“Yeah.” There is a beat then, in which a look crosses Cathy’s face, ominous and dark as cold coffee. “I don’t anymore, though.”
“You not seen her yet?”
“Nope. We were meant to be meeting for lunch today but she hasn’t showed. She’s never even met her nephew here. That’ll teach me to get my hopes up, I guess.”
“Oh hey, no. I’m sure there’s a good reason. Hazel wouldn’t just stand you up.”
“Honey, no offense, but you haven’t seen Hazel in ten years. I think it embarrassed her the way things turned out for me.”
Suzie frowns. “Did you go to the wedding?”
A pause. Cathy’s lips wobble but she grits her teeth against a fresh wave of tears. “Yeah, I did. Her husband Joe didn’t like me much. They put ‘no children’ on the invite and sat me at the back on a table with their neighbors who kept calling me Katie. Me and Hazel fell out that day and haven’t spoken for about five years. Like I said, she was embarrassed by me. Still is, looks like.”
The teens are laughing in the distance, pulling tricks on their boards and hitching up their baggy trousers.
“My life turned to shit when I moved away.” Cathy gives Suzie a weak smile. “But I’m sure that isn’t news to you. I know what this town’s like for gossip. So let me get the record straight before I go any further, okay? Yes, I made bad choices. Bad choices in the business I invested in, the men I slept with, and how I dealt with it all. When Scout’s daddy walked out on us, he took everything except the debts, which he left at my door. I had to use the last of my savings just to get a deposit on the rental, and now I’m working two jobs and using a food bank. I can’t even get a fucking credit card!”
Scout starts fussing and Cathy reaches for the buggy with her cigarette clamped between her teeth, moving the pram briskly back and forth.
“I went to get some money out today so I could pay for lunch. I was going to take Hazel for sushi and I wanted to be able to say, ‘I’ll get this.’ Probably lucky she didn’t show because I’ve just checked my balance and I’m back to zero again. Least till payday.”
“Listen, I can help—”
“God, no. No. That’s not what I’m sayingatall. Jesus, Suzie.”
“Sorry, I just thought—”
“What?” Cathy sneers. She looks flushed and anxious, her leg jittering up and down. It’s embarrassment, Suzie realizes. “You thought what?”
“I want to help you.”
“Of course you do. Hasn’t that always been your way? But I’m not asking for money. Not trying to be a bitch here, sweetie, but you never were the sharpest, were you?”
There, Suzie thinks. Just a flash of the old spiky Cathy Maddon, like a minnow glimpsed swimming upstream. Discomfort burns deep in her chest. She considers standing up and walking away—after all, she tells herself, she’s an adult now. She doesn’t have to be afraid of this woman anymore. But then Cathy’s face sags and she looks like she might cry again and Suzie—the girl voted most likely to save the world in high school—holds her nerve and keeps her voice level.
“You know my mother always said that kindness is free to give, and priceless to receive. That’s all I’m offering you, Cathy. Kindness.”
Cathy draws in a quick sharp breath, eyes narrowed to slits. Suzie holds her gaze, almost challenging her. Then the moment breaks, and Cathy turns away, bending to unclip the toddler from the stroller. He sits dazed before breaking into a big gummy grin.
“Hello, darling!” Suzie reaches out a hand. Scout grabs her finger with his warm, chubby fist, still smiling. “You have a good sleep?”
“This isn’t your auntie, kid.” Cathy grinds the cigarette out under the sole of her boot. “So don’t get excited.”
She lifts him into her arms and turns him on her knee to face Suzie. He yawns, his face round and full as a moon. Suzie grins back. She can’t help it.
“Well, Hazel’s missing out.” Suzie tickles the boy under his chin. “Because he is adorable.”
“I just don’t understand it, you know?” Cathy frowns. “I mean, it washerwho reached out tome. She sounded so sincere.”
Suzie wonders if Cathy is about to start crying again, but instead she spins Scout back round to face her and buries her face in his neck, making kissing sounds. The little boy laughs, tilting backward, flailing his arms. His face radiates a simple, easy joy that makes Suzie laugh herself.
“I’d better go,” she tells Cathy as Scout settles onto his mother’s lap, twisting his hands in her blond curls. “Teddy’s waiting for me. We’ve got lots to do this afternoon.”
“Okay, Suzie. Thanks for the coffee.”
“Listen, I saw Hazel yesterday in the pharmacy. I’ll admit it gave me a shock, looking up and seeing her standing there. She seemed well, if a bit distracted.”
“Oh yeah?”