Page 10 of Second Chances

“Nice to meet you, Charlotte. I’m Ruth Mills, formerly Lefferts. This was my home away from home when I was in high school, and I knew the lights on meant one thing—play practice! I used to love this time of year. Learning my lines, hanging out with the other theatre kids, my sister and I going to the diner before practice.” Ruth raised a downy yellow blanket in the stroller, under which a baby with bright red curls and blinking green eyes lay, sucking on her pacifier. “My sweet little Eloisa is teething and only a nighttime stroll around town soothes her.”

“She’s gorgeous. How old is she?”

“Ten months.” Ruth rubbed her belly, “and I’m a little over eight months along with this firecracker. When my husband does something, he gets the job done thoroughly,” she chuckled. “Sean’s usually the one who performs this new ritual of parading little miss around town, but he’s been called into the hospital. He’s a pediatrician,” Ruth explained. “Are you new in Beverley, then? Most people recognize the Lefferts name, because of my parents.”

“I am, actually. I just moved here last month from Iowa.”

“Oh, nice. I was born and bred in Beverley, but we just moved back not too long ago. I ended up in Philadelphia after college, which is where I met Sean. I didn’t think I’d be living back here, but then we had kids and I started thinking about the advantages of a small-town life for them. So, Sean and I packed up our lives and moved here. My parents are retired, which is great. Sean’s had some adjusting to do since he lived his whole life in Philly, but he loves it. His mom and sisters still live there, so our girls will have the best of both worlds. Growing up here, but spending summers and holidays in a big city.”

“I feel the same way as your husband. Beverley’s been a great place for me to recharge my life. I’ve never lived anywhere but Iowa, and most of that has been in Sioux City.”

Ruth nodded. “I guess you could say that I’m recharging my life, too, as a stay-at-home mom. In a former life, I was a speech pathologist, which I loved, but I don’t see going back to my career any time soon, since I will soon be the mother of two daughters under a year apart.”

“Wow, I know how difficult it is to juggle a career and motherhood, and I only had one child,” Charlotte reassured Ruth. “Although I was a bit of a late bloomer getting my degree and then starting a career, since my daughter was born the fall I was supposed to start college. I ended up not going until Isobel went to kindergarten.”

Ruth tilted her head and took a sip of what looked like iced tea from a plastic cup resting in the stroller’s handle. “I’ve seen you at the library a few times talking with Effie.” That’s why Ruth looked familiar, Charlotte thought. “She and I are friends.”

“Oh,” Charlotte responded, “Effie was one of the first friends I made in Beverley. I met her only a few days after I moved here. Not only is she great with book recommendations, but she helps me stay current with what my students are reading. Teens today don’t realize how good they have it. Back in my day, we didn’t have quite the selection, despite how much I loved Judy Blume, Cynthia Voigt, S. E. Hinton. You probably had more authors to read, right?” Charlotte estimated she was probably fifteen years older than Ruth.

“Well, I loved those authors, too,” Ruth confirmed, “but yeah, I read John Green, Stephanie Meyer…Meg Cabot.” The baby fussed, and Ruth patted her tummy. “You know, Effie is writing her own book, right?”

“Yes, and I love the premise.” Charlotte had read the first draft of Effie’s young adult novel, a beautiful story about a Lakota teen girl searching for her place in the world. “We need more books written for kids…for everyone, actually, from the Native perspective.”

Ruth nodded. “Effie is absolutely incredible! Have you met her boyfriend, Josh, yet?”

“No, not yet, but from the way Effie talks about him, it sounds like they are absolutely perfect for each other.”

Ruth grinned. “They are, without a doubt. I’ve known Josh since we were fifteen. He used to date my sister, Tess, after he and his dad moved here. I guess you haven’t heard that Tess and Josh used to be engaged?”

“No. Is that awkward, then, seeing Josh with Effie?”

Ruth waved her hand. “Not at all. I can’t believe you haven’t heard this; it’s a pretty unbelievable story. Last year, Tess and I were traveling to her bachelorette weekend in California, and we took a train from the East Coast. Our first day on the train, she had one of those meet-cute scenarios you read about in books with this man, Sam.” Charlotte gasped. “Yep. Anyway, Sam fell head over heels for my sister. I mean, who wouldn’t? She’s stunning, and she bakes like a boss! Tess tried to deny her feelings for Sam, obviously, but when lightning strikes…ya know? Poor Josh had a hard time, but he really wasn’t the right one for Tess. They’d been together since high school, but hadn’t been right for each other for years.”

Charlotte’s mouth gaped. “This is absolutely unbelievable—it’s like something out of a novel! I’m not sure whether to swoon for Tess and Sam or feel sorry for Josh.”

“Be happy for everybody! Tess and Sam got married this summer, and Josh and Effie have a pretty fantastic love story. They knew each other when they were younger, since they went to school in Clover Lake together until Josh moved here. Technically, I guess, they weren’t together in school, since Josh is a year younger. Anyway, Effie and Josh both ended up back in Beverley earlier this year and reconnected. Effie is a much better fit for him than Tess.” Ruth wiped at her eyes, emotional either from the love stories or her pregnancy. Or both, in Charlotte’s experience.

Charlotte sighed. “My ex-husband and I met in high school. We were a lot like Tess and Josh, I suppose, only we ended up getting married right after our high school graduation.”

Eloisa cried wholeheartedly then, and Ruth picked her up, turning slightly away to nurse her. “I’m guessing your marriage had something to do with the baby you had?”

“Correct. Don’t get me wrong, Isobel, my daughter, is the best thing in my life, and I don’t regret her one bit, but…there’s always been a part of me asking ‘what if’.”

The door opened, and this time Effie sailed in. “Ruth! What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing! Don’t you have enough to do at the library? Didn’t I also hear that you’re now the assistant track coach?”

“I know. I couldn’t say no when Paul asked me about the coaching position. Then Charlotte and I were talking plays when she was in the library, and it made me think about how much fun I had acting when I was in high school, so I asked if she needed a volunteer. Josh is still traveling to Sioux Falls a few times a week to finish part of his residency, so staying busy makes me miss my man less, ya know?”

“And I fully welcome any adults who want to help with hormonal teenagers!”

“Well, this hormonal adult needs to get home before her husband does. You two have fun.” Rut gently placed Eloisa into the stroller as students started streaming in.

“Hey, Ms. Berg, Ready for practice?” Kara, lead actress and one of her junior-year students, entered the auditorium.

“Getting there, Kara. You know Miss Van Holland, correct?” Effie waved.

Kara nodded. “Of course. Effie is everyone’s favorite librarian.”