“Chessie! Of course.” Christie laughed.
“You’ll get your gift later,” she promised in a husky voice.
James turned three shades of red. “I’ll hold you to that,” he said. “Now come and meet your dog.”
Fifteen
After dropping off the puppy at the Polgars’, Beth headed back to her house on Christmas Tree Lane. She’d enjoyed her brief visit with Bobby and Teri and James and Christie. The two couples were obviously devoted to one another. Watching them all working together, assembling toys for the triplets, reminded Beth of those early years with Kent. Finances had been tight back then, but they’d managed; their happiness had more than compensated for the luxuries they’d done without. She missed those times, and yes, she missed Kent, too.
On the way home Beth felt empty inside. For three years she’d pretended she was happy. Pretended she’d rather live her life without Kent. It’d all been a lie.
And now it was too late.
The girls would be getting ready for evening services at the church and the three of them would arrive together. Kent had said he might attend, as well, but she knew he’d sit with Danielle, not with Beth and the girls. That made sense, but it was another blow she wasn’t ready to deal with.
While waiting at a red light, she saw the open sign at Mocha Mama’s. Because she didn’t want to return home until she’d regained control of her emotions, she decided to go in. Stopping for a quick cup of coffee would give her a chance to sort through her feelings, to better understand what was happening and accept the reality that she had lost Kent for good. The life they’d once had was truly over.
She pulled into a parking space and turned off the engine. Sitting in the car, she pressed her hand over her eyes as unfamiliar and unwelcome emotions swirled through her. This Christmas was nothing like she’d anticipated. For weeks she’d looked forward to her children’s visit. She’d carefully planned events, shopped, wrapped gifts, cooked their favorite meals. What she realized now was that she’d done it for Kent, too. Since he was coming to Cedar Cove for the holiday, she’d wanted to remind him of what they’d had. Of everything that was gone now, but could…perhaps…be recovered. She hadn’t even acknowledged this to herself. Not really.
What made it all so impossible was Danielle. Facing the ghosts of Christmas past, back when she and Kent were so much in love, only depressed her now.
When Beth entered the coffee shop, she saw that it was nearly deserted. A teenager stood behind the counter, playing a handheld game. He didn’t seem to notice he had a customer.
“Hello! I’d like a decaf Americano,” she said briskly.
Startled, the kid glanced up. He blinked and reluctantly set aside his game. “Anything else?”
“No, thanks.” She paid, adding a nice Christmas tip, and waited for her coffee.
A couple of minutes later he delivered it in a to-go cup, which was fine, although she wasn’t in any rush to leave. Carrying it with her, she chose a table by the window, one that overlooked Harbor Street.
She gazed out at the serene and yet festive view of the town’s main street. Garlands were strung across it. Silver bells dangled from the lampposts, and the town had never seemed more inviting. A light dusting of snow glistened on the large Christmas tree, which blinked red and green lights, outside city hall, while Christmas carols were broadcast from the bell tower.
“I wondered if that was your car outside.”
Stunned by the familiar voice, Beth turned. Kent stood next to her small table, although she hadn’t seen him come in.
“What are you doing here?” she asked breathlessly.
“I decided to take a drive—”
“Where’s your friend? Danielle?” she interrupted.
“At the Thyme and Tide. Resting. And, Beth, she really is a friend.”
Sure she was. Ex-husbands usually traveled with friends. But apparently the headache was real.
“She took a couple of aspirin and is lying down.”
Beth cupped her hands around the paper cup, the heat of the coffee stinging her palms. “I hope she feels better soon.”
“She’ll be fine.” Without waiting for an invitation, Kent pulled out a chair and sat down across from her.
“You want a coffee, sir?” the kid behind the counter called out.
“Sure. I’ll have whatever she’s having,” he said.
“You got it,” Mr. Gameboy said with a promptness he hadn’t demonstrated earlier. Maybe her generous tip had something to do with it.
“You looked deep in thought when I walked in,” Kent said, relaxing against the back of the chair. He extended his legs into the aisle, crossing them at the ankles. He seemed so comfortable, so calm, as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
Beth stared at her ex-husband, unable to grasp how he could remain so unaffected by what had happened between them.
Perhaps Beth was the only one who had regrets, who wanted to examine the reasons their marriage had failed. What did it matter, anyway? she reflected darkly. Kent was with Danielle. He’d moved on, and she should, too.
“Beth?” he said, breaking into her thoughts.
She looked over at him, wondering what he’d just said.
“You worried about something?”
“Of course not,” she said, forcing a brightness into her voice. “Why would you think that?”
“You never were much of a liar.”
Beth shrugged, knowing it was true.
“Why are you out here, anyway?”
“I dropped off a puppy. A Christmas gift.”
He seemed to be waiting for her to explain why she hadn’t gone directly home. If she knew the answer to that question, she wouldn’t be sipping blistering hot coffee and feeling as if the entire world was against her.
“So, how long have you and Ted been…friends?”
“Oh, for some time now.”
“Is it serious?”
“No.” She managed a nonchalant smile. “Perhaps I should’ve clarified that. I routinely see Ted on a professional basis—and yes, we’ve been out socially.” She didn’t mention the few kisses they’d shared because, frankly, it wasn’t any of his business. When it came to his friend, she’d rather not know.
“But it could develop into something serious?” he asked.
This was even more difficult to answer. “I suppose. If we both wanted it to.”
“And do you?”
She stared down into her coffee to avoid looking at him.
“No.” Then she quickly shook her head. “Well, maybe.”
“Maybe,” he repeated slowly.
“It depends.”
“On what?” he prodded.
Beth straightened. “I’d rather not talk about Ted and me. I didn’t ask you about Danielle.”
“True.” He nodded. “All right, what do you want to talk about?”
“Do we need to talk about anything?”
He hesitated. “I guess not.”
The kid brought over Kent’s coffee and he paid for it. He was about to take his first sip when Beth warned him, “Careful, it’s hot.”
Kent sipped his coffee guardedly and grimaced. “You’re right.”
Beth took another sip of her own coffee, which had cooled slightly. “The puppy I delivered—it was to the Polgars.”
“Polgar. That’s an unusual name. As in Bobby Polgar, the chess champion?”
“Yes, he lives in Cedar Cove.”
“Bobby Polgar lives here?” Kent arched his brows, clearly impressed.
“His wife is, or rather was, a local hairdresser. She’s a wonderful, wonderful person.”
“You mean to tell me Bobby Polgar married a beautician?” Kent grinned, as if the idea amused him.
“Don’t say it like that. Teri’s perfect for Bobby and now they have triplet sons....”
“And they took a puppy?”
“Actually, no. The puppy was for Teri’s sister.”
“What did you want to say about the Polgars?” Kent asked.
“I…I was remembering how it was with us when the girls were little.”
“We talked about that earlier.”
“We did,” she agreed. “Those early Christmases, the basement apartment, those silly gingerbread decorations I sewed.”
“What you’re really saying is that you wonder what happened to us.”
So Kent was the one brave enough to lay it on the table, the subject neither of them had been willing to broach until now.
Beth suppressed the urge to say it was too late. All of a sudden, she didn’t want to dig up the past anymore, a past that was full of hurts and slights committed on both sides. If they dug too deep, she didn’t know what they might uncover. Anyway, what was the point? They weren’t together anymore. He had a new life and so did she.
Another part of her, the more rational part, recognized that unless she knew why her relationship with Kent had dissolved, history might repeat itself. If she did fall in love with Ted, she could revert to the same pattern that had destroyed her marriage to Kent.
“I don’t think we can or should assign blame,” Kent said, sitting up. He leaned forward and extended his arms, cupping his coffee between his hands. “So…I guess we should figure out what went wrong.”
Beth swallowed hard, unsure where to start. She couldn’t.
“Do you want to go first?” he asked. Kent, too, apparently found it difficult.
“No. You go.”
“All right.” He took a breath. “Once the girls got their driver’s licenses, they didn’t seem to need me anymore. They had their own lives. And that’s the way it should be.”
“A father’s more than a chauffeur,” she said with the glimmer of a smile. “But I know what you mean. They were becoming adults, so our role as parents changed.”
He nodded. “And you had your career, while I had mine.”
“At some point, without even being aware of it, we lost sight of what’s important,” Beth said. “And then it became a matter of pride, as if the most vital thing was proving how little we needed each other.”
He nodded again.
“You stopped attending college social functions with me, and I retaliated by not attending your business dinners.”
He lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry, but I found them boring.”
“They were.” She’d be the first to admit it.
“You always made them fun, though—in a slightly scandalous way,” he said, grinning. “I got all the gossip. We’d stand in a corner and you’d tell me the most inappropriate stories.”
“And you’d embarrass me by laughing at the most inappropriate times,” she reminded him, and had trouble not breaking into giggles right then.
They looked at each other in silence.
“We both got absorbed in our lives, apart from each other,” he finally said.
“We became strangers who happened to be married.”
“I can’t think of a single defining incident, an event that triggered the end of our marriage. Can you?”
“Not really.” It was more an accumulation of grudges, of minor slights and careless acts. Oh, there were plenty of small decisions Beth had made through the years. Decisions that seemed inconsequential, insignificant. For some reason she thought of the morning Kent had asked her to drop off a letter at the post office. It was on her way to the college, while he was driving in the opposite direction. She told him she couldn’t because she was running late. Really, how much time would it have taken? A minute? Two? Kent hadn’t complained. He’d dropped off the letter himself.
Then there was the night she’d phoned and asked Kent to pick up bread and milk on his way home from work and he forgot. Such a little thing, but it had annoyed her no end.
At some stage she must have decided to ask nothing more of Kent. Was that when the pettiness began? When they turned to a silent battle of wills? How ridiculous they’d been. How silly and selfish and juvenile. No wonder their marriage had crumbled into pieces....
Beth visualized the slights, the put-downs, the irritations on both sides as pebbles, each a small stone in the growing pile that eventually crushed their marriage. Kent was right; it hadn’t been any one thing. Nothing big. No infidelity. No drugs or alcohol abuse. No money problems.
“Folks,” the teenager said. He stood in front of their table with a tray and a white rag. “We’re closing now.”
“Oh.” Feeling disjointed, Beth looked up.
“Normally I wouldn’t mind staying while you finished your coffee, but it’s Christmas Eve and my grandma’s at the house.”
“No problem,” Kent said. He took one last drink of his coffee and left the cup on the table. “Thanks, and merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” Beth echoed. She left her cup behind, too.
Kent walked her to her car. He seemed to have more he wanted to say. Beth knew she did. Perhaps later…
“I’ll see you at the church in twenty minutes,” Kent said. He tucked his hands inside his pockets. “Bob at the B and B told me where it is.”
“I’m going to pick up Bailey and Sophie. We’ll see you there.”
He started to turn away, but Beth stopped him.
“Kent…”
“Yes?”
“Would you mind sitting with the girls and me?”
He smiled. “I’d be happy to,” he said.
Beth smiled back. Even if that meant Danielle joined them—well, she could tolerate that. It was the season of goodwill, after all. The important thing was for their family to be together.
Sixteen
Emily Flemming blew out the last candle after the seven o’clock Christmas Eve service at the Methodist church where her husband, Dave, was pastor. Every pew had been filled and the choir had sounded glorious. Both of their sons had gone back to the house with her parents. Emily appreciated the fact that the service was relatively early. Some churches waited until after nine, and the Catholic church always had a midnight mass.
Dave finished greeting the last of his parishioners, Bible in hand, as Emily joined him in the vestibule.
“That was lovely, sweetheart,” she told her husband. Dave worked hard on his sermons, heading over to the church two hours before the first service in order to practice and pray. He took his responsibilities seriously and looked after his flock.
“Thank you.” Dave slipped his arm around Emily’s waist. “Did you see the man with Beth Morehouse?”
Emily had noticed him, and it wasn’t the local veterinarian. Emily had suspected for some time that a romance between Beth and Ted Reynolds was in the offing. But when she’d seen Beth with this other man, she’d changed her mind. Judging by the electricity that sizzled between them, they were more than acquaintances or even friends. “I saw him.”
“That’s her ex-husband. His name is Kent.”
“Her ex-husband?” They sure didn’t act like exes, Emily thought. They’d exchanged f
requent looks throughout the service and seemed keenly aware of each other. At first, Beth’s glances had been shy, but as the service progressed, she’d grown bolder. Several times their eyes had met, and neither seemed inclined to look away.
The two girls had been sitting on one side of Beth, with Kent on the other, closest to the aisle. The girls hadn’t exactly hidden their delight.
“On her way out of church, Beth mentioned a litter of part-Labrador puppies that were left on her doorstep. Ten in all.”
“Ten? But I thought she was leaving for a short vacation with her daughters.”
“She is, so she needs to find homes for these puppies quickly. She’s only got two left and wanted to know if we’re interested.”
“Are we?” Emily asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“I was thinking a couple of puppies would help teach Mark and Matthew a sense of responsibility.”
“Mark’s been asking for a dog,” Emily added with some reluctance. Her fear was that her son would lose interest and she’d be the one taking care of his dog. She had no concerns about Matthew; he was the dependable one.
“I was thinking—”
“Dave, before you say anything, we need to consider this very carefully. A puppy, let alone two, is a lot of work and—”
“Mark’s old enough to understand that. Besides, Beth sounded desperate to find a good home for these dogs. Especially at this late date.”
Emily could feel herself weakening. Especially when her husband was regarding her with a puppy-dog look of his own.…
“I had a Lab while I was growing up,” Dave said.
Emily nodded, remembering his fond stories about the family pet.
“We named him Blackie,” David went on. “Not very original, but, oh, how I loved that dog.”
“In other words, you’d like our sons to have the same wonderful experience with a dog that you did?”
Dave smiled sheepishly. “But only if you agree.”
While she wasn’t one hundred percent sold, Emily was willing to take a chance.