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James looked suspicious. “What’s with the sudden change? What are you up to?”
Sylvie patted Phae’s arm and gave her a solidarity nod. She jumped up and grabbed James’ other arm. “We aren’t up to anything, cousin. We’re just feeling bad for giving you such a hard time. Come on now, you remember Aunt Elfleda’s extra special lemonade punch, don’t you? There’s a big bowl of it over there.”
James, well remembering that lemonade punch, acquiesced easily. He waved a quick goodbye to Phae as his cousins pulled him away.
Phae knew that Sylvie would never be able to keep her promise not to tell James about Kent. Her inability to resist gossiping was one of the things that made her such a popular hairdresser. She’d be telling James about Phae and Kent splitting up before James’ glass was half full of punch.
And then, of course, James would tell everyone else.
Maybe it was just as well, Phae thought with no small dose of resignation. If everyone knew, they probably wouldn’t ask her questions about Kent’s whereabouts.
She picked up her plates which were still half-laden with food. She felt guilty for wasting so much, but it couldn’t be helped. She found a trash bag and deposited the plates. After snatching a cola from a cooler, she hoisted up a vacant lounger and headed for a nearby shade tree. She’d had enough of the blazing sun.
After setting up under the big, shady maple tree, she relaxed and sipped her drink. Several relatives smiled and waved, but no one approached her. The Jones family was accustomed to her idiosyncrasies and would usually leave her to her own devices if that’s what she wanted. And today, it was what she wanted—to be surrounded by family yet left to herself, the best of both worlds.
She watched with a smile as five small children tried to climb on Uncle Leon at the same time. The man was a kid magnet. They loved him. No matter how loud or gruff he acted with them, or how much he bellowed that he wanted them to go away and leave him in peace, children still flocked to him. And he loved it.
Meg once told Phae that kids could sense how gentle Leon was under all of his bluster. He and James were a lot alike, and kids were drawn to James, too. Sylvie and Neesa often said they put up with James’ and Leon’s swaggering only because it wasn’t real.
One day, James would make a great dad, same as Leon was, when he and Aunt Meg weren’t fighting like cats and dogs, that was.
Phae chuckled as Leon roared like a monster and plucked the children off his stocky body. The kids shrieked with laughter as he rolled them around in the grass. Meg stood nearby, watching the scene with a blissful expression.
Phae set her soda down on the short grass then closed her eyes. She was twenty-eight years old and she’d begun to wonder if she would ever get the chance to be a parent.
She never used to think about children. She believed she had plenty of time to find Mr. Right and settle down to raise a family. But time passed faster with every year and she’d turned twenty-eight before she truly realized it.
So where was Mr. Right? She wanted to have kids while she could still keep up with them.
A picture of Kent with a small, dark-haired child riding on his shoulders popped into her mind. Don’t think about him, she warned herself. He wanted someone perfect, and that would never be Phae.
He’d never understand why being Captain Nice Guy was so important to her. So no point in thinking about him. It was over and she should be glad about it.
“Phae, dear, I hope you don’t mind my sharing your tree, but I need some shade and this looks like such a pleasant spot,” said a familiar voice above her.
She groaned inwardly and opened her eyes. “Hi, Miss Eugenia. Please, join me.”
Miss Eugenia unfolded the small, rickety wooden chair she held and primly seated herself.
“That chair doesn’t look very comfortable,” Phae said. “Why don’t you trade with me?”
“No, no dear, don’t get up.” She fluttered a frail hand. “I can’t stand those lounger things. Once I get in, I can’t get out again. No, I like my little chair. It suits me fine.”
Phae didn’t argue with the elderly lady. She did wonder, though, why Miss Eugenia had chosen to sit beside her. Of all the bad luck … and there was no way she could run away without giving offense.
Phae settled into the longer and hoped for the best. Turned out, her hopes weren’t met for even a second.
“I’m not going to beat around the proverbial bush, Phae dear,” Miss Eugenia said, adjusting her red, white and blue beribboned hat. “You know me, I like to get straight to the point. I want to know what happened between you and my nephew.”
Phae wondered why these sorts of things always happened to her. Was she cursed? “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t try that act with me. I taught school my entire life and I know a fibber when I see one.”
Phae smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry. And I’m sorry that Kent went back to Phoenix, but really, it was his decision and I couldn’t have stopped him if I wanted to.”
“Back to Phoenix? He hasn’t gone back to Phoenix. He’s barely stepped foot out of his bedroom in the past four days.”
Chapter 17
PHAE’S HEART PLUMMETED WHAT FELT like a foot. “He didn’t leave? Is he here?” She frantically scanned the many faces in the park. She had to get out of there before she saw him.
“Calm down, Phae dear. He’s not here. I tried to get him to come, but he refused. He said it was too hot and then he practically shut his door in my face. When he was a child, he always begged to get to come to the big Fourth of July celebration at the park. I felt terrible, but I always had to tell him no. It was too dangerous, all these children with firecrackers and things. And then the big fireworks after dark. Oh, the thought of it. He could have been maimed, or worse. Now I want him to come, and he won’t. That’s how it goes in life.”
Phae felt kind of bad for the child Kent, but nearly sighed with relief that the adult Kent hadn’t come to the festivities. And her heart still pounded fiercely with the knowledge that he hadn’t left town. “I don’t see how I can help you.”
“He was with you Friday night, wasn’t he?” Miss Eugenia asked with an expression that clearly warned she’d brook no more lies.
“I wish I knew how you get your information, Miss Eugenia. Yes, I saw him, but I don’t see what that has to do with how I can help.”
“It has everything to do with it. Kent woke me up before dawn Saturday morning. Said he was going back to Phoenix and he wanted to say goodbye. I told him to at least wait until the sun came up, but he was insistent that he had to go right away. He tried his best to hide it, but I could see that he was upset. Badly upset.”
Phae nodded, but could think of nothing to say. It was hard to know what to believe. After all, Miss Eugenia thought Kent was frail and sickly, and that certainly couldn’t have been further from the truth.
“While he went to his room to pack,” Miss Eugenia continued, “I went into the kitchen to make him some breakfast. I waited in that kitchen for over an hour and he didn’t come down. Finally, I went up to his room to make sure he was okay. I thought maybe he’d fallen and hurt himself or something. But it was worse than that. Oh, Phae dear, when I opened his door and saw him, I just wanted to cry. You should have seen the poor boy.” She shook her head and looked at Phae with pity in her pale blue eyes.
“What? What did you see?” Phae asked, mentally kicking herself for not being able to resist asking.
“I’ve never seen such a sad sight.” The older lady sighed wistfully. “Poor Kent was sitting on the edge of his bed with a half-full suitcase beside him. He was slouched over and had his face covered up with his hands. He was the very picture of dejection. He could have been on the cover of the ‘Saturday Evening Post.’”
Phae nodded, having no idea what covers of the “Saturday Evening Post” looked like, but not wanting to give Miss Eugenia an excuse to stray from the point as she was prone to do.
“Well,”
Miss Eugenia continued, “I went over to the poor boy and patted him on the shoulder and asked him to tell me what was wrong. When he looked at me, he had the saddest look I’ve ever seen in my life. The poor, dear boy. He must have seen how worried I was because he immediately straightened up and apologized for waking me earlier.”
She smiled at Phae. “Of course, Kent has always been polite. His parents raised him that way, and I like to think that when he stayed with me, I set a good example. Seems like nobody cares about manners these days, but us older folks know what’s important. Manners keep people from being so angry and—oh, I’m sorry. Got distracted.”
Phae tried to shrug nonchalantly but was not, unfortunately, a very accomplished actress.
“So Kent apologized and gave me a big hug,” Miss Eugenia continued. “He said that maybe he’d stay with me for a while longer. Oh, his pretty eyes were so sad. I asked him again why he was so upset, but all he would say was that he was tired and needed rest. I left the poor boy alone, knowing how sickly he can be. I wouldn’t want to push too hard and send him into a decline.”
“Of course not,” Phae said.
