Uncovering Secrets: The Third Novel in the Rosemont Series (22 page)

Chapter 51

Susan and the twins were waiting by the front door when
Anita Archer unlocked Archer’s Bridal on the first Monday of June. “We’re all
set for you,” she said. “Your dresses are hanging in the fitting room. We’ll
mark the hems and get you on your way in no time.”

Sophie
and Sarah raced ahead, anxious to try on the ankle-length dresses swathed in
layers of pink organza. Anita turned to Susan. “Everything you selected is so
pretty. Your mother’s been in for her fitting and has picked up her gown.
This’ll be a lovely wedding. I’m so proud that Archer’s is supplying the bridal
wear. When we heard the mayor was getting married, we were afraid that she’d go
back to California to some fancy shop there to buy her dress.”

“No
way,” Susan said. “My mom would never do that. She supports Westbury all the
way.”

“We
know that now,” Anita said. “Why don’t you get into your dress while I see to
the girls?”

“I’m
sure it’s fine. The sample was the right length. Besides, isn’t it a little too
late for alterations?”

“It
most certainly is not,” Anita replied sternly. “If I have to sew around the
clock between now and the wedding, I’m going to make sure these dresses fit
perfectly. There will be pictures in the paper and all over social media. I
want the world to know that Archer’s Bridal does top-quality work.”

Susan
held up her hands. “Say no more. I’ll be right out.”

“I
plan to have everything ready for you on Wednesday,” Anita called to Susan as
she picked up her pincushion and headed to the dressing room where the twins
were twirling in their new pink dresses.

***

“We need to be on our best behavior this week,” Susan
said as they left Archer’s Bridal and turned toward Rosemont. It was a glorious
summer morning and the walk would do them good. “You got to come on the plane
early with me so that we could help Gramma,” she reminded them. “When your
parents and Aaron arrive on Thursday, I want to hear Gramma tell them that she
couldn’t have done it without you.”

The
girls nodded in unison. “We know, Aunt Susan. We’re not going to get in the way
or do anything bad.”

“And
we promise not to chase Eve or scare the cats,” Sarah added.

“The
only thing we get to do is have Marissa over for a sleepover,” Sophie said,
looking at Susan.

“I’ve
already talked to Gramma about that, and she said it’s all right if Marissa
comes over tomorrow or Wednesday. Do you know how to get in touch with her?”

Sophie
nodded. “I’ve got her number up here,” she said, tapping her head.

Susan
laughed at the mannerism that her brother used so often. “Why don’t you call
her now and see if we can pick her up tomorrow morning?” she said, fishing her
cell phone out of her purse and handing it to Sophie. “We could go for a hike
along the Shawnee River in the morning, have lunch at The Mill, and get
manicures and pedicures in the afternoon. My treat for all of us. Make it a
real girls’ day. How does that sound?” Susan knew it would be most helpful to
keep the girls out of her mother’s hair this week.

Sarah’s
eyes got big. “That would be wonderful. We’ve never had our nails done before.”

“You’ll
need it for the wedding,” Susan said. “Be sure to ask Marissa if that would be
fun for her. And we’ll pick up pizza for dinner and eat it watching movies in
my room. You can all sleep there, if you want,” she said looking directly at
Sarah, who had crawled into bed with Susan during the wee hours the previous
night.

Sarah
flushed. “Our room is scary without Mommy and Daddy,” she said.

Susan
ruffled her hair. “I was the same way when I was your age—always sneaking
into Gramma’s bed. You won’t be scared to be alone when you’re grown up,” she
said softly.

Sophie
placed the call, and it was apparent, from listening to Sophie’s side of the
conversation, that all of Susan’s plans were enthusiastically received.

They
rounded the corner and started up the long, sloping driveway to Rosemont. “Race
you,” Susan said, pushing off and sprinting up the hill.

***

Maggie was delighted to have Susan and her
granddaughters to herself for a few days, but was even more thankful the girls
had the long-awaited sleepover with Marissa to keep them occupied. She had a
lot of loose ends to tie up at Town Hall before she took time off for the
wedding and their two-week honeymoon. Once everyone arrived on Thursday, she
planned to set an out-of-office message on her work email and deal with
everything when she got back.

Tuesday
promised to be clear and mild, a perfect day for a hike. Susan pulled into the
parking lot of Haynes Enterprises and shut off the engine. “Why’re we picking
Marissa up here?” she asked.

“Their
babysitter is sick so Marissa and her brother had to go to work with their mom.
Nicole’s here, too. She has to go to the hospital today.”

Susan
shook her head. “I remember that sweet little sister of hers. What’s wrong with
her, do you know?”

Sophie
shrugged. “Something with blood.”

Susan
paused on the bottom step. “Why don’t we invite her brother to go with us? He’d
love the hike. And lunch. I’ll think of something else for him to do while
we’re at the salon.”

“We
don’t want some stupid boy with us,” Sophie said, rolling her eyes.

“Aunt
Susan’s right. It’d be awful to spend all day at your mom’s work and then the
hospital. We can’t do that to him,” Sarah said to her twin.

“Okay,”
Sophie fumed. “But don’t blame me if he spoils it all.”

“We’ll
make sure that doesn’t happen,” Susan said, opening the door to Haynes
Enterprises.

***

Loretta Nash looked up as the two girls, close in age to
her older daughter, came through the door followed by a tall, striking blonde
with the vibrant blue eyes and solid self-assurance that epitomized Paul
Martin. She swallowed and took a deep breath. She’d been fighting off an
anxiety attack ever since Marissa informed her that her friends’ aunt—the
daughter of her former lover—would pick Marissa up from Haynes
Enterprises. Worn to a frazzle by the constant demands of Nicole’s illness,
Loretta had merely nodded and steeled herself to get through the encounter as
quickly as possible. She hoped Maggie Martin’s children didn’t know about their
father’s mistress.

“Hello,
Ms. Nash,” Susan said, holding out her hand. “Thank you so much for letting us
have Marissa for the day. Sophie and Sarah talked about nothing else on the
plane out here.” She bent to talk to Nicole, who was slumped in a chair. “Hi,
sweetie. Do you remember me? We met at the carnival at Rosemont.” Susan turned
to Loretta. “I understand you’re taking Nicole to the hospital later today.”

Loretta
took a deep breath and found her voice. “Yes. She’s having dialysis.”

Susan
stepped back, then turned to Sean as she tried to conceal her alarm. Sean was
playing a game on a cell phone. “We’re going hiking by the Shawnee this
morning, then having lunch at The Mill. Would you like to go with us? It’s
going to be a beautiful day.”

Sean’s
fingers stopped flying over the keys and he shifted his gaze to his mother.
“Could I, Mom?”

Loretta
hesitated. She hadn’t been prepared for Susan to be so nice. Was she making a
mistake, letting her kids get involved with Paul’s family? Her older children
needed a break from the tension and uncertainty that engulfed them right now.
If they had an offer to do something fun, she wasn’t going to let her own
sticky past spoil things for them now. “Of course you can,” she replied. “If
you’re sure?” she said to Susan. Loretta reached into her purse and pulled out
her wallet.

Susan
touched Loretta’s arm. “No. Please. This is my treat.” Susan turned to the
kids. “Come on. Let’s get out of here so your mom can go back to work.” She
tore a Post-It note from a pad on Loretta’s desk and wrote her cell phone
number on it. “If you need anything, please call me. We’ll be out and about all
day, so we can easily pick up anything you need.”

Loretta
nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. “Be good, you guys,” she said,
waving to Sean and Marissa.

“Call
me when you want me to bring Sean home. And good luck today,” Susan said to
Loretta and Nicole as she pushed out the door.

***

Sean turned out to be a great asset on the hike,
clearing branches and brambles from the trail and steering them away from
poison ivy. They were famished by the time they sat down at The Mill for lunch.
Even Sarah found something she liked on the menu and cleaned her plate.

Susan
turned to Sean as they climbed into the car to head back to the town square for
their salon appointments. “I’m sure you don’t want to hang out in the waiting
area while we’re getting our nails done,” she said.

Sean
shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

“Actually,
I was wondering if you’d do an errand for me.”

“Sure,”
he said tentatively.

“I
was thinking we should get something for Nicole. Maybe a new stuffed animal
she’d enjoy? And something for your mom. Since we’ve had such a fun day, and
they haven’t.”

Marissa
turned to her brother. “Nicole wants that doll in the window of Toys on the
Square. The one that has the old-fashioned prairie dress. They have dresses for
girls that match the doll. She’s been begging for it, but we don’t have the
money. Mommy says that Nicole’s medicine costs more than she makes in a month.”

“Then
it’s settled. Let’s get her that doll and the dress to match. What about your
mom? What does she need?”

“She
left her sweater at the hospital the last time they were there, and she never
got it back. So I think we should get that.”

“Or
she needs new slippers,” Marissa supplied

“Perfect
idea. We’ll get both. Pick them out while we’re busy at the salon, and we’ll
run in to pay for them after we’re done. When will your mom and Nicole be home
from the hospital?

“We
don’t know,” Sean said. “She may have to spend the night.”

Susan
drew a deep breath. “Then we’ll take them to the hospital. And you can come
with us to Rosemont, if you want.”

***

Susan and the four children entered Mercy Hospital late
that afternoon, excited to deliver their newly purchased gifts. They were shown
to the waiting room outside the Dialysis Center and settled in. They didn’t
have long to wait. Loretta approached them with a smile on her face.

“Hey,
guys,” she said. “Did you have a fun day?”

Marissa
stuck out her hands and rippled her fingers. “Look, Mommy.”

“Beautiful!”

“And
we got you something,” Sean said, handing her two bags bearing the names of
shops on the square.

“What’s
all this?” Loretta asked, turning to Susan in surprise, tears beginning to
prick the back of her eyes. “You shouldn’t have done this.”

“We
had so much fun today, we didn’t think it was fair,” Susan said. “They picked
everything out themselves. Go on. Open them.”

Loretta
pulled the tissue out of the first bag and withdrew an ivory fisherman’s knit
cardigan, long and belted. “It was on sale,” Sean said proudly. “And it’s just
like the one you lost.”

“It’s
much nicer than the one I lost,” Loretta replied.

“Look
at this,” Marissa urged.

Loretta
unwrapped a pair of sheepskin slippers. “Exactly what I’ve been wanting.” She
slipped off a shoe and inserted her foot. “They’re the right size, too.” She
gathered her two older children into her arms and looked up at Susan. “Thank
you.”

“My
pleasure. I thought you deserved something nice. All of this can’t be easy.
How’s it going in there?” she asked, gesturing to the closed door of the
procedure room.

“Much
better this time,” Loretta replied. “They had to discontinue dialysis before
they were done last time. I was so afraid it would happen again.”

“I
could tell that you were really worried,” Susan replied.

“We’ve
got stuff for Nicole, too,” Sophie interjected.

“She’s
all done, and they’re observing her for a little while. Let’s go in, and you
can give them to her yourselves.”

Nicole
lay in her bed, propped on a mountain of pillows, watching cartoons on
television. She smiled and leaned forward as the group approached. Sean placed
the first of two large gift bags on the bed. Nicole squealed with delight as
Sean helped her take the doll out of its wrappings. She cradled the doll in her
arms, placing the doll’s long curly hair behind its shoulders and straightening
the skirt of its dress. Nicole looked up and beamed.

Susan
laughed and caught Loretta’s eye. “Marissa and Sean knew what their sister
wanted, didn’t they? They’re great kids. You should be very proud of them.”

Loretta
quickly turned away and swallowed hard.

“There’s
more,” Sarah said. Marissa placed the other bag on the bed, next to her sister.
Nicole kept her new doll clamped to her side with one hand and reached into the
bag with the other. She withdrew the dress that was identical to the one her doll
was wearing and held it out to her mother. “On,” she said.

“I’m
not sure we can get you out of that hospital gown, yet,” Loretta replied,
folding the dress. Storm clouds gathered on Nicole’s face, and she was about to
let out a wail when the nurse, who had been watching the happy scene unfold,
rose from her chair.

“I
think it’s time we got you out of here,” she said to Nicole. “Are you ready to
go home, sweetheart?”

Nicole
nodded vigorously.

“What
have you got there?” the nurse asked. Nicole turned the doll in her arms so
that the nurse could see her. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Looks just like you.
And what’s this here?” she said, reaching for the dress in Loretta’s arms. “A
matching dress? Isn’t that pretty. I’ll bet people will think you’re twins when
you wear this. Would you like to put it on? I want to see the two of you.”