now, but hopefully she can work around their schedule. If you can see them home on the days that they have school, that would be great, Calista. On the days they’re off for holidays or whatever, I’ll see if I can get Lola to take over.”
“I can watch them on holidays,” Calista said. “It’s no problem.”
“Wow, that’s wonderful that you were able to work this out so smoothly,” Katrina said.
“I’m lucky Calista offered.”
“Yes, you really are. To have someone they already love will be a big help,” Katrina said, meaning it. “I don’t have children yet, but I can see that worrying about them while you’re working could be a real problem.”
“Do you know the story?” Calista asked.
“She does,” Alphé answered for her. “I needed to keep things up front with Katrina because I’m in love with her.”
“You’re in love with her? But didn’t you just meet?”
“It was love at first sight,” he said, looking at Katrina with obvious adoration, and she nodded her head.
“It was love at first sight for me, too,” she replied. “And right now, I feel like I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
“Gosh, I hope I find that someday,” Calista said, and she burst into tears.
Seconds passed where the only sound was of her weeping. Alphé was paralyzed, looking down at the floor. Deciding to change her modus operandi when Alphé didn’t try to comfort her, Katrina turned over a new leaf, got up, and hurried around the table, embracing Calista.
“You’ve had a terrible shock this weekend. Everything you thought you knew about someone you loved turned out to be untrue. For Alphé, too.”
“I knew Lola was a cheat,” he said.
“But not Rodney,” Calista added. “You never suspected him, did you?”
“Never,” Alphé said. “I trusted him with my life every day that we went out on that boat. And then when he needed me, I couldn’t save him.”
Katrina reached for Alphé while still holding on to Calista.
Is this what I’m in for? she thought. She was trading in that charmed, wealthy, selfish-single life for this.
A tap on the kitchen door ended the commiserating. It was Pris.
“I wanted to say goodnight to Katrina,” she said, in her little voice, looking curiously at the adults. She went to Katrina, not Calista. “I was afraid you’d leave before I had a chance.”
Reaching for her hand, Katrina went with her and guided her out of the room. “Let’s see where you sleep when you’re not on the boat.”
“Are you interested?” Pris asked, looking up at her.
Was she? “I guess I am,” Katrina said, hugging her. “I guess I am.”
***
Sunday night, Randy Benedict and Beverly Casson sat on the covered screen porch off the kitchen of the house that Alfonso had built, eating dinner that she’d prepared for him.
“This is just delicious,” he said. “I feel like I’ve had a meal at a five-star restaurant.”
“It’s just fried fish,” she said. “My old standby. You live down the street from the fishing boats, you eat a lot of fish.”
“It’s mighty fine. As a matter of fact, the last twenty-four hours has been the best day I’ve had in a long time.”
“I forgot how fun canoeing is, especially in the creek where there are gators.”
He reached over for her hand. “I’m not afraid to say it, a man my age, but this is love at first sight for me.”
“Randy, that’s so very sweet, but I’m not divorced yet,” Beverly said, concerned.
“I don’t care about that. Well, I care if you reconcile. That would hurt mighty big. But since he’s gone and you said it might be forever, I’m not afraid to let myself go.”
She took his hand. “Randy, I really like you. I think this could be something good for both of us. But until I’m divorced, I have to try not to get too involved. I mean, I’ll see you as much as you want and that kind of thing, but we’d better not live together. I’m not sure what will happen to my house.”
“Okay, I gotcha. You have a lot at stake.”
“Just the house, just my share of the hardware store. I need my share of the income.”
“I gotcha,” he said. “I’m in no rush. And just remember, we always have my house to go to. It’s farther north but still in Cypress Cove. You know that little subdivision that never really took off? We bought in there.”
“You’ll have to take me there sometime. We looked at those houses before we decided to build here.”
“You made the better choice,” he