Time for Raine

by C. Barry Denham

  “Your daddy is wondering where you put all that food you’re eating,” Noelle offered with a smile.

  “Me? All the food I’m eating?” Raine shot back playfully and glared at Noelle’s plate. “How about you?”

  This seemed to catch Noelle by surprise, and she gave Sean a quick look. He gave her a palms-up gesture and an inquisitive smile. Noelle countered with a frown. She then looked back and forth between them. Sean tried valiantly to suppress a laugh.

  “Oh, I get it.” She dropped the last bite of burger onto her plate. “You two think I eat a lot, huh?”

  He shrugged. He wasn’t going there. Raine was another story. She was fearless.

  “Weeell?” she said and laughed. Noelle started for her, but the little girl anticipated the move and escaped. Noelle chased her around the patio. Raine allowed herself to be caught and let out a belly laugh as Noelle tickled her. Sean sat in his chair, watching it all with a silly grin on his face. The two ladies settled back into their chairs.

  After a few more bites, Raine looked at Noelle. “You can finish your hamburger, Miss Noelle,” she said without a smile. “I promise Daddy won’t say anything else.”

  Sean raised his eyebrows and shot Raine a piercing look. “Daddy won’t say anything else? Daddy never said anything to start with, little Miss-Behavin’. You keep this up, and you are gonna get Daddy in a lot of trouble.”

  A few moments of silence passed, and Noelle eyed the unfinished burger. “Well, if you insist.” She picked it up again. “I’d hate for your daddy’s good cooking to go to waste.”

  After dinner, during a game of Scrabble, Raine yawned. Destroying her competition was quite tiring for her. Although both adults had challenged some of Raine’s words, Mr. Webster confirmed without fail the authenticity of Raine’s array of offerings.

  “I can’t believe that’s a word,” Noelle pointed to one of Raine’s seven-letter creations that ran to a triple word square. “And how does one get eighty-five points for one word?”

  “And how, young lady,” Sean added, pointing to another quadrant of the board, “can you tie a long word like that into three other words?”

  “I don’t know, matey,” Raine growled pirate-like, through another yawn. “The words just pop into me head.”

  “Arr, missy,” Sean barked, standing and twisting an imaginary mustache. “Maybe ye can think over it during bath time, and then tell us yer secret. Or it’ll be walkin’ the plank for ye!”

  “Can the lassie give me bath, Cap’n?”

  Sean glanced to Noelle, who didn’t seem to want to wade into the pirate talk. She simply smiled and nodded.

  “Sure, sweetie,” he said. “If she…the lassie doesn’t mind.”

  “Of course, sweetie,” Noelle replied.

  “I’ll put the game up while you get your bath and get ready for bed.” He poured the letters from the board into the box and began turning them face down.

  As the ladies left the patio, Raine stopped and turned to Sean. “Daddy, aren’t you going to ask Miss Noelle?” She had quickly dropped the pirate script. It was all business now.

  The smile slipped from Noelle’s face, replaced by an inquisitive look. “Ask me what?”

  Sean’s mouth went dry and his pulse raced. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. Other than the fact she would probably say no quicker than he could get the question out. And if she passed would it be because someone special to her might object to her going on a trip with another man? Or would it be due to the restraints of her practice? Surely she wouldn’t be able to arrange the time off, not with such short notice. Whatever the reason for the anticipated rejection, he wasn’t going to let it keep him from asking.

  He took a deep breath and bit the bullet. “Noelle, Raine and I were wondering if maybe you would like to accompany us on the trip,” he said. He geared up for a rejection.

  “I’d love to.”

  “I know you have patients and a schedule—” He did a double take. “What did you say?”

  “I said I’d love to go with you on the trip. I assume you mean New York, DC, and Atlanta, and not just to the warm-up local appearance?”

  Sean was shocked. Raine squealed and nodded. She looked back and forth between the adults.

  “I thought you would never ask,” she replied to Raine and took her hand. “You and Daddy might need me there with you, you know.”

  The two ladies walked into the kitchen, leaving Sean alone in awe. She had wanted to go all along. Was it because she had known all along they needed her? Could he let himself believe she might want to go with them for other reasons? He resolved that it really didn’t matter what her motives were, he and Raine did need her.

  At the moment, he couldn’t quite decide which one of them needed her more.

  ****

  Noelle’s heart rate slowed while she was bathing Raine, who all the while rattled away about how much fun they were going to have in New York. She tried very hard to temper her own excitement. It would be a working trip for her, and she had to keep that fact ever present in her mind. However, she couldn’t deny how attached she had become to Raine, and how attracted she was to Sean.

  She had hoped she would be invited on the trip. She had gone so far as to have Connie arrange a light week, with a back-up plan of taking a few well-earned days off if she wasn’t invited.

  And now she was going. She wanted to jump up and down and squeal with joy like a teenager. “What about other parts of the trip? You haven’t said much concerning Washington and Atlanta. How do you feel about the interview with World Cable News?”

  “I don’t know.” Raine shrugged. Her eyes lit up. “But I can’t wait to go to Six Flags Over Georgia after the TV thing.”

  “I thought you and your daddy might need a break after the interviews and tours.” Noelle wasn’t going to push conversation about the interview. There would be plenty of time to prepare for that.

  “Miss Noelle?”

  “Yes, honey?”

  “Do you like baseball?”

  “Baseball?”

  “Yeah.” Raine was so cute, smiling through a beard of suds. “Daddy likes the Atlanta Braves team. Sometimes after I go to bed, he watches baseball games on TV. He doesn’t know it, but sometimes I wake up and see him watching the games. Do you think we could take him to a game after Six Flags?”

  “That would be nice, sweetie.” Noelle tried to picture Sean watching a game. Her mind could even make that scene sexy.

  “Sometimes baseball makes my daddy cry.”

  “Cry?” The comment confused Noelle. She thought about saying something to Raine to get her to expand on her comment but remained silent. She should not let her curiosity concerning Sean’s personal life distort her relationship or purpose with Raine. She wondered if the comment had anything to do with his relationship with Patty. In the course of evaluating Raine, whenever she tried to broach the subject of Raine’s mother, Sean always seemed to change the subject.

  “I think Daddy cries because Momma went to live with God.”

  The stab in Noelle’s heart caused a weakness in her arms, and she nearly fell into the tub with Raine. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop the tears. She was filled with sadness and shock. It had never occurred to her that Sean’s wife had died.

  “Honey…I’m sorry, I—” Noelle couldn’t finish her sentence. Instead, her lip quivered, and the tears dripped into the tub behind Raine, as she washed the little girl’s back. She was thankful Raine wasn’t facing her. She wiped the tears away, and with all of her inner strength and will power, she managed to regain control. “That’s so sad.”

  “I miss her, too.”

  “I know you do, sweetie.” She willed more tears away. Her thoughts shifted to Sean. It was now clear why he avoided talking about his wife. She felt like a fool for her attempts to find out about her. Why hadn’t she done the research and found out on her own? She was surprised Connie hadn’t made the discovery.

  “My daddy doesn’t sleep
very much.” Raine’s comment brought her back. It occurred to Noelle that the child might not remember her mother as her father did. Her pain wouldn’t, couldn’t be as deep as her father’s. It was no wonder he didn’t sleep, dealing with his grief alone.

  “I’m sorry your daddy is so sad,” she whispered. Her mind raced, still trying to process the news.

  “It’s okay.” Raine’s eyes lit up. “He doesn’t seem so sad anymore. I think my daddy likes you, Miss Noelle.”

  Noelle blushed. The bathroom seemed suddenly warm.

  “I think it’s time for you to hop out of the tub, little one. It is way, way past your bedtime.”

  The prospect of facing Sean again took on an entirely different light.

  ****

  Sean tucked Raine into bed and hurried back to Noelle, although she didn’t seem overly anxious to leave. When he suggested they talk for a few minutes about the plans for the upcoming trip, she readily agreed. He offered to make drinks and was surprised to find she liked beer. He opened two bottles and handed one to her as they moved outside to the patio. The last of the day’s light held onto the western horizon. A million stars twinkled above a cool breeze that promised to keep the mosquitoes at bay. They sat for a few minutes, quietly sipping beer. The silence seemed comfortable. The door to the kitchen opened. Raine stood in the doorway.

  “Daddy, can we take Miss Noelle to the beach tomorrow?”

  He looked at Noelle, but it was hard to read her expression. When she hesitated, Sean took the initiative.

  “Honey, I would love for us all to go to the beach,” he said. “But I don’t think that would be much fun. You know you’ve become a celebrity of sorts lately, and I doubt if people would leave us alone long enough for us to enjoy the visit.”

  “I have an idea,” Noelle offered. “Why don’t you and Daddy come out to my beach house tomorrow?”

  “You have a beach house?”

  “Well, yes, I do, in Gulf Shores. My house is one of the last houses on Dolphin Way before it bends around to the north, away from the beach. Tourist traffic doesn’t get out that way. Besides, it’s also a gated community.”

  “Yippee!” Raine jumped up and down at the back door. “Let’s go early, Daddy.”

  “Okay, okay.” Sean stood. “But unless you go to bed and stay there, little lady, we aren’t going anywhere.”

  He walked her back to her room and tucked her in again. She instantly squeezed her eyes shut and pretended to be asleep. It was nice, he thought, to see her excited and acting her age.

  Outside again, alone with Noelle and fresh beers, they talked about the details of the trip. Soon the final preparations were made and a detailed agenda settled for the trip. He walked Noelle through the house to the front door. She surprised him by turning and giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. For a moment, she seemed to want more, before his surprise and uncertainty killed the moment. He rebounded, held the door for her, and told her good night. He watched her walk to her car and whispered loudly. “Are you sure you’re all right to drive?”

  “Of course,” she whispered back. “It usually takes more than two beers to ground me. Especially when I’m only driving a few miles. I’ll see you guys tomorrow morning. Don’t bring a thing, just yourselves. I’ll fix some snacks and lunch for the beach. Oh, you might want to bring sunscreen. I don’t have much of a selection.”

  “You got it.”

  She walked away, and he remembered what had been tugging at his mind all evening. “Hey, Noelle?”

  “Yes?”

  “It occurred to me we never discussed how we should handle Raine’s…special gifts when we get to New York.”

  She shut the car door and returned to him. “I’ve been thinking about that, too.” She seemed more somber and sober than she should have been. She seemed to want to speak, then shook her head. “We can talk tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” he answered. “Good night. Drive safe.”

  She kissed her forefinger and placed it on his lips. “Good night to you. See you tomorrow.”

  He wanted to kiss her again but instead stood as if he were paralyzed. He managed to smile as she backed her car out onto the road and drove away.

  Strangely, he missed her already. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.

  ****

  Noelle stared at the laptop screen. Sean and Raine weren’t due for a couple of hours. Why had she not thought about Googling her? There before her was a photo of Patricia Anne Sampson, adjacent to the article reporting her demise. Although cause of death was not reported, it stated she passed after a short illness, soon after returning from China with Raine.

  She cried inconsolably, like she had never cried before. Why did this have such an effect on her? She had been working with Sean and Raine for a very short time, and she had never known or even met Patty. Was it because the relationship represented something she had always dreamed about for herself? Given she had loved only two men, she wasn’t being fair to herself. Both relationships had failed. She had simply made the wrong choice in each case, hadn’t she?

  Dr. Victor, a master of analysis, was perplexed. On the screen in front of her was the perfect love story, tragically ended. She could see what made relationships work; her own parents were a case study in a successful courtship, engagement, and enduring marriage. Many couples in this country and across the world managed to find each other, sometimes in easy fashion. There were literally thousands of boy- and girl-next-door stories out there. Why was this type of fairy-tale love so elusive for her? She was pushing thirty fast and had not experienced true love, had never been in love, and never had someone be in love with her.

  She studied the article once again, paying close attention to Patty’s picture. The pretty chestnut-haired woman looked the pinnacle of happiness, glowing with the assurance she had found her true love. The photo must have been taken long before her death and gave no hint as to how she had died. A short illness could be any number of things. It did, however suggest a heart-wrenching end to her life and relationship with Sean. They simply wouldn’t have had time to prepare. Two young people with a new baby, preparing for a long life of happiness together wiped out with the sudden realization that something horrible was going to end it all. This must have been excruciatingly painful for Sean. Raine was too young to remember her mother, but Sean would have been cursed with all the memories, good and bad.

  Her first inclination was to take Sean in her arms and never let him go.

  Her next thought was to run from him as fast as her legs would carry her.

  As the hour drew near for their arrival, she stood at her bathroom sink, repairing the damage to her face left by her outflow of emotions. She flinched as the doorbell rang.

  ****

  Noelle answered the door, wearing sandals and a white cover-up, looking better than the law should allow. Modest sunglasses sat atop pony-tailed hair. She smelled wonderful, courtesy of some sort of tropical-scented lotion, which gave her delicate arms a shine. Even though Sean was outfitted for the beach in his swim trunks, baseball cap, sandals, T-shirt, and shades, he felt underdressed and doubted seriously if he smelled near as nice. He stood dumbfounded, wondering if he could keep from staring at her all day.

  He had surveyed the exterior of her beach house as they drove up. It was a modest structure, well maintained. White storm shutters adorned the big-paned windows and were propped open, inviting the sun in. They were a perfect accent to the pastel blue exterior. The frame structure sat securely on sturdy concrete stilts.

  The interior entryway of her house was as beautiful as the exterior, painted a pale yellow. No expense had been spared in decorating. Yet the room was not pretentious and in fact was subtle and tastefully inviting.

  “Come on in,” Noelle said, but Raine had already made her way toward the back of the first level of the home, following the sunlight. She returned and looked up at Sean.

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about.” The little girl smiled and in a flash was
gone again. She accented her compliments with ooos, ahhs, and wows, heard as she moved through the house.

  Sean thought of Raine’s dream about living on the beach, and for a moment, he felt uncomfortable. He would not share this tidbit with Noelle.

  “Sweetie,” he called out and made his way toward her voice.

  “It’s okay.” Noelle brushed his arm. “She’s fine. Let her explore.”

  “Beautiful,” he said. He never took his eyes from Noelle.

  “Thank you. It’s taken a lot of hard work, but I think I finally have it like I want it. A pity though, since I have so little time to spend here.”

  “You’re not going to tell me you don’t live here year round?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid I am. Wish I did, though. As you might imagine, my office hours prevent me from spending a lot of time here. I do try to stay here a couple of weeks each year if my caseload allows. But even then I like to spend what free time I have traveling, so it doesn’t leave much time for the beach.”

  “I guess this would be a haul to Pensacola each day. What, over an hour’s drive?”

  “Something like that, more during the tourist season. So, I spend what little downtime I have in my apartment in Pensacola, even though if you were to see it, you might think it an extension of my office. It’s a small one-bedroom, but for the time I spend there, it suits me enough. Most days I pretty much grab a bite and sleep there, and that’s about it.”

  “Daddy, come look,” Raine shouted from out back.

  He and Noelle walked through the kitchen out onto a beautiful wooden deck. Raine stood looking at the beach. An endless sparkle of docile waves stretched to the horizon. The sun danced on the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A patio below was partially shaded by the upper deck but extended outward twenty feet or so into the sunlight, affording ample space for a small pool and for soaking up the rays. A path led to a private beach. Not a single person could be seen in the distance in either direction. The sugar-white sand hardly looked walked on and resembled freshly fallen snow.

  He stood mesmerized as a peace settled in. What was it about the beach that seemed to mend matters previously thought to be unfixable? He found Raine’s desire to live in a place such as this one prophetic.