Second Chances (25 page)

That night at the Inn on the Bay, Abby called Erik at seven o’clock as she had all the nights before. Tonight, she had good news to share. Everything was back on track, and life was only going to get better. She declared her love for him and how much she missed him. “I have a really great idea, and I hope you’ll go along with it.” She lay across the bed in the beachfront hotel, listening to the waves slap against the shoreline. An icy Red Stripe beer sat on the night table next to her. A ring of condensation lay at the bottle’s base.

“Yeah, what’s your idea?” he asked with a curious laugh.

“Come and meet me in St. Thomas. You’re finished with the house on Atlantic Street, aren’t you? And you don’t have anything else lined up yet, right?”

He chuckled into the phone, not sure if she was serious or not. “You’re crazy, Abs.”

“I sure am, crazy in love. I dare you to come.”

“You’re really daring me to take a vacation?” Now he laughed, a full, out-loud belly laugh. “Okay, Ms. Taylor, I’m calling your dare.”

“Awesome… be here in two days. I’ll pick you up at the airport. Tell Mel and Betsy to hold down the fort until we get back.”

“This is for real? You’ll pick me up at the airport in St. Thomas day after tomorrow?”

“Yep… be there or be square. I love you, Mr. Christiansen. I can’t wait to see you in two days.” Abby hung up, elated with life and with the man she hoped to marry someday. She had a busy day planned tomorrow, and falling asleep tonight would be difficult.

Abby’s eyes opened, and a smile spread across her face. She was back at her second favorite place on earth, Magens Bay. She started the coffee and slipped on a pair of cutoffs and a tank top. Her unit had a small balcony overlooking the bay. She sat with her coffee and looked out across the water. Memories flooded her mind, and a tear slid down her cheek. She brushed it away with the back of her hand.
No more sorrow and sadness. This is a new day and a new beginning with the man I love and the bay I call my second home.
With the cup of coffee in her hand, she strolled down the beach, her feet splashing in the sea foam. Habit took her to the bar on the beach and John’s friendly face looking out over the water with his own cup of coffee.

“Morning, neighbor,” she called out happily.

“Morning, Abs. How do you like the Inn on the Bay? It’s a decent place, don’t you think?”

“Oh yeah, it’s great. Just listening to the waves break again is like heaven on earth.”

“I heard some very interesting news this morning from the locals.”

Abby got comfortable on one of the rattan barstools while John topped off her coffee from the carafe he had just filled. “Yeah, what did you hear?”

“Just that the people who bought your old house got divorced, and it’s on the market again. Apparently, it’s vacant, and both of them moved back to San Francisco. I haven’t walked by, but I guess the sign just went up yesterday.”

“Oh my God, oh my God, I’ll be right back.”

John laughed as he watched Abby run through the dense turpentine and mahogany trees, up the sandy path to the property where her old house stood. She stopped in her tracks and stared. The balcony was larger, and the house had been spruced up a bit.
It’s even more beautiful than I remember.
Abby ran to the front entrance where the sign was planted firmly in the sandy soil. She called the number and asked for a showing, and it had to be today. The realtor agreed to meet her at the house at one o’clock. Peering through the windows, she laughed at everything inside. All of her furniture was there, exactly as she’d left it, even down to the knickknacks. She ran back down the path, through the tree canopy, and jumped on the barstool.

“I’m buying my house back, and I’m doing it today,” she said, her eyes bulging out of her head.

“I think you need a drink,” John said, chuckling as he poured a shot of whiskey in her coffee. “Are you really serious?”

“Damn straight. It’s fate. What else could it be? It would be wrong not to accept fate and go with it. I’m not going to turn my back on something that’s meant to be, ever again.” The happiness on Abby’s face outshined the sun in that moment.

“You go, girl. I’m really happy to have you as a neighbor again. Magens Bay missed you while you were gone.”

After lunch with John at the bar, Abby ran through the trees to meet with the realtor. She paced up and down the porch, watching for a car to pull into the driveway. A blue sedan finally arrived, five minutes late but there nonetheless. A pleasant-looking middle-aged woman approached Abby with her hand extended.

“Hello, Ms. Taylor. I’m Linda Finley, the realtor. So it sounds like you’re very interested in this home. I can tell you a little about it as we do our walk-through.”

“No need.” As soon as Linda punched the code into the lock and swung the door open, Abby barged inside.

“Excuse me?”

“This was my house prior to the last owners. I know everything about it.”

“And you want to buy it back? That’s unusual.”

“I know, but it’s a long story. What’s the price?”

“Oh… well… because it’s a divorce, the owners are willing to negotiate to make a quick sale. They’re both in San Francisco, so it’s complicated.”

“They must have told you their bargain basement price, didn’t they?” Abby stood and stared eye to eye with the realtor, suddenly making the woman nervous.

“Um… actually, yes, they did.”

“And?”

“They’ll let the house go for seven hundred fifty thousand dollars as is, with all the wonderful furniture included.”

“Actually, that was my furniture anyway.” Abby thought back to the price she had paid for the home almost two years earlier. The current asking price was fifty thousand dollars more, but the balcony had been enlarged, the house was fully furnished, and she had to consider appreciation.

“Okay, you’ve got a deal. This is going to be a cash transaction today, no loan needed. Can you get the process started, and may I have the keys?”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m dead serious. The money can be wired from my bank today. Please, just start the process. I want to freshen up everything and air out the house.”

“Of course. I’ll call you in an hour to set up the wire transfer,” Linda said, still perplexed.

“Is something wrong?” Abby asked.

“No… not at all. I’ve just never in my entire career had somebody buy a house cash on the same day I showed it.”

“Well, lucky you… right?” Abby said with a grin wide enough to hit her ears and her hand outstretched for the keys. “You can take the combo lock off the door. We aren’t going to need that anymore.”

Linda drove away, and Abby opened all the doors and windows. She stripped the beds and put clean sheets on the mattresses while the old ones went through the hot cycle on the washing machine. The vacuum cleaner was in the closet off the kitchen, and plenty of cleaning products were on the shelf. By late afternoon, the house was in pristine condition, and Abby met with the realtor at the St. Thomas branch of Caribe Bank and Trust. Within thirty minutes and after the wire transfer confirmation, the house again belonged to Abby.

She lay in bed that night alone and happy as she stared at the spinning blades of the ceiling fan. The old memories were gone, and new ones would begin tomorrow when Erik got off the airplane in St. Thomas. She fell asleep to the sound of the waves breaking on the white beach sand of Magens Bay.

“We’ll be back soon, John. Thanks for loaning me your car. I can’t wait to introduce you to Erik. He really is the one for me. I finally got this right. I’m getting my second chance.”

“Okay, drive carefully. You know these crazy roads.”

Cyril E. King Airport at the west end of Charlotte Amalie, the main city in St. Thomas, was a thirty-minute drive from Magens Bay. Abby couldn’t wait to see Erik again. Ten days had passed since she left Charleston, and she missed him more than she’d ever thought possible. After parking and walking through the doors at the airport, she checked the arrivals board. Erik’s flight had just landed. Abby waited at the arrivals area, hoping to see his smiling face any second. Vacationers, families, and locals came up the concourse, backpacks slung over their shoulders, looking every which way for a familiar face. She watched as each person passed, and then finally, she saw him. A smile spread across both their faces as they waved from a distance. He reached Abby and dropped his carry-on while he embraced her. They kissed, hugged, and laughed. They kissed some more as they told each other how much they were missed. With hands tightly held, they walked together to the baggage claim area, gathered Erik’s luggage, and left Charlotte Amalie for Magens Bay. Switchback roads led the way over the mountain to the north side of the island. Abby parked the car near the bar on the beach.

“It’s time you met John. I know you guys will become fast friends. He’s lived on the island for fifteen years, but he’s originally from Nebraska.”

“Hey, Abs, you’re back. I guess this guy would be Erik. How’s it going, man? It’s nice to finally meet you. Abby can’t stop talking about you, but it’s all good, I promise. How about a beer?”

“A beer sounds perfect right now. So this is Magens Bay, huh? I’ll admit, it looks pretty sweet.”

“Yeah, this place can grow on you. Watch out, man, you might end up staying.” John smiled at Abby and gave her a wink.

“Want to walk?”

“Sure, that sounds great.”

They walked the length of the sugar sand beach, then came back through ankle-deep water.

“Let’s sit for a while,” Abby said.

They snuggled closely on the beach, looking out over the turquoise sea. The breeze swirled through Abby’s hair. Black-headed laughing gulls ran along the edge of the water, hoping for a treat and laughing when they found one.

“Man, it sure is gorgeous here, and this is where you used to live? I don’t know how you ever left.”

“Yeah… it is beautiful. I’ll show you my old house later if you want. It’s just up the path through the trees.”

“Why St. Thomas? Why Magens Bay?”

“I know why I came, and I know why I left, but during the time I lived here, I fell in love. Magens Bay called out to me and pulled me in. It feels as much like home to me as Charleston does. I belong here.” She drew an infinity circle in the sand with a turpentine tree limb. “I guess I love the South. I’m drawn to it.”

“This isn’t typically what people call the South, Abby.”

“I know, but it’s just about the farthest south you can get in the northern hemisphere.” She looked to her right and smiled at him.

“I can’t argue with that.” He reached for the stick Abby was holding and drew a second infinity circle within hers.

Silent tears streamed down Abby’s cheeks and rolled down her neck to mingle with the cloth of her T-shirt. “Do you believe in karma, Erik?”

“Sort of… yeah, actually, I do. Is this karma, honey? Is this the life you’re meant to have? Do you want to live here again at Magens Bay?”

“To be honest, I think I had to go through the bad karma to find the good. But eventually, good karma found me, found us, and brought us together. Life has a way of righting itself, bringing things back into balance. With South Battery as our main home and doing really well, I think we can afford a second home here.”

“Are you serious?”

She smiled at the double infinity circle in the sand. That time, she didn’t want the tide to reclaim it, to wash it away. She wanted their love to last forever.

“Erik, I have someplace to show you, and yes, I am completely serious. I think together, our lives are going to turn out just fine.”

My love, thanks, and deep appreciation goes out to all of the people that have supported me from my initial dream of becoming a writer to reading the words “THE END” when I finished my very first novel. There were no scoffs, laughs, or negativity. Family and friends continue to help me through constructive criticism, high fives, cheers, and words of encouragement. From my editor and cover designer to my formatter in a faraway country, you have made my journey so much easier. Erik, I appreciate you more than you could imagine. You have been there for me since before I wrote the very first word. Rochelle, you’re the best promoter I could ask for. Photographer Karen Nelson made the “About the Author” photo of me look great. Plus she is an avid supporter and my fun-loving sister.