Deep Surrendering: Episode Six (6 page)

“The library, please, Carl.” This caused him to take out another piece of paper. This whole thing was starting to feel like a scavenger hunt. I was going to have to do something big for Fin. I had his address at the hotel where he was staying in Germany. I wanted to send him something that reminded him of me. But what?

“How are you, Carl?”

“Fine, Miss Marisol. Just fine.” He smiled at me in the mirror, and I was seized by the desire to know more about him.

“Do you have children, Carl?” At the mention of kids, his eyes lit up.

“Yes, ma’am. One boy and one girl. My son just turned eleven, and my baby girl is sixteen.” He beamed. It was easy to see that he adored them.

“Sixteen, that’s a tough age,” I said, remembering myself as a teenager. I’d been an emo, angsty mess. It’s no wonder my parents hadn’t wanted much to do with me.

He chuckled. “Yes, it can be. I have to keep reminding myself that she’s a young woman now, but it’s not easy. I still want to murder any boy who looks at her.”

We laughed together. That seemed to be the curse of fathers with daughters, wanting her to grow up independent but wanting to protect her at the same time.

We talked more about his kids on the way to the library. His son, Carl Jr. was into everything, from sports to robotics. Smart kid. And his daughter was a black belt in Judo and had ambitions to be a heart surgeon. Damn.

“You must be so proud of them,” I said, and he practically glowed with pride.

“I am. There’s nothing better than watching your children grow up.”

I nodded, and he pulled up to the front of the library to let me out.

“Thank you,” I said as he held the door for me.

“You’re welcome, Miss Marisol. You just text me when you’re ready to go. Take your time. You’ve got all day.” He grinned and tipped his hat before getting into the car and driving away to park the car.

I looked up at the imposing stone building of the Boston Public Library. It was beautiful and intimidating, like many of the structures in Boston. It seemed almost wrong to traipse around on so much history. Disrespectful.

Still, I took a breath and walked up to the front door.

I ended up with a stack of books. Fin had given me his card number, so I was able to take them out on his. I didn’t have a card here of my own, but I filled out a form and they’d be sending me one in a week or so. The building was rectangular and had a beautiful fountain and garden in the very center of the building. I wondered if they had weddings here. It would be a beautiful place.

Not that I was thinking about weddings.

I quickly went back to browsing the books. I was going to have to call Carl to help me carry these to the car.

In addition to several novels, I checked out some nonfiction books on different subjects, including one on the evolution of women’s undergarments and one on unschooling. Reading books about education always fascinated me, especially different kinds of education. Unschooling was an interesting phenomenon that I didn’t know much about. It put education in the student’s hands. If a kid wanted to learn reading, they’d do it. If they wanted to play videogames all day, they could do it. I wasn’t sure how that would work out in the long run, especially with college, but I was always open to new ideas.

I texted Carl, and when he saw me coming through the door with a teetering pile of books, he rushed to help me.

“Thank you. Those were heavy,” I said. My arms felt like wet noodles as I handed them over.

“Heavy with knowledge,” Carl said with a wink. I laughed.

“Agreed.”

We got the books in the car, and Carl looked at me for direction.

“The park,” I said. With that, he pulled something out of the glove box and handed it back to me. A loaf of bread. Of course.

“I also have a blanket for you to sit on if you’d like.” Well, he’d just thought of everything. Or Fin had.

“That would be great.”

“And if you’d like anything to eat or drink, just say the word. I know the location of several nearby coffee shops.” Having a map of the city in your head was probably an occupational hazard of being a chauffeur. It would come in handy, though.

“Thanks so much, that would be great.” We headed to the park, and I said I’d really like a cup of Earl Grey tea to have with me while I read one of my books and fed the ducks. He said he’d be back in a moment, and I headed toward the pond.

I pulled out my phone and took a picture of my blanket spread out, the loaf of bread, the book, and sent it to Fin.

He answered right away.
Looks like perfection.

It was perfection. Well, almost. If he were here with me, it would be. But you can’t always get what you want. You can get pretty damn close though.

I ended up falling asleep at the park. My book wasn’t boring, but between the sun and the relaxation, it just happened.

The sound of children playing near me was what woke me up. I checked my phone and saw that I hadn’t wasted too much time with my nap. Well, if a nap could be called wasting time.

It had been a few hours since breakfast, and I was starting to get hungry for lunch. I bet Fin had something similar planned for me, but what I really wanted was fish tacos from a food truck, just like we had on our first date. God, that had been so long ago.

I packed up the blanket and the book, tossed the empty bread bag in the trash, and texted Carl. He drove up in a moment.

“What, did you just sit in the car and wait for me?” I asked as he held the door.

He grinned. “It’s a nice day off for me as well. I was just catching up on some things,” he said with a wink. I saw a stack of papers and magazines in the front seat.

“Well, I’m happy you could get a day off, even if you have to drive me around.”

“It’s a pleasure. Where to now?”

My stomach growled, which answered his question. Without another word, he handed me a list. At the top was the current location of the food trucks. They tended to all go to one area like a caravan. Thankfully, there was a schedule of where they were on what day so you didn’t have to wander the city looking for them.

“To the food trucks!” I said, thrusting my fist in the air. Carl laughed and pulled out into traffic.

I
ended up sharing my lunch with Carl. It felt weird to eat by myself while he sat in the car. I chatted some more with him about his kids and his wife, and his life outside of driving people around.

“You’re so good for him, Miss Marisol. He was unhappy for so many years. I’ve known him since he was a child, and he wasn’t happy, even then.” I wondered what Carl had seen. He wouldn’t tell me, even if I asked. I had the distinct impression he’d signed documents to keep his mouth shut. Not to mention his own sense of loyalty to the Herald family.

“What was Fin like as a teenager?” I saw some pictures Rory showed me. His awkward phase had been especially awkward.

“Like most teenage boys, I suppose. Didn’t want to talk to anyone about anything. And he’d only give you one-word answers. I didn’t talk to him much during those years.” I bet. I’d been pretty much the same way, but I didn’t have a terrible father like he did.

I was on the cusp of asking him about Fin’s father. But I didn’t.

“You’re thinking awful hard, Miss Marisol,” Carl said as I finished my third taco.

Was it that obvious?

“Just have too much going on in my brain. You ever feel that way?”

He nodded. “All the time.”

For the rest of the day, I really wanted to be alone. I had Carl take me back to my place, and he asked me how I was going to spend the rest of my evening. I said a bath, some takeout, and reading more of my book.

He went to the trunk and got out some boxes.

“Ladies first,” he said, nodding to me. When we got through the door, Carl set the boxes down and then tipped his hat.

“Let me know if you need anything else. It’s been a pleasure to see you again, Miss Marisol.” He smiled and I thought about giving him a hug. Would that be weird? Yes. It would.

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate it,” I said. He gave me a little wave and shut the door.

I emptied the boxes and shook my head.

Inside was another bouquet of lilacs, a basket of my favorite body wash and other bath items, candles, a plastic glass, and a tiny bottle of champagne. The other box had some of my favorite snacks, including a miniature box of my favorite chocolates.

He’d thought of everything. He must have been planning this for a while, or he had people to go out and get all these things for him. The latter was probably the case. Carl was certainly at his beck and call.

I got situated in the bath, poured myself a glass of champagne, and grabbed my phone. It had a waterproof case, so I didn’t worry about dropping it in the tub. I pulled up video chat and called Fin.

His face popped up on the screen, and I almost squealed with glee.

“Hey! I was just sitting in my tub, and I wanted to thank you for everything,” I said.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to hear from you today or not. I wasn’t sure if your day of freedom would include me.”

What? Was he serious?

“Of course it would involve you. It only happened because of you. How many contingencies did you plan for?”

He chuckled. “Nearly everything. Hurricane, monsoon, apocalypse. I wanted you to have the perfect day.”