“Have any wild parties without me?” I tease, leaning against the wall and watching her.
She turns and blinks at me. “Oh, I’m too old for that.” When she resumes her task, I find myself frowning. Mable would always joke about seeing a different man every week and doing shots with male strippers she hired. Was any of it true? No. But that was Mable. Was. I guess that’s the keyword.
Swallowing, I force a smile. “I went on a date the other day.” The words are out of my mouth before I can process them. “Well, it was more like two old friends catching up. But it was nice. I had fun.”
I’m not sure why I’m telling her. Jenna got every detail from me over wine and pizza the following night. I excluded anything about Easton, though his absence isn’t lost on her. She was happy for me when I admitted I enjoyed the night with Carter. The conversation between us over dinner and drinks wasn’t forced, even if it got tense at some points, and Carter and I teased easily and without care. We’d bring up school, teaching, my future plans. Carter Ford was interested in me. And that made me interested in him. Teenage me was screaming with joy internally.
“That’s nice, dear.” She sounds absent, but her early signs of an episode aren’t there. I manage to push past it, nodding.
“It was with Carter Ford.”
Her eyes drift to meet mine, a genuine Mable smile stretched on her face. “He’s such a nice boy.”
“He is.”
“Did you have fun?”
I pause, then say, “I did. Thank you.”
Her head moves up and down. “He’s such a nice boy. Not as nice as my boy. Danny was such a good boy. Wasn’t he?”
Struggling to swallow, I bob my head. “I don’t know anybody who would say otherwise, Mable.”
She wags her finger at me. “You two would have made a great couple. Two good people together. Never understood why he chose the other one.”
My shoulders tighten. Mable loved Willow. She said she was the next best baker next to herself. And I agreed. Willow could make anything in the kitchen. Danny used to love it when his wife and grandmother would spend time together. And they’d spend hours baking cookies for the entire neighborhood.
They were both good people.
“Because they were in love,” I whisper, more to myself than Mable. Breathing in slowly, I wet my bottom lip. “Danny loved Willow so much, Mable. She was a great woman. Better than me.”
The truth in those words doesn’t hurt me but breaks past a wall I built. I was always comparing myself to Willow trying to figure out why he chose her instead of me. They’d known each other for a short amount of time compared to how long I knew him. But every time I thought about those reasons, envy grew thicker. Willow never envied anybody. She never complained. I can honestly admit now that she was better than most people I know.
“No, no,” the sweet old woman disagrees.
I have no energy to fight. “I see you have more plants. Glenda out front said they might have one more for you.”
Her eyes brighten. “Oh, I love my plants. They keep these old hands busy. Mind, too. I know what they say about me.”
My brows quirk. “What do they say?”
She taps her head. “Not all the tools are in the shed, if you know what I mean. Meredith always talks about me with the other gossips. Jokes on her, Piper. I happen to know she’s got an STD from sleeping with Harold. He gets around here.”
Eyes bulging, I can’t help but laugh until tears sting my eyes. For a moment I thought I was going to lose Mable to another episode. But here she is, talking like she always used to. I cling to that for when she slips.
I know it’ll happen.
“Hey, Mable?”
“Hmm?”
I hesitate, watching her peel off a dead leaf and examining the other plants. “I loved Danny very much. I thought he was the one for me. I wanted him to be.”
She doesn’t say anything.
“But he wasn’t.” It’s a reluctant admission, one that will always sting like any long-lasting first love is.
Finally, Mable turns. “I know, dear.”
We just stare at each other.
“Harold has a grandson, you know.”
My head tilts. “Does he have STDs too?”
She shrugs.
I grin. “I think I’m good.”
My thoughts drift to Carter.
I’m not sure why.
It’s already getting dark by the time tutoring ends. The weather forecast calls