Promises to Keep - Ann Tatlock [80]
“He hasn’t come around lately, and I haven’t seen Mom talking to him on the phone.”
“Uh-huh. So your mother hasn’t told you anything?”
I shook my head while savoring the mint. I liked the way it melted against the roof of my mouth.
“Well, Roz,” Tillie said. She looked around the room and lowered her voice even though Mom was at work. “Apparently they decided to stop seeing so much of each other.”
“They did!” I exclaimed, nearly jumping out of my seat. Tillie put a finger to her lips and nodded toward Valerie. Whispering now, I asked, “How come? Did you tell her to stop seeing him?”
“Me? Oh dear, no. I had my opinion about the whole thing, of course, but no, I didn’t say a word.”
“Then what happened?”
She looked pensive a moment as she pulled at a knot in her thread. “I’m not really sure. It’s one of those complicated grownup things, I guess.”
“But whose decision was it?”
“It was mutual, from what I understand. Though apparently Tom felt threatened.”
“Threatened?”
“That’s what your mother said.”
“By what?”
“I don’t know. Whatever men feel threatened by when they get involved in a relationship. Financial responsibilities, a lack of freedom, sudden fatherhood. It could be any number of things.”
Sudden fatherhood? Suddenly the loss of two weeks’ allowance seemed a paltry sum. Maybe dropping Valerie into Tom Barrows’ lap did do the trick!
“Are they going to see each other at all anymore?” I asked.
“I couldn’t tell you that. But whether they do or don’t, it’s up to them, and it’s not our business.”
I thought of Mom then, down at Marie’s Apparel, going about the business of selling hats and gloves. Was she smiling at the customers and did that smile cover a broken heart, or was she secretly as relieved as I was to be rid of Tom Barrows?
“Tillie? Is Mom all right? I mean, is she sad or anything?”
Tillie lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. “She doesn’t seem sad to me. Your mother’s a smart woman, Roz. I think she finally decided some things are more important than security.”
Like love? I wondered. If only Mom would fall back in love with Daddy, everything would be perfect.
“Well,” I said mildly, trying to curb my growing excitement, “I’m going to go finish my homework.” I stood and dragged the chair back to the desk.
Tillie looked up at me. “Only two more days of school until Christmas vacation starts.”
I nodded. “Are you going to be with us for Christmas?”
“Oh yes, I’ll be here. On Christmas Eve I’ll be going to church with Johnny and Elaine, but I always like to be in my own home on Christmas morning. It will be just us girls, you know. You, me, Valerie, and your mother. But we won’t let that keep us from having a good time.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
No Wally. No Daddy. And thankfully, no Tom Barrows.
I took one step toward the door, and when I did an image flashed through my mind: Tom Barrows sitting at the café counter drinking coffee and reading the paper while Daddy’s fist opened and closed on the tabletop.
“Something the matter, Roz?”
Tillie’s voice drew me back. She had stopped in midstitch and was staring at me with concern.
“Huh?”
“You look like something’s bothering you,” she said.
“Oh.” I shook my head. “No. Nothing. Well, I’ve got a lot of homework.”
Maybe Daddy had threatened Tom Barrows and maybe he hadn’t. It didn’t matter, so long as Tom was out of the picture. The way was clear now for Daddy to make his move. I hoped he’d do it soon.
An overcast sky left the streets of Mills River in an early twilight. The walk from the library to Marie’s Apparel might have been hopelessly dismal had it not been for the colored lights that shone from store windows and from the branches of the trees lining the sidewalks. With Christmas right around the corner, I longed to feel the familiar excitement of the season, but I couldn’t deny the sadness nudging at me as I trudged through the cold and the snow.
My heart tightened in my chest, and tears burned my eyes. That afternoon, school had let out for Christmas vacation and