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I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “I’m not mocking you, Mom. But seriously? Look around. There’s nothing left to work on around here.”
I waved my hand toward the town square which was across from the park. Even the statue of the first Clintondale Hauser was glistening with a new polish.
He had his hands on his hips looking at Town Hall in all his bronze glory. The stance reminding me of Mason, which made me sit up and busy myself with picking up the various toys and teething rings that were scattered on the blanket.
It was annoying how much he still snuck in to my thoughts when I least expected it. I’d been home for a few months now, and you’d figure his image would fade.
I could barely remember what Pierre looked like and I’d almost married him, for heaven’s sake.
“Well, I’ll tell you even though you don’t care. Maude and Jerry’s store is an eyesore in the middle of Clintondale Street.”
“M&J’s is a staple in this town. I’m pretty sure Jerry’s family goes back almost as long as ours.” I tossed the toys into Adriana’s diaper bag.
“And it looks like it. However, they’re retiring, and their son Thomas is taking over. He wants to tear down the front windows and put a whole new automated set of doors on it.”
“The horrors.”
“Emmaline Michelle.”
“It’s okay to change, Mom.”
“It won’t match the rest of Clintondale Street. It will look like one of those city stores with no character.”
“It’s a door, Ma.”
“It starts with a door, then we’ll have a WalMart moving in.”
“Okay, Debbie Drama.” I shook my head.
Clintondale wasn’t exactly known for its forward thinking. My family, and most of the townspeople, liked everything to be just like it was a hundred years ago.
Which was why so much of the younger generation was moving away. And yet, here I was, back in the same town.
“Afternoon, Miss Leah.” A woman in her early thirties pushed a stroller on the path near us. She glanced at me with a pinched face before her lips smoothed into a social smile. “How’s your granddaughter?”
My mom turned Adriana out and made her little hand wave. “She’s getting bigger every day, thanks for asking, Caroline. How are you?”
Oh, gee. Another Carol judging. Just like from my interview at The Mason Jar.
“Me and Peter are going to have another.” She patted the slight curve of her belly. “My husband is thrilled that we’re having a boy this time.” She reached into the stroller and fixed the blankets over the little girl inside.
Blankets? It was almost ninety today.
“Congratulations.” My mom nuzzled Adriana’s neck. “You sure are brave having two under two.”
I rolled onto my knees. “If you ever want to come to my Pilates class at the community center, there’s always a spot for you.” I patted my flat stomach showing above my shorts. “Two kids that close together? Your pelvic wall will thank you.”
Caroline’s cheeks reddened. “I don’t need to worry about any of that. I have a husband. And I don’t need to trap one like you do.”
“Caroline.” My mother’s voice was sharp with reprimand.
“I’m sorry, Miss Leah.”
No apology to me, of course. “It’s fine. I’m a single mom, no getting around that one. But Pilates isn’t for your husband, Caroline. It’s for you. Makes it easier to get around after the baby when you have a toddler and a newborn.”
Because I bet along with her snotty traditional values, her husband was as useful as tits on a frog.
Adriana must have picked up on my annoyance because she started fussing. And to be a little more annoying, I settled bean against me and moved the bikini top I was wearing. When Caroline’s eyes bulged, I flicked the receiving blanket over the baby and let her eat.
