Three of Hearts (3 page)

“That sounds fantastic. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Is there anything I can do for you, or help you with, Mae?”

“No I’m good but thank you for the offer. If you’d like to come in and have a cup of tea, I’d be happy to take a break,” Mae said with a smile.

Lynne responded in kind. “As delicious as that sounds, I will have to take a rain check on that cup of tea. I have some laundry about to need folding along with a few beds that need new linens. Please call over the house if you need anything. There is an intercom in your dining area.” With one last smile Lynne, closed the door, and Mae heard the click of a deadbolt.

Mae climbed the stairs and opened the box marked
Shoes
, deciding here was a good of a place to start as any. She opened the door to the walk in closet and suddenly let out a scream as if being mauled by a grizzle bear. She dropped the box of shoes and landed on her bottom. On the inside of the door was a ghoulish mask with dark hollow sockets where eyes should be and a grotesque mouth. The body was concealed by a black hooded cloak. She regained her composure and, regardless of the fact that the unknown being was only tall enough to barely reach the light switch, Mae decided that she should probably still air on the side of caution.

“Hi, I’m Mae; I don’t think I’ve been introduced to the closet ghoul.” With that the grotesque ghoul let out a giggle that was entirely female and quite contagious. Mae laughed along with the now hysterical ghoul and noticed a hint of bright red hair coming out of the hood. Still waiting for the little girl to make the move to remove the mask, Mae heard the living room door open and Lynne O’Shanahan climbing the stairs. “Megan Hope Finn, you apologize right this very minute to Mae for scaring her. You are supposed to be watching Tinkerbell in your room.” Lynne turned to Mae and in a heavy Irish accent. “Sweet Mae, I am so sorry she gave you a start. This is Seth’s youngest child, Megan. She is what we all call the “Spitfire.” If she isn’t causing trouble or jumping out at people you aren’t watching her close enough.” Even though there was bite in Lynne’s tone, Mae could tell there was also a lot of Love. Megan removed the cloak hood and mask and turned to Mae with a look that said “it was funny, what’s the problem”.

The little girl was a redheaded angel. She had long bright red hair that hung in Shirley Temple spirals down to her bottom. Her skin was just as fair as her brothers and her eyes were that unique green that reminded Mae of an expensive jewel. Innumerable freckles covered her nose and cheeks, and she wore small gold Claddagh hoops in each ear. Her lips were pink like a rose. She still had a smile on her face and lingering giggles from the fright of Mae. Just as Lynne was grabbing for Megan’s hand, Mae got to hear her voice “you’re funny. You fell down. I’ve never made anyone fall over before.” Now Mae smiled too. “Well I’m glad I could make this a memorable moment for you.” Megan took Lynne’s hand and walked towards the stairs; she looked over her shoulder and waved to Mae. Mae waved back still with a smile on her face. While walking down the stairs Lynne said “Mae I am so sorry she frightened you. I’ll make sure she stays out of your way.” And with that the living room door closed.

Five hours later Mae was just about to open a bottle of Pinot she found in the fridge when there was a knock at the living room door. Mae put the bottle back in the fridge and opened the door. Expecting to see Lynne, Mae was surprised to see Seth Finn standing there. He was holding a covered bowl from which wafted the most amazing aroma Mae had ever had the pleasure to smell. Staring at the bowl, afraid she would drool, she looked up and said “Please Mr. Finn, come in.” Mae stepped back so Seth could walk in. She noticed now that he was so close how tall he really was. Mae never considered herself tall but standing next to Seth Finn her height of 5'5” was anything but tall. He must be at least 6'4” she thought. His head was shaved bald and he had a goatee the color of a shiny penny. Much darker than Robyn’s but not as flame-colored as his daughter. As he walked by she noticed his aftershave and was drawn by the pleasantness of its scent. He was a large man but solid. His broad shoulders were dressed in a black tee shirt and his thighs were denim-clad. He walked in and looked around as if he never saw the place before.

“Please call me Seth. Are you settling in well enough?” His voice was deep and smooth, Mae realized immediately she liked the sound.

“Actually I’m all unpacked. It is such a gorgeous place. I appreciate your letting me rent it. I’m sure I’m not paying anywhere close to what you wanted for rent. And please call me Mae.”

Seth became aware that he was still holding the covered bowl of pot roast and immediately handed it to Mae. “I was given the special job of delivering the bowl before my sons could swipe it from Lynne,” he said with a sly half-smile.

“I realized that I didn’t really get a chance to talk to you about moving in, and I wasn’t sure what Robyn may have mentioned. Please feel free to use the yard at your leisure. There is a grill on the main deck that you can use as well. I’ll have available one of the garage bays for you to use if you choose.” Seth continued to look around, anywhere that wasn’t at Mae Turney. He noticed her hair was up in a high ponytail again and wondered if it was as soft as it looked.

“I’d appreciate the use of a garage. My car doesn’t really care for rain or birds.” Mae smiled. “But I insist on paying extra for the use.”

Enjoying how her cheeks dimpled when she smiled and how her eyes just lit up as she spoke, Seth studied her and decided that Mae Turney was not going to take no for an answer. So he simply responded with “I’m sure we can come up with a reasonable amount.”

Aware that he was staring at her, Seth turned and walked to the gas fireplace and asked “do you know how to turn this on and off?” Of course as soon as the words were out of his mouth he realized he sounded like he didn’t think she could figure out a simple on and off switch. Mae surprised him when she said, “Actually the fireplace isn’t what I’m concerned about, I’m afraid the shower has more knobs and settings than I even thought possible.”

Immediately, sensuous thoughts of Mae wet and naked in the shower opened a whole chest of vivid fantasies of what he could do with her there. Putting a halt to the flood of images in his head, he thought
where
did
that
come
from?
He didn’t even know Mae Turney. I mean, he was male and could admit he know she was an attractive woman any one with eyes could come to that same conclusion.

He realized he should get out of here fast. So he simply said, “I’ll send Lynne over to give you a lesson on how to work the shower. And on that note Mae, I will leave you to your pot roast.” Seth walked to the living room door, before he could close it on his side Mae said “Thank you again Seth for everything and please thank the boys, Megan and Lynne for making me feel welcome. Goodnight Seth.” Without saying a word Seth closed the door.

The next morning Mae awoke feeling refreshed and rested. She honestly couldn’t remember sleeping as well as she did last night. The bed was so comfortable and the sheets were so soft. With the windows open, she was lulled to sleep by the lapping of the water against the shore.

Mae decided she would take a soak in the tub that had been calling her name since last night. She filled the tub with hot water and added her favorite bath oil. She thought she would enjoy her soak, get up wash the bowl from Lynne and return it, then check out the surrounding area. She didn’t need to be at the hospital until 3 o’clock in the afternoon, plenty of time to get a lay of the land.

She finished in the bath and went to the walk in closet, and as she opened the door she smiled thinking of her meeting with Megan Finn. She could begin to understand why both Robyn and Lynne called her a spitfire. Mae dressed quickly in her favorite jeans and a soft t shirt the color of raspberries. She went downstairs and quickly washed the bowl, dried it and put her flip flops on. She walked through the screened porch to the connecting deck and knocked on the sliding door.

Aidan, wearing Angry Bird pajamas, came and answered the door. She liked how his blonde hair stood up on one side. “Hey Mae, come on in.” Mae followed him in and was in awe once again at Seth Finn’s home. She felt like she walked into a magazine layout of the rich and famous. To her left was a gourmet kitchen that would make Gordon Ramsey jealous. There were more solid cherry cabinets and drawers than she thought were possible to fill, but they were there nevertheless. There was an industrial size stainless steel side by side refrigerator and freezer that she was sure could hide a whole cow. The counters were black granite and had such a shine she immediately thought of her Camaro. About 20 feet in front of her there was a huge fieldstone fireplace that was open on all four sides. No matter which room you were in you had a perfect view of the gas fireplace. Above the fireplace on the side facing her was a TV, well she would call it a small movie theater screen. It had to be at least six feet wide. Aidan had gone back and plopped on a black leather sectional sofa that dominated most of the room. Next to Aidan on the floor was a tuff of red hair which she assumed to be Megan. Before she could look around anymore, Lynne came in from the right. “Good Morning Mae, how was your first night in the apartment?” Mae never thought she would get tired of Lynne’s Irish accent.

“It was lovely and restful Lynne, thank you. I came over to return your bowl and tell you how delicious your pot roast was. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

“Do you have time for a cup of tea or coffee? I could whip you up something for breakfast.”

“I would love a cup of tea. English Breakfast if you have it. But no thank you on breakfast I wouldn’t want you to go to any trouble.”

“No trouble at all Sweet Mae, but if you insist. However I do have some freshly baked blueberry muffins in the cupboard if you’d like one to go along with your tea.”

Mae smiled. “That sounds wonderful Lynne. What can I do to help?”

“Nothing at all just take a seat here at the breakfast bar and chat with me while I fix the tea.” Lynne replied.

As Mae sat and watched Lynne move around the kitchen she continued to look around the house. She noticed there were a lot of pictures around the house; the children at different stages of life, and some professional current photographs. She noticed there were very little clutter or knick knacks. But Seth Finn didn’t strike her as a knick knack kind of man.

“So Mae, I hope you don’t mind, but Robyn told me a little bit about you before you moved in. You moved here from Boston and you are an oncology nurse at Hamden General.” Lynne said as she handed Mae her tea cup and saucer.

Mae took the cup and began to sway the tea bag back and forth three or four times before taking it out and placing it on the saucer. “Yes. I grew up around the country on different Air Force bases but settled into Massachusetts while I was in high school. I went to Boston College and studied nursing, then on to Dana Farber there and started my specialty of oncology.”

“Oncology that takes a special kind of person” Lynne said sipping her own tea now. She grabbed a muffin from the basket that was on the bar in front of her now that she was sitting beside Mae.

Mae smiled. “Well thank you, but I really enjoy it. Cancer is such a horrible disease and to know that I can help soothe and comfort anyone, makes me feel like I accomplish something daily.”

Just as Mae picked up her tea again, some yelling from the front of the house broke the morning’s tranquility. Both she and Lynne turned toward the direction of the shouting as Lynne muttered “here we go again.”

“No you are not taking the boat out alone! First of all you don’t have a license to drive and second if anything was to happen, I would be responsible.” Seth bellowed from the other room.

“But Dad, it’s only to the South Cove and it will just be me and Michael,” Conner insisted loudly.

“I wanna go!” Aidan leaped up from the couch and ran toward his father and brother.

“Dream on shrimp” and “he isn’t going” were said to Aidan by two deep voices simultaneously.

Coming further into the great room, Mae could see Conner and Seth walking side by side. She could certainly see that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Even though Conner had blonde hair and Seth was bald that was where the differences stopped. At this age, Conner was already nearing six feet tall, and she saw that all three children got their eye color from their father. Conner’s body was beginning to become broader and bulkier. With Conner in swim trunks and tank top and Seth in khakis and a light blue dress shirt open at the collar, there was no denying they were father and son.

Conner noticed Mae first and made a beeline straight for her. After all, any 14 year old boy needed to hone his pick up skills on any hot babe he saw. “Hey Mae, how about letting me drive your sweet ride?” Upon hearing the name and his question Seth immediately looked up and saw Mae sitting in his kitchen with a tea cup in her hand. What the hell? Was this going to be an everyday thing? It is bad enough he couldn’t sleep worth a damn last night without thinking she was just on the other side of his wall. Annoyed, Seth said “What’s going on here? Having a tea party?” He realized he sounded rather rude, but he still couldn’t help it. Both Mae and Lynne looked directly at him.

“Way to be a ladies’ man, Dad” Conner said and decided that he should get out of the line of fire. Conner joined Aidan and Megan on the couch. Of course both his siblings were looking toward the kitchen as well, Conner decided he should too.

Lynne piped up “I just asked Mae to join me for a quick cup of tea. I thought we could get to know each other a little better.” Being from Ireland and married to an Irish fisherman for 42 years, she was used to not backing down when someone barked like that. She also had known Seth Finn since he was five years old and he only snapped rudely like this when he was caught off guard.

“I was, uh, just leaving. Thank you, Lynne, for the cup of tea and the chat. And thank you again for the pot roast, it was very kind of you and delicious.” Mae brought the cup and saucer to the sink and placed them down gently. She turned and headed for the door and tried not to let anyone see how red she was.