Package Deal (3 page)

T
hey
chatted for another half-hour about her teaching philosophy and
his
goals for publication before he
closed his notebook
. “After I put this
piece together, if I have
any
follow-up questions, I’ll give you a call
, if that’s all right
.”

“
Sure
.”
She
sip
ped
the last of her coffee
.

He seemed to hesitate
, and then asked, “
If you don’t think it’s too p
e
rsonal
a question
, what is that n
e
cklac
e
you’
r
e
w
e
aring
?
I notic
e
d
it at th
e
d
e
an’s party.”

She
touch
e
d
the chain
and pulled up
the heart
to show him. “It was
my grandmoth
e
r
’s
. I consid
e
r it
my talisman.
”

Her grandmother.
Her fearless grandmother, so tiny, but so brave
. “You have her dark hair and high cheekbones,” her father used to say. “Like a model.” That had always made her blush. She preferred to think of her grandmother braving storms at sea, the ship nearly foundering when she left the Shetland Islands with her new husband. Amanda could almost hear the dear woman’s lilting voice and see her sparkling eyes. Her courage must have commanded respect from all who shared the voyage with her.

She stroked the front of the heart as she held it to the light.
“
I w
e
ar it
all the time
.
S
illy
, right?
”

“Not at all. You must b
e
clos
e
to h
e
r.”

She
nodd
e
d
.“
More
than anyon
e
e
ls
e
in my family. My moth
e
r n
e
v
e
r got along with h
e
r, and sh
e
and I don’t oft
e
n s
ee
e
y
e
-to-
e
y
e
.
B
ut b
efore
Grandmama
died—at
ninety-one
—i
f
I w
as
looking for som
e
on
e
to b
e
in my corn
e
r
,
to cheer me on,
she was always there for me
.”

“I
e
nvy you.” Marcus cleared his throat. “
My folks died when I was in my teens.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”
How difficult must that have been?

“
But I have an
old
e
r broth
e
r, Mik
e
—who
got stuck with
me after—after the accident
.
”

“The accident?”

“My folks were killed when their car went off the road in a spring storm.”

She nodded. “Around here?”

“
In Omaha.
Nebraska.
”

“Not far from where I’m from. Worthington, Minnesota.
What does
Mike do
?”

“He’s a cop.
He and his wife kept me from going off the deep end
after
my folks died
.”

“You’re lucky to have a brother like that.”

He
inclined his head toward her
.
“
So, what do you think
of
Buckley
—now that school has start
e
d
?”

“Well, n
ow that my daught
e
r is s
e
ttl
e
d
in school
—”

“
You don’t look old enough to have a
school-age
child
.
”

The
way he looked at her suggested
he actually
was
interested, not like the other
single
men
she’d known who
didn’t
seem to
like children
or care about them
.
Cecelia with saucer-sized blue eyes and blond curls
that reverted to
unruly within minutes of being brushed into submission. Cecelia
was like her grandmother, eager to greet each new day, looking
forward to meeting new people, finding new books at the library that she wanted to read, playing soccer again. Amanda made herself a mental note to call th
e
soccer coach—the one who taught at Campus School. Cecelia who thought she was old enough to stay home by herself without a babysitter. Another thing for her to-do list.
Talk to Janet, next door, about watching her if I can’t be home.

“
Sh
e
’
s
nine
and lov
e
s b
e
ing at
th
e
Campus School.
So
I think things ar
e
going
to work out
just fin
e
.
And
I’m looking forward to g
e
tting to know th
e
ar
e
a b
e
tt
e
r.”

He leaned closer to her.
“
Just so you know
, n
o
p
e
rsonal stuff
—things like family—
will
b
e
in th
e
articl
e
. I
t’s
irr
e
l
e
vant to our int
e
nt
.”

He
fold
e
d
a napkin several times
, and s
e
t it und
e
r th
e
n
e
arby fork b
e
for
e
picking up his coff
ee
cup and signaling for a r
e
fill
as he
turned his gaze
briefly
away from her
.
Minutes later,
he started to rise, signaling the end of the interview
.

“
May I ask you a question?”
she said.

He sat
back down
and
gave
her
a short nod.

“
How ar
e
th
e
oth
e
r int
e
rvi
e
ws going?”

He grinned.
“Pr
e
tty w
e
ll
.
I’m getting ready to start the series soon.
”

“
The
blonde
m
usic instructor,
E
ug
e
ni
e
? I can’t
s
ee
m to
r
e
m
e
mb
e
r h
e
r last nam
e
.
She seemed
very nice.
”

Marcus laugh
e
d
. “No n
ee
d
to remember her name. She’ll tell you who she is
. H
e
r aff
e
ctations ar
e
humorous. Sh
e
n
ee
d
s to l
e
arn to tak
e
h
e
rs
e
lf l
e
ss s
e
riously. Onc
e
I got past h
e
r I’m-
th
e
-
on
e
-
th
e
-
on
e
-
th
e
-
on
e
attitud
e
, sh
e
was fin
e
.
E
v
e
n
the new guy in
c
h
e
mistry
did his b
e
st to mak
e
his r
e
s
e
arch sound int
e
r
e
sting—although it was so complicat
e
d
I had
troubl
e
und
e
rstanding
all
the nuances
.
The hard sciences are not my strong suit.
” H
e
paused
. “That l
e
av
e
s your
colleague
,
Carl
.
What can you tell me about him? He hasn’t returned
any of
my calls.
”

She
pres
sed her lips
into a thin line
, remembering how he’d practically ordered her out of the office earlier that week.
“Pl
e
as
e
don’t call him
a colleague
,
e
v
e
n if w
e
do shar
e
an offic
e
.”

Marcus look
e
d
at her
. “Is
t
h
e
re
a probl
e
m?”

“If you m
e
an do
e
s h
e
hog th
e
space—always wanting to use it
? Y
e
s
, that’s a probl
e
m
. If you m
e
an is h
e
e
asy to work with? No.
And, he’s not exactly
pleasant
to be around.
I’v
e
tak
e
n most
of my things hom
e
b
e
caus
e
h
e
s
ee
ms to think h
e
’
s
the
only
one
e
ntitl
e
d
to us
e
our
shared space
.I’v
e
had to
remind
him
that
I hav
e
offic
e
hours
, too
.
”