Boxed In(45)
Pretending to ignore the bright flush fanning over her features, Annie answered stubbornly, “Not a pumpkin.” Ian continued to hold her hand between his, waiting for her to continue. “It wasn’t a suicide attempt or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.” The soft brush of his thumb began to stir up tingles she’d just as soon not have in the middle of The Cup & Saucer. “OK! It was a watermelon. I was slicing a watermelon. And I was a teenager!” She glanced wildly over Ian’s shoulder to see Peggy heading their way again. “Peggy’s coming. Please give me my hand back,” she whispered in a panic. Ian moved his hands upwards and for one terrifying moment she thought he was going to raise her hand to his lips. She would never hear the end of it from Peggy.
Then she realized her hand was free. And Peggy was placing her cup of tea where three hands had been a moment before. She attempted to speak normally. “So I won’t be on pumpkin-carving duty,” she blurted. “That leaves me more time for my crochet.”
“Oh, Doc Witham and Chessey Cushman always do the carving, Annie. Wait until you see what they can do! Makes me feel a lot better about having surgery, if I ever need to.” Peggy set Ian’s coffee in front of him. “Your sandwich will be out soon.”
“Thanks, Peggy.” Ian smiled at her. Annie paid extra attention to the process of lemon squeezing and honey dripping so that she didn’t come across as rude to Peggy. If she looked in her direction, it might encourage Peggy to continue the conversation. She might even have an observation on what had just happened, and Annie definitely did not want to go there. But Peggy surprised her by bustling off without further comment to take another order across the room.
“Annie, I’m sorry I teased you. I wasn’t thinking about how it might look to Peggy.”
“Teasing doesn’t bother me, Ian,” Annie responded. It was those pesky tingles she couldn’t handle. She wondered how he had noticed the small, shiny scar on her wrist, but she certainly wasn’t going to ask. “I’m still wobbly and not acting like myself.”
“You’re acting just fine.” Ian took a gulp of his coffee. “Are you still interested in hearing what I actually do have in mind for your distraction? It involves no volunteerism of any kind.”
“Sure.” Annie clasped the teacup between her hands, willing the warmth of the ceramic to calm her.
“How about a day out on a Butler boat for some whale watching? It would get you out of town, as well as give you a chance to take photos to send to John and Joanna.”
Ian’s proposal set off two warring voices in Annie’s head: The woman who thrilled at the idea of exploring more of the Maine waterways and sharing it with her grandchildren cheered, but the woman whose wrist still felt the gentle brushing shied away from the thought of a day in close floating quarters with no way of escape. Annie raised her cup and took a slow sip of tea, biding her time.
Ian continued. “Todd can take us out tomorrow afternoon, after the lobster run, and I was thinking of also inviting Cecil Lewey, if you don’t mind.” This new piece of information brought comfort to her second, more reticent voice and changed everything.
“Don’t mind at all; taking Cecil is a wonderful idea,” said Annie. “Tomorrow afternoon is fine with me. Do you want to call Cecil right now before your food comes?”
Ian pulled his cell phone from the clip on his belt and located Cecil’s number on his contact list. Annie continued to focus on her tea, but she couldn’t help feeling relief when Ian’s next words indicated Cecil had answered the call. The call ended with Ian saying, “I’ll pick you up at noon. Yes. I will.” He hung his phone back on the clip as Peggy brought his plate of food.
Peggy stood still for a moment after setting the plate down, a sure sign a question was coming. “Annie, did you talk to Gwen? Is she OK?”
“No, Peggy. I wasn’t able to get a hold of her, and John was not available when I stopped in at the bank.” Annie chose her words carefully.
“Huh. How strange. I’ll have to ask Mary Beth, if she comes in later.”
“Maybe she just had one of those days,” said Ian before taking a bite of his sandwich.
Peggy cocked her head to the side. “You know, I never thought Gwen had ‘one of those days’ like the rest of us. Kinda silly of me.”
“Not silly, Peggy,” Annie assured her. “Not everyone is as obvious in their imperfections as, say, me.”
“Ah, go on!” Peggy chuckled. “I’ll get you some more hot water, Annie.”