Wildest Dreams (Thunder Point #9)(53)

Grace ignored her; she wasn’t worried about any of that. “I can scale back the hours. My drop-in sales are not the biggest—most of my business comes over the website or phone. But I don’t want to be forced to give it up.”

“It’s going to work out, Grace. If it truly makes you happy, you’ll find a way. There is always a way.”

Grace leaned over and kissed Winnie’s cheek. “A year ago you would have argued that the flower business wasn’t worth my time.”

“I’ve decided that I’d like to be missed when I go, after all.”

Grace laughed at her mother. “And what can we do that would make you happy?” she asked.

“Me? Well, I’ve been thinking about that. I’d like to go to one of those football games.”

“You? Football?”

“Everyone goes,” Winnie said. “The whole town goes. Then half of them come out to the beach and make noise till all hours, dancing around the fires like druids.”

“Well, then, we’ll take you to a game,” Grace said. “Who would’ve guessed?”

“What? I’ve been to football games!” Winnie said.

“Really? Have you ever been to one where you didn’t view from a private box?”

She shrugged and made a face. “Perhaps not. But I think it sounds like fun.”

“Then fun it shall be,” Grace promised.

“Only if it’s not raining, of course,” Winnie said.

“Of course,” Grace said, laughing.

* * *

In the evenings, Lin Su embroidered the ornate letter S onto towels that were very pale taupe in color, just like the walls in Blake’s hallway and master bath. She chose a silk thread that was between tan and gold. It was because of her mother’s swatch that she taught herself this needlework, not nearly as good as those Vietnamese artisans, but her work was excellent and she was proud of this towel set. She thought he might appreciate it as something he wouldn’t otherwise have purchased. And it was personal without being intimate, the perfect gift for a single man.

Lin Su was very grateful to Winnie for her desire to attend a football game because that paved the way for Lin Su to go along, be of service and check out her son as he attended with a few new friends from school. She couldn’t go with him; that was too invasive. And she hadn’t wanted to go alone.

Charlie and a couple of kids sat near Troy, Grace, Peyton and Iris. Scott was down on the field with the team and Seth was near the field, the town deputy ready for anything, though he was not in uniform. Charlie was considered very cool to have this association with these Thunder Point residents, particularly Troy, considered by many to be the most popular teacher.

But what she noticed during halftime and the end of another successful Thunder Point game was that there were a number of kids swirling around Charlie, high-fiving him, patting him on the back, calling out to him and generally being wonderfully friendly.

Winnie was bundled up and sat in her wheelchair at the base of the bleachers, wearing one of her beloved furs. Her friends swung by to say hello. There was Lou and Gina, Carrie and Ray Anne. Mikhail and Lin Su stayed near her, Seth and Troy checking on them regularly, offering to bring them goodies from the concession stand. And not surprisingly, Blake happened along and chose to stand for a long while with his next-door neighbors. Then he went into the bleachers and squeezed in with Charlie and his friends, probably enhancing Charlie’s sudden popularity.

Lin Su couldn’t stop smiling. As far as she knew, Charlie had never enjoyed camaraderie like this before. She had worried about him almost constantly, fearing he was regularly picked on by older, bigger kids. But tonight, he was laughing and cheering wildly. She checked her coat pocket to make sure she had that extra inhaler and EpiPen, then stopped herself. He was fine. He was happy.

For once Lin Su wore jeans and boots with a heel, wrapped in her new red winter coat, her hair loose and flowing down her back. It was probably feeling good in her civilian clothes that made her a little more animated, a bit more excited. She looked like a real woman for once and not so much like the local nurse. And since she’d been living in the loft in town for a couple of weeks, people shouted out to her as one of the neighbors enjoying their favorite entertainment—a high school football game.

Her relationship with everyone had evolved. She began to think of many of them as friends. Their acquaintance grew beyond her work for Winnie and much of that had to do with the simple fact that Charlie was in school all day and Lin Su had more time to connect with people. She went to work a little later in the morning, took breaks in the afternoon while Winnie napped; she even babysat the flower shop a couple of times so that Grace could spend an hour or two of quality time with her mother.

She was spending a little time with Blake because of Charlie’s training schedule and because they ran into each other so frequently. She was even invited to come to Blake’s gym to watch Charlie work out with Blake. But only once. And, she suspected, only at Blake’s insistence.

There were little slivers of time here and there when it was only Blake and Lin Su. It was quite by accident, of course. Lin Su would be out on Winnie’s deck for a little while or maybe on the beach road watching for Charlie to get home from school. Blake would always greet her and take a few minutes to talk. Blake liked to take a happy hour with the family when everyone was gathering at the end of the day, though his cocktail would be a lime and electrolyte-charged water. He was always in training. And with a big race coming up, he was more rigid than ever about his schedule.