The Gift of a Lifetime

by Melissa Hill

  ‘OK.’ Danny considered Billy’s words and thought it all through. He had been close by the area earlier with Adele. Only a block or so away from the hotel on Park Avenue, on the same route that any cab containing Beth would have likely taken.

  ‘When did she go there?’ he asked, trying to look cool, even as his skin prickled and his concern grew.

  ‘About an hour ago. Caught a cab like it was do or die. I don’t know anything else,’ the doorman added quickly.

  About an hour. Danny had left Adele round about that time. And she’d come out after him on the street when, in his agitated state, he’d left his cellphone behind.

  If there was a chance that Beth had even caught a glimpse of that … it would be terrible. There would be questions. Especially when he and Adele continued what had been a rather fraught conversation right out on the street in full view.

  Was it possible that Beth might have seen that…?

  Danny felt palpable fear surge through his stomach, and his knees felt weak. Today had been way too much. All of this was coming to a head now – he could feel it. Everything was surging forward like a tsunami, and it was likely that it was going to knock him down, drown him, tear him apart.

  It was only a matter of time.

  He distractedly left the lobby, forgetting even to bid Billy a good evening. He had this feeling, intuition almost, that Beth might had seen something, witnessed something that she shouldn’t have on her way to the Waldorf – and he couldn’t face the implications or inevitable questions, not yet.

  Talk about timing …

  He wondered if, rather than face her later, he should head out to his folks’ house in Queens, just in case. But no, his mom would naturally query an unplanned visit, and wonder why he wasn’t at home with Beth, especially when he’d been using the ‘flat out at work’ excuse to them, too. His mother was way too intuitive and, indeed, confrontational. Nothing would get past her, and she was much more likely than Beth was to tackle him straight out about anything untoward. So going home tonight was out.

  Instead, he would just retreat to the office on Madison for the night and (again) blame his absence on the big work account. It was only a partial lie. Once the current campaign had wrapped up, maybe he could focus some time on landing a new client. After all, he hadn’t exactly been ‘on’ lately at work, that much was for sure. And as much as Danny didn’t like to spend the night there – not when there were more inviting and comfortable options available to him – he didn’t want to be around anyone else right now. His office offered a safe haven. It would provide him space away from all of this, and he wouldn’t have to face Beth tonight when she returned.

  Tomorrow, though, was another story.

  Chapter 28

  Beth emerged from the hotel deep in thought after bidding Steve goodbye, at least for now; she wasn’t sure if he would make an appearance again sometime before this journey was over. As far as she could tell, she had to connect the tiny red marble with the quote: ‘You’re the most important thing in the world.’

  And while she was searching her extensive mental encyclopaedia of movie knowledge, right now, nothing was ringing a bell.

  But before Beth had time to think about it any further, she was pulled from her silent deliberation when she heard her name being called, angrily.

  ‘Beth! What the hell?’

  She turned round to be faced with a very irate Jodi, who was currently emerging from a cab a little way down – slightly unsteady on her feet, and looking a bit sweaty.

  But Beth didn’t have to wonder too hard why her friend was upset. Jodi had obviously figured out that she had given her the slip. And of course her destination had not been too hard to figure out either.

  She raised a weary hand as her friend closed the distance between them, hoping to calm her down from the outset. ‘Don’t be angry, OK?’ she began before Jodi could get a word out. ‘You have to understand. I had to do this. I couldn’t just let it go. I was – am – unable to ignore it. Please don’t be mad at me.’

  But Jodi wasn’t hearing Beth’s excuses. ‘No, don’t even go there. You have no idea what you are doing. You’re treading down a bad path and you are willingly walking into a spider’s web. If Danny didn’t set this up and Ryan did, then you have to know … it’s emotional cheating Beth – it’s—’

  Beth cut her off. ‘No it’s not. And you don’t know the half of it, actually. I don’t know if it is Ryan, and even if it is, I’m not going to feel bad about this. You have no idea what has happened, Jodi. My entire world has been upended.’

  Jodi rolled her eyes dramatically, unwilling to listen to Beth’s justifications any more. ‘Oh, please. Your entire world has been upended since the last time we saw each other – about say, an hour ago? Seriously, what type of idiot do you take me for? You can’t honestly expect me to—’

  But Beth wasn’t going to be steamrolled. ‘Danny’s cheating on me, Jodi. I saw him here on the street earlier with my own eyes. He was with a woman. Along the avenue a while ago, not far from here. She was running after him – I think they were arguing and—’ Her voice caught in her throat, and for the first time she allowed the tears to flow freely down her cheeks. It was as if uttering the words out loud had made it all real.

  At once, Jodi’s expression changed, softened, as Beth felt all the betrayal, frustration and confusion finally come to a head. She sobbed unashamedly.

  ‘Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Slow down, tell me what you saw.’ Jodi quickly pulled her into an embrace, beneath the awning of the hotel, not caring that they were attracting the attention of curious onlookers. She reached into her purse and found a Kleenex and handed it to Beth so she could dry her eyes.

  Beth struggled to catch her breath and when she did, told Jodi what she had seen from the cab’s window. When she was finished, she found Jodi studying her, obviously churning over the details in her mind to try to make sense of the story.

  ‘So you just saw them – in a quarrel of sorts, you said? How did you know that they were together?’

  ‘I just … knew.’ Beth shrugged, guessing that Jodi suspected that her claim was based on little more than circumstantial evidence.

  ‘So you didn’t see them kissing or embracing? You didn’t see them being physical with each other … maybe holding hands? Acting like they were together?’

  ‘I saw her running down the street after him. He looked to me like he’d just got dressed in a hurry or something … Look, Jodi, I know what you’re thinking. You suspect I’m just making an assumption, but it all makes sense, especially taken with his behaviour lately. Him being protective over me touching his stuff, and needing to shower the moment he walks in the door.’ She provided her friend with a brief synopsis of what had been happening at home recently, and as Jodi’s scowl deepened Beth realised that she was coming around to her line of thinking.

  ‘Frank did that too,’ her friend whispered, her face solemn. ‘He’d come home. Shower before giving me a kiss or coming close to me. Like he had to wash the guilt off, and he did, you know. He’d been with that skank – every time he did that, he’d been in bed with her before coming home. He always blamed it on a busy day, just being a cop. Of course, when I caught him in the park that day with her, well, it all made sense.’ She turned her attention back to Beth’s situation. ‘Are you going to confront Danny? Tell him what you saw?’

  Beth wiped the last tears from her eyes and looked around the street, as if noticing where she was for the first time. ‘I don’t know. Where do I start? How do I ask him about it? If I ask him, then I might have to explain what I was doing there in the first place and where I was going at this time of day. Don’t you think that complicates things too?’

  Jodi shrugged as if Beth’s concern was no big deal. ‘So you don’t mention that. Don’t give him any ammunition to turn the tables; just ask straight out what he was doing with that woman. This is about him, not you.’

  But Beth was already shaking her head. ‘No,
no, no, I’m just not ready to do this.’

  ‘Beth, you have got to be kidding me! You have to talk about this with him. You have to ask him. Demand to know who she is. If he’s been screwing another woman while still in a relationship with you then that relationship is over and you need to get out of it as quickly as possible and move on. If he betrayed you on that level you have to kick him to the kerb. Immediately.’

  Beth crossed her arms. ‘Jodi, please. Let me do this on my own time and in my own way. I’m not you, OK? I don’t do things the same. I need to think this over. Process it a little; maybe even give him the time to come forward and confess … I don’t know. But first and foremost, I need to determine how this plays out.’

  Jodi furrowed her brow in confusion, and then understood that Beth was talking about the treasure hunt. ‘You mean this little charade you’re still pursuing?’ she said wearily. ‘Not your relationship.’

  ‘Yes – and yes. I am thinking about the treasure hunt. And I’m also thinking about my relationship with Danny. Look, I promise you, I will deal with this; I just have to do it on my own terms. I can’t walk into my apartment all guns blazing, making accusations, throwing his clothes off the balcony. That might be the right thing for some people – and I’m not saying it’s wrong – it’s just that Danny and I are different. That isn’t how we do things. And if this is it,’ her voice broke a little, ‘if it is the end, then we will work it out our way. Jodi, I loved Danny – I … I love him still. And our history together is important to me.’

  Her friend nodded, conceding. ‘And what if he is in love with this other woman?’

  ‘Then a new act begins for him. And for me, too. But at the moment, I have a feeling that my next act is tied up in this treasure hunt. So I have to go on with it. I’m not going to pretend to you that I won’t be chasing down this next clue, Jodi. I’m determined to finish this, possibly now more than ever. I’m going to let it lead me all the way to the end, wherever that might be. So please don’t ask me to stop.’

  Beth’s voice was laced with such determination that Jodi must have finally decided that she wasn’t going to fight her on it any more. ‘You and your crazy Hollywood talk. This isn’t a movie, Beth, this is your life. But OK, fine. If you think that you need to do this because it might lead you to the next “act” in your life – whatever the hell that means – then I guess I understand. And I support you.’

  ‘Thank you.’ She smiled, allowing her friend to pull her into one more hug. ‘I love you.’

  Jodi held her tight. ‘And I love you. You’re my best friend. Don’t forget that.’

  ‘Ditto,’ Beth nodded.

  Jodi guffawed. ‘Quit it, Patrick Swayze.’ But she wasn’t finished lecturing just yet. ‘OK then, if you’re truly set on pursuing this crazy nonsense, not only am I going to support you, but I am going to help you too. All the way to the end. If it’s a serial killer, might as well make it hard for him. So,’ she continued, now all business. ‘I’m assuming you found something else inside that hotel?’

  Beth looked at her friend with a smile, her eyes glistening with relief as she realised Jodi was back on side. She nodded.

  ‘Then where to next?’

  Chapter 29

  As soon as Beth was able to compose herself again, she and Jodi began walking up Park Avenue, heading nowhere in particular, discussing the most recent clue.

  Admittedly, while Jodi’s movie knowledge was nowhere near on a par with Beth’s, the pair were at a loss as to what it all meant and they decided to stop trying to overthink it and instead turn the search to the ever-reliable internet.

  Unfortunately, plugging in the quote, ‘You’re the most important thing in the world to me,’ to an iPhone search browser returned a slew of results – few of them focused on movies.

  ‘So we have bloggers talking about what type of French toast they love the most, a bunch of teenagers posting on message boards about Justin Bieber, a dog rescue group, a Facebook page titled “The most important thing in the world”, and a bunch of other crap,’ Jodi summarised with a roll of the eyes. ‘Where do we go from here?’ She looked at Beth, who was lost in thought.

  The two women were slowly strolling along the glittering tree-lined avenue and, completely in sync, unconsciously turned left on East 59th Street, and wandered towards Central Park South.

  ‘Honestly, it’s hard to believe that you’ve been making any headway with these clues – they seem so vague. You must be a lot smarter than me or something, that’s for sure. For you to be putting them together, well, it’s like you’re a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.’

  Beth grinned at her friend. ‘I suppose that makes you my Dr Watson, then.’

  ‘I guess so.’ Jodi paused then, seeming to think over whether or not she should share her next words, then apparently decided to go for it. ‘You know, whatever happens with Danny, just know that you have a friend. That I’m here for you if you need me. Whether it’s a place to crash, someone to drink a bottle of wine and eat Ben and Jerry’s with, or even get out of town to clear your head, no matter what, I’m here for you honey. OK?’

  Beth nodded, willing herself not to cry again. She had already done way too much of that today. ‘I know you are. Thank you.’

  It was times like this that she really missed having her family close by. Up to now, and for a very long time, Danny had played that role and was a substitute family of sorts but now …

  At least with a friend like Jodi she knew she was never alone.

  Jodi hadn’t finished speaking. ‘But just understand that I tell you this because I really didn’t have anyone else when Frank and I split up. My whole world had been Frank – to the exclusion of old girlfriends, all the people I lost touch with over the course of my marriage. And then, when that crashed and burned, I had to start all over. I know better now. If I ever get serious again – with Trevor, for instance – there’s going to be better balance. You need friends. Men, well, they come and go, but not girlfriends. They are important. Every girl needs them – just to keep her sanity. And I’m glad I met you when I did.’

  ‘Me, too.’ Seeing Central Park yawn before them, Beth put her arm around Jodi’s waist, touched by her friend’s kind words. It was true that Jodi had plenty of bark most days, but she didn’t ever bite. She was a softie to her core. ‘Come on then, Watson. Let’s put our heads together and solve this clue.’

  * * *

  As they made their way into New York’s famous park, Beth’s mind was busy working overtime trying to decipher the riddle.

  Her thoughts continued to drift from Ryan to Billy, focusing on conversations they’d had, trying to recall any movie dialogue they might have exchanged. And while she realised she had talked with each man quite a bit about movies and New York, there was no particular thing that stood out. Certainly nothing in relation to this latest clue, anyway.

  To Beth’s left, Jodi had her eyes focused again on her iPhone, throwing out possible suggestions about the clue’s meaning. ‘Are you absolutely sure it’s a movie quote? According to GoodReads there’s this book called Nobody’s Baby But Mine that contains some variation of it.’

  But Beth was already shaking her head; she knew for sure that she had never once discussed books with Ryan – maybe briefly with Billy. She loved reading, certainly, but literary knowledge was much more Danny’s domain. While he often described books as being akin to movies being played out in the reader’s mind, for Beth, seeing the characters and locations onscreen, along with the accompanying music to manipulate her emotions, was a far better experience and, perhaps more importantly, one to be shared.

  Sitting at home on the sofa, tucked up in a blanket with Bridie, enjoying their mutual passion for the classics was one of her earliest and most enduring memories of her grandmother.

  But more to the point, she knew she had never read the particular book Jodi had mentioned.

  ‘No, the answer isn’t a book, I’m sure of it. All of the clues so far have been taken f
rom movies: Romancing the Stone, The Seven Year Itch, Serendipity, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I doubt the theme would change this far into the hunt.’

  Jodi nodded and went back to looking at her phone. ‘There are movie variations on the quote too, in The Matrix and V for Vendetta.’

  At this Beth barked a laugh. ‘I don’t think so. Anyway, all the films involved so far have been set or shot here in the city. Neither of those has any New York connection.’

  ‘Ghostbusters then?’ offered Jodi lamely.

  ‘When was something like that said in Ghostbusters?’ Beth asked, dubious.

  Jodi just shrugged and rubbed her eyes. ‘I have no idea. Google just provides a bunch of crap – I don’t think there is a connection – whoever programmes these search engines needs to be fired. What about the red marble, then? What do you think that means? Man, I need a drink.’

  ‘I don’t know. This is a tough one. None of it makes sense. But that’s a good idea. After the day I’ve had I think I need a drink now too. Let’s go to the Boathouse.’

  Jodi smiled. ‘Sounds good to me. The bourbon I had earlier is wearing off.’

  ‘Lush.’

  The two rounded the path towards the popular Central Park eatery, and settled into a table on the busy outdoor drinks patio adjoining the main restaurant, directly alongside the lake. It was cold but the restaurant had helpfully provided cosy blankets for patrons to bundle up against the winter chill.

  A waitress took their drinks order – another bourbon and Coke for Jodi, and a hot chocolate for Beth – and the two sat back in their seats, enjoying the peace and stillness of the lake, in the twilight of the day. Earlier on, it had looked like snow was threatening, but Beth could no longer see the sky to ascertain whether or not it was on the way. She hoped not.

  Snow in Central Park at Christmastime had always been one of her favourite things about this city, but it had always symbolised magic and romance. None of which she was feeling just then.