Heathcliff met me halfway, his hands accepting the tray of tea before offering glasses to Mams and my uncle. I sat on the grass, and he handed me a glass before taking the final one. Setting the tray on the ground, he spread out next to me, his long legs commanding the space.
It was strange sitting there with Heathcliff at my side, his grandmother above us, my uncle across from us. Two young people sipping tea with their elders like a setting from an old antebellum novel. Ice clinked against glasses beaded with condensation. The old-fashioned scene, however, was nothing compared to Mams. It would have been obvious even to the most absentminded person that she had an agenda.
Her eyes fell to her grandson before swinging to me. “I don’t mind admittin’ I was more than a little shocked when Max brought home the daughter of Jack and Meg Macy. Like a ghost from the past, you are.”
“Mams!” Heathcliff hissed.
My uncle chuckled. “It won’t do any good, son. I’ve known your Mams a long time, and when she’s got something to say, it’s best to let her get it out.”
Mams cleared her throat, throwing a look at Gregor before turning back to me. “My grandson’s a wanderer. I’ve known it since the day he ran off into the woods when he was a child. His parents had to call the police to sweep the trees and ponds. He’s like a warm breeze in spring, the kind that promises warmth and then leaves you empty.”
“Mams—” Heathcliff began, his voice low.
She cast him a look. “Don’t be shushin’ me, Max Vincent. I didn’t say I loved you any less, boy. I’m just pointin’ out that some things can’t be pinned down. Not hereabouts anyhow.”
“Look,” Heathcliff said, starting to rise, “I don’t know why you’re here or what this is—”
“I’ve always liked the wind,” I interjected. “There’s this thing about warm spring breezes. They may vanish to be replaced by the heat of summer and the cold months that follow, but they return, and when they do, their simple, brief touches are enough. They don’t make promises. They simply change you.”
Heathcliff froze, his startled gaze flying to mine. My eyes were locked on Mams’, my gray gaze captured by her piercing hazel one. Heathcliff had gotten his eyes from his grandmother.
She blinked. “I see so much more of your uncle in you than I ever will your parents, girl. Take comfort in that.” She glanced at Heathcliff. “You follow a girl home, start disappearin’ and takin’ stuff from the store to help fix up the house she lives in, and expect no one to interfere? Boy, you’d best be prepared. I’m just the referee. Be glad I put enough cash in the store to replace the stuff you snuck out.”
Heathcliff lowered himself back to the ground, his lips parting before closing again. Plucking a blade of dry, brittle grass, he fiddled with it.
“There’s rough times comin’,” Mams added. “For both of you. Maybe I seem like a meddlin’ old fool for gettin’ involved in somethin’ that ain’t none of my business, but I happen to care about both of you in different ways.” She looked at Gregor. “You turn eighteen in a few months, Hawthorne. School will be endin’, and there will be decisions to make. I’ve had some discussions with your uncle over the years, and I’ve put back money in a fund to help pay for an international culinary internship once you finish college should you choose to do it. Your uncle tells me you have a thing for cookin’.”
My pulse began to beat wildly, my eyes widening. Heathcliff leaned forward, an expression of astonishment crossing his features. My uncle simply smiled.
“Why are you doing this?” I whispered.
Mams’ knowing gaze searched mine. “Your mother’s mom, your grandmother, was my best friend. It never sat well with me that Gayle renounced Meg, her only daughter, for being pregnant. When your grandparents refused to acknowledge your existence … let’s just say there were a lot o’ angry words between us. But I ain’t doin’ this for you. I’m doin’ this for your uncle. He’s garnered a lot o’ respect from the older set in this town over the years for pickin’ up his brother’s responsibilities. There’s more than just my money in that fund, girl. I’m just the one to head it.”
My heart suddenly felt like a water balloon with too much water. Squeeze too hard, and it would explode.
Uncle Gregor sat up. “Sometimes it takes a village.”
My gaze passed between them, my thoughts racing to moments I’d always worked to block from my memory. Town visits with people whispering behind my back. It reminded me of Kenny Parker and his wife in the sideview mirror after Heathcliff helped unload lumber, their eyes trailing his disappearing truck. The way Kenny’s arm had snaked around his wife, his gaze full of compassion.
It hit me then why Mams had wanted Heathcliff to leave when she’d seen us in the hall. This conversation hadn’t been meant for him.