“Why? I mean, I guess I know why, you just told me why, but….”
“We’re going where we’re needed.”
“But….”
In his kind eyes she saw pained compassion. “Your mom and I know that the move comes as a shock, but we’re confident that now’s the time to do it. You’ve been managing the store on your own for two years now and doing a great job. And with your brothers finally settling down and their new business taking off….”
“Yes, but….”
“We’re also doing it because wewantto do it. Oaxaca’s a wonderful place and we’re ready for a change.”
Penny stared at her parents. Was this actually happening? Her mom and dad wereleaving Heartsprings Valley? “I totally agree that Oaxaca is wonderful,but….” Her voice trailed off. “The change you’re talking about —it’s a whole lot of change.”
“Not to be too cliched about it,” Dad said, “but we’re ready for our next chapter.”
Her mom scooted up to the edge of the couch, reached out, and took Penny’s hand in hers, her eyes brimming with emotion. “Change is never easy,mija,but there’s no stopping it. It’s like Ralph Waldo Emerson said: ‘Life is a progress, and not a station.’”
CHAPTER 6
The next afternoon, as Penny headed in her car toward Northland Orchard, the shock of her parents’ bombshell announcement was still reverberating through her. The news had come as a complete surprise. She’d taken for granted that Mom and Dad would always be here with her in Heartsprings Valley— that their status as town fixtures was, well,permanent.
But as she’d sat their with them in the family room she’d grown up in, gazing into their anxious eyes, the empty bowl of Mom’s homemade enchiladas growing cold in her hands, she’d realized with a jolt how wrong that assumption was. Her parents were moving away from Heartsprings Valley —and fromher.
She’d bombarded them with questions, of course, firing off queries as fast she could think them up. No, they told her, they hadn’t shared the news with her brothers, but planned to the day after Christmas. No, no one else in Heartsprings Valley knew yet. Yes, Tia Rosario knew they were coming. Yes, they’d found a two-bedroom rental a short walk from Rosario’s house. Yes, they’d probably look for a place to buy once they settled in.
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel, barely aware of the houses and farms she was driving past. The quote that Momhad tossed in —always good for a quote, Mom was —bugged her. Was Ralph Waldo even right? In what universe did moving away from Heartsprings Valley qualify as “a progress”?
When she reached the county road that led out of town, a sigh escaped her lips. Maybe, she forced herself to acknowledge, her reaction had been a bit … self-centered? After all, Tia Rosario deserved all the help she could get with Abuela Maria. And Oaxaca was great — gorgeous, in fact. Her relatives there were terrific. Every time Penny visited, she had a wonderful time.
But moving therepermanently? Why had her parents framed it like that? Why not tell her they were going for an extended stay? The clarity of their plan was unsettling. Their decision felt sofinal. Cliched or not, Dad had it right: A chapter in their life was closing, a new one beginning.
And the same applied to her. Her life would soon be changing —dramatically —and there was no way around that. Mom and Dad were an integral part of her life in Heartsprings Valley. Hardly a day went by in which she didn’t see or talk with them. Whenever she needed help at the bookstore, they were quick to volunteer. Their warm, loving, supportive presence meant so much to her. In ways large and small, they enriched her existence — Mom’s wonderful food being just one example. At the thought of what she’d soon be missing, her stomach rumbled in sympathetic protest. Penny wasn’t half the cook that Mom was —not even close. What hope did she have of ever making green-chile chicken enchiladas as good as hers?
Without warning, the emotions she’d been battling all day surged forward. Tears threatened. Furiously, she blinked them back.Focus on the road, she ordered herself.Now is not the time to get all boo-hoo-hoo-ey.
With a determined effort, she turned her attention outward, forcing herself to contemplate the barren farmland around her.Come spring, the valley’s fields would again turn green with hay and sweet corn. But now, with the harvest season over, the only thing the empty land held was cold, wet snow.
The intersection she needed was just ahead. After turning off the county road, she aimed her car down the winding lane that led to Northland Orchard. She hadn’t been to the orchard in a while —over a year ago, if memory served, when she’d attended the first birthday party for Holly and Gabe’s son Joshua.
At the thought of the task awaiting her when she reached her destination, a stab of irritation shot through her. Given everything else going on, Daniel Bedford’s “apology tour” was the last thing she had the bandwidth to deal with.
But you signed up for it, she reminded herself.With eyes wide open.Remember that —and remember the roof.
With a sigh of frustration, she was debating whether to turn on the radio for a very necessary jolt of Christmas cheer when her car phone buzzed.
Ah —her friend Clara. Grateful for the distraction, she quickly hit the answer button. “Afternoon, Clara. I was planning to call you.”
“Hey, Penny.” As usual when she called, Clara got straight to the point. “Listen, I just got off the phone with Nigel, my former boss in New York. I take it the two of you spoke yesterday?”
“We did, yes.”
“He told me what’s cooking and how he managed to rope you into helping.”
Penny exhaled. “I guess he did kind of rope me in.”
“I really wish he’d talked to me first,” her friend said, sounding less than pleased. “He can be so clueless sometimes.”
“Clueless?”
