Chapter 12
With the news of David’s probing my whereabouts, I extinguished the idea of driving to the mainland. David’s tenacity was exhausting at times. Poor Gene with his sidestepping manners probably couldn’t supply an adequate answer to David’s insistence on knowing where I had ventured off to. If I didn’t think of something fast, soon Private Detectives would be searching for me.
When I arrived at the Pirate there were no signs of anyone. Perry’s truck and the blue van were still parked where they were when I left. Tiptoeing up the stairs, I didn’t want to arouse attention. To be perfectly honest, I was in a mild state of panic over David’s call. With Perry’s keen eyes, I felt he would notice right away something was wrong.
Once inside, I opened the sliding glass door that led to the deck, so that the ocean breeze would blow through. As I walked through the house, opening windows, I tried calling Gene, but only reached his receptionist. I gave her a message and on impulse left the phone at the cottage as the contact number.
I tried to write but only succeeded in typing, “leave me alone, David” on my laptop. Shutting it down, I knew I had to find something to preoccupy my mind with. But nothing worked. Sitting on the couch I found myself staring at a painting that hung over a wicker chair. Its oceanic scene didn’t match the green fern fronds on the fabric of the cushion in the chair. Looking around, I found a better spot that kept shadows during the day. It lent the painting a stormy moody look that fit the artist’s style.
With that one change, I began a simple re-decorating project that soon had me trying to move the furniture, which was a mistake. I moved the wicker chairs with ease, but a sharp pain in my midriff caused me to fall back on the couch that I was trying to shove against a different wall. Waiting for it to recede, I surveyed the room. It looked the same but different. I wondered if Perry would be pleased with the results. Then it occurred to me that maybe I should have asked before remodeling. After a few minutes, I felt better, but wasn’t motivated to get off the couch. The moist breeze off the ocean made me drowsy and soon, slumber found me.
The shrill ringing of a phone hauled me out of a dream. The sound was so foreign that it didn’t register at first. “Gene,” I said aloud. Half asleep, I forgot that I had changed the furniture around and found myself face down on the carpet, after tripping over the coffee table. Thankfully, Gene let the phone continue to ring until I picked up the receiver.
“Hello? Gene?” I asked breathlessly.
“Kerrie, I just got your message. Baby, what took you so long to answer the phone? I was about to hang up.” He gave a sly laugh, “Have you found some beach balls to play with?”
“Gene, your mind is insidious. I fell over the coffee table. I’m not used to answering this phone. By the way, make sure you either disguise it or discard this number. David is searching for me. He called the realty company that leased me this cottage. Luckily, the agent was mum about me.”
“Damn, I told you he’s being persistent in finding you. My office has strict orders not to give out any information to him. Last week, I caught him bringing my secretary flowers, turning on his charm works. The man is desperate to find you. Why don’t you call him and get it over with? He’s not giving up, darling.”
“No, I’m not going to call him. I’m vulnerable right now, Gene. If I give him a second, he’ll have me believing that the past can be erased and he has changed. He’ll never change, Gene, never. You know it. I know it. My heart is too scarred to take another chance with him, because he will resort to being himself after a few weeks and I’ll be devastated once again.” I fought back tears as I spoke, vehemently.
“Hush now, no crying. I’ll see if I can’t throw him off track, maybe have my secretary slip that you went west instead of east. Promise me that you will keep your cell phone with you at all times?”
“I promise.” I didn’t know if keeping my cell phone handy would be worth the trouble, because Perry was right about all the no service areas on the island.
When I arrived at the Pirate there were no signs of anyone. Perry’s truck and the blue van were still parked where they were when I left. Tiptoeing up the stairs, I didn’t want to arouse attention. To be perfectly honest, I was in a mild state of panic over David’s call. With Perry’s keen eyes, I felt he would notice right away something was wrong.
Once inside, I opened the sliding glass door that led to the deck, so that the ocean breeze would blow through. As I walked through the house, opening windows, I tried calling Gene, but only reached his receptionist. I gave her a message and on impulse left the phone at the cottage as the contact number.
I tried to write but only succeeded in typing, “leave me alone, David” on my laptop. Shutting it down, I knew I had to find something to preoccupy my mind with. But nothing worked. Sitting on the couch I found myself staring at a painting that hung over a wicker chair. Its oceanic scene didn’t match the green fern fronds on the fabric of the cushion in the chair. Looking around, I found a better spot that kept shadows during the day. It lent the painting a stormy moody look that fit the artist’s style.
With that one change, I began a simple re-decorating project that soon had me trying to move the furniture, which was a mistake. I moved the wicker chairs with ease, but a sharp pain in my midriff caused me to fall back on the couch that I was trying to shove against a different wall. Waiting for it to recede, I surveyed the room. It looked the same but different. I wondered if Perry would be pleased with the results. Then it occurred to me that maybe I should have asked before remodeling. After a few minutes, I felt better, but wasn’t motivated to get off the couch. The moist breeze off the ocean made me drowsy and soon, slumber found me.
The shrill ringing of a phone hauled me out of a dream. The sound was so foreign that it didn’t register at first. “Gene,” I said aloud. Half asleep, I forgot that I had changed the furniture around and found myself face down on the carpet, after tripping over the coffee table. Thankfully, Gene let the phone continue to ring until I picked up the receiver.
“Hello? Gene?” I asked breathlessly.
“Kerrie, I just got your message. Baby, what took you so long to answer the phone? I was about to hang up.” He gave a sly laugh, “Have you found some beach balls to play with?”
“Gene, your mind is insidious. I fell over the coffee table. I’m not used to answering this phone. By the way, make sure you either disguise it or discard this number. David is searching for me. He called the realty company that leased me this cottage. Luckily, the agent was mum about me.”
“Damn, I told you he’s being persistent in finding you. My office has strict orders not to give out any information to him. Last week, I caught him bringing my secretary flowers, turning on his charm works. The man is desperate to find you. Why don’t you call him and get it over with? He’s not giving up, darling.”
“No, I’m not going to call him. I’m vulnerable right now, Gene. If I give him a second, he’ll have me believing that the past can be erased and he has changed. He’ll never change, Gene, never. You know it. I know it. My heart is too scarred to take another chance with him, because he will resort to being himself after a few weeks and I’ll be devastated once again.” I fought back tears as I spoke, vehemently.
“Hush now, no crying. I’ll see if I can’t throw him off track, maybe have my secretary slip that you went west instead of east. Promise me that you will keep your cell phone with you at all times?”
“I promise.” I didn’t know if keeping my cell phone handy would be worth the trouble, because Perry was right about all the no service areas on the island.
penned by Painter Lady at 12:29 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home