Running Northwest (26 page)

“I said a snack…you had dinner, buddy; pizza is not a snack…how about ice cream?” Thomas said.

“Fine. I think I can deal with ice cream,” Daniel replied, adding, “With chocolate on top.”

“Is there any other way?” Thomas said.

“Not really, Dad,” Daniel said, looking at his father as though the man was insane. The boy thought a little and then said, “Well, sometimes butterscotch is okay too I guess.”

“Yeah it is, Daniel…so, uhh…I just want to make sure once
more and
just to make sure again – are you are really okay with me and Tracie dating? Thomas asked

“Yes, Dad, I am. You don’t have to worry so much, I get it. If something bugs me, I’ll talk to you about it, but for now…I’m good I promise” Daniel said.

“Okay well then I’m good to” Thomas said as he hugged his son lightly.

“So Dad, are you going to have ice cream for a snack tonight too”?
The
boy asked.

“I don’t know, probably not,”? Thomas said.

“You don’t eat much ice cream Dad, don’t you like it” Daniel asked

“Oh I like it very much, but I’m sort of lactose intolerant buddy” Thomas said

“Lacto…what
?
” the boy asked looking confused and making Thomas laugh slightly.

“Umm… well it makes me sick to my stomach kind of, dairy and stuff does that to people when they get old sometimes,” Thomas said as he joined his son and walked ankle deep in the ocean.

“Dang…I hope I don’t get old like that, I really like ice cream a lot. I’m sorry you’re old Dad” the boy said.

“It’s cool, buddy; it happens,” Thomas said with a smile.

Thomas and Daniel walked slowly towards their house and discussed the upcoming visit from their family back in Michigan. When they got home, they gave the dogs a quick bath to get the off the sand and bugs. Eventually they sat down for ice cream; Thomas even had a small cup to show his son he was not too old for it. After they watched TV for an hour Daniel changed his clothes took his shower and went to bed. Thomas called Tracie and talked to her for a while, she was very amused when she heard about the “talk” he and Daniel had about their budding relationship and Thomas stealing his sons “girl”. After Thomas said goodbye to her so she could go to bed for the night he went into his kitchen. He sat down and turned on his laptop to check his email and social networking site. He had an email from his mother Grace and one from his sister Amanda. He also had one from Derrick that was a forwarded message, which he opened immediately.

The message from Derrick was originally from their favorite sheriff, the email they had been eagerly waiting for. After reading it, Thomas was more confused than he was concerned. The mystery visitor that had come into town and had been asking questions apparently was a reporter. His name was Samuel Terreto. He worked for the Oregonian Newspaper over in Portland as a writer on local Latino issues and did some writing for the sports section.

Terreto was 33 years old, married to Lisa Palmer who was 31 years old. They had two kids; ages 4 and 2. He was born in El Salvador and moved to the United States with his parents when he was five years old. The file listed his address, where he went to high school and college, as well as his parents’ names, ages and address. He had no known record and had not even had a traffic ticket in the state of Oregon in the four years since he had lived here. As Thomas kept reading the email, he found himself more and more impressed by the accomplishments of this Terreto person. However, Thomas could not figure out why he was so interested in him and Derrick and their lives here on the Coast. If it was a follow up story on the death of Sarah or on Thomas and Daniel life since her death, that story had already been written before and Terreto should know that. Nevertheless, that theory did not make total sense to Thomas anyway. He thought about it for a few more minutes and realized how tired he was. He quickly sent Derrick a short email response and shut off the laptop. He could feel his gut trying to tell him something but he could not figure out what it was.

He walked out onto the deck to get some fresh air and looked out at the expanse of black in front of him. The moon would occasionally poke through the clouds and every so often Thomas thought he felt a raindrop or two; he had been waiting for it. It was supposed to start raining sometime the next day and then for three or four days after that. A front was coming in from the southwest and there was the possibility of gale watches and warnings for the next week. In the morning, he would put the deck furniture and anything else that may blow away in the storage shed next to the house. After another fifteen minutes or so Thomas went back inside to take his own shower then went to bed, his dog Layla was a
lready there waiting for him
half asleep.

It was 8:30 in the morning on Tuesday in Michigan and Stephanie Davis had been sitting at her desk for nearly an hour already. Normally on any other day she wasn’t even there until 9 am. She had decided to take a sick day on Monday and drive up north, just her and her dog Shadow, so she could think. Today she had to play catch up for everything she had not gotten done yesterday, which so far hadn’t taken her long. When she woke up for work, she sent her friend Karen a text message to let her know that she would be at work today. Karen had called all day Sunday and eventually briefly stopped by Stephanie’s house to check on her. It was then that she let Karen know she would not be into work on Monday.

Stephanie sat at her desk typing out emails in the nearly empty corporate headquarters where she worked; looking up when she heard the unmistakable sound of Karen throwing her stuff on her own desk after coming in the door. A few moments later Karen came marching into Stephanie’s office not bothering to knock first.

“Okay woman, spill it, what the hell is going on, why the hell did you take the day off yesterday, what the hell is on your mind”? Karen asked forcefully the way she always was in the morning.

“I took a drive Hun, I told you I had stuff to think about and things I needed to deal with” Stephanie said calmly as she continued her typing.

“And did you get it figured out, you know you scared the living shit out of me on Sunday with your not answering your phone crap” Karen said.

“Yes I did and I made some decisions Karen. I’m sorry about the Sunday thing I was still reeling from what you and I talked about on Friday night, I am very sorry Sweetie,” Stephanie said.

“Bah… fine, I suppos
e you deserved the space
, you did deal with a lot. You seem calmer, maybe content…not too sure if I like it” Karen said.

“I don’t know maybe I am I suppose” Stephanie said with a simple smile.

“So have y
ou figured out what you’re going to
do about this business with your man Thomas?” Karen asked.

“Okay for one he’s not my man Karen and yes I have figured it out I think, at least for now” Stephanie answered.

“So…don’t leave me hanging girl what are you gunna do” Karen asked as tapped her hand on armrest of her chair.

Stephanie reached into the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a few pieces of paper. She looked across the desk at her friend who was eyeing the papers she was holding in her hand, smiled and hand them over. Karen grabbed them like a kid in a candy store and read them a few times making sure she was reading them right.

“Holy shit
girl you’re actually going there to see him
?
” Karen said partially exasperated.

“I’m going there yes, but to see Thomas…I don’t know yet. I am taking a long weekend and going to see the Oregon Coast. I’ll be leaving on a Wednesday morning and coming back Sunday night,” Stephanie said.

“Umm yeah, I can see that, but why and why so soon? You just read all of the stuff I got for you Steph; you have not had much time to process it Darlin. And now you’re going on a plane to get back a guy a you haven’t seen in damn near five years, it’s insane Sweetie…specially for you” Karen said.

“Karen I’m not going out there to see him so to speak, I’m going out there to see what it’s like where he lives. The information and pictures you got for me were wonderful and helpful and I learned a lot. However, I realized for as long as I knew Thomas and for as much as he talked about Oregon, I have really no idea what it is like there. However, sometimes there are thing’s a girl just needs to see and learn on her own. I suppose maybe you could say I’m going on my own research trip and vacation” Stephanie said.

“Interesting, well did you at least tell your friend Derrick you’re heading out there on vacation
?
” Karen asked.

“Well I called him Saturday night and left him a voicemail, I was going to talk to him when he called me back. But he hasn’t done that yet” Stephanie said then adding “and I’m worried if I let him know before I get there that he will tell Thomas I’m there and I’m not sure I’m ready for that. I do not know if Thomas would even want to see me at all, I may not even see Derrick at all either. Besides I’ve been working my ass off and been through hell with that bastard ex-boyfriend of mine and I think
I
deserve a little vacation for myself”

“It’s true you do deserve a vacation that’s very true. So basically you’re going out there to stalk him…them” Karen asked pressing her friend.

“It’s not stalking Karen, I just need to know what I’m dealing with if I have any chance of rekindling something with Thomas…if that’s even possible at this point in our lives, hell he may have a girlfriend you know. But I still love him and I just have to do this” Stephanie said

“Okay I understand you having to do this for you, but from what you told me about Thomas and Derrick their pretty smart. What are you going to do if Thomas sees you or finds out you’re there? Obviously you can’t just go around town asking questions about him. I mean look what happened with my reporter friend Sam, he got shut down faster than hell” Karen said.

“I don’t plan on asking questions Karen, I have enough information already to lead me around. And I don’t really think that after five year Thomas would even recognize me anymore if we just happened to run into each other. People change as we get older. I look a lot different than I did before he left” Stephanie said.

“Okay good poi
nt Steph but what about Derrick?
And where are you going to stay, I mean it’s not like you can just check into a hotel in the town where they live, that’s a little chancy don’t you think
?
” Karen asked then adding “and sometimes you never forget the face of someone you once loved, even years later”

“If I run into Derrick I’ll deal with him. As I said, I may call him anyway while I am there. As far as a hotel, I am goi
ng to be staying up the coast a
ways
from Tillamook, about an hour. I managed to find a little place to rent for that weekend though in a town called Cannon Beach, Thomas told me about it once. It was not as cheap as a hotel would have been. But the older guy and his wife who own it said the view is amazing and the beach is only a hundred feet away. And it’s away from the crowds and the more touristy part of town which will be nice. The big plus is that it is an actual house and not some crappy hotel room. They told me that it’s getting towards the busy tourist season out there and rooms get harder to come by, and more expensive
,
” Stephanie explained.

“So you’re thinking if you stay outside of the town they live in; Tillamook or whatever it is. You can just pop in and out and not really be noticed too much and hopefully at all. And then just pass yourself of as a typical tourist while you’re there
?
” Karen asked.

“Yep that’s about it, just a normal tourist my friend, that’s on vacation on the Oregon Coast
,
” Stephanie said

“And stalking someone while she’s there” Karen said giving her friend a look.

“Would you stop saying that, I’m not stalking him Karen,” Stephanie said getting kind of annoyed.

“Fine we will call it research if it makes you happy, but at least acknowledge that this could go really…really badly,” Karen said.

“Yes it could I’ll admit that, I’m just going to have to be very, very careful and not be stupid about how I do things” Stephanie said.

“I don’t know whether I should kick your ass and try and stop you, or support you on this” Karen said then adding “but it’s probably my fault for staring all of this”.

“Damn right it is” Stephanie said as she threw a pen at her friend and laughing.

“So, when do you leave
?
” Karen asked.

“Three weeks from Wednesday, I leave May 12th,” Stephanie said.

“And I suppose you need a ride to airport and someone to watch your big dumb dog too”? Karen asked.

“Just a ride, my brother Rob is going to watch Shadow for me
,
” Stephanie said
.