Holiday Magic (Second Chance) (8 page)

She felt so alone. For the first time in many years, she missed Grandma. When Mom had been traveling, it had been Grandma who had cared for them, who had nursed them through colds and every other ailment known to man that had afflicted them in their early years. It had been Grandma who had nursed her through her disappointments with her sayings and platitudes for every occasion. She would have seen through Lucy had she been alive, but she had died the year before her parents, and suddenly, Georgia missed them all.

The phone rang. She looked at the clock. It was after two. She was going to let it go to the message when she saw it was Eleni, and suddenly no matter what had happened on the weekend, she needed her sister.

Chapter Eight

“Hey, it’s the middle of the night,” she answered trying to keep the sound of her hours of crying out of her voice, but twin intuition kicked in.

“
Something’s wrong, Georgia. I’ve felt it all evening. I’ve been waiting for you to call, but I can’t wait anymore. Are you sick? I think you’re hurt. Did Mark do something? I’ll kill him if he did something!”

Georgia smiled. Trust Eleni to get right to the heart of the matter.

“I told Joe that I had to call. I know something is wrong, Georgia; talk to me.”

“
I will if you give me a chance to get a word in edgewise. I ran into Lucy today.”

She pulled the phone away from her ear as Eleni let out a stream of curse words that would make a longshoreman blush. She pressed speaker in case Eleni felt the need to yell again. Her piercing shrieks could probably cause hearing loss.

Painstakingly, Georgia relayed what had happened and what had been said. She knew that Eleni had her on speaker, so the ever-vigilant Joe was probably there, but she no longer cared. It felt so good to talk to her other half, the sensible half, or so she thought, that nothing else mattered.

“
I told you that bitch couldn’t be trusted,” shouted Eleni, her voice on speaker echoing throughout the apartment. “She probably set the whole thing up to break up your marriage and make Anton, that’s her husband, jealous. I’m sure that’s why she claimed to be pregnant. I’d heard they’d had a big fight about a week before, and he’d threatened to have nothing to do with her. She probably expected him to find her with Mark.”

Eleni was incensed. From the way her voice got louder and lower, Georgia could envision her pacing across the carpeted floor of her suite.

“That cow deserves to die for doing this. I should take out a contract on her,” ranted Eleni. “I’ll bet Joe would know where to find one. This is Atlantic City. There must be hit men all over the place.”

“
Hey! Calm down! Remember me? I’m the wronged party here. You lose points for trying to get a hit man to take out a pregnant woman, so settle down, but you’ve made me feel better, so thanks. “

“
Have you told Mark?” Eleni asked.

“
No, he’s out of town until Friday. I’ll talk to him about it this weekend. Give him a chance to tell his part of the story.”

“
Georgia, he’s said all along he doesn’t remember anything, sweetie. Joe just came in to check on me. Hang on.”

Georgia listened as Eleni related the story, putting her very ‘biased against Lucy’ spin on it.

“I’m sorry you’ve been so badly hurt, Georgia.” Somehow, she recognized he meant it. He had suffered because of someone too.

“
She sounds like a real piece of work. I probably could find a hit man,” he laughed, “but I’d hate to see either one of you end up in the slammer over her. I’m glad she isn’t one of my friends. You know, if the guy doesn’t remember anything, I’ll bet somebody slipped him a mickey. It’s happened a few times in the casino. If that’s the case, and it’s really the only thing that could account for that kind of memory loss, he didn’t do anything in that bed but sleep.”

Eleni agreed, and insisted Mark had never dated Lucy afterward. When she’d called a month later claiming to be with child, he had agreed to do what was best for the child, but had spurned her offer to come over. Eleni knew, because she’d been there when that little discussion had taken place in his office.

By the time they finished talking, Georgia had stopped her off-again-on-again crying jags, and had agreed to give Mark the benefit of the doubt—she would assume that he had been an innocent pawn in the game, but where was she prepared to let their relationship go? For three years, she had nursed the hurt and humiliation. She couldn’t just let it go like that, but the least she could do was listen to his side of things before making a decision.

He might not want you anymore
, her conscience prodded, pouring vinegar in the open wound in her heart.
But he might,
she hoped.

It was well after three when Georgia went to bed, but she slept soundly and awoke determined to move ahead, hopefully with Mark as her friend. Wherever the relationship went from there was in fate’s hands.

Friday morning, Georgia waited impatiently for Mark to arrive. She was relieved when he pulled into the loading area. She needed to tell him what she had learned from Lucy, but it wasn’t something they could discuss while he drove. She hoped to have the opportunity to raise the topic at the chalet; however, another matter weighed heavily on her mind. She wanted to talk to him about Eleni, and was glad that they would have this time together. There was something strange about that contract and the elusive Mr. Simmons. Although she wasn’t quite as distrustful of Joe, especially after his support last night, she was worried that Eleni could be forming a serious attachment to a man who was essentially a stranger.

While Mark finished loading the van, Georgia grabbed her coat and the overnight bag Eleni had insisted she pack, and put them in the van. She got two down sleeping bags from a camping themed wedding package, and handed them to Mark. She saw the surprise on his face and the raised eyebrows. His surprise made her defensive.

“Eleni says it’s a precaution. Apparently there is snow in the forecast, and she thinks it could be worse in the mountains. The last time she told me to do something, and I didn’t listen to her, I regretted it. I won’t make that mistake again.”

She wouldn’t tell him the thing Eleni had told her to do was call Lucy, instead of going over the morning after her bachelorette party. She wondered what would have happened if she hadn’t? Would she ever have learned of Lucy’s prank? Would Mark have confessed it to her?

How can you be sure he wasn’t involved? How do you know she was telling the truth when she said nothing had happened? You only have her word on that,
and trusting her is the last thing you should do
, uttered her pesky conscience, the same one that kept telling her she had to stay away from Mark even though she yearned to be in his arms again. She definitely didn’t want to talk about that, at least not yet.

Mark indicated the heavy blankets and pillows he’d placed in the van.

“I wasn’t sure how you’d react to the news about the weather. I didn’t have any sleeping bags, but I did bring blankets. Georgia noticed that they were the hand-woven, wool blankets they had purchased in Williamsburg, but didn’t say anything. How many of the things they had purchased together had he kept?  The car, the blankets… she had taken nothing, ordering Eleni to get rid of it all… She had never asked what her sister had done with the trousseau she had been collecting for over ten years. She hoped that whoever had gotten it had appreciated the hours of work that had gone into the embroidered pillow cases and other things she and her grandmother had made.

She climbed into the van and put on her seatbelt. She had taken off her coat and tossed it into the back. Mark had purchased take-out coffee for himself, peppermint tea for her, and chocolate chip cookies from the coffee shop. She waited until he merged onto Highway 476 before bringing up her sister, the issue that was causing her the most confusion at the moment.

“Eleni says hi. It’s quite the set-up she has there, but I don’t know, there’s something strange going on, and I can’t put my finger on it.”

“
What do you mean?” Concern gave his voice an edge.

“
Well, he wants her there, but she hasn’t met him; and that attendant he’s given her… the man may be attractive, but a guard is a guard. He didn’t even want to leave her alone with me. She goes nowhere without him. I don’t like it. He acts as if she could be in some sort of danger. I know Atlantic City can be a rough place, but seriously, since when does a decorator need a bodyguard?”

Mark grimaced. “I had Simmons checked out. He’s a recluse. There are no pictures of him anywhere, so maybe he’s a little paranoid and really wants to make sure nothing happens to her in his casino. Apparently, if he goes out, he’s in disguise. My contact says he’s not at the casino right now. He left for England the day your sister arrived, which is why she hasn’t met him. By the way, he sent a cashier’s check for the full amount of her fee the minute she registered at the hotel. The check cleared and is sitting in her bank account. From what I can tell, everything is on the up and up. He has no connection to the mob or any other shady organization anywhere in the world, and according to my sources, his casinos pay out more often than most.”

“Well,” she scowled, “it still seems fishy to me, especially this Joe guy. Don’t get me wrong, he was nice, but way too protective of her for just an employee, and there was something about his manner… it’s as if he expects to be obeyed. I’ll bet he carries a gun… Did you think to look at his staff?”

“
Georgia, don’t go borrowing trouble. Yes, I ran most of the names, but there was no Joe or Joseph on the list I had. Maybe it’s a middle name. I’ll have someone look into it right away, or I can do it myself when we get back,” he offered.

“
It can wait until we get back. As you said, I’m probably worrying about nothing, but I don’t want to see her hurt. The fewer people know that we’re sticking our noses into her business, the better. I love my sister, but you know how she can be when she gets on her high horse.”

Mark laughed. “I most certainly do. When your sister is in one of her moods, heads roll, and despite everything, I kind of like mine just where it is.”

The rest of the conversation centered on the decorations they would put up, and where they would put the tree. They avoided talking about anything personal, and Georgia eventually lapsed into silence, guilt over keeping what she knew from Mark eating at her.

The snow began to fall about an hour out of Philly. The big flakes were heavy and laden with moisture.

Good snowman making weather, Grandma would have said,
she thought.

The snow quickly piled up on the road. So far, the winds were calm, but if they picked up, just getting to Palmerton would be difficult. Getting home would be out of the question. The frost forming on the window showed that the temperatures were falling as they moved into the higher altitudes.

“I suggest we pick up the pine tree before we go to the chalet. At the rate this is coming down, we’ll definitely have to spend the night,” said Mark. “Mrs. Ingram said she’d make sure there was food, but why don’t we stop and pick up a few things just in case the janitor didn’t have time? I seem to remember that the first thing you need when you get up is a cup of tea and toast with peanut butter.” The look on his face indicated that he thought he had overstepped his boundaries and said something wrong.

She looked at him with surprise, but she was not upset. In fact, she was flattered. She had not expected him to remember so many details about their time together. She didn’t think it was something most men would do. He had only stayed over half a dozen times. They had opted not to live together, wanting to make their married life special right from the start. They had planned to spend their wedding night in the loft, sharing that big bed together for the first time as man and wife. She smiled. It had been a good plan, but like so many good plans, it had failed.

Instead of veering away from the conversation, Georgia used it as an opportunity to approach what had happened between them.

“
I guess it’s silly to act as if the last seven years of our lives never existed. I suppose you’re still black coffee and a donut from that bakery near your office?”

He chuckled and nodded. “Guilty as charged, but sometimes I actually have a bowl of cereal first.”

He relaxed, as if a weight had been taken from him. She was beginning to think she might not be the only one stuck in the past, and if that were the case, what did it mean? The shreds of her pride, the only thing that had sustained her three years ago, and the fear Lucy had been correct, and she had brought all this misery down on both of them by refusing to listen to anyone, kept her silent.

The snow fell steadily, slowing the traffic. By the time they arrived in Palmerton, visibility was poor.

“It’s a good thing this van has a GPS. We won’t be able to find the place just by looking for it.”

They stopped at a grocery store and picked up the makings for a spaghetti dinner, some luncheon meat for sandwiches, and the staples they would need for an overnight stay. Mark had added a couple of bottles of wine and a case of beer, both of them the brands she preferred. The Christmas tree lot was right next door to the grocery store, and they selected a ten foot balsam pine. Mrs. Ingram had told them that the living room had a twenty foot ceiling, so they could get one of the taller trees. The Ingram’s were celebrating Christmas early since their son was being deployed on the fifteenth, and they wanted to enjoy Christmas together before he left.

The chalet was ten miles on the other side of town. Mark noted how sparsely inhabited the area was. The laneway to the chalet was barely passable, and although it was only noon, there were at least six inches of snow on the ground. If this kept up all day, they would definitely be snowed-in, and possibly for longer than one night.