The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(59)

“This is a very beautiful place, Noah. I can see why Hannah wanted to bring you here for a vacation,” Victoria said.

“We might stay,” Noah said.

Hannah stifled a gasp. She had tried not to give him false hopes about staying; that decision was between her and Owen. She had been honest about needing to go back to work but that was as far as the discussions had gone.

Sheila put on a cheerful smile and sat down at the table. She shuffled the cards, dealt and made a little quiet small talk. She asked Hannah if she’d been to her friend Sully’s garden lately, asked what he was growing, asked how long she’d known him. Owen and Cal were stoically quiet. Hannah was just nervous, trying to hear what was being said between Noah and Victoria.

She picked up little things. It’s all right if you want to call me Grandma, Victoria said. I’ll just call you Mrs. Addison, Noah replied. Maybe when we know each other better, Victoria said. Look here, I brought you an iPad that you can play games and watch movies on. I already have one, he said. Maybe you can give it to some poor kid.

It took about twenty minutes to realize Sheila and Cal weren’t missing a word and they were purposely keeping their small talk quiet and superficial, not naming any full names, not giving away any information, talking about their cards, the weather, the lake, possible fishing later.

“Tell me things about my mom,” Noah said.

“Well, when she was little, like your age, she had blond pigtails and liked to climb trees. She didn’t want to wear dresses or fancy clothes. She was very smart in school.” On and on she went. Hannah frowned. Victoria could have been talking about any pretty little child. Then Victoria began pulling things out of the beach bag—she had brought him clothes, a couple of baseball hats, some books, a few games and shirts emblazoned with the logos for the Minnesota Vikings and Twins, football and baseball teams.

“Tell me some things about my mom when she was older. Like, before she was my mom,” Noah said.

“Well, she loved cookies and candy. She loved to bake pies, cakes and bread. Since she worked all the time, she wasn’t able to do it too often, but when she felt like it, she baked up a storm. She loved to go to the state fair—she loved the rides, especially the scariest ones. She used to love all the food at the fair—corn dogs, cotton candy, barbecue and popcorn. She liked to stay up late and watch scary movies, and I remember she used to love to dress up for Halloween—a witch or a wizard or Alice in Wonderland.”

“Did she have pets? Like Romeo?” he asked.

“She had a little dog when she was in high school but when she went off to college, she left him behind. She didn’t have a pet after him, at least not that she ever told me about. She was independent. She liked being alone. Until you came along, that is. She loved being a mom.”

“She did?”

“Oh, she did!” Victoria said. “She used to brag about you all the time! But, Noah, tell me more about you. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I’m planning to be a photographer,” he said. “Or a doctor. Or I’d like to be a firefighter like Connie.”

“Connie?” she asked.

“He’s our friend,” Noah said. “He’s a mountain climber and a rescuer. He’s the coolest guy.”

Victoria was quiet for a moment. “Would you like me to read to you for a while? I brought some books.”

“What was my mom’s favorite color?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. When she was a little girl she liked pink and then blue later. She loved puzzles and music. You know, rock music, like all teenagers do. Let’s read, okay?”

“Sure,” he said. “Go ahead.”

He settled back to listen and Victoria pulled out a pile of large picture books and asked him to pick one, which he did. Victoria began reading a picture book that might have been sold to her as appropriate for a five-year-old, but Victoria had no idea Noah was reading much of Treasure Island on his own, very seldom stumbling on words.

Hannah lost five games of hearts in a row because she just couldn’t pay attention. Owen and Cal tried to engage her in conversation but she just couldn’t focus. Her ear was turned to Noah. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Noah said, “Thank you. Hannah, can we be done now?”

Hannah looked at her watch. It had barely been an hour. She turned her questioning eyes to Cal, who gave a slight nod. “Okay.” She got up and walked to the other end of the porch. “Thank you for coming, Mrs. Addison. And thank you for bringing all these nice things for Noah.”

“Our time can’t be over already!” she said.

“I guess our little guy is worn-out,” Hannah said. “Maybe next time will last a little longer.”

“Is there going to be an entire congregation for our next visit? Because that would make anyone uncomfortable, and I don’t know how I’m expected to make a good impression with everyone staring at me.”

“That’s all right, Mrs. Addison. You were very nice to all of us and we didn’t have any expectations. I guess we’ll see you at your next scheduled visit. Thank you for everything. You were so generous.”

Victoria merely grunted. She stood, leaned over to put a gentle kiss on Noah’s head and briefly patted his hair. “I’ll see you next week.”