Sweet Serendipity (5 page)

“What?” Rebecca responded.

“The girl I hired to fill in while I am out just bailed on me. I need someone to run the store for me for the next few weeks. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’ll pay you and pay you well. It is summer and all the tourists are here. It’s my busy season.”

“Oh Em, I wasn’t really expecting this,” Rebecca commented.

“I know, but the baby is too small for daycare, and James will be home soon. I just want some time to settle in and get some sort of routine going. I’d never ask you to do it, but like I said, the girl I hired quit on me. I promise it’s just for the summer. I’ll be back in a few weeks and then you can work with me while the tourist season is here. Then you’ll be off the hook. It will be short days. I close by five, and you’ll have your evenings and Sundays free. Please?”

“It’ll be good for you, honey. You have been cooped up in the house for so long. You’ll have an excuse to buy some new clothes and dress up a little…talk to other adults.” Tasha tried to sell her on the idea.

“Go ahead, Mom. We’ll come with you. It is summer, so we can walk to the beach and then hang out in the store. It’ll be fine,” Riley told her.

“Alrighty then, I guess that you have yourself a sales girl,” Rebecca told Emily. “I kind of could use the money anyway. Things are starting to get a little tight, budget wise,” Rebecca confessed.

“See? It’s meant to be,” Emily told her.

Tasha had to head into work, so she offered to drop all the kids off at school on her way. Ashlee, Riley, and Adam said their goodbyes and left the room. Rebecca could see that Emily was tired.

“I’m going to drop Andrew off at KinderKare. From there, I guess I’ll head to the store for a few hours.”

“Again, I appreciate all that you are doing for me. Someday, I hope I can find a way to repay you,” Emily told her.

“Call me later. I’ll be by in the morning to bring you home. I’ll swing by your house tonight and make sure everything is ready. Do you have everything set up?”

“I still haven’t put the crib together. I wasn’t prepared to go into labor yet. It’s so hard.” Emily’s eyes filled with tears.

“Oh, don’t cry. I’ll get it all squared away. All you have to worry about it resting while you are here. Come tomorrow you’ll have two kids to worry about, so for today, worry about you.”

Emily rolled on her side and closed her eyes.

Rebecca dropped Andrew off at his pre-school and quickly ran home. After putting some sauce on the stove to simmer, she left Riley a note to boil the pasta later on so they’d have dinner. She quickly changed out of her jean shorts and pulled on a yellow cotton sundress with spaghetti straps, and threw on a pair of jeweled sandals. She took her hair down, ran a brush through it, and then added some make-up to her face. It felt good to have a reason to get dressed. Her hair was usually in a loose bun and she had always thrown on quick clothes. So, this was all a nice change. She grabbed herself a protein bar and ate it as she got into her car.

The afternoon wore on and all the customers who came in the shop were anxious to hear about Emily’s bundle of joy. Rebecca kept taking out her phone to show photos of the little princess. She found that she was really enjoying herself. She loved talking to the people who flowed in from the street. She loved to hear where everyone was from.

An older couple came into the store. They were so happy and animated that they caught Rebecca’s attention right away. The woman naturally struck up a conversation with Rebecca. She told them they were just up for a visit. Rebecca listened to the way they spoke to one another when they were talking, each one complimenting the other. She just smiled at them.

The husband kissed his wife’s hand and called her beautiful. He took her packages from her and told her he’d just stand and wait for her until she was finished shopping. The woman caught Rebecca watching and she smiled gently to her.

“So what brings you to Plymouth Harbor?” Rebecca asked the woman.

“Oh, our families used to come to Plymouth every summer. It’s how we first met. We fell in love right here on this very street. We stood right over by that very tree and pledged our hearts to one another. He brought me back here and proposed to me under that very tree. We were married in Brewster Garden, and we took our private vows under that tree. We brought our kids here every summer, just to show them that tree, and tell them our story. Now, we bring our grandchildren. When we come here we feel as though we are fifteen again. The stores change, the people change, but that tree has remained the same after all these years,” the woman told her.

Her husband leaned down and kissed her on her lips.

“I’d be nothing without this woman. She has given me the best fifty years of my life.”

Rebecca wanted to cry. Her eyes welled up with tears.

“Oh, sweetie, I hope we didn’t upset you,” the kind woman said.

“No, it’s just so refreshing to see two people still so in love after all this time.”

“Are you married, dear?” The woman asked her.

“I’m recently divorced.” Rebecca replied solemnly.

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear it. dear girl. I’m sure there is a great man out there who will be worthy of you and your heart, and maybe someday you’ll have your own tree.”

The couple made their purchase and Rebecca watched as they left the store, holding hands with one another. She got a text from Riley telling her that both she and Adam were home and that they were fine. She was relieved to hear it. She knew her kids were older now, but she still liked to be home when they got home. She knew a lot of things in her life were going to have to change if she was ever going to stand on her own two feet.

Tasha had touched base with her and told her that she’d pick up Andrew and take him for the night. Rebecca had to admit she was relieved. She was already exhausted. At least it was one less thing to worry about.

Her phone rang. She looked at it and saw Jack’s number. She hesitated wondering if she should just let voice mail pick it up. She decided that she needed to act like an adult, hurt feelings aside.

“Hello, Jack,” she said.

“Hi,” There was a long pause. “I was hoping that I could talk to you about something. Are you free this evening?”

“Actually, no I’m not. I have to run by Emily’s and put together a crib so she can come home tomorrow.”

“I’ll meet you there. I’ll bring the tools.” He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“I’m heading over in about a half an hour,” she said to him.

“I’ll see you there.” He hung up.

She locked up the cash register and grabbed her pocketbook. She flipped off the light and turned the sign on the door from open to close. As she walked out onto the sidewalk and turned to lock the door, she happened to look down the street and noticed a moving truck that was a few stores down. A very muscular man removed a heavy box, and she caught herself staring at him. He turned around and they made eye contact. Rebecca couldn’t help but smile as she stared in disbelief. There was Ethan, moving items into an empty store front. He smiled at her as he put the box down on the ground. She waved to him as she turned and walked down the sidewalk to the parking lot behind the cluster of buildings.

She got behind the wheel of her car and sat for a moment. Ethan’s image was stuck in her mind. She blushed when she thought about how he looked from behind while lifting the box out of the truck. A smile crossed her face as she put her key in the ignition.

When she arrived at Emily’s house she saw Jack’s truck waiting in the driveway.

“Ha,” she said out loud. “If only you showed up like this while we were married.” She grabbed her pocketbook and got out of the car.

Jack couldn’t help but notice that she was dressed up and he smiled at her.

“You look amazing, Rebecca. I don’t remember the last time I saw you wearing a dress.”

She looked at him and felt a pain stab her in her chest. She opened the door and let him in then walked through the house tidying it up while he set up the crib in the living room. She put dishes away and made the beds. She did whatever she could so she wouldn’t have to face her ex-husband.

When Jack was through, they wheeled the crib into the nursery. Sitting on a little nightstand was a handmade book. Jack picked it up and looked at it. He had a big smile on his face.

“Hey, Becky, do you remember how you used to make these for the kids when they were younger?”

Rebecca looked at the papers. It was a little book she had made for Andrew to help ease him into having a new baby around. While she was a writer at heart, her pictures looked like a kindergartener made them. The kids always enjoyed her stories. They were all life lessons that helped the kids deal with real-life issues. They used to take them and show them to their friends.

“I do remember. We’d sit and read them to the kids every night.”

He looked at her, and for the first time in a long time, he really looked at her. He had to admit that she really was a beautiful woman. He had watched her grow into the amazing woman she now was, and as the years passed, she had only grown more beautiful.

He quietly returned the book to the little table and spoke gently, “You should do something with the books. You were always so talented. I’m sorry I never told you so.”

She looked at him. Had he really just complimented her?

“Look at the pictures; they look like a child drew them. No one would be interested in those. Those were just fun, private things for the kids.”

“Well, if that’s all that is holding you back, it’s an easy fix. You find an artist. You write the words and they draw what you see. I think you should look into it.”

As they passed back through the kitchen, he grabbed hold of her hand and lingered holding it.

“You’ve been doing a good job of avoiding me, but I called you for a reason.”

Rebecca stopped and looked at him.

“OK, what?” She asked him.

He pulled out a bar stool and sat down.

“Sit, please.” He pointed to the empty stool next to him. She sat.

“Well, school is now out, and I know the kids are done with sports, so I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if I took the kids to Disney World for two weeks.”

“What?” she asked in shock. “You are going to take them
now
?” She was starting to feel very emotional. They had talked over the years about how they wanted to take the kids to Disney, but with Jack starting his business, and then with him being the owner, he never could seem to find the time. He could see the hurt on her face.

“I’m sorry, Becky; I didn’t know it would upset you so much.”

“How could it not? We talked about going for so long. I can’t believe you are going now that there is no longer a ‘we’.” She stood up and grabbed her pocket book. “Is
she
going with you?”

“Amber. Her name is Amber, and yes, she’ll be coming. I’d like the kids to get to know her.”

Rebecca felt as though she had been stabbed in the heart.

“They are your kids, too. If you want to take them, then take them.” She walked to the door and held it open for him to leave. He took his cue and walked out the door. He walked her to her car and held the door open for her.

“Thanks, Becky. I’d like to be the one to tell them. I’ll tell them at dinner tomorrow night.”

“No problem. I have to work at Solstice anyway.”

He backed away from the car and watched her as she backed out of the driveway. He got into his own truck and gripped the wheel; for once he felt a pang of guilt.

The next few days were busy for Rebecca. The kids were excited about going to Disney, but less than happy about sharing their father with a stranger. Rebecca tried to do the mature thing by telling the kids to give Amber a chance. They reluctantly agreed that they would be decent to her. Riley was harder to sell on the idea. She didn’t want to hurt her mother’s feelings. Rebecca reassured her daughter that she didn’t have to feel guilty.

“Go have a wonderful time. Obviously your father cares for her enough to want to share this time with all of you. I’ll be fine. I have Emily and Tasha. Maybe I’ll even go out and do something crazy, myself.”

Riley laughed.

“OK, Mom. I know what your idea of crazy is, you’ll buy a book and maybe drink a bottle of wine…boring!”

Rebecca laughed.

“Is that all you see me doing?”

“Well, you are always around for us. Don’t get me wrong, I love you for it. Most of my friends have been in afterschool programs and camps. I never had to; you were always home for us, but we’re older now. I can take care of things around here. I can handle Adam for short periods of time. You should go out and I don’t know…date.”

Adam turned toward them.

“Ewe, no, Mom. I mean…she’s our mom,” Adam protested.

Rebecca and Riley turned to Adam and laughed.

“Thanks for that, Adam.” Rebecca teased.

“Sorry. It’s just that you’re my mom. It’s icky.”

“Well, soon enough you’ll like girls and you won’t say ick,” Riley teased.

Rebecca looked at Riley.

“Is there perhaps a boy you are interested in? Is that where all of this is coming from?” Rebecca asked her daughter.