Chapter 20
Mr. and Mrs. Miller came to visit her dad at the house the next day, and while her husband was upstairs chatting, Juliet Miller came down to the kitchen to help Nora with the coffee and cookies.
“How are you doing, Nora?” Juliet asked, and Nora smiled and nodded her head.
“I’m fine, thank you, just glad that dad is recovering so well,” Nora replied and when she turned around, she found the older woman staring at her with narrowed eyes. She could sense that something was up, but the fact didn’t strike her immediately.
“Nora, I want you to know that you can confide in me. I know you’ve always felt the absence of a mother in your life, but it would make me very happy if you felt free to talk to me about anything,” Juliet said and Nora crossed her brows and then shook her head.
“Thank you Juliet, for the offer I mean…I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, arranging the cups on the tray. Juliet stepped closer to her and placed her hands on Nora’s shoulders, peering into her eyes.
“You can tell me honey, if you’re going through something,” Juliet insisted.
“I’m fine. Dad is fine and I’m not worried anymore,” Nora said, staring back at the older woman.
“Not just about your dad, about anything that you might want to talk about,” Juliet said and Nora tried to think about what she was actually getting at.
“Do you want to ask me directly what you want to know?” Nora said and Juliet rubbed her shoulders affectionately.
“I’ve been hearing the rumors, but I wanted to speak to you directly…you know how rumors spread in a place like this,” Juliet continued and realization hit Nora.
“What kind of rumors are you talking about?” she asked and Juliet sighed.
“Apparently there was an altercation between Violet and you at the cafe?” she replied and Nora rolled her eyes and tried to wriggle out of her grip.
“Okay, what are they saying?” she asked, turning back to the counter to open the box of cookies. She heard Juliet sigh again.
“That Violet was angry…about something,” she said and Nora felt the back of her neck beginning to burn with fury.
“About what?” she prodded Juliet, who she knew was bursting to talk about it but was trying to pretend to be prudent.
“About Theo for some reason,” she said and Nora whipped around to face her.
“You can go ahead and ask me directly, Juliet,” Nora snapped and she noticed the visible look of shock on the other woman’s face. She had clearly never expected Nora to lose her temper so quickly.
“Okay, are you sleeping with Theo, dear?” she said, and pursed her lips like she was expecting the juiciest gossip. Nora let out a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. This was exactly the reason why she liked to stay away from this place, there was no chance of privacy.
“I don’t think that is anybody’s business, Juliet,” she said, glaring at her while Juliet tried to avoid looking directly at her.
“Well, we are all like family here, dear, and I would feel very guilty if I didn’t warn you or have a talk with you. That is what your mother would have done and what she would have wanted her friends to do,” Juliet said and Nora rolled her eyes again. She turned back to the counter and started arranging the cookies on the plate.
“I don’t know my mother, so I have no idea what to do to please her,” she said in a low voice and she felt Juliet place a cold clammy hand on her shoulder.
“But I knew her, dear, and I want to step in on her behalf. Sleeping with an older man…someone who is your father’s friend, who knew you since when you were a child…it’s just wrong, honey,” Juliet said and Nora shrugged her shoulder away from her touch.
“I didn’t say that I’m sleeping with him. You’re making that assumption based on some rumors and I’m telling you that it is none of your business,” Nora said curtly.
“Well, that is not what your father will think if he found out. He won’t think it’s none of his business,” Juliet said and Nora whipped around to her again.
“Are you threatening me?” she asked, glaring at the older woman and Juliet shrugged her shoulders.
“No, honey…I’m just trying to look out for you,” she said.
“And Theo is your friend too, have you tried having this conversation with him as well?” Nora asked and Juliet’s face colored slightly.
“I wanted to come to you first. Theo is a man, men do things sometimes without thinking about the consequences,” Juliet said and Nora scoffed impatiently. She couldn’t believe how small minded people in this town could be, but then what else did she expect?
“Juliet, you’re lecturing me about something that you don’t even know to be true or not!” Nora snapped.
“And I’m asking you if it’s true or not!”
“I don’t have to tell you that!”
The two of them had raised their voices by now, and when Nora realized it, she dropped the decibel.
“Please just leave me alone, Juliet. My personal life is none of your business and if you want to discuss it with my dad, when he’s trying to recover from a stroke…that is your decision to make,” she said, which rendered Juliet speechless for a few moments.
“Your reaction to this is very telling, Nora,” Juliet said in a much colder voice than before.
“The coffee’s gone cold now, I’ll have to make a new batch,” Nora said, ignoring her statement and Juliet huffed at that, before turning and walking out of the kitchen.
When she was gone, Nora leaned her forehead against the cupboard and pressed her eyes close. She was certain now that everyone was going to find out, and it wouldn’t have bothered her this much if her father wasn’t included in that group.