“Dean, would you mind keeping Lucas occupied this morning, maybe on the Wii, while I go out for a short while with Thomas? That’s if you don’t have anything planned?”
Dean grinned across to Lucas. “I was only planning on hanging around here today anyway, so that’s fine.”
“Thanks.”
<><><>
“Dean.”
“Yes, Lucas.” Dean wondered what was on his young mind.
“Are you going to marry Auntie Mack? Because that will make you my uncle.”
Dean didn’t really know how to answer. “Would it bother you if I did?”
“No. I like you and wouldn’t mind having an uncle. Thomas has already said he will be my other granddad.”
He laughed. “It doesn’t always work like that Lucas, but I’ll tell you a secret.” Lucas moved closer to Dean, as he whispered into Lucas ear. “I love your Auntie Mack, and I hope to be around her a very, very long time. Will that do for now?”
“Yes. Just as long as you remember it’s my birthday soon, and there’s a new Mario Brothers game coming out, so if you are my uncle, you have to buy me a present.”
He ruffled Lucas’ hair. “I’ll remember that. Now, are you going to let me win this one?”
“No way!”
<><><>
When they arrived at Thomas’ cottage, Mack looked across at him and noticed he looked really frail, and for maybe the first time, he looked his age.
“Thomas, are you sure you’re okay doing this? You look awfully pale,” she asked, concerned.
“I’m fine, Mack, just trying to collect my thoughts, so they don’t come out all jumbled.”
They entered through the porch and Mack couldn’t help but notice how neat and tidy everywhere was. Nothing like her apartment.
“Let’s go in the sitting room, Mack. It’s comfortable in there.”
“Okay, lead the way.”
She took a seat in the sitting room and looked around, spotting all the photographs on the sideboard. Thomas noticed her looking. “Those are pictures of my wife and various friends over the years.”
She stood and walked over to take a closer look at the photographs of Thomas’ life, and picked up the photograph of Rose and Jacob, which he had already framed and placed in the center of the pictures. There was a wedding photograph, which was obviously Thomas on his wedding day.
He saw the photograph that had grabbed Mack’s interest. “That’s Janet and me on our wedding day in 1958. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Couldn’t believe it when she showed interest in me.” He laughed. “After our first date, we were pretty much inseparable and married three months later.”
“These are amazing, Thomas. Wow, is that you?” Mack picked up a photograph of what looked to be a younger Thomas in uniform.
“That’s me. I joined the army as soon as I was old enough. Against my father’s wishes, I might add. He never spoke to me again after I became a soldier.”
She was angry on Thomas’ behalf. “I wish he was here now, so I could give him a piece of my mind.”
“Don’t worry, Mack. It was a hell of a long time ago. In fact, that picture was taken just before I shipped out to Korea in 1951.”
“Wow.”
“Come sit next to me, Mack. Let me tell you a story.”
“I’m all yours, Thomas.”
“It might disappoint you some, as my reluctance to talk is more about guilt, than anything else.”
“It’s okay, Thomas. Don’t worry. Just tell me what you remember.”
“I remember that last night as though it happened yesterday. It was just after ten thirty when I woke up, having heard my bedroom door shut. Turning over, I heard a thump, so, climbing out of bed and turning up the lamp in my room, I discovered the Our Gang, April 1st edition on the floor. I realized it must have been Rose who had just been in my room.”
He sighed. “I then put the comic back down on my bed and put on my slippers and a sweater before creeping down the stairs. Spotting a light in the kitchen, I slipped inside quietly, just in time to see her going out the door with her purse.”
He took a sip of water. “I knew she was going meeting, Jacob, but I had no idea she had planned to run away with him. At least not then. It must have been about five minutes later, when Richard came banging on the back door. He had seen Rose sneak out and wanted to know where she was going. I told him I had no idea. He frightened me. I ended up blurting out, that I thought she’d snuck out to meet Jacob and she would probably take the cliff path towards town.”
Both Mack and Thomas had tears in their eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay to continue?” Mack asked.
“I haven’t spoken about that night before now. I need to tell you.”
“All right, go on.”
“Richard seemed to go wild when I explained. He said ‘I will find her and bring her back where she belongs; and that is as my wife’. I have never forgotten those words. Richard then took off towards the cliffs and that was the last I saw of him, until he returned just over an hour later, when Mother and Father were home, and told them he saw her go over the cliffs. I remember Richard looking really upset and as he was telling us, he just crumbled, breaking down, sobbing.”
“Oh, Thomas.” She knelt at his feet, taking his hands into hers. “Did you believe Richard when he said she’d ‘fallen’ off the cliff, or did you consider Richard might have pushed her off?”
“I don’t know, Mack. That was a possibility, and I guess that night Richard looked wild enough to do anything, but he never, in all the years before that night or following showed any sign of being dangerous. Plus, I think he really did love her. He seemed a gentle kind of guy before then, I thought.”
Mack sat bolt upright. “Thomas. Is Richard still alive?”
“He is, Mack. He lives in a nursing home now, because he needs round the clock care.”
Mack sat back down across from Thomas. “Do you think they would let me talk to him?”
“He has a daughter, Sally, I think. She works in town at the coffee shop with the yellow paint. You could go see her and maybe she’ll phone the home to give permission for you to visit.”
“Over the years, have you ever asked Richard what happened that night?” Mack asked him tentatively.
“I tried, when I was older, maybe ten years later. He said that he lost the only woman he has ever loved that night, and didn’t want to remember. Then he walked away from me.”
“I don’t know what to say. But I do know more happened that night than what you were told, I’m sure of it. I’m going to find out what. Perhaps now that Richard isn’t doing so well, he may be more open to talking about what happened that night, providing he remembers.”
Thomas finally pulled himself together and looked across to Mack. “Thank you. This is the first time I’ve ever forced myself to remember that night, and I feel as though a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I’ve always blamed myself, you see, for not telling my father. If I had, he’d probably have done his best to split them up, but at least she would’ve lived. It was my fault Richard went after her on the cliff path.”
“You don’t know that. She could’ve still run away with him. Please don’t blame yourself anymore. It wasn’t your fault. I’m glad you told me, and I’ll let you know how my visit to see Richard goes,” Mack explained.
“Take Dean with you when you go, okay, Mack? He might need round the clock care, but I don’t want you alone with him.”
She glanced at Thomas. “Okay. Do you want to come back with me for some lunch?”
“No, thank you. I think I just need some peace for a short time. I’ll see you for dinner though.”
When Mack left Thomas, she realized that she still had many unanswered questions.
Chapter 31
Mack walked into Rose Cottage and was met by cheers and shouts coming from the sitting room. Lucas and Dean were obviously enjoying the Wii game.
Feeling rather cold, she made herse
lf a cup of coffee and took a seat at the kitchen table, mulling over everything Thomas had just told her.
There were many ‘what if’s’ about that night, and she just couldn’t stop obsessing about them. She needed to call for coffee in town and ask Sally if she would let her visit her father, or beg if needed.
If Richard found Rose that night, which he obviously had in order to have seen her go over the cliffs, then he must remember something, and perhaps, she was hoping, he would decide it was time to tell someone what really happened.
“Hey, Mack. I didn’t know you were back.” Dean walked over to pour himself some coffee. Not getting an answer from Mack he stopped mid-pour and turned back around to take a look at her, noticing she was miles away. “Mack. What happened?” Dean asked, going over to sit beside her, pulling her onto his lap.
Mack turned to Dean and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close, breathing in his scent. All man. She felt soothed sitting with Dean, as though all was okay with the world.
With Dean holding her tight, caressing her back, Mack finally felt herself warming up. “I’m okay, Dean. Just upset, and I guess frustrated. I still don’t know what happened the night Rose died.” She sighed. “Thomas told me he’d watched Rose sneak out, and that shortly after he told Richard, who then followed her. A short while later, Richard returned to tell them she had gone over the cliffs.”
“Mack, I’m sorry you still don’t have closure.”
“I won’t have, until I know what actually happened, and I’ve told your grandfather.”
“I’ll arrange that soon, okay?” Dean continued stroking Mack’s back, not wanting to let her go.
“Thanks, Dean. There is one more thing. Richard is still alive.”
“What?”
“Apparently he’s in a nursing home and needs round the-clock-care, but he has a daughter who works at the yellow coffee shop in town. So, I was thinking, maybe after lunch we could take a trip down there, and with luck get her permission to talk to him.”
“Okay. I’ll make us some sandwiches, we’ll go drink coffee, then hit the supermarket, where you can load the cart to your heart’s content and I’ll pay.” Dean planted a kiss on her lips to stop her protesting. “I’ve eaten here practically every mealtime since I’ve been in Cape Elizabeth, so I’m paying. If it bothers you that much, you pay next time.”
With her forehead resting against his, she looked into his eyes. “I love you. It’s never happened to me before, and I’ve only known you a short time, it’s kind of frightening.”
“What I feel for you, Mack, frightens me as well, but instead of running, I’m not going anywhere, because you belong to me. Is that okay?”
“Most definitely!”
“Now that’s settled, lunchtime, I think.” Dean walked over to the refrigerator to retrieve some cold meats and salad vegetables.
Watching him work, Mack found it a real turn on. She watched the rippling muscles across his back when he moved. Oh boy, what a view she had when he dropped a tomato and bent down to pick it up.
“Yummy!”
Dean turned to look at Mack, raising an eyebrow in question, wondering what she was up to. When he saw the direction she was looking, laughed out loud. “You like what you see, babe?”
“Mmm, I certainly do.”
He pointed the butter knife at her. “Control yourself, lunch is ready in a minute. You can nibble on that for now.”
“Spoil sport!”
“Who’s a spoil sport?” Lucas asked, running into the kitchen and sitting on Mack’s lap.
“Dean is. He won’t play,” she pouted.
“You’re no good on the Wii, so that’s probably why he won’t play with you.”
She tried not to laugh. “Dean’s making lunch, then we’re going to head into town for a short while. After that, we’re going to the supermarket, where under no circumstances do you get involved in a water fight again.”
“Water fight?” Dean queried.
“Please, don’t ask.”
<><><>
The coffee shop in town was a small wooden structure, painted in yellow with white trim, with a large corner window facing towards the ocean. They had tables and chairs outside on the sidewalk, underneath white canopies, with an amazing view of the ocean.
Inside, there were a few people already drinking and busy chatting away. Lucas had chosen his seat, in the corner where there were toys to play with, so Mack and Dean joined him.
“Mack, Lucas, what would you both like to drink?”
“Vanilla Latte for me, please. Lucas, would you like a chocolate milk?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay, back in a few minutes.”
Mack looked around and could see a couple of girls who worked there and they both looked to be in their early twenties. Neither of the girls could possibly be Richard’s daughter. They were far too young.
The girls seemed friendly enough, so as one of the girls walked past, Mack got her attention. “Hi, I was wondering if Sally is around?”
“She’s in the back. Does she know you?”
“My name is Mackenzie Harper, and I would really appreciate five minutes of her time.”
“Okay, give me a minute.” She dashed off, doing a double-take when she caught sight of Dean, who had no idea he’d just been eyed up.
She smiled to herself as Dean sat back down and placed the drinks on the table. “What?”
“You were just being ogled, and I was kind of having a happy dance in my head, because you’re all mine!”
“Who by?” he teased, as Mack smacked him on the shoulder.
“Behave.”
“Hi, I’m Sally. Did you want to talk to me?”
“I do. Do you have time to join us?”
Sally had to be in her late fifties or early sixties, but didn’t look that old. She was of average height, with a slim build and light brown hair. She took the seat next to Mack. “Okay, I only have a minute though.”
Dean was holding her hand underneath the table, offering his support. “Sally, would it be possible for you to let me talk to your father?”
Sally’s eyes opened wide as she obviously hadn’t expected that. “Why my father? Do you know him?”
“No, I don’t know him. I’m staying at Rose Cottage and I’ve found a diary that was written by Rose Degan in 1947, and she mentions your father. He was the last one to see her alive, I just want to ask him what happened.”
“I’m not sure it would be worth your while,” Sally said.
“Please, Sally,” Mack begged.
“He loved Rose. I once asked my mother why Dad was the way he was to her. Oh, he loved her, but not how a man and woman should love each other. She told me that he had been in love with another woman, who went over the cliffs one night. He never spoke about her or could abide to hear her name spoken.” Sally looked towards the window. “I’m not sure after all these years if he’ll be much help to you, and how he will be, hearing Rose’s name. I just don’t know.” Sally chewed on her bottom lip.
“Please, Sally. At least let me try.”
“Perhaps it’s time to lay old ghosts to rest before he dies. He hasn’t got long left. I’ll make the call for you. When do you want to go?”
“Tomorrow, if possible.”
She pushed the chair back to stand up. “Give me a minute and I’ll get you the address.”
Mack watched Sally retreat to the back of the shop again and turned to look at Dean. “Will you come with me?”
Dean placed a quick kiss to Mack’s lips. “Yes,” he whispered.
Mack realized Lucas had hardly drunk any of his chocolate. “Lucas come, finish your drink. We’re going soon.”
He stood from the floor where he was sitting playing with some wooden blocks. “What are we doing later?”
“Shopping!”
“Here you go.” Sally handed Mack a card with the address of the nursing home written on it. “If you go in the morning, he’s more resp
onsive.”
“Thank you, Sally. This means a lot.”
Chapter 32
Climbing out of the car at the supermarket, Mack turned to Lucas, only to watch him slip his hand into Dean’s. Dean looked pleasantly surprised, but recovered quickly and gave his little hand a squeeze.
With a bit of luck, Dean would keep him out of trouble. “Lucas, you behave this time, okay?”
“Auntie Mack, can Dean take me to the book shop instead?”
Mack glanced at Dean, then back at Lucas. “If Dean says it’s okay, then its fine by me.”
“That is the best idea I’ve heard in a long time. Come on, champ. Mack, I’ll be back before you pay,” Dean said confidently.
“We’ll see!” Mack muttered as she walked inside the supermarket, relieved at not having Lucas with her, to cause trouble.
<><><>
“Dean, look at this book. It has pirates in it.”
“Do you like pirate stories?” Dean asked as he pulled Lucas onto his lap in the reading corner.
“Oh yes, and dinosaurs and dragons. I like those comics that Thomas reads me as well.”
“Which comics are those?” Dean didn’t remember any comics being mentioned.
“Our Gang.”
Ah those; the ones that Rose and Jacobs picture had been hidden in for all those years. “Okay, well you have a pirate book here, so what do you say about finding two more books, one about a dragon and the other about a dinosaur, then we’ll go and find your Auntie Mack?”
<><><>
Forty-five dollars later, they crossed the road back to the supermarket to look for Mack.
“Hey, wait up, Lucas. Let’s go in here and buy your Auntie Mack a present.” Dean opened the door to the jewelers. “Don’t touch anything in here, okay, Lucas?”
“Okay.”
Not really finding anything he liked in the bracelet section, Dean moved on and found a pair of small gold shell earrings. “Lucas, what about these shell earrings?”
“Oh yes. Auntie Mack likes shells. She has them all over her apartment.”
Before Dean had a chance to change his mind, the shop assistant had them wrapped and charged to his credit card.
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