Dreams Adrift (A River Dream Novel) (23 page)

A warm smile replaced the funny look on
Rhiannon’s face. “That is very sweet, Michael. It’s your fault, you
know.”

Wondering what I’d done now, I asked, “What’s
my fault?”

“
It’s your fault that Malori can’t
find a steady boyfriend,” Rhiannon informed me. “She compares the
guys she dates to her big brother, and they always come up
short.”

Looking down into my coffee cup, I demurred,
“I’m not that much to compare to.”

“
To Malori you are,” Rhiannon
said. “And someday she’ll find the guy that measures up, and she’ll
be glad she waited.”

We finished our drinks and walked back to my
folks’ house. I almost reached out to take her hand -
almost.

When we got to her car, Rhiannon asked me to
say good-night and thanks to my folks for her. She gave me a hug,
got in her car, and left. I went into the house. My mom and dad had
already gone to bed, but Malori was up watching
television.

Looking up from whatever show it was she was
watching, she asked, “Did you and Rhiannon have a nice
talk?”

Taking a seat in one of the recliners, I
answered, “Yes, we did.”

“
What did you talk about?” Malori
asked.

“
You, mostly,” I said.

Turning around so that she faced me, Malori
exclaimed, “Me! What did you talk about me for?”

Not able to resist teasing her a little, I
said, “You are a very interesting subject. I’ve been thinking about
taking some psychology classes just so I can figure you
out.”

She stuck her tongue out at me. “Fery vunny,
Mike,” she said.

“
I haven’t heard that in a while,”
I said, feeling a nostalgic twinge.

“
I picked it up from Rhiannon,”
Malori said.

“
I figured,” I told her. Realizing
I was exhausted, I decided to go to bed. “Good-night,
Mal.”

“
Good night, Michael. I’m glad
you’re home.”

Thirty-five

When I woke up in my mother’s music room the
next morning, it took me a moment to remember where I was. I hadn’t
slept that well, both because of all the coffee I had at the pier
and because I wasn’t used to sleeping on solid land.

Pulling on some sweats, I headed out to the
deck for my morning workout. As I finished up, my dad came out on
the deck dressed for his morning walk.

“
Do you mind if I join you?” I
asked.

“
I don’t mind at all,” he said.
“I’ll be glad for the company.”

He did a few stretching exercises and
commented on how he could see his breath in the cold air. The wind
had changed overnight, and some clouds had moved in, but it was
still brisk.

“
Did you and Rhiannon have a nice
visit last night after Malori and I left?”

“
Yes, we did,” I said. “We talked
about Malori.”

“
Really,” my father said, sounding
surprised. “What about Malori?”

I filled him in on what Rhiannon told me. “We
talked about how she can’t find a boyfriend who measures up to the
high standards we’ve set for male behavior. According to Rhiannon,
we have ruined that girl for most men with our high level of
morality and trustworthiness.”

“
It must be all that time we spent
in Boy Scouts,” my father quipped.

“
It must be,” I agreed.

Done with his stretching, my father headed for
the steps. “As her dad, I rather like it that she hasn’t had a
serious boyfriend.”

“
As her dad, you’d probably be
happier if she decided to become a nun,” I joked as I followed him
to the road.

My father shook his head. “No, not really,
though she is going to Notre Dame, so maybe there’s
hope.”

I’d been wondering how that was going for her.
“How’s she done up there? Has the change been good for
her?”

“
I think it has. She didn’t decide
it on the spur of the moment. She researched it and thought about
it for quite some time,” my father reminded me.

“
I thought she kept it a big
secret,” I said.

“
She thought she did too. Parents
know things, son,” my father said, giving me one of those
looks.

“
I won’t ask what sort of things
you knew about me,” I said.

“
It’s probably best you don’t,” my
father said with such a serious expression that for a moment I was
worried.

“
Hey, I never did anything that
bad,” I protested.

“
No, I guess you didn’t,” my
father admitted with a smile. He’d gotten me good. We neared the
end of his walk. He did about two miles up and down the beach each
morning. It always finished up at the pier where he would get his
daily cup of coffee.

Rhiannon’s uncle was at the counter. If I
understood Aunt Cassie correctly, they traded twelve-hour shifts
this time of year when business was slow. That’s quite a grind when
you’re open twenty-four hours a day seven days a week.

“
Good morning Mr. Angevine,” I
said as we walked up to the counter.

Rhiannon’s uncle stepped out from behind the
counter to greet us, “Michael, good morning. Good morning,
Owen.”

“
Good morning, Ed,” my father
said, taking a seat on a stool at the counter. Rhiannon’s uncle’s
name was Edmond.

“
Michael, what’s with the Mr.
Angevine? It’s Ed,” he said, sounding disappointed I’d been so
formal.

“
I’m sorry, Ed. I guess it’s just
been a while,” I apologized.

“
It’s not a problem. Owen,
coffee?” Ed asked, going behind the counter and picking up the
pot.

“
Yes, please,” my father
said.

“
Mike?” Ed asked, gesturing with
the coffee pot in my direction.

“
The same, please,” I said as I
sat down beside my dad.

“
Do you like yours the way your
dad takes his?” Ed asked.

Realizing he meant did I take mine with maple
syrup, I replied, “Yes, please.”

“
Coming right up,” Ed said. “Mike,
Lind told me that you and Rhiannon are going to spell us today. He
said he didn’t know what time, though.”

“
Truthfully, I don’t think we
thought about that, Ed,” I said. “What would be a good
time?”

Setting our cups down on the counter, Ed said,
“We usually go twelve to twelve. If you and my niece were to come
on at six tonight and work through to six in the morning, Lind
could get to spend some time with the Missus, and I could get a
good night’s sleep.”

The way he said the last remark made me think
it had been a while since he’d had a good night’s sleep.

“
I’ll call Rhiannon and let her
know,” I said.

We finished our coffee and headed to the house
where my mother had prepared us a hearty breakfast of bacon and
scrambled eggs. Malori was gone to the aquarium by the time we got
back. She’d told me that so many of the volunteers from the college
were away for Spring Break that the volunteer coordinator had
practically begged Malori to work extra shifts.

I spent the rest of the morning with my
father, going over business stuff. He insisted it would be a good
idea if I had at least some understanding of just what was going on
with all those investments. I was glad when lunch time finally
arrived as I was picking Rhiannon up for lunch.

We
were going to Dupree’s. It had been a long time since I’d eaten a
good Dupree’s pizza, not since the day we helped Rhiannon move from
Greenville. I decided I wasn’t waiting any longer.

“
Well, well, well, if it isn’t my
old friend Michael,” Alfredo said as Rhiannon and I walked
in.

Smiling at his boisterous greeting, I embraced
my friend. “Hello, Alfredo,” I said. “How have you been? How’s
business?”

Slapping me on the back, Alfredo assured me,
“Business has been good, Michael, and I have been good,
too.”

He ushered us to a table. His restaurant on
the island was quite different from his place in town. The
atmosphere was much brighter, and there were plenty of
windows.

“
Rhiannon,” Alfredo said to her,
“what are you doing hanging around with this character?”

“
In a weak moment I agreed to let
him buy me lunch, Alfredo,” Rhiannon said smiling. “Then I couldn’t
find a good excuse to get out of it.”

Alfredo laughed and said, “Well I, for one,
like seeing the two of you together. It reminds me of when you were
kids.”

He left on that note and sent a waitress right
over to our table.

Taking out her order pad she said, “The boss
said to take good care of you guys, that you’re old friends of
his.”

“
We’ve known Alfredo a long time,”
I told her.

“
That’s cool,” she said, sounding
impressed. “My name is Bella, short for Isabella, and I’ll be
taking care of you. What can I bring you to drink?”

“
I’d like some sweet tea,”
Rhiannon said.

“
The same for me,” I told
her.

Jotting down our drink order, she said, “Two
sweet teas coming up. Are you ready to order some food?”

I looked at Rhiannon and she shrugged to
indicate that she would eat whatever I ordered.

“
What I’d like is a large pizza
with pepperoni, peppers, and onions,” I told Bella.

“
All right, anything else?” Bella
asked.

Before I could add anything, Rhiannon said, “I
think that will be plenty. After all, I have to watch my
figure.”

“
I’m sure we can find plenty of
volunteers to watch your figure for you, Rhiannon,” I
quipped.

“
Brat,” Rhiannon retorted. Bella
laughed and went off to place our order.

The pizza was as delicious as I’d been
anticipating and, despite Rhiannon’s doubts, we, mostly me, managed
to finish off the whole thing. I was stuffed and figured it would
take a couple of miles up and down the beach to work off our lunch,
but I didn’t care. It had been months since I’d had a Dupree’s
pizza, and I enjoyed every bite.

After lunch we drove down to the aquarium at
Fort Fisher to see Malori at work. My father had dug out my
membership card and given it to me that morning. It was a Founder’s
Membership card. Those cards were reserved for patrons who made
donations of at least six digits.

Rhiannon knew about the Lanier Marine Science
Foundation and that through it my family was a founding member of
all three North Carolina Aquariums. I didn’t know if the person
responsible for hiring Malori knew it or not. I supposed it had
probably come up sometime during the application
process.

Not that Malori needed the money. I’d set her
up with a trust fund that would provide for her for life should she
need it. Our mother and father had raised her the same way they did
me, though. She would rather earn her way than have it paid for
her. In most ways she was better about that than I was.

When the young lady - her name was Lydia
according to the name tag pinned just above the North Carolina
Aquarium logo on her aquamarine golf shirt - working at the
aquarium’s ticket window looked at my membership card, her lips
curled into a puzzled smile. I realized she’d probably never seen a
card like it.

“
Sir, could you wait just a
moment?” Lydia asked. “I’ll be right back.”

Thirty-six

I shrugged, smiled, and said, “All right, I’ll
wait right here.”

Lydia went out the door at the back of the
ticket booth and over to the information desk.

Rhiannon nudged me and said, “What’s the
matter? Has your membership expired?”

Before I could reply that my membership never
expired, Lydia returned with an older lady wearing a similar
aquamarine golf shirt. To my surprise, the older lady was Mrs.
Watson, my high school biology teacher.

“
Mrs. Watson, is that you?” I
asked as she walked up to us.

Not recognizing us right away, she replied, “I
am Mrs. Watson, yes.”

Then, as recognition set in, she exclaimed,
“Michael Lanier, Rhiannon Angevine, well, well, fancy seeing the
two of you here, together. It’s all right to let them in, dear,”
Mrs. Watson said Lydia. “Michael and his family are founding
members of the aquarium.”

Rhiannon and I went inside, and Mrs. Watson
met us in the lobby.

“
Michael, I was so sorry to hear
about Maeve. She was a dear friend and a fine teacher. We really
miss her at Laney.”

“
Thank you, Mrs. Watson,” I
said.

She hadn’t meant to hurt me. Rhiannon saw the
look that started to come over me and gently squeezed me
hand.

“
It means a lot when I hear she’s
remembered fondly by her friends and colleagues,” I was able to
say.

“
Yes, yes, well, what can I do for
you today?” Mrs. Watson asked, becoming very
businesslike.