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Before I could sit down, she’d already come around the counter, picked up the cat that slept on one of the seats of the chairs, and sat down, waiting for me to join her.
“So, Melinda filled me in about the car lot.”
Thank goodness for my kid, I thought to myself as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Can you tell me what I did?” I questioned, feeling completely confused. I hoped that just by jumping in and asking, I’d grow more comfortable talking with her.
Trinity softly smiled and shook her head. “You did nothing. I’m guessing Peggy never told you what exactly happened to Darren, did she?”
“Well, I know he passed away. Other than that, she stays tight-lipped about him, even in her letters. To be honest, I think she only mentioned him once or twice, and when I tried to get her to tell me about him the other night, she just kept changing the subject.”
Trinity nodded. “Yes, Peggy rarely speaks of him. I think I may be the one and only person she’s told in this entire town, to be honest.”
I frowned, unsure if I really wanted to know the truth now, if it was that bad.
“Peggy doesn’t talk about it, and honestly, I’m not sure I should even tell you, but I love my friend, and I know that somewhere deep inside, she really likes you. I’d never seen her so happy in the months that you were writing to one another. She’d never admit that either, just so you know,” Trinity said, giving me a gentle smile.
“She isn’t an easy person to get to know, is she?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I prefer to say that… she’s guarded.”
“That’s a good way of putting it.” I nodded. I was feeling more comfortable talking to her now that Melinda had already broken the ice for me. I felt that if I came in questioning you about Peggy, Trinity may send me on my way and call her, blowing my chances with her.
“Peggy’s husband died in a car accident.”
“Yes, she mentioned an accident. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Many people do.” I shrugged, not quite understanding what the actual issue was.
Trinity nodded. “That is true, but it’s not about how it happened. It’s about what happened leading up to that accident. They were at a local car lot.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. A local lot in Cedar Landing?”
Trinity nodded. “Yes. That is where Peggy and Darren used to live.”
“Let me guess. Was it the large lot on the right-hand side of the road. The one that is clearly the largest but the one she didn’t want to go to?” I questioned.
“Yes. She’d been saving for a car, and Darren bought her a car instead of her waiting until she finished saving for it.”
“Okay,” I replied, “I don’t understand why that would bother her.”
“To understand that, you need to know that Peggy is very independent. She works hard, and when she has her mind set on something, it’s best not to get in her way. Take that as a snippet of free advice and put it in your back pocket.” Trinity winked. “Anyway, he’d surprised her with it on her birthday. He’d had one of her friends bring her down to the lot, and she’d figured the car had sold when he brought her over to it. They’d wrapped it in a large red ribbon, and that’s when he surprised her. Anyway, while her friend was there, everything was fine. It was after she left things got out of hand.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, she’d been saving, and she’d really wanted to purchase this car on her own. Finances were tight, and she knew that the added expense on insurance could strain them. You see, Darren paid for everything around the house. He never wanted her to have to pay for things. The money she worked for was hers to do as she wanted. She didn’t want Darren stressing over an added expense, so that was why she was hell-bent on saving the entire amount to purchase the car.
“Anyway, she told him she’d go to the bank and get the money she’d saved and give it to him. Of course, with this being a gift, he wouldn’t hear of it. He told her to keep it. No matter how much she persisted, he refused, until they were in a full-blown argument. Words were said, many actually, and Peggy stormed off the lot in the new car, leaving Darren behind to follow her.”
“I see.”
“She drove home, and once she calmed down, she got dinner on, knowing that Darren had probably taken some time to cool off before coming home. Peggy wanted to apologize to him, so she made his favorite meal. Once dinner had finished cooking, she waited a bit and then finally ate and put his meal in the fridge. She thought perhaps he was hurting too badly to come home. She went to bed angrier than she’d been when she got home. Instead, she figured she would apologize in the morning when all emotions had simmered down.”
I sat there waiting patiently for her to continue.
Trinity looked at me, sadness in her eyes. “Anyway, in the wee hours of the morning, Peggy woke up to a large thud. She got up out of bed and looked out of the bedroom door for Darren. Only the house was dark and empty. She heard another thud and realized that it was someone knocking on the front door. Worried that it was an emergency, she ran to the door and answered it. That was when she came face-to-face with two police officers who notified her that Darren had been killed in an accident.”
“What? Are you serious?” I said, closing my eyes, trying to imagine what that must have been like. How her world had shattered in a heartbeat.
“Apparently, after she left the lot, Darren took a few minutes to calm down before getting behind the wheel. When he did, he took the long way home, which involved a few extremely bad blind curves. He apparently went to go around a car that had stalled on the worst blind curve in Cedar Landing and met a car head-on. The driver of the other car was drunk. He survived, but Darren died instantly.”
I sat there for a minute, going over what Trinity had told me. “Trinity, call me insensitive, but I still don’t really understand what I did? All I did was suggest that it was time for her to get a new car.”
