"Why not?" he barked.

Macy had learned long ago that his gruff exterior disguised a generous, loving heart. Apparently, his mission in life was to hide it. "I brought you dinner."

"It's not even noon," he shouted.

"I know, but I won't be home by dinnertime," Macy shouted back. She made an effort to open the screen only to discover it was locked.

"Come on, Harvey, open the door."

"I locked it for a reason." Taking his time, he ambled into the living room and reluctantly unfastened the screen. He looked none too happy to see her. "I've got more important things to do than answer the door, you know."

"Of course you do." She glided past him and into the kitchen. The newspaper lay on the table, the crossword puzzle half-completed. Harvey read the paper from front to back every day.

Macy set the casserole on the stove, then pulled off her oven mitts and set them aside.

"What's that?" he asked, nodding at the casserole and grimacing with exaggerated disgust.

"Food."

"Don't get smart with me, little girl."

Macy grinned. "It's a new recipe."

"So I'm your guinea pig."

"In a manner of speaking." Harvey had lost weight in the past year. His clothes hung on him and she couldn't help worrying. At eighty-six, his age had finally begun to show. He used to work in his yard year-round and had always taken great pride in his garden and flower beds. Twice now, Macy had mowed his yard for him. If he noticed he didn't say. She had an old push mower that had been her grandmother's, and it was better exercise than working out at the gym. Less costly, too.

Macy avoided anything that required monthly payments, other than those that were unavoidable, like water and electricity. Since she didn't have a steady job, she couldn't count on a regular income. There were a lot of months when she had to resort to digging in the bottom of her purse for lost coins.

"It smells good," Macy said, leaning over the casserole dish and giving an appreciative whiff.

"What's in it?" he asked suspiciously.

"Meat and rice."

"What kind of meat?"

"Chicken," she said. "But when did you get so choosy?"

"I've got my standards," he insisted.

She smiled; it was true--but those standards were starting to slip. She saw dirty dishes stacked in the kitchen sink. That wasn't so unusual at her house, but it was for Harvey. He liked organization, thrived on it, while she was most comfortable in chaos. Perhaps comfortable was putting it too strongly. Saying she was accustomed to chaos would be more accurate. One day she really did intend to put everything in order; she'd have Harvey teach her.

"I don't need you looking after me," he said. "Haven't you got better things to do than feed an old man?"

"Not really," she told him. Granted, she had to get to the studio, but Harvey was a priority. Even if her grandmother hadn't asked Macy to keep an eye on him, she would've done it anyway. "Besides, I'm the one who needs you."

He snorted and sat back down at the table, picking up his pen. "I don't intend to argue with you all afternoon."

"Fine." She tucked the oven mitts under her arm. "Now promise me you'll eat dinner."

He glared at her and shook his head.

Macy sank into the chair across from him with a deep sigh.

"By the way, what's the name of that singer your grandmother liked? It's seven letters."

"Barry Manilow?"

"Yeah, that's the one." He filled in the squares, then immediately started working on the area around that answer.

Macy exhaled again, just to remind him she was still there.

"What are you doing now?" he grumbled, briefly glancing in her direction.

"I'm staying here until you promise me you're going to test my new recipe."

"Well, you'll have a long wait. I haven't been hungry in five years."

"I've got time," she lied.

"Thought you had a job today."

"I do."

"You're going to be late."

"In that case, they might not ask me to work for them again." Actually, that was more of a guarantee. In Sharman's world, as he'd repeatedly pointed out, time was money.

Harvey snorted once more. "I suppose you're going to blame me if you lose this job."

"I'll probably lose everything," she said dramatically.

"You could always sell your art. That is, if you ever finished a project."

Macy shrugged. "Not much of a market for it in this economy."

He muttered something under his breath. "If I agreed-- and I do mean if--would I have to eat the whole thing in one sitting?"

"Don't be silly."

"You're the silly one," he said. "Don't know why you can't leave an old man alone."

"But, Harvey, you're my best friend."

"Me and all those cats you're constantly feeding. What you need is a dog."

"I prefer cats." It was really the other way around; the cats seemed to prefer her. She had Snowball, Peace and Lovie, who were her inside friends, and there were an additional four or five who showed up at irregular intervals, expecting a handout. They'd sort of adopted her. She'd never gone looking for pets; they just seemed to find her.

"Get," Harvey said, waving both hands at her. "Go on. Get out of here."

"Sorry, can't do it until you give me your word."

"You're as bad as your grandmother."

"Worse," she returned. "Or so you've told me dozens of times."

"Okay, worse. No need to quibble about it. I'll have you know this was a nice, peaceful neighborhood until your grandmother moved in. Just my luck that she willed you the place. Between the two of you, I haven't had a moment's rest in over forty years."

"You love me." He'd deny it to his dying day, but Macy knew otherwise. He'd loved her grandmother, too--more than he'd ever admit.

"No, I don't," he stated emphatically. "I tolerate you. Your grandmother turned out to be a good friend, but you need someone to keep an eye on you and it's not going to be me."

"We need each other," she said and meant it. Harvey was her last link to her beloved grandmother. Lotty Roth had adored Macy and her curly red hair and her quirky personality. Macy had always been...different. While other children got involved in sports and music and dance, Macy had been what her grandmother referred to as a free spirit. She'd never had any interest in organized activities, and her artistic abilities were developed on her own. She'd rather stand in front of a painting at a museum or a gallery, absorbing its beauty and skill, than analyze the artist's techniques in a classroom.

She could remember once, in sixth grade, being called upon to answer a history question about the Civil War. She'd stood quietly next to her desk, and the teacher had repeated the question. Macy knew the answer, but she'd been thinking about something else that seemed far more important at the time--her plans to draw one of her cats and how much fun it would be once she got out of class to sit down with Princess and a pencil and pad. When her teacher demanded an answer, Macy started talking about Princess and her antics, and soon everyone was laughing-- except Mrs. Moser, who'd sent her to the principal's office for disrupting the class. As her father used to ruefully say, Macy was a few French fries short of a Happy Meal.

Her grandmother had been her one ally when it seemed Macy didn't have a friend in the world. Grandma Lotty's home was her refuge. Like Macy, Lotty Roth had possessed an artist's soul, and that was something they'd had in common. They'd seen the world in a similar way, from their passionate love of animals to their delight in unconventional people and places. When her grandmother died two years earlier, to everyone's surprise she'd left Macy her house.

Macy had loved this old home with its gingerbread trim and immediately painted it yellow with bright red shutters. The white picket fence was still white but only because she'd run out of paint. Harvey frequently complained that the house looked as if someone from Candy Land had moved in next door.

"You're gonna be late," Harvey said now.

"Guess so," she said with an exaggerated yawn.

"Didn't you just tell me that if you showed up late one more time they wouldn't use you again?"

"Yup. That's what Mr. Sharman said."

Harvey closed his eyes and threw back his head. "So when you lose the house, you'll tell me I should let you live in one of my spare bedrooms."

"Could I?" she asked cheerfully.

"No," he snapped.

"All it'll take to avoid a complete upheaval of your life is a simple promise."

"That's blackmail."

"But it's for your own good." She glanced pointedly at her watch. "It'd be a real shame to lose this job, not to mention a potential career in radio commercials."

"For crying out loud," Harvey said and slammed down his pen. "All right, I'll eat some of the casserole."

Relieved, Macy grinned, leaped up from the chair and kissed his leathery cheek. "Thank you, Harvey."

The old man rubbed the side of his face, as if to wipe away her kiss. He frowned in her direction.

Macy, on the other hand, couldn't have been more delighted.

"Gotta scoot," she said as she bounded out the door. "See you later."

"Don't hurry back," he shouted after her.

Macy grinned. Harvey loved her the same as he had her grandmother. She'd figured out years ago that the louder he fussed, the deeper his affection.

Home again, Macy grabbed her purse and car keys and hurried outside. If she made every green light, she wouldn't be more than five minutes late.

Mr. Sharman might not even notice.

Chapter Five

I didn't call Winter and she didn't try to reach me again, either. The truth is, I've never been much good at this dating thing. When I first met Hannah, she made everything so easy. I was attracted to her; she was attracted to me. I like that kind of honesty and straightforwardness. You so often find it in children, less often in adults, which is one reason I chose pediatrics. I'd make more money in another specialty, but I've only ever wanted to work with kids.

Frankly, I regretted going to the French Cafe. I wasn't ready to go out into the world; life was complicated enough. Still, Winter's phone number sat on the corner of my office desk and seemed to taunt me. I lost track of time while I looked at it. Then indecision would overcome me once again and I'd glance away.

Friday nights were always the worst for me. Hannah and I had made a practice of doing something special on Fridays. She called it our date night. That didn't mean we went out for fancy dinners and dancing or stuff like that. We couldn't have afforded it in the early years. But on Friday nights we spent time together, no matter what. Our "date" could be cuddling on the sofa, watching a rented movie and ordering pizza, or--especially later on-- it might be a full-blown dinner party with three or four other couples.

Hannah loved to host parties. She enjoyed cooking and having friends over. She made everything look effortless and possessed a gift for making others feel comfortable. I'd come to enjoy these occasions far more than I'd ever expected.