Past Forward Volume 1 (25 page)

Chad watched as the pup whimpered, stood,
shook her head, and walked, a little drunken-looking, back toward
Wilhelmina. “Oh, no you don’t, girl,” Chad warned as he pushed the
wriggling puppy away again. “One lost dog is enough for one
day.”

Pup fed, he dragged himself up the steps and
into the house. The heat stifled him, but he chose not to turn on
the fans. Not now. Not today. Kari’s journals lay on the coffee
table, and eager to take his mind off the gloom of the evening, he
picked one up, flipping the pages listlessly. The clock chimed
six-thirty. He tried to read again—fail.

With great reluctance, he pulled his phone
from his pocket and scrolled through his address book for Bill
Franklin’s number. When Bill answered, Chad spoke one sentence.
Only one. “I’ve just buried Othello.”

His phone buzzed. Bill slipped it out of his
pocket, noting the exasperated expression on Willow’s face. He
could hear her thoughts as clearly as if she spoke them.
What is
so important that you can’t wait until after a meal to answer
that?

Chad. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t
ignore it. The call could be about anything. The man was an
officer—if something— Decision made, he slid open the phone and
murmured, “Yes?”

It was the last thing he expected to
hear—the worst. She’d be devastated. Surprise melded into dismay
and then burst into anger. He slid the phone shut with a snap.

“Is everything ok?”

“No, but it’ll keep. Have you decided what
you want to order?”

Willow shook her head ruefully. “It all
sounds so bizarre and exotic. Why don’t you choose something you
think I’ll like?”

The sushi experience with Willow was
delightful. They ordered different appetizer samplers and her
reaction to each one was more entertaining than the last. She loved
some, wrinkled her nose and pushed away others, and in the end, sat
back in the chair and sighed. “This was so much fun!”

Bill glanced at his watch. It was only
seven-thirty, but he knew it might be a late night when she
discovered her dog was gone. With church the next day—her walking
the five miles—she needed her rest. “Have you considered getting a
car?”

Her laughter rang out through the room. A
few diners around them sent strange looks in their direction, but
Willow didn’t seem to notice. “What would I do with a car?”

“Well, you wouldn’t have to walk into town
anymore; you wouldn’t have to carry things back from town, and you
could—” He paused. Maybe it was too soon to expect her to want to
visit him spontaneously.

“I could what?”

“Well, you might want to come into the city,
see the sights, do some shopping, take me out to dinner—”

“Walk on your walk-mill.”

“Treadmill.”

“Treadmill,” she agreed. “Can I try it
before we go home?”

“You want to use my treadmill.” Bill was
dumfounded.

“It’s such an interesting machine. You have
a city full of interesting places to see, and yet you have a
machine so you can stay home to walk.”

“I have a city full of unsafe places to
walk.”

Willow seemed lost in thought before she
said, “Very true. So will you let me try? I want to see how long I
can walk on it.”

Even with the lights of the city, the
darkness of night seemed to lessen her panic as they neared his
building. Her fear seemed more reasonable as he watched it loosen
its grip each time she faced it. His prior concern that it would
keep her from Rockland as Kari’s had dissipated. She’d be fine; in
time, Willow would be just fine.

In his apartment, he dug through his closet
drawers and found old swim trunks with a drawstring and a t-shirt.
Willow donned them quickly, nearly bubbling with excitement to try
out something that seemed so mundane to him. How long before she
lost some of that? Would it be refreshing or disappointing? He
couldn’t tell. Occasional moments of childlike wonder were
charming, but would a steady stream of it be annoying? He feared it
would—hoped it would not.

Willow, in shorts to her knees, a shirt
nearly as long, with sleeves to her elbow, and her hair tied back
with the rubber band from his newspaper was an utterly different
kind of attractive. Within minutes she knew exactly how to operate
the machine, increasing speed and incline at will. His eyes watched
the clock, timing her to see how long it would take her to break a
sweat. He flushed when ten minutes later the first signs of
perspiration showed on her upper lip.

He excused himself and slipped into his
bathroom. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, Bill dialed his
last call and waited for Chad to answer. “Hey, it’s Bill. What
should I do about Willow?”

“Where are you?”

Anticipating Chad’s surprise, Bill said, “My
place. Willow wanted to try out my treadmill.”

“Treadmill?”

“I know, crazy right? She’s obsessed. She’s
been on it for fifteen minutes, and it’s like watching the
Energizer bunny. She keeps on going and going and going...”

“
Well, that’s Willow. She
didn’t even seem the slightest bit winded after carrying home that
suitcase.”

“So what should I do? Do I tell her about
the dog or what?”

Chad’s silence was unnerving, but at last,
he spoke. “I think I should tell her. I don’t want to, but I
should. I don’t know how she’ll take it. Do you know how long
they’ve had that dog?”

Bill thought for several seconds before
replying, “Well, I think they got him four or five years after I
started going out there, so he has to be seven or eight years
old.”

“Ok,” Chad decided. “I think you need to
tell her that I called and have something to discuss with her, so
you’re going to just drop her off and go back home. I’m really
sorry for ruining your evening, but I have to work at ten tomorrow.
I’ve gotta get some sleep soon, but I think she’d take this better
from me.”

“I understand. I appreciate it. I’m not very
good with these things. At least you get some training...”

Dead phone in hand, Bill left the bathroom
somewhat subdued. Their day—so full of fun and good times—he had
enjoyed it more than he had expected. Not only did he not want it
to end, he certainly didn’t want it to end the way it would.

Seeing Willow, he laughed. Sweat dampened
the shirt slightly, and she walked with purpose. Regardless, it
didn’t seem to faze her physically. “I knew you were amazing,
Willow, but this is just embarrassing.”

Half way up the drive, Willow spotted the
light from her living room windows. “Chad must still be here. I
didn’t expect him to wait for me. Now I feel terrible.”

“Why?” Bill was stalling and he knew it. The
car slowed until it barely crept along the lane.

“When I came back from the court thing in
Rockland, I mentioned how sad it was that Mother wasn’t there to
welcome me home. He must have—”

“That’s not it,” Bill began. Nerves twisted
into a knot in his stomach. She’d cry tonight.
Thank God for
Tesdall,
he thought to himself. “He has something to talk to
you about. I got a message from him when you were on the
treadmill.” Before his words could sink in and she asked any
uncomfortable questions, Bill kept talking. “I had a wonderful time
today, Willow. Thank you for coming.”

Her mind distracted from Chad, the lit
house, and looming discussions on mysterious topics, Willow
unconsciously laid her hand on his arm and said, “I had a wonderful
time too! Thank you so much for taking me to the clothing store;
I’m sure it wasn’t much fun for you. Oh, and don’t forget to
reimburse yourself for my clothes and food and everything.”

Bill shook his head. “I’ll cut me a check
for your clothes, Willow, but our meals are on me.”

“I can’t let you pay for my food! You did
that last time. If anything, I should have paid for your dinner. It
was my turn.”

He stopped the car, three hundred yards from
the house in the middle of the driveway, and put it in park. He
switched on the interior light and said, “Willow, I wanted to take
you out for the day. I wanted to treat you. Think of it as a gift
that someone wanted to give you. You accept the gift, but do you
write a check out for the cost?”

He watched as understanding dawned. “Oh.”
She blinked. “How obtuse of me, this was a date!” She shook her
head as though amazed and then gave him a slow smile. “What would
Mother say?”

Bill knew she wasn’t thinking of their day
as anything but fun and a kind gesture on his part and her
realization caught him off guard. “What do you mean? You think your
mother would object?”

“I think my mother would shake her head and
ask if there was nothing that I wanted that I wouldn’t eventually
get.” His eyes widened in surprise, but before Bill could respond,
Willow unintentionally stomped down fledgling hopes. “Remember, I
had a crush on you once. Delayed gratification is still
gratification. Oh, Mother! If you could see me…”

Her voice choked mid laugh, and she pressed
her lips together. Tears welled in her eyes as she reached behind
his seat and pulled out her purse and the souvenir bag from the
museum. When she opened the car door, Bill caught her arm. “Where
are you going?”

“I have to get Chad out of my house.”

Those words were the last he expected to
hear. His brilliant reply left him groaning in disgust with
himself. “Huh?”

“He has to work tomorrow morning, so if
there is something we have to talk about, I need to get in there so
he can get home. Thanks again.” She stepped onto the drive.

“Get in.”

“What?”

Bill’s voice grew slightly more insistent.
“I said, get in.”

Willow started to acquiesce but stopped with
one foot raised. “Why?”

“You’re not walking the rest of the way up
this thing alone. What kind of jerk do you think I am?”

Bill saw the front door open and Chad emerge
from the house and sighed. “Well, looks like he’s waiting for you.”
The car stopped. “I’ll get your door.”

With a hand on his arm, Willow stopped him.
“I offended you. I’m sorry.”

“No, I just wish things could be
different.”

She smiled brightly at him. “They can. Next
time.”

“Will there be a next time?”

She opened the door, exited, and stuck her
head back into the car and said, before closing it firmly. “That,
my friend, is entirely up to you.”

Chad waited as Willow made her way up the
path to the porch, waving at Bill as he turned around and drove
back down the driveway. Not knowing what else to do, he met her at
the bottom of the steps and took her hand. “I have something to
tell you.”

Willow set her things on the steps and
walked with Chad as he led her around the barn and across the
meadow to the oak tree where her mother’s grave looked disturbed.
She gave him a pained look and tried to tear her hand free of his
to rush to the grave, but Chad held her back. “Willow wait.”