‘I’m going to stay here all day if we keep doing this.’
Rose stroked his arm, dragging her nails through the dark hairs. ‘Give me five minutes.’
The solo drive to the diner gave Rose enough time to collect herself. With her leading the way, Shane couldn’t see the ridiculous grin on her face. She hadn’t expected him to come into her life like a whirlwind, shaking everything up. She had the urge to call Missy, but there’d be time for that later.
The diner was on the main road, and it looked more like a ramshackle abandoned building than a place to eat. But Dad used to take Rose and Reen there every Sunday until they were teenagers to get cinnamon donuts. She wished she would have continued the tradition with her Dad, but typical teen angst got in the way and she’d refused to go and instead slept in on the weekends.
Shane parked next to her and soon as they met, he took her hand, and they walked into the building. Rose hadn’t had time to shower, but she did clean her face before dressing in a T-shirt and shorts and throwing her hair back into a messy bun. When she saw many familiar faces turn their way, she wished she would have either picked a different place or didn’t appear as if she’d rolled out of bed with Shane at her side.
She swallowed against the lump in her throat. As they walked over to the corner booth – the only spot open – she said a quick hello to Mr. and Mrs. Donahue. Their gazes darted between Shane and Rose’s clasped hands and their faces.
Rose took the seat with her back facing the door. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to eat under their watchful eyes.
The moment they sat, Finley, the owner, slid a plate with two cinnamon donuts between them. Finley was one of Dad’s good friends growing up. Seeing him reminded her so much of Dad. They were opposite in looks, Finley a shorter, squat man with barely any hair on his head, but seeing him comforted her. It was why she visited from time to time. With Pearl bogging down most of her thoughts, she liked the reprieve.
She grabbed a donut and took a bite. The warm sugary treat reminded her of her childhood.
‘It’s good to see you, Rose,’ Finley said. ‘And with someone.’
Rose choked on the donut. ‘We’re not –’ Then she cut herself off.
Shane tilted his head to the side, eyeing her. Were they together? Did he want to be? She hadn’t gotten to this step since high school, but there was much more on the line now.
‘I believe we met the other day at The Siren,’ Shane said, extending his hand to Finley.
‘The new Chief of Police,’ he said.
‘Almost,’ Shane said.
‘What can I get you to drink?’
They put in their orders, and Rose sat against the booth, hoping that they wouldn’t have ‘the talk’ that early in the morning. She was still sorting through her thoughts about him and wasn’t ready for anything serious before coffee.
‘Are you feeling better?’ Shane asked.
Rose furrowed her brows. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Earlier. With your nightmare.’
‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘I’m used to it.’
‘Have you thought about speaking to someone about what you saw on the pier?’
‘Like a therapist?’
He nodded. ‘You’re having recurring nightmares from a traumatic event.’
‘I can handle the nightmares. I’ve had them before. What I need is closure. Then they will stop.’
‘Are you sure about that?’
It was the only thing that could stop them.
‘Rose, I’m going to close this case as a suicide. I’m afraid that’s all the closure you’re getting.’
‘What about her family?’
‘There haven’t been any missing persons in the area that fit your description. No one has come forward.’
‘What about the shelters?’ If the girl didn’t have a family to report her, then Shane would never know.
He sipped his coffee. ‘I could check into it.’
Could? From the way his jaw set, Rose was about to cross a line. She dropped it, for now, her plan from the other day forming in her mind once again. No one was on the girl’s side anymore.
‘Are you going to the outdoor movie tomorrow?’ Rose asked instead.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘In a professional capacity, unfortunately.’
Unfortunate for whom, she wondered. While she imagined curling up on a blanket together during the event, seeing him at all was enough for her.
‘You?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘The Siren has a booth.’
‘Then, I’ll see you there.’
A familiar sound rang from her purse. She tended to keep her phone ringer on the highest volume since she never wanted to miss a call about Pearl. But it was from Missy. Rose already knew why before she picked it up.
‘Hey,’ she said into the phone.
‘Hey,’ Missy said. ‘I’m hoping you’re still with Shane, so I’m not going to ask about the date, but I need a favor.’
‘Anything.’
‘Heather called out for her shift. Can you cover closing tonight?’
‘Sure.’
‘Say hi to Shane for me,’ Missy said and hung up.
Rose chewed on her lip, hoping he hadn’t heard his name through the call.
‘Everything good?’ Shane asked.
‘Yes,’ Rose said, dropping her phone into her bag. ‘I have to pick up an extra shift tonight.’
‘Will I see you for lunch?’ he asked, sliding his hands across the table.
She met them and curled her fingers around his. Her heart raced in her chest and images from last night flitted through her mind. ‘Dinner. I won’t be going in until around two.’
‘Dinner, it is, then,’ he said.
She couldn’t wait.
Chapter 15
Pearl had a checkup with a doctor each week, and Rose made sure she was present for each one. This week was especially important since she wanted to be sure that after the incident on the beach, Pearl was okay physically and as good as she could be mentally.
A thick grouping of clouds blocked the sun, coloring The Burrow a misty gray. The threat of rain kept most of the onslaught of tourists inside for the morning. It was the perfect time for Rose to visit Mom. At least she wouldn’t see another escape.
She crossed her fingers that tomorrow would be perfect for the movie. Maybe she could convince Shane to take a little time off and sit with her.
As she drove onto the campus, droplets of rain peppered the windshield. The long-haired girl popped into her head. There was a distinct possibility she’d started out at the nursing home that fateful day. Did she know one of the residents? The last visit to a loved one before making a drastic decision to jump?
She couldn’t allow Shane’s verdict to overshadow her own. She felt the girl’s presence. Her spirit was alive – at least she hoped it was. They hadn’t found a body, so there was no way to know for sure.
Calling Patrick was her next step and then she’d get her closure too.
The air shifted slightly when she entered The Cottage. Voices from inside Pearl’s bedroom made the hairs on her arms stand up. Was she late?
Mrs. Gillette’s bed was empty, but Pearl sat on hers.
Dr. Williams stood next to Pearl. Two rotating doctors came into The Cottage. Rose had only seen Dr. Williams a few times. His deep brown eyes met hers.
‘Good morning, Ms. Barros,’ he said.
She didn’t correct him. He was the only one in this place who refused to call her by her first name. After several times correcting him to no avail, she’d stopped.
If Mom noticed Rose, she didn’t show it. Her eyes were on the doctor; a small smile touched her lips. She always appreciated a handsome face.
Dr. Williams handed Mom’s chart to Jessie, who dwarfed him by at least a foot and a half. She smiled at Rose but subdued her perkiness around her boss.
‘How is she doing?’ Rose asked.
‘It’s been hard for her
these last few days,’ he said.
‘Since she escaped to the beach?’
Jessie’s hands tightened around the chart.
‘Before that too,’ he said. ‘I don’t think her little jaunt helped, but it’s been tough getting her out of bed. She’s fragile and fatigued.’
‘What can I do?’
‘There isn’t much you can do at this stage,’ he said.
Rose opened and closed her mouth a few times. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Her condition is rapidly declining. It’s happening earlier than we anticipated, but the signs are there.’
This wasn’t happening. ‘She seemed better the other day.’
‘She’s not getting better,’ he said. ‘But I’m going to observe her a little more closely these next few days.’
Rose had come in expecting to see her mother in the other room, watching the ocean through the window. Now, she sat up on the thin mattress, her wrinkly hands clasped together as if she were lying in a casket.
Shaking her head violently, Rose tried to dislodge the thought. She wasn’t ready for that yet. ‘Can I visit with her?’
‘For a little while,’ the doctor said. ‘She hasn’t been awake for much more than an hour at a time. Jessie can try to assist her into the wheelchair if you’d like.’
‘No,’ Rose said. ‘I want her to be comfortable.’ It was all Rose ever wanted. Everything in the last few years was for Pearl. She knew the end would come eventually, but facing it head on was the most terrifying experience of her life.
‘I’ll be making my rounds if you want to speak with me before you go,’ Dr. Williams said.
‘I will,’ Rose promised.
Once they left, Rose sighed and crossed the room, grabbing on to one of the chairs closer to the dresser. On top were the photographs Rose had picked out for her. When she was seven, Reen had decorated one of the frames with sand and shells from their house. Over the years, some had fallen off, leaving white circular glue marks. Rose couldn’t get rid of it.
If Reen ever visited, she might have appreciated that Rose wanted their mother to remember the daughter who left.
She dragged the chair toward the bed. The sound perked Pearl’s ears, and she finally turned to Rose.
‘Hi, Pearl,’ she said.
Mom let out a sigh.
Rose took her hand and squeezed it. Other than skin hanging over her bones, there wasn’t much left. Her eyes were glossy, and tears formed in the corners, waiting to fall.
‘The outdoor movie is tomorrow. Thinking about going without you is a little strange. I suppose according to the doctor, that’s something I’m going to have to get used to.’ A tear slipped from Rose’s eye, and she flicked it away. ‘This sucks, Mom. I don’t care if I’m not supposed to call you that. I never got to say goodbye to you. I’ve been tiptoeing around you since you got here and now it’s too late to see the woman I love and who saved me, whenever I needed saving.’ The weight of the past crashed over Rose, and she allowed herself a few seconds to sink into the watery depths of her mind.
When she returned to the present, Mom’s hand went limp in hers, and she was softly snoring, her head tilted ever so slightly to the side.
Instead of charging out of there, demanding to know what else they could do, Rose held her mother’s hand and told her all about the movie. Throughout the years, the organizers rotated through different mermaid or ocean-themed movies. This year was Splash. It was one of Mom’s favorites. Since she was working all day tomorrow, she wouldn’t be able to visit. Instead, she recalled the movie as it projected in her mind.
The closest multiplex movie theater was a good half an hour away. As Pearl got older, they went less and less. So, when the annual outdoor movie event came around, Mom and Rose were always in attendance. Dad had been a lifelong resident of The Burrow, and everyone welcomed Pearl into the small town the moment she’d captured Dad’s fancy. Along with so many others, it was their tradition every year. Mom had loved to stop and chat with locals and tourists alike, flitting through the crowds in the graceful way she always had.
Rose wasn’t going to allow Pearl to miss another event, even in her new bed in a strange place.
After an hour, Rose peeled herself off the chair and quietly placed it in the corner of the room. She stood over Pearl and pressed a kiss to her mother’s forehead, then smoothed her fingers across her skin, still as smooth as Rose remembered.
‘I love you, Mom. Sleep well.’
Since there was no one else in the room, Rose turned off the light, allowing Pearl to sleep comfortably before her roommate returned.
Dr. Williams stood at the nursing station reviewing a chart. Rose approached the small desk tucked in the corner at the end of the hallway. After being with Mom, Rose had completely changed her mind about how she wanted the conversation to go. ‘She fell asleep.’
‘Good,’ he said, finishing marking up a chart before closing it. ‘How are you doing?’
‘How do you expect?’
‘My apologies. I know you weren’t expecting this news. But I can’t give you false hope when every day is a struggle for most of the patients here.’
‘I get it,’ Rose said. ‘But what can I do?’ The question rolled over and over in her mind. There had to be something. Did he expect her to give up? That wasn’t her. Mom had taught Rose to fight, even when she didn’t want to. Now it was time for her to make use of that lesson.
‘Enjoy this time with your mother. Don’t worry about a cure or how to make it better. At least when you come to terms with that, then you’ll be able to remember these moments with her.’
Dr. Williams excused himself, leaving Rose in his dust. He was already in a conversation with Katrina when Rose followed him into the common room.
Words failed her. As much as she wanted to shake them out of her head and engage in a deeper conversation with the doctor, what more was there left to say?
Numbly, she walked toward the exit and peeked into Mom’s room one last time. Lightning surged outside and illuminated the space. Pearl was in the same position as she was when Rose left. The doctor’s words repeated in her mind as she left the building and drove home.
On the drive, Rose tried to block out her sadness about Pearl’s prognosis by focusing on the girl. If she thought of Mom, she’d break down. A distraction was in order.
When she got home, Mrs. Collins’s front windows were open, and there was movement inside. Heat coursed through her. Had her neighbor seen Shane leave Rose’s place this morning?
She scurried up the stairs, dreading the next conversation with her neighbor.
Inside, she settled at the kitchen table with a pad and pen. Rose had no issue calling Patrick and requesting information about the local homeless shelters that he knew of in the surrounding areas.
With the event tomorrow night, Shane would be busy with the precinct overseeing the setup. If she wanted to get answers, she’d have to do it herself.
Besides, he’d made it clear that he wasn’t going to invest any more time in the case. Rose wasn’t sure how she was going to present any information she received, but she’d get there eventually.
Patrick was more than helpful in giving her the information. She researched each of the places and jotted the phone numbers on her pad before starting her calls.
The first one was a bust. When asked why she needed to find this person, Rose froze. She couldn’t tell them that she was a part of a police investigation and why would someone who wasn’t related be concerned about a teen girl? She stammered through some excuse about the girl being a friend’s niece. The woman dismissed her and hung up.
The next one went much smoother. Rose fabricated a story and played it off easier than the first, now confident in her lie.
But it was all for naught as none of the homeless shelters recalled a young long-haired girl coming in. At the very least, she didn’t have to lie to Shane about new information as she had nothing to give him.
Chapter 16
Rose showed up to work an hour early to tell Missy about her date with Shane. Reliving it with a captivated audience made it sound and feel that much more exciting.
‘Are you going out again?’ Missy asked.
Rose grabbed her dark green waist apron and tied it around her. ‘I hope so. I’m not sure about etiquette.’
‘I’m sure he’ll ask again soon.’
Rose tucked a pad and pen into her pocket. ‘I hope so.’ She didn’t want to jinx anything, but she wanted this to be the start of something new and exciting in her life. At least that hope wasn’t going anywhere.
The kitchen doors swung open, and she came face to face with Elisa, one of the other seasonal girls. Fresh out of college, and eager to make it her last summer in The Burrow, the girl’s glossed lips pouted at Missy. It was a good thing she was Missy’s cousin. If it weren’t for her aunt strong-arming her, Missy would have never agreed to hire the girl.
‘The party is here,’ she said and flitted away.
‘Party?’ Rose asked.
Missy was in the middle of building a burger. ‘Surprise! Don’t worry. It’s only Mrs. Donahue and her bridge group. They picked out the menu already. So, all you have to do is attend to them. Refill drinks and whatever.’
Mrs. Donahue? Rose gritted her teeth. Out of everyone in town, why did she have to see the woman who’d spotted her and Shane together at the diner?
Sparing herself any teasing from Missy, she said nothing.
Rose took a deep breath and went to greet the women. ‘Good afternoon.’
Mrs. Donahue, the tallest of the women – her poof of white hair adding to her height – eyed Rose up and down. ‘It’s nice to see you again, Rose.’ She winked, and a slow smile spread across her mouth.
Heat burned Rose’s cheeks, and it took all her effort not to turn around and hide in the kitchen for the rest of the day. ‘What can I get you to drink?’
While giving their orders, the women played musical chairs as some complained about the amount of light coming through the windows, and others wanted to sit next to a particular person. Once they settled in, they left Rose alone for the most part and played through the afternoon.
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