Part 13 (1/2)
”Do you want a list?” Anne asked, arching an eyebrow. ”Let's start with Samantha, add Caleb and all the bills, then finish with Edward Dunlap.”
”Edward?”
Anne, picking up her gla.s.s, stared at the ruby liquid. ”Yeah, I ran into him today. It's so sad.” With a sigh, she ran her finger down the side. ”I wish there was something I could do to help him, but I never can get him away from Esther long enough to do any therapy.”
”Anne,” Greg said, his voice gentle. ”You can't save the world.”
”I'm not trying to, but Edward's life could've been so much more. Here he is almost fifty and still at his mother's beck and call.” She frowned. ”If only he hadn't had that accident.”
Greg shook his head slowly. ”Maybe.”
Her eyes widened. ”What do you mean?”
”I've heard all the stories about how he was on the brink of a great future, too, but in the end, I doubt if he'd ever have made the break with his mother.”
”Why?”
”Esther would've found some way to stop him. Guilt him into staying.”
”I always heard she was proud of him and looking forward to seeing him succeed.”
”Really? Maybe that's what you heard, but knowing Esther, I think the attention she received from being Edward's mother was what mattered most to her.”
”What about now?”
”Now she has everyone's sympathy and has had for twenty-some-odd years. Poor widowed Esther and her damaged son.”
”That's kind of sick, Greg,” Anne exclaimed.
He shrugged. ”The world's a sick place Anne.” He leaned his head back and crossed his arms. ”If they could talk, the two dogs we found today would tell you.”
”Bad?”
”Starved, dehydrated; someone dumped them, G.o.d knows how long ago, over by Perkins Hill.” His eyelids drifted shut as if he was suddenly weary. ”I don't know if they'll make it through the night.”
Anne reached out and placed a hand on his arm. ”I'm sorry.”
His eyes opened and he gave her a sad smile. ”Thanks, but we're human; there's only so much we can do. Can't save them all.”
”But you'd like to, wouldn't you?”
”Yup, sure would.” He scratched Molly's ears. ”I think most of the time, present company excluded, I'd rather be with them than with people. At least with a dog, what you see is what you get. They're faithful, loyal, and they don't have any hidden agendas.”
”Not everyone has an agenda.”
He gave a short laugh. ”Sure they do.”
”I don't,” Anne declared hotly.
”Oh yes, you do-get Caleb in college and see him get a degree, whether he wants one or not.”
Anne snorted. ”Now you sound like Fritz Thorpe.”
”I hate to say it, because I think Caleb should go to college, too, but I agree with Fritz. At some point you're going to have to let Caleb make his own choices.”
”Yeah, but what if his choices are wrong?”
”You followed your dream, Anne.”
”Yeah,” she shot back, ”and look where it got me-spending my life hustling for a dollar.”
”But at least you gave it a shot.”
”What about you?” she asked pointedly.
Greg sat forward. ”I followed my dream.”
”But when you got screwed, you gave up. Why didn't you fight back?”
”Hey, we were a.n.a.lyzing you, not me,” he said, lightening his tone.
”Truth hurts, huh?”
Greg chuckled. ”We're a fine pair, aren't we? Life threw us both a curve, and now we're where we never thought we'd be.”
”Right,” Anne said, setting her gla.s.s back on the table. ”And where I should be right now is back at Samantha Moore's.”
Greg rose and extended his hand. Grabbing it, Anne rose. ”You're spending the night at her cabin?” he asked.
”Just for a couple of days.”
”Not looking forward to it?” he asked, following Anne across the deck and into the house.
”Not really.” Anne stopped and turned. ”It was funny-earlier this morning, after you left, she sat and chatted with Fritz just like a normal person-”
Greg's chuckle broke in. ”Whatever that is.”
”Right,” she said with a lift of her brow. ”But after two of her paintings arrived, she turned back into the ice queen and stayed that way.” Anne puffed out her cheeks and blew out a long breath. ”I hope by now the nicer version has reemerged.”
Greg nudged her arm playfully. ”Good luck.”
”Thanks,” she said, and with a wave headed down the lane.
The sun was sinking lower on the horizon and the long shadows stretched across the path. To her right, Anne saw the calm surface of lake. Above her, birds flew, searching for their nightly roost. She paused and took a deep breath, attempting just for a moment to lay her worries aside and enjoy herself. Releasing her breath slowly, she tipped her head back and closed her eyes.
Everything would work out, she told herself. Just get through this summer and into the fall, then Caleb would be back in school, and she'd be working at the hospital again. Samantha Moore would be long gone, back to whatever life she wanted in the city. Life would be normal again.