Scott started laughing. “If there were only something the three of us could do together while lying in a bed.”
Michelle poked him in the ribs. “We can play a game where we all go to sleep and Scott behaves himself all night long.”
Scott poked Michelle in her stomach. “I’ve seen several Bond films and they never play that game because it would ruin his reputation.”
Beth injected herself into the conversation. “But you don’t have a reputation so this shouldn’t be a problem for you.”
Michelle had her own idea for a game. “Let’s pretend that Scott is really hot for us and we put him in a cold shower to cool him down.”
Scott decided he needed to move on to other matters. “While the two of you have been rejecting my offer of sexual entertainment, I have solved the mystery of who the ghost is.”
Beth once again moved closer to him. “If it is not the butler, then it must be the upstairs maid.”
Scott rebuffed her comment. “The ghost is none other than Tom’s mother trying to make sure Michelle is never happy.”
Michelle thought for a moment. “I wouldn’t put it past her. If she could find a way to avenge her son’s heartbreak, I think she would do it.”
Beth sat up in the bed. “When Scott wanted to have sex with both of us, he may have been on to something.”
The disbelief over Beth’s comment was evident in Michelle’s tone of voice. “You want us to have group sex tonight?”
“No. That is not what I was getting at. If the three of us are friends, doesn’t that mean the ghost lost the game? With us being friends, she can’t turn us against each other or use one of us to plot against the other.” Beth replied.
Michelle considered her idea. “The ghost is out in the open so that does make her easier to understand and fight.”
By two o’clock, all three were asleep and the question of a premonition remained unanswered.
When Scott woke up on Sunday morning, Beth had gone home and Michelle was sitting at the kitchen bar eating a muffin and sipping on coffee. Her thoughts were racing around in her mind as she was trying to prepare for what she would say to Scott.
Scott approached the bar and sat next to Michelle. “Has Beth gone already?”
She spoke with a tone of resignation, as she had no desire to prolong saying the things she needed to say to Scott. “Beth is gone, the ghost is gone, the blue eyed shark is gone, and only the truth remains.”
Scott knew from her tone of voice that Michelle was ready to come to terms with their weekend experience. “I take it that you have everything figured out when you say the ghost is gone yet the truth remains.”
Michelle looked into her coffee cup as she spoke. “There is no ghost and there never was a ghost controlling anyone’s thoughts. I went along with Beth’s story last night because I realized she has some serious psychological issues to deal with and I didn’t want to confront her. She was terrified of the storm, she felt very alone, and she needed our support.”
Scott picked up his cup and raised it to his mouth before he spoke. “How do you explain the premonition, the psychic connections, and your personal feelings of confusion?”
Michelle replied as she continued to look at her cup, thus avoiding eye contact with Scott. “I don’t have an explanation for the premonition or the psychic connection other than to say they were just an aberration. As for my confusion, it has nothing to do with Beth or ghosts.”
Scott put his cup on the counter before he stood and walked to the sliding glass doors leading to the deck. “I am inclined to agree with everything you’ve said. I don’t have an explanation for the unusual things that happened, but I don’t believe any of us were under the influence of some mystery girl. So where does that leave us as you sit there with your unresolved confusion?”
Michelle looked up from her coffee cup and watched Scott staring out into the morning rain. “The questions I thought we could answer when we came here together didn’t get answered.”
Scott continued to watch the waves breaking on the shoreline. “Part of me would like to argue with you and tell you that we can work everything out. The other part of me thinks we tried to make a transition to being lovers too quickly and without our usual weeks of discussion. It was almost as if we were trying to manufacture our relationship.”
Michelle got up and joined Scott at the door. “I think we both know that we love each other and our brains tell us we should be together forever. I also think we need to feel the emotions that our brain tells us we should be feeling and right now, I don’t think either of us is feeling what we think we should be feeling.”
Scott looked at Michelle as he spoke. “When you fist walked onto the baseball field when we were in seventh grade, I felt the things you are talking about, and that feeling lasted for years. I’ve loved you since the first day I met you. Somewhere in time, I think I convinced myself that all we could ever be was friends. Maybe I’m just reluctant to let myself trust you again because I know it didn’t work out for us before.”
She understood his suggestion. “For whatever reason, we never gave ourselves a chance to be in love with each other before. I really don’t know what that says about us or if it means anything at all. There is no doubt in my mind but that I love you. I also don’t know how to fix what I am feeling right now.”
Scott placed his hand on her back. “For what it is worth, I think you made the right decision about Tom.”
In pure frustration, she turned to face Scott. “Do you have any idea what I am going through right now? Yes, I made the right decision to break off my engagement with Tom. This weekend with you has convinced me that was the right thing to do. I came here with someone I know loves me and would do anything I asked, and I push you into the arms of a blue-eyed shark. It’s as if I can’t take yes for an answer.”
Scott smiled for a moment. “Sharks have fins, not arms. Nevertheless, you did me a favor when you pushed. You made me realize that I have to change my way of thinking if you and I are ever going to be together. For years, you and I were together as friends and yet we dated other people. That mindset won’t work if we are going to be together.”
Michelle turned her gaze to the ocean as she asked a question even though she wasn’t sure she would like the answer. “What’s really bothering you about us?”
Scott walked across the room taking his seat on the sofa and with his legs propped up on the coffee table. “Do you realize that with the exception of Ashley, I have not had a long lasting relationship since you and I first met? I am afraid that if you and I try to make things work out for us, that relationship might also fail. If that happens, then I have nowhere left to run because you would be gone.”
Michelle came and sat beside him. “At the time I was going out with other boys, I resented you going out with other girls. In fact, it made me as mad as hell because you were supposed to be waiting for me to get my act together. I couldn’t get my act together then and I don’t seem to be doing any better now.”
He looked up at the ceiling, remembering their first nights together. “I thought that after Wednesday night my life was going to be perfect. When we were in the Jacuzzi, everything was coming together just as I had expected it to. It wasn’t just the sex either. When we were playing golf, going out to lunch, or just lying on the beach, everything about you and our relationship was finally as it should be.”
Michelle started smiling. “I enjoyed walking together on the waterfront, eating out, shopping and swimming together too. However, don’t ever under estimate the value of some really hot sex either. We seem to be very good at that.”
Scott nodded his head slowly. “We were very good together only I don’t think we spent quite enough time in bed together.”
She put her arm over Scotts shoulder and let her hand touch his chest. “I suppose that if we go on for the rest of our life being friends, then we can do more with each other than just going to dinner and a movie.”
Scott took
only a moment to consider her suggestion. “If you stop and think about it, we really should have been going to bed with each other years ago. Isn’t that what friends are for?”
After a long and passionate embrace, Michelle stood up and pulled on Scott’s hand. “Your friend wants you to take her to the bedroom and make love to her.”
Scott followed her upstairs. “You must really be a psychic because you are definitely reading my mind.”
CHAPTER XX
Driving across the Atlantic beach bridge, Scott and Michelle knew they had to make some difficult decisions about their future direction. There was no real path forward until Michelle could sort out her life and until Scott came to terms with issues Michelle didn’t even know about or understand.
When Scott arrived at home, his parents were in the kitchen seated at the table. Sandy greeted him as he came through the door. “So how was your trip?”
Scott smiled as he replied. “It was very educational.”
His dad glanced up from the newspaper. “If I was in court when a witness gave me that answer, I would have to wonder what he was hiding. In other words, that is not what I expected to hear.”
Scott decided he needed to put the matter to rest without saying much. He went to the refrigerator and took out a Coke before he replied. “We had a great time, we talked about a lot of things, we went out to dinner a few times, and we went swimming. William has a great place there.”
Sandy reached out and very lightly smacked the back of his head as he walked by. “This is your mother you’re talking to and I know what you are thinking before you do. Let’s have the rest of the story.”
Scott was expressing some of his anger at the world when he gave his mother something to consider. “William Broughton is a very smart man, but he missed something when he arranged this trip. You can’t engineer human behavior. Sometimes, things have to run their natural course without interference.”
Mark was apparently surprised by Scott’s comment. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Scott had said all he intended to and chose to steer the conversation in a new direction. “Well, I do have some good news. Before I came home from school, I interviewed with a company in Asheville. They sent me an email late Friday saying they want me to come up on Friday afternoon for a second interview. It could be a great job and I like Asheville, so I am going to head up there late Thursday afternoon.”
Sandy wasted no time in raising her next question. “Is Michelle going with you?”
Scott tried to downplay his answer. “This is a job interview, not recreation. Besides, I am going to stay with some friends and Michelle doesn’t need to put up with them.”
Mark was not going to let Scott off the hook. “I was under the impression you were going to work with William on a project starting on Tuesday.”
Scott again tried to answer his dad without providing any real information. “I need a real job and working part time is not getting me anywhere. I should have had a real job weeks ago. I am going to send Mr. Broughton an email in just a few minutes and let him know my change of plans.”
Mark stood up to get more coffee. As he walked past Scott, he gave him a pat on the back. “I’m glad you are not in court because I would have to ask the judge to declare you a hostile witness. You have said a lot of things without saying anything.”
Scott started out of the kitchen as he responded to Mark’s observations. “Being an attorney, you always taught me to never volunteer information.”
It was late in the afternoon when Scott finished cleaning his car. Mark came outside and stood beside the open car door where Scott was seated. “I don’t have to be a great attorney to see things didn’t go well this weekend and I’m not going to get into that issue unless you want to.”
Scott looked at his dad and smiled. “Why do I get the feeling the other shoe is about to drop?”
Mark placed his hand on Scott’s shoulder. “There is always another shoe to drop, even in the best of times. The project you told William you would help with is very important to our state politics. He’s counting on you to help with it and you told him you would help.”
Scott knew what was coming next from his dad and tried to head off a discussion on personal responsibility. “I don’t even know what we’re doing. Can’t he find anyone with my same lack of knowledge to do the job?”
“It’s not your technical skills he’s looking for. He needs someone he can trust. This is a very complex and sensitive matter and he can’t just grab someone off the street. This project has been in the works for months.” Mark replied.
Scott looked at the dashboard as he replied. “In other words, I need to do what I said I would do, even if I don’t want to.”
“Let’s face the facts. You can use the money and it will pay well for three days work. I also think you will be amazed with what you see, which could be more valuable than the money.”
Mark turned to walk away. “East Kings Ridge is not far from Asheville so you can take care of both things at once.”
Scott went to bed early on Sunday night being more than ready for a good night's sleep. He had talked to Amie and agreed to meet her at ten-thirty in Swansboro. As he was now in virtual silence, he had to consider the way he had handled things with Beth and Michelle and knew he could have done a better job. After a few minutes of self-recrimination, he sent each of them a text message that simply said “good night”
He and Amie had agreed to meet at a parking lot beside the White Oak River in Swansboro. Scott arrived a few minutes early but Amie was already there. She was neatly dressed in white shorts with a baby blue tee shirt and sandals. Her hair was neatly brushed and she wore just a hint of perfume.
They were leaning against Scott’s car when she raised questions about their plans. “I have to be back to meet with a counselor at three o’clock. What were you thinking we should do?”
“I thought I would take you somewhere before we go to lunch.” Scott replied.
Amie’s expression was suspicious, but playful. “Most guys at least take me to dinner before they take me somewhere.”
He opened the door for her as he replied, “This is going to be somewhere I doubt you have ever been before. We can have lunch afterwards and then figure out where to go from there.”
She smiled as he got behind the wheel. “This sounds very mysterious.”
He drove for about fifteen minutes before they reached their destination. Amie read the sign as she spoke the words aloud, “Costal Rehabilitation Center. I already have a place to go for treatment. I’m not even sure this is what I need to be looking at.”
Scott continued his drive into the parking lot before stopping. “Trust me. This is not somewhere you would want to be.”
As they walked in the building together, the receptionist recognized Scott. After a casual greeting, she glanced at a computer screen. “Ashley is in the courtyard, so just go on back. She’ll be happy to see you.”
Scott took Amie down a long hall before going to an enclosed courtyard. He immediately saw Ashley sitting in a wheelchair beside a small brick flower planter. Scott approached her and gave her a quick kiss before putting his arms around her.
As Amie stood watching, Scott pointed to Amie. “Ashley, this is my cousin Amie. I wanted to bring her by to meet you.”
Ashley’s stare was distant, but she seemed to recognize Scott. She was able to move her hand enough to grasp his hand, but had difficulty turning her head to see Amie. Recognizing her problem, Amie stepped in front of the wheelchair and leaned down to hug her. Ashley then tried to mouth the word. “Amie”.
Scott reached in his pocket and pulled out a gold bracelet before putting it on her wrist. “I got your bracelet fixed and you shouldn’t have any more problems.”
As Ashley watched Scott fasten the clasp, her eyes were sparkling, but she was only able to attempt to say thank you and her words were hard to understand. They stayed with Ashley for forty-five minutes before they got up to leave. S
eeing a tear in her eye, Scott hugged her again and promised he would be back on Friday. Amie also hugged her and gave Ashley a kiss on the cheek.
As they reached the door to the courtyard, Amie stopped Scott by putting her hand on his arm. “Why did you bring me here?”
He and Amie turned around to look at Ashley, who could not see them. Scott’s reply started innocently enough but became far more explicit as he went along. “I had to come by to see her and to bring her bracelet back. I brought you so that I could paraphrase an idea from Charles Dickens. I wanted to show you the ghost of Amie’s future.”
Scott and Amie left the facility and drove the short distance to Captain Charley’s seafood restaurant without speaking. Once seated and with their orders placed, Amie sat with her hands folded in her lap. “Who is she?”
Scott replied after some thought. “She is a girl whose friends are all gone, who goes to no more parties, and who lives a miserable existence. For all practical purposes, if you don’t change your life, then she is you.”
Amie was more insistent. “Who else is she?”
“She was my date for the senior prom.”
“What happened to her?” Amie asked.
Scott looked out of the plate glass window at the White Oak River before he spoke. “I bought her a pink corsage to match her dress and I thought she was the most beautiful girl at the dance. She was the first person I got serious about after I realized Michelle and I were just going to be friends for life. We had been dating all year and were getting very serious with each other.”
Scott took a sip of water before he continued. “The guys had planned to go camping by the river after we took our girlfriends home. Ashley and her friends were going to stay at her house. They started drinking and decided to come find us, only they didn’t make it. One of her friends was killed and Ashley probably wishes she had been killed too.”
Amie had a tear running down her cheek. “Will she ever get any better?”
“She will never be a well functioning person again, but she is doing better. She get’s therapy every day and they give her a lot of attention. But no, she will at best be a shadow of her former self. I think she still knows me, but I’m not really sure anymore.”
Brother Willy's Traveling Salvation Show Page 24
