Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time - Chp 23

Maria Hale only noticed how tired her daughter looked that night at dinner. It was true Margaret was quieter than usual, and ate a small dinner, but she had spoken of working long hours at the bakery. There was no reason to think the worse. If there was anything truly wrong, her child would say so and Richard would fix things.

It had been the first dinner the three had together at the new house. It was much closer to her sister's place, just four streets away, than any intended, but Maria had fallen in love with the house on her first visit. Richard Hale left the final choice to her. She had already decided on how to decorate for Christmas. Fred would be home then and they could spend it there rather than retreating to the countryside or up north.

The smaller sitting room overlooking the backyard garden was lovely with the large, circular, paneled windows. They could look up and see the stars from there, but still be covered by the half roof above them. Maria left her husband and daughter a moment while she got their coffee. No one seemed hungry for dessert yet so she didn't ask a second time if they wanted some.

"You're very quiet, my dear?"

Richard Hale waited until his wife left before questioning their child. She would be a few minutes away, giving them more than enough time to talk.

"Just tired, Father. Running a business is hard work."

"I expect it would be, but it seems more than that."

The look he gave her felt too inquisitive on Margaret's part. She didn't like the feeling of being so carefully scrutinized.

"What else is there? I've worked six days a week for over two weeks now. I'm tired."

"You haven't taken time any time off?"

"No."

"That would explain the tiredness, but not why John didn't join us tonight."

Margaret felt herself stiffen at that. She was very aware of how long it had been since she had seen John.

"There was no reason to believe he would, Father."

"But, I thought we had decided you would invite him?"

Margaret didn't want to be reminded of that promise.

"That was before," she simply answered.

Richard gave his child a once over, understanding filled his eyes as he nodded and sat back in his cushioned chair.

"I shouldn't have said anything," he told her. "You'll have to forgive your father for being a bit nosey."

"No harm done."

"So it was Callum you visited in Milton then? Tara mentioned you went there a couple of weeks ago."

"She said that?"

Neither she nor Tara talked much about her impromptu visit to Milton. She had been loath to speak of it, as it would inevitably bring up John in conversation.

"We had stopped at the bakery one day, Tuesday last, or was it two weeks ago? No matter, she mentioned you had gone to Milton for the day."

"It was on other business, Father. If I had the time, I would certainly have visited Mr. Bell."

That much was true. Margaret had contemplated visiting especially after seeing his name on the seller's list. It had worried her at first seeing his name there; thinking something ominous was at hand but not now. The man had a house full of antiques. Selling some of them would not be out of the ordinary.

"Consider making a visit soon, Margaret. It's been a long while since you've seen your godfather."

"He's still lives all alone?"