Tapestry of Fortunes A Novel - By Elizabeth Berg Page 0,70

will be turkey meat loaf and lighter mashed potatoes and apple pie. All those bib aprons I’ve found at the Goodwill? I’m going to cook in them. And all those embroidered tablecloths I’ve collected—I’ll put one on every table. I’ll have mason jars of fresh flowers on every table, too. All the dishes will be different, all the silverware. I’m going to put a television in front so if you have to wait for a table you can watch reruns of old shows like Father Knows Best and Leave It to Beaver.”

“Call it Aunt Tootie’s,” Renie says.

Joni looks at her. “Nope. I’m calling it the Tomato Soup and Toasted Cheese Café.”

Renie shrugs. “I’d go there.”

“You want some quilts to put on the wall?” I ask.

“Yes! And the sign will have two round faces, a boy with a cap turned sideways and a girl with a big bow in her hair, and they’ll be licking their chops.”

“Want a part-time waitress who’ll work for food?” I ask.

She looks at me, grinning. “Really?”

“Really.”

She grabs her purse. “Let’s go. I’m going to find things for the restaurant in every town we go through, from now on. I wish I’d gotten every funky salt and pepper shaker we saw.”

“Oh, there’ll be more of those,” Lise says. She looks at her watch. “Should we get going?”

“Let me just check my email to see if they had any problems with the column I sent yesterday,” Renie says. She brings it up and says, “Oh wow, my daughter.”

She looks up at the rest of us. “I’m not sharing.” She reads it, nods. “It’s good.”

BEFORE WE GET BACK in the car, I volunteer to take Riley for a walk in one direction while the others go the opposite way. They want to speed-walk, and Riley’s pace is more … contemplative. When you’re in a hurry, it can get on your nerves. When you’re not, it’s enjoyable.

I am almost back to the house when my cellphone rings. When I answer, there is a long pause, and then I hear, “Cece?”

“Dennis?”

We both start laughing and then together say, “How are you?”

“I’m glad you’re alive!” he says.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call.”

“Hold on,” he says, “can you hold on?”

“Sure!”

I stand still, waiting for him to come back to the phone. I’m so excited. His voice sounds exactly the same to me. Dennis Halsinger.

“Cece?”

“Yeah!”

“I’m sorry; I guess I shouldn’t have tried to call. I have to go. They don’t give me one second, this shoot is murder. I’ll call you when I’m back in the States. Answer that time!”

“I will,” I say. “And Dennis?”

Nothing. He’s gone.

I put my phone back in my pocket, and it rings again. Good. Now I can see if he can give me a time frame.

But the number that shows up is the Arms, and I answer saying, “Michael?”

“It’s Annie,” she says. “Are you able to talk for a minute?”

I stop walking, then, dry-mouthed, say, “Yes.” Don’t say he died.

“I’m calling to let you know that Michael and Phoebe are getting married tomorrow.”

“What?” I say, laughing. This information collides so hard with what I feared that at first I can’t process it.

I can hear the smile in Annie’s voice when she says, “It turns out that Phoebe is pregnant. That’s why she was so insistent about seeing him; she wanted to tell him, and to give him the option of giving the baby his name. He really wanted you to come, and in fact he was going to wait until you returned and ask you to come for a visit, then surprise you with the ceremony. But he’s … Well, he’s decided to go ahead and do it tomorrow. He didn’t want to tell you, he didn’t want to interrupt your vacation. But I thought I would let you know in case you wanted to come.”

“What time will it be?”

“Six o’clock tomorrow evening. That’s as soon as the minister Phoebe likes can get here.”

“I’ve got frequent-flier miles; I’ll come home as soon as I can.”

“Good. Shall I tell him?”

“I don’t know; what do you think? I’d kind of like to surprise him.”

“Do that, then,” Annie says. “And I’m so glad you’re coming. He credits you for his getting back with her, you know.”

“He would have, anyway.”

“Perhaps. It will be good to see you, Cece. I’m so glad you’re coming.”

“Me, too.”

I snap the phone shut and stand still on the sidewalk for a while. There are instances when everything around you grows suddenly more vibrant and precious, and this is one