Running Northwest (46 page)

The boy stopped in his track, turned looked at his father and said “You guys broke up didn’t you
.
”

Thomas was shocked and surprised at the d
irectness of his son. He found
it funny in way also. “Yes as
a matter of fact we did buddy.”

The boy put his hands on his side and kicked around dirt with the tip of his sneaker. “Did she break up with y
ou or did you break up with her?
” he asked.

“Well it was mutual I guess but I think technically she broke up with me,” he said then adding “why?”

“Because well, my last two girlfriends broke up with me right when school ended this year. They said it was summer and we could not date since we will never ever see each other till school starts again. I did not get it then but I guess they were right. I was kind of sad about it, are you sad about it Dad?”

Thomas smiled; his son was truly sweet and smarter than his age gave him credit for sometimes. “Well yeah I suppose I’m sad about it a little but, it wasn’t how I wanted it to end. But just like you, it’s for the better I guess
.
”

“So are you and Tracie still going to be friends? Is she still gunna work at the
shop and baby sit me sometimes?
” he asked.

“Yeah I’m pretty sure that’s still all gunna stay the same. I don’t see a reason why it would change buddy. I hope we can still be friends. We’re gunna try” Thomas answered, adding, “So are you okay with this? Are you upset because I’m hoping you’re not; I know how much you like Tracie”

“I’m okay with it Dad. These things happen sometimes when you date girls. Is that all you had to talk to me about?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah, that was about it, buddy,” Thomas said.

“Well I’m sorry you’re sad, Dad. It will get better,” the boy said and then turned and hugged his father.

Daniel was a sweet kid Thomas was immensely proud of him. He asked his son, “So how many girlfriends have you had, big man?”

The boy stopped in his tracks and quietly said, “Umm, a few but I don’t really want to talk about it, Dad; I’m still friends with most of them though.”

Thomas chuckled to himself and smiled at the boy, saying, “Well that’s good then. Let’s tu
rn back now. We’ve gone quite
a
wa
ys
already. Want to have a fire tonight if we can find some dry wood?”

“Sure!” his son answered to excitedly. They then turned to head back towards home.

As they walked though
ts of Stephanie entered Thomas’
mind again. The idea that she might be somewhere here on the coast was eating away at him. Feelings of wanting to see her became more and more a part of those thought. Years had passed and for some reason the girl that drove h
im back to the Oregon Coast was
again in his life and mind and he had not even seen her. He thought about looking for her but where would he start he had no clue where to begin. He wondered if it was just a ghost chase anyway and that everything was just dumb luck and sheer coincidence. He tried to drive the thought of her away for the
time being and just ignore it
and focus on the time with his son.

.
             
.
             
.

Derrick had been sitting at the bar at The Whaleback staring at car race on the television and sipping
a
half-empty beer. The place was not busy but there were enough people there to make it worth staying open for a while longer. He sat and listened to the conversations going on around him when his phone went off letting him know he had a text message. It was from Thomas and said “having a
bon
fire, you and Erin are invited if you feel up to it
.
”

Derrick thought about it for a moment and remembered that he and Erin were supposed to ride the bike up to Cannon Beach and have drinks there for the night. It was not just drinks that were making Derrick and Erin go up to Cannon Beach; it was also curiosity about what else was there. He sent Thomas a reply telling him “thanks but they had plans”. He looked at his watch and it was nearly 7 pm, and was time for him to leave and pick up Erin who would be almost ready to go by now. He told the bartender to lock up and kick everyone out at midnight unless it was dead before then and he could close up early. Moments later, he was getting in his truck and heading for home.

.
             
.
             
.

Stephanie sat on the deck and looking out over the ocean. In one hand she had her cell phone and in the other a glass of wine. She had just got off the phone with her brother who was watching Shadow for her and let him know she would be home tomorrow night late and that he could leave her dog at her home. She watched the people who she assumed lived around here walk up and down the beach even though it was littered with debris yet from the storm. She watched the ones with dogs the most, it was something she quickly learned to love about the town, the beach was a place that dogs could run and enjoy
the
ocean and sand just as much as humans could. She watched one dog, a puppy run towards the surf chasing a stick but stopping short when a wave came crashing in sending the pup running towards its owners in fear for its life.

The sun was setting now and through the silvery dark clouds she could see faint hints of sunlight trying to peak through holes in them. Stephanie wanted to do many things on her final night on the coast
– walk
through town and down the beach, have one last drink with Ann and Ben; but the thing she wanted to do the most was see Thomas. In her heart she knew it was not the right thing to do yet.  The timing was bad; and maybe it would never be good.

Ann had stopped by earlier while Stephanie was packing and invited her
to come for drinks with her
, Ben and the rest of their friends. She was still thinking about doing that, one more night with some fun people that she might not ever see again. The thought made her sad a little. She sat and sipped her wine thinking about what to do. Two things were going through her mind though and only two things. One was she wanted to see Thomas and the other was she did not want to leave, she loved it here after a mere few days.

After doing some thinking about the evening, she decided she would meet Ann and her friends for drinks for one last time. She may never see them again and wanted to say goodbye. Afterwards she thought she would walk the beach from town back to the cottage. One last beach walk and one last smell of the salty night air would give her one more thing to remember once she was back in Michigan. Besides, the moon should be out tonight since the clouds were clearing up the ocean would look wonderful and peaceful perhaps, she needed that. She began getting ready having no idea the events that would unfold during that night and in her life from that night on.

Derrick sped up the coast on his motorcycle, Erin his girlfriend was sitting behind him with her arms wrapped around him. To the right the scenery changed as they drove from deep forest with green trees gradually getting covered in shade to steep and high rocky cliffs. To the right was the ocean, occasionally sections of trees and rocky sections and in between all that they could see the sun setting through the clouds, peeking through them every now and then.

Off in the distance they could see a freighter
heading north towards the ports
of Astoria. Der
rick loved riding his bike thru
the curves on his way north to Cannon Beach. In his younger days before Erin was in his life, he would drive through the curves fast and hard looking for speed and exhilaration. Now he just enjoyed the ride and the scenery, things change when you get older as far as what you enjoy. As Derrick and Erin headed north, they talked through the microphones in their helmets, chatting about the scenery and other things.

They talked about what they were looking for and more specifically, who they were looking
for
before they left. Derricks gut was telling him that Stephanie was up here in Cannon Beach, and Erin’s gut was doing the same. She convinced him to be nice if they ran into her, and not cause a scene or an issue. For Derrick on one hand, he wanted to scream at her for having the nerve to come out here and dare to even think about invading their lives and bother Thomas. However, on the other hand, he wanted to know why, what had changed in her life to bring her out here presumably to find and see Thomas, if that was indeed what she was here for. Derrick had no idea however that other people had other things in store for Thomas and Stephanie, that others were now involved and that he would effectively be pushed to the side as a bystander while others helped guide their fate.

.
             
.
             
.
             
.

Stephanie, after getting ready to go out, walked across the little private drive to meet Ann and Ben at their house. She decided to take them up on their offer and ride into town with them. Ben drove a Cadillac that he named “Estelle” for a reason he never explained. The car was older, had some dents and a little rust but the old man loved it. He said the car had lived as much of a life and seen just as many things as he had. However, Stephanie thought it was really, because Ann was driving the nice convertible that was new, usually in marriages the wife always wins one way or the other. Ben answered the door and greeted Stephanie with a big hug and full of compliments.

“Hello dear, you look stunning” Ben said smiling as he hugged her.

“Hey Ben, you look handsome tonight yourself” Stephanie said.

Ben smiled and looked over his shoulder appearing to see where his wife was. “Well
,
between you and me
,
I’m hoping to get lucky tonight after Ann and I get home,” he said with an old man giggle.

“I heard that love machine. I don’t think Steph wants to hear about your hopeful sexual encounters with me,” Ann said as she walked past Ben and hugging Stephanie.

“Oh it’s okay…I guess
,
” Stephanie said awkwardly.

Minutes later the three of them were in the car heading to town. Ann and Stephanie were busy talking away in the back seat like best friends. When they pulled up to the Riptide, Pockets and the rest of their friends were waiting outside and talking. Upon seeing Stephanie they all gave her a hug and greeted her like an old friend, like one of them; it made her feel good. After standing outside and chit chatting for a while they went inside and sat down at a reserved table. The place was busy considering the weather the last few days and most of the tourists having left already. In the corner, a live band was playing some jazz and big band music.

After a few drinks and gossiping about things around the area and enjoying the band. Beth lightly touched Stephanie’s hand to get her attention.

“I am so glad you decided to come out tonight Darlin,” Beth said with a big smile, adding, “We are going to miss you something fierce even though we just met you.”

“If you were a decade younger I’d try to steal your heart and keep you here so we don’t lose you to Michigan,” Pockets said laughing from the other side of the table.

“Oh Pockets, if you had a little more hair on your head I might just take you up on that offer. But I’m not too big on the love thing right now I guess” Stephanie answered.

“Oh yeah, we heard about your not-so-little situation with Thomas and all
,
” Pockets said.

Stephanie had assumed they would find out from Ann or Ben but not this quickly. She was not mad at Ann at all for some reason, just a little caught off guard though.

“So you all know what’s going on?” Stephanie asked.

“Well we know some of it” Jack said then adding, “Ann only told us the highlights, she didn’t want to break any trust you have in her”

Stephanie smiled and got lost in thoughts about Thomas for a brief moment. Even though she had no idea, exactly what they knew she was glad Ann did not tell them everything. She was somehow okay with them all knowing whatever parts they did know, she was for some strange reason extremely comfortable with this group of people.

“So dear” Ann who was sitting to Stephanie’s right side began saying “Do you know what you’re going to do, as far as your situation?”

“Yeah I think so, I’m just going back to Michigan and think this all through. My gut is still telling me it is not the right time to see him. I’m not sure I agree with my gut but, when it comes to Thomas I should have listened to my gut a long time ago and I would not have been in this whole mess,” Stephanie said.

On the phone earlier, she has been talking to Karen who was back in Michigan. Her friend had been less than understanding about Stephanie’s choice, saying the trip was a waste of time if she did not talk to Thomas. The phone call ended up in Stephanie hanging up on Karen and turning her phone off out of frustration. Karen was not here on the coast, and had no idea what Stephanie was feelin
g; let alone what she had seen
with her own eyes while she was here.