Jeanie came back over to the new releases table. “I love that boy.”
“Me too,” Grace said.
“His wife’s lucky to have such a romantic husband,” Dot said.
“Danny? No, no. He’s not married. The book is for the nurse who took care of his mom when he was in college. She died of breast cancer his junior year,” Jeanie said.
“Oh. I’m so sorry to hear that. No wonder he looked so sad.” Dot felt bad for jumping to conclusions. But noted that he was unattached.
“Unfortunately, he carries around a lot of grief,” Ted said. “After playing college football over in Madison, he got engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Sadie Tibbets. She was a pistol, that one. Loved him like crazy. Went to all his games.”
Dot noticed the use of past tense regarding Sadie. “What happened to her?”
“Oh, it was terrible,” Jeanie said. “To make a long story short, she was killed by a drunk driver just about two years ago now.”
“That’s absolutely terrible,” Dot said, wincing at the thought.
They all looked out the window, watching Danny get into his truck.
“Did the driver... ?” Dot started to ask about his fate but Grace interrupted her.
“Nope. Not even a scratch,” Grace said.
“But he’s serving a double life sentence,” Ted added.
“Was there someone else in the car?”
“Well... yes. Danny and Sadie’s unborn baby girl. She was eight months pregnant,” Grace said.
Dot gasped.
“They were engaged when she found out she was pregnant,” Jeanie explained. “They postponed the wedding until she was due. They wanted their daughter to be at their wedding.”
“He always wanted to get married and have a family.” Ted added, “He wanted to be a father. Never knew his own.”
Grace began straightening the books on the table. “He’s like a son to me. Been friends with my three boys since they were kids.”
“Well, he’s certainly fortunate to have you,” Dot said, and with that sad and sober end to their friendly chat, she thought she better get going. She threw her backpack back on her shoulder.
“Could I buy these before I go?” She added the latest from Patti Callahan Henry and handed it to Jeanie.
“Oh, yes. I love her books. Did you read the last one? It was so good.” They talked about books for a few more minutes. They had similar tastes in fiction.
Finally, needing to get back to work, Dot made a move toward the door.
“Ted, I’ll see you on the bus!” Dot said, the bell ringing as she stepped outside.
“And don’t be a stranger!” Jeanie called to her.
“Oh, I’ll be back with my girlfriends. They’ll love this place. Thanks again!”
As she went out the door and turned right to head back to the office, she didn’t bother putting in her AirPods. Instead, she thought about the new people she’d just met, and of Danny Dawson and what he’d been through. She guessed that you never really knew what people were dealing with on the inside.
Something her doorman Albert had told her back in New York came to mind. “Everyone is always going through something.”
Wasn’t that the truth.
Chapter 20