Running Northwest (54 page)

Daniel saw the plane first taxi down a runway the slowly lift off the ground and banking to the right as it climbed higher and higher in the sky.

“You think Grandpa will be okay Dad?” the little boy asked.

Thomas smiled and hugged his son “yeah buddy I think he will be okay. He said he’s gunna call you tomorrow since you will be asleep by the time he gets back to Michigan”.

Daniel smiled and said “okay”.

They put up the tailgate and got in the truck after the plane was out of site. As they were pulling out of the parking lot Thomas looked over at his son, and asked, “By the way what did your grandpa whisper to you when he hugged you”.

Daniel laughed and said with a big smile, “oh he told me not to let you give me any crap
and too keep you on your toes.”

Thomas raised an eyebrow and said, “
Well then, I guess you better do
what he said he is my dad after all” then he burst out laughing.

Thomas and Daniel took their time getting back to the coast since there was no reason to rush. Harley and Layla were in the back seat, heads out the window as usual. They took a longer route and ended up on the coast a little ways south of Oceanside. They decided to stop at Lookout Rock State Park; it was a Monday so the park should not be too busy. When they reached the parking
lot, it was empty as was the beach
.
They spent the rest of the afternoon playing fetch with the dogs, wading in the ocean and doing their normal beach thing that the two of them enjoyed.

On the way home, they stopped at The Whaleback to visit with Derrick who was sitting in his office. As Thomas and Derrick talked and caught up Daniel nibbled away on a bowl of maraschino cherries and sipped on a root beer that Derrick had gotten for him. Thomas was glad to hear that things were getting better for Derrick and Erin and that he was not sleeping at the bar anymore. The idea of his uncle sleeping at the bar confused Daniel and he kept asking things like: “where do you sleep”, “what do you sleep on” and “where do you take a shower”?

When Derrick’s reply to the last question was “well buddy I don’t take a shower when
I stay here”
he received a weird look from Daniel who said “gross”. It made them all laugh however and Derrick admitted it was a little gross. The visit did not last long, about and 45 minutes and then Thomas and Daniel left and headed home.

About a week or so lat
er, Thomas and Daniel had gotten
back to their normal every
day life. Thomas’ dad had got
back to Michigan safely and Daniel was already looking forward to going to Michigan to visit on Christmas break. It was Thursday afternoon, the first day of June. Daniel was spending the day at the beach with a friend from school and his parents, which left Thomas to fend for himself. He spent some time in the shop and then went for a drive north on his motorcycle and wandered around Cannon Beach. He had no particular reason for being there but just felt like walking around there.

After a while he drove back down to Tillamook and stopped
for lunch at a small diner in G
aribaldi. Daniel would be home by 6 pm and that was getting near so after eating he headed home.

He sat on a chair on his deck enjoying the sun that was lowering on the horizon. Harley and Layla were sleeping on the warm wooden deck next to him when he heard a car pull into his dirt driveway. Harley raised her head tilting it to one side, and Layla let out a
few light growls, both the dog’s
tails were wagging. Thomas looked at his watch and assumed it was his son and said, “You’re early buddy, I wasn’t expecting you for another half hour” when he heard footsteps on the wood deck next to the house out of his view.

“Don’t call me buddy, Tom, or I’ll kick your ass. How would you expect me when you didn’t know I was going to be here?” an old woman’s voice said just around the corner.

Harley and Layla shot up to investigate and Thomas stood up just to see his old friend Ann walk around the corner. The dogs were sniffing the old woman with curious noses. She gave them both big dog treats, which they took happily and laid down.

“Still travel with dog snacks huh Ann,” Thomas said as he went and gave her a big hug.

“You know it; you’re losing weight you should eat more Thomas. I say that because I’m old and that’s what old farts are supposed to say to people who are like their son, even though you look all right to me” Ann said.

“Well I’ll work on it just so you can pretend I listen Ann” Thomas said with a smile then pulling up a chair for the old lady to sit on. Ann had a bag in her hand and set it down next to her chair.

“I didn’t know you were coming Ann, Daniel should be home soon and he’s going to be excited to see you. He was asking about you the other day,” Thomas said.

“Well I came to see both of you but this works since I have something I need to talk to you about just the two of us” Ann said as she looked around inspecting the cottage then said “you’re keeping the cottage up pretty damn well I see, how did you fair in that storm?”

“Yeah your old place is looking pretty good, I’ll show you inside later if you want but it looks more or less the same. We had a little damage in the storm but nothing too bad that I couldn’t fix pretty quick” Thomas relaxed then added “the neighbor just north got hit hard though, far side of his house is trashed
.
”

An
n reached down, grabbed Thomas’
pack of cigarettes, took one, and lit up, exhaling with a smile.

“I thought you quit that a long time,” Thomas asked with a smile.

“According to the rest of the world Tom, yes I did. Between you and me though, since the rest of the world isn’t around…I do. Sometimes I sneak one…or four it won’t hurt me none, far more years behind me than in front so I’m not going to worry about it” Ann said with a sly smile.

“It happens, I won’t tell. So what’s up Ann, haven’t seen you in well over a month or better, what brings you around not that I am complaining at all,” Thomas said lighting up his own cigarette and sitting back in his chair.

“Well it’s rather difficult to say so I’ll get right too it, you’re a big boy and I think you can handle it okay” Ann said

Thomas felt a knot well up in his stomach. Ann had always been very up-front with Thomas but she had always been there for Thomas and Daniel whenever he needed her. She was there for Thomas when he was out here alone after he moved back to the coast.

“Well you know that place over the drive from me and Ben
, that cottage that’s for rent.
” Ann said.

“
Yeah I think I recall the place. Isn’t it the place Beth and Jack rent out?” Thomas asked
.

“The one
and
same” Ann said raising a finger in the air then adding, “
We
had a visitor a few weeks back, a young woman close to your age. She was very charming and sweet, very quiet though. I think she would be right up your alley except she’s not from around here”

Thomas laughed and said, “Oh Ann I’m not ready for anything I just broke up with my girlfriend not that long ago. We were not together very long but I’m not ready for anything yet, but thanks
.
”

“Well, don’t be too sure about anything Thomas, it seems you a
lready know this particular woma
n,” Ann said
,
then reaching over into her bag on the ground and pulling out what appeared to Thomas to be a picture frame. She looked at it for a moment, smiled as she touched the picture gently then handed it over to Thomas.

He grabbed the picture; he had a weird feeling in his stomach as he took it in his hands. Without looking at it, he asked, “you framed the picture Ann
?
”

“No Thomas she did
,
” Ann said.

Thomas turned the picture over and looked down at it. His mind was confused as to what this meant, his heart beating fast and not knowing what to think, but knew what it was feeling. In the picture was himself and he was on a beach, a beach he knew very well. In the picture next to him, in his arms was Stephanie, it was taken years ago. He looked so much younger then and wondered what she looked like now. He had to force himself to breath. He looked up at Ann with a confused, lost look on his face.

“Where did you get this from Ann? There is only one other person who has this picture besides me and mine is in my bedroom” Thomas said his eyes full of confusion and unspoken thoughts.

“The young woman, Stephanie, left it behind in the cottage when she checked out. I do not know if it was on purpose or an accident, I assume it was an accident though,” Ann said.

“She was here, on the coast. I had no idea, wish I would have known,” he said quietly then asked Ann, still looking down at the picture, “Umm…Did you talk to her when she was here at all?”

Ann moved her chair closer to Thomas so she sat directly in front of him. She thought about what to say, but had giving this conversation with Thomas a lot of thought already since Stephanie left. “I did talk to her Thomas; we actually did a lot of it. It is interesting because with all that talking we did, I learned a lot about you. I was able to see why you keep that part of you, the part of your heart that belongs and always belonged to her locked away and hidden from the world. Something’s make more sense to me now that didn’t before, makes me understand you better
.”

Ann went on to explain to Thomas what she learned about Stephanie while she was here on the coast. She also told Thomas a little about the life Stephanie had lived since the time before he came back to the Oregon Coast. She left some details out like the incident with Derrick so a problem was not caused, after all this was about Thomas and Stephanie and not about Derrick being overly protective. Ann told Thomas about their walks on the beach, the things Stephanie told her regarding Thomas and her feelings, past and current. How she had grown over the years to become the woman she is now, what she was like, a few things she enjoyed.

She was careful with what she revealed to Thomas however, something’s should be left for Stephanie to say to him; if that ever were too happen. Even though Ann was sure it would eventually, she was not going to tell Thomas that. She wanted to Thomas to understand why Stephanie acted the way she did all those years ago, and her regrets. She explained to Thomas how those regrets changed her for the better. Ann spoke and Thomas listened quietly for half an hour, not saying a word as he was learning about the woman he loved for many years. A woman that had been out of his life for a long time, whom he never forgot; someone he loved too much to forget.

“So why didn’t she come to see me, talk to me, or try?” Thomas asked.

“She tried once, she came to the coffee shop and you were not working; Tracie was. But that wasn’t her only reason for being on the coast” Ann said.

Thomas recalled the conversation he had with Tracie about the strange girl that came in to the shop, asking questions. It must of have been her he thought silently.

“You actually saw her twice while she was here, you just didn’t realize it at the time Thomas, Daniel met her also
,
” Ann said.

Thomas was shocked and instantly began mentally backtracking every day, every hour and minute of the last few weeks. He was trying to figure out when and where, and why he was too stupid to notice. “How could I have missed her then, when did
you
see her” he finally asked.

“Well the first time was up at Santos Café in Cannon Beach. She was walking out and you held the door for her, you had your back to her. She realized it was you and ducked around the corner and that was when she ran into Daniel and these two beautiful girls here,” Ann said smiling as she petted the heads of Layla and Harley that were resting their heads on her legs.

Thomas was lost in thought again, looked at Harley, smiled at his oldest dog, and said, “It’s times like this I wish she could talk Ann, I bet she remembered Steph. Nevertheless, I remember that day; it was a good day for Daniel and I, we had fun. Stephanie used to wear the same two perfumes, she loved them, and I remember smelling one when I w
as holding the door and the woma
n came out. It stuck with me, I could not let it go, things like that stick with you, stay in your mind if you know what I mean. I remember D
aniel telling me about her
though, he said she was very nice and said nice things about the dogs. He told me Harley wen
t nuts trying to smell the lady
, Harley did remember h
er.”

His legs were shaking so he stood up and walked over to the railing of his wooden deck. He looked out over the ocean, the dark blue waves gently rolling, sea birds flying around in sky calling to each other. He ran his fingers over some sand that was on the railing, making lines with his fingers. Ann got up from her chair and stood next to him.