When Love Finds a Home (27 page)

The morning flew by and before
she knew it, Verna was sending her off for lunch. There was a phone in the
office that Verna said she could use for local personal calls. Rona used it to
call Domingo at the Taco Haven. She was disappointed to learn there was still
no news of Malcolm. She gave Domingo the store's phone number and asked him to
call if he heard anything. Verna was sorting a new shipment of sheet music when
she went back to get her lunch.

"Do you still use the
courtyard?" she asked.

"No. That was Sam's baby.
He would tell me who to invite and I'd make the calls."

"It must have been a real
blow to the musicians when he died. There aren't many places for new artists to
get noticed."

Verna stopped sorting and
looked up. "You know, that never occurred to me. I was so devastated when
Sam died, I didn't think about how anyone else would feel."

"When did he die?"

"It will be three years
in May. He was sitting on the back porch and—" Her voice caught. "Our
son, Junior, came over to drop off some tool he had borrowed and found him.
He'd had a massive heart attack. The doctor said there wasn't anything anyone
could have done, but sometimes I feel guilty. If I hadn't chosen that day to
have my hair done, maybe I could have done something. There were so many things
I never got to tell him." She looked up at Rona. "Do you have someone
special in your life?"

Rona nodded. "As a matter
of fact I do."

"Well, don't waste time.
Make every minute count, because they go by so quickly. Tell him how much you
love him every day."

"She," Rona said as
a streak of guilt shot through her. She should have told Anna she loved her
while they were at the cabin. She had tried to a couple of times, but the words
just would not come out.

Verna's hand flew to her
chest. "I'm sorry. Sam was always getting after me about making
assumptions about things."

"I suppose some people
would think you made a normal assumption," Rona replied lightly.

Verna made a short hissing
sound. "Normal. What is normal anyway?" She went back to her sorting.
"What's her name?"

"Anna."

Verna nodded. "That's a
pretty name." She noticed the bag Rona was holding. "You can eat your
lunch over there at that table, if you'd like."

"Thanks, but if you don't
mind, I'd like to see the courtyard."

Verna looked up and smiled.
"Would you really? Let me get the key and I'll show you."

A few minutes later, Rona
stepped out into a large rectangular-shaped area created from the backs of
buildings. Murals of Texas musicians covered the walls. She began calling off
the names of the people she recognized. "There's Buddy Holly, Bob Wills,
Selena,
George Jones, Willie Nelson,
Stevie Ray Vaughan and his brother Jimmie, Roy Orbison, ZZ Top, Janis Joplin,
Freddy Fender, Woody Guthrie, T-Bone Walker, Tish Hinojosa, Lyle Lovett, George
Strait, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks." She stopped and shook her
head as the paintings continued on around the rectangle. There were many she
didn't know, but a couple in particular caught her attention. "I don't
recognize those two men," Rona said as she pointed them out.

"The one on the left is
jazz trumpeter Nat Adderley. The other is slide guitarist Blind Willie
Johnson."

Rona recalled Mary talking
about him. "Is he the guy who used his pocket knife as a slide?"

Verna looked at her and nodded
with approval. "Yes. He's probably the greatest slide guitarist
ever."

Rona noticed for the first
time that the music store wasn't a single-floor building. "What's up
there?"

Verna squinted at the upper
floor. "Jerry rents the upper floor from me. He lives up there."

"You mean Jerry, the guy
who's training me?"

"Yes, that's the one.
You'd think he'd be able to get to work on time." Verna waved away her
remark. "I don't complain because he's around to keep an eye on the store
at night and he's always around to help customers when they have an
emergency."

Rona continued her study of
the courtyard. Weeds had clawed their way through cracks in the cobblestone,
and the wooden benches scattered around were in dire need of paint. Only on
closer examination did she notice the small alley that ran along the far side.
She walked over and took a look. A narrow wooden fence blocked one end and a
wrought iron gate blocked the other side. As she stood gazing up at the murals,
she could only imagine the great music these walls had absorbed. With its laid-back
atmosphere and wonderful acoustics, the courtyard would be the perfect spot for
an impromptu jam session. Time stopped as they both became lost—Verna in her
memories and Rona in her fantasies of sitting down and playing with some of
these dynamite musicians.

After lunch, Rona spent the
remainder of her shift learning the ins and outs of the sales counter. By the
time she left that afternoon, she felt confident in being able to handle any
regular sales transaction.

According to the bus schedule
she had picked up, her bus was scheduled to arrive fifteen minutes after her
quitting time. If she missed it, she would have to wait an hour for the next
one. The ride home wasn't as pleasant as her morning commute. There were
several rowdy teenagers on the bus. It was a relief when they got off at the
mall. She watched the stops carefully. She didn't want to miss hers. It would
take her a few days to get used to the route. After the first stop, she would
have a twelve-minute wait for her transfer, and then a thirty-five-minute ride
to the bus stop near Anna's house. Since it was Monday, she would go straight
to Gina and Julian's for the twins' piano lessons. She was tired, but she was
too happy to complain.

Rona could hear the television
when she stepped into Anna's living room. Tammy came out of the den. "You
look beat," Tammy said.

Rona shook her head and
smiled. "The last hour—" She stopped. "Where's Anna?" She
followed Tammy into the kitchen.

"She had a late meeting
with a client but thought she would be home soon," Tammy said as she
pulled a plate from the oven. "I made breaded chops with broccoli."

Rona took the plate. She was
starved.

"How are the piano
lessons going?"

"They learn the drills I
give them, but it's impossible to keep them separated during their individual
lessons," Rona said between bites. "When they're together, they want
to play the drills together. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this."

"My girls don't like to
be separated either, but I think they'll grow out of it as they get
older."

Rona nibbled on the broccoli.
"How are things going at the restaurant?"

"Good. I'm adjusting to
the pace and the girls don't seem to
mind
having to stay in the playroom." She sat down at the end of the table.
"Did you know Anna's birthday is coming up?"

"No. When?"

"Her actual birthday is
March fourteenth, but Mrs. Pagonis wants to throw her a surprise party the
Saturday before."

"That's only three weeks
away," Rona said as she put her fork down.

"Well, make sure you
don't say anything to Anna about it. They want to surprise her."

Rona nodded, already trying to
think of something special she could give Anna. It couldn't be any old gift. It
had to be something special.

Tammy returned to the den,
leaving Rona to eat and think. It wasn't until she was rinsing her plate and
putting it in the dishwasher that she knew what she was going to give Anna. It
would be the perfect gift. She dried her hands before going to Anna's bedroom
and taking the pendant watch and business card from the jewelry box. She would
drop it off tomorrow after work to have it repaired. That would be her gift to
Anna.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Business was so heavy the
following day that Rona ended up working late. She wasn't able to drop the
watch off until Wednesday. The trip to the watch repair shop proved much harder
than she had anticipated. After changing buses twice, she realized they were
making a long meandering loop around the area she needed to be. She ended up
having to walk several blocks to reach the shop. In trying to get home, she got
on the wrong bus and had to wait forty-five minutes for the bus that would get her
to the correct stop. Each time something went wrong, she would remind herself
how happy Anna would be when she discovered the watch was working again. Rona
was exhausted by the time she finally got home.

Anna and the twins met her at
the door. "I was starting to get worried," she said as she lightly
touched Rona's arm.

"I needed to run an
errand and I ended up on the wrong bus," Rona admitted.

"Maybe we should start
looking for a car for you."

Rona shook her head. "I
can't afford a car. It won't take me long to learn the different routes."
She could tell Anna wanted to say more, but she let it go and nodded.

"Mama saved you some
food," Katie announced. "We had Chinese."

"It was a long day for
all of us," Anna explained. "I stopped and picked up takeout."

Rona sat at the table while
Anna told her about a new client. She tried to listen, but her feet and back
ached from all the walking. As soon as she finished eating, they all went to
the den to watch television. The next thing Rona remembered was Anna shaking
her and telling her it was time for bed.

The following morning, Rona
sat on the end of the bed and watched Anna get dressed. "Tee and Yolie
want to get together with us for dinner soon," Anna said as she walked to
her dresser. Rona held her breath as Anna picked up her wristwatch and put it
on. If she opened her jewelry box, she was sure to notice the pendant watch was
missing.

She was so busy watching she
failed to answer.

"If you're not
comfortable meeting them yet, I can beg off."

"No. That's fine."

"Are you sure?" She
came to stand by the bed. "What's wrong? You seem jittery."

"I'm just a little
nervous about work, I guess. I'd love to meet your friends." She stood and
kissed Anna on the forehead. "I fell asleep so fast last night, I didn't
have a chance to ask you how your day went," she said, trying to change
the subject.

"I received a couple of
promising leads for new clients. I have a meeting with one of them today."
Anna headed into the bathroom.

"That's great."

"Oh, by the way,"
Anna called. "I spoke to Julian yesterday. He and Gina are thrilled with
the twins' progress."

"I'm starting to feel bad
about charging them for two lessons, when both of the kids end up attending
each other's session. I should probably just combine them and only charge them
for one lesson."

"You shouldn't feel bad.
You're still giving them a full hour."

"I guess."

Anna came out of the bathroom
ready to go. She opened her arms to Rona. "I don't want to go to work. I'd
rather be home with you."

"I'll be leaving in a
little while," Rona reminded her. "Do you have any appointments for
tonight?"

"No. I don't have
anything scheduled, as of now."

"Then why don't we both
plan on getting home at a decent hour and getting to bed early." She ran
her hand down Anna's side and back up her thigh.

Anna stepped away. "Don't
tease me like that when you know I have to leave."

"I didn't do
anything," Rona said innocently.

"Yeah, right."
Grinning, Anna held out her hand. "Walk me to my car?"

Rona stood in the kitchen
doorway and waved as Anna backed her car out of the garage. Afterward, she made
her way upstairs. Although she and Anna spent their nights together, she still
went to her room each morning after Anna left for work, to shower and get
dressed for the day. She met Tammy coming out of her room.

"I was hoping to see
you," Rona said. She quickly told Tammy about taking the watch in for
repair. "The guy at the shop is supposed to call if the watch needs
anything other than cleaning and an adjustment. If he calls while you're here,
can you take a message and tell him I'll call him back the next day."

"Sure." She draped
her arm over Rona's shoulders. "It was sweet of you to do that for
her."

"I didn't know what else
to give her for her birthday. Do you think it's enough?"

"Yes, but make sure you
get her a card."

"I know that," Rona
said as she made a mental note to buy a card during one of her lunch breaks.

On the way to work, Rona
thought about the watch and the best way to present the gift to Anna. It seemed
too personal to give it to her in front of her family. By the time she arrived
at the music store, she had worked out a plan. The watch was supposed to be
ready in a week, and Anna's birthday party would be the Saturday after that.
She decided she would pick up the watch and then make a date with Anna for
dinner. They could go somewhere nice and romantic. She would give her the watch
then.