Running Northwest (51 page)

As usual, Thomas read Daniel a story before bed but being careful to stay away from the one, they had last read about ghosts. The boy was sleeping now, their dog Layla in bed next to him as always. Thomas again sat alone near the fire, a beer in his hand and half-burned cigarette in the other. Harley was inside sprawled out on the couch choosing the softness of the couch over the sand and outdoors. Occasionally she would raise her head over the back of the couch to make sure Thomas was still there, her brown eyes darting in all directions.

In front of him on the bench that he was straddling was picture of Stephanie that he kept in his wallet. No one knew he had it, not even Derrick. He looked down at it and thought again about the woman he once loved and knew he still had feelings for her. He debated about calling her, just to say hi. However, he realized he would have to call Derrick for the number and did not want to explain things to him. He always wondered now how she was doing, and what was going on in her life. He knew she was not married yet and that surprised him since she was pushing 30 and she had always wanted that eventually. Thomas knew for himself that it was unlikely that he would ever get married now at this point in his life. He had more things to worry about than some silly fairy tale like marriage. After Sarah died he forced any ideas of marriage ever away, even love was a stretch for him he thought sometimes. Dating Tracie was great but there was something missing there in his heart towards the girl, it lacked a realness and indefinable quality. He remembered Sarah and Stephanie fondly as the only two women that made him believe in love, real love, but more so feel love…no one else had.

He put the picture away, stretched out his legs, and relaxed enjoying the night. An hour or so later he put the fire out, went inside, took a shower and eventually went to bed. For some reason sleep did not find him easily that night and he was not sure why, his mind was full of thoughts and would not stop.

The week had gone by fast for Stephanie, her first day back at work on Wednesday came too soon and she felt uncomfortable and lost. She did her job as usual with the diligence that she always had but her smile was gone most of time, her laugh nonexistent.

Most people assumed she was sick and some thought other things. She avoided being social, chose to be alone rather than with the few friends here she had. She felt different now that she was back in Michigan, like a part of her and her heart were somewhere else and missing. She wasn’t sad; at least she didn’t feel sad, but more lost. The only time she felt better is when she got a phone call from Ann on Thursday who wanted to check in and see how she was doing. She spent nearly two hours on the phone talking to her new older friend from the Oregon Coast. They talked about many things and she explained to Ann how she was feeling and what people were saying. Ann talked her through it and Stephanie felt better afterwards for some reason, ready to deal with her life here.

As she lay in bed that night, she had feeling from her gut and it was telling she did not belong in Michigan any more.
She knew her gut was right but d
id not know what to do about it. T
he only person she could talk to abo
ut it was Ann since the old woma
n was the only one who knew what she was going through and could understand.

Even her friendship with Karen had soured a little. Karen had forced a conversation with Stephanie during lunch on her first day back at work. It was a conversation Stephanie was not ready to have especially with Karen. Moreover, Karen continued what she started on the phone while Stephanie was still in Oregon and berated her for not talking to Thomas. More or less calling her a chicken and to grow up and forget about Thomas
if
she was too afraid to do anything. She was not sure if it was Karen’s way of pushing her to go back out there or call Thomas but all it did was upset Stephanie to the point where she just avoided her friend here, at last for the time being. By the time Friday came around, she was impatient for the weekend to start, she wants to take her dog and disappear. She knew she was in a fog but had no idea what to do about it and how to make it better.

.
             
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Thomas had met up with Derrick on Thursday for drinks at the bar and questioned his best friend about why he was so distant the last few days. Derrick explained that he and Erin were having some issues and he had been sleeping at the bar until things died down. He told Thomas nothing about what had happened up in Cannon Beach Sunday night how that was the reason Erin and he were fighting for the time. Thomas knew there was more than what his friend was saying but did not push it, knowing that if Derrick wanted to tell him that he would in his own time.

It was Friday now about one in the afternoon and Thomas and Daniel were taking a little road trip into Portland. Thomas hadn’t told his son where they were going and the boy was confused when they pulled in to the Portland International Airport. They parked their truck and walked inside, Daniel still confused.

“Dad where are we going, why are we at the airport?” Daniel asked.

“Oh we just have to pick up a pa
ckage buddy that’s coming in on a
plane, it should be here by now,” Thomas said as he was texting away on his phone with his free hand.

He held his sons hand as they made their way through the terminal and eventually sat down at some leather chairs near the baggage claim. Thomas asked his son if he wanted anything to drink or eat and the boy said yes. The stand Thomas went to was only 20 feet in front of his son and he watched the boy as a plan unfolded before his eyes.

While Daniel was sitting there and was reading a book a man, an old man came and sat in the seat right next to Daniel. The man’s elbows dug into the boys arms and Daniel rolled
his eyes and readjusted how he
was sitting, annoyed that the man could not have sat somewhere else with all the open seats there were around them.

“What are you reading kid?” the old man asked.

Daniel became nervous and looked for his father who was still standing at the snack bar in front of him and thought about getting up, avoiding looking at the old man next to him. Then he began fidgeting in his seat and said, “My dad taught me not to talk to
stranger’s
sir, and I don’t know you so I’m not talking to you
,
”

“Oh I don’t think your dad would mind if we talked Kiddo,” the old man said calmly.

“My dad is right over there and he will be back in a second and if you don’t stop talking to me he’s going to kick your butt, my dad is the biggest guy ever. I’m not supposed to talk to strangers so please don’t talk to me” Daniel said his legs beginning to shake.

“Well buddy, I don’t know how they do things out here in Oregon but in Michigan that’s no way for a boy to talk to his only
grandfather,
” the man said.

Daniel eyes got wide and he slowly turned his head, his eyebrows raised and looked at the old man next to him then got a large toothy grin on his face. The old mad returned a smile and said “give your grandpa a hug, I flew a long way for one
,
”

“Grandpa” Daniel said screamed as he launched his tiny frame into his grandpa’s arms and hugging him relentlessly. Thomas stood by watching and managed to take a few nice pictures of the moment, quickly sending one to his sister Amanda with the words “WORTH IT!!” below the picture.

Thomas grabbed the drinks and snacks and walked up, and hugged his father, something the two of them rarely did.

“Coffee” Thomas said as he handed a coffee to his dad who was standing now. He grabbed it with one free hand still holding onto his grandson with the other.

“Thanks I need this more than you know, that crap on the plane isn’t coffee I don’t know what is and don’t want to know but
I know it’s not coffee” Thomas’
dad said with his usual surliness.

“Yeah sorry about that Dad I couldn’t get them to serve the coffee from the truck stop you like to go on the plane, rules and stuff I guess
,
” Thomas said laughing.

Thomas looked down at his son who was still grinning from ear to ear and had gotten so excited he cried a little. He handed the boy his smoothie and said “So I told you we had package to pick up buddy, was this worth the drive?” Thomas asked.

The boy shook his head emphatically, his mouth full of cherry smoothie.

“Well that’s good because I’m not ready to get on that plane again yet, well unless you want me to leave Daniel,” Edward said.

“No, no, you’re staying Grandpa
,
” the boy said holding onto his grandfather’s hand then asking “how long are you going to be here for
?
”

“I’m leaving Tuesday morning buddy, I could only come for a few days. I hope that’s okay with you,” Edward said.

“Well that’s not very long Grandpa but I think it’s enough time, there is a lot we have to do. I’m bigger than I was the last time you came out so we can do more.” Daniel said.

“Yeah you are, look at those muscles” his grandpa said laughing.

Thomas grabbed his father’s bags and they walked back through the terminal and back to the truck, and after fighting traffic, they were leaving Portland. They stopped for lunch at a small place in the country on the way back that was on the Wilson River Highway. He knew from his last visit that his dad liked this drive and going through the deep forests and mountains. Daniel eventually passed out in the back seat of the truck leaving Thomas and his father to chat alone about different things. It seemed his sister was getting a divorce, having had enough of the cheating ways of her husband Sam. Thomas wondered why nobody had told him about it and he would ask his father about why later on. They stopped briefly at a waterfall that was on the side of the road that Edward remembered seeing on his last visit. Daniel had woken up and he and his grandfather went up to investigate the falls up close.

They left the waterfall and made their way through the mountains and Tillamook, passing the coffee shop which seemed busy and that made Thomas happy. Times were tough around here even during the tourist season and any money was good money Thomas felt. At around 4 pm they pulled into the dirt road that led to their house.
Harley and Layla greeted Ed with wag
ging tails and licks not caring that
Ed was more of cat person.
Harley seemed very intent on being petted by the old man whom she had known for years, and despite her age she recognized the scent of the familiar old man. She sat and raised one paw in the air urging the old man to pet her more and he did for a minute or two. Thomas brought his dad’s luggage in from the truck while his son and father were in the house and already busy with showing off things in his room. Thomas didn’t realize how much the boy had to say to his only grandfather but he had grown so much since the last visit that he was intent on showing him everything he could.

Having his father here was a blessing in disguise for Thomas. He thought it was important for his son to feel close to his family and feel a part of it, which was hard since most of his family still lived in Michigan and since Thomas had no intention of moving back there ever, visits like this were special for them both. It gave him a bit of break from his everyday “Dad” role. He knew how close his father Ed and his niece Arial were and wanted his son to have at least some of that. The fact that this was his dad
’s
first trip out here in a few years even though money was no concern was something that had irked Thomas.
However, he knew his father well. He
knew he was man of habits, and had a certain pattern to his days since his retirement, regardless he wished his father would visit more often.

Eventually they went down to the beach the three of them followed happily by the dogs who generally kept themselves busy. Layla however was intent on pestering Ed since he was new to her and had never seen him before. She kept a careful eye on the old man playing with the young boy while Thomas was busy taking pictures with his camera. Harley just trotted along beside Thomas and investigating anything that came across her path. It was a comfortable 70 degrees out and sun was shining and the ever present coastal winds were there. Every now and then Ed would stop and stare out at the ocean looking at ships that were going nort
h, the large waves rolling in
a
ways
out. At one point he stopped near the edge of the water, his bare feet being gently covered by water.

“That’s a big ship, where is it going it looks like it’s getting close?” Ed asked.

“Well could be heading up Seattle way, or heading to the port of Astoria a little bit up the coast” Thomas said. As his son came up and stood in between them and the dogs bounding off into the water.