Page 93 of Until Landon
We walk into a pleasant room, and I can tell Landon is more nervous than I have ever seen. He chews on the inside of his cheek. Another woman walks in from the kitchen adjacent to where we stand. She carries a tray of lemonade and glasses. She places it on the coffee table and pours.
“Hi. I’m Darla, Mabel’s daughter. Here, take one.”
We exchange hellos and each grab a glass none of us are interested in.
With a gesture of her hand, Mabel tells us to sit. She gets to it.
“So what kind of work do you do?”
“I’m a contractor. I’ve swung a hammer for fifteen years now.”
“Uh huh. What about family? I mean beside your wife and boy. You mentioned your father.”
Without a pause, he tells her the truth.
“Unfortunately, I can’t claim them as my own. Kim is my girlfriend and this is her son.”
But it doesn’t faze the woman. She looks him straight in the eyes.
“I’m an old woman.”
Landon doesn’t contradict her. She is too savvy for that kind of bullshit. I met her five minutes ago and I can see that. It’s not his style anyway.
“I’m a desperate man,” he answers.
There. Cards on the table. When she doesn’t respond he continues. “I know it’s probably the worst thing a buyer could do. Telling the seller he’s desperate to buy. But there it is. The car means so much to my family. To my father and sister and to me. Our memories are trapped inside the trunk. Can I show you a photograph?”
She nods and keeps her expression frozen. Reaching inside my tote, I take out the picture and hand it to him. He passes it to Mabel. She silently gazes at the scene and I see her jaw tighten.
“Is this your mother and father?”
“Yes. That’s from the seventies. Before they had to sell. They never would have, but money was tight and there wasn’t another way. My dad always said he was so glad when he found your husband. He knew she was going to be in good hands.”
“So it was a woman to him too, then?”
“Of course. He said the design reminded him of a woman’s beautiful curves. It was never an inanimate object to him.”
“Why didn’t he come?”
“He doesn’t know about my search. I didn’t want to get his hopes up in case I couldn’t find it, or you were not ready to part with it. He lives alone. I know if he had the car he and my mother loved, it would make his life brighter. I see him looking at the photograph of her in the car a lot.”
Mabel’s eyebrows knit.
“Would he drive it or garage it?”
“Oh he’d drive it alright. I won’t hide that. It will be driven and shown off. But at the same time, he’s a car man so it will be taken care of as it should.”
“What about your mother? Does she know?”
“She’s deceased. But if she knew what I was trying to do for him, she’d be all for it. They had a pretty special love. When they were selling the car, my father told me she cried. Not for her loss, but for his. That’s who they were.”
Mabel turns to Hunter. “My Eddie had blue eyes like yours.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Landon
Rays of morning sun spotlight the classic ride. She sits in Wes’ driveway looking like a girl who knows she is beautiful.Look me over and be dazzled.There is something about a car that is alive. This one has a definite personality. It’s ageless swagger. Almost Sixty years old and still in its long prime. I feel cooler sitting in it. Just like I did back when I was ten. My arm automatically stretches atop the seat and my back settles against the right spot. The sounds, the smell, the way it feels. My senses are in overdrive. Maybe Frank and Dean would like to grab a drink.
