The Potter's Daughter (Literary Series) (31 page)

“You didn’t have to do this,” said
Abby.

“It’s the least I could do.
 
I couldn’t see you taking a train and
Caroline and Brian have their hands full at the lake,” said Mitch.

“Of course.
 
That’s still so sweet of you.
 
You must have gotten up so early.”

“Don’t mention it,” said
Mitch.
 
Abby walked around the back
of the car and got in.
 
Mitch
watched her then got into the car as well.

Mitch had gotten up early.
 
Mitch rented the car from Fremont the
night before and left for the city around five in the morning so that he could
get in early enough to get Abby out before rush hour began.
 
This was a good plan because the streets
were empty as the two drove away from the building.

Mitch had a tea waiting in the car
for which Abby was grateful.
 
All
Mitch had smelled all morning was his coffee, until Abby got into the car.
 
Now the car had a sweet feminine smell
of cosmetics and shampoo.
 
Even in
the midst of a grey morning, Abby appeared radiant.
 
Expressionless, her eyes still sparkled
and her cheeks still glowed.
 
Mitch
was pleased to see Abby yet he could see the shadow behind the veil.

There was little traffic as they
left the avenues and entered the expressway.
 
Neither said a word as the roadways got
bigger and they progressed farther from the city center.
 
Mitch stole glances at Abby and she just
stared forward at the road, sometimes veering to the side to something in the
distance: a billboard, a building, nothing.
 
Sometimes her gaze just hung in the
air.
 
Mitch said nothing.
 
They rode together in silence.

An hour outside the city Abby
reached over, placed her hand on Mitch’s shoulder, and squeezed.
 
Her eyes pleaded for his and her mouth
let free a melancholy smile.
 
Mitch
smiled back.

Morning traffic had picked up yet
flowed evenly through this scenic stretch.
 
The rest of the drive would be scenic, particularly if one were partial
to snowy evergreens.
 
Abby tuned the
radio to a station playing classical music.
 
The music went well with the trees
passing by her window so she leaned back in her seat and watched as they fell
by, one by one.

“Mitch,” said Abby.

“Yes, Abby.”

“Caroline said the house and studio
were damaged.”

“I had the boys patch them up so
the weather can’t get in.”

“Oh…
 
Thank you.”

“It’s alright,” said Mitch.

When they got to Willow Lake, Abby
started to become noticeably uncomfortable.
 
There were things that needed to be done
in Fremont yet that would wait until later.
 
Mitch was taking Abby to her cousin
Caroline’s in Willow Lake first.
 
Mitch understood Abby’s uneasiness when he realized she was looking into
the cemetery.
 
He had driven past
that cemetery countless times and the place meant nothing to him.
 
Mitch realized that to Abby that
cemetery had a great meaning, the place held her family, her mother, brother,
and soon would hold her father.
 
Mitch reached over and caressed the back of her neck.
 
Abby leaned her head back in his hand and
rested there.

As Mitch drove through the village
Abby continued to gaze vacuously out the window with a somber expression.
 
The Stone tavern was still dark at this
time of day.
 
People seemed to be
walking slowly.
 
The sky was
overcast grey, gloomy.
 
Abby did not
shift her view over the lake.
 
Her
gaze did not fix on any one point or any one thing.
 
At the edge of the village Mitch turned
onto Willow Lake road.
 
The next
stop would be Caroline’s house.
 
Abby knew that she was getting close so she started to compose
herself.
 
She had already talked to
Caroline on the phone a couple of times since the storm, since the
accident.
 
Caroline had told Abby
what had happened after Nathan found Will.
 
Caroline had begun the arrangements.
 
Abby felt that she was being so unfair
to her cousin due to Caroline’s proximity.

When Mitch and Abby drove into the
driveway they could see that all of the lights were on in the house.
 
The atrium lit up amber against the cool
colorless woods.
 
Caroline came out
of the door and onto the porch and ran down to her cousin.
 
Abby opened the car door and went to her
cousin’s embrace.
 
The two held each
other tight.

“Are you alright?” asked Caroline.

“I don’t know,” said Abby.
 
“How about you?”

Caroline responded by just shaking
her head.

Neither Caroline nor Abby shed
tears.
 
The pain in their hearts
poured through their eyes as they met.

Mitch eased out of the car.
 
He was moved to see these two strong
women surrender their emotions to each other.
 
He walked over and put his arms around
them, still holding each other tight, and led them back to the house.

* * *
* *

“Brian’s not back yet,” said
Caroline as she brought Abby and Mitch into the kitchen.
 
“He took the twins to a friends down the
lake.”

“Are they okay?” asked Abby.

“They’re not really aware of what’s
going on.
 
Hey, I know it’s a little
early for lunch but the two of you have been on the road, and we have plenty of
food.”

In disbelief Abby saw that every
counter was covered with foil and plastic containers, “Where did all of this
come from?”

“Most from my parents.
 
Tom and Mary sent a delivery boy over
from the IGA with enough salads, prepared meats, and cold cuts to insure no one
would have to bother cooking.”

“I’m sure that Tom and Mary won’t
be cooking either,” said Abby.
 
She
thought about them missing Brian’s birthday party because they were away in
Florida.
 
Abby would now be seeing
them soon.

Caroline took three plates from the
cabinet and set them down in front of the makeshift buffet.
 
Abby started to take the covers off from
the food.

“You two just have a seat,” said
Caroline.

On each plate Caroline put an
assortment of the salads and meats.
 
She placed the plates in front of Abby and Mitch and then took a seat
across the island from them.
 
Abby
had not realized how hungry she was.
 
Once she started eating, the food went down easily.

Caroline asked, “Have you eaten
anything since we talked last night?”

“I’m not sure,” said Abby.
 
Everything was confusing for Abby right
now.

Mitch went to the refrigerator,
took out a pitcher of lemonade, and set the pitcher on the island.
 
Caroline told him which cabinet to get
three glasses from so that she could fill them.
 
The more Abby ate the more color came to
her face and the faster she ate as well.

“I guess eating was a pretty good
idea,” said Mitch.

“That’s what you’re supposed to do
at times like this,” said Caroline.

They ate silently and then Abby
reached across the island and took Caroline’s hand and smiled.
 
Mitch was glad to see a smile on Abby’s
face.
 
Mitch picked up his glass of
lemonade and gestured a toast, “To Tom and Mary for this great food.”

“Here, here,” they toasted back.

“I almost forgot,” said
Caroline.
 
She got up from the
island, went over to the side counter, and lifted a towel from a tray.
 
Below the towel was a plate of frosted
sweet biscuits.
 
Caroline picked up
three from the top and covered the plate then brought them back, distributing
one to each plate.

“I made these this morning.
 
They’re good,” said Caroline.

Abby picked up and held the biscuit
in front of her, “All of this food and you still baked these?”

“That’s not all I baked,” said
Caroline, pointing to a sidebar lined with towel-covered trays.
 
“I was baking all evening.”

Mitch bit into his biscuit and with
his mouthful he said, “Some things never change.”

Abby asked, “You’ve seen her bake
like this before?”

“Any time she get’s stressed,” said
Mitch.
 
“I remember back in college
heading to Caroline’s around midterms and finals for all of the cupcakes you
could eat.”

Caroline and Abby laughed.

“My dear Caroline was a chronic
baker way before she went off to school,” said Abby.
 
“I remember when she was waiting for
Bobby Collins to ask her to homecoming.
 
She came to my house and we made every kind of fruit pie possible.
 
Two of every kind.”

All three laughed at this.

Caroline continued, “We kept
sending Michael to the Orchard Hill farm stand to get more fruit and each time
he would come back with something different.”

Abby added, “We moved the pies out
to picnic table to cool and when we went to check on them they were gone.
 
So we go out to the studio and there was
Will with a pie on the workbench and a fork in his hand and a bunch of empty
pie tins in front of him.
 
We asked
him what he thought he was doing and he looked up and said,” Caroline joined in
unison, “Waiting for some ice cream.”

The girls laughed again
harder.
 
Caroline held up her glass
of lemonade again, “To Uncle Will.”

“To Will,” said Mitch raising his
glass.

“To Will,” said Abby.

Then they fell silent.

Mitch asked Caroline, “Did you bake
any pie?”

“Just apple, that’s all I had
around,” said Caroline.

“I love pie,” said Mitch.

“Me too,” said Abby.

“You know, I do too,” said
Caroline, and she brought the pie over.

Caroline took out three pie plates
and then cut three pieces.
 
She
offered to heat the pie in the microwave and both declined.
 
Caroline then offered ice cream to which
all three laughed yet still declined.
 
All were satisfied to eat the pie as is.

Mitch and Caroline could see a
noticeable difference in Abby’s strength and color.
 
Food had been what she had needed, at
least one of the things.
 
Being with
family was helping as well.

After lunch Mitch stood and took
the car keys out of his pocket.
 
“ I
need to take the car back and get my truck.
 
I’ll be available for anything you need
once I pick it up.”

“Where is your truck?” asked Caroline.

“The Fremont Airport.”

“What’s it doing out there?”

“The only rental car I could find
last night was at the airport.
 
Do
you want to go into Fremont Abby?”

“No, I think I am going to stay
with Caroline for now.
 
I’ll see you
when you get back,” said Abby.

“Ok then, let me get your bag out
of the car.
 
I’ll be right back.”

Mitch brought Abby’s bag into the
house and the girls met him at the door.
 
Mitch gave each of the girls a tight hug then turned and went back out
to the car.
 
From inside the atrium
Abby watched Mitch drive out of the yard.
 
Her arms were crossed and her head tilted, she sighed lightly as he
pulled away.
 
He did not see her.

“You’re like an old couple
already,” said Caroline as she stepped up next to her cousin and put her arm on
her shoulder.
 
The two let the sides
of their heads rest together.

“I knew you two would be a match,”
said Caroline.

“He’s a great guy.
 
There’s no doubt about that,” said Abby.

“But what?”

“No buts.
 
Just a lot to ask from him so quick.”

“It was nice of him to drive in
this morning and pick you up.”

“He’s a doll,” said Abby.

“You look like you could use a
nap.
 
Why don’t you lie down?
 
Everything is set up for tonight.
 
Will had it all together, surprising
enough.”

“You gotta give him that.”

Abby turned and began walking the
length of the room toward the lake.
 
Without looking back at her, she asked Caroline, “Have you been over to
the house?”

“Yea.
 
Brian and Mitch took me over there.
 
Mitch had the guys patch it up.”

“Yea, he told me,” said Abby.
 
“How bad was it?”

“Architecturally?
 
I don’t know.
 
Not bad I think.
 
Honestly, I couldn’t focus,” said
Caroline.
 
“I had just been over to
see him.”

“Of course,” said Abby.
 
She had sauntered to the sliding glass
doors overlooking the deck.
 
“I’ll
have to ask Brian what it takes to fix it.”