by Charles Ayer
In just a few minutes the waitress came by and set my meal in front of me. She smiled at me. I took that as a vote of approval for the liver and onions.
The liver was everything I hoped it would be: hot, tender, perfectly cooked, and bathed in a rich, brown gravy. The onions were tender and sweet, and the mashed potatoes were smooth and buttery. A side of peas was served on a separate plate, and I immediately deposited them on top of my potatoes. Peas are, of course, the only acceptable side vegetable for liver and onions. I dug in hungrily, and I had almost forgotten why I was there when David Chandler walked in the front door.
******
I wanted to jump up and greet him, but I held back. Perhaps it was because I’d just climbed out of bed with his wife only a few hours ago, but I didn’t think so. I felt strangely not guilty about that. I think it was more because of David. He took a table at the other end of the diner from where I was sitting and said a few words to the waitress. He was probably only ordering coffee, but the way they were talking made me feel like they knew each other. He didn’t look around the restaurant. Instead, he stared out the window, like he was waiting for somebody. My observation was bolstered by the fact that the waitress had set the table for two.
I looked at my old friend as I worked my way through my meal. He really hadn’t changed. His light hair was still thick and showed no hint of graying, and his handsome features were still sharp. He was tall and well built, probably no more than ten pounds over his playing weight. He moved with the easy confidence of an athlete. He was the type of guy who people noticed when he walked into a room, just like the way people had noticed him all those years ago when he’d jogged onto the football field. Even after all I’d learned during my search for him, I still found it hard to believe that the man was a failure.
The waitress brought his coffee to him, but he waved her off when she appeared to ask him if he wanted to order yet. She nodded and left.
I was almost finished with my meal, and I badly wanted a piece of the cherry pie I’d spied in the pastry counter on the way in. But I didn’t want to call attention to myself, so I slowly savored the rest of my liver. It wasn’t difficult.
Just as I was finishing my last bite David seemed to react to something he saw out the window. He stood up suddenly and walked toward the entrance of the diner.
A woman walked in, and David’s face lit up as he went to her and gave her a hug and a long, lingering kiss. He and Doreen may have suffered through a passionless marriage, but even from this distance there was no mistaking the passion in that kiss. They walked back to David’s booth arm in arm, and the woman sat down opposite him. They reached across the table and clung to each other’s hands. David’s face was alive as he talked to the woman.
It was clear to anyone who cared to notice that David Chandler was in love with Allison Sawyer Cooper, and that she was in love with him.
I left enough cash on the table to pay for the liver and onions plus a generous tip for the nice waitress and slipped out the side door, although I could have marched right by the two of them singing “The Star Spangled Banner” and I don’t think they would have noticed me.
I swung by the McDonald’s and got myself a cup of coffee, then drove over to the Best Western and parked in a spot between two other cars. I cracked the window open halfway and settled in. The outside air was cool and dry, and I wouldn’t be uncomfortable. The coffee would give me trouble sooner rather than later, but I wasn’t worried. I didn’t think I was going to have to wait long.
I was right. In less than an hour two cars pulled into the parking lot, and David and Allie walked hand in hand into the motel.
I rolled up my car window and pulled out of the parking lot. I would learn nothing by storming into their hotel room; I knew exactly what I would find.
I had done my job, and I had done it well: I had found David Chandler. Nobody cheered, but it felt awfully good.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“WHY’D YOU BRING SO MANY DONUTS?” I said to the woman I loved.
We were sitting at the tiny table in the tiny kitchen of the sterile duplex that I knew would never be my home. I’d wanted to see Doreen as soon as I’d gotten back the night before, but her kids had been home, and she hadn’t wanted to leave them alone. Under the circumstances I couldn’t blame her. I’d told her what I thought she needed to know over the phone, but all she’d said was, “Look, now’s not the time.” I guess I hadn’t known what to expect, but I hadn’t expected that. She’d agreed to stop by my place in the morning. I hadn’t slept well.
She’d brought coffee and a dozen donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts with her. We both drank some coffee and I was munching on a donut, but Doreen ignored them.
“I figured Lacey would get here sooner or later,” she said, tiredly. “You know your sister; she’s too curious to stay away.” It was clear that she hadn’t slept well either, and for the first time since I’d come back, Doreen almost looked her age. But she wasn’t exactly acting heartbroken, or even all that upset.
“Doreen,” I said, putting down my coffee cup, “I don’t know where you want me to go from here. I guess I don’t even know how you’re feeling about all this.”
“I don’t either,” she said. She stood up and put the box of donuts and the empty coffee cups on the counter. It was a hot day, and she was wearing denim shorts and a tee shirt. Despite the fatigue, the heat, and the stress of the moment, I felt a pang of desire.
“I feel like there’s still so much we don’t know,” I said, dutifully redirecting my attention.
“But what’s the point?” said Doreen. “What will it possibly change?”
“You’ve been married to the guy for almost twenty years. Don’t you want to know?”
“I’m trying to decide.”
“I’m just trying to understand how you’re feeling,” I said. “Are you sad, angry, surprised?”
“I guess all of that and none of it,” she said. “How did you feel the day you finally knew your marriage was over?”
“It’d been coming for so long, I guess I’m not even sure I knew when that day was. So I guess I didn’t feel much of anything.”
“That’s kind of how I feel.”
“But, Doreen, there’s been a betrayal here. That has to hurt.”
“It’s not like I didn’t somehow know something was terribly wrong. And, besides, I’ve engaged in my own betrayal, haven’t I.”
“So have I, I guess.”
“So maybe it’s a matter of we’re all finally getting what we wanted all along.”
“Except Kenny.”
“Yes, Kenny,” said Doreen.
“Do you have any idea how long this has been going on?”
“None. It could’ve been going on for years for all I know, or it could be like what happened to you and me.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know,” she said. “You live a certain way for a long time for any number of reasons, probably mostly inertia. Then one day something happens, maybe something small, but it makes you realize that you can’t live like that another day. All it took for me was for you to show up. I hadn’t even seen you yet, but when I heard you were back in town it was like something woke up inside me. I knew I was at the end of the life I’d been living. Maybe it was the same for Allie and David.”
“Or maybe not.”
“Or maybe not. I’m not sure I need to know,” she said, staring out the kitchen window.
“But where does the money fit into all of this?” I said. For some reason I stared out the window, too.
“I wish I could tell you. It just makes no sense. I know he’s given Allie a lot of money over the years, but I’m pretty sure she had to spend at least most of it. And what are they going to do with $150,000? Sure, it’s a lot of money, but it’s not like David could quit his job and they could run away together and live happily ever after on it.”
“They could last on it long enough to get back on their feet somewhere else.�
��
“Maybe,” said Doreen, “but I just can’t make myself believe that’s what it was for. He knew he was going to have to pay it back. Even if he didn’t understand the full implications of the interest, he had to have understood the risks of borrowing from people like that, so it makes absolutely no sense that he’d literally risk his life for it just to leave me after all these years. I’m sorry, that is absolutely crazy.”
“So if it wasn’t that, what? What could have made him so desperate for that money?”
“I’ve been giving that a lot of thought, Matt, but I just can’t come up with anything that would drive David to do something that risky rather than just be honest with me. And no matter what condition our marriage was in, David was a devoted father. His life revolved around his kids. What would make him desert them? Remember, I’m not the only one who stuck with an unhappy marriage. So did he. There was nothing more important in his life than those kids, especially not his own personal happiness.”
“I love my kids, too, Doreen. But I finally had to leave.”
“Not to put too fine a point on it, Matt, but I’m not Marianne. If she hadn’t driven you out of that marriage, do you honestly think you would have been the one to ask for the divorce?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Because of the kids, right?”
“Yes. Right.”
“I’ve been as good a wife as I could be, Matt. I’ve been a good mother, and despite everything, David has been a devoted father. I never gave him any reason to leave me, and I never gave him any reason to think that I wanted to leave him. And David, to his credit, has been the same. He has never done anything to hurt me, embarrass me, or give me any reason to think that he wanted to leave me. His reputation is spotless in this community, and that means almost as much to him as his kids do.”
I reached over and grabbed the box of donuts off the counter and grabbed a jelly donut.
“Sorry,” I said. “All this thinking is making me hungry.”
“Me, too,” said Doreen, pulling out a Chocolate Glazed.
The front door opened and slammed shut, making us both jump.
“I smell donuts,” my sister called out.
“Come on in,” I called back, “as if you needed asking.”
“Hi guys,” said Lacey as she walked into the kitchen, picked up the donut box and peered in. “What, no Bavarian Cream?”
“Don’t look at me,” I said. “Doreen picked them out.”
“So, you don’t want any nookie today, huh, bro?” said Lacey as reached pulled out a Chocolate Filled.
Doreen cracked up, and so did I.
“So, how goes the investigation, Mr. Marlowe,” said Lacey after the laughter died down.
I told her about my trip to Halfmoon, and Doreen recounted the discussion we’d just been having in detail. We were beyond keeping our personal lives private; we just wanted to solve the mystery of David’s behavior.
“Huh,” said Lacey, pulling out a Honey Glazed. She took a bite.
“’Huh,’ what?” I said.
“It sounds to me like you’ve got your answer.”
“What?!” Doreen and I both said at the same time.
“It’s pretty obvious to me.”
“What’s so obvious?” I said.
“No, Matt,” she said, swallowing the last bite of her donut. “I told you a long time ago that if you started digging into this you were going to find out a lot of things that you didn’t want to know.”
“I already have,” I said.
“You’re not finished,” said Lacey, fishing through the donut box. “You’re not even close.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re going to have to find that out for yourself. I’m not going to help you on this one.”
“Maybe we’re better off not knowing,” said Doreen.
“No, Doreen, you’re not,” said Lacey, looking more serious than I’d ever seen her look. “It’s too late now. You have to find out.” She grabbed another donut, a powdered jelly, and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” I called out after her.
“Where do you think I’m going? I’m going to get some coffee. Donuts make me thirsty.”
The door banged shut behind her.
******
“What else am I supposed to do?” I said to Doreen as we sat at my kitchen table, staring at the empty donut box.
“I don’t know, Matt,” said Doreen, “but I just don’t know what going back to Halfmoon and confronting him is going to accomplish.”
“I think it’ll make him do something, one way or the other. If he still thinks the Ukrainians are going to come after him for that money, he’ll hide forever. And frankly, I don’t want this kind of a stalemate. I want to move ahead with my own life, Doreen. I’m in love with the man’s wife, in case you haven’t noticed, and sooner or later I’m going to have to look him in the eye and tell him that.”
“I love you, too, Matt,” said Doreen, but she looked frightened when she said it.
“You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
“No, I’m not. But do you have any idea what’s going to happen in this town when all this comes out? I’m worried about the kids.”
“I am, too. But we didn’t start this.”
“And David’s not going to volunteer to finish it, is he.”
“It sure doesn’t look like it,” I said.
“And the longer we wait, the worse it will be for the kids.”
“Yes, Doreen. That’s right.”
“And the longer we wait, the worse we’re going to look in the kids’ eyes.”
“I’m afraid so.”
“And we’re never going to figure out what Lacey was talking about just sitting here, are we?”
“No, we’re not,” I said. “I don’t understand why she just won’t come out and tell us. This isn’t some game we’re playing here.”
“I think your sister learned a long time ago,” said Doreen after a long hesitation, “that there are some things you have to figure out for yourself. That’s how she saved herself. It didn’t matter how many people told her what she was doing to herself; it was the figuring it out herself part that was important. She knows that this is not a game, Matt. Not for David, not for Allie and Kenny, and certainly not for you and me.”
“I guess you’re both right, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what she’s talking about.”
“I can’t either,” said Doreen. “I keep going over our conversation, but I just don’t see it. Which is all the more reason to confront David, I guess.”
“I think so, too. I don’t think we have a choice.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“Thanks, but not this time.”
“No cheerleaders allowed in the huddle, right?” said Doreen.
That shut me up. I hadn’t thought about it like that, but it was true. No cheerleaders allowed in the huddle. This had to be between David and me, one last time. Doreen stood up, put the empty donut box back on the counter, and headed out of the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” I said.
“I’m going home and going for a swim,” said the love of my life.
It sounded nice, but I had to huddle up first.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
I COULD HAVE LOITERED IN THE PARKING LOT of the Best Western, but I thought it would be a waste of time. I’d swung by Kenny and Allie’s house on the way out of town, and Allie’s car had been in the driveway. And I didn’t think David would hang around in his room and watch TV. Besides, the Halfmoon Diner had impressed me as kind of an addictive place, and I bet he’d be back there again for lunch.
The waitress remembered me and seated me at the same booth I’d had the day before. She must have been impressed by the tip. I ordered coffee and told her I was waiting for someone before I ordered. She nodded and went off to get my coffee.
It didn’t take long. The waitress was j
ust setting my coffee cup on the table when David walked in and sat down at the same booth he’d occupied the day before. But today was different. He didn’t look fidgety, and he wasn’t staring out the window. When the waitress stopped at his table he picked up his menu and ordered his lunch. She didn’t put down a second place setting. There was no sense in putting this off any longer. I picked up my coffee cup and walked over to my old friend.
“Hello, David.”
His first expression was one of sheer panic. I wasn’t surprised, because I was positive that Allie would have told him about me, that I was looking for him, and that I knew about the money. But, as all good quarterbacks do, he recovered quickly.
“Matt, my God! What a pleasant surprise! Please, sit down,” he said, greeting me like I was a prospective customer at the bank. He didn’t offer to shake my hand, which was fine with me.
“It can’t be that much of a surprise, David,” I said, taking my seat and putting my coffee cup on the table. The waitress came by and I ordered a tuna sandwich. She seemed a little crestfallen, but this was not going to be a liver and onions kind of a discussion, and I didn’t want a delicacy going to waste
“What do you mean?” said David, trying to look innocent.
“David, you’ve been missing for over two weeks. Doreen and the kids are frantic.”
“Look, Matt. It’s okay. I just had a few things to work out, and I didn’t want to burden Doreen, that’s all. Please tell her that I’ll be back in a few days and I’ll explain everything. Everything will be okay.”
“David, we know about the $150,000, and we know where you got it.”
He paled at that. Allie had told him I knew about the money, but she didn’t know where it had come from, so how did I?
“I can explain all that,” he finally said after a long pause.
“It’s all been repaid, just so you know. Doreen paid it back, including the interest. Jesus, David. What were you thinking?”
The relief on David’s face was palpable. I’d been right: He’d just run because he was scared; it was nothing more complicated than that.
