“So am I.”
He paused as if he was about to end their conversation, and then said, “I have to say you’re the most complex, confusing woman I’ve ever met. I can’t understand why you do the things you do.”
He sounded honestly perplexed.
“I’m little more than a stranger to you and my mother was a complete unknown, and yet you attended her service. I don’t understand you.”
“I’m not that complicated,” Maisy said, finding their conversation amusing. “My philosophy in life is to always do the next right thing.”
“Always?” Now he sounded skeptical, as if he found that hard to fathom. “I’d been so rude to you and your friend and yet you were willing to help me.”
“You were in a bind and agitated. I knew I could help; it was a small thing to drop you off, especially since the funeral home was close to where I live.”
“A normal person wouldn’t think to offer. What makes you care?”
She needed to think before she could answer. “The truth is, I likely wouldn’t have, but I recognized that you were in emotional pain, even if you weren’t willing to admit that was the case.”
“You’re wrong,” he insisted. “I hadn’t given my mother a thought in years, and why should I? She was the one who abandoned me. I had absolutely no feelings for her one way or another.”
He didn’t see it, but Maisy had. Hesitating, she was unsure how far to press the point. Her hope was that, now that he had a better perspective on his mother’s life, he’d be willing to acknowledge her loss.
“While you claim Michelle was a nonentity, your behavior that day said otherwise,” she reminded him. Chase wanted to believe her death didn’t have an effect, because otherwise he’d be forced to admit that, deep down, he cared.
“My behavior was due to the frustration of having to deal with her funeral arrangements,” Chase insisted.
“Which you likely could have managed without the necessity of traveling all the way from Chicago to Seattle.”
The phone went silent for a long moment before Chase exhaled softly and said in a voice barely above a whisper, “Funny, I never once considered that.”
Maisy smiled, her point made.
“You appear to live in a bubble. You’re far too trusting and care too much.”
He made it sound like she should consider counseling.
She rolled her eyes. “Thank you. I think.”
“No, that was definitely a compliment.”
Maisy was enjoying their conversation.
“I called for more than to apologize,” Chase continued. “I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for what you told me about Michelle. After our conversation, I logged on to the Eternal Rest website to the page dedicated to my mother. Several of the comments came from the names I recognized on the cards that were sent. I’ve reached out to a couple of them, and we’ve had long conversations. None of this would have happened if not for you, so thank you.”
“That makes my heart happy, Chase.”
“Also, I have a question.”
“Fire away,” she said, although she didn’t know what she could tell him.
“When we first ran into each other you were chatting with your friend in the Chicago airport.”
“That was Laura.”
“Right, Laura.”
There seemed to be a smile in his voice as he repeated Laura’s name, which caught Maisy’s attention.
“You are in a nursing program together, right?”
