got to his office, Judith had called at least two more times. He had ignored all her calls. He would talk when he was good and ready. Of course, he wasn’t sure he would ever be ready for that woman.
However, he had an obligation to Paul to fulfill his last wish. Not for the first, or the last time, he wished he had never agreed to such a ridiculous thing to do. Besides, the look his secretary gave him told him that Judith had called her too, and it was not good to piss off his secretary. It was time to take care of Judith.
Closing his office door, he swiveled to look out the window at the apple tree, asked it to give him a little help, and punched in her number. It rang and went to voice mail.
“Ah, we’re playing that game,” Bruce said to the tree, and the tree ruffled in the wind in response.
Bruce left a message saying he was returning her call and turned to the paperwork on his desk. A few minutes later, his secretary told him that Judith was on the line, and he picked it up with a cheery hello and was startled when he realized he did feel cheery hearing her voice.
Except her first words were, “Avoiding me? Too busy to deal with this mess your client made?”
“Yes, no, I mean, no, I am not avoiding you, and yes, I am busy. But what mess?”
Bruce gritted his teeth, worried about what she would say next. He wasn’t ready to deal with all of it right now. Because, as Judith said, it was a mess. But not one she could know about. Yet.
On the other end of the phone, Judith was silent. He waited.
“Sorry. I was taking out on you things that have nothing to do with Paul and his ridiculous last gift crap.”
“Not a fan, I gather.”
“Well, truthfully, that’s a yes and no answer, too. But more yes than no, I guess. Good grief, this is ridiculous. I’m not sure why I am even bothering you with this.”
“No bother,” Bruce answered, meaning it. “But why all the calls? What’s up that I can help you with?”
Again, Judith was silent on the other end, and he waited.
“Honestly, I don’t know why I called. Maybe to find out what else you can tell me about Paul’s plans, so I can prepare for them. I’m not used to not knowing. It’s my job to know. And I don’t.
“Was Paul’s plan only to get Bree back out into the world and reunite the Ruby Sisters? If that was it, it has worked. Mostly. And, did you know about his name change and why he did it?”
Bruce sighed. “Well, now that you know, I can answer that. Yes, I did. He had to tell me so I could make sure his wishes couldn’t be contested. He changed his name legally, but he didn’t want to leave any loopholes.”
“But is there more? It feels as if there is more.”
“You know I can’t tell you that, Judith. Client attorney privilege.”
“Which means there’s more, doesn’t it?” Judith demanded.
“Look, I can’t help you by telling you more, but I can listen to what’s happening now. Why not fill me in on how your friends are doing now? That is, if you need someone to talk to that is not involved. Or at least not involved in your group.”
Neither of them spoke for a moment. Both Bruce and Judith contemplating precisely what he meant by that, but then Judith said, “Yes. I would like someone to listen to me who is involved enough to know what I am talking about, but who doesn’t care. Whoa, I don’t think I meant it exactly how that came out.”
Bruce laughed, “It’s okay. I know what you meant. Tell me what’s happening in Spring Falls.”
For the next thirty minutes, Judith filled Bruce in. April and Ron were the first things on her mind. She gave him a brief history of how April and Ron had met and why April had walked out on him and come to Spring Falls.
And then how April had completely changed her appearance and fell in love with Cindy’s art gallery. And how the two women who worked there had taken to her as if she was their mother. All that in just one day, all because of Paul’s letter. So maybe it was a good thing?
After Bruce answered with a short, “Could be,” Judith continued with the story. She had taken April to dinner at her favorite restaurant to celebrate, but then right after dinner, Ron showed up at her door and did what she thought was impossible—apologized to April right in front of her.
Bruce heard the doubt in her voice.
“So you aren’t sure whether to believe him?” he asked.
“I guess not. I am not a fan of husbands that keep their wives contained, and that’s what it has felt like to me all these years. But she loves him, and she believes him.”
Bruce tried to imagine Judith contained in any way, and although he had just met her, he was positive that it would not be possible, and for a moment, wondered if anyone had ever tried.
“So what’s next with them? Is April going back with Ron?”
“It seems not. April told him she wanted to stay in town for a while. He huffed off looking like thunder but then called later and said he would find a place for them to live in town so that they could be together.”
“Not a fan of this solution?”
“No. I’m not, but I don’t know why. I guess that’s why I am angry. I don’t know why.”
“I barely know you, Judith,” Bruce said, “but can I say that you are not in charge of all of this turning out the way you think it should?”
Silence again. Bruce waited, biting his lip while watching a bee moving from flower to flower on the tree.
“Will you always tell me like it is, Bruce?” Judith finally said.
“I’ll do my best,” was his answer. “Now, tell me about the other women.”
As Judith relayed the latest—how Grace had gone back to Doveland, that Cindy and Marsha were on their way to Spring Falls, and that Bree had gone off on her own.
Bruce listened and wondered if Paul had meant to give him a gift too, or if this was just one of those things.
Either way, he decided not to be so angry at himself for taking the case or at Paul for coming to him. He’d take it as a gift instead. Because if he thought that way, perhaps it would turn out to be so.