CHAPTER 3

Frances could not for the life of her recall where she’d left her apartment keys. They weren’t on the hook by the kitchen door where she usually left them, or on the counter, none of the obvious places. If she was late getting to the senior center, Flo and Liz were going to worry. She’d always been the most punctual of all of her friends.

She searched high and low, digging in the bottom of her purse, under the sofa cushions, checking in the bathroom, on her dresser. She eventually found them in, of all places, the freezer. She must have put them in there when she’d been getting her lasagna dinner out.

Holding the ice-cold keys in her hand, she frowned. Didn’t they say that one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s was leaving things in odd places? Just the thought was enough to frighten her.

“Stop it this minute,” she told herself sternly. “Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. It’s not as if you do something crazy like this every day.”

She tried to put the entire incident out of her mind, but over cards at the senior center, she mentioned it to Flo and Liz, forcing herself to laugh about her absentmindedness. To her shock, neither of them seemed to share her amusement. In fact, the look they exchanged was clearly worried.

Liz, who was only a few years younger, reached for her hand. “Frances, I don’t want to alarm you, but maybe you should get this checked out.”

Frances bristled. “How many times have you forgotten where you put your keys?”

“Plenty,” Liz conceded. “But I haven’t once found them in the freezer, or anyplace else particularly odd, either.”

Frances regarded her oldest and dearest friend with dismay. “What are you trying so hard not to say? This isn’t just about the keys, is it?”

“No, it’s not,” Liz said. “You’ve said and done a few things lately that haven’t made a lot of sense. I’ve noticed. So has Flo.”

Flo nodded.

“And you’ve been talking about it behind my back?” Frances asked, knowing that her indignation was misplaced. They were her friends. Of course, they’d be concerned. Of course, they’d compare notes, rather than risk offending her by mentioning some incident that might mean nothing.

“Neither of us was sure it amounted to enough to say anything to you,” Liz said gently. “We agreed just to keep a closer eye on you. Now that you’ve noticed yourself that something’s not quite right, well, maybe it would be best to see a doctor.”

Frances felt as if the bottom of her world had just fallen out. Alzheimer’s? Not a one of them had mentioned the word, but it was clearly the elephant in the room. It was the cruelest of all diseases in so many ways. She’d seen it rob friends of their memories and, worse, take them away from their families long before they were physically gone. She’d always thought it heartbreaking.

“Don’t panic,” Flo said, now holding tightly to Frances’s other hand. “We’ll go with you to the doctor. And I’ve been reading up on Alzheimer’s on the internet. There are new medicines that can help. That is, if you even have it. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re all getting more forgetful every day. Maybe this is nothing more than that.”

“Absolutely,” Liz said, then gave Frances a sympathetic look. “Whatever you’re dealing with, we’re here for you. That’s a given, okay? You’re not in this alone.”

“Will you promise me that whatever the diagnosis, you won’t say a word to anyone in my family?” Frances pleaded. “I’ll decide when the time is right for that. I don’t want them worrying unnecessarily or rushing over to Serenity to have me locked away in a nursing home.”

Neither of her friends agreed immediately.

“What?” she demanded. “Have you already spoken to Jennifer or Jeff?”

“Absolutely not,” Liz said. “But if I think the time has come that they must know and you haven’t told them yourself, I can’t promise that I won’t. I’ll push you to do it first, of course, but I won’t allow something terrible to happen to you because of negligence on my part.”

Frances turned to Flo. “And you?”

“I’m with Liz on this,” she said. “We’ll respect your wishes as long as you’re doing well and are safe. And it’s not just about you, you know. Your daughter, son and grandchildren would want to know if there is a problem. They’ll want to have as much time with you as possible.”

Frances sighed. They were right, as usual.

“Fair enough,” she said reluctantly. “But we’re probably worrying over nothing. Sometimes putting the keys in the freezer is just a sign of having too much on my mind, not a sign that I’m losing it.” She thought of her conversations earlier with Elliott and Karen, her deep concern for these two young people who mattered as much to her as her own children. That probably explained it. Her mind had been on their problems, nothing more.

“Of course,” Liz agreed as Flo nodded.

“I think I’ll head home now,” Frances said, suddenly more exhausted than she’d been in ages.

“I’ll drive you,” Flo said at once.

“I can still walk a few blocks,” Frances said irritably. “I’m not likely to get lost in a town I’ve lived in all my life.”

Liz gave her a chiding look. “She’s taking me home, too. It’s right on our way.”

Frances gave Flo an apologetic look. “Sorry for overreacting.”

“It’s understandable,” Flo said. “Any of us would be scared to even consider something like this might be happening to us.”

Frances knew that was true. As they’d aged, she and her friends had discussed every illness known to man at one time or another, but it seemed the greatest dread centered on this one.

But while she appreciated their empathy, there was one thing they could never comprehend. It was happening to her, not them. And theorizing was very different from the blind panic that had set in tonight.

* * *

It was morning before Elliott finally set aside the time to lay out the detailed plans for the gym for Karen. They’d definitely gotten sidetracked the night before.

He’d called his first two clients to push back their appointments and was in the kitchen making breakfast when Karen wandered in wearing one of his old shirts and nothing else. His mouth went dry at the sight of her. He wondered if she’d always have the power to take his breath away.

She wrapped her arms around him from behind. “Do you know how sexy you are when you’re standing in front of a stove?” she asked, resting her cheek against his back.

“You’d be attracted to anyone who fixed you a meal after you’ve spent your days in the kitchen at Sullivan’s,” he teased.

“Nope, it’s you. You’re this gorgeous guy who looks like a cover model with abs of steel and here you are, all bare-chested and wearing one of my aprons. You just can’t get much sexier than that.” She grinned. “It takes quite a man to go with the ruffles, you know.”

He laughed. “One of these days I need to buy one of those manly barbecue aprons,” he replied. “If our friends ever catch me looking like this, I’ll never hear the end of it. There’s fresh orange juice in the refrigerator, by the way.”

“You really do pamper me,” she said, releasing him. She poured two glasses and set them on the table. “When was the last time we had a quiet breakfast, just the two of us?”

“Before we got married, I think. It’s been way too hectic since then.”

“How’d you pull it off this morning? You’re usually long gone by now.”

“I rescheduled a couple of clients.”

“Were they furious?”

“No, which was a good lesson for me. I can make more time for us if I put my mind to it.”

“So can I,” Karen said. “We need to do it more often. It’s good for the soul.” She poured herself a cup of coffee, took a sip and winced.

“Too strong?” he asked.

She laughed. “You can’t help it. I think it’s in your genes that coffee’s no good unless it makes your hair stand on end. I’ll dump in half a carton of milk and it will be fine.”

When he’d set their plates of healthy egg-white, veggie omelets and whole-grain toast on the table, he sat down across from her. “Okay, here’s the deal on the gym. It’ll be a division of The Corner Spa. In addition, there will be six partners, all of us with equal shares.”

“Who?” she asked.

“Cal, Ronnie, and Erik, plus Travis and Tom McDonald, and me.”

“How much money do you have to put up?”

“We’re still finalizing all that, but I’ll be making only a minimal financial investment compared to them,” he said. “My contribution will be mostly sweat equity. The way I understand it, that’s the way it was when Maddie went into partnership with Dana Sue and Helen on the spa. I’ll run day-to-day business operations under Maddie’s oversight—at least initially—and continue seeing my personal-training clients.”

Karen looked surprised. “You’re willing to let Maddie boss you around?”

Elliott chuckled. “What do you think she does now?”

“It’s not the same. You’re an independent contractor, not a spa employee. If you got ticked off at her, you could take your clients to Dexter’s. And speaking of those clients, are you just going to abandon them?”

“No, of course not. I’ll still do the senior classes at the spa and see my regular clients. I’ll just have to lighten the number of hours I spend there, so I can spend the bulk of my time at the gym. And they’re talking about hiring someone to be at the gym whenever I’m not, so the place can be open longer hours. It’s a win-win, Karen. We stand to make out nicely financially with a share of any profits, plus I’ll be able to handle more clients since I can work with men there and still keep the women clients I have at the spa.”

“So, there’s no real financial risk at all,” she concluded, looking relieved.

Elliott knew he could let her go on thinking like that, and, in his mind, it was mostly true, but after what had already happened, he knew he couldn’t let the comment pass.

“I do have to put up some money,” he reminded her. “An initial, short-term investment to get things off the ground.”

She frowned. “So there is a risk?”

“Come on. You know none of us would be doing this if we thought it was risky, but sure, any new business can face unexpected pitfalls.”

“How much money, Elliott?”

“We’re still working that out.”

She held his gaze. “How much?” she repeated, obviously sensing that he was being deliberately evasive.

“Ten thousand, maybe fifteen,” he said eventually, then watched as alarm registered in her eyes.

“Our savings for the baby?” she asked, her voice shaking. “All of it?”

“I know to you it sounds like a lot.”

“It is a lot. It’s all we have.”

“But the payoff,” he began, only to have her cut him off.

“If there is a payoff,” she said direly. “What if there isn’t?”

Elliott felt his temper begin to fray. “Do you have no faith in me? You’re my wife. Shouldn’t you believe in me at least as much as Cal, Ronnie, Erik and the others do?”

“It’s not a matter of not believing in you,” she insisted. “It’s our savings, Elliott. What about having a baby? I thought that mattered to you.”

“We’ll still have a baby, and we’ll have more money than ever to support it,” he insisted.

“Only if this works out the way you envision it,” she said, looking as if she were near tears.

“It’s going to work out,” he insisted. “Have a little faith.”

“I want to,” she said, her expression miserable.

“Just think about it,” he pleaded. “Talk to Maddie or Dana Sue. Ask Erik. You trust him, right? They all have confidence in this.”

“I suppose I could do that much,” she conceded with obvious reluctance. The wheels in her mind were clearly still turning. “What if it goes belly-up, Elliott? Are you protected then?”

“I’ll have to check with Helen, but I think so.”

“Make sure of it, Elliott. What if there’s some humongous lawsuit or something?”

“We’ll have liability insurance,” he assured her. “Stop worrying. Helen will protect us. You can count on that.”

“You know I’d trust her with my life,” she said. “After all, she took in my kids when I couldn’t take care of them a few years ago. There’s nobody I trust more.”

“Then hash all of this out with her. If you’re not reassured that it’s all good, we’ll keep discussing it until you are. I don’t want you panicking, Karen. But you also need to understand that this is our big chance to get ahead.”

“I get that,” she said, sounding resigned but not yet convinced.

He searched her faced. “You and me, we’re okay?”

She met his gaze. “We’re okay,” she said, though slowly.

“You don’t sound very convincing. What’s that about?”

“The issue is bigger than the gym, Elliott. We haven’t been communicating, not the way real partners should. And I know you try, but I don’t think you really understand how panicked I get about money.”

“Didn’t I just say that I get it?” he asked in frustration.

“But then you ignore it,” she argued. “Promise me when it comes to things that are important, we’ll do a better job of communicating.”

“We were communicating very well through most of the night,” he replied, trying to spark a smile.

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it. You never told me you were seeing Frances at those classes for seniors. You know how much she matters to me. It just makes me wonder how many other things you’ve kept from me. Your father—”

“My father has nothing to do with this,” he said curtly, bristling at the unfair comparison. “As for me keeping anything from you, that’s a bit of an overstatement, don’t you think? We hardly ever spend any time together. Sometimes days go by before we have a real conversation. By then, I’ve forgotten things I meant to tell you. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

She looked so hurt by his dismissive tone that he relented at once. And deep down he understood her point. “I’ll try to do better,” he promised. “I know that communication is almost as touchy a subject with you as finances. I shouldn’t have kept the whole gym thing from you, even to protect you from worry. And, believe me, I do get the money thing. I may not have lived through anything so drastic, but I saw for myself the toll it took on you.”

“Thank you. And, as I told you last night, Frances has promised to help us find more alone time. If we can manage these breakfasts occasionally, too, maybe things will get better.”

“Of course they will,” he said. He would see to it, because no one had ever mattered more to him than this woman who’d been through such terrible times when they’d met and now had blossomed into a formidable companion, lover and wife. She was his heart, and he’d do whatever it took to see that she always knew that. If only he could be sure it would ever be enough.

* * *

When Karen arrived at Sullivan’s, she found Dana Sue in a frenzy.

“What’s going on?” she asked at once. “Where’s Erik?”

“Sara Beth’s sick and Helen’s in court, so he has to stay home with Sara Beth,” she answered from inside their walk-in freezer. “I tried to reach Tina to see if she could come in early, because he’s taught her most of the dessert recipes by now, but she’s not available until this afternoon.”

She walked back into the kitchen, her cheeks pink from the icy freezer. “Can you believe there’s not even a stupid pie left in there? I guess we’re just going to have ice cream on the menu, at least for lunch.”

“What about brownies?” Karen asked. “Those are easy enough. You used to make them all the time until Erik got all territorial about desserts. If you can make those, I’ll get started on the specials. We’ll keep them simple for lunch. How about those ham-and-cheese panini Annie convinced you to put on the menu? Calling them glorified grilled-cheese sandwiches was pure genius. And maybe the walnut-and-cranberry chicken salad? I made that pot of navy bean soup yesterday, so it’s all set to go.”

Dana Sue sighed, her relief evident. “Thank you for bringing me back down to earth. I have no idea why I panicked there for a minute.”

“Because you’re addicted to that schedule you keep posted on your office wall,” Karen teased. “Deviations make you a little crazy.”

“Are you suggesting I’m a control freak?” Dana Sue asked, though her eyes were twinkling.

“I know you are,” Karen replied, just as Ronnie walked into the kitchen.

“I hear there’s a crisis,” he said, pausing to give his wife a thorough kiss. “You don’t look as crazed as you sounded on the phone. Are things better?”

“Definitely better,” Dana Sue said, “but it was Karen, not you, who made me sane.”

“Then you don’t need me to pitch in, after all?” Ronnie asked, looking relieved.

Dana Sue grinned. “Given that we don’t serve pancakes at Sullivan’s except for Sunday brunch and they’re your only specialty, I have no idea why I called you in the first place.”

“Because just the sight of me calms you down,” he suggested.

Dana Sue laughed. “Yes, I’m sure that’s it.”

“I could go over and sit with Sara Beth, if you really need Erik in here,” he offered. “I’ve got help at the hardware store till mid-afternoon.”

“No, we’re going to be fine. Karen came up with a plan.”

“Then I’ll go back and run my own business,” he said, winking at Karen. “Call if you sense she’s falling apart again.”

After he’d gone, Karen regarded Dana Sue with envy. “I love that he was willing to drop everything to run to your rescue.”

“Elliott would do the same for you,” Dana Sue insisted as she began to assemble the ingredients for the brownies. “How’d things go last night, by the way? Did you two work out your differences about the gym?”

“I’m not entirely reassured that we’re not getting in over our heads financially,” Karen said. “We’re not in the same place the rest of you are, so to me his share of the initial investment seems huge. When I said that, though, he got all defensive and implied I don’t have any faith in him.” She regarded Dana Sue in frustration. “It’s not that at all.”

“No, it’s your past history talking,” Dana Sue said. “I’m sure he gets that.”

“He says he does,” she said, then shrugged. “We’ll see. And I’m still not crazy about him not talking to me about it. He knows that, though, so I guess we’ll have to see if he leaves me out of the loop again.”

“I doubt he did it intentionally,” Dana Sue said. “Men just don’t think like we do. They like to work out all the details, consider all the angles, anticipate our objections, then present us with what they consider to be a foolproof fait accompli.”

“Are you okay with that?” Karen asked.

Dana Sue laughed. “Hardly. Control freak, remember? Only Helen has me beat on that front. And maybe Maddie.”

“But you and Ronnie found a way to work through that, right?”

“Ronnie and I have been together—and apart—and together again for a lot of years now. It has not been all smooth sailing, Karen. You know that.”

She paused while stirring the brownie batter, her expression sad. “When I found out about him cheating on me, even though he swore it was only once and a moment of total stupidity, I hated him. I didn’t trust him from here to the corner. I wanted him gone, and Helen, bless her heart, saw to it that he went. In retrospect that might not have been the best thing, especially for Annie.”

She shrugged. “But we found our way back to each other in the end. I knew when we were kids that he was the guy for me and even when I was the most furious, a part of me couldn’t stop loving him. I guess that’s what people mean when they talk about soul mates. Nothing really tears them apart, at least not for long.”

Karen nodded. “Is it possible to find your soul mate the second time around? I sure didn’t find him in Ray.”

“I think we all saw something special between you and Elliott right from the beginning,” Dana Sue said. “So, yeah, if I had to guess, I’d say he’s your soul mate. Doesn’t mean he’s perfect.” She gave Karen a pointed look. “Or that you are.”

Karen laughed. “Believe me, I get that. You know what’s amazing, though? Elliott seems to think I am.”

“Oh, boy!” Dana Sue said, laughing. “Then the man is definitely a keeper. Cut him all kinds of slack, you hear me.”

Karen heard what she was saying. She even knew Dana Sue was probably right. But she also knew if Elliott continued to leave her out of the important decision-making, especially if there were financial consequences involved, there was no way she’d be able to let it slide.

* * *

Elliott finished up with his last client of the day in late afternoon. He was anxious to pick the kids up from his mother’s, where they went after school, get them home and fed and then hang out and maybe have a nightcap with his wife. He already knew about the crisis at Sullivan’s, knew she’d be running late and would need something to unwind. After last night and their talk this morning, he’d resolved that instead of crashing as usual, he’d be there for her at the end of a long day. It was one more attempt to fix what was wrong between them.

When he arrived at his mother’s, though, he found his older sister sitting on the front stoop, her expression despondent as the kids—hers and his—ran around in the yard.

“Everything okay?” he asked Adelia, trying to gauge her mood.

“Fine.”

“Where’s Mama?”

“She went out, thank goodness. She was asking too many questions.” She said it with a pointed look at him.

“Ah, so no one’s supposed to notice that you look as if you just lost your best friend?” he suggested.

“Exactly.”

“That might go better for you if you managed to put a smile on your face,” he said lightly.

“Bite me,” she retorted. “Now that you’re here, I’ll take my kids and go.”

Frowning, he reached out and caught her hand. “Adelia, what’s wrong? Seriously.”

“Everything,” she retorted bitterly. “Seriously.”

Before he could pursue that, though, she called out to her children, loaded them into the car and drove away. Elliott stared after her. It wasn’t like Adelia to bite his head off. His other sisters might be moody from time to time, downright impossible at times, but Adelia had always had it together. She’d married Ernesto Hernandez right out of college, had their first child seven months later. The other three had come with barely ten months between them. He’d expected her to be worn out, but she seemed to glow with motherhood, at least until recently. Now she was starting to look every one of her forty-two years.

“Are we going home now?” Mack asked, sitting down beside him and interrupting his thoughts.

“We are,” Elliott said, getting to his feet, scooping up the seven-year-old and tossing him in the air until he giggled.

“Me, too,” Daisy pleaded, looking up at him with eyes as big as saucers and so much like her mother’s that it made him smile.

He grinned at her. “Young ladies don’t get tossed in the air,” he teased. “They’re sedate and quiet.”

“Not me,” she said impudently. “I’m going to be just like Selena.”

The reference to his oldest niece had him shuddering just a little. Selena, at twelve, was not only a tomboy on the verge of adolescence, but already showing a wild streak that was going to keep Adelia and Ernesto on their toes for some time to come.

“No,” he corrected. “You are going to be Daisy, your own unique, special person, little one. You do not need to copy anyone else.”

“But Selena’s really awesome,” Daisy protested. “She’s already got her first bra.”

Elliott might be able to handle the self-described cougars at the spa and their outrageous comments in relative stride, but he was pretty sure Daisy’s outspoken ways were going to be the death of him. “It’ll be a few years before you need to be thinking about bras, young lady.”

“But Selena says boys only like girls with big boobs,” she parroted, then regarded him with a perplexed expression. “What’s that mean, Elliott? Do you think she’s right?”

“It means Selena needs to get her priorities straight,” he said, resolving to mention just that to his sister. At the very least his niece needed to be more discreet in her conversations with Daisy, who was only nine, for heaven’s sake. She ought to be thinking about dolls, not boys and bras. He had a feeling that was only wishful thinking, unfortunately.

“Can we drive out to McDonald’s again tonight?” Mack pleaded, always eager to head for the fast-food place that had sprung up in the next town a few years back.

Elliott winced. He’d gotten into the bad habit of taking the kids there because it was easier than making a meal they both liked, even though he knew Karen hated them having fast food. It went against his code, as well, but sometimes best intentions got lost to expediency.

“Not tonight, buddy. We’re having spaghetti and salad.”

“But I hate salad,” Mack whined.

“And spaghetti will make me fat,” Daisy said. “Selena said so.”

“Selena doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Elliott said. “And you’ll like this salad, Mack. Your mom made it.”

Mack still didn’t look impressed, but he didn’t argue. And once they were home, he ate both the salad and the spaghetti as if he were starving. Daisy picked at both.

“May I be excused?” she asked eventually. “I have homework.”

“You can be excused, when you’ve finished your dinner,” Elliott said firmly.

“But—”

“You know the rules,” he said. “Mack, do you have homework?”

“Just spelling and math. I did it at Grandma Cruz’s house.”

Elliott had his doubts. “Could I see it, please?”

To his surprise, the math problems were completed and correct. He ran through the spelling words with Mack, who got every one of them right.

“Those were easy,” Daisy said snidely.

“Were not,” Mack said, clearly ready for a fight.

“Enough,” Elliott said, interceding. “Mack, go grab a shower and then you can watch TV for an hour before bed.” He looked at Daisy’s plate, then nodded. “Good job. Finish your homework and then you can take your bath and head for bed.”

“I want to wait up for Mom,” she protested.

“We’ll see,” Elliott told her. “Now, scoot.”

Only after they were both gone did he breathe a sigh of relief. He’d adored Daisy and Mack from the moment he’d gotten involved with Karen, but being a stepfather was still a challenge. Their personalities had already been well-formed when he’d come into their lives, and he still wavered between stern disciplinarian and outsider.

He’d mentioned adopting them early on, but Karen had seemed oddly resistant to the idea, so he’d let it go. He supposed it didn’t really matter, as long as both children knew he loved them as if they were his own. And after some initial hesitation, his mother had welcomed them into her life as full-fledged grandchildren to be enveloped in hugs and fed an endless supply of chocolate chip cookies. His nieces and nephews treated them as cousins. It sometimes seemed he was the only one who felt uncertain about his role in their lives.

Just when he was starting to fret about that yet again, Daisy emerged from her room, walked into the kitchen and threw her arms around him in the kind of impulsive gesture that was increasingly rare now that she was growing up.

“I love you,” she whispered against his chest. “I wish you were my dad.”

Holding her close, Elliott felt his eyes sting with tears. “I am your dad in every way that matters, little one. You can always count on me.”

She gazed up at him with those big eyes of hers. “Will you come to the father-daughter dance at school with me? I wasn’t going to go, because I don’t even know where my dad is, but if you’d come, it would be okay.”

He saw the surprising hint of fear in her eyes and knew she’d wondered if she was overstepping somehow, yet more evidence that even after all this time, their roles weren’t so clearly defined.

“I’d be honored,” he assured her, deeply touched by the invitation.

“Do you think it will be okay with Mom?”

The question gave him pause. He could only assume Karen would be fine with it. Surely she wouldn’t want Daisy to feel left out on such an important occasion.

“I’ll talk it over with her,” he promised. “When is this dance?”

“Next Friday,” Daisy told him. “I have to get a ticket tomorrow.”

“How much do you need?”

“Just ten dollars.”

Elliott gave her the money, then promised, “I’ll speak to your mother tonight.” He studied her expression. “Is that why you wanted to wait up? Did you want to speak to her about this first?”

She nodded. “Sometime she gets sad when I ask about things like this, like she feels bad that she’s disappointed me.” She regarded him earnestly. “But she didn’t. It’s not her fault Daddy went away. And besides, she found you.”

“The next best thing, huh?” he said, a wry note in his voice she probably didn’t understand.

“Not the next best,” she replied, then added adamantly, “The very best.”

And with that, Daisy captured yet another piece of his heart forever.