Susan Mallery - Wife in Disguise

The thought made her smile. The other piece of good and interesting news was that Del had taken up softball. During their three years of marriage she’d been on his case constantly, trying to get him to participate in some form of exercise. He’d resisted and yet now he was on a team. She knew that was from her influence. At least she hadn’t been completely horrible-there had been one or two good things in their marriage.

She walked over to the coffee maker to start a second pot. As she moved, the pain in her left leg shot up into her hip and back. She was sore from her walk on Saturday-her own fault. She hadn’t been keeping up with her exercises or her physical therapy. If she didn’t start soon, she was going to pay a price. Unfortunately she wasn’t motivated at the moment. She’d worked so hard and so long and it still was not where she wanted to be. Occasionally-like now-frustration overwhelmed her good sense.

“Get over it,” she said aloud, knowing she didn’t have time for self-pity. She had a life to rebuild. After she made the coffee, she would go upstairs and start a list. She didn’t know what for, but list-making always improved her mood.

As she poured water into the pot, using the gallon of bottled water she’d bought, the front door opened. She heard several voices. Most of them were low and masculine but one was shrill, demanding and crabby. Josie set the pot down and turned toward the sound.

Three good-looking burly construction workers walked into the main room followed by a tiny, redheaded woman in her sixties. She glanced around at the main room, then focused on the kitchen.

“It’s all a mess,” the woman announced planting her hands on her hips. She wore denim coveralls and a long-sleeved red T-shirt that clashed with her bright-red hair.

“Once again I’m going to have to fix everyone’s mistakes.” She turned to the three gorgeous twenty-something males hovering beside her. “You fellows plan on posing for a calendar or did you want to do some work?”

The three hunks jumped to attention at her question.

Josie couldn’t keep herself from grinning. If she’d been able to run, she would have thrown herself into the older woman’s strong arms and stayed there forever. Annie May wasn’t just a master plumber and a force to be reckoned with, she was the closest thing to a grandmother Josie had ever had. Leaving her when Josie had left Beachside Bay had been nearly as difficult as leaving Del.

Josie took a single step toward her, then paused. She had a disguise to think of.

“You must be Rose,” the older woman said, walking over and holding out her hand. “You know what you’re getting into buying this place?”

Josie relished the familiar strength as Annie May shook her hand and then stepped back. “It’s too late now,” she said. “I’m the proud owner and, as you can see, the construction has already started.”

Josie held her breath as Annie May gave her the once-over, starting at her feet and working her way to the top of her head. There wasn’t even a flicker of recognition. Josie felt both relieved and sad. She would have liked a friend to confide in, but she wasn’t ready to come clean with Del. After their conversation here Friday night-when he’d told her exactly what he thought of her-she was hardly in a position to reveal her past.

Annie May tilted her head slightly and motioned to her cane. “A man do that to you?”

At first Josie didn’t understand. Then she got it. “No, I wasn’t beat up. I was hit by a truck.”

“It looks bad. The good news is you lived to talk about it. You’re upright and except for buying this old place, I’m guessing you’re smart enough. So you were lucky.”

Josie wanted to protest. She felt anything but lucky. Yet in her own outspoken fashion, Annie May had zeroed in on the truth. Josie could have died in the accident. She could have lost her leg completely or be left paralyzed or facially disfigured. In the scheme of things, she’d actually gotten off pretty light.

Annie May glanced at her three helpers. “Bring in the supplies. We’re going to start with the kitchen today.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison and left the room.

“Pretty, but not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier,” Annie May said as the men walked out of the house. “Still, hiring the good-looking ones is one of the few compensations of my old age. Del accuses me of being a sexist pig, and he’s right.” She grinned. “So, let’s talk about your kitchen. I’ve seen the plans. They’re not too bad. I’d suggest a couple of changes, though. Seeing we’re going to be running pipes anyway, why not put a deep sink in the island?”

She walked to the diagram pinned to the wall and pointed. “There’s plenty of room and it would give you a second work station. Wouldn’t cost very much. If you keep the house, you’ll find it handy. If you sell, the buyers will appreciate it.”

She walked back to the kitchen and shared a couple of other ideas. Josie listened, torn between appreciating her suggestions and wishing she could talk to Annie May. After all that had happened, she really needed a friend.

The hunks returned, and Annie May set them to work, measuring the kitchen and marking where the pipes would run. When they were busy, Annie May motioned to the parlor.

“Let’s go in there. I want to show you something.”

Josie followed her, wondering if the older woman was going to suggest a wet bar. Josie didn’t think it would fit with the house. But what other plumbing issue could there be in the front room?

Annie May waited until Josie had stepped into the empty room, then she closed the French door, cutting off the construction sounds from the rest of the house. She turned to Josie, planted her hands on her hips again and spoke.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Josie Scott? Frankly this is a piss-poor excuse for a disguise. You really think you’re fooling anyone?”

Josie couldn’t believe it. “You know who I am?”

Annie May snorted in disgust. “Of course. I’m not a fool.” The older woman peered at her face. “Okay, there are a few changes. Your cheeks and chin, but your eyes are the same. Your voice is a little lower, but you talk the same.”

Relief flooded Josie. She took a step toward her friend. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Me, too, child.”

Annie May enfolded her in her arms. Although the other woman was much shorter, she was strong and familiar, and Josie felt as if she’d come home for the first time in years.

“All right,” Annie May said briskly a few seconds later when she released Josie. “I want to hear about everything that happened to you.” She eyed her legs, then the cane. “You probably need to sit down. How about the front porch? We should have some privacy there.”

“Sounds perfect.”

They walked outside. The morning was sunny and warm. Josie could hear the sound of people working in the house, but they were all in the rear rooms and wouldn’t be likely to overhear the conversation.

“So tell me what happened,” Annie May said when they were seated on the top step. “Were you really hit by a truck?”

“That sucker slammed right into me,” Josie admitted. “I was driving home for lunch, and suddenly it was there. The brakes failed and the driver lost control.”

Annie May frowned. “It looks like it was bad.”

“It was. I had to have a lot of surgeries on both my face and my legs. Especially the left one.” She touched her face. “I have a lot of plastic in me now.”

“Then stay away from open flames or you’ll melt.” Her old friend studied her. “What took you so long?”

Josie knew what she meant. Why had she taken so long to return to Beachside Bay. To Del. The question made her a little uncomfortable because it forced a confession she wasn’t sure she was ready to make. She glanced down at her lap, then looked at Annie May.

“For the first couple of years, I didn’t know I wanted to come back. I was living in Los Angeles, making my life there. I had a good job, friends. Everything seemed fine.”

Although if she were being completely honest she would have to admit that fine made things sound better than they’d been. She’d suffered bouts of loneliness that she couldn’t explain, times when nothing in her life felt right.

“After the accident, I had a lot of recovering to do. I spent months either in the hospital or in a physical rehabilitation center. It’s only in the past month that I’ve been able to get around with a cane. Before that I needed a wheelchair or a walker. I couldn’t come back like that.” She shrugged. “So I waited until I could at least be upright.”

Annie May patted her hand. “Makes sense, which is more than I can say for you using a different name. What were you thinking?”

Josie flushed. “I wasn’t,” she admitted. “I never thought Del wouldn’t recognize me. I came back to talk to him and get some things settled. But when he saw me he didn’t know who I was. In that second I realized I could get to know him in a whole different way without the past coming between us. It wasn’t a conscious plan-it just happened.”

Annie May didn’t look convinced. “You’re just scared he’s still mad at all the stunts you pulled.”

“Maybe. I would like closure on our marriage. If Del knew who I was, he wouldn’t talk to me.”

“Divorce isn’t closure enough?”

“I guess not.” She decided to tell the truth. “After the accident I kept thinking about Del. That’s why I decided to come back.”

“It’s hard to forget the one who got away.”

Josie stiffened. “Del didn’t get away. I left him.”

But the words didn’t sound as sure as she wanted them to. She was beginning to question her reasons for coming back. After all, what did closure really mean? She knew that Del didn’t have a very high opinion of her and that he was well over her. If she’d been wondering if he had any lingering feelings for her, she’d received her answer. Shouldn’t that be enough?