"Oh! Well, no. Not at all." She reached out tentatively.
"Go on. He doesn't bite."
Mrs. Vaughn patted Boris on the head and he responded by attempting to crawl out of his carrier.
"Stay," Annabelle said.
Five minutes later, she found herself seated in Cozy Cups across from Estelle, as she'd asked Annabelle to call her. Joanne was obviously attempting to listen shamelessly but incoming customers kept her too busy to remain near their back table.
Annabelle wrapped her hand around the frozen Macchiato she'd ordered and waited to hear what Estelle had to say, but the other woman merely sat and unnecessarily stirred her coffee, staring into the dark liquid.
Annabelle decided she had no choice but to break the ice and begin conversation. "Nice weather we're having," she murmured politely.
"Is Brandon okay?" Estelle asked right after. "I woke up this morning and heard the news of the fire. I've been trying to reach him all morning. Nobody's picking up the phone at the lodge and I've left half a dozen messages on his answering machine at home. I've been worried sick and so has his father."
You see, Annabelle silently said to Boris. I told you this was going to be interesting.
"He's fine. In fact he was nowhere near the fire because he was in New York City at my firm's party last night," she assured Vaughn's mother.
"Oh thank goodness." She looked visibly relieved, her shoulders relaxing and her tension easing a bit.
"If it makes you feel any better, I doubt Vaughn's been home much since last night and the lines are down at the lodge. The phone company hopes to have things up and running by tomorrow at the latest." Though Annabelle doubted Vaughn would any effort to return his parents' calls regardless.
The other woman nodded, obviously grateful for any information.
"Have you tried his cell?" Annabelle asked.
Estelle shook her head. "I don't have the number." Obviously embarrassed, she didn't meet Annabelle's gaze.
Annabelle poked her straw into the creamy liquid in front of her while she tried to figure out how much to pry into Vaughn and his parents' relationship. Since his mother had sought Annabelle out, she decided to dig deeper than she probably should,
"Pardon me for commenting on something so personal, but it seems to me you care about Vaughn lot more than you let on."
"Of course I care!" Estelle said. "He's my child.”
"Then why not show it?" Annabelle couldn't help but challenge Estelle's assertion, but she softened the blow with a personal revelation of her own. "My parents died when I was twelve," she began.
"How awful!" Estelle patted Annabelle's hand awkwardly, then withdrew her touch.
Obviously maternal caring wasn't her forte. Annabelle wondered if she even realized her shortcomings.
"I'd have given anything to have my parents around while I was growing up," she continued. "Instead I had my Uncle Yank and Lola, two people who did their best to compensate for my loss and give my sisters and I lots of love and attention."
Estelle's eyes brightened with curiosity. "You have sisters?"
"Two. We're all very close."
"Theodore and I couldn't have any more kids after Brandon." Estelle's voice dropped to a whisper.
Annabelle wasn't sure whether to offer condolences or thanks that they couldn't subject another child to neglect the way they'd done to Vaughn.
"I'm not used to explaining myself to anyone, but you seem genuinely fond of Brandon and for that reason, I'm going to try."
"I do care about your son."
Estelle drew a deep breath before beginning to talk. "I'm not sure if you know this but I'm what you'd call from the wrong side of the tracks. My father ran off and my mother cleaned homes for a living. When I met Brandon's father he was studying to be a professor. Imagine my shock that he fell in love with me! I was so grateful I promised myself I'd do everything I could to support him and make certain he succeeded."
"Because if he succeeded, you succeeded," Annabelle guessed without much difficulty,