Emma laughed good-naturedly. “I know you and Maggie get a kick out of repeating that mantra of mine, but he is indeed a good boy.”
“Well, I owe that good boy big-time. Let me know when he’s coming home again. The least I can do is cook his favorite meal for him.” Liddy slid the check back into the envelope. If the bank were open, she’d have been putting on her shoes and heading out the front door.
“I wish I knew when he’d be home,” Emma said wistfully. “He travels so much. And . . .”
“And what?”
“I think he’s seeing someone.”
Liddy laughed. “Em, honey, your boy is always seeing someone. He’s an international rock star.”
“No, I mean I think he’s seeing someone special. I think he has a girlfriend,” Emma confided.
“A girlfriend? As in, just one? That would be news.” Liddy got up and poured wine into the glasses she’d earlier set out, then handed one to Emma. “What makes you think that?”
“Just a feeling.” She appeared to think it over. “I can’t put my finger on anything in particular. Just little things like he said he wasn’t taking a date to the music awards.”
“So?” Liddy brought the cheese and fruit to the table.
“So he always has a date for those award things. He never goes alone.”
“Did you ask him about it?”
Emma shook her head. “I don’t want to be the mother who constantly pries into her kid’s life. He’s in his thirties. He doesn’t have to answer to me.”
“If he had a girlfriend, he’d be taking her, right?” Liddy thought aloud. “So maybe he’s just taking a break from, you know, dating. Whatever that means these days.”
“Maybe.” Emma sounded unconvinced. “Or maybe his girlfriend wasn’t available for some reason.”
“What woman wouldn’t be available for Chris Dean?” Liddy scoffed. “Unthinkable.”
Emma shrugged. “I guess.”
“He’d let you know, I’m fairly sure, if there was someone special, and he’d bring her home to meet you. Despite being who he is, he’s still a good boy.” Liddy grinned.
“And yet again, you mock me.” Emma laughed.
“Nope. Just agreeing with you. You raised him right, Em. He’s still the polite, respectful young man we all knew when he was growing up.”
“God, I hope so.” Emma expelled a long breath. “All I really want for him is to find the right girl and be happy.”
“And live happily ever after right here in Wyndham Beach. And have lots of kids for you to spoil,” Liddy teased.
“What’s wrong with wanting your family nearby? Or wanting to be a grandmother?”
“Nothing. I’m just teasing.” Liddy topped off their wine. When Emma began to protest, Liddy reminded her, “You’re not driving. You’re walking less than two blocks. You can handle it.”
And at least you have the prospect of becoming a grandparent, which I do not, Liddy could have said, but she held her tongue. It wasn’t Emma’s fault. It was just one more thing Jess’s suicide had taken from her.
Time to change the subject.
“So it looks like Maggie and Brett have picked up where they left off, lo, those many years ago,” Liddy said.
Emma nodded. “They belong together. They always have. It was inevitable they’d find their way back to each other. It’s good they have time to spend together, now she’s moved back home.”
Liddy raised an eyebrow, and Emma asked, “What?”
“I have it on good authority they’re spending a lot of time together.”
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”
“No, I say that as if they’re practically living together.” Liddy picked up a cracker and took a bite.
“Well, she did mention he stayed over a few times.”
“More than a few. It’s, like, practically every night.”
“Did Maggie tell you that?”
Liddy shook her head. “Grace did. She’s thinking about looking for a small place to rent so she can move out and give the lovebirds some space.”
“Was she serious? About moving out?” Without waiting for a response, Emma said, “I wonder how Maggie would feel about that.”
“I think Maggie would be okay about it, but I don’t think Grace has discussed it with her, so don’t say anything unless Maggie brings it up.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t. So I guess Grace is planning on staying in Wyndham Beach at least for a little while. Is she looking for an apartment here in town?”
“She said she isn’t sure where she wants to go or what she wants to do in the long run, but for now she’s staying, and yes, she’s looking. She’s built up quite a nice business creating websites. She’s very creative. She’s doing a lot of work for me, including setting up online book sales; plus she’ll be working in the shop a few hours every day once we open. So I hope she stays around. I’d hate to have to find someone else who can do all the things she’s doing. She spends almost as much time at the shop as I do.”
“Good luck to her finding someplace reasonable to live. There’s not much available in terms of rentals, and I understand those few are quite expensive.”
“I did caution her, and I suggested she check the bulletin board at the general store.”
“I was in there this morning and I checked out the board—force of habit, you know. No one goes in or out without checking the board. The only rental notice I saw was for a room on Allen Scott’s third floor.”
“Which is probably unheated, and comes with the possibility of that old coot popping in unannounced. I will make certain she knows not to follow up on that one.”
Emma appeared about to say something, but did not until Liddy asked, “What?”
“I was just thinking. You have the carriage house with a full apartment in it, and . . .”
“The apartment is Jessie’s,” Liddy snapped.
“Of course.” Chastised, Emma looked down into her wineglass. “I shouldn’t have . . . I’m sorry.”
Liddy sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped on you. For one thing, I doubt Grace would want to live in the apartment where her friend took her life. For another, and it probably sounds irrational, I can’t bear the thought of cleaning all of Jess’s things out of the apartment and filling it with someone else’s belongings. I’m not over it, Em.”
“And you shouldn’t be.” Emma got up and, gesturing for Liddy to scoot over on the bench seat, sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. “No one should ever expect to ‘get over’ losing a child. You do have to move on with your own life, and I must say I’m so proud of you for doing that, even in the wake of Jim’s leaving and your divorce. Buying the bookshop was a brilliant move on your part, and I love you’re doing it. But your moving on doesn’t mean leaving Jess behind.”
“She’s with me every day.” Liddy searched her pockets for a tissue as tears began to flow.
“Of course she is. She always will be. I don’t know if I could go on if something happened to Chris. I worry about him all the time, and I pray for him every morning and every night.” She smiled weakly. “I have my entire family praying for his safety.”