Kathy Douglass - The City Girl's Homecoming

Cade didn’t bother telling his brother just how wrong he was. Cade had learned his lesson good and well. He’d never let a girl like Megan near his heart again. “Forget about her. I’m sure you didn’t come all the way to Spring Forest to harass me. Let’s eat.”

* * *

Megan arrived at home and changed out of her work clothes into a pair of green cotton shorts and a coordinating floral top. Green had been her mother’s favorite color and Megan wore something in that color every day to honor her mother’s memory. Some days Megan missed her family so much her heart actually ached. Wearing green helped her feel closer to her mother.

Megan grabbed the bag containing dinner then walked across the street to her neighbor’s house. Mrs. Crockett had been widowed many years ago and had never remarried. Most people believed the elderly woman was weird or crazy, and consequently no one ever visited her.

The day Megan moved into her house, she’d witnessed the woman holding a conversation with one of her sixteen cats and dogs. Megan could have turned her back on the other woman like everyone else in town had chosen to do, but she hadn’t. She recognized loneliness when she saw it. So instead, she’d approached the woman and introduced herself. Mrs. Crockett had smiled broadly and introduced each of the animals by name. Then she’d invited Megan in for a glass of sweet tea. In no time flat they’d become fast friends, and Megan brought her dinner each night.

Megan knocked on the door. Within seconds it opened.

“Oh, is that dinner? You know you don’t have to cook for me all the time.”

Megan smiled at the protest. Mrs. Crockett only received a pittance from Social Security and her late husband’s pension. Unfortunately her limited income wasn’t sufficient to cover care for the animals, pay rent and buy sufficient groceries for herself. Mrs. Crockett had chosen to prioritize the first and frequently didn’t have food. She also hadn’t paid her rent in quite a while and was only days away from being evicted. Daniel and Megan had done all they could to help, but had run out of options. No matter how often they’d advised her of the consequences of her choices, Mrs. Crockett insisted on taking care of the animals regardless of the cost to herself. As a result, she was about to lose her home.

“It’s just as easy to cook for two as for one. But today I picked up dinner at the Grille. I got that steak you said you wanted.”

“You can’t tell me you want to spend your Friday evening with an old woman. Surely the men in town must be beating down your door to get you to go out with them.”

“You live across the street from me,” Megan pointed out with a smile as she put the carryout containers onto the table. “Have you seen any men, young or otherwise, knocking on my door?”

Mrs. Crockett tsked as she poured sweet tea into crystal glasses. The table had been set with delicate china and a vase of fresh flowers that came from her garden. Embroidered napkins matched the lacy tablecloth. The care her neighbor took to make the table look so nice illustrated how much she looked forward to their meals.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with the young men in this town. In my day, men knew how to come courting. My Harvey was such a charmer.” Mrs. Crockett glanced at the picture of her late husband that sat in a place of honor on the upright piano. Though the photograph had faded with time, Megan could still make out the young man’s proud smile. “He never once showed up on my doorstep empty-handed. He always brought flowers or candy or some trinket he knew I would like. Men these days don’t have a clue. Or manners. They don’t even hold the door for you. And sometimes they only want what you young people refer to as a booty call.”

Megan had just taken a bite of her pastrami sandwich and nearly choked at the older woman’s comment. She took a swallow of her tea. “Where did you hear that phrase?”

Mrs. Crockett laughed. “I may be an old woman, but I do have a television and radio. Not to mention the internet. I know all about what’s going on in this crazy world.”

“Apparently,” Megan said with a laugh.

“Now, if my sweet boy Willie was still alive, he could show you the way a young man should behave.”

Willie had been Mrs. Crockett’s only child. He’d followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Army. Sadly he’d died in an unfortunate training accident while in his twenties. Of course had Willie lived, he would be old enough to be Megan’s father. Not that she would ever point that out. Megan knew Willie would forever be twenty-six in Mrs. Crockett’s memory as well as in her heart.

“I’m sure you raised him right.”

“That I did.” Mrs. Crockett focused on her meal for a few minutes before speaking again. “Surely you must have met someone in the time you’ve been here. Someone who could help you forget the ex-boyfriend you left behind in New York.”

Megan immediately pictured Cade Battle in all his shirtless glory, then just as quickly dismissed him. She might not know everything about men, but she could tell when one wasn’t interested in her. And Cade Battle definitely fit into that category. Their encounter at the Grille this evening had emphasized that. Not only that, he actually appeared to dislike her, although she couldn’t for the life of her imagine why. They’d never even met before today. “Nope. Not a one.”

“That’s a shame. I don’t know what’s wrong with men your age.”

Megan heard the disappointment in the older woman’s voice. “Well, I haven’t been in town long. I’m sure I’ll meet someone soon.”

That seemed to pacify Mrs. Crockett, and their conversation drifted to other topics. Once they’d finished eating, they carried their plates to the kitchen and washed them. A delicious-smelling peach cobbler was cooling on the counter. Mrs. Crockett placed heaping helpings into etched glass bowls and added a scoop of vanilla ice cream. As usual, they ate their dessert at the kitchen table. The night was pleasant, and the window was open, letting in the sweet breeze. Megan was going to miss sharing these companionable nights with her neighbor.

“I’ve talked to your grandniece, Grace,” Megan said. She’d avoided the conversation while they’d eaten the main course, but knew she had to bring it up.

Mrs. Crockett lifted her eyebrow but didn’t reply. Instead she scraped her spoon around the inside of her bowl.

“I know you don’t want to move in with her family and you won’t have to. Grace has found a wonderful senior living home. She visited the facility and liked it. Best of all, it’s only twenty minutes away from her house, so she and her children will be able to visit you regularly. And you’ll be able to visit her.”

“I appreciate all that you and Daniel are trying to do for me,” Mrs. Crockett said, speaking slowly.

“But?”

“How can I possibly leave my babies? They need me. I can’t just abandon them to fend for themselves again. If I can’t stay in this house, then fine. I’ll just have to think of something else.”

“There is nothing else,” Megan said gently. She’d tried every legal maneuver she could think of, pushing the envelope as she stretched her creativity. Nothing worked. Mrs. Crockett was going to be evicted.

One of the cats rubbed against Mrs. Crockett’s leg. She picked him up and rubbed her nose into his fur. “So you just expect me to turn my back on them and forget they exist? I can’t.”

When other people looked at Mrs. Crockett they saw a crazy cat and dog woman. Megan saw more than that. She saw a woman with a kind heart and a lot of love to give. People judged her because she chose to give that love to stray animals. Megan knew the reason why she did that. Mrs. Crockett had once told Megan that animals didn’t join the military and break their mother’s heart. Mrs. Crockett couldn’t risk loving people again. That didn’t mean people couldn’t love her.