didn’t care if she was friendly with the woman or not either. She knew she was never going back to any party scene or associate with the people who did.
Once she found the toy store, she spent an hour browsing the aisles, looking for things that would be both entertaining and educational. Wishing she had paid more attention to the things he already had and asked him more about what he liked, she decided to buy only a few toys. She didn’t want to bombard him with things, but to find more to challenge him and spark his creativity and learning. The choices he had at home seemed quite limited.
She picked out a dinosaur puzzle, animal dominoes, a rug that laid out the streets of a town, a set of buildings that went with the rug, and tiny people who worked in the buildings.
With those purchases made, she retraced her steps toward the entrance, which led her through the food court. Aromas assailed her from every direction, and her stomach reminded her it was well past lunchtime and she had only eaten toast and juice for breakfast.
She bought a large slice of pizza and a soda and took a seat at a small table half-hidden behind a potted tree. She had only eaten a few bites when a man approached her.
“Well, hello there. Long time no see.” He was dressed in a suit and tie. Marnie assumed he was a businessman, but the way he leered at her made her think he was a pervert.
“Remember me? Lonnie?” he said when she didn’t answer his first greeting.
“No. No, I don’t remember you.”
“Aw come on now, Marnie. You can’t have forgotten old Lonnie, not after the good time we had.”
“I said I don’t remember you, and I don’t want to.” She reacted quickly by gathering her purchases in one hand, throwing the rest of her lunch in a trash container, and striding decisively toward the exit.
The possibility she might run into people who knew her hadn’t occurred to her, but it couldn’t be helped. It was either stay home, imprisoned by the fear of encountering people from her past, or brace herself for such encounters and face the world.
Marnie had intended to go to the library next, but she decided to put that off until another day. She was anxious to get home and present Jonathan with the things she bought for him. She was looking forward to playing with him, teaching him how to play dominoes, and letting him show her the proper way to work a puzzle. She was smiling at the thought when she pulled into the garage.
Chapter 26
Marnie was humming as she browsed through the clothing in her closet. The hour she spent with Jonathan had lifted her spirits. He was thrilled with the items she had purchased. She taught him about matching the animals on the large cardboard cards, and they played several hands of animal dominoes. After the game, she spread the rug on the floor, and they discussed the proper arrangement for the buildings.
“See, we can’t put the fire station too close to the school because the siren on the fire truck would be too loud for the children studying,” he reasoned.
“That’s good thinking!”
“Let’s put it here, not far from the houses, so if they catch fire, the firemen can come in a hurry.”
“Where should we put the hospital?”
Together they arranged and rearranged until it suited Jonathan, and when she left to dress for dinner, he was busy running his cars up and down the streets of his pretend town. She made a mental note to be sure he had a small fire truck, police car, and ambulance to use with the set.
After a shower, she was again left with the problem of finding something suitable to wear. “Tomorrow I’m going to start weeding out clothes I’ll never wear again,” she said to herself. “Maybe then I can see what I have that isn’t too short, too tight, or too low cut.”
She finally decided on a voile skirt printed with blue and green swirls and lined with coordinating fabric gathered on an elastic band. She liked the way it flared and moved when she walked. With it she donned a silk and cashmere sweater. In a drawer full of costume jewelry she found a long silver chain that she added to the costume, along with silver bracelets and earrings. When she looked at herself in the mirror, the feeling she got made her hum some