Heart Echoes (6 page)

Chapter 11

River smelled the soup the moment Teal opened the door. Cindy Yoshida's broccoli-chicken-black-bean concoction was a special-event dish.

The woman got that right. Coming home had never felt as special as it did right then.

He followed his wife through the garage door into the house she had welcomed him to share with her when they married. Leaving his bachelor apartment for the warmth of her place had been a no-brainer.

When they first dated, she was in the middle of renovations to the bungalow. Originally the garage had been detached. Teal had it attached by adding a mudroom and family room between it and the kitchen.

He shuffled along behind her, past the washer and dryer and into the family room, a catchall nook for newspapers, books, backpacks, mail, and sweatshirts. It was furnished with a love seat, a couch, and a coffee table. The television was on but muted. River turned from its video of a collapsed overpass lit by garish lights.

A breakfast bar separated the room from the kitchen now filled with the Yoshidas and two of the Prices, a happy, noisy group. Maiya emerged and was immediately lost in Teal's embrace.

His family was safe. His family was safe.
Thank You, God. Thank You.

He fought back more tears. He did not cry easily. He had a high tolerance for physical pain. Evidently the events of the day had undone him. He sat gingerly on the couch and wiped his shirtsleeve across his face.

His family was safe.

How he loved his girls. He watched them hug, long and hard, rocking back and forth, and was content to wait his turn.

Years ago, Maiya had taken him by surprise. They met when she was a gangly sixth grader with buckteeth who—like her mother—had an impish nose and tilted her head in a cute way, her black hair swinging to one side. She smiled as if she were looking right into his heart, trying to find a spot for herself.

He had one for her. She became the delight of his life. He wished he had known her as a toddler. Now as tall as Teal's five-six, she had outgrown the gawky stage and was finished with the teeth-straightening braces. With adolescence came a budding prettiness and the ability to trip her mother's trigger. River wondered if it was a female thing since he never found himself in her sights.

If he didn't hug her soon, he might start bawling.

From the kitchen, the neighbors smiled at him. Maiya's best friend, Amber, looked terrified. Her mother, Shauna, caught his eye and mouthed,
You okay?

He nodded.

And then Maiya plopped beside him on the sofa and flung her arms around his neck.

“Oof.”

“Riv! Oops, sorry. Oh, Riv! Where does it hurt? Are you all right?”

He winced but held her as tightly as he could. Her long hair was damp and smelled of her shampoo. “I'm fine,” he murmured. “So what did you guess, Minnie McMouse?” It was his special nickname for her, a play on the initials for Maiya Marie Morgan and a reference to their first family outing to Disneyland. “Six point eight when it happened?”

She sat back and stared at him, tears spilling from pretty eyes an unusual shade of dark green. “Mom didn't tell you?”

He sighed to himself. His hunch had been right, then. Teal had been sidestepping talk about Maiya.

His wife was an expert at the ins and outs of truth telling. She would not lie to people, but she chose exactly how much information to reveal and when. It bugged him at times, especially when he was the recipient. She argued it was for his own good, and often in hindsight he could see that it was.

If Teal had withheld something about Maiya, it was because she believed he did not need to hear it right now. She probably thought he was ready to keel over and should go to bed. Tomorrow was soon enough to hear difficult news.

Obviously Maiya could not wait to spill her guts.

A kid needing to talk always trumped personal discomfort, no matter what Teal thought.

He said, “Your mom didn't tell me what?”

“I'm sorry.” She hiccupped another sob. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

“About . . . ?”

“Oh, Riv. I didn't feel it.”

Her words filtered through grogginess and pain. She didn't feel
wha
t
? The earthquake? No way. Unless . . . unless she had not been where they thought she was. Where she said she would be, at Amber's, a few streets over. Not far from the garage where flying bins had laid him out flat.

It made no sense.

Shauna touched his shoulder. She was an attractive woman with extremely short hair and a smile as big as the outdoors. “I'm glad you're all right.” The smile faded. “Amber!” She turned and spoke tersely. “It's time to go.”

Amber and Maiya reacted as one and rushed to hug each other. Teal and Shauna watched, their signature glares in place. The divorce attorney and middle school counselor could be scary moms. Their daughters did not stand a chance.

River got the distinct impression that the girls might not see each other again for a very long time. What was going on?

He stood and made it as far as the breakfast bar to say good-byes. Shauna and Amber left quickly; the Yoshidas trailed behind, Cindy still talking.

“I spoke with both of your sisters and several coworkers. Everyone knows you're fine. And they're all fine. So don't worry about returning calls tonight. You need to eat. Have some soup and Shauna's chocolate chip cookies. You'll feel better. I'm coming, Charlie. Okay, good night. We're right next door if you need us.” She hurried out the front door and closed it behind her.

River smiled. Cindy always said that when she left, as if they might have forgotten where their neighbors lived. Having grandparent types next door was a hoot and a comfort.

A tremor rolled through the house and the lights flickered.

River met two pairs of frightened eyes. Speechless, no one moved. He stayed leaning against the breakfast bar, Teal stood by the kitchen sink, Maiya at the fridge. It was basically over before it started.

He said, “Two point one.”

Maiya's face crumpled and she made a soft mewling sound. She wasn't joining in the game of Guess the Magnitude.

“Whew.” Teal unplugged the slow cooker. “Guess the aftershocks aren't over. Well, let's just act normal. Soup, anyone?”

River said, “No thanks.”

She looked at him. “You need to go to bed.”

He wanted to do nothing else, but exhaustion lined his wife's face and their daughter was having a slow meltdown. He still had not heard where Maiya had been when the quake struck.

Like the aftershocks, the evening was not over.

He walked stiffly across the kitchen. “The most comfortable place I've been all day was the garage floor. Think I'll opt for carpet this time.” He touched Teal's shoulder as he passed her. “Let's talk in the living room.”

“It can wait.” Her eyelids were heavy.

Maiya said, “Yeah, Riv. It can wait.”

Ignoring them, he made it to the dining table and held on to a chair as he turned toward the front door. “Maybe somebody could bring me a cookie.” He continued past the small entryway and into the living room, another casual space with overstuffed furniture and a fireplace. Windows either side of it overlooked the dark backyard. There were no bookshelves to fall on him.

He lowered himself slowly to the floor and stretched out in the middle of the room. He recalled Charlie's report. He had turned off their gas line earlier, but a neighbor who worked for the power company had checked things and decided it could be turned back on. That meant they had hot water and a clothes dryer. Power was on in their area as well. They were in good shape.

So to speak.

A short while later he had bed pillows under his head and a plate of cookies within reach. He lay on his back, his feet toward the couch where Teal and Maiya sat at opposite ends. Both of them had changed into T-shirts and flannel pajama pants. Their faces were freshly scrubbed.

River's heart did its funny jig like it always did when Teal's lawyer demeanor dissolved into a sleepy, feminine softness. He loved every side of her personality, but this one most especially made him smile.

She caught his expression. “Don't give me that look. I have never been so angry at you, River Adams.”

He blinked. What was she talking about?

“Maiya, tell him what you did.”

“Mom! I told you I didn't do anything.”

“Oh, good grief. I am not talking about the guy getting to home base. I'm talking about the lie. Your lie. You did not go to Amber's last night after work, did you?”

Maiya's lower lip trembled. “No. I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I lied.”

“Tell us where you did go and with whom.”

Totally in the dark, River bit back an
Objection! Badgering the witness.
Teal knew better than to use this approach. Maiya always balked and they got nowhere.

Maiya pouted. “You know everything. Shauna told you because Amber told her.”

“Don't you dare blame Amber for breaking a confidence. I was losing my mind worrying about you. How did I know you weren't lying under some rubble somewhere? I didn't know where River was or that he was hurt. You do realize phones were not working, right? I couldn't—”

“Ladies, please,” River interrupted. “Can we cut to the chase? Maiya, where were you?”

Myriad expressions crossed her face, from confusion to defensiveness to a snarl that was all but audible profanity.

He almost wished for another aftershock to scare her into sensibleness.

At last the daughter he trusted showed up, the one who spoke forthrightly and did not hide behind the mask of “cool” when he needed an answer. “I went camping up in the national forest.” She pressed her lips together for a long moment and then took a shaky breath. “With Jake Ford.”

Jake Ford.

A heavy-duty aftershock would have been good right about now, one that split open the ground and swallowed River whole.

Chapter 12

I went camping up in the national forest. With Jake Ford.

A tiny part of Teal had clung to the hope that Amber had gotten Maiya's story wrong. Hearing her daughter admit to it set off a fresh round of explosive emotions: anger, disbelief, sadness, guilt, fear.

Probably every ugly emotion there was to feel.

A female cop lived down the street. She had a rape kit.

But she was probably on duty with every other emergency worker in the city. And besides, Maiya had already bathed before Teal had gotten home.

What was she thinking? This was her
daughter
. This could not be happening.

River's eyes were shut. The furrowed brow expressed a deeper pain than from cracked bones.

Maiya's legs were curled underneath her. She held a small pillow tightly against her stomach.

Teal kept her voice soft. “Mai, did Jake hurt you?”

“Mom! No!”

“He's nineteen. You're fifteen. Even if you consented, you know what that means.”

Maiya huffed. “I know what that means. He knows what that means. It wasn't like that at all.”

“What was it like?” Teal cringed, wishing to unsay the quick retort.

“It was like camping with you and Riv. We hiked. We cooked hot dogs. We slept in a tent. In separate sleeping bags.”

“You carried a tent and sleeping bags on a two-hour motorcycle ride?”

Maiya's chin went up and she started to roll her eyes but had the good sense to blink instead. “He keeps stuff at a primitive campsite. He knows all about surviving in the wilderness.”

Because River taught him.
She cut her eyes to the still figure on the floor. His jaw muscle worked.

“Mom, Riv—we just hung out, I swear. I'm not like you, Mom.”

Teal steeled herself, but the innuendo hurt. She had made some idiotic choices as a teenager, the typical high school experiments with alcohol and pot. Obviously she'd had a baby out of wedlock at twenty-two. Given that Maiya was that baby, the sex-ed lesson it provided had always been a tightrope walk.
I never regretted having you, but I regret not waiting for the right man.

She took a deep breath. “This is not about me. Did he pick you up after work?”

“Stop with the interrogation already! I said I lied. I said I'm sorry. Okay? What more do you want? Jake and I are good friends. That's all. Why won't you believe me?”

“Maybe because you lied about what you were doing last night. Maybe because you broke two of the very few rules we've given you: no motorcycles and no dating. Now answer the question. Did Jake pick you up after work?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Teal studied Maiya's defiant expression. She saw her lips quiver.
Oh no.
“You didn't go to work.”

Her whole chin quivered now. She shook her head.

“Oh, Maiya.”

Her daughter adored her summer job. She, Amber, and another friend worked at The Olde Ice Cream Shoppe, an ice cream parlor owned by the friend's parents. It was a happy place that young families frequented. Customers ordered at the counter; waitstaff delivered goodies to the tables. The best part was the singing. Every so often the staff paused in what they were doing and sang a song together. Sometimes Maiya even played “Happy Birthday” on her trumpet.

“I dropped you off at work.” Teal remembered driving through the mall parking lot, winding her way to the entrance nearest the Shoppe's location. Maiya hopped out, dressed in her uniform of blue jeans and colorful striped blouse. She carried her backpack, presumably for the sleepover at Amber's. “You said you were scheduled to work.”

“I wasn't,” Maiya murmured in a low voice.

Lie number two. Who was this girl?

Teal felt ill. While their daughter was probably in a mall public restroom changing shirts, Teal was swinging by the market to buy halibut for a romantic dinner with River. Being a semi-newlywed with a teen in the house presented challenges. If Maiya was away for the night, Teal went overboard in the romantic department.

She wondered if that sweet memory was gone along with the mother-daughter sense of trust.

“Maiya.” River's voice was whisper soft. “How long have you and Jake been dating?”

“We're not dating.”

He opened his eyes. “Since when have you been good friends?”

Maiya blinked rapidly. Tears clung to her lashes.

He sighed. “Minnie McMouse, we love you. You can't do anything to make us love you any more or any less. You know that, right?”

She nodded.

She should know it. River told her that so frequently, it should be embedded in her brain.

He said, “This lying isn't like you. Sneaking around behind our backs is not like you. Please, tell us everything so we can figure out what's broken between you and us.”

Teal's eyes stung. The sight of him loving their daughter always put a lump in her throat. The response was part gratitude, part sorrow that she had never known such fatherly love.

River said, “Hon, what's going on with you and Jake?”

Maiya pressed the pillow to her face and lowered it. “We-we're friends.” She swallowed. “You know, he just gets me. We're in sync. I swear, that's all.”

“For how long?”

She shrugged. “Since . . . since . . .”

Since he worked here.
Teal completed the sentence.

River said, “Since I hired him to help me do the yard.”

Teal wanted to slap her hands over her ears and hum loudly.

Jake had been a student at River's school, one more on-his-last-chance delinquent sent to San Sebastian to either get his head on straight or not.

Of course the
or not
usually showed up after they left the school. Teal did not care about the high success rates. There was always that small percentage who did not make it.

Jake's record included burglary, theft, larceny, drug possession. In his regular high school, he had spent more time suspended than in class. No surprise, his dad was in prison for manslaughter, and his alcoholic mom had been in and out of rehab since Jake was a baby.

Every mother's dream guy for her daughter.

Teal perceived his charming allure, though. He was a friendly kid. Tousled-red-haired-boy cute, once she got past his body art. Tattoo “sleeves” covered his arms, colorful mazelike designs from shoulder to wrist. He was tall, sinewy, and strong as an ox, the perfect choice to help River tear out the front-yard sod and haul in rock.

Teal wished she had never heard of water conservation.

River said, “That was in March. You connected in March. Five months ago.”

Teal felt like she had been punched in the stomach. “You've been seeing each other on the sly for five months?”

“He's a great guy!” Maiya said. “You know he is, Riv.”

“What I know,” River answered, “is that at this point in your life, he is too old for you. Period.”

“I'm almost sixteen!”

“He's too old for you.” His voice had gotten raspy again. “You have to trust us on this one. Finish high school and then we'll visit the subject again. In the meantime, I can't allow you to see him or talk to him.” He looked at Teal. “Sorry if I jumped the gun.”

“No. I totally agree.”

“But I love him!” Maiya wailed. “He loves me!”

They were just good friends? Lie number three.

River said, “I'm sure you do. And I mean that sincerely.”

“Then why can't we see each other? I won't lie anymore. I promise!”

“I'll tell you why.” River closed his eyes. “When I was nineteen, I loved a sixteen-year-old. She was one hot chick and super straight. I didn't care if she was still in high school. I was surfing and flipping burgers. I could wait for her to get out of class and do her homework. No big deal. You know what I really wanted, Maiya?”

“What?” she murmured, her tone hesitant.

Like Teal, she probably heard the steel in River's voice. It slipped in now and then, turning his gentle tenor into a lifeless monotone. It was the voice he used to describe something so far removed from their world as to be unimaginable.

Teal felt herself cringing.

River went on. “What I really wanted was to have sex with a virgin.”

“Jake's not like that!”

River's eyes opened to mere slits. “That's what this girl told her parents.” His smile was repulsive. “I was a great guy.”

“Oh!” Maiya sprang to her feet and rushed toward the hallway. “I hate you! I hate you both!”

Teal sat quietly, returning River's gaze.

Maiya's bedroom door slammed.

He said, “Was that over the top?”

She shook her head and moved to the floor, stretching alongside him, her head in the crook of her arm. “More powerful than my ‘you don't want to do what I did' routine.” She paused. “Was it true?”

“Mm. Close enough. I'll have a talk with Jake.”

“That would be good.”

“I'm sorry. I should have been on top of this.”

“You said he wasn't dangerous. You've never brought a dangerous one home.”

“I've never brought home a convicted felon. They're all potentially dangerous to our little girl.”

“Who's not so little anymore. Of course she's had crushes on older boys forever, but this scenario makes no sense. Secretly seeing him and talking with him over the course of five months? And spending the night on a campout two hours from home? What is going on with her, River?”

“I don't know, love. I don't know.”

Teal gathered pillows and blankets and tapped on Maiya's bedroom door. “Slumber party, Mai. Five minutes.”

“Popcorn?” came the muffled reply.

“Sure.”

“'Kay.”

Teal dropped her armload on the sofa and looked down at River, out cold on the floor. He said he preferred the hard surface to the bed. That was fine with her. After the day she'd had, she would sleep anywhere as long as it was next to him.

She covered him with a blanket and went into the kitchen. While the microwave nuked popcorn, she stood at the breakfast bar with the television remote and channel-surfed.

Videos of the overpass played on every single station.

She heard the shuffle of Maiya's slippered feet across the tile floor. Teal raised her arm and Maiya slid under it, snuggling close.

“I'm sorry, Mom.”

“I know.” Teal kissed her daughter's cheek, red from crying. “And I'm sorry, but I have decided to reattach the umbilical cord.”

“That's not funny.”

“You're telling me.”

Teal felt something shift between them. A sense of dread crept around her heart.

Ever since Maiya first pressed into misbehavior territory as a tyke, Teal meted out discipline with heavy doses of love and forgiveness. Her days at the office were too full of sad stories about families who never bothered with those things.

Much like her own parents.

But this one scared Teal. This was adult time. Maiya wasn't sneaking into an R-rated movie or disrespecting her or River. She wasn't blowing off homework or stealing her aunt's cigarette and smoking it with Amber.

No. Maiya was setting herself up for unimaginably deep regret that she would have to live with every single day for the rest of her entire life.

Teal wrapped Maiya in a hug and buried her face in her hair.

For fifteen and a half years this beautiful child had been the only facet of Teal's life that made her own unimaginably deep regret bearable.

And yet . . . she would not wish such a plight on anyone. She would fight tooth and nail to protect anyone from taking the path of raising a child alone.

She cupped Maiya's face in her hands and looked into eyes the color of a spruce tree on a cloudy day. “I love you.”

“We did not have sex.”

“I believe you.” Teal kissed her forehead and let go. “Butter?”