“The way you are talking, you must be here to save me from myself.” Scott replied.
“Betsy told you something that you need to remember. Salvation can mean the liberation from ignorance or illusion or it can also mean preservation from destruction. You are getting both of these things today. My accident was not your fault and you can be liberated from that illusion. You are not going to take your life, thus you are being preserved from destruction. Brother Willy’s Traveling Salvation Show works in some very unusual ways that might surprise even William and Betsy. For that reason, you should think about working with them. They gave you salvation and you didn’t even know it. Working for the Salvation Show might be your calling in life.”
Scott chose to argue with her. “If I had stayed with you that night, you would never have been hurt. There were things I could have done different.”
“Scott, if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. If I had my way and if I had made different choices, then you and I might be married and living happily ever after. If, if, if. We don’t know what our fate would have been if I had not been hurt that night. Those things aren’t ours to know, but never underestimate the power of the given order. You and I will have eternity to be together and your life here will be over before you know it. You will be an old man looking back one day wondering where all the time went. One day, you are going to walk out on the beach and I will be standing there waiting for you to take me sailing again. We will get in this boat and we will sail away together for all eternity. I am very happy right now and I don’t mind waiting for you but today is not the day when you and I sail off into the sunset together.”
After a long kiss and a period of holding each other close, Ashley kissed the tip of his nose as she often had done. “I think you have something which belongs to me.”
She held out her wrist as Scott pulled her bracelet from his shorts pocket and placed it on her arm. “How did you know I was bringing this to you?”
“You didn’t think I was going to leave without my bracelet, did you? I may be dead but I’m still your girlfriend.” Ashley replied with her typical grin.
After hooking the clasp, they gave each other another long and very loving kiss. When Scott opened his eyes, he was lying face down on his canvas raft. As he looked around he saw no sailboat and Ashley was gone. He looked over his shoulder and immediately realized he was less than twenty feet from the shore. To add to his astonishment, Beth was standing at the edge of the water frowning at him.
He got off the raft and started towing it past the breakers until it dragged in the sand. Beth walked up and hit him in the stomach. “Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how far out there you were?”
Scott turned around and looked at the ocean for a moment before he faced Beth once again. “I was a lot further out there than you will ever believe.”
Beth was still nervous and made her concerns known. “You said I was a shark. Okay. I am a shark and if you ever do something stupid like that again, I am going to bite your head off.”
Scott placed his arms around Beth and pulled her close. Ashley’s words immediately came back to him. “I guess that would make me shark bait, wouldn’t it. Don’t worry because it won’t happen again. I was just lost in a daydream.”
She took his hand leading her up the beach. “I expect you to take me to dinner so that I can explain how you and I are going to spend our life together.”
Scott pulled her hand so that she would stop walking. “How did you know I would be here?”
Her expression became much more serious, yet somewhat devious. “I don’t know. I just had a feeling I should come here to find you. Maybe the ghost told me or, maybe I called you mom and she told me you were coming out her. You choose whichever answer works for you, because both answers would be correct.”
Scott stared at Beth for a few moments. “I was very far from shore and I don’t have a clue how I got back.”
Beth was confused by his comment. “The girl with the small sail boat towed your raft behind her boat until you were close to shore. Don’t you remember? She may have saved you life and you should go thank her.”
Scott glanced around expecting to see Ashley, but he saw no one nor did he see a boat. “Where did she go?”
Beth scanned the beach and ocean looking for the boat. “That’s strange. She couldn’t have gone far but I don’t see her or the boat.”
Scott turned and looked back at the sun setting on the horizon. He reached in his pocket realizing Ashley’s bracelet was in fact gone. After a brief smile, he turned back to Beth. “I would love to take you to dinner and let you tell me how we are going to spend our life together.”
As they came closer to the ferry landing, Beth made a casual observation. “When I invite you to come to bed with me, I don’t expect you to just go to sleep without showing me some level of affection.”
Scott started smiling. “I thought you were afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you anymore. In my dream last Friday night, the ghost told me you would take care of me and never hurt me. I believe she was telling me the truth because for some reason, I finally realized the ghost loves you.”
Thank youfor reading this novel and please share you impressions with others and meon Amazon or on my website at http://wscottmitchell.weebly.com/
Other Books by W. Scott Mitchell
The Mirror Image at Acadia
Coincidence by Design
Emily’s Last Obsession
The Gray Stone Conspiracy
The Reincarnation of Annie Brown
Brother Willy's Traveling Salvation Show Page 32
