Growing Season Read online

  “That, and Auggie’s office at the co-op.”

  “Then today, I ran into someone from high school at the open house. I really didn’t remember her, which was bad enough. But she started gushing about how exciting my life must be in Minneapolis, and I didn’t have the nerve to correct her.” Melinda started to scuff the concrete curb with the bottom of her sandal. “It was too easy to fake it and act like I was just here for the weekend, as she assumed. Then more people came up and asked me the same thing. I figured, if they hadn’t heard the real story by now, why bother with the truth?”

  She took another bite of her burger, and chewed slowly. “I wonder now, though, if they’ll hear otherwise and know I lied. It’s not the end of the world, I know, but I’m normally not one to make up stories to save face.”

  Angie nodded as she sipped her soda. “I get it, really, I do. Just in a different way. I’ve got an economics degree from ISU, but Nathan and I got married the summer after we graduated and came right back here to farm with his parents and start a family.”

  Her face clouded for a moment. “I’m not sorry about the choices I made, but you should see the pitying looks I sometimes get from college friends the few times a year I see them. I’m a stay-at-home mom, out shoveling manure while some of the other girls are getting promoted into corner offices.”

  “I guess it just caught me off guard,” Melinda said, touched that Angie would be so honest about her situation. It reminded her that she wasn’t alone in dealing with other people’s expectations. “You know, sometimes I still wonder how I messed up at work, why I was laid off. I don’t feel like as much of a failure as when it first happened, but those feelings sometimes come back, and when I’m least expecting them. And today they did.”

  “Well, I’d say the Twin Cities’ loss is our gain,” Angie gave Melinda an encouraging smile, then stood up and stretched. She waved to Nathan, who was coming up the street. “You’re guaranteed to run into more people at the beer tent. Let’s get our story straight. You’re just visiting, right?”

  “Sounds good to me. And if they know I’m working at Prosper Hardware, let’s just say I took some time off from my regular job to help out. I want to have a good time tonight, just put it all out of my mind.”

  “That’s even better. It’ll get you points for being a great niece, on top of keeping the questions to a minimum.”

  The beer garden was packed, with people crammed around the picnic tables and spilling out into the park. Melinda couldn’t believe she was nervous, but she was. It had been years since she’d attended this part of the Fourth of July celebration, and she remembered too late that it was basically one big high school reunion. Forget about the wonderful chance to see old friends and reminisce about the glory days. Reunions were when all the measuring sticks came out.

  “Here,” Angie handed over a plastic cup of beer. “It’s not a glass of moscato, but it’s fresh from the keg and it’s cold.” She smirked. “I think this could be fun. We’ll have you looking like Mother Teresa before the night is over, rushing in to save the family business in its hour of need.”

  “You’re putting quite the spin on things. Maybe you should get into marketing. But I’m not sure I’d recommended it as a career these days.”

  More revelers were pouring into the beer garden, from people looking barely old enough to get a wristband to others Melinda guessed had taken their grandkids to the parade that morning. The band jammed away at a set list that was a mishmash of old-school rock and current country hits, but it seemed to be the perfect backdrop for the crowd, which was animated but not rowdy.

  “I see they’ve got security tonight.” She pointed to a county sheriff’s cruiser parked just outside the park.

  “I doubt there’ll be much trouble,” Nathan said, “just a few ugly drunks and maybe one fist fight over who has the coolest truck. The good news is, only in a town like Prosper can you have this many people crammed together and just need one cop.”

  Melinda scanned the crowd for any faces she recognized. A few people looked familiar, but she wasn’t sure enough to approach anyone. Angie stepped away to say hello to someone she knew, then quickly elbowed back through the crowd, her head bobbing to the music. “There’s a whole group of people from Swanton and Prosper over in that corner, come on!”

  Melinda was soon on her second cup of beer and started to relax. It was a beautiful night, she was in a comfortable place with new friends, and as Angie started to make introductions it became clear no one was going to ask too many questions.

  The combination of a warm night, a festive atmosphere and a seemingly endless supply of cold beer made for instant friends. She was repeatedly hugged by people she didn’t know and more than a few she remembered from high school. One of her second cousins was there, and began sharing memories of visiting Prosper Hardware as a little girl.

  How good it is to see some of these people, she thought. Maybe they aren’t a part of my life today, but they’re part of my past, a shared past. I should make a better effort to stay in touch.

  “I gotta go,” Angie tapped her arm and nodded toward the portable toilets lined up at the edge of the park. “If I want to get back before the fireworks, now’s the time. Need to come?”

  Melinda realized she did. They walked across the lawn in the deepening dusk, the grass swishing under their feet. A trash bin along the way smelled of sour beer and grease. “I’m glad I’m not the one that has to clean this up tomorrow,” Angie wrinkled her nose. “The Swanton Jaycees certainly earn their donation from the city every year. Imagine how fragrant that will all be by morning.”

  Melinda stifled a yawn. How was she this tired, and before ten? In the city, she and her friends would just be going out at this hour.

  “Melinda!”

  A tall man with a big grin was approaching, a petite blond a step behind. Again, she started scanning her memory bank. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him.

  “Hey there! I’m Adam. Adam Greenvale,” he responded to Melinda’s blank smile. “I think I was a grade ahead of you in school.” Angie was about to step in with a “hello” when suddenly, Melinda remembered.

  “Oh! Yes, it’s good to see you.” Adam had once lived down the street from her family. She remembered him as a bright, inquisitive child who grew up to seemingly have it all: class president, captain of the basketball team, one of the most popular guys in school. He’d gone out East for college. She couldn’t recall which one, but knew it was the kind of place with stately brick buildings covered in ivy and portraits of presidential alumni in the halls.

  “So, where are you these days?” He extended his hand with a practiced-yet-easy smile, radiating a complacent confidence. “What are you up to?”

  “I’m in Minneapolis, been there since college.” Melinda had been reciting this script for nearly three hours already, but still couldn’t believe how nonchalant she sounded. Of course, a few beers hadn’t hurt, either. “I’m in marketing. How about you?”

  “Twin Cities, huh? Nice place, but we’re in Chicago. Oh, this is my wife, Caroline.”

  Melinda had started to wonder when, if ever, Adam was going to introduce the bored woman in an all-white cotton dress, her pale blonde hair artfully arranged in an aggressive-yet-casual topknot. Like his wife’s curated outfit, Adam’s seersucker plaid shirt and pressed khaki shorts leaned in the direction of New England clambake, not small-town beer tent.

  It was the kind of look that appeared casual but actually took hours of shopping and effort to pull off. And money. Melinda knew it well, but she’d given up on that long ago. Caroline gave a half-hearted wave and delicately sipped her beer, her eyes wandering off into the crowd.

  “I’m in investments.” Adam shoved his hands in his shorts pockets and rocked on his heels. “Investment banking, actually. Caroline’s in law school, Northwestern. We’ve got a condo not far from the lake, a great place. Will probably move up into something better in a few years. How about you?”


  The ball bounced back into Melinda’s court. She could keep this up all night. Angie was smirking behind her beer cup.

  “My marketing work is really on the creative side of things, working with some of my firm’s major clients.” She matched Adam’s casual tone note for note. “In fact, they’re so well-known we’re not supposed to talk about them in public, it’s confidential. But anyway, we’ve got a dynamic crew, some of the best and brightest. And I’ve got the most darling pre-war walkup in Uptown.” This she directed at Caroline, who suddenly seemed to be listening to the conversation. “Oak woodwork, built-in bookcases, a butler’s pantry. They just don’t make them like they used to, do they?”

  “I’m remodeling our condo.” Caroline managed a vague smile. “We prefer a more contemporary look. Vintage is darling, but I think it’s sort of had its moment.”

  “That’s great, Melinda,” Adam cut in quickly, keeping his voice smooth. “Glad to hear you’re doing so well up there. We’ve thought about moving back, closer to home, once the kids come. Minneapolis might do. It’s smaller, of course, and I’d hate to leave my company, it just topped a Forbes list. But sometimes you’ve got to sacrifice for the family, you know.”

  Melinda felt a hot pinprick of rage in her chest. Adam was a snob. His wife was worse. Of course, they could stoop so low as to leave Chicago if duty called, transfer their real estate investments to the backwaters of the Twin Cities. How noble of him to consider dropping one executive position for another just like it.

  She was sick of this. Sick of pretending, sick of making everything sound good, sound great. This was her life, and she needed to own it. To hell with what anyone else thought.

  “You might want to rent my vintage walk up, then,” she said acidly, matching Caroline’s insincere tone. “Just to see if Minneapolis suits you, keep it as a weekend place. I may not have it much longer. Because if I don’t find another job, I’ll be out on my ass at the end of November.”

  Angie nearly choked on her beer. Adam and Caroline’s serene smiles began to fade. Excellent, she thought. For the first time since I ran into him, he’s speechless.

  “That great firm I worked for? They canned me. Laid me off two months ago. Packed up my desk for me like I was a five-year-old. Then they gave all my accounts to a twenty-five-year-old.”

  “Wow, Melinda, I’m sorry to hear that.” Adam looked confused but maybe just a bit sympathetic.

  Melinda was on a roll, though, and couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to stop.

  “It’s a good thing my uncle had that heart attack last month. What a break, you know?” Her voice was getting louder, but she didn’t care. “Because of that, I was able to get my aunt to hire me on at the hardware store. Oh, and I’m squatting in this old farmhouse with a bunch of sheep and some chickens, a dog and some cats.”

  She’d just implied all the animals were living in the house with her. Whatever.

  “The one old guy’s been in the home for over a year and it’s too late for him, but the other one might come back. Then, I could basically be homeless.”

  “That’s … great you have pets,” Caroline blinked. “How …”

  “Not so great, no, not really. One sheep stomps her foot every time I get in with them, and the chickens try to peck me when I take their eggs. The dog? He’s depressed. And the cats run the other way when they see me coming …” She paused long enough to take a deep breath. The tears were pricking at the backs of her eyes, but her head felt clear. The clearest it had been in some time.

  “I’m Angie. It’s nice to meet you.” She stepped forward and all but forced Adam to shake her hand. He seemed unable to move. Then, she turned to Caroline.

  “I like your dress. I spend a good deal of my time in a cow yard, so I don’t wear white much anymore. Laundry day’s tough as it is, I’m sure you can imagine.” Caroline shifted her feet and brushed at her hair with her free hand, ready to bolt.

  “See you around,” Angie gave a little wave. “Enjoy the fireworks. Let’s go, Melinda.” She grasped Melinda’s arm and started to pull her away.

  “Wow. Damn. That was … I don’t know what to say.” Angie began to giggle and leaned over, started laughing so hard she couldn’t walk for a moment. “You knocked the smug right off his face. And Caroline …”

  “I think she really thought the animals lived in the house with me.” Melinda began to giggle, then gasped and wiped at her eyes. “I didn’t mean to say it that way, it just came out. Maybe I should invite the sheep in, it’s cooler in the house than in the barn.”

  “You could put the chickens out on the front porch,” Angie took up the idea. “Can’t you see them, nesting on the porch swing and lounging in the screens, the breeze ruffling their feathers …”

  “Why not?” Melinda sighed. “Oh, but I do feel better. That felt good.”

  They got in the shortest line at the portable toilets, Angie still laughing so hard that Melinda hoped her friend could hold on long enough to take her turn inside.

  “How tragic to have to give up Chicago for Minneapolis someday,” Melinda said sarcastically, then sighed. “It’s just as well I spilled the beans. All it would take is for Adam’s mom to run into my mom, and he would hear the truth eventually. And then I would look as evasive and fake as he is.”

  “Wow, was he full of himself. I was about to make some snarky comment, but you beat me to it.”

  “OK, so I exaggerated some, but you know what? So much of what I said was true. Really true.” She put a hand to her face. “Angie, what am I going to do?”

  A boom echoed across the park, and a roar of approval drifted over from the beer garden, where the band had taken a break for the sky show. “Whooo!” yelled an obviously drunk man in the next line.

  “You’re going to give it time,” Angie pointed at Melinda. “And in the meantime, enjoy these fireworks.”

  She gazed up to see the first burst of light explode across the sky, ribbons of green and red and blue raining down over Prosper. Each blast echoed through her, pushing out all the fear, at least for now. And her spirits rose a little more every time another shower of sparks appeared above in the darkness.

  CHAPTER 16

  I envy you, Melinda,” Cassie stretched her tan legs under the picnic table, flexing her feet in the silver open-toed sandals Melinda and Susan had urged her to leave at home. “This place is so peaceful, so serene. And you even have cell service.”

  “Wireless towers are everywhere these days,” Susan reminded her, then took a satisfied sip of her white wine, which Melinda had poured into foam cups discovered in one of the kitchen cabinets. “Remember how many we passed on the way down, along the interstate?”

  “The cell towers and the wind turbines sort of broke up the monotony of the drive,” Cassie said. “I’m glad that you don’t have any of those turbines nearby. There’s something startling about seeing so many of them at once, especially when they are rotating. Almost makes you dizzy to watch them.”

  “Well, I’ve got enough work for both of you this weekend to make your head spin.” Melinda passed Cassie her cup. “I’m glad Aunt Miriam gave me tomorrow off so you could come down and help. Horace won’t know what to make of his spiffed-up house. I bet it’s been decades since anyone’s taken a brush to those kitchen and living room walls.”

  It was Friday night, and it seemed like the first time all week Melinda had a chance to really relax. Prosper Hardware had been especially busy, and then there was the cleaning frenzy to get the house ready for guests. In addition to scrubbing the kitchen and bathrooms, she had spread fresh sheets on the downstairs bed and also the one in Wilbur’s old room upstairs. Both spaces got a thorough dusting, then stalks of purple phlox and yellow daisies from the cluster of perennials on the west side of the house were arranged vases for both rooms.

  The hesitant crawl of Cassie’s Escalade on the gravel and the blinker that came on long before the driveway announced her friends’ arrival. That was followed by a series of exci
ted barks from Hobo as he danced by the garage, eager to serve as the official greeter. Melinda was relieved that Hobo didn’t check inside the vehicle for signs of Horace, and hoped a weekend filled with visitors and activity would put him in high spirits.

  Any misgivings she had about reconnecting with her old friends vanished the moment they stepped out of the car. Their smiles, hugs and laughter told her that distance and circumstance didn’t matter. She put their overnight bags on the back porch bench and then, with Hobo leading the way, gave them a tour of the farm. Both exclaimed over its potential, and Susan seemed especially enamored by its charm. The cats refused to appear, but a few of the more social ewes lined up for forehead pets across the fence. Cassie was taken with the chickens and asked if she could go into their run and pet them, misreading Pansy’s agitated pacing as a sign of friendliness. Susan quickly put a stop to that, then winked at Melinda and suggested Cassie could collect the eggs in the morning if she wanted to get closer to the hens.

  Dusk would come on soon, but Melinda was determined to enjoy a peaceful evening around the picnic table until the mosquitoes drove the three women inside. Susan and Cassie had stopped for dinner on the way down, so all Melinda had to do was pour the chilled wine, rip open the bag of tortilla chips and dump the salsa in a bowl.

  “There’ll be plenty of time for painting tomorrow. And Sunday, too, if we can’t get it all done in time for dinner tomorrow night.” She reached over to light the citronella candle on the table. “I’ve been on my feet at the store all day and you’ve had a long drive. Let’s just take it easy. What’s new up north?”

  Susan heard most of the other people laid off from WP&S hadn’t found jobs yet, either, then added it had only been two months and Melinda shouldn’t give up. Cassie rolled her eyes over a gallery opening she attended last week. It was a work thing for Jim’s law firm, she said, and apparently the art had been secondary to the displays of wealth offered by the attendees.