We drove through Minneapolis and into Saint Paul before I said, “Have you heard anything about Alice?” I’d thought about her many times in the past month, but I hadn’t seen Thomas or Andrew to inquire. My relationship with Ruth had been strained, and I was trying to build back her trust, but she was the last person I would ask. “Do you know where Thomas brought her?”
Lewis nodded slowly and then glanced at me, as if to judge my reaction. “He brought her to a hotel. She was living there until a couple of days ago.”
“Where is she now?”
He paused for a second and then said, “With Thomas.”
My mouth slipped open. “She’slivingwith my brother?”
“That’s the way of it.”
“As in, she’slivingwith him?”
“Yes,” he said, as if he was trying to make a child understand. “They’re together now, Carrie. As in, a couple.”
My eyes widened at that pronouncement, and I shook my head. “She can’t be—they—this is awful, Lewis.”
“You wanted her out of your parents’ home. What did you think would happen? They were a couple before she met Andrew. While she was living at the hotel, Thomas went to visit her, and things picked up where they had left off.”
“I didn’t think Thomas would take advantage of Alice.”
“He didn’t take advantage of her. Thomas is a lot of things, but he’s not a scoundrel. He’s been in love with Alice for a long time. She finally realized the mistake she made with Andrew, and Thomas was willing to take her back.”
I felt nauseous just thinking about the ramifications. “I thought we were rid of the Alice problem.”
The look of disappointment he gave me cut me to the heart. “Alice is more than a problem to deal with, Carrie. She’s a human being that was misused by Andrew, and when he learned she was pregnant, he told her he was married and cast her aside. Maybe she could have made different choices, but she loved Andrew and believed he loved her, too. She thought he was going to marry her. That’s when she went to your parents, but then she realized they were good people and didn’t deserve to be hurt because of their son’s mistake.”
“She told you this?”
“Yes. And Thomas didn’t set out to convince Alice to fall for him again, but she did. And they seem happy. As happy as they can be, given the circumstances.”
“Are they really in love?” I asked, hating how horrified I sounded. “So quickly?”
“It’s been a month.”
“A month! How could they know in a month?”
“Sometimes, it only takes a heartbeat to know.”
His words were so soft, so gentle, they hit me like a gale-force wind. Hadn’t I known in less than a month that my feelings for Marcus were deeper than they should be?
We drove in silence again. The assumptions I’d made about Alice weren’t fair, and I felt ashamed.
“Do you think Thomas will marry her?” I finally asked Lewis.
“I don’t know. I hope so, for both their sake and the baby’s.”
He pulled into the parking lot, and we got out of his vehicle. I’d almost forgotten about Annie, which was the whole reason he’d asked me to come with him. Or was it?
Como Park was a beautiful oasis in the Twin Cities, with walking paths, gardens, a glass-domed conservatory, and more.
Lewis bought a bag of breadcrumbs to feed the ducks and geese in Como Lake. We laughed as they squawked and quacked, fighting for the food. When we ran out, they began to crowd around us, pecking at our feet as we walked away.
After visiting the black bears and the deer, we went into the sunken garden inside the glass conservatory. The air was fragrant with the scent of flowers, though it was hotter and more humid inside than out. I walked peacefully among the exotic plants, stopping from time to time to admire each one.
When I glanced up, I found Lewis watching me.
He smiled and said, “I could watch you looking at flowers all day.”
