“But now the daughter owns a flower shop,” Nate said.
“Yes, she does,” Mr. Hartman said. “Poor Roddy died just as Crystal was about to graduate from high school. He could no longer ride a motorcycle but one night he tried to.”
“Ran headlong into a tree,” Mr. Alderson said. “Dr. Everett said his alcohol level was through the roof.”
“The day after the funeral,” Mrs. Alderson said, “Crystal and her mother left town. We didn’t see or hear from them until two years ago. Mother and daughter came back to Summer Hill, bought the flower shop and have done a splendid job of running it. They’ve become a true asset to this town.”
“Like Billy Thorndyke,” Nate said softly.
“Billy?” Mr. Hartman asked. “What does he have to do with the Roddy Wilkins family?”
“Nothing that I know of,” Nate said. “It’s just that the stories are the same. At about the same time, the Wilkins family and the Thorndykes abruptly left town.”
Instantly, expressions of distaste were back on the faces of the four older adults. Their spines went rigid and they looked at Nate with glaring stares.
“I can assure you,” Mrs. Alderson said, “that there is no connection between the two families. The Thorndykes were our friends. Why young Billy was so infatuated with Terri Rayburn from the lake, no one could understand—but a Wilkins? Certainly not!”
Mr. Alderson put his hand over his wife’s. “I seem to remember that Abby was friends with Leslie Rayburn.”
“Sometimes,” Nate began, his voice low and hard, “people—”
“Hey!” Bob said as he abruptly stood up. “I think I should take Nate to see his office. Anyone object to our leaving?”
No one moved but their expressions said it all. Please take him away was written on their faces.
* * *
When they were outside, Bob said he’d come with his parents so they’d better take Nate’s car. “Unless you want to walk. Your office is very close.”
“Of course it is,” Nate muttered. “Let’s use my car.” He drove as Bob directed him. They went down a side street and pulled into the drive of a big Victorian house. Nate was glad to see that it wasn’t too gaudy. With the mood he was in, if the house had been painted a dozen shades of purple he might not stop.
He and Bob got out of the car. There were tall shade trees around the house and a gentle breeze swayed the leaves. The pleasantness of it was calming Nate.
“I want to apologize for my parents,” Bob said. “You won’t believe it, but they’re very nice people. It’s just that they love Stacy so much. Her mom and mine have been best friends since before Stace was born.”
“And they wanted their kids to marry.”
“Right,” Bob said.
“What about you?” Nate’s eyes zeroed in on Bob’s.
“I love Stacy and we really tried to make it work. We wanted to please our parents, but...” He shrugged. “It was boring. We knew everything about each other. I sat beside her in the first grade so I know she hates peanut butter. I was there when Elliot Pierce hit her with a stick and she kicked him back, so I know why they still dislike each other. I helped her glue fabric swatches in her notebooks. I cried with her when Daisy died.”
Nate was trying to keep his expression neutral. He didn’t know any of these things about Stacy. Twice he’d bought her chocolate-covered peanut butter cups. She’d eaten a few but she’d never said she didn’t like them. And what notebooks? “Daisy?” he asked.
“Her cat. She loves cats!”
“Oh, right.” When Nate said he liked dogs, not cats, Stacy hadn’t registered an opinion one way or the other.
“I just want to say that it was a mutual breakup. One night after we went to a movie together we didn’t have a word to say because we knew what the other one thought. There was no reason to talk. When we got in the car, Stacy said, ‘Let’s break up.’ I said, ‘That’s the best idea I’ve heard in years.’ We were both very happy.”
Bob gave Nate a look of apology. “Sorry for this, but Stacy and I were too cowardly to tell the parents. We just kind of avoided the whole subject.”
“Then she met Kit.”
“She did,” Bob said. “She worked on that play with him and he sent her to DC to meet his son—not his workhorse of an assistant.”
“And she returned with me.” Nate wasn’t good at hiding his bitterness over that. Kit sent a princess to his prince of a son.