to?” April asked as she poured coffee into her cup and stirred in the Chaga mushroom powder. Judith had convinced her to try it, and even though it was weird, she liked it. April liked that Judith seemed to have all kinds of new ways of living. Many new ideas she would have never found out about if she hadn’t come back to Spring Falls.
Of course, Judith shared some of her weird health things when they would talk on the phone, but mostly, she had just nodded and smiled and not tried any of them. April remembered her parents and how they drifted from one health idea to another and how she had tired of constantly changing how the family did things. She had decided she wanted more stability when she grew up.
Which Ron had definitely provided. With Ron, she knew what her life would be all the time. So while living with Ron, Judith and her mushrooms were too much like her old life with her parents. Because as much as she had loved her parents, she didn’t want to be like them. Besides, she knew Ron wouldn’t appreciate a different diet or her trying out new foods and exercises.
And now after just a few days at Judith’s, April wondered if she had been avoiding life that way. Telling herself she was too old to try something new or do something differently. But being at the gallery yesterday had done something to her. Or maybe it was the driving away that had started it.
For the first time since she and Ron left Spring Falls together, she had gone someplace by herself. Was that normal? Would the eighteen-year-old April have believed she would become a woman who would choose to live a life that was planned for her by someone else?
April didn’t realize that she had been staring at her coffee and not moving until Judith asked, “April, are you okay?”
“Hum. Yes, just thinking. Kinda wondering how I became this person.”
“Do you like the person you became?”
“Yes, and no. But things are changing now, aren’t they?”
“I’d say so. Just think about it. You told Ron you wanted to stay here, and he agreed.”
“He did, didn’t he?” April said, smiling. “Who knew I had that in me? So, going back to my original question, who were you talking to?”
“That attorney guy, Bruce. I was trying to worm more information out of him.”
“Did it work?” April asked, smiling to herself. It didn’t feel as if that was the complete truth about why Judith called Bruce. But Judith probably didn’t realize it yet, and it wasn’t her place to tell her. Besides, there were too many other things to deal with than that now. Maybe that’s why Judith didn’t want to notice.
“Not really, but he implied that there was more to come.”
“You mean, you think that it’s not just about Paul changing his name or his wanting the Ruby Sisters to help Bree?”
“Well, definitely he wanted that. But maybe there’s more.”
April nodded in agreement, knowing that if anyone could figure it out, it would be Judith.
“Any news when the girls will be here?”
“Cindy and Marsha will be here tonight.”
Judith didn’t need to add that she had no idea when Bree would arrive. They had to wait and give her time to work out what she wanted to do. Although she dearly hoped that Bree would decide to move back to Spring Falls, because it would be wonderful to have all the Ruby Sisters back together in one place.
There would be so many things they could do together. For one thing, they could help plan Mary’s baby shower. Mary had waited on them at dinner, impressing April the same way she had impressed her.
April had mentioned how wonderful it was for her to have met three lovely young women in one day and how much they had inspired her to look at her life differently.
“This was a perfect day,” April had said. “A new look, a new life, and new possibilities with Ron.”
Yes, Judith thought. It had been a good day.
She wasn’t sure if the possibilities with Ron were exactly what April would get, but she was willing to give him a chance to prove himself.
People change, she told herself. They learn what they have done wrong and correct it all the time.
After all, that’s what her business was all about—finding mistakes people make in their business and helping them correct them. Most of the time, their mistakes were accidental and unintentional. Only rarely did she find someone who intentionally did wrong in their business. And if they weren’t willing to fix it and stop doing it, she always did something about it.
Sometimes what she did was more drastic than others, but she never liked to let people get away with anything that hurt other people, and that went double for the people she loved and protected, like her Ruby Sisters.
Judith hoped Bree knew when she came back to Spring Falls, not only was she the one who would protect her but was also the person who would figure out why she and Paul had not only left but stayed away, hidden. What could have happened that made them make that choice?
Whatever it was, Judith knew it was time to fix it, and she figured Bruce either knew what it was or had the way to find out.
She smiled to herself as she drove to the office. It felt as if she had found someone she could talk to and who listened and didn’t judge her. She wondered what Bruce’s story was. Perhaps that was what she should do today—a little searching for why Paul had picked Bruce as the keeper and distributor of his secrets.
Now, that sounds like an excellent way to start the day, she thought. And I’ll come home early and bake something for the girls.
Yes, it was going to be a good day. April was at the gallery, safe and sound, with Mimi, Janet, and Mittens. Cindy and Marsha were together, and Bree, well, she knew where she was, and that was going to have to be good enough for now.