“There are a lot of people in this area who miss him. Nate and I were talking. I think Fred touched more lives than anyone realized. I’ve never seen that big a funeral here before.”

“How did you know him?”

“Through a friend of mine. I commented on his garden one time and he said Fred and Ginny gave them many plant starts, he had the best tomatoes around, said Fred kept his own seeds from his grandpa’s gardens. I guess they call tomatoes like that heritage, no, that’s not right.”

“Heirloom? Do you plant a garden?”

“Not a very big one anymore. Gloria, my ex, still makes my strawberry and peach freezer jams, blueberry syrup, and hamburger pickles. I provide the produce. Oh, and she makes great salsa.”

“Really?”

“I know, it is really strange, but we are the best of friends; we just couldn’t live together. I thought after she married again, that some of these things would change, but Norm is a grand guy, so we’re all friends.”

Roxie nodded. “You know how amazing that is?”

“I think I do.” He nodded and half shrugged. “Another thing to be grateful for. When the children were still at home, they spent time at both of our houses, easy since our houses are so close together. I don’t tell a lot of people because they’d think I am making it up.” He flashed his lights for them to pick up the tray.

“Would you like to go sailing Sunday afternoon, if there is a breeze and no rain? I never have enjoyed boating in wet weather. A good wind is another thing.”

Roxie nodded without needing time to think. “Thanks, I would love that.”

“Have you ever crewed before?”

“Nope.”

“I’ll ask Nate to come and he’ll ask Loren and…make sure you bring a windbreaker and wear nonslip shoes.”

At the end of the date, he walked her to her door and smiled down at her. “Thank you for a really great evening. See you Sunday.” He bobbed his head once and headed for his SUV. Halfway there, he turned around and blew her a kiss. “Night.”

Roxie let herself in the quiet house and leaned against the door after closing it. And here she’d been wondering what it would be like to kiss him. She needn’t have been concerned after all, not that she’d spent a lot of time thinking about it. “Hey, Sir Charles, where’s Loren?” She peeked in the family room but the TV was dark. Surely she hadn’t gone to bed already. Checking the kitchen counter where they left messages as to where they were, she found a note that said:

Remember we are going to hit the garage sales. Leave here at 6:45. Breakfast at Annie’s, post garage sales.

A bit cryptic but typically Loren.

The cat greeted her with a chirp and winding around her legs. Still smiling, Roxie scooped up Juno and headed for the stairs. Sure enough, Loren was sound asleep. How strange. She wasn’t sick, was she? Roxie almost let her mother instincts take over but instead went on to her room and got ready for bed. Garage sales started at seven, as in a.m. That’s why Loren went to bed early. Juno jumped up on the bed and Sir Charles flopped on the rug beside it. He knew that only by invitation was he allowed on the beds. And those invitations usually came from Loren.