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But things weren’t always what they seemed, she thought. Gus didn’t need to know the minutiae of her short marriage. No one knew the truth but her boys, and they’d left Cypress Cove to attend college, one back east and one out west, and never returned. Now when they visited, she detected an urgency to leave as soon as their business was taken care of, be it a holiday or a special occasion like her birthday. She knew the only way that she would lure them back would be to drop the charade of the happy family and allow them to express their true feelings about growing up in the cove with an alcoholic, abusive father.
Gus was the antithesis of Tom. He was gentle and soft spoken, tolerant and patient. She hadn’t told Luke and Nick yet about her relationship with Gus because she was afraid they’d find fault with it. They were snobs, and it was her fault.
“So! What are we going to do to decorate this place for Christmas?” Grace asked, looking around Gus’s cozy home.
“Like I do every year,” he said, squeezing her feet. “You know this place looks like I was trapped in a rummage sale at the North Pole.”
“Oh, I’m so glad. I have Christmas spirit already.”
“But let’s get married first,” he said. “Tomorrow, justice of the peace.”
Annie and Steve were in the same position, only the opposite; Steve’s feet were in Annie’s lap while they watched a football game.
“You about ready to start decorating this dump?” Steve asked.
“Aw, baby, don’t call our first place a dump.”
“I don’t want to live above the hardware store for the rest of my life, and at the rate I’m going, it looks like this is exactly where we’ll be stuck.”
“Do you think it might be time to ask Alfonso for a raise?”
“Naw, he likes using me while the rest of the family lives in splendor. Kelly makes twice as much as I do just to keep the damn books. Her house is also twice as big as this place.”
“Steve, once I get on my feet again, as soon as I find another job, maybe we can start saving up to get our own place. Even if we only put away ten dollars a month toward our goal, it will make us feel like we’re in control.”
“Can we even spare ten dollars?”
“Ha! Yes, I think we can spare ten. Anyway, I guess we need to look for a tree. We’ll be starting from zero. I didn’t bring anything like Christmas decorations.”
“It’s something we can do together,” he said, swinging his feet off her lap. “This game is a downer. Let’s go tree shopping.”
Two blocks down the street, Ted LeBlanc and Kelly Casson were having lunch at the small table in the window overlooking the woods behind her house. Main Street was just that, one main street in the village. There were no side streets off the south side of Main. It was too marshy. Kelly’s house was on a lot that backed up to a creek that dumped into Cypress cove. She could put a canoe into it if she wanted to but hadn’t had the time.
“You have a nice view,” Ted said. “I like how you keep your place.”
“Well, that’s nice to know. It doesn’t always look like this when Danny is home.”
“He’s a tot,” Ted said. “They’re supposed to be messy.”
“Were you messy?”
“Not really. I wasn’t allowed to be.”
“So your mom was a stickler.”
“Not my mom, my nanny. I had my chores to do before I could play. I’m not sure what they were paying her for because I even learned early how to do my own laundry. I still fold everything out of the dryer while it’s hot.”
“Wow, I bet that’s why you always look so polished,” she replied, smiling.
“Do I?” He looked down at his clothes, the same ones he’d worn when he got to her house Saturday evening.
“Well, maybe not today, but yes, you always look spiffy.”
“Are you about done? I’m ready to get our Christmas tree.”
“Oh, is itourtree now?”
“Yes, unless you want to move into my house ten miles out of town. I already have a fake tree up and decorated, but we can get a live one, too. Because we’re living together as of right now. You, Danny and me. A family.”
