From Here to Paternity

now, she was stuck with dresses and hose. She hung up her dress and a few other items that were in her suitcase, then found an extra blanket in the closet and made a nest at the foot of the bed for Willard. By the time she returned to the living room, Shelley was stirring up the embers of the fire and had set out two glasses of wine and a little plate of Wheat Thins and a section of Brie. “You sure know the way to a girl’s heart,“ Jane said, collapsing into the big, deep armchair closest to the fire-Shelley looked at her. “You can disintegrate faster than anyone I’ve ever known.“
    “I know,“ Jane said smugly. “It’s a gift. So how’s it going? Is Paul going to buy this place?“
    “I have no idea. He and the other investors spent the day just looking around. Tomorrow they’re going over all the paperwork and financial statements. The owner’s niece, a really nice woman around our age named Tenny Garner, has put herself in charge of us. If there’s anything you need, just call the front desk and ask for her.“
    “Shelley, the place looked deserted as we drove in.“
    “No, it’s really not. For one thing, it’s awfully late, and for another, the whole place is arranged in such a way that everything seems very isolated and private and disguises the fact that you’re surrounded by mobs of people. That’s one of the advantages.“
    “But, Shelley, who comes to a ski resort without ski facilities—besides you and me and other people dedicated to the sedentary life?“
    “Conventions. Right now there’s a gang of accountants just getting ready to leave, the regional representatives of an agricultural co-op arriving in a couple days, and some kind of historical society meeting now. They’re a tad bizarre. If you run into a woman who looks like Abe Lincoln in drag, you might want to veer off before she can bend your ear.“
    “I think if I spotted such a person I’d hide on general principles without the warning. But thanks anyway,“ Jane said, yawning. “So what’s the plan for tomorrow?“
    Shelley got up and started hunting for her gloves, boots, and hat. “Jane, you have to readjust your thinking. There are no plans! You can do whatever you want. That’s what vacations are for.“
    “I haven’t had one for so long I’d forgotten that. Besides, the last couple of vacations I had were with Steve before he died, and he was a competitive vacationer. So many miles a day to cover, so many sights to see, meals mapped out in advance. Up at the crack of dawn to enjoy—by God!—every minute. Unscheduled potty breaks made him wild.“
    Shelley shuddered dramatically. “If it’s not too crass, may I remind you that Steve is dead and it’s a mercy for a lot of reasons, and besides, this is not that kind of vacation. Get up whenever you feel like it. You can have breakfast brought to you, or come down to the lodge. I suggest the lodge. It’s beautiful. Give me a call when you’re stirring. I put my number on the notepad on the kitchen counter.“
    “Shelley! You said that word again! Kitchen!“
    “Sorry. See you tomorrow.“
    Jane sat for a while, staring at the dying embers of the fire. The wine, the cheese, the warmth of the fire, the comfort of the deep chair—it was all too good to be true. She finally forced herself to get up and stagger to the bedroom. The girls, to her surprise, had actually turned out their lights and seemed to be asleep, although she wondered, from the smell as she looked in on them, if maybe they’d just succumbed to nail polish fumes.
    She had dumped her belongings on the bed nearest the door, so she tumbled into the one closest to the glass doors—which she decided was probably the most comfortable bed in the Western Hemisphere. She dreamed briefly about Abe Lincoln riding a moose before she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Chapter 2

    When Jane finally awoke, she was on her side, facing the glass doors, and for a moment she thought she was dreaming herself into a calendar picture. Blinking, she sat up and gazed in awe. Through the glass doors, beyond the deck, there was a cloudless sky of a pure, clear azure no artist could get away with, and a spectacular rugged, white-crowned mountain peak framed by nearby snow-laden pines. A fat squirrel with tufts on its ears that made it look like a cross between a squirrel and a rabbit sat on the rail of the deck, unabashedly posing. Jane went to the doors and stood mesmerized for long moments. Willard