27
Kevin turned the Hyundai onto the lake road and glanced over at Angela, waiting for her response. She finally burst out, “Oh my God, where in the world are you taking me . . . the end of the world?”
David spoke up from the backseat, “That’s exactly what I thought the first time I came up here. It was like every new road was smaller and smaller. I remember thinking, if we meet someone coming the other way, we’re all dead!”
Liz laughed. “Listen to these city slickers, Kev!”
Kevin slowed down for the big left-hand turn in the road where the sign was nailed to the birch tree—LOON MAGIC. “I just hope he’s here. If not, we’ve all come an awfully long way for nothing.”
Liz interrupted, “He’s here. And even if he’s not, we will have a wonderful weekend showing Angela around. Stop being such a Negative Nancy.”
David laughed. “Negative Nancy? That the best you can do? That’s all you got? Kevin, I think your sister needs to pick up her trash talk game . . . Negative Nancy?”
The last hard turn down to the house revealed Jack’s F-150.
“Yep. He’s here . . . ”
* * *
Jack scrambled to find his clothes, panic making his movements wild and inefficient. “I cannot believe this is happening. This isn’t the way life is supposed to work!”
Starla found her thick robe on the floor and tied it tightly around her waist. “Actually, this is exactly how life works, Jack. What do you want me to do? I can stay in here or whatever . . . ”
“I don’t know! I’m not ready for this! What the hell are they doing here? You can’t stay in here. You’re a grown woman. We’re adults here. Besides, kids are not supposed to be the ones catching parents sleeping with other people. It’s supposed to be the other way around!”
“That option doesn’t appear to be on the table.” Starla couldn’t help herself from smiling. They had reached the door.
Starla grabbed Jack’s hands. “Listen to me: when all else fails . . . go with the truth. It’s my new thing. You should try it.”
Jack threw on a sweatshirt and headed to the door, pausing at the last minute to look back at Starla, who stood in the bedroom doorway with her arms folded across her chest. She looked cool as a cucumber. Jack could feel his palms soaked with sweat.
“Hey, guys! What the heck is this?”
Liz was first through the door. She characteristically ran to her father with a hug. “We decided to surprise you. David’s here, and Kevin brought Angela!”
“Well, you certainly surprised me . . . of course, this must be Angela!”
Angela stepped through the door timidly, momentarily distracted by the gorgeous view through the bank of windows across the back of the cabin. The lake sparkled a bright blue and gold. She glanced up at Jack and flashed the smile that had slain his son four months earlier.
“So glad to meet you, Mr. Rigsby. This place is breathtaking.”
Angela spotted Starla across the room and loosened her grip around Jack’s neck. “Oh, hello . . . you have a guest.”
David and Kevin made their way inside and noticed the sudden quiet. Then they saw her and her bathrobe and her disheveled hair, leaning against the doorframe of their parents’ bedroom door.
“Oh,” David managed. “We must have called a dozen times yesterday to let you know we were on our way, but your phone just rang and rang. You have . . . company.”
Jack walked over to give his son-in-law a hug. “Yeah, we spent the day on Monhegan yesterday . . . not much coverage out there. Hey, son.” He embraced Kevin, genuinely glad to see him. “Angela is beautiful—better in person than on the phone!”
Kevin, his eyes firmly fixed on the women who undoubtedly was Starla Deloplane, managed a reply. “Good to see you, Dad. Yes, she is something else, isn’t she? Who’s your friend?”
Everyone stood silently, pinched together in a tight bunch near the entryway to the cabin, all staring at Starla in various stages of disbelief. None of the scenarios they had rehearsed on the flight up included what to do if Jack and Starla stumbled out of the bedroom to greet them after a night of sex.
Starla suddenly walked over to the kitchen, reached for one of the colorful mugs that hung from hooks underneath the microwave, and broke the deafening silence. “Coffee, anyone?”
After an agonizing moment, David asked, “Got anything stronger?”
Jack finally found a shaky equilibrium from a mysterious reserve of strength. “Listen, everyone . . . I know this is surprising for you all, and I’m sorry that you had to stumble into the middle of this.” Jack turned to look at Starla, latched onto her glistening eyes, and continued. “This is my friend from many years ago. We ran into each other up here last week and have enjoyed becoming reacquainted after a very long time. It was not my intention for you all to be introduced this way, and I’m terribly sorry about how this took place, but . . . ”
Kevin once again: “Does your friend have a name?”
Jack hesitated, his words catching in his throat. Starla noticed and stepped forward to shake Kevin’s hand, just about the time that Jack found his voice. “This is Starla. Starla, this is my oldest, Kevin.”
Introductions all around, then another tense standoff of silence—the new enemy in the room.
Kevin persisted, “Starla is a very unique name. You don’t run into many Starlas. But it’s the kind of name no one would likely forget.”
Jack, becoming irritated, shot back: “Yes, Starla had planned on flying back home today, but she missed her flight. He stared intently at his son, then added, “We overslept.”
Starla took it all in, trying to decide what her role was to be in this increasingly uncomfortable confrontation. “David, I think Jack has some beer in the fridge. Can I get you one?”
“That would be delightful.” David leapt at the chance for a diversion. “Knowing Jack, it will be a Sam Adams. I would love one!”
Angela grabbed Liz by the arm. “Well, are you going to show me the lake or not? It’s gorgeous!”
Liz pounced on the opening. “Yes, everyone! Let’s go out to the dock. Angela needs the grand tour!”
As everyone started making their way through the French doors, Jack took Starla by the hand and whispered into her ear, “Sorry for the change of plans. I suppose I panicked, didn’t want to face this without you. I’m a coward . . . ”
Starla kissed him tenderly on the cheek. “No, you’re not. But you are going to pay for my cancelation fees. Meanwhile, I’m going to run up and make myself presentable. You going to be alright?”
“Hell no . . . but I’ll be here when you get back.”
Starla slipped out the door and up the hill as Jack turned to follow his family outside. They had reached the end of the dock, Kevin pointing out all the landmarks around the lake to Angela. Liz ran to meet her dad walking down the ramp.
“So, which is it . . . Carolyn or Starla? That’s the same woman from before, right?”
“It’s a long story, and I’ll tell it in due time . . . but not now, ok?”
“Sure, Dad.” Liz slung her arm around him as they made their way to the dock. “By the way, you look great.”
For the moment, Kevin had disengaged hostilities, temporarily distracted by Angela’s reaction to the place he had been trying to describe to her for months. She turned around to look back at the cabin and noticed the sunlight’s reflection off the water making gentle waves across the canopy of tree branches.
“Its just magical, Kevin. No wonder you keep coming back.”
Jack looked at Angela closely, noticing her beauty for the first time, his first look having been too distracted. Now, her beauty was unavoidable to miss in the clear light of day. When Angela and Liz got distracted by the twin hammocks hanging under the pine trees next to the small beach, Jack used the moment to give his son another hug.
“Wow, son. Your girlfriend is a stunner. You guys still getting along?”
Kevin laughed. “Yes, dad! We are still getting along . . . ”
“I’m just asking. She looks like a keeper to me. You don’t want to let someone like that wiggle off the hook.”
Kevin rolled his eyes. “Dad, we’ve only known each other since New Year’s Eve, for God’s sake!”
“Just sayin’.”
“I’ll keep your words of wisdom under advisement, especially since you apparently know so much about relationships.” Kevin hadn’t meant for the words to come out so harshly, hadn’t intended for them to sound like an indictment. But he couldn’t hide his disapproval, couldn’t mask his anger that his father had chosen to pursue a relationship, however brief, with Starla Deloplane—of all the women walking the Earth, the absolute worst choice.
Jack kept his voice low and under control. “Son, it’s a very complicated thing. I will explain it to you in due time, but I would like for you to be respectful to her while she’s here. Do not make a scene. If you insist, I will ask you to leave. It’s that simple.”
Kevin looked up toward the cabin and saw Starla standing on the deck. “Okay, Dad. But I’m going to need an explanation . . . and soon.”
Jack noticed Starla and felt a wave of relief at the sight of her.
Kevin whispered in his sister’s ear, “This is going to be one hell of a weekend.”
28
Liz and Angela, who had seemingly become best friends, decided that pizza was needed from the Mercantile and sent David and Kevin up to Searsmont for two large pies with everything. Liz insisted that they also pick up a half dozen whoopie pies. Angela could hardly contain herself. The boys hadn’t been gone five minutes before the girls were paddling two kayaks out on the lake. Jack and Starla sat down on the dock to watch them carrying on like two teenage girls.
Jack managed a defensive smile, still disconcerted by the sudden arrival of his entire family at Loon Magic. Starla watched him watching the girls, noticed the worry lines, saw his nervous movements.
“Well,” she began, “so far so good, I would say.”
“Since when did you become an optimist? Kevin isn’t happy. He looks like he knows something, or at least he thinks he knows something. At some point, I’m going to have to level with him . . . ”
Starla decided to change the subject. “Liz seems sweet . . . and Kevin’s girlfriend is gorgeous. What is it with the Rigsby men landing all the beautiful women?”
Jack smiled, then realized a moment later that she had been referring to Evelyn. This woman just won’t give herself a break. He offered up a contrary viewpoint. “Yes, Evelyn was a beautiful woman . . . but you’re beautiful, too, you know.”
Starla immediately pounced. “You bet I am, but you don’t have me.”
Jack was a bit startled, taken back a step. “That’s true, I don’t . . . that’s a fact.”
Their conversation was interrupted by Liz calling out from the lake, “Daddy! You should get your kayak and come out!”
Starla smiled broadly. “How sweet is that? She still calls you daddy?”
“Yep,” Jack answered. “What am I supposed to do when my little girl who is now a grown woman asks me to get in a kayak and join her?”
“You better get out there.”
Jack hauled a third and fourth kayak out from under the deck, wiped the cobwebs clear, and headed out. Starla sat in the bright sunshine, watching them, lost in a surreal moment, feeling like a fly on the wall, an outsider, a poacher. These kids loved Jack—she could tell and she had known them all of thirty minutes.
David and Kevin walked briskly through the French doors onto the deck. Kevin laughed about something, then ordered David to take the last kayak out and round everyone up before the pizzas got cold. Kevin walked down to the dock and lowered himself into the seat next to Starla while making fun of David’s technique.
“You kayak like a girl, dude!”
Starla felt like she should be nervous at the prospect of a private conversation with the most belligerent member of the Rigsby family, but she was surprisingly calm, even exhilarated at the opportunity to speak to one of Jack’s kids without him around. She waited for him to begin, not wanting to appear pushy or overanxious. She glanced at Kevin. He was very much like his father—the same eyes, his facial features a dead giveaway to the world that he was Jack Rigsby’s boy. But Kevin was a serious young man with none of his father’s charm and playfulness.
Kevin stretched out in the Adirondack chair, legs extended to their full length. “So, you’re Starla,” he began. “Where in the world have I heard that name before?” His easy smile hurried away in a frozen second, replaced by a glare.
“I’ve always loved my name. It sounds pretty when you say it out loud. Like you said earlier . . . its unique.” Starla steeled herself and ventured into the depths. “But, I think you know exactly where you’ve heard my name before. How could you forget . . . I’m Starla Deloplane. My son Robert murdered your mother.”
Kevin had not expected such a bold confession. He wasn’t even absolutely sure his suspicions were correct. To hear her confirm the worst with such calm forthrightness unnerved him. He briefly lost his composure, stunned into silence.
Starla stepped into the opening that his silence presented her. “Yes. Your father knows. I told him.”
Kevin was rattled. He shot back, “Have you slept with him?”
“Twice in my life . . . last night, and twenty-six years ago at a hotel called The Hedges. In between, we never even knew each other’s names. In 1990, he was just a lonely, unhappy man, and I was an exhausted, anonymous cocktail waitress. He only learned my real name a week ago.”
Starla stopped abruptly, astonished at how easy it had been, how under control she had felt. Suddenly, silence seemed best. She would wait for him, however long it took.
Kevin’s glare turned away from Starla and out into the water at the group of three kayaks, ten minutes out and closing. He looked back at Starla, more subdued now, chastened by her honesty. “Can you understand why it might be troubling to me that my dad is up here with the mother of his wife’s killer?”
“Of course I can. You have every right to suspect the worst, Kevin. But I’m not here to hurt your father. I want nothing from him. He is actually a wonderful man. I would never do anything to hurt him.”
“And yet you’re here, in Maine. How did you find him? Why would you want to find him after twenty-six years? Especially after what happened with Mom?”
Starla had taken the conversation as far as she felt entitled and authorized to go. The answers to the why questions would have to come from Jack. “You’ll need to ask your father those questions, Kevin.”
The conversation had come to an end. Kevin waved at Angela and Liz, a couple football fields away.
Starla heard herself changing the subject. “You know, I asked your dad the other night whether or not he believed in God. He said he did. I do, too. But we disagreed on what kind of God he was—Old Testament God or New Testament God. What about you?”
“I’m Presbyterian.”
“So, you’re a New-Testament-God kind of guy, then.”
“What, are you Jewish or something?”
Starla chuckled. “No, no . . . ha! I’m non-denominational.”
“So, what’s the difference between New Testament and Old Testament God?” Kevin asked, genuinely curious where this was going.
Starla began her explanation, the kayakers within shouting distance. “Well, Old Testament God was a God of judgement—you did the crime, you served the time sort of thing, while the New Testament God was all about grace and mercy and forgiveness. He’s the God of redemption. Your dad is a New Testament God guy, just like you.”
Kevin smirked at the strange woman across from him, seeing her for the first time. “So, I take it you’re into the Old Testament God?”
“I don’t want to be. I want to believe in a God of second chances—or in my case, third and fourth chances. It’s just hard for me to forgive myself for the mistakes I’ve made, and I figure, if I can’t forgive myself, how can God? Your dad tried to convince me, and he came close, but I still think of God as a righteous judge. Let me ask you a question, Kevin . . . do you think that God could ever forgive me for what my son did to your mother?”
“Seems to me that it’s your son who needs to be forgiven.”
“It’s too late for him. He’s dead. I’m his mother. It now falls to me. Maybe if I had been a better mother, things would have been different.”
Kevin listened to her, mystified at her words, astonished at the unguarded honesty. Who the hell was this woman?
The splash and laughter of the three kayakers broke the spell.
Everyone headed inside for the pizza, which had gotten cold. David slipped the pies one by one into the oven to warm them up while Liz searched the pantry for paper plates. Angela couldn’t stop talking about the lake and how beautiful it was. Jack glanced at Starla across the room and raised his eyebrows in an inquisitive way, wondering how it had gone with Kevin. She smiled back at him with a slight nod as David pulled the pizza out of the oven and began sliding the thick and heavy slices onto flimsy paper plates.
“You better double up those plates,” he joked. “This is Mercantile pizza, baby . . . none of that thin-crust crap.”
Then a sharp rap at the door surprised everyone. Jack headed to the door. Who on earth could this be?
Bobby Landry, sporting his overalls and a thirty-year-old John Deere hat, a shy smile just visible under the cockeyed lid, looked up at him. “Hey, Mr. Rigsby . . . looks like you’ve got company.”
Liz, who had followed Jack, peered over her dad’s shoulder and squealed with delight, “Bobby? Is that you? Hey everybody, it’s Bobby!”
Kevin pulled Angela close, grinning, and whispered in her ear, “Great . . . now it’s a party!”
Bobby came inside and was immediately mobbed with hugs from Liz and Kevin. He had been a favorite of both kids when they were teenagers, drawn to his kind heart and endearing habit of getting on their dad’s nerves. They always took his side when Jack would start complaining about something Bobby had or hadn’t done. It became an ongoing family joke: everyone loved Bobby and pretended that Jack was the bad guy whenever he came around. Evelyn would always ask him to stay for lunch or dinner if he came around close to meal time, which he always seemed to do. Kevin would always say something like, “So, Dad . . . when are you going to give Bobby a raise? He does everything around here!” Jack would always reply, “Well, I keep waiting for him to earn what I’m paying him now!” Now here he was, wearing that filthy hat, being welcomed like a conquering hero. Starla stood in front of the fireplace, totally mystified. Angela’s face wore that stiff smile people get when they’re not sure what the hell is happening.
Jack stepped back from the love-fest, a bemused expression on his face, finally asking, “Bobby, what on earth are you doing here?”
“Well, I thought I’d take advantage of this fine weather to replace them tires on the dock ramp, but from the looks of things, I’m thinking it’s in use!”
Kevin looked at Liz. “Isn’t that just like Bobby? Just about the time the wheels are coming off this family, he miraculously shows up to replace them! The man is a freaking genius. David, get this man some pizza!”
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