I hung up and stared at the wall.
It was next to impossible to find a job in the art world—especially a high-salaried job, a job with benefits and travel and security. By all rights, I should be thrilled.
So why didn’t my heart dance and sing? This was what I’d been looking for ever since my divorce—better than anything I could reasonably expect to find.
It was good to be wanted. But was I wanted by someone I wanted to be wanted by?
For reasons that made no sense, Matt’s face floated in my mind’s eye.
Whoa, I told myself.That’s a whole other kind of wanting.
My cell phone rang. It was a Chicago area code. This was it. I stood up and smiled at the wall—I’d been told by a college job placement counselor that if you stand up to take a call, your voice will have more energy, and if you smile, the pleasantness of your expression will shine through—and answered my future.
25
adelaide
After my nap, I found Hope packing up a drawer of saucers in the dining room, her bottom lip caught in her teeth, her eyes dark.
I rested on my walker and studied her. “You look like something is weighing on you. Have I scandalized you with my tales?”
“Oh, no, Gran.” She straightened and gave me a big smile, but her eyes still looked troubled. “Actually, I just got some good news. I just got off the phone with the biggest art consulting firm in Chicago. One of their major clients remembered me because I advised her not to buy a piece of art from Kurt, and she recommended me to be an associate.”
“How wonderful, dear!”
Hope nodded and smiled, but the smile still didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s a terrific opportunity. I’ll get a great salary and full benefits, and travel to art shows all over the world.”
What I would have given for such an opportunity as a single, young woman! “Oh, how fabulous! Do you need to go back right now for an interview?”
“No. They said the job was mine if I wanted it. I said yes, of course. I’ll start in June.” There was that funny smile again. It was hard to tell because I still see two of everything, but it sure didn’t seem to come from the inside. She seemed more anxious than joyful.
“But?”
“But, what?”
“Well, I have to say, you don’t seem all that thrilled to have just landed the job of a lifetime.”
“I am! Of course I am. It’s wonderful. It’s just so... unexpected. I think I need time to process it.”
“Maybe you should take a walk or go down to the coffee shop.” I’d been glad to hear that Hope was forming a friendship with Kirsten.
“Maybe later. Right now, I’d rather get back to your closet.”
She wanted to postpone thinking about it. It was a sentiment I could relate to all too well. I thought about warning her about the dangers of avoiding things. On the other hand, her news was recent, and sometimes a little time helps us see things more clearly.
“I can’t wait to hear more of your story,” she said.
And I needed to get on with it. I nodded and let her help me back to my bedroom, where I settled in my rocker. “Pull out that dark blue dress on the left.”
“This one?” She lifted a navy wool, a dress I’d originally bought for my great-grandfather’s funeral when I was seventeen.
I nodded. “That’s the dress I was wearing when Charlie and I returned to Wedding Tree after our honeymoon.”
“How long was your honeymoon?”
“Five days.” I closed my eyes and shifted into storytelling mode.
1943
