Across the Creek (21 page)

“Hello, Sarah.”

Sarah didn’t respond, couldn’t respond. She blinked, thinking that maybe the loss of her father had brought on this hallucination, like an emotional mirage, but the woman was still there.

“Sarah. It’s me, sweetheart.”

“Mom?”

The woman nodded. “Can I come in?”

Years of hate came rushing back to Sarah. She wanted to slam the door in her face, and she wanted her mom to wrap her arms around her.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you.”

“How did you know where to find me?”

“I went to your apartment and you weren’t there, so I thought that maybe you’d be here.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about! How did you find me here, in Chicago?”

Her mother’s expression softened. “Your father told me.”

“Nice try, but he’s…” Sarah brought the back of her hand to her mouth and bit back tears.

“I know, sweetheart. And I am so sorry for your loss. He was a wonderful man and—”

“Don’t you dare,” Sarah said. Her other hand still held on to the door, ready to slam it at a moment’s notice. “You don’t have the right to talk about my father.”

“Sarah. He was my husband.”

“That’s right. For years he was your husband. But you weren’t his wife. You left us, remember? On his birthday!” Sarah pulled back the door, readying it for a full-force slam.

“Wait!” her mother shouted. “Please, just let me explain. For the past three months I have been meeting Stanley for lunch.” Sarah didn’t believe her. There’s no way he would waste his time with the woman who had broken both of their hearts. “He told me about you, about Kevin, and about—” She paused and looked down. Tears welled in her eyes. “And about his cancer.”

How could she know these things? Did her father really tell her? Why would he do that? And why would he not tell Sarah about it?

As if reading her mind, her mother said, “He told me that making contact with you would be a bad thing. He wanted to make sure that you were prepared before I saw you, something he said he would do once the wedding was over. He said you had a lot on your plate and it wouldn’t be fair to add more to it.”

Sarah thought back to the days where she had offered to bring him lunch and he refused. Said he had already heated up a meal so he wasn’t hungry. Was he lying to her so that he could see the woman who betrayed them instead? “Why are you here now? Because if you think you’re going to get any insurance money, you’re wrong. He didn’t have any life insurance and he wasn’t rich either.”

Her mother shot Sarah a studied look. “I’m not here for money. I’m here for you. I want to be a part of your life. I want to help you. Sarah, I am so sorry for hurting you. If only you’d let me explain.”

“What’s there to explain? It’s simple. When Henry died, you blamed me. And so you left us. Alone, without a mother and without a wife.” Tears spilled down her mother’s cheeks. Unable to sympathize, Sarah leaned forward and brought her voice to whisper. “It’s—just—that—simple.” And then she slammed the door.

With the finality of the scene, loneliness crept in. She turned and placed her back to the door, feeling the weight of sadness crushing her heart. She slid down to the floor and lowered her head while tears puddled on the hard wood floor.

Jesse

Two weeks had passed since Jesse had last seen Sarah. On the day of Stanley’s funeral he had sat in a pew at the back of the church and listened to her give a moving eulogy. The entire congregation had lifted tissues to their eyes before she returned to her seat. When the service was over he got up and walked out. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was for her loss and how he understood the pain she was dealing with. And to hold her one last time, if only to absorb as much as possible. He wanted to be there for her, but that wasn’t his job. Kevin stood at her side now. And as much as he didn’t like the guy, she loved him and nothing Jesse could do or say was going to change that.

Jesse finished writing the last of the checks. He filed the checkbook in a drawer and rubbed the tiredness from his eyes.

“You should go upstairs and get some sleep, honey.” Aunt Sherry placed her hand on his shoulders, rubbing out the tension of working a ten-hour day.

He looked at the closed door leading to his apartment. As much as he wanted to shed the smell of puppy saliva and cat litter, the job wasn’t finished. “Two more hours to go.” Besides, with Robbie in jail, someone had to man the shop.

“I can take care of this place. Why don’t you relax? I may be old, but I think I can run a pet shop for a few hours before closing.”

“Thanks, but you don’t have to do that.”

She pulled a chair from the breakroom’s table over to Jesse’s desk and sat in front of him. “I know it’s been rough around here without Robbie. And you’ve been working more. Plus, you’ve had your school work and finals to prepare for. It’s too much, Jess. You need a break.”

“I just need some coffee.” He let out a yawn and then forced a smile. “I’ll be fine.”

Aunt Sherry scrutinized him. “Is something else bothering you, Jess?”

The image of Sarah popped into his mind, but Jesse ignored it and just shook his head.

Aunt Sherry placed a hand on his knee. “You can tell me what it is.”

He should have known she wouldn’t let it rest. She had the tuning fork of a therapist.

Jesse rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s Sarah.”

“The pretty girl who came into the shop a few weeks ago?”

Jesse nodded. “I’ve seen her a few times since then.”

“I bet you have. A pretty girl like that, you’d be crazy not to chase after her.”

Jesse shook his head. “She’s engaged to another man.”

“Oh.” Aunt Sherry’s smile fell flat like a tire with a slow leak. “I see. But you like her?”

“Yes. I mean…no. Maybe as a friend I guess. She’s with this guy, an attorney, who’s a major jerk. There’s something about him that’s not right. She can do so much better.”

“With you?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Jesse, come on now. I know you like this girl. It’s written all over your beautiful little face. In fact, it’s the same look Robbie has whenever he talks about Felicia.” Jesse was silent. No need to incriminate himself further. “You need to tell her how you feel, Jess.”

“I don’t have feelings for her that way.” He turned back toward his computer.

“Jesse Malone. You do not turn your back on me when I am speaking with you.” Jesse turned back around and faced his aunt, but refused to look her in the eyes. “That’s better.” Aunt Sherry leaned forward. “Listen to me, Jess. I’ve watched women come in and out of your life, and I’ve seen how awful you’ve treated them, too.”

“What?” He crossed his arms. “I have not. I’ve dated and things just haven’t worked out. We’re not all destined to fall in love.”

“Do you really believe that bunch of bull?”

“It’s not bull. Love isn’t for everyone.”

Aunt Sherry considered her wedding ring. “Listen, I know what pain you carry around in your heart. Losing your mother at the hands of that monster was hard on you boys. But you are not him.”

Jesse glared. “I know I’m not.” He stood up and grabbed his notebook. “I should get back to work.”

“Sit down!” Aunt Sherry said, pointing at his chair. Jesse obliged. “Your mother loved your father, Jesse. But he was crazy. He tracked you guys down and murdered her in cold blood. That’s not what
love
is. Love is beautiful, caring, nurturing, inspiring. It makes life a brighter and better place to live.”

“Really? Is that why I had to watch you cry for weeks and months after Uncle August died? And why you still don’t like to take a walk without Bailey by your side?” Jesse stopped. Anything else he said would just be cruel and out of misguided anger.

“You’re right.”

Jesse turned to Aunt Sherry. Did she really just say that he was right?

She nodded. “Your Uncle August was the love of my life, and when he left he took a piece of me with him. But if I never met that beautiful man, then I wouldn’t have had thirty-seven years of memories filled with his smiles and laughter and his touch. Because of the love we shared, our lives were far better than never having met at all.”

Jesse looked down at the notebook in his lap, flipping the pages as he thought about the great memories he’d experienced with Sarah, and in such a short time. “But what about the pain?”

“That part is terrible. But it’s still worth it.”

Jesse looked up at his aunt, her eyes brimming with tears ready to fall. His mother was a lot like her. Not the eccentric part, but the part that warmed his heart and made everything feel like it was going to be okay just by having her next to him. “Don’t run from love, Jess. If you really do love this girl, then tell her. As her friend, you owe her that.”

“What if she… tells me to get lost?”

“Then you’ll at least know how she feels, which is better than spending the rest of your life wondering.”

“What good would it do? She’s engaged. They’re getting married next week.”

Aunt Sherry smiled.

“Did I say something funny?”

“Did you know that I was engaged when I met your Uncle August?” Jesse shook his head. “I met August at the zoo.”

“That explains a lot,” Jesse joked.

Aunt Sherry gazed out the window. “It was a hot day and your mom talked me into going to the zoo. It wasn’t exactly my favorite place, especially when it was humid. All the animals looked miserable. And there he was, wearing his green uniform with sweat sticking his shirt to his chest. He was carrying huge buckets of water into the lion’s cage. I watched as the lion licked his lips.” She looked at Jesse. “He must have looked like a medium rare steak to that big cat.”

“I didn’t realize August worked at the zoo.” Nor did he realize that he was crazy enough to walk into a cage with lions.

Sherry nodded. “He looked that lion in the eyes, slowly lowered the bucket, and whispered something to the giant cat.”

“What did he whisper?”

“You know,” she said, “I never did ask. But whatever it was, it did the trick. He walked right out of that cage unharmed.”

“And that’s how you knew that you wanted to be with him?”

Aunt Sherry shook her head. “No. Later, when we were eating ice cream by the gates, your mother started flirting with him.”

“What! Mom flirted with people?”

“Shamelessly.” She turned back toward the window. “She was so beautiful, your mother.”

Just then a memory from when Jesse was ten came to mind. He had come home with tears in his eyes. A few bullies had roughed him up. Their punches had been bad enough, but the teasing was by far the worst. He remembered her large blue eyes shining nothing but love onto him. She smelled of lotion and laundry soap from work, and she told him that life was full of bullies, and the best way to deal with them was to stand up to them.

“You remind me so much of her. Not only do you look an awful lot like her, but you have the same big heart. A heart made for loving.”

“So Mom flirted with August and you married him?” Jesse said.

“Something like that,” Aunt Sherry said. “There was something about him. Maybe it was the way he looked at me or the way he looked in that green uniform. There was just something about him that I knew I didn’t want to live without.”

“And what about the guy you were engaged to?” Jesse asked, thinking about Kevin.

“Oh, he ended up marrying the mayor’s daughter. They had nine children together.”

“Nine?” Jesse asked, forgetting that Aunt Sherry and Uncle August were never able to have children of their own. Her gaze shifted down. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I had two pretty great boys myself.” She gave him a squeeze and then walked over to the door. Before leaving she turned to Jesse and said, “Jess, honey. You have love in your heart. Something that powerful, that big, has to be shared. You can’t keep that to yourself. The rest is up to her. Just don’t spend the rest of your life wondering
what if
.”

Jesse

Jesse took a deep breath and then knocked on Sarah’s door. He didn’t know what to expect after his last chat with Kevin. Maybe he told Sarah not talk to Jesse anymore. Or maybe he told her to stay away from him.

When she opened the door his heart nearly skipped a beat. He didn’t know how she did it, but she looked more beautiful every time he saw her. Her light blue eyes played off the blond curls, giving her a sweet and sexy look.

“Jesse? This is a surprise.”

He swallowed, hoping it was a good one. “I’m sorry for just dropping by like this. Is this a bad time?”

“No,” she said. “Please, come in.”

Jesse took a few steps inside and looked around for any signs of Kevin. “Are you alone?”

Sarah nodded. “Kevin’s out of town with his father on a business trip. I was just going through a few things from Dad’s house.” She motioned to a few opened boxes sitting on the kitchen counter. “What do you have there?” She motioned to the box with holes in Jesse’s hands.

Jesse set the box onto the floor. “This is for you.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll have to open it to find out.”

Sarah leaned down and lifted the lid off the box. “Oh my gosh!” She reached in and pulled out the little golden and white furred puppy that she had connected with at the store. “I can’t believe you brought him over here.”

“Well, he needed a home. And nobody would love him the way you would. So he’s yours.” The puppy wagged his tiny tail and folded his ears down as he tried to reach up and lick Sarah’s face. “You see. He’s just as excited as you are.”

“I can’t believe you did this. You’ll have to let me pay for him.” She nuzzled her chin next to his soft side as he stumbled in her hands, trying to wrap himself into her maze of blond hair.

“No way. You’d actually be doing me the favor. He was the last one left; the others all sold.”

“Aw,” Sarah said, letting the puppy kiss her on the face. “He’s all alone.” She looked up at Jesse. “You could have kept him.”

“Like I said, nobody could love him the way you could.”