Chapter 5
Danny shut the stockroom door.
"The shop doesn't buy that."
"It's not buying anything."
"Then don't put them together."
Carol's voice sharpened.
"I can't keep being punished."
"I'm going back to work."
"Danny."
He waited.
She said nothing else.
Afterward, he wrote the call's details on receipt paper.
The rent.
The rules.
The last condition.
He folded it into his wallet.
That evening, Nana Ruth found him studying it.
"What's that?"
"Something I wanted to make sure I heard."
He handed it over.
She read it once.
Then she slid it back.
"You can keep your hand tools here."
"There's no place to work."
"I know."
Danny looked toward the box beside her cupboard.
"I don't want to lose his shop."
"I know that, too."
She sat down.
"But he isn't locked inside it."
Danny pressed his thumb against the receipt's crease.
"I can still smell him in there."
Nana Ruth looked away.
When she turned back, her eyes were wet.
"His coat's in that bottom drawer."
Danny nodded.
She left the choice with him.
The next afternoon, Danny called his mother.
"I'll come Christmas Eve."
Her voice brightened.
"Good."
"But I'm not pretending."
The brightness went out.
"What are you planning?"
"I want us to talk after supper."
"Not in front of everybody."
"Not the whole church."
He named Hannah and Nana Ruth.
Then the two neighbors from Thanksgiving.
"They heard it start."
Carol said nothing.
"They can hear what actually happened."
"What are you going to tell them?"
"What Dad wrote."
"That's private."
"It was addressed to me."
She took a long breath.
"All right."
Danny called Vince next.
The older man answered before the second ring.
"Hey, Danny."
"Christmas Eve, after the church supper."
"I'll be there."
"I want answers without Mom answering for you."
"You'll get them."
Danny looked at the box on Nana Ruth's table.
"Did you know about her offer?"
"What offer?"
Danny explained the shop.
Vince went quiet.
Then he said,
"No."
"I thought you should."
"I'll talk to her."
"Don't fix it for me."
Vince let out a slow breath.
"Okay."
On Christmas Eve, snow lay along the fellowship hall windows.
Paper stars hung over folding tables.
Volunteers carried empty casserole dishes toward the kitchen.
Danny arrived with Nana Ruth and Hannah.
Carol stood near the coffee urn.
There was no ring on her hand.
Danny noticed.
He didn't ask.
Vince stood across the room in his canvas coat.
He raised one hand.
Danny nodded back.
They ate at separate tables.
Nobody announced anything.
Nobody tapped a glass.
After the last plates were cleared, the two neighbors stayed.
The other families carried leftovers toward the parking lot.
A volunteer turned off half the overhead lights.
Carol approached Danny with a manila envelope.
"The rental agreement."
He took it.
"Is there still a condition?"
"I wrote down what we discussed about using the garage."
"That's not what I asked."
She glanced toward the others.
"Can we sit down?"
They gathered at a table near the windows.
Nana Ruth placed the cigar box in front of Danny.
She had carried it inside at his request.
Carol watched him open the lid.
The photograph lay on top.
Danny set it in the middle of the table.
No one reached for it.
He took out Frank's letter.
Vince's shoulders lowered as he saw the envelope.
Carol spoke first.
"Vince and I aren't setting a wedding date right now."
Hannah looked at her mother's bare hand.
"Is it over?"
Carol didn't answer.
Vince did.
"We haven't settled that."
Danny placed the letter beside the photograph.
"Then don't settle it by counting me as a yes."
Vince nodded.
Carol looked at the manila envelope.
Danny opened it and read the agreement.
Six months.
One hundred dollars.
The side-yard entrance.
A space for his signature.
Carol had signed nothing yet.
He put it down.
"I'd like to use the shop."
His mother nodded.
"I know."
"But I'm not coming back to live with you."
Carol's mouth tightened.
"And I'm not asking Hannah to forget."
"I didn't ask you to."
"You asked me to stand with you."
She glanced at Vince.
He kept his eyes on Danny.
Nana Ruth moved her chair closer to her grandson.
Danny unfolded the first page.
He looked around the table before speaking.
Hannah had clasped her hands beneath her chin.
The neighbors waited without moving.
Carol's fingers rested on the unsigned agreement.
Danny held his father's letter in both hands.
"I'm not reading this to help you get married."