Where Yesterday Lives (35 page)

Aaron mumbled something, slid behind the wheel of his truck, and drove off. She looked at her daughters. “What about you girls?”

“I can come over for a little while but the children need to get to sleep earlier than last night.” Jane crossed her arms impatiently. “Troy’s coming in at 10:30 tomorrow morning so I don’t want to stay up late.”

“Amy?”

“Frank wants me to meet him for pizza with a few of his friends. We’ll come back to the house later. Around nine or so.”

“I’ll be there,” Megan said. She looked accusingly at her sisters. “This is a time when we should be together.”

“Ellen?” Mom raised her eyebrows hopefully.

“I have plans, too. Sorry Mom. I won’t be late.”

Her mother sighed, and Ellen was glad she seemed too preoccupied to ask what her plans were. “All right. Let’s get going, then.”

Her mother, Amy, and Jane piled into the van and drove away leaving Megan and Ellen. They walked slowly, silently toward Megan’s car.

“I don’t need a ride, Megan.” Ellen tried to sound casual.

Megan stopped and stared at her. “Why not?”

“My friend’s picking me up here.”

Megan narrowed her eyes and studied her sister. Ellen could see the suspicion in her face. “What gives, Ellen? Who’s the mystery friend?”

Ellen nudged the tip of her shoe at a few loose rocks on the asphalt. She refused to look at Megan. “Just an old friend.”

Megan lowered her face so that she could see directly into Ellen’s eyes. “I’m your sister, remember, Ellen? I know most of your old friends. Who is she?”

Ellen hesitated. “He.”

“He?”

“Yes.” She drew a deep breath. “Jake Sadler. We’re getting together to talk.”

“What?” Megan’s voice rose.

“Shhh. You heard what I said.”

“Why on earth are you doing that?”

“I’ve seen him twice this week. I called him that night when Jane told me I was stupid for not having any children. Remember?”

“You saw him that night, too?” Megan was clearly astonished and Ellen felt a twinge of guilt. “Is that who you went to the beach with?”

Ellen nodded. “Mackinac Island.”

“Ellen, are you having an affair?”

Megan sounded as if she was about to collapse from the shock and Ellen took her arm and led her gently to her car.

“No, Megan. It’s no big deal. Don’t worry Just a couple of old friends remembering the way things used to be. He loved Dad, too, remember?”

Megan emitted a brief laugh that was completely void of humor. “Who are you trying to kid? I might have been younger
than you, but I wasn’t blind. Listen, Ellen, you and Jake Sadler were
anything
but friends.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“Not long enough.” She thought a moment. “Does Mike know?”

Ellen shook her head.

“You guys are fighting, aren’t you?”

Ellen set her jaw “Mike and I are fine. This has nothing to do with him.”

“Then why, Ellen? I can understand Jake’s motives, but what about yours?”

Ellen was immediately defensive. “That’s not fair. Jake’s matured a lot since high school.”

“I don’t care what he’s done since high school. You’re a married woman and you have no right spending an evening with Jake Sadler.”

Ellen was silent, her arms crossed stubbornly.

“You know I’m right.”

“I know that whatever you say isn’t going to change my mind.” Ellen was matter-of-fact. “Please, Megan, go home and spend some time with Mom. I can take care of myself.”

Megan frowned at Ellen and turned away. She opened the car door, slipped inside, and started the engine. Then she rolled down the window and stared hard at Ellen. “Do what you want, Ellen,” she warned. “But Jake Sadler is trouble. He’s been trouble since the first day you met him.”

“If anyone knows that, I do,” Ellen replied quickly “I said don’t worry about it.” She was beginning to feel nervous because it was almost five-thirty and she didn’t want Jake to pull up and see them arguing about him.

“I think you’re making a big mistake. Obviously I can’t stop you.”

“Good-bye, Megan,” Ellen said simply

Megan shook her head. “I have one more thing to say and then I’ll go.”

Ellen shifted her position impatiently.

“Please be careful.” The accusation in Megan’s voice was gone.

“Megan, don’t worry I told you there’s nothing between us.”

“Don’t lie to me, Ellen. I know how you and Jake were. That isn’t something that goes away with time.”

“I know,” Ellen finally conceded. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”

Megan nodded and then drove away Ellen watched her go and then walked across the parking lot. She sat on the wooden bench in front of the mortuary and waited anxiously for Jake. She was restless, watching for his truck and feeling more nervous than she had all week. Not because of Megan’s warning. She was not afraid of Jake Sadler’s intentions.

She was afraid of her own.

E
llen heard the low rumbling sound of Jake’s truck seconds before it pulled into view He climbed out and walked toward her, hesitating for a moment before pulling her into a hug. She buried her face in his pullover.

I can’t go with him. It’ll just hurt us both
“Thanks for coming,” she whispered.

Jake’s eyes filled with concern, and Ellen’s doubts dissolved like summer days. He was her first love, but he was also her friend. In all the world he was the only one she wanted to be with at that moment.

Unbidden, another verse drifted into her mind: “The
way of a fool seems right to him, hut a wise man listens to advice.”
She felt her cheeks go red.

He slid into the truck and put his seat belt on. “Everyone gone home?’”

“Finally” She closed the door and was surrounded by the scent of leather and cologne. She sank into the seat and released a heavy sigh.

“That bad, huh?”

“Worse. I don’t know, Jake, maybe it’s me. Jane’s still on the warpath and my mom’s wanting us all to be together every last minute leading up to the funeral. Aaron’s a time bomb and Megan’s playing peacemaker. Same old story.”

Jake pulled out of the parking lot and headed west on Mitchell.

“Where do you live?”

“Harbor Pointe, out in Harbor Springs.”

Ellen raised an eyebrow “I know the area. Why didn’t you tell me you lived in the estates?”

“They’re not really estates. Just large subdivision homes.”

“I can’t believe you live in Harbor Pointe,” she said absently. She stared out the windshield and ran her fingers through her hair. “Guards at the gate, tennis courts, the bay in your backyard. Who’d have thought it? I mean, weren’t you the guy who was out to live life up and avoid commitment at all costs?”

Jake grinned sheepishly and his eyes twinkled with laughter.

“You couldn’t be serious about anything back then, Jake. Now look at you.”

He grew pensive and remained silent.

“You’re happy about it, aren’t you? The success I mean?”

“Sometimes. The house is nice, the cars and boat and hot tub. They’re all fine. But sometimes I think my life was richer when I was twenty-one and lived paycheck to paycheck.”

“Hmm.” Ellen nodded slowly. “I think that way, too, sometimes. Between Mike and me we do pretty well. We live in a nice, gated community with a two-story house a few blocks from the ocean. Nice cars, nice clothes, good jobs.”

“Doesn’t really help you sleep at night, does it?”’ He glanced at her and she shook her head, shifting so she could watch him drive.

She studied him, remembering him as he was and wondering what would have happened if, like his mother once hoped, she had waited for him to grow up. She saw that his eyes were distant. He seemed a million miles away, lost in some long ago memory

“What’re you thinking about?”

“Choices. Passages. Moments that make a difference for a lifetime.”

She considered his words and smiled.
Choices. Passages. Moments that make a difference for a lifetime.
This was the Jake she remembered, the one she had shared her heart with, the one she could talk to for hours without growing tired. For an instant she saw him as he used to be—a tan, fresh-faced boy who could see directly into her soul. She held the image and
allowed herself to miss him as she hadn’t in years.

She turned away then and tried to remember the flip side. The strange phone calls from other girls at odd hours, unfamiliar notes left on his doorstep or under his windshield wipers. The impatient blond in his bathrobe. Ellen sighed. As good as things had been when they were together, it hadn’t been good enough.

She gazed out the side window, her back to Jake. Leslie hadn’t been the only one to warn her about him. Her father had seen it coming, too.

“He’s a fine boy, Ellen,” he’d said once. “I love him like a son. But I see how he is, the way he looks at other girls. He has ’em dropping like flies.” He touched her cheek gently, a gesture he’d done since she was a little girl. “You deserve better than that.”

“Okay,” Jake interrupted her thoughts. “Now it’s my turn. What’re you thinking?”

She turned toward him and answered quickly, “My dad.”

Jake was sympathetic. “You miss him?”

“I haven’t really had time. I keep thinking I’ll go back to my parents’ house and he’ll be in his easy chair watching a golf tournament or a baseball game or something.”

“Is there a viewing? At the mortuary?”

Ellen wrinkled her nose. “Yes. Tomorrow night. I’m dreading it.”

Jake nodded. “I bet. But his death will be more real after that, Ellen. You’ll be able to accept it better.”

Ellen thought about seeing her father’s body in the cold, satin-lined casket. “Yes,” she conceded. “I suppose so.”

They drove around the bay and continued along the water, through the town of Bay Harbor. In less than fifteen minutes they arrived at the gate. Jake waved to the man in the booth, turned left, and drove further out onto the peninsula. As the strip of land narrowed, he slowed the truck and turned left again into an impressive stone driveway.

“This is it? This is your house?” Ellen raised her eyebrows appreciatively

Jake nodded and shrugged. Ellen studied Jake’s house. Some of the places they had driven past had been pretentious. This house was very different. An inviting Victorian, Jake’s home looked warm and filled with light. It seemed cared for and lived in, the type of house she might have picked for herself. Soft slate gray siding accented with white trim and an old-fashioned, white wraparound porch. It was a two-story home with dozens of white-rimmed French windows. The roof was the color of caramel. Heavily shingled, it peaked over a handful of smaller windows.

For all its homey warmth, Jake’s house was stunning, surrounded by a lush landscape and delicate petunias that bordered the home. There were panoramic views of the bay on one side and Lake Michigan on the other. The porch wrapped around the front of the house and from where Jake was parked, Ellen could barely see a redwood deck stretched out across the back. The bay was literally in his backyard and Ellen felt like she was surrounded by sandy beach.

“Jake—” She clasped her hands in delight—“it’s breathtaking.”

“Thanks.” He moved around the truck and opened her door. “I’m glad you like it.”

She followed him to the front door.

“Hungry?” He turned the key

“Starved.” She hadn’t realized it until he asked, but she hadn’t eaten since late that morning and she was famished. They walked inside and she stopped to take in the beauty of the place. The numerous French windows allowed the room to bask in sunlight, bathing the white walls and walnut trim in warmth. The ceilings were vaulted, accented with skylights and plant shelves. His leather living room set looked warm and inviting.

“You did this?” She moved into the room and began wandering through the house.

“The doors and windows are mine.” She could see the pride
in his eyes. “I hired a decorator for the rest.”

“Job well done. You could have
Home and Garden
here tomorrow and they’d do a centerfold on the place.”

Jake grinned and headed for the kitchen. “Want me to order pizza or something?”

She followed him, sliding onto a bar stool and leaning across an expanse of granite countertop. “I have a better idea.”

“Okay, what?” He opened the refrigerator door and twisted around to look at her.

“Omelettes. Filled with cheese and alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes and olives. Sour cream and salsa.”

Jake laughed and his eyes danced at the idea. “I haven’t made one of those in years.”

“Remember? We’d get home from the beach and be starved and we’d raid your mother’s fridge. You made the best omelettes, Jake. I mean it.”

He bent over and riffled through the icebox looking for ingredients. “Let’s see. Lots of eggs. Sprouts. Cheese.” He straightened, his arms filled with the ingredients. “You got it. Two omelettes coming up.”

She stood up and moved into the kitchen, pulling open several drawers until she found a knife. “Hand me the tomatoes. I’ll help chop.”

He backed away in mock fear. “Be careful with that thing. You never were much good in the kitchen.”

She wielded the small carving knife back and forth through the air, pretending to be dangerous.

“No, you don’t.” He grabbed her wrist with one hand and tickled her side with his other hand.

“Stop or you’ll be sorry.” She laughed, squirming to break free from his grasp. He let go and pretended to give up, but as she turned toward the cutting board he poked her once more in the ribs.

“Unless you want me to get the ice cubes and start an all-out war, you better stop, Jake Sadler.” She was flushed from
laughing, breathless from the feel of his hand on her wrist.

“All right, all right. Get busy chopping.”

“Thank you!” she huffed. She caught three tomatoes as he tossed them her way.

They worked for twenty minutes preparing ingredients, and then Jake set to work. When he was finished he had two plate-sized omelettes, each oozing with vegetables, cheese, and sour cream.

“Mmmmm, smells like a restaurant.”

“Remember, I was going to open my own omelette shop on the beach somewhere.”