Susannah's Garden (Blossom Street #3)(65)

Carolyn sat at one end of the sofa and Susannah the other. After a sip of wine, Susannah gestured to her friend. “You go first.”

Carolyn gave a weak shrug. “With me, it’s a bunch of small things that added up to one disastrous day. I didn’t set my alarm, so I overslept, which I almost never do. Consequently I was late getting into the office. My entire day was off-kilter. I was rude to Jim although I didn’t mean to be and after that, everyone avoided me. I often stay late at the office, but not today. I wanted out of there the minute the whistle blew and frankly I think everyone was just as glad to be rid of me.”

Susannah could sympathize. “I hate it when my day gets off to a bad start.”

“I’ll be checking my alarm clock from now on.” Carolyn tucked her bare feet beneath her as she made herself comfortable on the couch. “All right, it’s your turn.”

“Anything else?”

Carolyn closed her eyes. “Okay, okay, I took the plunge.”

“You and Dave?”

“I didn’t tell you, but we made…sort of a date. For today.” Carolyn sighed. “I ruined everything, though. He was weeding the flower beds this afternoon and I snapped at him and when I left work, I found a note on my windshield that said perhaps we should meet another night instead. Oh, Susannah,” she moaned, “I’m so disappointed.”

Hearing that her friend had acted on her desires was encouraging news. “You actually approached him? Is that how you made your sort-of date?”

Carolyn blushed. It was so wonderful to see Carolyn this excited that Susannah had to hold back a giggle.

“Dave and I…ran into each other,” Carolyn explained. “At He’s Not Here.”

“What happened?”

“Not much…We danced one dance and talked a bit. We decided to meet here tonight and then I had to make a complete mess of things.” She picked up her wineglass. “Enough about me. It’s your turn.”

Susannah wasn’t sure what to tell her first. The most current crisis was her daughter, so she started there. “Chrissie took off…again.”

“With Troy Nance?”

“That’s my guess.”

“Have you considered talking to Sharon about him?” Carolyn asked.

Chrissie would hate it if she went to Troy’s mother, but Susannah was beyond caring. “I saw her earlier today at Safeway. She says she has Jake’s phone number and that the two of them got back together after I left for France.”

“And you believe her?”

Susannah didn’t have any choice. She nodded. “She knew about the St. Christopher medal I gave Jake. I’d forgotten about it, but she hadn’t.”

“Do you really think she’s telling the truth?” Carolyn asked.

Susannah shrugged. “I have to assume she is. Although she didn’t seem to know that Troy’s seeing Chrissie.”

“She knows,” Carolyn muttered. “Trust me, she keeps close tabs on her boy. If you want to find out where Troy and Chrissie are, she’ll be able to tell you.”

As much as Susannah hated talking to Sharon twice in the same day, she had to do it. This ridiculous situation with Troy and Chrissie had gone on long enough. “How old is Troy, anyway?”

“He must be around thirty.”

Susannah frowned. Not only was this guy completely unsuitable, he was far too old for Chrissie. Sooner or later, she’d have to confront Chrissie about her relationship with Troy. When she did, she wanted her facts straight.

“Chrissie’s got you down?”

Susannah ran her fingers down the stem of her wineglass and lifted one shoulder. “She’s only part of the problem. Joe and I had an argument this afternoon.”

“Any particular reason?” Carolyn asked, then rushed to add, “If it’s none of my business, just say so, but if you want to talk, then I’m here to listen.”

Feeling as wretched as she did, Susannah needed to share her dilemmas. “I didn’t tell him I’d hired a private eye.”

“Oh, oh.”

Susannah sighed. “I know it’s crazy. You can imagine how Joe felt when he heard what I’d done—from Chrissie, by the way, which just infuriated me. And yet it’s my own fault for keeping it a secret. Joe was really angry with me, but he was at the office and couldn’t very well vent with his entire staff listening in.”

“He doesn’t understand why it’s so important for you to find Jake, does he?”

“I don’t completely understand it myself. I wish I could just leave everything the way it is, but Carolyn, I can’t. It’s too late.” She bent her head, eyes closed. “Joe is my life raft, so why do I keep pushing him away? I can’t seem to help it. I’m risking everything for this, and when I consider what’s at stake, I have to admit it’s crazy. I can’t undo the past.”

“So what happens next?”

Susannah wished she knew. “I have an appointment with the P.I. on Tuesday afternoon.”

“So she didn’t tell you anything yet?”

“Not really. She mentioned putting out some feelers in Canada. I don’t have a clue what that’s all about. She said she’d tell me on Tuesday.”

“She must have some news, otherwise she wouldn’t have asked for an appointment,” Carolyn said.