Heart Strings (12 page)

“Who were you thinking about?”

“You.”

He smiled as brightly as the aerial bomb that burst in the sky. “It's time.”

“Yes,” she said. “It is time.”

He looked into her eyes as if he understood she wasn't talking about the fireworks. She loved his dimples and the sincerity of his smile. “Let's go,” she said.

Laughing, they ran hand-in-hand through the park to the bank above the racetrack. Bursts of red, white, and blue exploded in a staccato burst of fire, and the band broke into the Star Spangled Banner. A ground display in the form of an American flag glowed. A cloud of smoke from the aerial bombs filled the nighttime air with that July 4
^th
smell that Keely had loved since she was a child.

Placing their hands over their hearts, they stood close to one another. Keely and Jonathan Michael Andrews, III.
Oh say can you see….
A lot had happened since she met him on another holiday weekend. Memorial Day seemed a lifetime ago.

*****

CHAPTER 11

When Tripp got home, Evelyn was sitting in the armchair with the lamp dangling over her shoulder, but she had the light turned off. Only a tiny light on a corner table burned. “It's midnight. You're up late,” he said, sitting down across from her, in the chair she'd taken the day they met.

“Did you have a good time?” She smiled sweetly.

“Terrific.” He'd kissed Keely goodnight and whispered he loved her, and she'd said she loved him too. He loved hearing her say that. Evelyn's smile faded, and Tripp, remembering Mark might have loved Keely too, felt a tiny bit of his happiness fade. “Is something wrong?”

“I had a call a while ago. My nephew Johnny wants to visit for a few days.”

Tripp was supposed to be Johnny. He clenched his fists in his lap. “What should we do?”

“Tell the Johannsens the truth.” She pleated her summer robe with her fingers, her eyes closed. “I think you or I should start with Keely.”

Tripp nodded. “I'll do it.”

“Maybe I should. The … story … was my idea.”

“If I hadn't started seeing her, it wouldn't have been a big deal.”

“I should have told you in the beginning about her and Mark, but I thought she would.”

“And when you accidentally gave it away about them dating, I should have asked her but I put it off.”

“Because she learned you'd had a transplant, which takes us back to where we started. I should never have asked you to lie. Nelson and Mildred are old enough to accept the truth. I was a coward.”

“Stop beating up on yourself. It will all work out. Try not to worry and get some sleep.” Tripp's heart seemed to rest inside his stomach in an aching knot as he rose to go.

“Tripp? You pulled Keely and me out of the shells we were hiding in, and I'm grateful to you. There's something else you should know. “

He sat down, stricken by new fear. Surely things couldn't get worse.

“I was given some news today that might affect you and her, although I'm not sure how.” Evelyn held out her hand and in it lay a peace sign ring. “A girl from Winslow gave me Mark's ring today. They met through a car club and had a few dates.”

Brigit
.

Threading her fingers together in her lap, Evelyn closed the ring inside her hands. “Mark must have fallen hard because he asked if she'd go steady. He wasn't one to do anything steadily except work on cars. Anyway, he gave her his ring to hold until he broke up with the girl he'd been seeing.” Evelyn took a deep breath. “Mark planned to break up with Keely the night he wrecked his car.”

Tripp closed his eyes. So many lives were tangled together.

Evelyn continued, her voice edged with pain. “Brigit said she was so torn up about his death, she wore the ring on a white ribbon around her neck. But now that almost a year had passed and she'd met Will, she wanted me to have the ring. She knew the town where I lived, but not my address, and she thought she might see me at the town festival.”

Mark cheated on Keely and planned to break up with her. Losing him the way she had, she'd mourned the loss of her love, but the memory was bittersweet. To find out he didn't love her would tarnish her memories and leave a lasting hurt. “Keely doesn't need to know. Mark was her first love and nothing good can come of spoiling that for her.”

Evelyn tightened her fist around the peace ring and held it close to her chest, her eyes brimming with tears. “Are you sure?”

“I don't want her hurt.”

“You're a good person, Tripp.”

He realized then that Evelyn would never have suggested they keep the ring a secret, but it made her feel better to preserve Keely's memories of Mark. And she didn't want to hurt Keely either. “So was your son, or he wouldn't have planned to set things straight with Keely before the girl wore the ring.”

Evelyn smiled and opened her palm. “So you're sure?”

He and Keely had had a wonderful week together with an earsplitting, eye-popping finale to the fireworks display, followed by a bang-up kiss goodnight. If she knew Mark cheated, she might fall into Tripp's arms, but he wanted her to like him for himself. Not for the heart problems he'd endured, and not because of a broken romance with another guy. “I'm positive.”

*****

Clouds hid the rising moon and the sky was gray. It would rain soon. Tripp loved summertime rain but tonight it seemed like a foreboding sign. He wanted to date Keely the rest of the summer, and the year, and beyond. But when he told her the truth about his relationship with Evelyn and his heart transplant, everything could blow up in his face.

He'd invited Keely to take a ride with him, and she'd accepted, not knowing what lie ahead. But he knew what he had to do, and he was more frightened than he'd ever been before.

She sat close to him on the seat, looking happy and sweet, in a yellow sun dress that showed off her tan. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders, and he remembered how when he first met her, she'd hidden behind that wave of hair. Now, when she tossed her head, she smiled as the shimmering red-gold strands settled around her shoulders.

Devon had told him about a narrow strip of land overlooking the lake. It was a half hour's drive, but the view was worth it and they could be alone. Devon and Megan often parked there and turned on his car radio to dance. “Sure,” Tripp said.

“Really,” Devon insisted, but admitted they also kissed.

Tripp wished he was taking Keely there to dance and kiss.

On the way to the lake, she chattered about the fun they'd had the previous week, particularly during the fireworks and dance. Tripp answered in monosyllables, unable to concentrate on what she was saying. Would this be the last time she'd agree to see him? Would she hate him after tonight?

“I can't imagine what Will Laughlin’s new girlfriend wanted with Mark's mother,” she said just as they pulled into the parking place by Brookville Lake.

So she was still curious. “She found Mark's ring at the place where the car club meets and she thought Evelyn would like to have it.”

“How nice …” Keely smiled. “I wouldn't have taken her for the type who'd bother.”

“Aunt Ev told me that she's really serious about Will. Love makes people do funny things.”

“Will probably thrives on her calling him Honey Bun,” Keely said, chuckling. “Wow.” She leaned forward to gaze as Tripp parked the car. The view was beautiful, and she probably thought it was the reason they'd come here.

Devon said this was the highest spot of land above the lake and when Tripp got out, he caught his breath at the roaring sound thousands of gallons of water made rushing over the spillway.

“I wish it wasn't so cloudy,” he told Keely. “The view must be spectacular in sunlight.”

“Or moonlight,” Keely said, climbing onto a high slab of rock. A formation atop of it formed a natural bench against another outcropping, and she motioned him to sit beside her.

Tripp clambered up and leaned back. “Always the romantic.”

She wrinkled her nose at him and he thought how cute she looked. He wanted to kiss her, but a chewing feeling in his gut reminded him he had dirty work ahead. How did you tell your girlfriend the heart beating in your chest once beat in that of her ex-boyfriend?

“You're not acting very romantic,” she said softly, and he turned to find her face so close he barely needed to move to brush her lips with his.

That kiss tasted so delicious that Tripp kissed her again. This time he drew her close for a kiss that was longer and even sweeter.

“I take back what I said.” She sounded breathless.

He wanted to kiss her a hundred times in case he never got to kiss her again, but he didn't dare. “Keely,” he said quietly. “We need to talk.”

“You sound so serious.” Moving down off the natural bench to sit on the flat rock, she hugged her skirted knees close to her body. “This isn't about your health, is it?”

He looked into her eyes and saw the fear there. “No. I'm fine, and with luck, will lead a long life. But this is about my heart.”

Her eyes twinkled then. “You've given it to me and want me to take care of it.”

Tripp smiled faintly. The clouds were growing darker. Night would fall soon, and rain. “Evelyn isn't my aunt, by marriage or otherwise. It was all part of a secret she asked me to keep.” His heart raced a million miles a minute. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He took a deep, shaky breath.

Keely grasped his shoulders. “Are you okay, Tripp?”

“Yes. Just nervous. That’s all.” Thunder rumbled in the distance. He had to get this over with before the rains came. “I drove to Branburg to meet Evelyn, at her request. I was glad to do it, but sometimes think I shouldn't have. But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met you.”

Keely hugged her knees tightly, her eyes never leaving his.

“I do know who my heart donor was. Sometimes they tell you and….”

Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hands. “No.”

“Yes,” Tripp said softly. “My heart was Mark Jefferson's.”

*****

Keely, screams still echoing in her ears, stood on the rock bench and stared down at the water spilling over the dam onto the rocks and rushing water far below. The noisy rush of water seemed quiet compared to the roar inside her head. The lake was a long way below.

“Come down.” Tripp took her hand. “Please.”

“Don't touch me.” She jerked away, teetering.

“Careful, you'll fall.” He sounded terrified and she didn't care. She wanted to scare him. She almost wanted to fall and tumble over the edge. Or maybe just leap through the air onto the rocks below. So he'd suffer—both him and Evelyn would, for lying to her.

“Please, Keely. Be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you. I love you. I wanted to tell you from the beginning what a good thing your … friend … did.”

Keely sank into a heap then and cried. She forgot Tripp was there and forgot everything except the sorrow she felt. A surgeon had ripped Mark's heart out and rushed it to an operating room. A vision of Rosa waiting for a heart, weak and pale and on oxygen came into her mind. Lightning split the distant sky and big raindrops splattered on the rock where Keely huddled. Tripp had been pale and weak like her.

“Let's go,” he said gently and took her hand. “The storm will soon be here.”

She pulled away and dropped her head back to let the raindrops mix with her tears. Tripp received a heart and she was glad. But why did it have to be Mark's?

*****

Evelyn tried to cheer Tripp over breakfast, but he didn't believe Keely would come around like Evelyn said. He didn't think Keely would ever forgive him, and even if she did, he was sure she'd never get over what happened. Never care for him again the way she did before.

Evelyn's nephew was arriving the next day and she had a full schedule planned and hoped Tripp would join them. He told her he'd be too busy at the hospital. She didn't press it and he was glad. When breakfast was over, he drove to Destiny where he used his home phone to call his parents. They weren't in. The housekeeper said they'd called home once, asking her to look for his phone number. They'd lost it and she was sorry but she couldn't find it anywhere. Tripp, feeling completely bummed, wrote it down for her in case they called back. He headed to the hospital by noon.

Rosa was having a good day, and he settled himself in the blue vinyl chair beside her bed. He hadn't planned to dump on her, but when she complained of being bored, he did.

“Keely is crazy about you,” she said when he finished. “But it is eerie, thinking about you kissing her and Mark kissing her and both of you with the same heart.”

Tripp didn't like to think about anyone else kissing Keely, but he didn't get the feeling when he did. “It's a coincidence, but Keely said it was bizarre and she couldn't see me again. Now, you say it's eerie.”

“Boys are so dumb,” Rosa said, rolling her eyes. “What happens when you kiss someone? Your heart beats faster, or so I've been told. And when yours beats faster, she's thinking about it being Mark's.”

“Now that is warped.” Tripp felt shocked at the suggestion. “A heart is … physical.”

“So is a kiss.”

Tripp buried his face in his hands. “Not the same in my book, but I'm a goner.”

“I hate to say it, but you shouldn't have dated this particular guy's girl.”

“I didn't know she dated Mark. She didn't tell me.”

“There's your answer.” Rosa sounded so excited, Tripp urged her back against her pillow. “I'm not dead yet,” she complained, but took a few seconds to rest. “It's not your fault.”

“Whose is it?” Tripp couldn't keep up, but Rosa seemed to be on a good track.

“I'd call it a draw and so would you if you gave it some thought.”

*****

Keely wouldn't talk to Tripp on the telephone. “We understand why you'd feel indebted to do as Evelyn asked,” Sara Johannsen told him, “but it's going to take her a while to get over the shock.” Tripp hung up the phone, disappointed, but resigned to giving her the time and space she needed.