44 Book Five (3 page)

Ty was spending his weekend pouring at an event. He invited me to come along, but I passed. I was pretty tired and was looking forward to hanging out and watching some black and white movies and catching up on my sleep.

Yawning, I thought again about the soccer ball way up in the sky as I turned toward home.

***

The sound of a lone frog echoed in the darkness. I was sitting in the big Adirondack chair pushed up near the pond, staring at the dark silhouettes of the moving trees.

The air smelled heavy, like it was raining somewhere far away. But there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, just thousands of glittering stars in the darkness, reminding me of Ty.

He had been teaching me a little bit about the night sky this summer, showing me the details of the world above. I had never given it much thought before, but there was an entire universe up there, full of life and myths and stories and passion.

And sitting out here like this, when I thought about Ty, I usually also thought about Jesse.

It didn’t make any sense that I loved them both. But that’s how I felt. I couldn’t help it.

I had seen Jesse only a couple of times during the summer. We walked through the park along the river and I told him about work and a little bit about my new friends. I asked him about what he did but he never said too much about where he was spending his time, just that he was somewhere else.

We rarely talked about Ty, but I was sure he knew about him. He had to.

Thinking about Jesse standing in the shadows of my life and watching me fall in love with someone else sent a wave of sadness through me.

I held the air in my lungs and then blew it out slowly.

“I’ll always love you, Jesse,” I whispered into the wind, hoping it would take the message to him.

Hoping that he would understand.

CHAPTER 4

“Really?” I said to Ty. “He really asked that?”

We were sitting outside on the upstairs deck, overlooking Bond Street, eating dinner at the Deschutes Brewery Pub. Cars rumbled below us and people walked, some stumbled, along the sidewalk.

“Yep,” he said, smiling and wiping his mouth with a napkin. “It happened just like I said. The guy was from out of town and with a straight face, he asked me for a
butt
beer.”

We both laughed again, my nose stinging from the Coke shooting up.

“He said it,” Ty said. “Really. It’s a direct quote. ‘I’ll have one of those black butt porters.’”

“So what did you tell him?” I said.

“I told him he’d have to go to Deschutes Brewery for the butt beer. That they made it, not us. The group he was with busted up and someone told him that the beer is called Black
Butte
Porter, not Butt Porter. The poor bastard turned all red.”

Ty smiled in that way that sent chills through me and as I looked at him, those tingling feelings inside rose up in waves. He reached across the table and took my hand.

“Sorry I can’t hang out with you tonight,” he said. “I feel really bad about it.”

We were supposed to be going out, but he had gotten called into work. He was learning about brewing and they were starting a new batch later.

“Don’t feel bad. It’s a great opportunity.”

The waiter came over and put down the beer that Ty had ordered on the table.

“Okay,” he said, nodding his head. “You’ve gotta try this. On tap it’s totally different and I think you’ll like it now.”

I took a sip of the foaming liquid. He was right. It was a lot better than the bottled version. But I still liked the pale ales best.

“Not bad,” I said.

He smiled as he stuffed the rest of his elk burger in his mouth. I finished the last of the sweet potato fries on my plate and drained my Coke.

“So all your groups on the river were all right today?” I asked. “I noticed some exuberant types with you there at the end.”

“They weren’t too bad,” he said.

Ty never minded the rowdy teens and they usually wound up in his raft. He was pretty good with them and was able to keep the young punks in line.

“How about your groups?” he asked.

“They were all fine. Those ladies from the photography workshop in the last run were really nice. I got some serious tips from them, too.”

“Money tips or photography tips?” he asked.

I held up my hand and rubbed my thumb and fingers together.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” he said.

I watched as a large group walked behind Ty and headed over to the empty table at the far end of the balcony. I recognized a few of them from soccer, players on some of the other teams. I waved when one of them looked over at me. He waved back.

“It’s so busy in here tonight,” I said. “I’m surprised we haven’t bumped into any of our rafting customers.”

“That’s no coincidence. I always tell them to go over to Ten Barrel, that we have the better product. Which is true, you know.”

I smiled.

“Then why are we here?”

“Research,” he said.

I sat back.

“Oh, so Kate said she’ll come to The Shins with us. She’s writing a story on people who go to the concerts for free while they float on the river.”

“Good,” he said, smiling. “It’s about time she gets in the canoe and does a Schwab concert right.”

The river ran right by the outdoor venue and some people floated in watercrafts, listening to the concerts.

“What is she up to these days?” he asked.

“Working on some big story. She seems like her old self again.”

I loved all the work Kate had done on the house, but I was glad when she started putting in extra hours at the newspaper again. Journalism was in her blood and it was where she belonged.

“I’ll be right back,” Ty said.

I stared out at the street. Some girls wearing bikini tops drove by and honked at a group of guys walking down the street. They whistled and started punching one another on the arm.

As I glanced over at the soccer players a few tables away, I noticed someone standing behind one of them. He was an older man, maybe a grandfather or uncle. He was smiling as he watched her eat. 

I looked away quickly, even though there was nothing wrong, nothing that the old man ghost wanted from me. I saw these ghosts occasionally, but I always heard Jesse’s voice in my head, telling me to focus on this world, not the ghost world.

Ty and I still didn’t talk about it, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Sometimes I hated it because it felt like there was an elephant ghost in the room that nobody spoke about. And if something came up, like a problem, I knew that Ty wasn’t the one I could go to for help.

But at other times, I kind of liked that he wasn’t all that interested in ghosts. He was unusual that way. Most people had a strong opinion about it one way or another. And not talking about it was sometimes a good thing.

In some ways, Jesse would be happy about Ty. He would like that I found someone who could give me a normal kind of life.

Ty walked back, bringing his sunglasses down over his eyes.

“Sorry I have to get going, Abby. They just called. I guess they’re starting earlier. I told them I was on my way. Actually, I think I’ll just walk.”

The waiter came with the check and Ty handed him his credit card.

He reached across the table and took my hand.

“I wish I could hang out with you longer,” he said.

I stared at him and for a moment, it was only us. I wondered if that was what it was going to feel like when we were together. That we would be one and everything else would fall away except these feelings fluttering around.

“Me too,” I said. “Next week though I want a real date. Dinner. Movie. The whole kit and caboodle.”

“Wow,” he said. “The whole kit and caboodle. I guess things are getting serious between us.”

He smiled as the waiter came back, breaking our eye contact. Ty signed the receipt.

We walked down the stairs, past the small crowd waiting for seats, and outside. We lingered for another moment in front of the pub and then he kissed me goodbye.

“I love you, Abby,” he whispered as his hand fell on my waist.

Those strong feelings moved fast around me, but again the words stuck hard in my throat. But he wasn’t waiting for a response.

“Okay. I’ll call you on my break. Have a good night.”

“Okay. Bye.”

I watched him walk away.

CHAPTER 5

“Hey Abby,” Kate said. She was pouring hot water into a mug, the tea bag bouncing up and down.

“Hi,” I said.

Her hair was pulled up in a loose bun on top of her head and she was wearing an old T-shirt that was splattered with paint, the one she always wore when she was fixing up the house. 

“There can’t be anything left to paint in here,” I said as I passed by, staring at the stains on the shirt.

“No, the house is done,” she said. “It’s just comfortable.”

I knew it was also Dr. Mortimer’s. She had brought it home back one morning when they were dating. I wondered if she had gotten an email from him. He was still in India, working in a hospital.

“Want some tea? I just opened up a fresh Earl Grey.”

I smiled, not sure if there was such a thing as fresh tea in a box.

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I was tired, which meant there was a likely chance of sleeping through the night. I wasn’t taking the sleeping pills anymore and most nights I was okay. It was good to be tired. It helped calm my thoughts. When I had something on my mind, I usually found myself outside staring up at the stars, waiting for dawn.

I took a quick shower and walked back out into the living room with wet hair. It was warm in the house. I found Kate on the sofa, watching one of those crime shows she loved. She was good at solving the cases and usually had it figured out after the first few minutes.

She handed me a cup and we watched the segment. It was about a husband who was suspected of murdering his wife even though no body had been found. They were trying to build the case on blood evidence and testimonials.

Kate muted the TV when it went to a commercial.

“So how was your day?” she asked, folding her legs and turning toward me.

“It was fine. Easy runs, friendly people. And no one fell in.”

It was a lame attempt at a joke, but when I saw Kate’s face fall for a minute I wished I hadn’t said it. She was still uncomfortable about me being a river guide and sometimes I forgot that it was best not to give her too many details about my day.

She sighed, but then forced a smile.

I took a sip of tea. It was just how I liked it, not too strong with a little cream.

“Were you able to get ahold of that guy today?”

She nodded.

“You bet I did. It wasn’t easy. He was avoiding me, so I finally just drove over there and waited outside his office.”

I cringed. Since the bombing, I had a new perspective on reporters.

 Kate picked up on my thoughts right away.

“This guy’s a predator, Abby. It’s not at all like your situation. And he’s a public employee. He works for the city. He doesn’t get to hide.”

“So how long did you have to wait for him?”

“About twenty minutes. He was trying to sneak out the back door, but I caught up to him. I threatened to run the story with what I had, which wasn’t going to be flattering. He talked, denying it. So at least I have a few quotes from him now.”

It was nice seeing the old spark back in Kate’s eyes as she talked about her job. Writing stories like this one was what she lived for.

“Excellent,” I said.

Our lives had really gotten back to normal.

The only thing that wasn’t like before was that Dr. Mortimer was still gone. I didn’t know what Kate was going to do. I had the sense she was still waiting, still hoping that he would sort things out and make his way back to her. But it was hard to ignore that he seemed to be building a life for himself in India. And I knew that it must hurt, although she didn’t talk about it much. 

“Is Ty working tonight?”

“Yeah, every night this week,” I said. “I barely see him anymore.”

She laughed.

“Well, except all day on the river. You two seem good together. Happy.”

“Yeah,” I said. “We are.”

“That’s great,” she said, smiling.

She unmuted the TV. The agents were off to arrest the husband.

I got up.

“Ouch!” she said. “That’s gotta hurt.”

“It does,” I said, holding my breath until the pain passed. “That’s the one thing I hate about leather sofas. Summer.”

I took the cups into the kitchen.

“Well, it’s late. I think I’ll head to bed,” Kate said when I came back. “Oh, I found an article today on how to buy tickets to the soccer games in Barcelona. I sent you an email.”

I had been saving for my Barcelona trip, and the extra hours I worked all summer were helping me to believe that I was actually going to go. Plus I had a little money that our mom had left me.

“Cool,” I said. “I’ll read it tonight. I hope you can come too, Kate. When was the last time we went on a real vacation?”

“It’s been too long. I might be able to make it happen. We’ll see.”

I said goodnight and stepped out in the backyard, watching the trees and listening to the frogs.

CHAPTER 6

I turned the sign over and pulled down the blinds. I collected the unopened sugar packets that had been left on the counter and put them back in the little ceramic container.

David put down the stack of money he was counting.

“Really, Abby Craig, in my own defense, Paloma Suárez looks a lot different than when she came in here that day. I mean
a lot
different.”

I was long over his temporary bout of amnesia, but I was still giving him a hard time. David had told me where Paloma worked. I had never been to Club 6 before.

“Really?” I said.

“Oh, yeah. At the club she wears a lot more makeup and little outfits with lots of shimmer and sparkle to spare. It’s like Chris Isaak designs her threads. You know, dancers have to look hot.”