Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (167 page)

“Dr. Mortimer, it’s so good to see you.”

“Please, Abby. After all these years and all the things we’ve been through together. It’s about time you started calling me Ben.”

“Ben,” I said, the word feeling strange on my tongue.

He walked closer and stood in front of me awkwardly for a moment, and then gave me a long hug. 

“Congratulations,” he whispered. “How special.”

He shook Ty’s hand and patted him on the back.

“When’s the big day?”

“We’re not sure yet,” I said. “Sometime after I graduate.”

“What can I get you to drink?” Ty said.

“How about a club soda? I’m on duty in an hour.”

Ty and Kate walked over to the bar and Benjamin Mortimer pushed his hands into his pockets and looked around.

“The place looks great.”

“It was all Kate’s doing.”

“Yes, I know,” he said. “She’s been updating me on the progress all week.”

He shifted his weight on his feet, and then blew out some air.

“Hey, Abby, I’d like to talk to you,” he said. “Not tonight, of course. But maybe we could grab dinner, just the two of us. Catch up.”

“Sure, I’d love to. Give me a call and we’ll figure out a good time.”

Ty came back and handed him a drink.

“Do you two plan to stay here in town after you get married?”

“Yeah, I hope so,” Ty said. “If we can make it work, that would be great.”

As Ty talked a little about his dream of opening his own pub, Kate came back over and stood by Ben’s side, smiling. And that’s when I saw those crazy waves of white energy passing between them.

CHAPTER 36

David was talking to Erin near the bar when I walked up and ordered a pale ale.

“Ty is so cool,” Erin said. “He was telling me about how he proposed during the meteor shower. How utterly romantic is that? Dude’s got it going on, Abby. Does he have a brother?”

“He has a stable full, actually.”

“Really?” David said, lifting his eyebrows. “I’m liking my odds.”

Erin giggled and took a sip from her drink.

“I’m putting in my request now that you seat me next to them at your wedding,” she said.

“You got it.”

She tugged at her ear.

“Damn it, David, I still can’t hear a thing. Between your motor and that sound system, I’ve completely lost my hearing.”

“It comes back,” he said. “And I know you loved every minute of the drive over! Oh, my God, rave with me, Abby Craig. This is my favorite song!”

It was a Lana Del Rey remix with a thumping techno beat that already had a few other people dancing.

“I want you to keep my car!” he said in between jumps.

“What?”

“Seriously. I want you to have it. It’s my engagement present to you.”

“I appreciate the offer, David, but that kind of talk shows me how much you’ve had to drink. That’s your first born you’re talking about.”

He laughed and spun around.

“I mean it! Take it. I want you to have it. You know why? Because your bestie is rich!”

“No,” I said. “It’s not going to happen. But thank you for letting me use it until I find my own wheels.”

“Okay, to be continued. I’ll refloat the offer after you’ve been driving it for a week. We’ll see what kind of tune you’re humming then.”

“All right, but I’ll still say—”

He suddenly grabbed my butt and pulled me close.

“Hey!” I said, slapping his hand away.

But he just giggled.

“Look at us. We’re so popular and successful and happy! And we owe it all to our angels. They’re so good to us!”

He spun around again, this time losing his balance and almost falling.

“Whoa,” he said, eyeing the patio. “That man mixes it right.”

I turned and saw he was staring at the bartender.

“Just looking at him is making my heart grow six times bigger. Not really my heart, I mean my…”

“Got it,” I said. “Did you get his number?”

“Do monkeys fly south for the winter? Of course I got his number, silly. Maybe I’ll go help him pack up.”

“Good luck,” I said as he wobbled away.

It had been a night I would always remember, all of our friends together under a big summer sky splashed with stars and love and hopes and dreams. As people started heading home, Ty and I had our final dance, a slow Roy Orbison song. I held him tight, our hips swaying together as I dropped my head on his chest, listening to his heart beating like a drum, strong and steady.

CHAPTER 37

I flipped through the channels, finally settling on an old black and white sci-fi flick starring Rock Hudson. I was the only one still awake. David had somehow talked Kate into sharing her bed and Ty was snoring in my room. As I sat there watching television, I kept checking the clock, hoping that sleep would take over even though there was no pressure. My shift didn’t start until noon.

I put my feet up on the table. A middle-aged man from New York decided that he was unhappy in his marriage and wanted to start over. With the help of some secret corporation, he got plastic surgery, moved to Malibu, and assumed a new identity as an artist. But none of it was making him happy.

I yawned, thinking about love, and wondered if Kate was back with Dr. Mortimer. It seemed like it. And then I thought of David and the bartender, Lyle and Paloma, and Mo and the cop. Suddenly I was very tired and I made my way to bed, missing out on the end of the movie and seeing whether Rock could make his new life work.

CHAPTER 38

We were standing in front of the stores at the Old Mill, arguing.

“David, I’m not going in there.”

“Humor me, Abby Craig! Pretend we’re looking for me. It’ll be fun.”

He had been on a shopping binge all morning, buying gifts for himself, his theater buddies in town, his family back in Maine, his actor friends on the set, his assistants, a few select employees at Back Street, and me. I was glad he hadn’t brought the subject of the car up again, but I still had to put my foot down when he tried to buy me half of Ginger’s Kitchenware. I talked him down to one very expensive sauté pan as a late birthday present.

“Five minutes is all I ask,” he said, swinging open the door and pushing me inside Victoria’s Secret.

A strong whiff of perfume greeted us, along with a young saleswoman, whose eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw who it was.

“You’re him!” she said, rushing up breathlessly.

This had been happening all day, and David drank it in like Bacchus locked in a wine cellar.

“Yes, it’s me!”

“I love your show so much! I love you! What can I help you with?”

“We’re browsing for now, but we’ll let you know when we’re ready for a room.”

He laughed and threw his head back as we walked past a display of push-up bras and lacy underwear.

“No one’s getting a room,” I whispered.

“I simply want to help you get in touch with your inner sex goddess. Let’s just call it my new mission.”

“We’re not having this conversation. We’re not getting a room.”

“All I’m saying is that you’re a hot little number lost in flip flops,” he said, giving me a once over. “You need to step over to the wild side once in a while. Although, this is all pretty tame. Next time you come to Portland, we’ll shop at some of my favorite stores.”

I sighed as he pulled out a satin kimono and held it up to me.

“What color is it?”

“A gorgeous rose,” he said.

I shook my head.

“I hate pink. Or, at least I used to, when I could see it.”

“Hmm,” he said, putting it back. “You’re absolutely right. What we need is a theme. Let’s see… what goes with your long dark hair and brooding eyes…”

“I don’t have brooding eyes.”

He pulled out a black lace one piece with a plunging neckline and no back.

“Okay, work with me here. I’m seeing you as a sexy, seductive vampiress, walking out from the pages of an Anne Rice novel. You know what you want, and you’re cool in the taking. Deliberate, focused, desirous as you reach for Lover Ty and lead him to your lair.”

“Lover Ty?” I said, trying to keep a straight face.

He giggled and clapped his hands.

“I see blood-red lips, strappy stilettos, a long satin cape…” he said, sounding straight out of
Zoolander
.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“See, I’m good at this stuff,” David said. “I’m not your
man
of honor for nothing.”

“Wait, what?”

He slurped down some saliva.

“Man of honor, Abby Craig! I’ve already figured it all out for you. And the best part is you don’t have to worry about hurting Sista Kate’s feelings because we’ll just share the job. Here. Hang on to this baby. It’s a keeper.”

He shoved the garment in my arms as the saleswoman walked back over.

“Mr. Norton, would you mind if I take a selfie with you?” She looked at me. “Oh, sorry, did you need to try that on?”

“No, no, I’m just loo—”

My phone rang.

“Hey, I’ve got to take this,” I said to David, but he was already busy wrapping an arm around the clerk’s shoulder and smiling. “I’ll meet you outside.”

It was hard to tell who was happier. I answered and stepped out into the heat.

“Hi, Dr. Mort… I mean Ben. How are you?”

“I’m doing well. How about you, Abby?”

“Good. What’s up?”

I watched David through the window making his way to the register, wallet in hand.

“It’s that man in the coma, the one you rescued,” he said as I held my breath and braced for bad news.

“He woke up.”

CHAPTER 39

I walked with Ty at the edge of Mirror Pond as the sun disappeared behind some trees.

“Sounds like the guy is going to be okay,” he said.

I had just told him that Thomas Richardson had come out of his coma. According to Dr. Mortimer, his eyes were open and although he couldn’t speak yet, he was able to understand what was said and answer through blinks or hand gestures. It seemed like Bradley Peterson’s ghost had been wrong. I had assumed he was there waiting for his friend’s imminent death.

“He probably has a long way to go,” I said. “But waking up is a big step. Figure I’ll give him a few days before I drop by and say hello.”

“You should feel really good. He’s alive because of you. I know I gave you a little grief about how you went about it, but that’s a helluva bottom line.” He turned and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in and kissing the top of my head. “You can’t blame a guy for worrying.”

“It means a lot hearing you say that,” I said, wanting to say more but then my phone rang.

I turned off the ringer.

“Newspaper again,” I said. “I’m gonna have to talk to them before they put words in my mouth.”

“They’re going to do that anyway but, yeah, you should probably talk to them. Hey, I know you like to play these things down, but why not embrace your inner hero? You don’t have to enjoy the publicity but maybe someone will see your story. You know, someone who needs help. Someone who otherwise would never hear about you.”

“It could also attract a lot of nuts,” I said.

“Yeah, that’s true. But I’ll help you sift through them. I could do the screening.”

“Yet another career option to fall back on… nut screener.”

“You never know,” Ty said with a straight face. “They say the economy is getting better. But they also say it’s good to diversify.”

I laughed as I looked out at the water. But then I thought about what Ty was saying. It was silly of me to deny whatever it was that I was now. And whatever the names for it were and however uncomfortable they made me feel, there was no denying I saw things. Ghosts. Visions. Sometimes glimpses of the future. Maybe I didn’t have to go out of my way to seek publicity, but at the same time I didn’t have to try to live like a monk either.

“Hey, you think Kate and Ben are back together?”

“Huh?”

“Kate and the Dockers, are they dating again?”

I thought about it for a few seconds.

“I don’t know,” I said. “She hasn’t said anything.”

Ty smiled.

“What?”

“Well, if it’s serious, you know,” he said. “We could have a double wedding.”

I smiled back at him and gazed into his eyes, his hair blowing in the breeze.

I wondered what else was blowing in the wind. I wondered if Ben had told Kate about what had really happened that day on the island. She probably wouldn’t care or else think that he had done the world a favor. But it was still a big deal. She deserved to know.

“Let’s just take it one wedding at a time,” I said. 

I kissed Ty and we started walking again.

“Oh, hey, you wanna go to the Heart concert?” he said. “I got a couple of free tickets from the boss. It’s the last concert of the summer and a group from the pub is going.”

“Heart? Kind of old school,” I said, kicking my leg out Nancy Wilson style. “What the hell. Sure, I’m there, Magic Man.”

We said goodbye at the bridge. Ty headed to work and I walked back over to his house, where I had left David’s car. On my way I took a deep breath and returned the phone call to the newspaper.

Kate had worked at
The Bugler
for several years and I still knew some of the staff, but I didn’t recognize the reporter’s name. He was a creepy sounding guy who kept clearing his throat a lot and did a poor job of hiding his excitement.

“Thanks for calling me back!” I held the phone away from my ear, wondering if most people didn’t. “I just have a few questions.”

I did my best to answer his questions and hung up twenty minutes later, this time the sound of my own voice ringing in my ears.

CHAPTER 40

Paloma was in the corner of the café, drinking a decaf and eating a mini cupcake while she waited for Lyle to finish inventory in the back. We were about to close and there was no one in line so I sat down across from her.