“Ha ha. Let me guess. You’ve been reading magazine articles about the glory of autumn in New England,” Grace teased. “You’ll have to make a trip up soon to see for yourself once the leaves begin to turn. We miss you.”
“You can’t fool me. It’s my daughter you miss.”
“Well, yes, Daisy first, then you. Seriously, when do you think you might be able to come for a visit?”
Natalie hesitated. “I’ll check my schedule, and Daisy’s school schedule, and I’ll let you know.”
“Please. You already know Daisy’s schedule, and you said you only have one class on Friday morning.” Grace took a sip of coffee. She asked, “What’s up with you? Are you hiding something?”
“Nothing’s up.”
“Natalie, remember who you’re talking to. I taught you the fine art of evasion. Now spill.”
“No. If I tell you, you’ll tell Mom. And she’ll tell Emma, and . . .”
“Natalie Flynn, you’re still seeing Chris, aren’t you?” Before Natalie could respond, Grace said, “I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal, Nat. What do you think is going to happen if your mother and his know you’re dating?”
“You know Mom and Emma are as close as sisters. They’ve been friends all their lives. What if Chris and I had a nasty breakup? Not that I’m planning on that ever happening, but you never know. Then Mom takes my side and Emma takes Chris’s? Way to end a lifelong friendship. Uh-uh. I don’t want that on my conscience.” Grace could almost see Natalie shaking her head from side to side. “Besides, if Mom knew, she’d be hearing wedding bells, and every time I talk to her, it’ll be, ‘So how’s Chris? Why don’t you come home together this weekend so we can see you two? Are you thinking about moving in together? Will we see a ring anytime soon?’” Natalie sighed. “So then when we come home together, we’ll have to deal with all that and sleeping arrangements. Mom’s house or Emma’s? His old room or mine? I just don’t feel like dealing with all the ensuing drama just yet.”
“Wait, are you saying you and the world’s biggest rock star are sleeping together?”
“Duh.”
Grace laughed. “Well, I can’t say I blame you. Chris is adorable.”
“He is.” Natalie sighed again. “And he’s still the same guy he was when we were little, and we used to spend summers at Wyndham Beach with Gramma, and we’d all play together. You and me and Chris and Jessie and the kids from the playground on Fifth Street, remember? Of course, since I was at least three years younger than everyone else, I got left behind a lot, but still, I have great memories.”
“We did have some great summers growing up. You and Chris need to get your act together and bring Daisy up here so she can have fun summers at her gramma’s house, you hear?”
“I hope by next summer we’ll know where we’re going,” Natalie said softly. “Right now, it’s too soon to tell, and I don’t want to push it.”
“It’s not too soon to know you’re in love with him, Nat.”
“That obvious?”
“To quote my sister, duh.”
“It’s complicated, Gracie. Our lives are so different. He is who he is, and he’s traveling all over the world all the time; he has women flinging themselves at him constantly. I’m a teacher, a single mom with a four-year-old. I don’t lead a very exciting life.” She paused, then added, “Well, except for dating Chris. That’s pretty exciting. But I can’t compete with the women around him, models and actresses and women musicians. He just produced an album for Christal Ozanich. Christal Ozanich, Gracie!”
“So what are you saying? You think he had a fling with her?”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
“Seriously? If you can’t trust him that much, you need to rethink what you’re doing. If it bothers you, you should ask him.”
“I’m afraid he’ll think I’m too . . . I don’t know, clingy. Insecure. Possessive.”
“I don’t know about clingy or possessive, but insecure? Ya think?”
“The truth is the only time I don’t feel insecure is when he’s here with me and Daisy. Then it seems like there’s nothing and no one else on earth. Like we’re a tight unit. Then he’s off for a couple of weeks doing God knows what, and I start to wonder if I shouldn’t be dating someone else.”
“Why would you want to date someone else?”
“I don’t. But what if he is?”
“You’re giving me a headache, Nat.” Grace set her mug on the floor and wiped a hand across her face.
“I give myself a headache. So enough about that. Now you. What’s doing with that house you looked at?”
“Nothing yet. But I will be going over my dream plans with the local contractor after work today. I hope he can do what I want done. He and Mom and Brett and everyone went to school together, and they all say he’s the best around, so I have high expectations.”
“It sounds exciting. I know how you enjoy a good makeover. Send me pictures tonight, okay? But right now, I’ve arrived at my class.” The voices in the background were growing louder. “I gotta go. Talk to you later.”
“Be careful, little sister.”
“I will. Good luck with the house. And don’t tell Mom. Promise.”
“I promise.”
“Pinky promise, Gracie.” Natalie invoked the sacred oath of their childhood.
“Oh, for crying out . . . yes, pinky promise,” Grace said, and the phone went silent.
Grace heard the door close, and Maggie stepped out onto the porch. “Who was that and what are you promising to do?”
“Oh. That was Natalie. She wants me to take pictures of the little house tonight and send them to her.”
“What’s she up to? I haven’t heard from her since last week.” Maggie sat in the chair closest to Grace.
“Just getting to know the kids, planning out the semester, that sort of thing.” Withholding information wasn’t really a lie, right?
Maggie nodded. “Did she say when she might be coming for a visit?”
“I didn’t really have time to pin her down. She was on her way to class when she called.” That much was true. Good so far.
“I know. Let’s fly down to see her next weekend. We’ll surprise her.” Maggie smiled, obviously enamored of the idea.
“Ah, I don’t think that would be a good idea, Mom.”
“Why not?” Maggie narrowed her eyes.
Grace fought the urge to squirm under her mother’s gaze. Maggie had always had a way of digging out whatever it was you were hiding.
“She might be busy with something at school. Or something with Daisy. She might have something lined up with her friends. You know, girls’ night out.” Grace forced herself to remain calm lest she set off her mother’s truth-seeking radar.
“Then we could babysit for Daisy. Girls’ night in,” Maggie countered.
“Or what if she has a date?” Which she could have, if Chris was in town.
“Is she seeing someone? Did she say she met someone?”