Tightening the Knot (7 page)

Judy was adequately impressed and indignant after a second helping of dessert.
 
Greg knew enough not to ask in front of his mother why they didn’t eat that well more often and even offered to clean up while the women rested in the living room.
 
Meredith absentmindedly threw a ball for the dog while Judy sat rather awkwardly in a nearby chair.
 
Judy seemed at a loss for words, which was completely out of character for her and Meredith was not sure if she should say something.
 
The silence was broken by Greg’s voice from the kitchen.

“Meredith.
 
Where’s the washrag?”

“It’s in the sink.”

“No, it’s not.
 
Don’t you think I looked there?”

“Well, I’m sure I used it while I was cooking.
 
Maybe it just got under one of those pans or something.”

“I don’t see it.”

“Just get out another one for now.
 
It’ll turn up eventually.”

“Alright.”
 

Sounds of running water and shifting dishes filled the kitchen and Meredith remembered she was uncomfortable as she refocused on her mother-in-law.
 
“I…” she started.
 
“Um, do you want to play with her?”
 

She held up the ball to Judy, who took it as she replied, “Don’t tell me you’re getting tired of having a dog already.”

“No.
 
Although I have to admit I’d be more enthusiastic if I hadn’t slept on the couch last night.”

“But…”
 
Judy looked concerned.
 
“Greg brought her home.”

“Oh, dear, no!
 
I mean, it’s not Greg.”
 
This seemed to have come out of no where and Meredith chose to ignore the implication.
 
“We tried to leave her downstairs last night and she whined so piteously to be left alone.
 
I thought she might wake the dead.
 
Or at least some very cranky neighbors.”

“Are you going to put the crate in your room tonight?”

“I guess.”

Greg joined the women once the kitchen was in order and the three of them had a pleasant chat.
 
The most excitement of the evening came when it was time for Greg to take his mother back to the hotel.
 
Katie slipped through the open door like water through a cracked fishbowl.
 
There was a moment where no one knew quite how to react.
 
Then Judy stood on the porch looking concerned while both Greg and Meredith gave chase in a contest where the prize was either not trampling their neighbors manicured lawns or not explaining to Mark how they lost his dog.
 
The dog was going wherever she was going at top speed.
 
When she finally stopped to sniff a tree, Greg managed to loop a finger through her collar.
 
Then he and Meredith walked the eight blocks back home completely out of breath and taking turns hunched over to hold the escapist’s collar.
 
Neither had thought to grab the leash before taking off.
 
In fact, Meredith had not even put on her shoes.
 
She had felt something sharp pierce her foot and she decided that if she needed a tetanus shot, the dog would not be getting any treats from her the next day.

╣ Chapter 8 ╠

It turned out that Meredith’s foot had been affected more by her overactive imagination than by anything particularly sharp.
 
There was no blood.
 
Katie was completely forgiven five minutes after she was back in the house.
 
She was, after all, still cute.

When Greg returned he helped Meredith move the crate into their bedroom.
 
There was no whining that night, but Meredith still had trouble falling asleep.
 
Something wasn’t sitting right with her new plan.
 
Judy had acted strangely that evening, almost as if she knew there were problems between her son and daughter-in-law.
 
Meredith was no longer sure that telling her anything would be a positive step.
 
But what would be?
 
She couldn’t abandon another step two until she invented something better.
 
Greg’s mother would be in town several more days, so confiding in her could be relegated to back-up plan status.
 
There was something else swimming in Meredith’s head though; something with the potential to be either very encouraging or very troubling.
 
She had noticed that she and Greg seemed better while Judy was around.
 
In talking to her, they talked to each other.
 
Had Greg noticed this?
 
Surely it couldn’t be unique to Judy.
 
This was the potentially troubling aspect.
 
Meredith looked forward to testing their interactions with her family starting with her brother’s arrival the next day.
 
They didn’t need family at night.
 
There was no tension when Greg was sleeping and he was so warm.
 
She finally found some sleep listening to him breathing.
 

Friday morning was deceptively cold.
 
It was one of those mornings where the sun shines bright and clear and creates a warming glow through the windows. And yet, it was thirty-five degrees.
 
Meredith didn’t normally wear a hat because her curly bob was excessively prone to static.
 
She readily made the sacrifice that day and dashed back inside for her hat and gloves.
 
As the door closed behind her a second time, she heard Greg call, “Have a nice day,” after her.

She spent the entire ride to work neurotically obsessing over this simple phrase.
 
Did he realize he hadn’t given her so much as a “goodbye” in the morning for quite some time?
 
Was that why he said it?
 
Could there be even the slightest chance that he also wanted to prove they didn’t need his mother in the room to have a conversation?
 
Then again, “Have a nice day” was hardly a conversation.
 
It could have been a reflex.
 
The odds of it having been a reflex actually seemed greater than the odds he had suffered over not saying anything the first time she left the house.
 
How Meredith wished he had suffered over it.
 
Not really suffered of course, but just agonized a little over it, like she would have.
 

She resolved to think nothing more of it as she prepared to start the school day but was still somewhat agitated when Jacob walked in loudly smacking his gum.
 
She snapped and told him to “lose it immediately and the next time she saw gum in his mouth he would have detention faster than he could swallow it.”
 

“Great,” she thought.
 
“Now
I’m
the mean teacher.”

She recovered nicely in the afternoon, giving the kids a little extra free time in anticipation of the vacation.
 
At the end of the day, Meredith stopped briefly in Mercy’s classroom to congratulate her on the start of her maternity leave.

“You made it!”

“Yes.
 
I have just a bit of paperwork and then I’m officially a stay-at-home mom… till July anyway.”

“I’m so excited for you.
 
Now will you tell me the name?”

“Well…
 
You can probably wait a few more days.”

“But the baby will be here by then.”

Mercy replied only with a slightly self-satisfied smile.
 
She had announced about a month ago that she and her husband had finally decided on a name for their future son.
 
If Meredith had responded with a little less interest, she’d have likely known the name for just as long, but Mercy sensed it would be fun to hold the information over her and had enjoyed a month of playful torture at Meredith’s expense.
 
Meredith knew this, but could not help herself.
 
The lure of anything baby-related continued its hold on her.
 
They said their goodbyes, both knowing the next time they saw each other Mercy would be holding a newborn.
 
This meant different things to each of them and would change the friendship.
 
How it would change was something neither could know until it happened.

Meredith met her brother and Ellie in baggage claim as planned.
 
Tom had dark hair like Meredith.
 
His was very straight and he kept it shaggy so that it wasn’t much shorter than hers.
 
Ellie immediately extended a hand to Meredith as she approached.
 
“Meredith
Donnor
… It’s so nice of you to pick us up.”

“No problem.
 
Hey, Tom.”

He nodded.
 
“Sis.”
 
The sibling relationship had improved as adults, but he was still just a little too cool to be too happy to see his sister.
 
“I have my bag.
 
We’re just waiting for Ellie’s.”

Ellie’s bag turned out to be a hot pink hard shell case with a giant sparkly rainbow sticker on both sides.
 
Meredith couldn’t decide whether this was embarrassingly juvenile or borderline genius, as there was certainly not going to be another like it on the conveyor belt.
 
She offered to take the suitcase, but was outmaneuvered by Tom’s chivalry.
 
The automatic doors prevented him from trying to get the door and two bags at the same time.

“I still hate that sculpture,” he said as soon as they were outside.

“The giant sundial?”

“What sundial?
 
It looks like a crashing airplane.
 
You shouldn’t have a crashing airplane sculpture in front of an airport.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to look like that.”

“But it does.”

Meredith squinted at the sculpture a moment.
 
She didn’t see what her brother did.
 
“I think you must be looking at it wrong.”

“Wrong?
 
How can you look at something wrong?”

“When you look at an airport sculpture and see a crashing airplane, you’re looking at it wrong.”

“Well, it’s not a sundial.
 
I’ll tell you that much.”

“A sundial makes more sense.”

“I don’t know what planet you’re living on.
 
What does a sundial have to do with airplanes?”
 
Tom gave her a look that said there was no point in arguing it further and Meredith didn’t care enough to pursue it.
 
They rode to their parents’ house chatting about this and that with Ellie sitting quietly in the back seat.
 

Tom was embraced like the prodigal son before he even made it up the driveway and assured by his mother that his visit would be the highlight of their Christmas.
 
Since he moved to
Ohio
, Meredith had grown accustomed to the short end of the parental affection stick while he was around.
 
She gave her mother a playful scowl.

“And of course Meredith is the other highlight.”

“Thanks, mom.
 
Glad I at least rank an afterthought.”

Jeanette
Kester
ignored the sarcasm and moved toward the third arrival.
 
“And Ellie…”
 
She stopped awkwardly as though waiting for a signal on whether a hug would be acceptable.