Finding Abigail (13 page)

I laughed at
him as I took his plate to get him another piece. I was just cutting into it,
lifting it out of the box, when I heard Brian say, “Wait until you taste her
strawberry cream cheesecake.” Brian set his empty plate on the table and smiled
over at Debbie. “She made it on our fourth date. I think she was trying to buy
my love with dessert.”

I re-entered
the living room, handed Nick his dish, and sat down, focusing on my friends.

Nick laughed at
Brian. “Did it work?” he asked.

“She’s moving
in next week.”

I dropped my
fork, still enjoying my dessert. I learned long ago that if I wanted to keep my
waistline, it was best to slowly eat her cakes by savoring each bite, instead
of overindulging, which was what I wanted to do. I gaped at Debbie, my eyes
wide with shock. “Really?”

She grinned,
her hazel eyes shining with happiness. “Yes. He just asked me on the way over.”

“That’s
wonderful. That means you’ll live closer to me.” I was so excited about having
her just a block away, I had the urge to clap my hands. Back in college we were
basically joined at the hip, constantly together. Over the years, our jobs and
life interfered. We only saw each other for work and occasionally when we made
the effort to go out. And we hadn’t done that since we met our men.

“Man, are you
lucky. You can eat this cake whenever you want,” Nick mumbled as he shoved
another piece into his mouth, scraping his teeth with the spoon. I laughed at
him, and Debbie and Brian joined in. Nick, who was enjoying the cake immensely,
didn’t even notice.

An Old Friend

The next day, I decided to go for a morning
jog before I had a shower. Since it was a warm August day, I ran along the
pier. It was crowded with kids fishing, swimming, and skateboarding.

When I made it
to the end, I was out of breath and sweating, but the breeze coming off the
lake was heavenly. I sat down on a bench to rest and cool down. The wooden
bench was facing the beach. There was a set of stairs that led to the
shoreline, but I liked where I was, sitting above the activity, where I could
enjoy the view without getting sand in unwanted places.

The sights, sounds,
and smells were what attracted me to this place. There was always something
going on, and for a writer, it was a real smorgasbord of ideas for future
books. I watched a couple of gulls fight over a brown paper bag that I assumed
was filled with leftover food. Their squawks and shrieks were loud, but at the
pier, also expected.

The sound of a
human squeal drew my attention away from the fighting birds to a little girl
about one and a half years old who was wearing a pink frilly bikini. It looked
like she was wearing one of those swimming diapers, which made the frills on
her bottom’s look puffy. She was running, her tiny legs shaky in the sand as
she ran from the waves. She giggled every time the water touched her feet. Her
mother picked her up and waded in, swinging her body side to side in the water.
I could almost hear her laughter from where I was sitting. I couldn’t help the
smile that spread across my face.

“Nice view,” a
deep voice from behind me said, making me jump.

I was so
engrossed by the little girl that I hadn’t heard anyone approach. “Yes, it’s
such a beautiful day,” I agreed absently, turning my head, expecting to see a
stranger. Instead I looked up into the face of a man about my age, with pale
shaggy blond hair and bright blue eyes. The sun glowed off his hair creating a
halo of gold around the top of his head.

“
Son of a
bitch
, what the hell are you doing here?” I screamed in delight, jumping
into Jason’s arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around me. He still smelled of
black licorice, his favorite candy. I had missed him so much. “Why didn’t you
tell me you were coming?”

“I wanted to
surprise you.”

I leaned back
and slapped him on the chest. His only response was to grin. “Well, you did
that. How did you find me?”

“I went to your
place and talked to Sylvia. She said that you went for a jog. I guessed where.”

I had seen
Sylvia in the hall as I was heading to the elevator; she was waiting for her
daughter to come and pick her up. They were going to her hometown to visit her
grandson. She’d be back next week. “You know me well.” I punched him in the
arm. “God, it’s good to see you. Come on, tell me what you’ve been up to since
you broke my heart.” I sat back down on the bench, pulling him down with me.

His face froze
as guilt flashed in his eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”

I laughed. “Of
course I’m kidding. You were more like my brother than my boyfriend, although I
can’t imagine a brother being as good in bed as you were.”

His lips turned
upwards into a lopsided grin. “I do remember that was the best part of our
relationship. It’s been awhile though. What do you say we go on up to your
apartment and you can refresh my memory.” He squeezed my knee, but I could see
the laughter in his eyes. He wouldn’t want to ruin the friendship we had now
with sex.

“You know, if
it wasn’t for the fact that I’m in love with another man, I’d take you up on
that.”

He frowned.
“Too bad, maybe next time. How about I take you out to dinner tonight and catch
up instead. I have to get back to the office, I was just coming from my hotel
and I thought I’d stop in and say hi. I’m only here for the night.”

I was so happy
to see him, there was no way I’d miss the chance to catch up. “Of course, what
time?”

“How’s six
o’clock? That way we have more time to talk. I’ll meet you at Frank’s?” he
asked as he stood up.

“Perfect. I’ll
see you tonight.” I watched him walk away, realizing how much I had missed him.
It might not have worked out between us but he was one of my best friends and I
still couldn’t believe he moved away to work at some fancy advertising firm in New York.

Too hyped up to
write, I decided to use up some of my energy by cleaning the apartment. By
mid-afternoon it was spotless, but I wasn’t. I still hadn’t washed away my run.
I lingered in the shower, enjoying the hot spray wash over me. I hadn’t taken a
whole day off from writing in so long; I decided to enjoy it.

I chose a
peasant-style white blouse and jeans to wear. Jason had never been picky about
what I wore. He’d be happy if I walked into the diner wearing a dress made out
of burlap. Not that Nick was overly picky, he just liked when I made an effort.
At five thirty, I wrote a note to Nick telling him where I was and who I was
with, adding that I hadn’t seen him in a while and he was just here for one
day. After locking up, I headed out to meet Jason.

Frank’s had
been our favorite diner when we were dating. He had the best burgers in town,
which was why Jason loved it. I went for the milk shakes.

I found him
sitting in the back corner booth—our favorite table. It had the best view of
the entire restaurant, and you could sit back, eat, and people watch. I hadn’t
been here since Jason left, and it was exactly the same, right down to the
overpowering smell of onions. “Well, this brings back memories,” I said as I sat
down on the ripped orange leather across from him.

He laughed.
“Remember the first time you brought me here? We were at Josie’s Bar and you
were so drunk, you only wanted a Frank burger. Nothing else would do. You made
me walk twenty blocks to get here.” He laughed at the memory, and since it was
at my expense, I just smiled and let him finish. “You were so tired, you almost
fell asleep on the table before you got the damned burger.” He laughed again,
harder this time, and at the sight of him, my grin widened. “It was the best
I’ve ever tasted.”

I joined in his
laughter as the waitress approached us. Once we were able to stop the giggles,
we both told her what we wanted and then sat back to wait. “So, are you happy
with what’s his name?” he asked me, leaning forward, his hands pressed flat on
the table in front of him.

“It’s Nick and
yes, I’m happy.”

“Good, I’m
glad.” And I knew that he was. He always wanted my happiness. It was important
to him, just as his was to me. It was hard for both of us when the job he was
offered ended up being too good to pass up.

Once our
burgers and shakes arrived, we filled each other in on the details we had
missed. He told me about his new life in New York, the girl he’d been dating,
and his tiny Manhattan apartment. I told him about how I met Nick, about Debbie
and Brian, and about the books I had written since I had last talked to him.

When we
finished with our meal it was after nine. I wanted to go home but he convinced
me to have a drink with him at Morey’s, a bar we used to go to. While we were
there, he ran into some old friends, and we talked for hours. By the time I got
home it was after midnight. I’d only had a few glasses of wine, so I was only
tired when I opened the door to my apartment. Although it had been a long day,
it had also been an exciting one. I couldn’t help the smile on my face as I
opened the door. It widened when I saw who was waiting for me.

“Did you fuck
him?” Nick snarled from the chair in the corner of the room. He sat in the
dark, with the TV off, facing the door, like I was some perp he was waiting to
arrest.

The smile
vanished. “What are you talking about?”

“Your
ex-boyfriend. Did you fuck him? Because when I saw you, you looked pretty damn
cozy.”

I shut the
door, tossed my purse on the end table, and flicked on the light. “What does
that mean? You saw us?”

He blinked as
his eyes adjusted to the light. How long had he been sitting here? “You said
you were going to Frank’s with
him
. I went to see for myself. “Hurt
crossed his eyes for a second and he said,
“
I
couldn’t believe you would betray me like that.” Just a minute ago, I had been
in a great mood, happy from a visit with an old friend, and now this. I
couldn’t catch up. When I looked at his face I saw rage, so strong it scared
me.

“I didn’t betray
you. You should have come in. I wanted you to meet him anyway. If I was
sneaking around, would I have left a note telling you where, and who I was
with?” I shook my head. “Jesus, Nick, how could you think I would cheat on you?
I told you I loved you and I meant it. I also told you Jason was my friend.”

“One you used
to sleep with.”

“So? He is more
my friend then he ever was a lover. I told you before that we ended after only
a few months, but stayed friends much longer. He was here for the day on business
and he wanted to catch up. Do I have a fit when you hang out with your
friends?”

His eyes
narrowed and his lips turned up into a nasty smile. “If you only had dinner,
where have you been? It’s after midnight. Did you go back to his hotel and
reminisce
?”
His voice was so cruel that he made the word sound dirty.

I was really
tired of saying the same thing without him hearing me. It was like talking to a
wall. “I told you I didn’t cheat on you.” I sighed in exasperation, pacing in
front of him. “If you must know, I had a couple of drinks with him and we ran
into a few of his old friends. I left him there because I wanted to come home
to see you. I didn’t realize what time it was. Now if you’ll excuse me I’d like
you to leave. I don’t really enjoy being accused of lying
and
cheating
in one night.”

He stood up,
anger still clouding his face. “You shouldn’t have gone out with him in the
first place.” He jabbed his finger into my shoulder. My skin stung when he
pulled away. “You used to fuck him! And you thought I wouldn’t mind you
spending a night with him while I sat here twiddling my thumbs? I don’t fucking
think so!” A vein pulsed in the side of his neck as he clenched both fists at
his side.

“You know what?
I’m done defending myself. Get out.” I was surprised at how calm my voice was.
I was so mad, I wanted to scream.

He stared at me
coldly, then brushed past me roughly, knocking me back a step. He opened the
door and slammed it behind him so hard that the frame shook from the impact.

I locked the
door and put the chain up so he couldn’t come back in. Once I was safely alone,
I ran to my room and cried into my pillow until I fell asleep.

Peace Offering

I didn’t hear from Nick for the next few
days. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, only that I missed his face, his
voice, and yes, his body. But I was still mad at him. How could he accuse me of
such a thing? Even when he realized I didn’t cheat on him, instead of
apologizing, he said I was still wrong for going out with an old boyfriend. And
he didn’t call to apologize or even discuss the issue for three days? The more
I thought about it the angrier I became. I was trying to work on the seventh
chapter of my book and failing miserably. I had never been able to write when I
was unhappy. I finally gave up and started to clean. When that didn’t take my
mind off of my troubles, I parked in front of the TV watching old sappy movies
and eating rocky road ice cream right out of the carton.