Winter Storm (13 page)

“Can I go online at your place?”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Mom?”

“Yes, Dina?”

“I really like him, you know. Dad doesn’t understand. He thinks I’m a little girl. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Me too,” Rebecca whispered, deeply sad and mortified about her glitch of reason. She should be more available to the girls. Instead she’d been getting drunk, because Callie’s ex didn’t like her, and complained about not having joined the circus. What had happened to her?

After they’d hung up, she went to the kitchen where Callie had busied herself making dinner. She didn’t ask for an explanation. Rebecca wasn’t sure she could have given one.

“Thank you,” she said anyway. “I don’t know what happened. It’s just that she—”

“No worries.” Callie turned from where she was standing at the stove, smiling wistfully. “Nicole has that effect, messing with people. How did it go with Dina?”

Rebecca shrugged helplessly. “Okay, I think. Looks like I’m going to be the favorite parent until David lets her go on the internet again.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. Dina loves both of you. She’s testing her boundaries. I’m sure you remember what that felt like.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.” In fact, it wasn’t so much a matter of age. Rebecca just didn’t have that much to rebel against at the age of fifteen.

“Not nearly enough,” Callie disagreed. “Not many people can handle a crisis while slightly inebriated.” She was testing the waters with the affectionate teasing. Rebecca couldn’t help but smile.

“Please, don’t remind me. There was something about the circus.”

“Yeah, you surprised me there.”

They both laughed, then Callie put the spoon aside and stepped closer to embrace her.

“No matter what Nicole says, I am happy with you. I promise you.”

Rebecca blushed, remembering some of the things she’d said at Max’s Pub. Callie smiled gently. Probably, she was remembering them too.

“Don’t worry. You make me very happy. In every sense of the word.”

“Thank you.” It was all the answer she needed. For now.

Chapter Six

After collecting Dina, they went straight to the mall just outside of Autumn Leaves, because Rebecca had wanted to buy shoes for Maggie and run a few errands for the weekend, possibly have lunch there too. Callie was all for the idea to get out for a bit and both the girls seemed to enjoy the trip.

A pair of shoes turned into a full outfit, a new coat for Dina, and the few errands had all of a sudden become two full grocery bags. Callie offered to bring them to the car while Rebecca got in line for their lunch. She sent Callie an apologetic smile as Dina had disappeared into the cosmetics section of a pharmacy while Maggie was holding on to her new boots.

“It’s okay,” Callie assured her. “I’ll be fine.” She made it out of the busy mall, but reaching for her car keys turned into a juggle that had her curse.

“You need help with that?”

Callie set the bags down on the hood of the car, getting her keys out of her jacket. She bit back the answer that was on the tip of her tongue, not wanting to talk to her at all. In the past, that had seemed to encourage Nicole too much. Why was she even here?

She wondered if the man who was just getting out of his car in the spot behind her would call the police if she asked him to.

“You’re not even talking to me anymore?”

Callie finally spun around. “Just stop it, Nicole. Stop following me around and bothering me and Rebecca.”

“What will it take for you to stop hating me?”

“I don’t hate you, Nicole. I just don’t care for you that much anymore.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Callie, I do.”

She leaned forward, took Callie’s face in both hands and kissed her. For a moment too long, Callie was too much caught off guard to react in any way, then she pushed Nicole away.

“Are you crazy? No, don’t answer that question. I can do it just—”

“Mom said you might need help with the bags.”

Callie spun around to see Dina who had somehow materialized out of nowhere. She gave both Callie and Nicole a reproachful look.

Nicole smiled. “That’s fine, honey, not really, but I’ll leave you two to it now. Bye.”

Callie turned to Dina, bracing herself.

“I don’t know what you saw, but this is really not what you think it is.”

“Are you sleeping with her?” Dina asked.

“Of course not! She is—”

“Fuck! This is not happening!” Behind her anger, Dina was on the verge of tears. Callie couldn’t blame her for either of those emotions when they were so close to her own.

“Does Mom know? God, I am so stupid. Here I thought you were the only adult who wasn’t lying to me, but you’re just the same!” Dina shook her head, pacing the length of the car while Callie frantically tried to come up with something, anything that would prove her innocence.

“Nicole was my girlfriend once. Rebecca knows that I would never—”

“You cannot do this to Mom! She gave up everything for you. If she finds out that you’re cheating on her, she’ll never get over it!”

Dina’s use of absolute terms wasn’t lost on Callie. They weren’t just exaggeration fueled by teenage angst.

“Stop it, Dina. I’m not cheating on Rebecca. I promise you. I love her. Nicole has been following me around since New York. I want to stop it. I don’t know how. Please, you have to believe me!”

Dina studied her intently, obviously realizing that Callie was just as shocked as she was.

“Is she a stalker? Like Matt?”

“Not like him,” Callie said, the flash of a memory making her light-headed. “She’s just pissed at me because I’m with someone else. I love your mom, Dina.”

“You better. I mean, living with Dad is okay most of the time, but I don’t think Maggie could stand it if she had to move again, and Mom—she’s just so into you. She can’t go through this!”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Rebecca seemed to have no idea how protective her daughter was of her. It touched Callie deeply. She wasn’t sure she could walk back into the mall now and act as if this conversation hadn’t happened.

“They probably miss us already.”

“Probably.” Dina gave her a rueful smile. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. It’s just that—”

“Yeah, I know. She freaked me out too.”

Dina kept quiet about the latest Nicole incident. She got some supervised internet time to write an email to Tomaso in order to let him know she was okay. In exchange, she agreed to come to church on Sunday.

They spent a rather quiet afternoon, watching
Avatar
with the girls, having ice cream and popcorn. Dina promised not to send Tomaso any pictures in which she wasn’t completely clothed.

“It’s progress,” Rebecca said as they later sat together on the couch, letting the evening wind down. “Although I suspect that she mostly wants her access to communication devices back to normal.”

“She’s a smart girl. She’ll know how far she can go,” Callie offered, hoping she wasn’t making premature promises.

Sunday morning, Dina helped Callie with breakfast. Both Rebecca and Maggie were still fast asleep last time she’d checked. Callie wasn’t sure if she’d done the right thing by simply letting the subject of Nicole’s reappearance slide, but here they were now. There was only so much you could do with talking, and maybe this time she’d really give up.

“If I ask you a simple question, can I ask you not to freak out and not to tell Mom?”

“That is not a simple question, it’s a loaded one,” Callie said, wary and amused at the same time. “I promise not to freak out. As for not telling your mom, I’d like to hold judgment until I’ve heard it.”

Dina made a face, but she seemed to consider the offer.

“I’d hoped we could trade. I didn’t tell on you either.”

“True,” Callie admitted. “So what is it?”

“Well, it’s about sex, and talking to Mom is a little awkward.”

“Oh boy. Although I’m kind of flattered that you think talking to me would be better. I’ll see if I can answer your question.”

“It’s not a question.” Dina sighed. “When I sent Tomaso that picture I kind of meant it. I just didn’t tell anyone because everybody’s freaking.”

“I figured as much. Have you talked about…” Callie could feel her face heat. That was how much she was equipped for this conversation, and one of, in her opinion, many good reasons why she never wanted children. “I mean, would it be time to make an appointment with a gynecologist? She could also give you advice on a lot of subjects, and I can promise she’d be cool about it, more than your mom or I could be.”

“I might. I don’t understand the whole internet lockdown. It’s ridiculous. First of all, I never sent the picture to anyone else. He didn’t share it, of course. It’s not like we haven’t seen a lot more of each other anyway.”

Callie barely caught the glass before it would have slid from her hands and shattered on the floor.

“Relax. We haven’t gone all the way yet.”

It was the girl’s use of the word “yet” that made the relaxing difficult.

“You plan to though?”

“When was your first time with a girl?”

“At seventeen. Before you ask, no, there weren’t any experiments before that.”

Dina regarded her with what seemed fascination now.

“Wow, really? That seems…late.”

Thanks for the diplomatic choice of a word.
“It’s hard to tell somebody when it’s the right time. You shouldn’t be rushed.”

Dina nodded. “I don’t plan to. If I want that appointment, though…”

“Let me tell Rebecca, please? I’m sure she’ll be fine with it, because you get to ask a professional those questions.”

“Yeah, I can imagine she’d really freak out if I asked her.”

“She just wants you to be safe.”

Dina hesitated a moment before asking, “Why don’t you call the police?” Then she added, “Don’t look so surprised. It’s just that you’re kind of cool, Mom loves you, and it seems like your ex is a real bitch. We just want you to be okay, too, you know?”

Dina never ceased to amaze her. “Thank you. I’ll have to talk to the sheriff, I guess.” She wasn’t ready though to confide how much the idea of going to the police station still terrified her.

* * * *

The weekend had passed surprisingly quiet except for Dina’s request to have an appointment with a gynecologist. Well, that had been quietly discussed too. If she was honest, Rebecca was relieved that she wouldn’t have to go too deeply into certain subjects with Dina. She was grateful for the Sunday morning church visit, usually a time and place to sort out her thoughts.

After the service, Father Langdon, who had held his last service today, asked her for a few minutes time. Rebecca joined him in his office. It wasn’t like he owed her an explanation, but she appreciated his concern. She assumed that her contract, with many others, would have to be renegotiated.

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you specifics,” Father Langdon said, his regret showing. “I really hope the new minister will prolong your contract, but I’m afraid you’ll have to talk it over with him. I’ll recommend you, of course.”

“Thank you.”

They had gone to church together even though Rebecca knew she might be the only one to whom the regularity of attending service really meant something. It was a sort of comfort that she couldn’t get anywhere else. She could pray even with the looks and whispers. A great deal of the people in her town was on her side.

Callie practiced polite detachment at best, Maggie liked the singing, and Dina was just happy to get out of the house after her days of house arrest.

Father Langdon had announced his retirement earlier, but now that he actually said good-bye to his congregation, it seemed sudden. Rebecca always seen an ally in him. He hadn’t thrown her out of church when the rumors about her had spread through town like a wildfire, and not even when most of them turned out to be true. She was regularly overhauling the community’s website and could only hope the new minister wouldn’t want to introduce too many changes. After the restaurant, the church contract was the only one at the moment, one she really couldn’t afford to lose. More than that, she was going to miss him as a friend.

“Why now, if I may ask?”

He smiled. “It’s not that sudden. I’ve tried to keep myself up-to-date with all the changes, but I think it’s time to let someone younger take over.”

Rebecca secretly wondered if it was such a good idea to let someone from out of town take over, but she didn’t say that out loud.

“I never really thanked you for…You know, for not cutting me off that day.”

“You had something important to say,” he acknowledged. “People base too much prejudice on misinformation, and it’s exactly what the Bible warns us about. Snap judgment. Of course, none of us goes through life without ever hurting anybody, much as we wish. It’s when we do it knowingly and intentionally that there’s a problem.”

“I suppose.” Rebecca knew he meant well, but there was something about this equation that made her uncomfortable nonetheless. There had been a moment on the edge of a fantasy when nothing mattered but making it come true, and she had. No matter how hard she’d been working to sort her life out in the aftermath.