Summer on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #6)(30)

“You haven’t been sick, have you?”

“No, no.” He glanced at his assistant. “Would you bring us each a cup of green tea?” he asked.

“I’d be happy to,” Gail assured him with a knowing smile. He’d asked as a way of distracting his mother and Gail knew it.

His mother waited until Gail had left the room. “Green tea?”

she asked, sounding surprised.

“I’ve turned over a new leaf,” he told her. Realizing what he’d said, he added, “No pun intended.”

His mother smiled. In her eyes, there was little he could do wrong.

“I did mention I’ve joined a gym, didn’t I?” There was no need to tell her he’d only been once.

“Oh, yes, and knitting classes, too.”

As if to prove he was taking his physician’s advice seriously, he reached behind his desk where he kept his knitting, although he hadn’t picked it up since that initial class. “I learned how to cast on last week,” he announced proudly, waving the needle with its clumped stitches to show her. He’d managed to knit three or four rows, although for every stitch he made he’d had to unravel two. But, he reasoned, he was learning.

Gloria clapped her hands in delight as he shoved the needle, trailing its skein of white yarn, back in his briefcase. She made him feel there wasn’t anything he couldn’t tackle. Everyone needed a mother like his and in that sense Hutch considered himself one of the fortunate people of this world.

“Did you make that phone call yet?” she asked, looking expectantly at him as she took her place on the leather sofa. Phone call? Hutch was supposed to have made a phone call? He wracked his brain, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember.

“Bryan, you promised. ”

She was Bryan to him when he’d disappointed her. Apparently his blank expression gave him away. “Remind me again who you wanted me to phone.”

Thankfully Gail’s timing was impeccable and she chose just that moment to return with a small tray. The teapot was covered with a white cozy and she’d arranged two cups, together with a small pitcher of milk and packets of sugar. She set it on the corner of his desk and quietly left.

“I’ll pour.” His mother stood and moved toward him.

“I take mine black…or green as the case may be,” he said, thinking himself rather clever.

“Jessie’s friend,” Gloria said, handing him the f irst mug. His sister had lots of friends—and then it hit him. “Oh, that friend.” His mother had mentioned something about a woman, but it’d been early last week and had completely slipped his mind.

“Her name’s Mia Northf ield.” With her own tea in hand, she sat on the sofa and sipped delicately.

The fact was, Hutch didn’t remember much of their conversation. Nor did he recall promising his mother that he’d contact this Mia.

“She’s divorced.”

He nodded. That sounded vaguely familiar.

His mother’s eyes brightened. “I don’t mean to nag, I really don’t. All I want is for you to f ind some nice woman and settle down and have two or three children…or ten.”

Hutch nearly choked on his tea. “Ten?”

“I’d spoil every one of them, you know.”

“I do know.” The image of his mother with young children gathered around her was strangely appealing. The problem was, he hadn’t dated anyone in quite a long time. He was embarrassed to admit just how long it’d been. There didn’t seem to be enough hours in the day for an active social life, not like the one he’d had before his father’s death.

All of a sudden Phoebe Rylander’s face f lashed before him. A warm feeling came over him as he pictured her fragile smile and dark, lively eyes. “As it happens,” he murmured, holding his cup with both hands, “I have met someone.”

His mother sat up straighter. “When?” she asked speculatively, almost as if she didn’t believe him.

“Last week in my knitting class.” He grinned and knew instantly that his mother had noticed.

“Tell me about her.”

There wasn’t really that much to say. “The class is called Knit to Quit,” he began.

Gloria looked worried. “She’s not a smoker, is she?” Then before he could respond, she asked, “Does this girl have a weight issue?” She seemed to regret that question. “Actually, that doesn’t concern me nearly as much as the smoking.”

“This woman doesn’t smoke—” he hoped that was true “—and she’s certainly not overweight.”

“Then tell me about her. Why is she in the class?”

Hutch reviewed the introductions Lydia had asked each of them to make. “To be honest, I don’t remember exactly what Phoebe’s hoping to quit.” What he did recall was a rather sad story. “Apparently she was engaged and her f iancé died shortly before the wedding.” He raised one shoulder in a shrug. “I guess she’s trying to get over him.”

“Phoebe. What a lovely name.” His mother’s eyes clouded with sympathy. “The poor girl.”

“She’s as lovely as her name.” Hutch didn’t realize he’d spoken the words aloud until he saw his mother’s reaction. Gloria sipped her tea, sending him a thoughtful look over the rim of her cup. “She’ll need time to heal, of course. Did she say when this happened?”