Chapter Sixteen

Later Monday afternoon, Kate, Rachel, and the kids made cookies, which Ethan and Hannah had great fun decorating with icing and colored sugars. Paul took Andrew for a drive around the area to tour some of the historical sites and the beautiful geographic features that this mountainous part of Tennessee boasted.

By four o’clock, all the cookies were gaily decorated. The men had come back and were outside playing tag with the children while Kate and Rachel washed and dried all the kitchenware they had used in their baking efforts.

When they finished, Kate tugged on the last of her paper towels to wipe down the counter, table, and chairs. Then she grabbed a tube of hand lotion she kept near the sink and shared some with Rachel.

“Doing dishes always dries out my skin,” she said.

“I mind it most in the winter.” Rachel accepted the tube with thanks. She squeezed it several times, each squirt only producing small drops of lotion onto Rachel’s hand. “Looks like we’re cleaning you out of house and home, Mom. First the paper towels, then the lotion...”

“Oh, that’s all right,” Kate said. “I’d have you loot the entire house if it meant more time with you.”

Rachel smiled wide and hugged her mother-in-law. “I love spending time with you too,” she said. Then she reached back to put her hair in a ponytail, but before she was finished, her hair band snapped.

“It’s not my day,” Rachel said, laughing.

“It might be,” Kate joked. “Maybe I’ll run to the store—”

Just then, Andrew came in. “Water,” he said, gasping for air. “I’m too old to play tag.”

Kate laughed. “If you’re worn out, I wonder how your dad feels.”

“Oh, he’s going strong,” Andrew said. “That 10K training must be doing something for him, even if he doesn’t feel like he’s ready to run six miles.”

Rachel and Kate laughed.

Rachel said, “I’ll go out and replace you for a while.”

“Thank you, my gorgeous, kindhearted wife,” Andrew said. He picked up Rachel’s hand and kissed it as she moved past him.

Rachel giggled. “Silly man. I expect diamonds for this, not just compliments.”

Andrew snorted as Rachel went through the door. “Diamonds. Right.”

“She’d probably settle for a new hair band,” Kate told him. “I’m going to the Mercantile in a bit to get that and a few other things. Would you like to come along?”

“Sure.” He fell silent.

When Kate glanced up, she saw that he had picked up the Philadelphia paper she had brought home from Old Man Parsons’.

“Rereading the news?” she asked with a smile.

Andrew looked up and grinned. “Yeah. Actually, I know one of the partners in the insurance firm that got scammed by this guy. It was a real shame.”

“Insurance fraud?” Kate had insurance on the brain because of Emmaline’s lack of it. “What did the guy do?”

“In this case, he overcharged the insurance company,” Andrew explained.

“How did he do it?” Kate asked.

“He was engaged to a girl who worked in billing at the insurance company. He pretended to get sick and came into the ER. He was examined and released. Then his girlfriend changed the amounts due on the invoices, so the insurance company overpaid the hospital significantly for the guy’s ER visit. So the hospital turned around and sent the extra to the guy, because—get this—he called the hospital billing office and told them he had paid the claim and needed to be reimbursed. I bet some heads rolled on that billing staff!”

OUTSIDE THE MERCANTILE, Andrew sauntered along at Kate’s side. Tall like his father, he took far fewer steps than Kate did to get to the same destination. As they walked into the store, Kate waved at Sam Gorman, who looked busy stocking the candy bins.

Kate grabbed a basket and gave it to Andrew to carry. In short order, she filled it with paper towels, milk, more eggs, some brown sugar for a new batch of cookies she planned, and string cheese for the grandchildren. Then she went to the health-and-beauty-products section to get hand cream and hair bands.

“Whoa, Mom,” Andrew complained, smiling. “Didn’t realize I was a pack mule.”

Kate grinned. She was about to reply when a familiar figure passed the end of the aisle in front of them from left to right, then vanished.

Kate felt her hackles rise. That was Emmaline, she was certain. Thinking of Emmaline’s supposed illness and her ill temper, and the kindnesses Kate had showered on her, had Kate fighting to conquer her anger. Funny, but she would have found a slight or hurt directed at her easier to forgive than one directed at Paul. She sent up a fervent prayer, asking God for the grace to work on forgiving Emmaline and the mercy to treat her kindly.

“Mom? You okay?” Andrew’s voice held concern. “You look like you could chew nails.”

“Sorry,” she said, “just thinking of something unpleasant.”

She forced herself to continue shopping at her normal pace. Sooner or later, she knew, they would run into Emmaline.

It was sooner.

In the very next aisle, Kate heard her name called with delight.

“Kate! Hello, hello, how are you?”

Be as kind as you can. She took a deep breath and smiled. “It’s been wonderful having my son and his family with us.” She laid a hand on Andrew’s arm. “Emmaline, this is my son, Andrew. Andrew, Emmaline Ashford.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Andrew said, extending his hand and shaking Emmaline’s.

“It’s nice to meet you also,” Emmaline responded conventionally. “How much longer will you be staying? I know Kate told me, but I’ve forgotten.”

“We leave on Wednesday,” Andrew said. “The kids have to be back in school on Thursday.”

“You two have something in common,” said Kate. She was having trouble looking Emmaline in the eye, but she forced herself to smile. Let go of the anger, she reminded herself. You only hurt yourself when you nurse a grudge.

“What’s that?” Emmaline asked.

“You’re both from Philadelphia.”

The effect this had on Emmaline was fascinating. She turned white, then red. “How interesting,” she said faintly.

“I thought so. Andrew, Emmaline just moved here a few months ago. She still has a sister living in Philly.”

“Oh, really? Where did you live?”

“Chestnut Hill.” Emmaline’s voice sounded strained to Kate.

“Really? That’s where we live! Where—”

“The house I live in now belonged to my grandmother,” Emmaline broke in with the usual absence of social grace. “She passed away early this year, and we decided to keep the house for a while. I moved down here, and I can’t tell you how delightful this little town is, although I would love to go home,” she said, her voice tapering to a near whisper. Then she perked up again. “Your mother has been so kind.”

Andrew put an arm around Kate’s shoulders and squeezed gently. “She’s always been good at the welcoming thing. It’s part of being a pastor’s wife.”

“And did you inherit that trait?” Emmaline appeared to be regaining her composure.

Andrew laughed. “I suppose I must have, since my wife always has to drag me away from every conversation.”

They spoke generally about Copper Mill for a few moments, then Kate said, “We must be going. The children are waiting to trounce Grandma at Parcheesi again.” She thanked God for the touch of civility she was able to pull off.

Emmaline smiled. “Sounds like fun.”

There was an awkward silence. Kate realized that Emmaline was hoping for an invitation. She said nothing.

Finally, Emmaline said, “I must be going too. Kate, would you like to get together this week? I’ve done another fleshed-out sketch in my flower series that I’d like to show you.”

“No thank you.” Kate didn’t sugarcoat it or make excuses. She wanted Emmaline to understand that she knew exactly who had left that horrid note for Paul.

Emmaline’s eyes widened just the slightest bit. Kate saw realization dawn. Turning on her heel, Kate said, “Good-bye,” and Andrew followed after her.

A FEW MINUTES after leaving the Mercantile, they were on their way back to the little ranch house on Smoky Mountain Road when Andrew said, “Mom, I get the impression that Emmaline rubs you the wrong way. You’re not usually that abrupt with folks.”

Kate nodded. “That’s true, I’m not. And yes, she has gotten under my skin a little.”

“How?”

Kate shrugged. “It’s too much to get into. She’s just been frustrating.”

“I think she looked familiar.”

“What?” Kate turned to look at him as she considered that for a moment. “Well,” she finally said, “she lived in your neighborhood, didn’t she? Maybe you saw her there.”

Andrew chuckled. “Mom, Chestnut Hill isn’t a neighborhood; it’s a small city. Nearly twenty thousand people live there.”

“Oh.” Kate had known Andrew’s address was Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. She realized she should have known it wasn’t just a small community of a few blocks. But since moving to Copper Mill, she had begun to find small towns just the right size. “She looks familiar, huh? In what way?”

Andrew said, “It’s not coming to me how I know her, but maybe I’ll remember later.”

ON TUESDAY, Paul suggested a “field trip.” None of Andrew’s family had ever been to the Tennessee Aquarium down in Chattanooga. The children immediately were excited.

The aquarium was a huge hit. They spent long periods of time watching the penguins and the river otters. Both creatures had unique, extremely funny behaviors that entranced the children. Ethan especially liked the sharks; he stared at them so long that his face slowly morphed into an imitation of a shark’s snarl.

The children loved the sea horses, with their odd motions and long prehensile tails that often appeared to have minds of their own. The interactive “Finding Nemo” activity also kept the children entertained as they moved through the aquarium.

Paul, Andrew, and Ethan were fascinated by the wall of sinuous moray eels lurking in caves and holes. Predictably, the women wanted to move past it, fast.

“Those things are scary,” Hannah said.

“They creep me out too, honey,” said her mother.

“You know, this reminds me,” Andrew said, turning to Kate as though a lightbulb had switched on. “I’m certain I’ve seen your friend Emmaline, or at least her identical twin, before. I think it might have been in the newspaper, but I can’t remember when.”

Rachel looked taken aback. “Moray eels made you think of Kate’s friend? I’d like to meet her.”

Andrew laughed. “I was looking at the eels,” he said defensively, “and I thought of an article I read about them in the paper. And then I thought of your friend, Mom, and I’m pretty sure it’s because I associate her with someone I saw in the news.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “He’s always seeing familiar faces he can’t quite place in the newspaper. If I had a nickel for every time he says he recognizes a face, we’d be lounging on the Riviera.”

Kate laughed. “Emmaline did tell me she used to belong to the local studio club.”

“Ah.” Andrew nodded. “Maybe that’s it. Sometimes they publish the award winners’ pictures in the paper.”

KATE HAD GOTTEN UP EARLY on Wednesday morning and made chicken-salad sandwiches from the recipe she had used ever since Andrew was a child. She packed the sandwiches along with apples and slices of pumpkin pie for the family’s trip home, then she prepared a hearty breakfast for them. She wanted Andrew and his family to have full stomachs before heading back to Philadelphia.

While Andrew loaded the van and Rachel supervised the children’s final tooth-brushing effort, Kate filled a large ziplock bag with homemade cookies.

Paul, observing her efforts, said, “You know, they aren’t traveling to Africa.”

“Very funny. I just wanted them to have enough to take in their school lunches tomorrow and Friday.”

“I think you’ve succeeded,” Paul said dryly. He laughed when Kate huffed at him, and he came over to wrap his arms around her from behind, rocking her gently from side to side. “I’m so proud of our son, Katie. He’s a wonderful father.”

“He is,” she agreed, leaning back against Paul and resting her hands atop his at her waist. “Ethan and Hannah are delightful. And Rachel is like another daughter to me. We’re very lucky.”

Just then, Andrew came into the kitchen. He stopped dead when he saw his parents, then laughed and said, “You two. You were always hugging and cuddling when we were kids. Used to embarrass me to death. And you’re still doing it!”

“Yes, and you should be too when you’re our age,” Kate said. She passed him the bag of cookies. “For the journey and lunches. Give them to Rachel. I don’t quite trust you with a whole bag of cookies.”

“Smart mom.” Andrew held out his arms. “What a great visit. Thank you so much for making time for us. I know you two are busy.”

“Never too busy for you,” Kate said softly. To her chagrin, she felt motherly tears rising. “Oh, I wish we lived closer.”

“I know,” Andrew said ruefully. “But at least we’re almost on the same coast now.”

The family departed for the Chattanooga Airport after many hugs, promises of more visits, and tears from Hannah. As the van pulled away, Kate and Paul stood in the driveway, forlornly waving after them, and she felt his hand come down on her shoulder.

“God has blessed us,” he said. “Let’s go in and pray for their safe journey.”