“Mom…don’t get too excited. Okay? We haven’t been together for all that long.”
And there were things they hadn’t talked about yet. Her article. Her departure. His. Their future. Teensy-weensy things like that.
Meredith’s mother handed her the butter and cream. “Some things don’t take much time to develop into their perfect form. Like mashed potatoes.”
Rolling her eyes, she took them.
“Don’t make fun of me, missy. Sometimes all you have to do is add the right ingredients and whip. Then voila. You have something magical.”
“Oh, Mom…is this ‘Cooking Meets Psychology Hour’?”
Her mom slapped her butt gently with a wooden spoon. “You’re a smart ass, but I love you. Now whip.”
***
Thirty minutes later, as the last of the mashed potatoes were being served, Arthur turned to Peggy, who was sitting on his right.
“I imagine you’re one heck of a policewoman.”
“Yeah! She’s caught a lot of bad guys. Pow, pow!” Keith’s fingers mimed a gun.
“Thank you.” Peggy smiled and pushed her son’s hand into his lap. “Behave or I’ll make you eat broccoli.”
Keith made a gagging sound.
Tanner ruffled his hair. “Don’t interrupt people’s conversations. If you’re good, we’ll have another snowball fight.”
The boy clapped. “Okay, but you can’t hit people in the head.”
“I’ll try and remember that,” Tanner replied seriously.
Meredith’s mother gave her a knowing smile. Yes, Tanner has his arm around my chair, she wanted to say. She stuck out her tongue. Her mother put her napkin over her mouth to hide her smile. Her father carved more turkey and passed some to Keith, who was bouncing in his chair like a popcorn kernel.
She never would have imagined Thanksgiving would be like this when she’d arrived in Dare, but she was thrilled.
Tanner and Keith went outside for another snowball fight after convincing Jill to join them. Meredith headed out onto the deck to watch, and Peggy came with her. The setting sun cast an orange glow on the snow-covered hills, and snowballs flew through the air amidst squeals and shouts.
“You have a great family,” Peggy remarked. “I especially like your grandfather.”
“He’s pretty charming. You have a great family too. Your son is wonderful.”
“He’s a handful, but we do all right. He’s all boy. Has been since he uttered his first word. Truck.”
“Tanner’s obviously over the moon about him.” Jill was right. He would make a good father. Not that she was thinking about that.
Liar, liar, pants on fire, Divorcée Woman insisted.
Great, instead of her nose growing like Pinocchio, her alter ego was calling her out.
You know how to stop me.
Yes, she did, but admitting to a truth that big was too scary. She walked to the edge of the deck and knocked off the icicles.
“They have a strong bond. Keith is thrilled Tanner’s back in the country. They used to Skype, but it’s not the same.”
“Tanner mentioned you’re divorced too,” Meredith said cautiously.
“Yes, my ex was a dick, and he used it to screw around on me.”
“I call my ex Rick-the-Dick.”
Peggy’s mouth showed a ghost of a smile. “Good one. My ex’s name doesn’t rhyme with anything.”
“Can I ask you…”
“Ask away.”
“You seem so…” She gestured with her hands. “Together. Do you ever have bad days?”
Peggy cocked her head exactly like Tanner did, causing Meredith to break out in goosebumps. “Are you kidding? It doesn’t say perfect on my badge. Last time I checked, it simply said policewoman. Well, not literally. Look, you’re wondering if I doubt myself, right? Sure.”
“How did you get your confidence back?”
Her mouth curved into a wicked smile. “I bought a new gun and went to the range every day, pretending the target was my ex. Word got out. I was good. Scary good. People stopped ragging me at work. Silenced all the pity talk.” She snapped her finger. “My partner told me something in his sick way that clicked. He said if I can work a job where I risk getting shot or shooting someone, I can probably get over an asshole like Frank. It took a man to drill that wisdom home. My mom only patted my hand and told me what a great person I was.”
“I bought a whole bunch of lingerie. It’s not a gun…”
“Whatever works.” She eyed Meredith’s torso. “What kind?”
“La Perla.”
Peggy whistled. “Got a nice settlement, huh?”
“I did pretty well.”