Running Northwest (34 page)

Thomas hung up the phone and sighed. Something was not right and he could feel it in his gut. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore it for now and would deal with it later, he was father and boss first and second, a boyfriend third. He didn’t want the worry in his gut to ruin his day with his son.

He turned around and changed into his cloth
e
s for the day. It should be somewhat cool, so he chose jeans and black turtleneck. He walked out into the kitchen and made some coffee to help him wake up. About a half an hour later Daniel came in and announced that, he was ready to go. After grabbing a few things to bring with them and moving the deck furniture around to the back of the house along with a few other things that could blow away and after letting the dogs do their “business”, Thomas his son and the dogs piled in their truck and headed north to Cannon Beach.

.
             
.
             
.

Up the coast in Cannon Beach that same morning, Stephanie was getting ready to leave her rented cottage. She had thought all night about what to do for part of the day. She let her eagerness get control and decided to go down to Tillamook. Not really to talk to Thomas, but to see what it was like there; but inside she was hoping she at least would see him with her own eyes. She was nervous as hell but she needed to get it out of the way
, before she left. S
he drove into “downtown” Cannon Beach and stopped at a small café to get some coffee and a bagel. It was incredibly windy and she wanted to be back to Cannon Beach by noon at the latest because of the storm that was coming. When she woke up, she could see the huge waves pounding against haystack rock and flooding the beach as the waves crashed. It had started to rain lightly and for some reason it did not bother her at all. Ann, her new friend was right when she told Stephanie she would learn to love the rain here. For some reason it made the air and everything around her smell better.

Stephanie got into her rented convertible, left Cannon Beach and headed south down the Oregon Coast Highway. She did not know what to expect or what she would do once she got there. However, she did not care either, for the first time in years she was on an adventure and was not playing it safe. As she drove south and sipping her coffee she could see glimpses of the ocean and the rocky coast as she went, it was amazing to her and made her even more excited.

.
             
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.

Thomas and Daniel had stopped at Derrick’s house on the way out of town to see if he wanted to go with them. He was busy though, had things to take care of, and declined begrudgingly. As Daniel sat in the truck Thomas and Derrick stood behind the truck, had a cigarette, and talked for a few minutes. Thomas told his best friend about his worries about Tracie and not hearing from her. Derrick could tell it was bothering him even more than what he was saying.

“Well man I know she’s at work today because I j
ust left there, but she was in
some kind of mood, not gunna lie” Derrick said
.

“I just wish I knew why. I’m trying not to push it and call and text to much but it’s tough” Thomas said.

“I know man and I know it’s hard but just hang in there. I do know that Tracie and Erin had drinks last night over at Tracie’s house and Erin was there till I closed the bar. She must have been there for three hours at least” Derrick said.

“Did Erin say anything to you?” Thomas asked.

“No, not really man, but when Erin stopped at The Whaleback afterwards I asked her how her night was. All she said was “Tracie needs to grow up and get her head out of her ass. When I tried to get her to elaborate about it she said she didn’t want to and I didn’t want to push it with her; you know how Erin can be when she gets annoyed” Derrick answered.

He wasn’t sure what to think as he listened to his friend talk and just answered, “Yeah Bro, it’s cool I totally understand,” as he looked down at the ground and took a deep drag of his cigarette.

“Just remember buddy, she is young; and you and I both know how the young ones can be sometimes. But hey man don’t worry about it for now, go have fun with Daniel up the coast just you and him” Derrick said as he patted Thomas bicep.

“Yeah you’re right man but thanks all the same, and speaking of which it’s about 9 am so
we
should get out butts in gear and get up there
,
” Thomas said “Are you gunna be around when we get back this afternoon?”

“I should be yeah, when do you think you guys are going to be back?” Derrick asked.

“I don’t know maybe three or four, somewhere around there. I have to get back and get some things ready for the storm that we got coming
,
” Thomas answered.

“Yeah I was just listening to the marine alerts, sounds like it’s going to be a big one and may last a few days
,” Derrick answered. T
hen asked “do you, Daniel and the dogs want to stay here for a few days and ride it out
?
You’re more than welcome to if you want, you know that.”

“Thanks man but I think we will be okay, but if things get too rough we may head over for a night or part of a day
,
” Thomas said
.

“My place is your place buddy. But hell, I
dont
got much going on later. Why don’t you give me a call on your way back and I’ll drive up to your place and help you get things settled for the storm. Besides, I am sure Daniel will have some interesting things to tell me about your time up at Cannon Beach
.
”

“As long as you’re sure you want to, we would love the company man
,
” Thomas said.

“Definitely, just give me a call and let me know you’re heading back. Be careful driving man, I heard they got some trees down up the coast already” Derrick said

“Will do and yeah I’
ll watch out for the trees
,
” Thomas said.

The two friends shook hands, Derrick waved bye to Daniel then the father, and son took off. They made their way slowly through Tillamook and drove by Thomas’ café; he could see Tracie’s jeep parked next to the building and the place looked slow. He breathed deeply and decided he would call the café when they
got
to Cannon Beach to check in, but to just keep it all business on the phone. About ten minutes later, they were heading north again, back around Tillamook Bay and eventually drove through Garibaldi. Shortly after that their truck passed the dirt road that led to their small beach cottage. They already felt like they were out of town and in fact were barely away from home. Thomas and his son loved taking road trips trip like this, even ones that were a short distance away. They rolled their windows down and let the cool, salty and woodsy smelling air roll through the truck. Layla had her head out a back window, and Harley seemed content with just lying down and nodding off to sleep.

.
             
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.

The frothy and violent surf began pounding the rocks below the road, and rain gently began to fall more steadily through the trees near the ocean. The head winds from the huge storm that was nearing land began to gust up and bow the trees that lined the road and the mountains near the coast. All along the northern coast of Oregon, residents prepared as they always did when big storms like this kicked up. Restaurants brought in anything outside that may blow away, small retail shops closed while some stayed open, boats hurried for the safety of the harbors, people bought supplies and parents told their kids to stay close to home. The early season vacationers that were not used to the weather ran for cover and complained about their wasted vacations ruined by the rain. However, for the people that called the coast their home, it was just another day more or less and the high and wild surf drew wave watchers from all over the area.

As the rain came down, the wind kicked up and the waves crashed, two vehicles passed each other going opposite ways down the Oregon Coast Highway. The vehicles drivers were connected by the past and for one split second without ever realizing it, a man and a woman were closer to each other than they had been in years.

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Because of the weather, it took Thomas well over an hour to get to Cannon Beach. However, when Thomas pulled his truck through the shop and store lined streets of Cannon Beach a smile came across his face. When he had first moved to Oregon all those years ago this was one of the first places he visited. The town was small, seasonal and quiet and was one of the more unique of the towns he had been to. The shops that lined the streets to a large degree had the same brownish clapboard design. Most of the buildings in town had the same similar look to them; even the residential homes and cottages that lined the beach were connected in varying types of the style. In the back seat of the truck, Harley sat up and her tail began wagging, this was one of her favorite places to come. The dog seemed to know when she was here; it was familiar to her. Layla the other dog seemed to be curious about everything she saw as they drove, especially other dogs.

The town was not very busy, more than likely it had something to do with the rainy weather and the approaching storm. Thomas knew many of the shop owners in the town here; he was decent friends with a few of them. Small business owners on the coast tended to be a very tight-knit group. In addition, in places such as Cannon Beach that did not allow big national retai
lers, small businesses were the
heart and soul of towns. Cannon Beach was a very artsy town on the coast it was part of the mystic and draw. There were shops that sold paintings, photographs, blown glass, sculptures, crafts for homes and jewelry all of which was made locally for the most part. The owners were an eclectic bunch of people from all lifestyles, but everyone worked together to keep the town alive, successful and famous.

Thomas pulled into a parking spot on th
e side of South Hemlock Street. T
hen he opened the truck door and got out but left the windows down a little for the dogs.
His son did the same and waited for his father on the sidewalk. As soon as they closed the doors their two dogs jumped into the front seat, intent on watching their owners.

“So Dad what do you want to do
?
” Daniel asked.

“Well are you hungry or do you want to walk around town for a little while and check out the shops?” Thomas answered with a question.

“I don’t know Dad what do you think we should do, but I’m not too hungry yet” the boy said basically repeating himself
.

Thomas looked at his watch and then said, “Well Kiddo it’s close to 10:30 now, and I was thinking we could eat lunch in an hour or so. Then we can head over to the beach and walk around there for a while with the dogs. So let’s bum around town for a bit, besides your dad could use some coffee
.
”

“Yeah I could use some coffee too Dad
,” the boy said as he
and his father walked down the sidewalk.

“Oh yeah, when did you start drinking coffee
?
” Thomas asked with a little grin.

“I don’t know, today I suppose” the boy answered with a giggle.

“Huh well that’s new, well how about you get hot chocolate instead and you can try a sip of my coffee
?
” Thomas said then adding “kids aren’t supposed to drink coffee you know, it will stunt your growth
.
”

“Grandpa says you drank it when you were young, and your growth didn’t stunt at all Dad
,
” Daniel said
.

“Oh did he really say that
?
” Thomas said laughing.

“Yeah, he sure did Dad
,
” Daniel said smiling

“Well you can have sip of mine and leave it at that for a few years okay
,
” Thomas said
.

“Fine
,
” the boy said mildly defeated but getting a big hug from his dad as they walked.

After walking a little ways down the sidewalk, they came to an opening on the left side between some of the brown buildings, which housed small shops. Set towards the back down a stone path was a small coffee shop. Thomas had come here many times and it had been a few different coffee shops over the years. It was now called Santos Café and as it had been through several owners was decorated in an Old World Italian style with a twist. He was friends with the owner Paul, but he knew that Paul would not be here for another month or so. Thomas opened the door and was hit by blast of warm air, coffee scents, and baked goods. Daniel went it first, and Tho
mas shut the door after them
.

Daniel went and sat down on big leather couch surrounded by windows and Thomas ordered their drinks from the young girl who was working. Thomas who needed a pick me up got three shots of espresso and topped it off with coffee, and got his son large hot chocolate. As a man in the coffee business, he kept a close eye on how this girl was making their drinks. At one point in time, Thomas wasn’t afraid to point out other baristas short comings and he had gotten kicked out of a few places over the years for doing it. He toned it down now and just watched; and silently judged. He also grabbed two muffins for them to snack on and after paying and tipping the girl, he went and sat down with his son. The two of them sat and talked about where they were going to go next and as Thomas watched his son scarf down his muffin he was glad he grabbed them. And as promised Thomas let Daniel have a sip of coffee, who after drinking some thought it was gross. Thomas laughed and sipped his coffee as his son went through a magazine about whales.