t moved, his face pale, his lips forming a perfect O. The noise reverberated, picked up by his mike. The crowd gasped as one.

April ran.

 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Deana said. She and April were in
Rocky’s booth. The Ice Festival was over. The Mitch and April show cancelled. She could just imagine the spectators getting a chuckle from the debacle. She’d be doing her shopping in Lynwood for the next month. Facing the checkers at the IGA would be too tough.

“Why didn’t you stop him?” April said, looking from Deana to Rocky. “You had to know it was a bad idea.”

Rocky put in, “My brother can be very persuasive.”

April knew that better than most. But it was going to be her powers of persuasion that were needed. She had to convince Mitch that just because she didn’t want to get engaged right now, just because she’d humiliated him in front of the entire town, didn’t mean she didn’t love him. She put her head down on the ledge and groaned.

Rocky pulled her giant card out from under April’s chin. “You know what this means, don’t you?” Rocky addressed her comments to April, but she was talking loudly so anyone could hear.

“No nookie tonight. The Campbells are away, but I know my brother. He’ll need to a day or two to sulk.”

An unwelcome voice joined in. “Best
laid
plans, eh?” Yost emphasized the middle word with a leer.

April glared at Rocky. She knew Rocky was just trying to lighten the mood, but really. “Does everyone know the Campbells are gone for the weekend?” She ignored Yost in the hopes that he’d go away. Instead, he leaned against Rocky’s booth as if he were one of the gang, getting the scoop on the latest gossip. April turned her head away.

Rocky shrugged. “Winter doldrums. We don’t have much else to talk about.”

April sighed, toying briefly with the idea of moving back to San Francisco. She wouldn’t, but now she needed her own place more than ever. One out of town. Away from the prying eyes. The fewer neighbors, the better.

Deana kissed her cheek. “I’ve got to go. Mark and I have a viewing tonight. Call me later.”

April waved limply as Deana and Mark walked away. Behind her, Rocky packed up stamps and supplies. Yost finally got the hint and took off when April wouldn’t talk to him.

Lights were going out as booths were dismantled.

“Can you give me a ride home?” April said.

Rocky said, “My truck is full.”

“I’ll take you home, April.” The offer came from an unexpected quarter behind her. April thought she recognized the voice but couldn’t be sure. She turned.

“You’re right on my way,” Mary Lou said.

That wasn’t exactly true. April and Mary Lou lived on opposite ends of Main Street. Not far, but still. The barn was ten minutes away from Mary Lou’s house.

Rocky looked at April for an answer. She smiled encouragingly as though a reconciliation was on the horizon, but she hadn’t been there when Tina showed up. April could see Mary Lou had something to say to her.