instantly broke into a smile. “Bethanne, my goodness, I never expected to see you here.”
The two women hugged. “I was picking up some yarn I ordered. What are you doing in this neighborhood?” Bethanne pulled out the chair opposite Ruth’s and sat down.
Her mother-in-law placed both hands in her lap. “Robin suggested we meet here for lunch. It’s not that far from the courthouse, but you know Robin …”
“Has she left already?” Bethanne looked around, then down at Ruth’s barely touched plate.
“She didn’t show up,” Ruth said, coloring slightly. “I’m sure she got stuck in court…. ” Robin was with the Prosecuting Attorney’s office in Seattle, and frequently dealt with violent crime.
Bethanne frowned. “Did you call her?”
Ruth shook her head. “I refuse to carry a cell phone. They’re an intrusion on people’s privacy and—well, never mind. Although I will admit that at times like this a cell would come in handy.”
“Would you like me to phone?”
“Oh, would you, dear?” Ruth squeezed her hand gratefully. “I’d appreciate it.”
Digging in her purse, Bethanne found her cell. She had Robin’s number in her contacts and, holding the phone to her ear, waited for the call to connect. Robin’s phone went directly to voice mail, which meant she was probably still in court.
“I think you must be right,” Bethanne told Ruth.
The older woman exhaled. “I was afraid of that. I don’t know when we’ll have a chance to meet again before I leave.” Ruth straightened and picked up her sandwich. “But it doesn’t really matter, because my daughter is not going to change my mind.”
“Change your mind about what?”
Ruth lifted her chin. “Robin wants to talk me out of attending my fifty-year class reunion.” She took a determined bite of her turkey-and-bacon sandwich.
Why would her sister-in-law do such a thing? “I hope you go,” Bethanne said.
“I am, and nothing she says will convince me otherwise.” Bethanne had never seen Ruth so fired up.
“Good for you.” She watched in amusement as her ex-mother-in-law chewed with righteous resolve.
Swallowing, Ruth relaxed and sent Bethanne a grateful smile. “And I intend to drive to Florida by myself. That’s all there is to it.”
Two
“Florida?” Bethanne repeated slowly. Her mother-in-law wanted to drive across the entire country? Alone?
“Oh, Bethanne, not you, too.” Ruth groaned. “I’m perfectly capable of making the trip.”
“Can’t you fly?” As far as she knew, Ruth didn’t have any fear of air travel.
“Of course I could, but what fun is that?” Ruth tossed her napkin on the table. “For years Richard promised me a cross-country trip. I’d spend days planning the route, and I’d write all my friends to tell them we were coming. Then invariably something would come up at Richard’s work.” Her lips tightened at the memory. “He canceled the trip three times until I finally gave up.”
Richard was a workaholic who hardly ever took vacations. He spent most weekends in the office of his engineering firm, missing countless baseball games and piano recitals. In fact, he died in that very same office. How long had he been gone now? Seven years, maybe eight, by Bethanne’s calculations.
Grant had taken his father’s death especially hard. They weren’t close but Grant had looked up to his father and respected his work ethic. As for Robin—well, she’d been cut from the same cloth as Richard. She’d married right out of law school, but divorced three years later. Robin was wedded to her job; there wasn’t room for anything or anyone else. Even her desire for a family had faded next to the demands and rewards of her meteoric career. The only time Bethanne actually saw her sister-in-law was at Christmas and that hadn’t happened in years, not since before the divorce. They did chat by phone every now and then, and Robin remembered to send cards and checks on Andrew’s and Annie’s birthdays. But she wasn’t involved in their lives—or anyone else’s, it seemed, except her colleagues’.
“I’m not getting any younger, you know,” Ruth went on, interrupting Bethanne’s musings. “If I’m going to see the country, I don’t feel I can delay it anymore. I wanted to ask Robin to accompany me but we both know that would be a waste of breath. I don’t think she’s taken more than a week off in the past ten years.”
Bethanne had nothing to add. Ruth was right; Robin would never go on a road trip with her mother, would never devote two or three weeks to family.
“In all these years, I’ve only been back to my hometown three times.” Ruth’s words were tinged with longing. “For my parents’ funerals and then once for a brief vacation. But I’ve kept in touch with several of my high school friends. Diane and Jane both came out to Seattle with their families to visit. When we were together, it was like we were teenagers all over again! I enjoyed it so much, and the reunion’s the perfect opportunity to see them. I’m determined to go.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.
Bethanne could tell that she wasn’t going to dissuade her. “Then you should do it,” she said mildly.
“I am,” Ruth insisted. “I’m leaving the first of June.”
“So soon?” Bethanne raised her eyebrows.
“Yes, the reunion’s on the seventeenth and that gives me plenty of time to see the sights. I’ve always wanted to visit Mount Rushmore and the Badlands. My grandparents originally settled in the Dakotas, you know.”
Bethanne didn’t want to discourage Ruth, but she did feel a twinge of anxiety about her traveling that distance by herself. She’d be an easy mark, especially alone.
Ruth fixed her with a stubborn glare. “Before you say anything, I want you to know I’ve rented a car since I’m planning to fly back, and I’ve already booked my flight from Florida to Seattle. So don’t even try to talk me out of this.”
Bethanne gave up the idea of arguing with her and instead patted the older woman on the arm.
“No one takes the time to travel by car anymore,” Ruth said plaintively. “Life is ‘rush here’ and ‘rush there.’ My children are grown, and I’m sorry to say they’re both a disappointment to me. I hardly ever see either Robin or Grant. I’m sixty-eight years old and—” Her voice cracked. “I am not old and I refuse to be treated like I’m too fragile to know my own mind.”
Bethanne reached across the table and clasped Ruth’s hand. She thought of Casey Goetz and the close relationship she had with Lydia’s mother. In a few years it might be difficult for Ruth to drive cross-country. It was either take this trip now or give up her long-held dream.
“I’ll go with you,” Bethanne said in a soft voice.
Ruth’s head shot up. “You?”
“I haven’t taken a vacation in years.” Aside from a few trips with the kids to visit relatives, her last real vacation had been with Grant. They’d gone to Italy to celebrate their tenth anniversary.
Ruth continued to stare at her, obviously at a loss for words.
“It would do me good to get away for a few weeks,” Bethanne said. “I have some decisions to make that I’d like to mull over. Getting away will give me a chance to do that.”
“You’re serious? You’d drive with me?”
“Of course.” Bethanne smiled at Ruth’s excitement.
“I want to see New Orleans!”
“I’d love that,” Bethanne