Adrift

by Robin Wainwright

marked with one of the chosen names. Heather placed the jars in the front window so that everyone could keep track of their favorites and vote more if necessary. Jennifer noted that this tactic would promote more business, to which Heather just smiled.

  Heather flowed through her life with joy in her heart. She helped in the Junction as needed, spent her free time roaming the village and enjoying the beach. The evenings she spent with Daniel.

  They explored each other’s bodies and history. Heather discovered that Daniel came from a family of five boys and that most of them were involved in the family renovation business. When Daniel’s father had decided to retire, Daniel had stepped up and taken over as project manager. He enjoyed finding new projects and watching neglected buildings brought back to their original glory.

  Heather told Daniel about what it was like to grow up as an only child and how it felt to lose her mother at a young age. She talked about her father and her life with him. How he had found joy and laughter in everyday events and how he would have encouraged her to relax and enjoy this adventure.

  Grief snuck up on her at the strangest times, like when she was going through the piles of forwarded mail, most of which was still in her father’s name. When grief overwhelmed her, Daniel just held her close and let her cry.

  They discovered that they shared a love of Monty Python, fantasy novels and many other little things.

  Heather stopped worrying about the Scuttlebutt and asked Daniel to stay over. Sleeping in his arms throughout the night was wonderful, but it paled in comparison to the joy of seeing him first thing in the morning. His hair was tousled and his eyes soft with sleep. To see his mouth curve into a smile as he looked into her eyes and gave her a good morning kiss.

  Daniel kept his room at Gnome’s Rest so that he had somewhere to work. He told Heather that if he knew she was right downstairs that he would never get any work done. Instead, he would spend his time trying to figure out ways to get her upstairs so that he could ravish her.

  Daniel and Sarah worked on the renovation proposal until they came up with what they felt was a workable plan.

  Now that the renovation had a direction, Daniel was focused on finding funding and designing the presentation for the council.

  He spent his days at the lighthouse giving tours to prospective benefactors and firming up his bid.

  Some nights he was so exhausted that he just ate dinner and fell into bed. He even missed a few evenings with Heather because of deadlines that kept him at his computer until the early morning.

  Heather did her best to not feel neglected, but she realized that she had been spoiled by Daniel’s previously undivided attention.

  When they were together she smiled and did her best to enjoy their time together, but she realized that she had become too emotionally involved with her summer fling. As July became August, she began to pull back from Daniel in the hopes that it would make their parting at the end of September easier.

  One night, instead of sitting at home in her empty apartment, Heather decided she needed a drink and headed out to the Foghorn Tavern. Standing at the bar, she ordered a margarita and then settled down into one of the comfortable booths.

  Maggie stuck her head into the bar to check on the patrons and saw Heather sitting in a dark corner.

  “Waiting for Daniel?” Maggie teased.

  “No.”

  “No?” Maggie gave Heather a closer look and the smile left her face. “Heather? Are you okay?”

  “Fine,” Heather replied quickly wiping tears from her eyes.

  “Damn,” Maggie whispered, “I have a couple of last tables to take care of and then the restaurant is closed. You stay here and I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”

  “No Maggie, you’re busy. I just want to sit here and enjoy my drink.”

  “Honey I’m always busy, but never too busy for a friend. Stay here and I’ll let Max know your drinks are on the house.” Before Heather could reply Maggie was off to speak to her bartender Max, he nodded yes and Maggie was gone in a blur of movement.

  Max appeared with a second margarita just as she was finishing her first one. He smiled at her kindly and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder as he went back to his bar.

  “Scuttlebutt,” Heather groaned into her drink as she took a large drink.

  Heather was well into her fourth margarita before Maggie rejoined her. She brought Heather her fifth margarita and a glass of white wine for herself.

  “Okay girlfriend, tell mother Maggie what’s up.”

  “It’s so stupid Maggie. I’m spoiled.”

  “Okay,” Maggie said as she took a sip of her wine.

  “No really,” Heather’s voice was beginning to slur. “He’s just doing what he came here to do.”

  Maggie nodded in agreement, although she had no idea what Heather was talking about. As an experienced tavern owner, Maggie knew that the best thing she could do for a drunk and distraught patron was to say as little as possible and try to listen to what they said. If you were lucky, their ramblings made sense, sometimes.

  “I’m only here till October.”

  “I know.”

  “But I couldn’t help myself,” she looked at Maggie in drunken anguish. “He is so sweet, and so funny, and he’s a good fuck.”

  Maggie almost choked on her wine in shock, and then her devilish nature came to the forefront.

  “Oh is he?”

  “He is and he’s hung like a horse.”

  Maggie had to stifle her laughter; she didn’t want Heather to stop talking because this was great stuff.

  “I see.”

  “And he knows how to use it. I know that they say size doesn’t matter but Maggie, you can’t churn butter with a toothpick.”

  This time Maggie couldn’t help herself and she burst out laughing.

  Heather looked confused and a little defensive, “It’s true! But it’s more than that, he seemed to really like me,” and tears began to roll down her face.

  Maggie felt a small twinge of guilt, “Honey I’ve seen you two together, he does like you.”

  “See, I’m spoiled.”

  Okay, we’re back to that, Maggie thought. Maybe she could find out what was wrong with a little prodding. “Why do you say you’re spoiled?”

  “Because I am!” Heather cried. “He paid so much attention to me and now poof!”

  “Poof?”

  “Poof. No more.”

  “Daniel left you?” Maggie cried in disbelief.

  “No, no, no. But he might as well have; all he cares about is that damn lighthouse.”

  “Ah,” Maggie said beginning to understand. “You got used to having his undivided attention and now he’s focused on the renovation of the lighthouse.”

  “Yes!” cried Heather. “And now I’m spoiled.” Heather sounded so despondent that Maggie found herself smiling again.

  “Honey he is just distracted. You told me yourself that he went into a trance when you two were touring the cottage and lighthouse.”

  “Yeah.”

  “That is all this is, another type of trance. He’s just focused on his job; he’ll come back around soon. That is if you want him to. You do still want him to, right?”

  “Yeah,” Heather replied although she didn’t sound happy.

  Studying Heather closely she asked, “What else is wrong Heather?”

  “He was supposed to be just a summer fling. Everyone told me that it was just a summer fling,” she turned her anguished face up to Heather’s and cried, “but I think I love him.”

  “Oh god,” mumbled Maggie.

  Looking shocked Heather repeated quietly to herself, “I think I love him.” She grabbed Maggie’s hand and tried to pull her close. “I think I love him.” Then her eyes got large and her grip tightened, “You can’t tell him,” Heather said frantically. “Promise me you won’t tell him.”

  Maggie reached out to stroke Heather’s hair, “Ah honey I won’t tell him, that’s up to you.”

  “No
, no,” she said shaking her head violently, “I can’t do that, it’s just a summer fling Maggie. It’s all over in October.”

  “Heather it’s okay,” Maggie said trying to sooth her, “it’s okay. Let me take care of you tonight and it will all be a bit clearer in the morning.”

  “Okay,” Maggie said as she sagged tiredly against the back of the booth.

  Maggie got up, brought Heather a huge glass of water, and told her to drink it. “You’ll thank me in the morning.” Heather shot Maggie a pouty look but she took a drink.

  Maggie finished closing down the bar and then helped Heather get back home. She tucked Heather into bed placing a large pan and towel by her side in case she got the bed spins.

  Thinking of the hangover Heather would have in the morning, and shaking her head in sympathy, she let herself out of the apartment.

  18

  Someone was blasting a trumpet inside her head. Heather groaned, rolled over and slapped her alarm clock. Needles were stabbing into her eyes, and when she tried to lift her head the room tipped. As her stomach clinched, she decided that horizontal was the best position to be in and flopped back down closing her eyes.

  Now a bell was clanging in her head.

  “Please, please, stop,” Heather begged and it did.

  Then came the sound of someone banging on a drum.

  Heather groaned and rolled out of bed so that she could find that damn drummer and kill him or her. The sound was coming from her front door; she wrenched the door open to see Maggie standing there with a huge grin on her face and a jar of some vile looking liquid in her hand.

  “Hello,” Maggie shouted, at least it felt like she was shouting to Heather.

  “Shush, stop yelling.”

  Maggie laughed and pushed by Heather, heading toward the kitchen.

  “Come on in here and let mother Maggie heal you up.” Heather stumbled into her kitchen and collapsed into a chair grabbing her head.

  “I’ve already let Jennifer know that you probably wouldn’t be in today.”

  “Oh god Jennifer,” Heather started to get up from the table, “I’ve got to go to work.”

  Maggie pushed her back down. “No you don’t. Jennifer has been handling the shop by herself for a long time. She said to tell you that she’d call in Sally if she needs to.”

  “Okay, okay,” Heather said. “I surrender.”

  “Good, then drink this.” Maggie placed a glass of green sludge in front of Heather.

  Heather’s stomach rolled, “Argh, no. I think I’m going to throw up.”

  “If you drink that you won’t. Trust me. It’s the famous Foghorn Tavern Tonic, a local hangover cure.”

  Heather moaned and pushed the glass away and put her head on the table.

  “Heather trust me, it’s not as bad as it looks. It has ginger for your stomach, a little caffeine for your headache, fruit juice because you’re dehydrated, liquid vitamins and a banana for potassium. Plus some proprietary secrets that I can’t share with you.” Pushing the cup back toward Heather she commanded, “Now drink up.”

  “If I do will you leave me alone to die?”

  “Yes.”

  Heather lifted the glass and took a tentative sip, then a larger drink.

  “Not bad huh? It just looks bad.”

  Heather nodded and swallowed a little more. Resting her head on the table she mumbled, “Thank you.”

  “Hey, what are friends for?”

  Now that Heather’s stomach was settling down she began to remember bits and pieces of the previous night and she groaned again.

  Maggie looked at Heather in concern, “What now?”

  “I was an idiot last night wasn’t I?”

  Laughing gently Maggie patted Heather’s arm. “Nah, you were just hurting and mad at yourself I think. I’ll tease you later when you’re better able to fight back.”

  “That’s nice of you.”

  “Yes it is. Okay, now finish your drink and I’ll pour you back into bed. Rest is what you need. I’ll leave another dose of the tonic in your fridge. Now bottoms up.”

  After draining her cup, Maggie tucked Heather back into bed.

  Kissing Heather on her forehead Maggie whispered, “Sweet dreams,” then let herself out.

  After another amazing breakfast, Daniel returned to his room to finish his proposal. He was scheduled to present it on Wednesday at the next council meeting, which left him just three more days to get it exactly right.

  He glanced out the window and wondered what Heather was up to. Was she already up and working at the Junction? Maybe she was still snuggled in bed all warm and soft. God, he’d love to be there right now so that he could reach out to gently move the hair out her eyes and wake her with kisses.

  Daniel shook his head and reminded himself that the sooner he got this proposal in the can the sooner he could spend more time with her.

  Daniel and Sarah had been working tirelessly on the renovation project. Sarah spent most of her days researching and contacting individuals and organizations looking for outside funding.

  Daniel had taken many of the people she had contacted on tours of the lighthouse and cottage, but Daniel was sure that it was Sarah’s enthusiasm that had translated those visits into real money.

  With those donations, the cost to the village was going to be relatively minimal and Sarah had come up with several ideas for fundraisers to help offset even more of the costs.

  Daniel wanted to present the city council with a professional proposal that reflected all the effort that he and Sarah had put forth. He would include photos, computer generated before and after images, maps, diagrams and tons of data. He would also include his company’s portfolio of completed projects, letters of recommendation and finally his bid.

  He knew that most people would want to hear the bottom line first, but part of his job was to be a salesman. He needed to sell people on the dream because most people couldn’t envision the final product like he could. Left on their own, all they would see was the dollar sign.

  He sat down at his computer to begin designing his Power Point presentation and the hours slipped away.

  When he finally came up for air he realized that he had worked past lunch and decided that it was time for a break. He stood up and stretched, grimacing as his various joints snapped and popped.

  He decided that it was time to stretch his legs and see his favorite girl. He headed out of Gnome’s Rest and started for Java Junction. Deciding 24 hours without Heather was too long he swung into the Bay Bouquet florist shop to pick up some flowers. He chose a colorful spring bouquet and went to the counter to pay.

  “Are you sure that’s what you want?” asked the storekeeper.

  Confused Daniel looked at the bouquet more closely. “I think so, is there something I’m missing?”

  “Well I would think that roses would be better.”

  Figuring that the crafty storekeeper was just trying to up sell him to a more expensive bouquet he shook his head and handed him a twenty-dollar bill.

  “Okay,” the storekeeper said sounding doubtful, “good luck with that.”

  Shaking his head in bewilderment Daniel headed back out of the store and to the Junction.

  With a big grin on his face, Daniel pushed open the doors to Java Junction.

  “Hi Jennifer,” he sang out in a cheerful voice.

  Jennifer looked up from making an espresso and nodded, “Daniel.”

  Jennifer’s response was a little cold, but Daniel figured that it must be because she was busy. The Junction was packed with people waiting for their drinks.

  “Is Heather in the back?”

  “Nope, she called in sick.”

  Daniel felt stab of concern. “Is she okay?”

  “Nope, but I think she’ll be better tomorrow.”

  “Okay, I think I’ll go up and see her.”

  “Your funeral.”

  What the heck does that mean? Daniel wondered as he headed up to Heather’s apartment. H
e knocked on her door, waited and then he knocked again. His concern ratcheted up when she didn’t respond. He knocked a third time, louder.

  The door was wrenched open by a very ill looking Heather. “Okay, okay, stop pounding,” she yelled before she looked up to see Daniel standing on her doorstep.

  “Daniel,” she said with a sad smile, “I’m sorry but I’m not feeling well.”

  “I heard. Do you want me to come in and make you some soup or something?”

  He was so sweet that it made her want to cry. She had missed him so much. All she wanted to do was curl up in his arms and for him to hold her close. But she couldn’t handle that pain right now, not when her stomach was clinching and her head was pounding.

  “No. I just need to sleep.”

  “Want me to tuck you in?” The knife in her heart twisted a little more.

  “No Daniel, I want to be left alone. Please.” She said it more harshly than she’d meant to and she could tell that she had hurt him.

  “No problem, I can do that. I’ll check on you later.” He turned and went down the stairs quickly.

  Daniel strode toward the lighthouse station, more out of habit than anything else, thinking about Heather. Why did she have to be so nasty? It wasn’t his fault that she was sick. In the future he’d have to remember how grumpy she got when she was sick and try to avoid her.

  It wasn’t until he reached the light keeper’s cottage that he remembered the flowers he had clinched in his fist.

  Damn, he thought, I should have left these on her doorstep. Then maybe she would have felt better when she found them. Or maybe she would have felt guilty because of how she treated me, and then maybe I could have claimed some make up sex when she felt better. The thought made him grin mischievously. Ah well, too late now.

  In a whimsical moment he decided to leave the flowers at the lighthouse door, “We’ve been spending so much time together you’re practically my girlfriend. These are for you.” Grinning at his foolishness, he headed back to the village to grab a quick sandwich.

  As he walked away, Daniel was unaware that the flowers levitated off the ground and were violently torn apart. The paper was shredded and the blooms were crushed and thrown to the ground. Then the lighthouse was quiet again.

  19

  Heather spent the day in bed recuperating from her hangover and wondering what to do about Daniel. Should she just go with the flow like everyone said and not worry about the pain that awaited her come October, or would it be better to start weaning herself off Daniel now?

  By the next morning she decided that she could do both, somehow.

  She made sure to get into the Junction extra early the next day, and by the time Jennifer arrived she’d finished all the tasks she should have done the day before.

  Heather had grinned when she saw how the voting was going, and it looked like a three way tie between Spicy Betty, Full Steam Ahead, and Spicy Scuttlebutt.

  When Jennifer arrived, all Heather could do was apologize for not being in the day before.

  “I’m sorry I was out yesterday.”

  “It wasn’t a problem, Sally and I did okay. Are you feeling better today?”

  “Much better thanks.”

  “And you and Daniel?”

  “Me and Daniel?” Looking into Jennifer’s eyes Heather realized that the story of her drunken night, and the possible cause, had already made the rounds on the Scuttlebutt.

  “Jennifer, what are they saying?”

  “Just that you were seen in the