“I’m not upset.”
“I know Felicity and Brent left yesterday,” Eleanor said, settling onto one of the chairs at the table. “How are you holding up?”
She picked up the plates again, moving them to a different shelf. “Oh, I’m fine. Just catching up on some organizing that needed to be done.”
“These cabinets were perfectly organized last week when I saw you put away those new coffee mugs.” Eleanor’s knowing look made Darlene pause.
“Well, maybe I wanted to try a different system.” She straightened a stack of bowls that didn’t need straightening.
“Darlene Bond, stop fussing with those dishes and sit down with me for a minute.”
With a sigh, she set down the bowl she’d been holding and took the seat next to Eleanor. “It’s just so quiet now. I keep expecting to hear Felicity’s footsteps on the stairs or her voice calling out about something she needs help with.”
“Of course you do. She’s been here all summer.” Eleanor reached over and patted Darlene’s hand. “And now Mark’s leaving soon too, isn’t he?”
“He left this morning.” She stood back up, unable to keep still. She picked up a dishcloth and wiped down the already-clean counter. “But that’s fine. He was always going to leave. He has his writing career to get back to, and the keynote speech to prepare for.”
“And that’s not all, is it? I heard Dean was in town.”
She headed over to the stove to put the teakettle on. “Yes, Dean was here too. He came to… to say he was sorry.”
“After all these years? Too little, too late.”
She returned to her seat beside Eleanor. “He really was sorry. And he was making amends, trying to find some peace with what he did all those years ago… because he’s dying.”
Eleanor’s eyes narrowed. “Dying?”
“Yes, and he set up a trust fund for me. Or I can give it to Felicity or give the money away. I’m not sure what I’ll do with it.”
“You’ll take it and fix up the B&B, that’s what you’ll do with it. It’s the least the man owes you.”
“Eleanor, he’s dying.”
“Yes, that’s what you said. And I’m sorry for him. But money won’t fix what he did to you. I was right beside you back then. You were devastated.”
“But I made it through it all. And now I’m here. I’m fine. And… well, I’ve finally made peace with what happened.” She got up to pour them some tea.
“I am glad you’ve made your peace.” Eleanor watched her closely. “But that’s a lot of people leaving in a short time.”
“I’m fine.”
“So your clean and well-organized cabinets say.” Eleanor shook her head.
She brought their teacups over to the table and sat down. “Iwillbe fine.”
Eleanor leaned forward. “You will be fine. I know. But I also know your greatest fear.”
“What’s that?”
“That people you love will leave you. And now Felicity and Mark—and don’t deny it, I know you have feelings for him—have left.”
“You’ve known me too many years, my friend.” She smiled slightly as she stirred some sugar into her tea. “But I’m doing okay. Felicity will come visit. And Mark had to do what he had to do.”
“You could have asked him to stay. Told him how you felt about him.”
“I needed to let him go and deal with his past.”
Eleanor scowled. “You still could have told him how you felt. Let him take that into consideration with his decision to leave.”
