AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The open design led to a dining area with a round antique table with carved lion feet. She strolled to the living room that was a mix of a warm burgundy and beige, with two sofas and a stone fireplace. “I love the airy lightness of your house, Noah.”
He was suddenly behind her. “Come look at the other rooms on this floor. He led her to a cozy study with shelves of books and two computers. A TV room at the far end. Then he opened the door of a good-sized room that held some storage boxes.
“This would make a great sewing room, don’t you think?”
Her heart swelled. “Why, Noah. Are you saying you’d like to have me live here with you?” she asked in a teasing singsong voice.
“You know what I want. It’s what I’ve always wanted. Now, come eat your breakfast.”
Julie laughed and followed him to the kitchen and let herself enjoy the idea that a happy ever after might actually be a possibility for her.
11
It was mid-November when Julie found the thimble.
Molly was in school for the day and Julie decided to go through some clothes she’d put in a tall antique dresser that had been in the family penthouse. It was one of the few pieces she had asked her brother to put in storage with other things they had saved when they were preparing to put the penthouse on the market after her father’s death.
Later, when she purchased her house in Southampton and began filling it with all kinds of furnishings, she’d brought the dresser here and had been using it to store her winter clothes. The weather was getting colder, and now that she was going out so much with Noah, she wanted to revamp her usual winter wardrobe. Maybe she would find some old things to revive, or maybe she and Molly would have to go on a few mother-daughter shopping sprees.
Julie began with the top drawer, dividing what she pulled out into three piles. One pile was for definite keepers. The second pile would be taken to Goodwill. The third, things she could not decide on and would take a second look at after she emptied the dresser.
It got to be interesting when she went deeper into the drawers and found things she had totally forgotten about. Julie began trying them on, playing an adult version of dress-up. It was mostly sweaters, blouses, vests, and scarves, but in the bottom drawer she had also stored a gorgeous pair of wool trousers, laid out flat so they were not all wrinkled. A green plaid kilt-style skirt she had not seen in years. A cashmere sweater dress she’d worn when she was pregnant with Molly.
Oh, she was having fun now, taking off one item and putting on another.
She tried on an oversized pale rose knee-length cardigan sweater, and as she turned to the side, posing in the full-length mirror, she stuck her hands in the pockets.
And her right hand came back out with something.
Her silver thimble.
She had thought it was lost and gone forever.
Five years ago when she was packing up to leave New Mexico, she had searched through her sewing boxes—and Mariel’s—over and over looking for it. She had searched her jewelry box, all her pocketbooks, bookshelves, kitchen drawers…everywhere. The cardigan sweater must have been packed up and shipped off before she realized the thimble was missing.
Julie sat on the bed, turning the thimble over in her fingers, looking at the beautiful images cast in the silver. Two seagulls flying over a pattern of waves.
Noah had given it to her for what would have been their second Christmas together. Actually it was during those magical days leading up to Christmas before her father had told her she had to go to London for the holiday with him and her brother. She and Noah had been glued to each other in those days, from dawn till dusk and throughout the wintery nights as well.
She’d been so happy.
And then it all went to shit.
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Julie left the cardigan on, put the thimble back in the pocket, and hurried down the stairs.
On the days when Noah had mornings at Dr. Nizer’s or the hospital in Southampton, he would stop by at lunchtime and they would usually have a few hours alone before Molly came home. He would often stay for dinner with her and Molly. But on some days the two of them would only have time for a quick lovemaking sprint or just have a short time to talk before he had to run back to work.
She hoped that wasn’t the case today.
As soon as she opened the door and Noah stepped in, Julie fell into his arms and burst into tears.
He held her and kissed her temple, her hair. “What is it, Julie? What happened? Do you need an ambulance or—”
“No, I just need to talk,” she said through her tears.
He walked her to the sofa and sat her down, putting his arm around her and pulling her close. “I’m listening.”
She took a tissue from the box on the marble coffee table in front of them and blew her nose. Then she pulled the thimble from her pocket and held it up to him.
