The Light of the Blue Pearl (9 page)

All she could do was look down at the
contents of her pocket in disbelief that her magical blue pearl was
gone. Gone. Just simply…gone.

She tried to think of what could have
happened to it. It was possible it had fallen out when they were
waiting for the flight, and there was still time before the flight
took off; she thought maybe they’d let her go look.

“Ma’am,” she said to the passing flight
attendant. “I think I lost something out there while I was waiting,
could I go back and look for it please?”

“Oh I’m sorry, I can’t let you back off
now,” she said.

“Oh,” Ethne said.

She figured there was no use arguing, plus
she didn’t even know if it was out there. Feeling even more
crestfallen then she had saying goodbye to Ian, she put all of her
belongings back in her pocket and looked out the window trying to
fight back the tear that was making its way down her cheek.

These days, normally not one for tears, she
tried her best not to make a scene; it was just a silly little
pearl anyway.

But it wasn’t just a silly little pearl; she
knew that. There was something special about that pearl, about this
trip and even about her meeting Ian. Losing the pearl was quite
significant and having been a long time since she felt a feeling of
loss it seemed everything was coming up all at once.

The one tear started to become two and
before she knew it her entire face was made of salty rivulets. She
didn’t have any tissue with her and was trying to keep her sudden
downpour under wraps, but obviously failing because pretty soon the
flight attendant was hovering over her.

“You okay, sweetie?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m alright thanks,” Ethne
replied.

“I’ll bring you some tissues,” she said,
smiling down at her, obviously trying to brighten the spirits of
the sad, pathetic creature before her.

“Thanks,” Ethne said.

After cleaning herself up a bit, she decided
crying was going to get her nowhere so it was best to stop that
right now. The plane was about to take off. The realization of her
departure hit her hard in the stomach; she thought she might
actually throw up. But that would be even worse than crying, so she
decided that was not going to happen either.

What she needed was a distraction and
without Ian there to be one, she figured music was the next best
thing. She plugged her headphones into her ears, leaned her head
back and closed her eyes.

Had she been paying attention when the plane
was taxiing she might have seen Ian waving to her from the window
of the terminal, but she wasn’t. Before the plane even took off
Ethne was alone in her own little world doing her best to forget
the reality of this one.

***

The layover and second flight had been as
uneventful as her first flight; for this she was extremely
thankful. Before she knew it they were touching down, back home in
San Francisco.

She was almost always here. Yet to be back
from what could only be described as a dream world suddenly seemed
foreign to her, she felt dazed and definitely confused.

True, she was exhausted; she couldn’t wait
to crash and crash hard onto her own bed.

As she was departing the plane she suddenly
remembered what the note she had found while snorkeling had said –
that when she got home, ‘someone would be waiting for her’.

A shiver went up her spine and she found
herself scanning the room for someone watching her. She didn’t see
anyone.

Just as she was about to cross out into the
room the flight attendant stopped her.

“Ethne?” she said.

“Yes,” Ethne replied.

“This is for you,” she said, handing her an
envelope.

“Thank you,” she said.

Taking the envelope from her she found a
quieter place to set her belongs down so she could open it.

The note read: “Welcome home Ethne. You’re
probably exhausted. That was a whirlwind of a trip you just went
on, I do hope you had some fun.

“Go back to the coffee shop on Market Street
tomorrow afternoon, be there by 2 p.m.”

“More instructions,” Ethne thought. “Oh for
heaven’s sake, when would the notes end?!” She was ready to know
what this was all about. She hoped tomorrow’s meeting would finally
offer her some answers. The trip had been fun, unforgettable even,
but she was really not up for anymore games.

Climbing onto one of the buses to take her
back to her car she thought again about the loss of the blue pearl
and choked back another tear before it had a chance to escape. She
was exhausted and far too emotional to be reminiscing now.

As she pulled into her driveway she couldn’t
help but notice how nothing had changed. She felt completely
different now, but nothing at home had changed, nothing ever really
did.

That thought, the same thought she’d had the
morning she was sitting on her couch when the first note had
arrived struck a chord with her. She wondered if she was ever going
to be able to go back to her old life now, knowing now how Ian had
made her feel.

She had been used to being alone before. But
now, she had a feeling that emptiness was a hollow shell she didn’t
really want to crawl back into.

Her house was dark and empty when she
stepped inside. She turned on the light switch and closed the door.
Not knowing how many hours of sleep she had gotten since she left,
she figured unpacking could wait.

Stripping down and putting on her nightgown
she quickly brushed her teeth, took her medication and blissfully
crawled into her bed. Within minutes she was fast asleep, dreaming
of the crystal blue waters of Belize and of a stranger on the beach
who now had a face and was waving and smiling at her. In her sleep
she was smiling back.

W
hen Ethne woke up
she could hardly believe her eyes. Looking up she was staring at
her own ceiling, feeling her own sheets and was once again tucked
cozily in her own blankets.

No matter where you go or how amazing the
destination is, even if the place you are coming back to isn’t
nearly as exciting or exotic, there really is nothing like being
home, back in your own bed.

Ethne didn’t want to get up.

She rolled over and looked at the clock; it
was after twelve. Not all that surprising given how tired she had
been, but this didn’t leave her much time to get showered and
dressed and all the way across town again.

For knowing so much about her, this mystery
person really had been quite rude choosing a coffee shop all the
way on the other side of town.

But then they had just sent her to Belize,
so it was a moot point.

Stepping out of her bed, the floor was cold.
She had already gotten used to the warm weather in San Pedro and
even though it wasn’t exactly cold here yet, it certainly was in
comparison.

She hurriedly made her way across the room
to the bathroom and took a shower. After having a quick bite to eat
she was once again off on her strange little scavenger hunt; only
this time she hoped it was nearing its end.

As she pulled into the parking lot across
from the coffee shop on the corner, she found herself scanning the
faces of the customers. No one stood out for her; she assumed this
was going to be just another envelope delivery.

When she was making her way closer to the
tables she saw a face that looked familiar to her. She thought it
had to be a coincidence. Surely it had to be a coincidence?

Not seeing anyone else there that paid her
any mind she walked over to him; he smiled and offered her a
chair.

“Scott?” she said. “What are you doing
here?”

“I’m here to meet you,” he said. He was
smiling a gigantic smile, one she had never seen before, that she
could recall - she hadn’t really ever paid him much mind.

“It was you?!” she asked. “You’re the one
who sent all the notes and sent me to Belize?”

She could hardly believe it, especially
after he’d acted so innocently on the phone when she had called in
“sick”. The thought of her lying to him suddenly made her face
redden. She sank down into the chair that he had offered.

He could see the color in her cheeks,
although he wasn’t quite sure how to take the reaction.

“Umm…yeah, it was me,” he answered.

She looked at him for a second not quite
sure what to say, so she said the only thing that came to mind.

“Why?” she asked.

He chuckled. “Well…,” he said. “I needed to
know if we had any common interests.”

She just sat there staring at him, probably
resembling the codfish Mary Poppins was always referring to.

“Common interests?” she asked. “For
what?”

“I wanted to know if we had anything in
common before I asked you out on a date,” he said.

She couldn’t tell if he was being serious;
it appeared he was.

“Why didn’t you just ask me?” she asked. She
couldn’t believe this was his reason. She didn’t know if she should
be mad or flattered, but she was mostly just confused.

Not to mention the fact that now the
question of a date had been added to everything else. This alone
was enough to make her quite uncomfortable.

He could sense her feelings, and tried to
think of something to say to lighten the mood. He couldn’t think of
anything.

“I tried to ask you several times,” he said.
He looked down at the table and was rubbing the back of his neck
like a cute school boy asking a girl to a dance.

“It wasn’t terribly easy to do. That day I
ran into you in the hall, I looked at you…you looked so sad. I
tried many times after that to talk to you, you never seemed
interested.”

He looked up again into her eyes trying to
get some sense of what she was thinking.

“I know I probably should have taken that as
a clue, but for some reason I couldn’t. I’m sorry if you are upset
with me for sending you on that trip.” He looked down at his lap;
she could tell her reaction hadn’t been what he had hoped for.

She thought for a second before answering
him.

“Scott, it’s okay, I understand,” she said.
“I’m not the easiest person to get to know.”

He smiled a little and said, “So you’re not
mad at me?”

“Mad at you?!” she asked. “How could I be
mad at you? You just sent me on an amazing vacation to a beautiful
place. That was…probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for
me. That had to have cost you a fortune. There must be more of a
reason than finding out if we had anything in common for you to
have gone to this trouble?”

Feeling that the conversation was headed in
his favor, he responded with a small mischievous smile.

“Well, I’d hoped it would sway the answer in
my favor, a small bribe you might say,” he said. “So…Ethne, would
you like to go out sometime?”

She crossed her arms and studied him for a
bit, trying her best to keep the smile that clearly had a mind of
its own from giving him the answer.

Considering her history she knew she should
say “no”. But after the weekend she had just had, she wasn’t sure
“no” was the right answer anymore.

In the end she decided things had to change,
she hoped she wouldn’t regret this decision in the future.

Finally, she answered him with a playful
grin, not wanting him to think she could be won over so easily.

“Maybe,” she said.

“Maybe?” he asked. He laughed and leaned
back in his chair looking at her quizzically. “So, what does that
mean exactly? Am I going to have to send you to Hawaii next before
you’ll say yes?”

She laughed.

“No…of course not. I just don’t want you to
think I’m easy, that you can win me over with a fabulous trip to
paradise,” she said.

He chuckled and leaned forward and rested
his arms on the table. “Oh I see,” he said.

Her face turned serious and he could see
immediately that the girl he had seen in the hallway was back
again.

“What’s wrong, Ethne?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said.

“I can clearly see it isn’t nothing. Tell me
what’s wrong.”

“I don’t really go out on dates, Scott,” she
said, bluntly stating a fact; something he probably already
knew.

“That’s alright,” he said. “I don’t either.
I’m usually working all of the time, but you probably know
that.”

“Yeah I know. I work a lot too, but that
isn’t really why I don’t go out on dates,” she said.

“So why not then?” he asked.

“I don’t really want to say right now. I
just thought you should know I’m pretty inexperienced in the
matter,” she said.

She was blushing he could see; he knew from
before that she was a quiet one, probably shy, although perhaps it
was something more.

“Ahhh, an intriguing woman I see.” He
laughed a little trying his best to bring back the beautiful smile
of hers that was there just a second ago.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” she
said. She bit her lip and looked around the room, just now noticing
that there were actually other people around them.

“Well, I think it’s time we workaholics get
out and do something fun, don’t you?” he asked.

“Yeah, I suppose so,” she said.

“Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” he asked.
“I would love to hear about your trip.”

“Sure,” she said, finally letting him see
that smile again. She was feeling a little more at ease, although
the idea of the date did have her a little nervous; she couldn’t
lie to herself about that.

“What would you like? I’ll go order it,” he
said.

“Just a latte, thank you,” she said.

While he was gone she had a moment to try
and collect herself, this had been truly an unexpected turn of
events. Sure, this was better than the notes being from some sick
serial killer, although a serial killer sending you on a lavish
vacation really didn’t make any sense. The idea that it was her
boss pulling the strings was still a strange notion for her to
grasp.