The Way to Her Heart (10 page)

“I thought we had a double date planned for Friday,” Trisha said as she set her tray on the table.

“Oh, that’s right. How about Saturday, Josh? Could you find some time for me?”

“Sure, Kay. It’s a date.” He reached across the table and covered her hand with his own. Bernie couldn’t help comparing his sweet gesture with Diego’s creepy one earlier.

She tried to concentrate on the lecture in economics, but she simply could not make herself care about the production possibilities frontier. She probably should have taken Josh up on his offer of a ride home during lunch, but she needed to be here. When class finally ended, it took superhuman strength to pry herself out of her desk. When she wobbled unsteadily, Josh was there.

“You’re too stubborn for your own good. You need to go home.” He shouldered her backpack.

“Yeah, I think you’re right. Can you take me?”

“Really? I mean, yeah, of course. Let’s go.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble for ditching. I can just go to the nurse’s office.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Once home, he tucked her into bed and made sure she took her medicine.

“Thanks, Josh. Sorry to be such a pain in the butt.”

He might have said something in reply, but she was already asleep.

***

She
finally felt well enough to return to work Wednesday. Her boss, Karen, was extremely understanding and insisted she take it easy, just manning the cash register instead of stocking and cleaning. Two hours into her shift she was thankful for the restricted workload and sat, exhausted, sipping ginger ale behind the register.

The bell on the door rang, and she sat up, trying to look somewhat alert for the customer. “Hi. Welcome to the Pink Rhino. Can I help you find—oh, Josh. Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Are you aware the name of this shop sounds more like a strip club than a used clothing boutique? Anyway, I just got off work and thought I’d stop by to see how you’re feeling. I brought you some dinner.” He set a paper bag on the counter and proceeded to remove a foil container and various other items.

“You didn’t have to do that. What is all this?” She laughed as he unfolded a place mat, a plate, cloth napkin, and real silverware. “No candle?”

“Shit. I knew I forgot something!” He laughed as he dished food onto her plate. “I hope you like chicken marsala.”

“Thanks, Josh. This is really nice. And delicious! Wow! Did you make it?”

“Nah. It was the special tonight. I was actually waiting tables because someone called in sick. So this is where you work, huh? Are you the only one here?” He browsed a few of the nearby aisles while she ate.

“Yeah. I close by myself most nights. As you can see, we’re not exactly busy.”

“This isn’t the greatest area of town. Do you feel safe here by yourself?”

“Sure. It’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Hmmm. Well, I can’t help it, Bernie. Sorry.” He returned to the register and leaned his forearms on the counter as he shrugged.

She could foresee frequent visits from him as he checked on her but decided not to argue with him at the moment. He’d been nice enough to bring her food, and she didn’t think he deserved an argument.

“What time do you get off?”

“Nine. It can’t come soon enough.” She finished the delicious dinner he’d brought and started to gather the dishes. “I’ll rinse these off in the back if you’ll watch the register.”

“Don’t bother. I’ll just take them home and throw them in the dishwasher.” He quickly packed them and left, saying he’d see her at home.

Home.
She couldn’t believe how good it felt to have a place to call home. She’d missed it so much. Claire had given her a house key and shown her how to set the alarm and turn it off. It had humbled her and at the same time made her nervous to accept the key to such a beautiful house. Why in the world did these people trust someone like her?

***

Friday
night came, no matter how hard she wished it wouldn’t. She hated herself for primping even the slightest bit for this date she didn’t want to go on, but a girl had her pride and she couldn’t leave the house without putting a little bit of effort into her appearance. She’d decided to wear a short denim skirt, leggings, and a dark purple sweater she’d found last week at the shop. She’d fussed a bit with her hair and spent several minutes applying a hint of blush and mascara.

“Oof! Sorry!” Josh bumped into her as he exited the bathroom. “You look nice. What’s the occasion?”

“I, uh, have a date.” She winced as she said it.

“Oh. Great. That’s, um, that’s great. Anybody I know?”

“I doubt it.” She tried to step around him, but he blocked her.

“So, what’s his name?”

“I really don’t think you’ll know him.” She tried to duck under his outstretched arm.

“What’s his name?” He had a stubborn look on his face she’d never seen before.

“Don’t you have a date too? You don’t want to be late.” This brotherly bit was annoying.

“You’re avoiding my question. Why is that? I just need a name.”

“Fine! Diego Saiz. God, you’re nosy!” She pushed at his rock-hard biceps. “Can I get by, please?”

“Does he go to school with us? Where is he taking you?” He didn’t move.

“Yes. And he’s not taking me anywhere. I’m meeting him at the movie theater.”

“Why isn’t he picking you up?”

“Because I don’t want him to. I need to go or I’m going to be late.”

“What is going on up here?” Claire appeared at the top of the stairs. “Oh, Bernie! You look wonderful!”

“She has a date.” Josh crossed his arms and thrust out his chin.

“How nice. I didn’t know you have a boyfriend.”

“I don’t. It’s definitely a first date.” An only date if she had anything to say about it.

“Ooh, how exciting! What’s his name? Where’s he taking you?” Claire pulled Bernie down the stairs as Josh threw his hands in the air and followed.

“Diego. We’re going to a movie.” Bernie was amused at Claire’s enthusiasm.

“He’s not even picking her up!” Josh interrupted.

“It’s a first date, Josh! If it doesn’t go well, I want to be able to leave when I want.”

“Spoken like a smart, independent woman. Very wise.” Claire hugged her briefly, then pulled away to look in her eyes. “You have both our phone numbers? Call if you need anything, okay?”

“I will, Claire. Thanks.”

“What about her curfew?” Josh interrupted again.

“What?” Both women rounded on him.

“Well, I have a curfew. She should have one too.”

“Oh, Josh! You’re eighteen. It’s not a curfew. It’s simply common courtesy extended to your mother, who can’t sleep until you get home.”

“I’ll be home early. Don’t worry.” Bernie smiled at Claire before flashing Josh a dirty look.

He caught up with her as she unlocked her car door. “Bernie, wait.” He put his hand on her car, keeping her from opening the door. “Look, I’m sorry if I was a jerk—”

“You were.”

“Fair enough. I just—”

“What? You just what?”

“Nothing. I’m sorry, that’s all. You have my cell number? Call if you need anything, okay?”

It was hard to be irritated with him when he was just looking out for her. “Yeah, okay. I have your number. I’ll be fine. I have been on dates before. I’m not helpless.” She had been on very few dates, actually, but he didn’t need to know that.

“I know. I just…shit.” He ran his hands through his hair and laughed. “Have fun. Be safe.” He turned quickly and jogged to his truck. She half smiled and shook her head.

Diego was waiting for her in front of the movie theater. She sighed and pasted a smile on her face as she approached him.

“Bernie! You are looking fierce tonight!” He grabbed her hands and pulled her close. She turned her head when he tried to kiss her, and his lips landed on her cheek.

“Hey, Diego.” She pulled away and barely managed to keep from wiping her cheek. “What are we seeing?”

He named the latest raunchy comedy and held up two tickets. Ugh!
Not
the kind of movie she ever wanted to see with him, especially on a first date. He seemed ridiculously pleased, however, as he led the way to the concession stand and told her to order whatever she wanted. She chose Sno-Caps, her all-time favorite. She loved the way the crunchy, white dots gave way to the creamy chocolate underneath. She added a cherry slushy and waited while he got a giant tub of popcorn. She cringed at the cost of the snacks and felt horrible for using him like this. But he had to have information about Gabby the police didn’t know or care to find out. She was the only one who cared enough to find out what happened to Gabby, and she shrugged away her misgivings, determined to do whatever it took.

He chose seats too close to the screen for her taste and pushed up the armrest between their seats. He placed the popcorn between them but didn’t try to get creepy during the movie. He laughed uproariously throughout the comedy while she rolled her eyes and wished for it to end. She was impatient for a chance to ask him questions and happily acquiesced when he suggested they walk across the parking lot to Cold Stone Creamery, although she’d had more than enough sugar during the movie.

“Did you like the movie?” They settled at a small table inside the ice cream shop, and Diego dug into the giant mound of ice cream he’d ordered.

“Um, it was okay. Thanks for the ice cream.”

“Sure, no problem. Next time you can choose the movie.”

Yikes. Next time? Well, if she didn’t get him to talk, it was a distinct possibility. “Great. So, um, have you heard anything from Gabby?”

“Gabby? No, man, she ran away or something.”

“I know, but I thought maybe she got in touch with you or told you where she was going. You guys were still going out when she disappeared, right?”

“Did you ask me out just to talk about Gabby?”

Crap.
Yes, but he wasn’t supposed to figure it out so easily. “No, of course not. But I really miss her, Diego. We were best friends.” She reached across the table and put her hand on top of his, hoping to convince him this was a real date.

“Sure you were. I went out with her for almost a year and I never saw her with you. Her best friends were Natalia and Sophia. She never even talked about you.” He crossed his arms and stared across the table at her.

“We used to be best friends. The last few years we weren’t close, but she was still there for me when I needed her. You don’t know everything!”

“Hey, sorry. Don’t be mad, sweet Bernie. Gabby just never mentioned you, that’s all.”

She nodded and grabbed a napkin to wipe her eyes, mostly for effect. “Yeah, well, we were friends. So, I heard you were with her the night she disappeared. Is that true?”

He sighed and took another spoonful of ice cream. “Yeah. We went to a party together.”

“And?”

“And nothing. I took her home and haven’t seen her since.”

“What time did you take her home? Was she sober?” Her ice cream melted as she pushed him for answers.

“Man, you are really busting my balls about this! Okay, how ’bout I tell you about that night and then you drop it so we can get on with our date? Deal?”

“Deal.”

“All right. We went to a party at Austin Salazar’s house—his parents were out of town—and stayed there for a couple hours. She drank and smoked some pot. I think she might have done a little X, but I’m not sure. She didn’t stay with me the whole time. We were fighting a lot, and I was actually thinking about breaking up with her.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes, and she could tell he was keeping something from her.

Oh, Gabby! What were you doing? Drugs and alcohol? And this guy?
“How did she get home?”

“I drove her. It was about 1:00 a.m. I dropped her at the entrance to her trailer park.” He was apparently unaware Bernie lived in the same trailer park. Or rather used to live in the same trailer park.

“You didn’t drive her to her trailer? You just dropped her off at the entrance?”

“Give me a break, Bernie! She was in a pisser of a mood and spent the whole ride home chewing my ass about a girl she saw me with at the party. I dropped her at the gate and left.” He stared moodily into his ice cream, stabbing it with his plastic spoon.

“So you don’t know if she actually went into her trailer?”

“No. I don’t know if she went into her trailer. That’s all I know, so can we get on with our date?”

She honored his request, and they chatted about inconsequential matters for the next half hour before she decided it was time to go. He walked her back to her car and pulled her close for a good-night kiss. It wasn’t terrible until he tried to insert his tongue between her lips. She kept them firmly closed and pulled away.

“Good night, Diego. Thanks for the movie and the ice cream. It was really nice.”