Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (5 page)

Since confessing my love to Jesse, our friendship was hanging in a strange kind of limbo. I didn’t see him much and it made for super lonely days at school. I would catch him going to practice or heading to class, and although he would wave, I could tell it was strained. He didn’t sit with me at lunch either, and I wondered if our relationship would ever be the same, if we could even be friends anymore. The entire thing sat like a pit in my gut, not feeling right and not going away.

“Abby, focus!” Kate yelled as I drifted off.

I was supposed to be stirring cranberries over a burner.

“Got it,” I said.

I hadn’t told Kate about the incident with Jesse and I was planning on keeping it that way. I didn’t know how to get back to our friendship. I would settle for that now. I just kept blowing things.

“When most of them pop, turn off the heat,” she said.

Kate looked great. She was wearing a tight black dress that fit perfectly and stilettos that clicked with authority as she walked across the wood floors.

Matt showed up early and I was glad that Kate put him to work. I was really glad that she covered him in a clean, sterile apron and made him wash his hands for five minutes like he was about to perform surgery.

“Hey, Abby, you’re looking nice today,” he said when we were alone in the kitchen.

I was wearing my Lucky jeans with a collared shirt and a pinstriped vest but I guessed I looked a little more dressed up than my usual sweats. Matt was chopping garlic and was in charge of the stuffing. Truth be told, I actually liked Matt, but more as an eccentric older brother. Not as my sister’s boyfriend.

“Thanks,” I said. “How’s the new painting going?”

“Good. I’ll bring it over when it’s done.”

“Cool,” I said.

I was still unclear where Matt even lived, let alone painted.

Dinner was nearly ready and was going to be good: roasted turkey with rosemary and thyme, creamy sweet potatoes with maple syrup, homemade cranberry sauce and stuffing made with cornbread, cashews, and dried apricots. The guests were all bringing different desserts.

The doorbell rang. It was Dr. Mortimer and his brother.

“Hi, please come in,” Kate said, giving Dr. Mortimer a long hug.

She was glad to see him, I could tell. I said hello and glanced over at his brother, who was taller and thinner but had the same eyes. He also dressed really well, looking like he had just stepped out of a GQ photo shoot, his silk suit freshly pressed. He had long dark hair that hung over his collar. He nodded to everyone, smiling shyly.

“This is my brother, Nathaniel,” Dr. Mortimer said, a hint of pride in his voice. “Another Dr. Mortimer. Bet you didn’t think there were two of us! He lives in Boston and is in town on business.”

We all said hello and he seemed to relax a little.

“I’m not just visiting for business reasons,” Nathaniel said. “Of course I wanted to see my brother for Thanksgiving.”

Dr. Mortimer gave him a sarcastic look.

Kate led them to the living room as Dr. Mortimer handed her a pink bakery box and a bottle of wine, which she took into the kitchen.

“Abby here is my star patient,” Dr. Mortimer said.

“Of course, I remember Abby,” Nathaniel said. “I mean you haven’t stopped talking about her since that night. Abby, I’ve heard all about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I’m sure I turned six shades of red on the spot, but managed to mumble “thank you” before Kate returned. She brought out a drink tray, with wine and a Cherry Coke for me.

“Happy Thanksgiving, everyone,” she said, lifting her glass.

Soon the bell rang again and a bunch of Kate’s reporter friends filled the house. She introduced them to the doctor brothers. I knew all of the news staff. Before I could drive, I’d walk over to
The Bugler
after practice and wait for Kate to finish up. They were all friendly. And I was really glad to see Tony, who was Kate’s editor. He was a large man with an easy laugh. I thought of him as kind of an uncle, someone who we could count on if we needed anything.

Erin, who was Kate’s best friend, came up and gave me a hug with her big hair nearly suffocating me and slipped a small box in my hand. Inside was a pair of earrings. As I thanked her, I noticed she had tears in her eyes. She pulled me close.

“I’m so happy you’re still with us, Abby,” she whispered in my ear. “You’ve made this a real special Thanksgiving.”

It felt good to have the house full of delicious smells, a toasty fire, and friendly, fun guests. We put the football game on and muted it and jazzy music weaved around the room. Everybody loved the food and the wine was flowing. The only regret I had was that I wished Jesse could have been with us.

“Abby, how’s your head been?” Dr. Mortimer asked after dinner.

“Oh, good,” I said.

I hadn’t had a headache since that night.

“That’s great news.”

I walked in the kitchen and found Matt slicing up the various pies everybody had brought. I helped him out for a while, until my phone buzzed. It was a text from Jesse. He wrote that he was having an okay time with his mom, but wished he were here with us. I texted a quick message back telling him I’d phone him later.

I headed back to the living room and told Kate that dessert would be ready in about five minutes. Everybody was still seated around the table. They were talking about the snowstorm and how cold it had been.

“I’m thinking about just skiing to work,” said Colin, a reporter. “I’m so sick of shoveling my driveway every morning.”

“Oh, this snow is nothing. You guys are spoiled,” Dr. Mortimer said. “Right, Nathaniel?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot we had some East Coasters at the table,” Tony said.

“So, Nathaniel, how long are you here for?” Kate asked.

“I have to leave on Sunday unfortunately,” he said. “But I get back to Bend occasionally. The company I work for has St. Charles as one of its clients.”

“Nathaniel is working on a cancer research project and a lot of hospitals around the country are interested in his results,” Dr. Mortimer said, smiling.

It was easy to see that he was really proud of his younger brother. They seemed like pretty good friends, too.

The conversation turned toward the football game as the Patriots scored a touchdown and Tony started cheering like a madman, his face growing darker. He had put money down on the game, he said, after he noticed everybody was staring at him.

“Okay, the pies are all sliced up on the kitchen table. We have four different kinds. Please help yourselves,” Kate announced.

Everybody wandered over to the kitchen. Norah Jones came on the stereo and the newsroom group started talking about the local DA, who had just fired five of his attorneys because he didn’t like them.

The night had been festive and fun and it was good to see Kate so happy. As the hours and pies disappeared, people finally started putting on their coats and rolling out the door.

“Dinner was fantastic,” Erin said, smiling before she left. “Thanks a bunch. And see you in a few hours!”

We were going shopping in the morning. For the past four years, Erin, Kate, and I woke up before dawn on Black Friday and went shopping at all those crazy sales. This year I didn’t really want to go. I hated running into people I knew out in public, and Bend was a small enough town where that happened a lot. But I was looking forward to spending time with Erin and I liked doing traditional stuff. It made me feel rooted.

“Yeah, can’t wait,” I said, my face lost in her hair.

“Thank you for such an amazing dinner. This was one of the best evenings I’ve had in a very long time,” Nathaniel said, shaking my hand.

I was glad he was more comfortable with us now.

Dr. Mortimer talked a moment with Kate as everyone said goodbye. It could have been my imagination, but I thought I saw Matt watching them. I also noticed a white light around Kate as she spoke, which made me wonder if her feelings were changing for the doctor. Maybe Matt had picked up on that somehow, because for a second, he didn’t seem too happy.

When everybody had left, Kate and I headed to the kitchen to help Matt, who was already busy with the cleanup.

CHAPTER 10

That night I couldn’t sleep. I watched the snow fall gently outside the window. Kate had been in bed for an hour and Jesse wasn’t picking up. But then I heard Kate stumbling around. She was one of those types who didn’t need too much sleep. I was happy that she was up.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” I said, wiping tears off my face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. Her slippers swished across the floor. “I could make tea.”

Sometimes it seemed like Kate’s solution to everything was Earl Grey.

“No, I’m good, thanks,” I said.

She sat down next to me and we both watched the snow.

“Missing Mom,” I said.

Kate reached over and hugged me.

“Me too.”

We were quiet for a while.

“It was a fun night though,” I said.

“Yeah, it was, wasn’t it? It was great to see everybody. It seemed like they all got along really well.”

I yawned.

“We better get to bed,” she said. “We have exactly two hours before Erin will be knocking on the door.”

CHAPTER 11

Jesse came back home on Sunday. I picked him up and we headed over to Drake Park. It was cold, but the snow had stopped and there were no clouds in the bright sky. It must have been blue. That was one thing I really missed: seeing those beautiful blue skies in Bend. Every time I looked up and saw a white sky my heart sank a little. Bend’s sky was the best.

As we walked along the river, I clapped my hands for warmth. Deep snow covered the banks, but on the little footpath it wasn’t too bad. The river flowed gently down the main channel, the surface frozen near the edges.

I was excited to see Jesse.

“So how was Thanksgiving?” he asked.

He had brought two slices of stale bread and handed one to me so that we could feed the ducks and geese. Bend had recently declared war on the latter. In fact, just before Thanksgiving the city had slaughtered 50 Canada Geese and gave their carcasses away to poor families. It seemed like a strange thing to do, but according to the politicians there were too many birds and they were ruining the parks with their excrement.

You weren’t supposed to feed the birds. But killing them was all right.

I threw a chunk of bread in the water.

It was weird seeing the ducks. I always used to love those green shiny parts on their coats, but now I only saw grays. I wondered if I even remembered what green really looked like.

“Yeah, dinner was fun,” I said. “Wish you could have been here.”

“Me too,” he said.

He threw a piece high into the air and we watched it splash into the river.

“How’s your mom doing?” I asked.

Jesse looked at me.

“Fine, I guess,” he said. “I don’t know. We don’t really talk much. She’s had a tough year. I thought visiting her would help, but I don’t think it did.”

We walked a little more. I was grateful that our relationship seemed to be back to normal, Jesse high fiving me in the air knowing I couldn’t reach his hand, kicking each other and running, and talking about the football teams that might make the playoffs.

I decided to tell him about my dream and the photo of the man that Kate had shown me.

“It was some sort of vision or something,” I said. “Jesse, it was the same guy. I saw him die. Right in front of me.”

“A vision?” he said, picking up pinecones and hurling them at me.

“Yeah, I guess that’s what it was,” I said.

He was quiet.

“You’re not saying anything,” I said finally, feeling self-conscious by his lack of response.

“Look, Craigers, first off, you shouldn’t be calling them visions,” he said. “That just sounds kind of crazy. Call it a dream instead or something.”

I sighed.

“But it wasn’t a dream. You saying that makes me think you’re not taking me seriously.”

“Come on, I’m just looking out for you. People will get the wrong impression if you go around town talking about visions, that’s all. And you already have enough of those losers you have to deal with.”

“I don’t go around talking about visions to anyone. Just to you.”

He picked up a rock and skipped it across the Deschutes. Four skips. Not bad, but I threw one and got six.

“Let’s go again,” he said.

We did it a few more times.

“So, what exactly did you see in your dream?” he asked.

“I saw an old man. He had this giant tattoo on his neck. He was the one, the same man they found in the river up by the Old Mill.”

Jesse lifted his eyebrows.

“So you just saw some old guy in your dream?”

“It wasn’t just an old guy, Jesse. It was the
same
old guy who died in the river. And I don’t think it was an accident. I think someone killed him. I know it sounds nuts.”

“That does sound nuts,” he said. “I thought Kate wrote an article about how it was an accident or something. How does it turn into murder?”

“It’s a feeling I have,” I said. “A strong feeling. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I know what dreams are and this was not a dream.”

Jesse looked around.

“Look, do you want my honest opinion?”

I didn’t really, but nodded anyway.

“I think you shouldn’t think too much about any of that, Craigers. You just don’t need this now, that’s all I’m saying. You need to keep getting better and focus on school and your life. Things that matter. Leave all this alone, it doesn’t involve you.”

His voice was strange and I was a little surprised by his attitude. Jesse loved mysteries. I was fully expecting him to help me solve it.

“And one more thing,” he said, serious again but throwing pinecones straight up into the air and watching them fall back down. I threw one up that went half as high as his.

He walked over to me and stood close. I stared up into his face, looked at his lips. I wanted him to kiss me, and I knew he wanted to. Maybe he had changed his mind while he was gone, had a chance to think about us. With one passionate kiss, the kind of kiss I knew we both wanted, that terrible memory could be erased forever.