Finding Abigail (11 page)

I stood up,
taking a few steps toward the kitchen. Nick grabbed my hand, stopping me
mid-step. “Where are you going?”

His question
surprised me; where did he think I was going? “I’m going to see if your mother
would like some help in the kitchen.” He smiled as I continued out the door.

She was humming
to a classical song that was playing quietly on the radio. “Would you like some
help in here? Basketball doesn’t really appeal to me.”

She spun
around, her round face lighting up as she smiled. “I feel the same way, but I
think I have it all under control. Unless you’d like to set the table.
Everything’s out there in the dining room.” She layered the garlic bread onto a
plate. “Tina should be along in a minute. She called, Hannah just woke up from
her nap. Have you met Tina yet?”

“No. We were
supposed to go out to dinner with them last week, but Nick got a break in the
case he was working on and had to cancel.”

“Ah…yes, things
don’t always go as planned when you’re with a policeman. But you accept it
since its important work.”

“Speaking from
experience,” I guessed, leaning against the doorjamb.

Sofia
stopped grating cheese and smiled. “Yes, thirty-five years. If they
don’t come home for dinner, you worry they won’t come back at all. But when
they do, and they got the bad guy, or stopped someone from hurting someone
else, it makes it all worthwhile.” I could see the adoration in her eyes. She
was definitely proud of her policemen.

“What does Tina
do?”

“She’s a nurse
over at County. She’s on maternity leave right now. Nick didn’t tell you?”

My brow
furrowed as I wondered why he wouldn’t. “No, which is weird since I told him my
mother’s a nurse there.”

Sofia
opened the oven door and pulled out the large casserole dish filled
with manicotti. “Is she? I wonder if Tina knows her.” She set the dish on the
counter and closed the oven door. “Here she is now, we’ll ask her.”

I turned around
to the sound of the front door opening.

“I’m sorry
we’re late, but Hannah desperately needed to sleep.” Tina walked down the
hallway towards me. I moved back to let Sofia by to steal the baby in her arms.
Tina’s hair was lighter than Nick and Rob’s; it fell to her shoulders in a
playful bob. Her eyes were chocolate brown, and she had a small angled nose and
chin, with a dark complexion. She looked familiar; I was sure she was one of
the nurses who worked with my mother on the maternity ward. She handed Hannah
over to her mother as she stared at me. She looked like she was trying to place
who I was. “Tina, stop staring at our guest. This is Abby. Nick’s girl.”

She smiled,
revealing a dimple on her right cheek. “I never made the connection when he
told me your name was Abby Watson.”

Sofia
was swaying back and forth with the cute bundle in her arms. “That
she was the Abby Watson that writes children’s books?” she asked Tina.

She frowned
slightly. “Yes, I knew that, but not from my butthead of a brother, but from
your mother.” She faced me. “She’s my boss.”

I nodded, her
words confirming my suspicion. “I knew you looked familiar when you walked in.”

“Your mother is
so proud of you.
God,
it’s such a small world,” she said with a small
chuckle. She was smiling now, but I thought I saw a worried expression cross
her face. It disappeared as quickly as it came. “Wow, I’m so happy to meet you.
I’ve seen you a few times at the hospital, but I was always busy. You have a
wonderful mother.”

“She is, thank
you. If you’re the Tina she talks about, she’s very fond of you too.”

Sofia
stepped toward us, the baby stretched out in her arms. “Tina, can
you take your baby, supper’s ready.”

“Oh, I’d better
set the table,” I called out, rushing into the dining room and beginning to
place the plates in front of the chairs. As I sat the third dish down, Tina
walked past me, heading for the living room.

I leaned back
so I could see what she intended to do. I saw her drop the baby into her
husband’s lap before grabbing Nick’s arm. She led him outside onto the front
porch. The door shut behind them and then opened again. Bobby came in, slamming
the door behind her, mumbling something about grownups and privacy.

Dinner

I finished the table and went back into the
kitchen to see if I could help more. “Anything else?” I asked Sofia. “I could
bring the food out.”

“Yes, honey,
that stuff on the counter over there. I’ll bring in the manicotti, it’s ready.”

I took the
garlic bread and fresh parmesan cheese and placed it onto the oak table. Sofia came in with a huge dish and sat it down in the center. “Abby, could you tell
everyone dinner is ready?” she asked, glancing around, making sure we had
everything.

“Sure,” I
called over my shoulder as I strode down the hall. “Dinner,” I said, poking my
head into the living room where most of the men were lounging. Paul, Tina’s
husband, whom I had yet to be introduced to, was holding his sleeping daughter.

I heard a bunch
of cheers as I headed to the front door, and the sound of I guessed Paul shushing
them.

“It’s none of
your business who I date, Tina.” Nick’s voice was muffled, but I could still hear
the agitation in it.

“She is my
boss’s daughter as I’m sure you figured out, but neglected to tell me,” Tina
whispered loudly. It was hard to hear through the door, and I wanted to listen
longer to see what they were talking about, but I spotted Heather watching me
with those haunted, quiet eyes. I smiled at her as I the opened the door, the
hinges squawking in protest.

“How was I
supposed to know who she was—” Nick stopped mid-word when I opened the door.

I gazed first
at Tina, who was leaning against the porch railing looking down at the wooden
planks. Her feet were bare. She must have been a rush and forgot to slip on her
sandals. Then I turned to Nick. “Your mother told me to tell everyone that
dinner was ready.”

He avoided
Tina’s and my eyes as he took my hand. “Okay, thanks,” Nick mumbled, leading me
through the door, but not before he scowled at his sister.

Dinner was
amazing. I ate so much I couldn’t fit anything else in my stomach. Maybe I
shouldn’t have gone for seconds. When Sofia brought out her cheesecake she had
made from scratch, there were oh’s and ah’s—I almost groaned. “Here, Abby, you
take the first piece,” Sofia insisted, handing me a plate.

“Oh, no, thank
you. It looks really good, but I’m so full I couldn’t eat another bite.”

Her cheerful
smile fell just a bit. “Come on, you’re too thin. Have a piece.”

I was about to
agree to a sliver, when Nick leaned over and growled in my ear, “Eat the
goddamn cake.”

I glanced over
at his annoyed expression, and reached up to take the plate. When I tasted it,
it was as delicious as I knew it would be; however, my stomach moaned in agony.
I ate the whole thing, even though I knew I’d pay for it later.

We left shortly
after I finished helping with the dishes. In his car Nick asked me why I was so
quiet. The truth was I didn’t know; it could have been that I was sick. My
stomach was upset from all the heavy, rich foods his mother made. But mainly, I
didn’t like the look he gave me when he ordered me to eat the
goddamn cake
.
Instead of telling him how I felt, I just shrugged my shoulders and gazed out
the window.

“Can I stay the
night?” he asked when we were a block away from my building.

I still refused
to look at him, instead staring down at my dark, dressy jeans. “I’m really not
in the mood. I’m not feeling well.”

He reached over
and placed his hand on my knee “I’ll take care of you.”

The urge to
move my leg was strong, but I was trying to feign indifference, to avoid a
fight. I just wanted to be alone and if I showed him my true feelings that
wouldn’t happen. “No thanks, not tonight. I’ll be boring anyway. I think I’m
just going to go straight to bed.”

He pulled up
along the curb in front. “Well, if you’re sure.” He leaned in for a kiss. His
lips touched mine and he opened his mouth to take the kiss deeper.

I pushed him
away. “Goodnight,” I said, trying to sound cheerful, but knowing it sounded
fake. Before he could stop me, I jumped out of the car and headed inside the
building.

Upstairs, I lay in bed thinking about the
evening. His family was nice, and very welcoming. Rob was funny and friendly,
so was his father. I liked his mother a lot; she was caring and sweet and just
a little strict. She liked things her way, but that was okay. Even though
Heather was often guarded, I had caught glimpses of a kind-hearted woman who
really loved her children. I liked her, I just wasn’t sure how she felt about
me. His sister was my favorite; she kept the conversation going during dinner,
telling us stories about the hospital. About old men hitting on her, doctors hitting
on her
and
my mother. About how much she admired and respected her. When
she said this she glared at Nick. I looked at him to see his reaction, but he
only smiled down at me. I was still really curious to know what had happened
outside, and why they were talking about me. When I asked him after dinner when
we were alone in the kitchen, he said it was nothing. And the way he said it
meant that there was no way he would ever tell me.

Then there was
the incident with the cake. During the past few months I had noticed that he
could be impatient and short-tempered, but he was also sweet and funny and
always complimented me. He had a way of making me feel that I was special; the
only one he wanted to be around. Actually, tonight was the first night we hadn’t
spent together in weeks. He must have known I was upset yet he didn’t
apologize. I guess that meant he wasn’t sorry that he was rude to me and made
me feel like a child. Or maybe he really didn’t clue in that he had been out of
line.

I tossed and
turned, churning everything about the evening around in my head. Finally giving
up on sleep, I crawled out of bed and into the bathroom to shove an antacid
into my mouth. The tablet was chalky, leaving an unpleasant tasted on my
tongue. I really shouldn’t have had that second helping of manicotti, or the
cheesecake. I probably wouldn’t sleep all night. I gave up and decided to start
on a new book. I had finished the Little Miss series and was going to take a
little break, but I couldn’t get this new idea out of my head. It was an
adventure book, about a boy named Sammy and his dog, Hector, exploring his
backyard and finding a new world with talking mice, chipmunks, and raccoons.

I worked until
night turned to day. When I couldn’t keep my eyelids open any longer, I pressed
the save button and fumbled to the bedroom, dropping onto the bed. I fell to
sleep instantly.

The sound of
the phone ringing woke me. I let it ring, grabbing the covers. I pulled them up
to my neck and tried to go back to sleep. The shrill ringing started again.
“Damn it,” I muttered sleepily. I patted the soft carpet, feeling for the phone
and trying to remember where I had had left it last night. The ringing stopped.
“Oh, thank God.” I could go back to sleep.

The ringing
began again. “For the love of God,” I growled. This time I leaned up, over the
bed, looking around for the freaking phone so I could make the horrible noise
stop. I spotted it on the floor by my nightstand. I reached over and grabbed
it. “What!” I yelled, extremely annoyed that it was nine thirty a.m., and that
meant I had only a few hours’ sleep.

“Well, good
morning to you too. You’re such a grump in the morning,” Debbie complained on
the other end of the phone.

“Well, you
would be too if you went to bed at four in the morning,” I mumbled, my face
half buried in the pillow.

“Why the hell
did you go to bed so late?” she asked in a way-too-cheerful voice.

“Because my
stomach was upset and I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and started to write—then I
couldn’t stop.”

“I know, that’s
why I’m calling. I got your outlines for
Sammy’s Big Adventure
. I’m not
sure of the title, but I love the idea. I’m looking at it right now, and
Jesus
,
you sent it to me at three in the morning?” Her voice rose. “Do I need to make
sure you get enough sleep along with teaching you how to dress? What the hell
would you do without me?”

“Sleep in.”

“Ha ha. Anyway,
I showed Cheryl, and she loves it. She’s so excited, she wants to see the first
few chapters as soon as you finish. Don’t worry, no deadlines, she knows how you
feel about them.”

“Couldn’t this
wait until I was awake?”

“I’m sorry, I
didn’t notice what time you sent the email until just now. I’ll let you go and
get some sleep. Call me when you wake up.”

Without saying
goodbye, I clicked the end button and tossed the phone on the floor, burying my
face into the pillow.