Read Barbara Levenson - Mary Magruder Katz 03 - Outrageous October for Free Online Page B

pulled in behind me. Two kids and Madeline spilled out and rushed over to my car.
    “Have you been sitting out here long? My God, I was sure I’d beat you here. Soccer practice was too long.” Madeline practically yanked me out of the car and hugged me hard. She was still dressed in her dark work suit and heels. The years between us slipped away and we began to gab as if high school just ended.
    Nancy and Martin grabbed Sam’s leash and led him onto the lawn where they all proceeded to roll around in the grass. So began forty-eight hours of pure fun for Sam and me. The overnight stop stretched into two nights and by the time I was loaded back into the Explorer with Sam now occupying the front passenger seat, I felt full of good food, good conversation, and a brighter outlook.
    “Remember,” Madeline said as she leaned into my car window, “You’ll know who the right guy is when he comes along, but anyway you can take care of yourself. You always have.”
    As I headed to the interstate, my mind swirled around my two cousins. They were so different; a reflection of the differing backgrounds of my parents. Somehow Hope Magruder and Abe Katz had melded those differences into a successful family life for my brothers and me. I wondered if Carlos and I could have done as well. That led me to think about Carlos’s many cousins, but I knew I had to put everything about Carlos out of my mind and move ahead.
    “We’re moving on,” I said to Sam. “Next stop is High Pines, Vermont, Lucy’s house, and real peace.”

.
    CHAPTER
    FIFTEEN
    Sam and I were finally on the last hundred miles to High Pines. I slowed our pace as we crossed into Vermont. The further north I drove, the more riotous the leaf colors became, ranging from deep scarlet to orange and yellow.
    Each side of the road looked as if Chagall had painted canvases on the landscape. We stopped at a rest area high on a hillside. I took numerous photos with my phone and Sam took care of his dog business. We breathed the fresh brisk air. The thermometer on the dashboard read 55 degrees. When we pulled out of Miami, it had read 89. I told Sam he shouldn’t have shed so much coat which now covered much of the interior of the Explorer. He answered by shivering.
    I decided to check in with Catherine before we got back on the road, but all I got was “out of service area.” Lucy warned me that the mountains cut off transmission from the few cell towers in the state. It wasn’t a tragedy not being bothered by cell phone interruptions. I realized I was not homesick for the stress of court appearances, traffic, excessive heat. However, I couldn’t rationalize that I wasn’t missing Carlos. A month ago, I would have called him to share the scenery I was observing.
    I urged Sam back into the car. The sun was getting lower in the sky. We needed to move on. Soon it would be hard to follow Lucy’s strange directions. “When you near the village, take the turn under the covered bridge. Stop at the general store for groceries. Then proceed through the village past the golf course. Keep following the river until you come to the third dirt road. It winds up a hill and you won’t see anything but woods. Then you’ll come to a meadow. Ahead of you will be a driveway. Turn there and the house will be at the top of the hill. The caretaker will have the house unlocked. I instructed him to leave some lights on for you. Hardly anyone locks up their houses, so don’t worry about carrying keys around, if the caretaker leaves any keys for you.”
    “Don’t these roads have any names?” I had asked Lucy. “Aren’t there street signs?”
    “Everyone knows the names of the roads, so why would signs be needed?” Lucy laughed. “You’ll see how easy it is.”
    We did as directed. The climb up the main road led us to the High Pines Village Green. It was green alright; an oval of inviting grass surrounded by shimmering hills. The general store and post office were really white