Promises to Keep - Ann Tatlock [61]
“Hi, Mara,” Mom said. “Where’s your costume and goody bag? Aren’t you out trick-or-treating?”
“Oh no, Mrs. Anthony. I’m not doing that this year. I’ve come over to be with Roz because I know she can’t go out.”
“How sweet of you. Come on in. She’s resting on the couch.”
When Mara stepped into the living room, her eyes shone, and she offered me a wide toothy smile. She looked like she had a secret she wanted to tell me before she burst.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I said.
She shrugged and sat down beside me. “Why not?”
“Don’t you want to go out trick-or-treating?”
“Naw, not really.”
Mom, who’d followed Mara into the room, asked, “Can I get you something to drink, Mara? A soda or something?”
“No thanks, Mrs. Anthony. I’m fine.”
“All right – oh, there goes the doorbell. The ghosts and goblins are starting to make the rounds.” She gave a small laugh as she headed back to the door.
Mara drew her long legs up on the couch. By now I’d finished my Popsicle and laid the stick on a napkin on the coffee table. Pulling the blanket more tightly around me, I leaned toward her and said, “So what’s up? You look like you just won a million dollars or something.”
She glanced toward the hallway, then back at me. Quietly she said, “It’s Daddy.”
“Yeah? What about him?”
“On Sunday night’s show, he signed off with a different message.”
“He did?”
“Yeah. This time, instead of saying ‘Sweet dreams’ like he always does, he said ‘Good night, Beatrice. May all your dreams come true.’ ”
She gave me a long knowing look, as though I should understand what this change meant. “Well . . .” I began, uncertain how to go on.
“May all your dreams come true,” Mara repeated. “Don’t you get it?”
“Not really.”
She frowned at me then, like she was a teacher and I was a dimwitted student. “Think about it, Roz. What’s my biggest dream?”
“To be a writer?”
“I mean, besides that.”
“To meet your father.”
“Yup, that’s it!” She nodded, finally looking satisfied.
I was still confused. “So?”
“Well, don’t you get it, dummy? He wants to meet me too, and he’s telling me now’s the time.”
“He is?”
Mara nodded once more. “My mama promised me – ”
“Which mama?”
“My real mama.”
“Your sister?”
“Yeah, my sister Celia, my real mother.”
“All right.”
“She promised me one day I’d meet my daddy. She said the last thing they did was make a pledge about it. They promised each other I’d meet him when the time was right.”
“And you think now’s the time?”
“Yeah, I do. Celia always told me that when I was old enough, I could meet him. Next month I’ll be twelve. That’s old enough.”
“And you think he wants to meet you now? You think that’s what he was trying to tell you?”
“I’m sure of it.” Mara hugged her knees and looked dreamy. “I can feel it in my bones.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to ask Celia if she can arrange it.”
“What if she says no?”
“She won’t. I know she won’t.”
I leaned back against the couch cushions, trying to take it all in. I was happy for Mara, but at the same time the lump of self-pity in my chest grew larger. I envied Mara. We had only just made our Daddy Deal, and already fate seemed to be acting in her favor.
“When do you think you’ll see him?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Celia will have to make all the plans.”
“Will she go with you?”
“No, she can’t. Not with the new baby. And anyway – ” she paused, dropping her gaze to her knees – “she said she didn’t think she could ever see William Remmick again. Not because she’s mad at him but because . . . well, you know, sometimes it’s hard to forget.”
I thought about that for a moment. Then I asked, “Because she still loves him?”
Mara nodded silently.
“What about her husband?”
“She says she loves him too, but it’s not the same. So she can’t ever see my daddy again.”
I pressed my lips together and looked out the window at the darkening night. “I think that’s the saddest thing I ever heard,” I whispered.
“Me too.”
“Why can’t people just fall in love and be together?”
“I don’t know,” Mara said. “I hope I never know what it’s like.” She lifted