All in Good Time Prequel (Ebook)

Prolouge
1965

The October night sky exploded with stars magnified through Sandra’s tears. The crisp fall air nipped her nose and bare shoulders. They were the homecoming king and queen. Mom made her dress in pink satin and tulle. Her father called her his princess and twirled her around the living room. This should have been a night to remember. She supposed it would be, just not the way she’d anticipated for weeks. “I can’t believe it. You are breaking up with me?”

“Guess so.” He stepped away from her.

“Because I want to get married and have a family?” Since their relationship turned more serious last year, she told him at least a thousand times why she wanted to start a family early. Her parents gave up on having any children, then she surprised them when her mom was forty-two. She knew her parents loved her, but they were so much older than her friend’s parents. And that made a difference. Mom and Dad were often tired or didn’t want to do the activities she wanted to do. Instead, they would send her with her best friend’s family. She didn’t want that for her children. She wanted to be a part of their lives, go on field trips, host sleepovers and be the house where her children’s friends gathered on the weekends.

“No, because you won’t wait to have kids. You want that house on the corner with the picket fence and a house full of babies. I’m going to college, and you should want to go too.” He touched her shoulder and his hand slid to hers. “You’re smart and could be anything you want. Times have changed. You know, it isn’t the 1950s anymore. You’d make a good doctor or even a lawyer.”

“I want to be a mother.”

“Then there’s nothing else to say.” He released her hand. “I wish I could change your mind.” He turned, walked away, and he didn’t look back.

He opened the gym door. The lyrics of “I Can’t Stop Loving You” drifted through the air and pummeled her heart. Like the song said, she would live her life in dreams of yesterday, when he said he would love her for the rest of her life.

Chapter 1

Present-day…

Sandra Anderson pulled the yearbook off the bookshelf in the living room and settled into the nearest chair. She flipped the pages until she reached her class. The brittle memories sprang to life as if the homecoming dance had occurred last night. She caressed the page, almost feeling the fabric of the dress her mother had made. She’d felt like Grace Kelly, the blonde beauty in the old movies she watched long ago with her mother. In the photo, Kevin still took her breath away as he had that night.

Should she go to the reunion? There were rumors he would attend this one. Why this time? He had never even bothered to respond to the other reunion invitations. The pain of their last date still lay etched in her memories after all this time.

“Grams? Are you here?” Footsteps padded through the entryway.

Lucy, her granddaughter, stepped into the living room. “Why are you sitting in the dark?” She flipped on the overhead light.

“Weren’t you coming by tomorrow? I was looking through this yearbook and I must have slipped into a nap. You know—exciting times in high school, not so much now.” She closed the book on her lap and slid it onto the small end table next to the chair.

“And you left the door unlocked again. Grams, you have to be more careful. This town isn’t the same as when you grew up here. Don’t you watch the news? Crime is up everywhere.”

“Maybe you should move in and make sure I do.” She wanted to take back the biting words.

“Funny you should mention that, Grams. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about at dinner.”

Dinner. She raced through the last conversation she had with Lucy and relaxed. They were going out to eat. She didn’t have to prepare something. “Is this something I want to hear?”

“I hope so.” Lucy collapsed on the sofa. “I might as well get it over with before we eat.”

Had her son sent Lucy to encourage her to move into the new senior center? Both her children had been hinting that it would be good for her. As if she were close to being one hundred. They didn’t want her to mow the grass and clean the gutters. As if she wanted to. She hired out those chores, had for years. They seemed to have forgotten that. Well, they weren’t getting their way. This was her home, and it would always be. She sat straight in her chair. “Out with it then.”

“Can I move in with you? Just for a little while? Since I’ve been away at school, I can’t stand the idea of moving back in with Mom and Dad. They see me as their little girl, and if I’m here, well, I could help you and—“

“Do you think I need taking care of?” She knew it. Her twins were up to something.

“No. Not really, but you did forget to lock the door.” Lucy’s smile trembled.

“It won’t happen again. I usually lock it and had intended to go back out before the yearbook caught my attention.”

“That’s good, but you should make it a point to secure your door every time you come in. They make us practice that at the dorm.”

“Is there more to this story? It feels like you’ve left something out, something big.” Sandra studied her granddaughter’s face. “You know I can tell.”

Lucy groaned. “How do you do that?”

“Years of practice. Now tell me, what’s going on.”

“Evan and I broke up, and he’ll be in Silverton all summer. I do not want to run into him. It’s just the next town over, but I don’t have to go there and see him with another girl or even ordering a burger at what used to be our favorite place.”

She glanced at the yearbook. Sandra understood her granddaughter’s pain. Her own was as raw as if it had happened yesterday. “Let’s get dinner and discuss this move you’re about to make.”

***

On the way to the restaurant, Sandra considered what it would be like to have someone in the house again. The idea appealed to her, some. She waited until the waitress placed the burgers and a basket of fries on the table before bringing up the subject. “Lucy, when would you move in if I said yes?”

“So, I was thinking this week. Summer classes are over and I have to move out of the dorm. I could help with the shopping and cooking, if that was okay with you. We would be like roommates sharing the chores. We could take turns cooking too. Or I could cook if you want me to.” Lucy stuck a fry in her mouth and then fanned her open mouth. “Hot.” She grabbed her soda and took a long drink. “I can make healthy meals for us. I’ve been wanting to try some chocolate shakes made with okra.”

“Okra? Sounds strange to me. I think I might prefer to eat it instead of drinking it. And sharing chores with me won’t keep you busy all summer. What do you intend to do with the rest of your time?” Lucy would be a Space Invader—a term from a video game the twins often played when they were younger came to mind. She’d be sharing her routines and her home for more than the rare weekend that anyone ever stayed with her. There would have to be boundaries because Sandra had things to do, her own schedules, and while she loved her granddaughter, she did not plan on rearranging her life for her.

“I signed up for an online psychology class. I might go to Beans Coffee Shop to study in the morning. If they are hiring, I could work there for a few hours. Or I can ask Joel if he needs any office help, but I’d rather not, because that puts me back in Silverton every day. That would be my last choice.” Lucy took a bite of her burger.

Her grandson, Lucy’s brother Joel, had his own architectural firm. “Why don’t you stay with him? His house isn’t in town. He’ll have all the TV channels you like, and his internet is faster.”

Maybe this was a plan to get her to move. She’d had friends whose kids had strongly suggested their moms and dad move into a senior community. Had her own children enlisted Lucy to spy on how well she did on her own? Her son’s not-so-subtle hints had become more assertive about moving into the new center in town. She had a few friends who lived there. They said they enjoyed the place, but she wasn’t ready. Selling the house meant saying another goodbye. There were too many of those in her past without adding another that didn’t need to be there.

“I can’t live with Joel. He is such a pest, always wanting to be the big brother. If I walked down to the beach, he’d probably tell me to wear water wings.” She dunked a french fry into a mustard pool on her plate.

“No catsup?”

“There’s no sugar in mustard, plus it’s spicy. Makes for a nice twist for the tastebuds. They expect one thing and get another.”

“But you’re willing to consider working for Joel, but you can’t live with him?”

“Sure, he has to be different in the office, doesn’t he? He is a professional. I’m sure he will still be bossy, but he’d give me space to work. Then he’d see I’ve grown up, and he doesn’t have to look after me.”

“And if he doesn’t have work for you?” She dunked a fry into Lucy’s mustard. She had to admit it tasted good. “Will answering phones and taking messages be exciting enough for you? You’ve always liked to be around lots of people. The most people you will see are your brother and maybe a client in his office once in a while.”

“I’ll try the boat shop or get a job waiting tables. It’s summer, there will be someone hiring. I won’t be bored or get in your way if that’s what you’re worried about. You won’t have to keep me entertained.”

Sandra laughed. “No Monopoly tournaments then?”

Glass shattered behind her. She turned to see where it came from, but her glance didn’t make it far before it settled on the man picking up a carry-out order at the counter.

Kevin, older and with whiter hair, but there was no mistaking him. He was back in town, and the reunion wasn’t for months. Why was he here now? And did he have to look so good?

***

“Grams. Grams. Are you okay?” Lucy stared at her grandmother. Her face had to be three shades paler. Was she having a heart attack? A stroke? There were questions to ask in this situation. What were they? She couldn’t remember, but knew she had to act fast. She reached into her purse for her phone and held it to her face. “Come on. Don’t make me put in my passcode.” Her hands shook.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, Grams. I’ll call 911. Help will be here soon.” Her phone opened, and she tapped the phone icon.

Grams grabbed her hand. “Put that phone away right now. I’m fine.”

“Then why didn’t you answer me?”

“I saw someone from the past, and it startled me.” Sandra shrunk down into the booth.

Lucy didn’t see anyone behind Grams other than a teenager cleaning up broken glass. She turned her attention back to Grams. Her face was the color of milk. “Grams, did you—think you saw grandfather?” Please say no. She wasn’t prepared for something like this.

“Why on earth would you think that? I’m not losing my mind.”

“You said from your past, and for that kind of reaction,” she slid her phone back into her purse. “It had to be someone important. And Grandfather was the first person I thought of since he’s never been found.” She took a deep breath. Crisis averted. “I wish I could have known him.”

A small smile erased what Grams called marionette lines on her face. “I can tell you he loved the lake.”

“So if it wasn’t grandfather then who did you see?”

“Someone I cared about deeply a long time ago. And I hoped I’d never see him again. Looks like that prayer won’t be answered.”

Lucy couldn’t let this opportunity to learn more about her grandmother slip by. “You have to tell me everything.”

“That’s not the best idea. Old wounds shouldn’t be re-opened.”

“So you do still have feelings for—“

“He’s just someone I used to know. You don’t need to know his name. And I have no feelings for him either way. What’s done is done.” She took a long sip of her iced tea.

“Why do you think he’s here?”

“I heard he might be at the reunion. Now that I know he is in town, I’m staying home. I don’t need to attend this year.”

“That’s crazy. You just told me you care nothing about him and yet, you’re going to miss seeing your old girlfriends because of some boy that hurt you a billion years ago? Are you planning on staying in your house until the reunion is over so you don’t run into him? And you said the reunion isn’t until October. What if he is here to stay? That’s not the Grams I know, the one who taught me to meet problems, shake hands with them, and figure out how to make them go away.”

“Sometimes it’s too late to fix the past.”

“What’s to fix? It’s not like you were going to marry him, right?” Lucy glanced up from her plate of fries. Grams had a tear in her eye, and she was tracing her ring finger. “Oh no. You were engaged before grandfather? Does Dad know this?”

Grams gave a light shake of her head. “No. Not even my parents knew how serious we were. We kept it a secret.”

“Is he married?”

“No. Not anymore. I heard from my friend, Mary Ann, that his wife died. I’m sure he’s found someone else by now.”

“And that’s the real reason you aren’t going to the reunion, isn’t it?”

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