“I was hoping you would stop by today. My jar is empty. I must have eaten all the meringues and forgotten.”
Mrs. Roberts sits on her front porch in one of the wooden rocking chairs. I often find her here people watching. She told me it’s one of her favorite pastimes.
“I brought over a double batch this time so you shouldn’t run out for a while.” I hold up the box and smile.
She pats the arm of the chair next to hers. “Come visit for a spell.”
I sit down, open the box, and offer her the meringues. She peers into the box and selects one. Her eyes close as she bites into it. Nothing makes me happier than seeing someone enjoy my creations.
“Delicious as always, my dear. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
We rock in silence for several minutes. I had a busy day at the bakery today and it’s nice to sit and enjoy the silence.
“What’s new with your bakery? Is your young man going to sell you the building? I’m afraid I won’t be able to rent you the apartment. Agatha told me they plan to stay.”
I tilt my head in her direction. “He’s not my young man and I haven’t asked him to sell me the building because I can’t come close to whatever he must have paid for Mr. Brick to go behind my back like that. I had a realtor show me places for sale, but nothing has panned out yet.”
“Maybe you should make him your young man again and then he’ll sell you the building for what you can afford, or even give it you.”
A snort of laughter escapes me before I can choke it back. “Mrs. Roberts!”
“What? People have done much worse. Besides, it’s not like it would be distasteful to spend time with him again, would it? I remember I time when the two of you were inseparable.”
“That was a lifetime ago, and I’m not that deceitful.”
“Hardly a lifetime. When you get to be my age, a handful of years passes in the blink of an eye.” She reaches over and pats my hand. “You’re too honest to deceive someone, but a little charm never hurts. It’s when charm is all there is when the true harm occurs. There has to be substance.”
Was she referring to her husband? I want to ask her about him, but I don’t want to bring up any painful memories.
“Why didn’t you ever marry again?”
“At my age?”
“After your husband went to prison.”
“My dear, I didn’t divorce my husband. I should have, but I let fear guide me. I didn’t know how he would react. He insisted on his innocence and I pretended to believe him. Perhaps if I had divorced him when he went to prison, he wouldn’t have shown up like a bad penny when they released him early for good behavior.”
My shocked intake of breath draws her gaze.
“Oh yes, I hadn’t seen the last of Charlie Roberts. He walked in the front door as bold as you please one day.”
“What did you do?”
“I waited. It was only a matter of time before he continued his old ways. I’m not sure if he suspected I was the one to turn him in or not, but he got better at hiding any criminal activity.”
“You weren’t scared? I mean he was living with you, right? Or was he gone a lot again?”
“Terrified. He still disappeared from time to time, but he would come back.”
“Did he ever hurt you?” The thought of her being at his mercy made my stomach roll over.
“Not physically. That wasn’t Charlie’s style. He lied and manipulated to get his way.”
“I’m so sorry you had to endure that. I can’t imagine how you managed.”
“I had a goal that’s how. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would find evidence of his foul deeds, but then I got too impatient.”
I pull my feet up on the chair and wrap my arms around my knees. “What happened?”
“See, I wasn’t able to locate anything incriminating, but what I found out was that he was being unfaithful with several women.”
“Oh my.”
“Oh yes. And he was using the money my parents had left me to do it since he wasn’t working.”
“It’s a wonder you didn’t kill him!”
Oh Lord, she didn’t, did she?
“The thought crossed my mind a time or two. I bear my share of guilt for what I did and the consequences.”
Mrs. Roberts sighs and sets her chair to rocking again. “I got angry and I told the women about each other. Anonymously, of course. I mailed them letters.”
What would I have done? Would I have confronted him and all his women, or quietly divorced him? I’d like to think I had the strength to face them all and tell them what I thought of them, but I’ve never been the angry tirade type.
“I pray on that decision often. Never do anything in anger, Franny.”
Mrs. Roberts uses the arms of the chairs to push to a stand and grabs her cane leaning against the railing. She picks up the box of meringues and shuffles towards the door.
“I’m going to take a little nap. Thank you for stopping by.”
“I…goodbye, Mrs. Roberts.”
I wait until she goes inside and I hear the lock turn before heading down the stairs of the porch. What had happened when she told the women about each other?
Now that I had a first name and knew he came back to town, I could search the internet for more information. Something had happened that made her feel guilty.
I cross the street and take the alleyway between my bakery and the sporting goods store next door. The alleyway leads to the sidewalk along the docks and to the park near my parents’ house.
The park isn’t crowded. A family is having a picnic on the grass. I step off the path to let an elderly couple walk by hand in hand.
A woof sounds behind me. I turn and glance over my shoulder. A giant dog barrels towards me. I glance around. His leash is dangling down his side. He’s escaped his owner.
The dog stops in front of me, jumps up, and puts his paws on my chest. I step back and lift my arms to counterbalance his weight, but he weighs a ton.
Down I go.
The grass tickles my arms as I lay there staring up at the treetops. A rough wet tongue licks my face.
“Waldo!”
I peek through my hands trying to block my face from another swipe of the tongue. “Are you Waldo?”
Woof! Woof!
“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?”
A young woman with deep brown hair streaked with blonde pulls Waldo back a few steps by his collar and picks up the leash.
“I’m fine.”
Sitting, I rest my arms on my drawn-up knees, not ready to stand just yet.
“Honestly, he never does this. He got away from me when I was untangling his legs from the leash. He took off before I could grab him.”
Waldo butts against my shoulder and I laugh and rub his head.
“It’s nice to meet you Waldo, but your technique could use polishing.”
The woman laughs and holds out her hand as I haul myself up from the ground. “I’m Kelly.”
“Franny.”
Her white jeans are immaculate despite chasing after her dog. I would be covered in grass stains, dirt, fur, and God only knows what else.
“I am so sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I pat the brown furry head that comes up to my waist as he sits on the grass. “What kind of dog is he?”
“A Great Dane. He’s a sweetheart and must really like you. He’s not usually so boisterous about it.”
Just my luck, a male suddenly finds me irresistible and he’s a dog.