Rachel
The rest of dinner and clean-up was a blur. I couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it was going to be working for Mary every day. And she even mentioned a raise. Maybe it would be enough for me to take a college class online.
That night after Mary left and I tucked Piper into bed, I called Claire to tell her the good news.
“That’s fantastic,” Claire said. “I’m one hundred percent certain this is going to work out great!”
“One hundred percent? You never ever say one hundred percent.”
Claire laughed. “You’re right. I don’t. But something tells me this is a great move so I’m sticking with that.”
“Oh, almost forgot to tell you.”
“What?” Claire asked. “You’re madly in love with Nick?”
I laughed. “We haven’t even gone out on a proper date yet and you have us married.”
“Well, you would make a great couple! So if it’s not about Nick, what did you want to tell me?”
“A stranger showed up at my door earlier tonight, right before Mary arrived. He was dirty and smelled of whiskey and his clothes were tattered. I think he might be Piper’s dad, but I’m not sure.”
“But I thought he was in jail.”
“He was. Judy stopped by earlier today and told me he’d got out. Apparently he showed up at the AA meeting she oversees. He asked about my mom and when he learned she’d died, he asked about Piper. That bastard better not think he’s going to get her now.”
“Whoa! Back up. What do you mean, get her?”
“What if he wants her? He is her father. I need to find a good lawyer to talk to. Someone who specializes in family law. Do you know anyone?”
“There is this one guy who comes into the bar on Tuesday nights. He’s a lawyer. Big tipper. Not sure what kind of law he practices, but I’ll ask him the next time I see him. He seems pretty sharp and he’s really nice. Not too old, either. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Okay. Thanks, Claire. I’ll talk to you soon.”
That night I had trouble falling asleep. I kept thinking about the whiskey-smelling man. I hoped I never saw him again.
Piper was a rubber ball of energy the next morning, bouncing off the walls as if she’d eaten a boatload of sugar. I, on the other hand, felt like a slug. I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and had trouble falling back to sleep. I removed my sheets and threw them into the washer before making Piper breakfast.
“Are you going to Mary’s today?” Piper took a bite of her cinnamon and sugar toast.
I yawned and poured a cup of coffee. “Yes. But don’t worry. I’ll be waiting for you just like I always am when you come home from school.”
“I colored another picture for Mary. Will you give it to her?”
I sipped my coffee. “Sure.”
After Piper finished eating she ran to get the picture she’d colored for Mary. “See. That’s me, you, Mary, and Rachel Rose inside Mary’s house.”
Piper had drawn a huge house that took up most of the paper. Inside were three stick figures. The other, um, figure was the dog. “That’s beautiful, Piper. I’m sure Mary will love it.”
I scrolled through the Facebook feed on my phone while Piper finished her breakfast. What is it about inspirational sayings? There seemed to be an unusually high number in my feed. Particularly those about dreams and not giving up on the things you want most. Claire had tagged me in a post. I read it. You and only you write your life story. How will it end?
I thought about that for a second or two, wondering if I had writer’s block. I didn’t seem to be crafting any special life story. I had expected at this point to be finishing college and starting a great career. But I had to rewrite that story and I wasn’t quite sure how the new story would end.
I waved goodbye as Piper’s bus pulled away. We had settled into a pretty good routine and Piper no longer clung to me each morning when the bus turned the corner.
When I pulled up in front of Mary’s house, she opened the door. “Good morning, Rachel.”
We hugged. “Good morning to you, too.”
“I had such a wonderful time last night. Thank you so much for inviting me. I’m still laughing about the scar Piper drew on her belly. What a precious child!”
I laughed. “She can be a handful.”
“And her dessert.” Mary laughed. “Mary Magic.”
I could tell Piper had made Mary’s night. Listening to Mary and seeing how her whole face lit up when she talked about it made me realize how much Mary cared for Piper.
I followed Mary into the house and, just as I expected, she invited me to have a cup of tea. But what I didn’t expect was what happened next. Mary pointed to a complete English tea service sitting on the table across from where we sat on the couch. “See that tea set over there?”
I nodded.
“That was my grandmother’s. She loved to drink tea as much as I do.”
“It’s beautiful. I especially love the colors. Pink roses. It’s delicate.”
“Just like you,” Mary said, “which is why I want you to have it.”
My jaw dropped. “Oh, Mary. I can’t. I couldn’t possibly take something that belonged to your grandmother.”
Mary leaned forward. “You’re not taking it. I’m giving it to you. I want you to have it. You should have a proper tea service. Think of it like this. When I visit you, you’ll be able to serve me tea the proper way.”
Mary did have a point. But still. It was too beautiful, too personal. I stood and walked over to take a closer look. I picked up a teacup and examined it. I slid my finger over the gilded border.
“The flowers are hand-painted,” Mary said. “It’s always been one of my favorites.”
“I don’t know what to say, Mary. It’s the most beautiful gift I’ve ever received. Thank you.”
I looked at Mary and noticed how glassy her eyes had become. “You deserve to have many beautiful things, Rachel. It makes me happy knowing this tea service will be treasured long after I’m gone.”
I sat back down and finished having tea with Mary. “So what would you like me to do today?” I asked.
“I was thinking I should go through the closets in the bedrooms. Start with the one closest to my bedroom. James kept his suits in there. I want to pack them up and donate them to charity. I’ve been meaning to do it for years, but it was too much work. But with your help, I can empty the closets and make room so when guests visit they have a place to put their things.”
I took the last sip of my tea. “Do you often get guests?”
Mary shook her head. “But, all the same. It would be good to clean out the cobwebs in my life. I’ve let them accumulate for far too long.”
Mary checked the delicate gold watch on her wrist. “Almost forgot I have a doctor’s appointment. Will you be okay here by yourself?”
“Sure. Is everything all right?”
Mary waved her slender hand. “It’s just a check-up.”
Before she left, Mary showed me the closet she wanted emptied first. She was right. It was packed with old suits. Most of them were black; a few of them were blue. And there must have been fifty white shirts.
She handed me a box of garbage bags. “You can put the clothes into the bags. But don’t make them too heavy. We’ll need to be able to carry them down the steps and to the car.”
I took the box of industrial-strength garbage bags from Mary. The idea of putting suits that cost thousands of dollars into garbage bags seemed wrong.
I waved to Mary as she left and started to remove the suits. Mary had reminded me to check the pockets, explaining that James had had a horrible habit of not removing his hankies.
I pulled the first jacket off the hanger and checked the pockets and pulled out a hankie. I tossed it in the trash like Mary had told me to do. I checked the pants pocket and found a few quarters. I put them on the dresser.
One by one I took the suits off the rack, removing coins and bills from pockets and discarding the hankies. I had a pretty nice pile of money on the dresser. While most of the bills were tens and twenties, I’d found a hundred-dollar bill. I’d never held a hundred-dollar bill in my hand before. Even when I worked at the bar the largest bill I got was a fifty.
When I took the last suit off the rack, I found a photo of Mary and her dad in the inside pocket. I studied the photo. Mary was stunning. She wore a lemon-yellow floral dress gathered at the waist with a full skirt. The puffy cap sleeves were adorned with tiny yellow bows. A matching headband held back nut-brown hair that fell to her shoulders before flipping up. I looked at the back of the photo. It was dated 1958.
I laid the photo on the dresser beside the stash of money. I heard a car door slamming. I looked out the window. It was Mary.
I was working on the shirts when Mary walked into the bedroom. “How’s it going?”
I pointed to the pile of money on the dresser. “You were right, there was a lot of stuff in the pockets.”
Mary smiled. “Take the cash. I’m sure you could use it.”
“Really? But there’s a hundred-dollar bill in there.”
Mary shrugged. “Buy yourself something special.”
“Wow, thanks Mary. I don’t know what to say.”
Mary sighed. “Hard to believe James has been gone twenty years.”
“That’s a long time to be alone. Do you miss him?”
Mary sat down on the bed. “Can I tell you something, Rachel, that you can’t tell anyone else? Not even Claire?”
I sat down on the bed beside her. “Yes, of course, Mary. What is it?”