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“It’s not as bad as that,” he said with a laugh.
“What you eat actually sounds worse,” Winnie said. “You had a very good rest, my dear. How you thought you weren’t exhausted is a mystery.”
“I didn’t realize...”
But her son narrowed his eyes at her. He didn’t like that she never expressed a need or weakness.
“You were right, I was a little tired,” she relented.
“I’m accustomed to being right about everything. Ask my daughter. Now fix yourself something to eat and join us. There’s gossip. Grace can tell you all about her former assistant, Ginger, who fell in love with a Basque farmer and ran away to his farm to marry him.”
“I’m going to get back to the clinic,” Scott said. “I know this story—I married a Basque woman. Same family. Charlie, you have my number. You know you can call me anytime. If your meds run out or aren’t doing the trick...”
“Yeah, thanks, Doc. I got it.”
“Lin Su, when you have some time, let’s have a conversation about running a few routine lung function tests on Charlie as a follow-up,” Scott said. “We should do an assessment of his progress or the lack. Just give me a call.”
“Absolutely,” she said. “Thank you.”
Lin Su went to the kitchen to make herself a half sandwich. Because the house had an open floor plan, she had no trouble hearing the story. She knew most of it, anyway, if not the finer details. She’d been on the scene since June. That’s when Grace and Troy got married; Grace had a little bun in the oven already and her assistant, Ginger, helped set up all the flowers for the wedding. The person who hadn’t gotten all the details was Winnie, who was lapping them up.
“When Ginger thought Matt was taking her for granted, not calling her back when he said he would, she just changed her number. That got his attention. After that it was almost smooth sailing until Ginger insisted that Matt confront his own failed marriage and make peace with his ex-wife, who he hated.”
“Your father had an ex-wife he hated,” Winnie said. “We had no conflict with that. I hated her, too.”
“Well, we’re talking about different people and it all worked. Matt made peace. Ginger was so proud of him and so touched. I caught her crying in the workroom. So I told her to pack a bag and go! Matt’s the man she’s been waiting for all her life. She wants nothing more than to make a home for a family, and boy, does he have family. He’s one of eight—Peyton’s younger brother and a partner in the Lacoumette farm with his father and brother. It’s a match made in heaven. I offered to do the flowers.”
“Grace, I had no idea you were such a romantic,” Winnie said.
“I had no idea I was romantic, either, till I met Troy,” she said.
“Gag,” Charlie said.
“You wait, little man,” Grace said. “Some girl is going to come along someday and twist your tail good!”
That made Lin Su smile. Then she saw Blake coming to the kitchen. He stood beside her and looked at her with kind eyes. Bedroom eyes. His thick lashes hooded his striking blue eyes.
“I think you’re feeling better today,” he said softly.
“Considerably,” she said. Then she sighed, looked down and shook her head sadly. “My apologies. Winnie was right. I was out of sorts.”
“Who wouldn’t be?” he returned.
“I had the lock repaired, so you needn’t worry that we’re not safe,” she whispered to him.
She could see a troubled look cross his face. That lock was the least of it and they both knew it. If those creeps could chase a defenseless kid in broad daylight they could assault a small woman as she walked from her car to the door. For that matter, they could grab a crowbar and pop open that door.
“My offer stands,” he said. “You wouldn’t be in the way. In fact, I might not notice you’re there.”
Oh, she would never! “That’s so kind of you,” she said. “I am grateful. We’ll be fine.”
“I’ve offended you,” he said. “I’m sorry. Maybe someday when you know me better... Well, let’s just say I would never criticize your choices. Clearly, you’re a survivor. But I apologize if my offer...”
“No, think nothing of it.” She cut the sandwich in half and transferred it to a plate. “Let’s join the party.” And carrying the plate, she went to the living room.
* * *
Lin Su did consider Blake’s offer of housing in spite of herself. In fact, her pride came so hard. She wanted to be safe, comfortable and warm; she wanted the best for her son. There was some ingrained part of her that fought so hard for the pride that made accepting charity a last resort.
On the weekend, the last weekend before the start of school, there seemed to be a lot of socializing on the beach and around Cooper’s bar. Families were getting ready to be free of the kids, teachers were preparing for the first week of school. A group of cheerleaders were practicing on the beach and Spencer told Lin Su that the nights of fall were filled with fires on the beach, cheers and laughter from the teens, usually following the football games.
On Sunday while she was sitting on the deck with Winnie and Troy, three familiar women came walking down the beach toward the house.
“There they are,” Troy said with a grin. “The belly brigade. I thought they were having lunch with Iris.”
“And dessert with Winnie and Mom,” Charlie said. He was sitting on the chaise, laptop open.
Lin Su just looked down shyly, but Grace had told her that morning. In fact, Lin Su was invited to Iris’s for lunch, but she respectfully declined, saying Winnie might need her. And so Grace had told her to catch up on whatever chores there were so she could join them. It was a beautiful, sunny day and they’d sit out on the deck, so Lin Su went inside to find place mats for the table.
By the time Lin Su was wiping down the table before the place mats were set down, it was obvious that Grace was carrying a pie and Peyton was carrying a grocery bag that probably held ice cream.
“We’re gonna want to get out of here, Charlie,” Troy said.
“They have pie!” Charlie said.
“Winnie will save you some,” Troy said. “Let’s go throw the Frisbee around while they talk about stretch marks, due dates, birthing plans and other boring stuff.”
“Will you save me pie, Winnie?” he implored.
“You know you don’t even have to ask!”
Before they could make a getaway, the women stopped them on the beach. Iris spent a lot of time talking to Charlie while Grace and Peyton were laughing with Troy. And finally they were on the deck.
“Look at this,” Grace said. Lin Su had the table set with dessert plates, napkins, forks and cups. She had brewed two pots of tea and added cream and sugar to the table. “This is so perfect. We’re having a tea party!”
While Lin Su was loath to admit it, the time she spent with these women was wonderful fun. They laughed so hard they had to pee. For the pregnant ones, this was an issue—one at a time they were skittering off to the bathroom. Winnie laughed as hard as the others.
They had due date issues—it seemed they were all due within a few days of one another, all planned to go to Pacific Birthing Center, had the same OB and midwife. They described scenarios in which they were all in labor at the same time, ready to give birth simultaneously. Grace confessed she didn’t know the gender of their baby—she had a bet with Troy. Iris was having a girl—the Sileskis were famous for making boys so the baby girl would be so welcome. Peyton said she and Scott knew but weren’t ready to tell. She wouldn’t even divulge the colors of the nursery.
They talked a bit about Ginger and Matt. Peyton had the inside scoop being both close to Matt and her mother. “She’s living on the farm in an RV. A swanky RV that Matt says is a rental and he’s going to upgrade that to an even nicer model. They’ll be in it for a year while they’re building their house near the orchard.”
“God, what an awesome place to live!” Grace said. “Lin Su, someday we’ll take you and Mother to the Lacoumette farm—in the spring when the orchard is in bloom.”
“Late spring,” Peyton said. “When the planting is in full swing, when they’re shearing and lambing and Mama’s garden is ripening. When the pear trees are in full bloom. Winnie, you will be amazed by the beauty!”
“Is it handicap accessible?” she asked wryly.
“There are so many big men,” Grace said. “You’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven. Mikhail will be so jealous.”
“Lin Su, we’ll bring Charlie—and his EpiPen! There are insects. And we’ll bring Scott—he’s almost as good as an EpiPen. We’ll have a caravan,” Peyton said.
“Ginger came to get the rest of her clothes last week. We had a dinner out to say a proper goodbye to the girls. It was not sad,” Grace said. “I’ve never seen anyone more in love, more ready for the next phase of her life. Hey!” she suddenly exclaimed. “She came to gather up the last of her things! The loft is empty again!”
Everyone just looked at her, not understanding.
“Lin Su, didn’t you want to get closer to town? Well, it’s there if you want it.” Grace bit on her lower lip. “It’s very small, probably much smaller than you’re used to. There’s only one bedroom, but it’s a pretty big bedroom, and the couch is a pullout. Oh, and the kitchen is hardly anything—tiny—but if you and Charlie are having a lot of meals here, maybe that wouldn’t be too inconvenient. I lived in it for over a year. It’s kind of great actually.”
“I wouldn’t want to impose...”
“Impose?” Winnie asked. “If someone doesn’t live in it, it will sit and mold. Troy and Grace put the furniture and TV from his apartment downstairs. That loft is like an adorable little tree house. I’ve seen it exactly once—I was charmed.”
“Well, Mother. You never said that!” Grace said.
“I think we weren’t getting on at the time. But it is darling, Grace. Lin Su, you should consider it. At least look at it. Small but comfortable.”
Lin Su smiled and nodded. They thought she couldn’t live in a small space? That made her happy—they didn’t know how little it took to make her happy. “I have a very tight budget. Single mothers all do,” she said. “But I’d love to see it.”
“Maybe later?” Grace said.
“I would love to, but today I’m leaving right after Winnie is settled for the night. Charlie and I have a few things to pick up for school—just incidentals—and I want to get him home for a good night’s sleep. Maybe tomorrow? When I have a break?”
“Perfect!”
The girls and Winnie enjoyed themselves so much that Winnie’s nap was cut short. While she rested, Grace and Lin Su tried their hand at a meat loaf, mashed potatoes and asparagus dinner. The rolls came from Carrie’s deli; the asparagus was contributed by Mikhail, who purchased it at a farm stand; Troy peeled the potatoes and the meat loaf recipe came right off the internet, thanks to Charlie.
Soon after the table was cleared Grace sent Lin Su on her way. “I know you have a little shopping to finish on your way home. Let me get Winnie settled tonight. You and Charlie go on.”
“I’ll take you up on that,” she said. “We’re both excited for the first day of school. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Lin Su and Charlie drove to the nearest Target. She had already taken care of his clothes and shoes but still needed school supplies and a new jacket. She wasn’t sure if this was a happy coincidence or if Grace was doing a good deed. She was aware that Ginger had moved out and that Grace wouldn’t be living there any longer, but what she didn’t know for sure was whether Grace could use the space for her business and decided to sacrifice it because Lin Su was looking around. Also, although it was said to be very small, Lin Su was aware—Grace and her mother had very high quality possessions and excellent taste—it might be an expensive rental and out of her reach so she didn’t even mention it to Charlie.
But then they pulled up to the fifth wheel and Lin Su’s heart sank.
“Oh, my God!” Charlie cried. “Shit!”
Lin Su didn’t say anything about his language. For a moment she didn’t even know what to fear. The trailer had been broken into—the door stood open. Just six inches, but still. It was dark and ominous.
“Stay in the car,” she said.
“Don’t go in there,” Charlie said. “You never go in a building when you don’t know who’s in there.” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1, reporting that the padlocked door had been pried open.
All Lin Su could do was look into what was her home. She didn’t recognize it. It was torn apart, things she didn’t even recognize strewn everywhere. Her mind raced—she didn’t have anything of real value, just the most necessary articles of daily living—linens, clothing, pots and pans, dishes... She’d always felt safe from burglars—there wasn’t much to steal. But there were pictures! She ran to what served as her bedroom, turning on lights along the way. She pulled out the drawer under the bed and it was still there—her album. She wasn’t just frugal with money, she was also frugal with space. She had kept some pictures from her childhood in Boston and there were the pictures of Charlie as a baby and toddler. And they were safe.
Then she spied the small closet, the door literally ripped off—and it was gone, her box of treasures. It was a wood and ivory box, not very big. It didn’t hold much and the street value would be nothing. Less than nothing. It held the hospital bracelets she and Charlie wore after his birth, his first tooth in a small envelope, two faux-gold coins, a chain and pendant given to her by one of her sisters. And the swatch—the lotus embroidery. The only thing she had of her biological mother.
She fell to her knees and started searching the floor of the closet, the backs of the shelves, under the bed. “No no no no no,” she whimpered. Why take that? It was worthless. Even the box itself couldn’t be worth twenty dollars! She crawled around the room, stretching her hands under shelves, into corners, even under the bedding. She reached into drawers that had been rifled through and, without realizing it, she was speaking Vietnamese. Rapidly. Breathlessly. Mournfully.
She cried. Then she began to hum softly as she searched.
* * *
Charlie stood in the bedroom doorway. “Send someone, please,” he said into the phone.
Then he disconnected and found another number, one recently put into her directory. He clicked on the button. The man answered, “Blake Smiley.”
“Yeah, it’s Charlie. Need a little help here, Blake. Our trailer—it got ripped up, torn apart, and things were taken. Things my mom really loves. I don’t know what to do.”
“Did you call the police?” Blake asked.
“Yeah, but... They’ll send someone when they can. They said we should file a report. It could be a long time since there’s no imminent danger—no robbers here. But I think we have a problem. My mom. She’s broken.”
Five (#ulink_49d81460-2d0f-52f0-8783-28dfb1863fd9)
When Blake pulled up to the trailer it didn’t look as though anything was amiss. When he went to knock on the door he could see the lock was broken and the door was closed but not latched. Still, he knocked.
Charlie opened the door. “Sorry, Blake. I guess I could’ve called Troy and Grace, but my mom, she worries a lot about people feeling sorry for her, especially people she works for. She’s the caregiver, y’know? She always has to be the strong one. The together one. I’m the only weakness in her life.”
“Don’t start that,” Blake said. “You’re her kid and she takes good care of you. That’s not a weakness.”
“All I’m saying is I’m the only thing that keeps her from going to work. Like if I get sick or something. And I know you offered us a place to stay overnight if we needed it so I thought...”
“You did the right thing. I’m glad I was able to take the call. Now what’s happening with your mom? You said she’s broken?”
“Look,” Charlie said, nodding toward the bedroom.
Blake could hear soft humming. He was a little perplexed, but he looked. Lin Su was kneeling on the bed, folding clothes, rocking and humming as she did so. He looked a little more closely—they were mostly Charlie’s clothes and it appeared some of them might have been damaged. He wasn’t sure if these were just clothes hard worn by a fourteen-year-old boy or if the vandals had done it.
“Was anything taken?” he asked Charlie.
“It’s kind of hard to tell, it’s all such a mess. A couple of things for sure, my mom’s winter coat—she hung it in the bathroom. She said it stayed fresh that way as there was no room in the closet and she wouldn’t keep it near the cooking. And her treasure box. It was little.” He demonstrated, using his hands. “It just had a few things in it—no jewelry or anything. There were two gold coins she said came from her grandfather, passed to her mother, passed to her. It was rumored he was an Army officer, but there’s no proof. She said keeping them safe in a refugee camp was a miracle. Our wristbands from when I was born—hers and mine. A crucifix and beads given to her by a Catholic sister at a hospital once when I was a patient. But the most important thing she had was a swatch—her mother embroidered some lotus flowers on a cloth and it was the only thing she had of her mother’s.”
“Have you talked to her? Is she in shock?”
“I think a little bit. She’s been talking in Vietnamese—she only knows a little. She was adopted when she was a real little girl, like two or three, so it’s amazing she remembered any. But she worked in a couple of manicure shops that were owned by Vietnamese and picked some up again. She was born in America. I think this Vietnamese stuff... I think it’s stress.”
“Okay,” Blake said, rubbing a big hand down his face. “What is it you want me to do?”
“I don’t know. We have to get out of here—the door won’t close. I wasn’t sure I could convince her...”
“Right,” he said. “Go try to make some sense of the mess in the living room and kitchen. Do a little straightening, figure out what’s missing if you can.”
“What if they come back?” Charlie said.
“That would make my day,” Blake said, eyes narrow, jaw clenched. “Those three dopers who chased you the other day?”
“Seems like. But you gotta wonder why they didn’t do it sooner. I mean, we’ve been here nine months.”
“Maybe we’ll figure it out later. Right now we have to get this place under control, pack up some things, leave. You work out here. Let me see to your mom.”
