What’s your bakery name for him?”
“He didn’t have one, but he’d probably be Muffin-Sometimes-Cookies. I haven’t heard from him for a couple of days, so I guess I decided to be nosy and come over under the pretense of getting this book. I’m a little embarrassed to be admitting that.”
“Don’t be. We have a fishing operation in Maine. If there are problems with the boats, Jason often goes to oversee the work. I expect he’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Really? Wow, that’s kinda—” I stopped myself from finishing the sentence because it was absolutely none of my business.
“Like no one in Maine knows how to fix a motor?”
“I was gonna say real expensive.”
“It is. The captains handle most of the work, but the guy we’ve been using for the major repairs retired. Jason’s there to get the new guy up to speed on the armada.”
I eyed Donovan again. I swore I’d seen him before. Or maybe it was that Julia had described him to me, called him stern or authoritative and then laughed like crazy. He did seem pretty stiff. Opposites attract.
When Jericho had told me he lived with friends of his parents, I’d pictured them to be older, like my mom. I wasn’t disappointed; Sourdough was one of my favorite people. The strange thing was that she didn’t seem surprised to see me at her back door.
_______
After work, I waited for Derek’s last table to clear and we went to Nick’s. I made a couple of cheese sandwiches, the fridge and pantry having nothing better to offer, as usual.
He went out to the patio. “Jericho’s an okay guy.”
I put my hand on my chest. “I’m so happy you approve.”
“I didn’t say I approved. Walk?”
“’Kay.”
We ambled down the beach and he told me about his new temp job in Rockport, a stone’s throw from Pam’s place. I couldn’t blame him for giving Crazy Jim’s his notice. He wasn’t making nearly enough to cover his fall tuition. And he always got stuck cleaning the men’s room, which was totally beneath him.
I touched his arm. “I’ve offered before, but seriously, you can have my insurance money from Dad’s death. I want you to have it.”
“Don’t feel right about it. I owe you a couple hundred as it is.”
“But if you use it, something good will come out of it and you don’t owe me anything.”
He shook his head. “Can’t. You might really need it someday.”
I took a few more bites. “Dude, I think I have a brain tumor.”
He laughed, looked at me, and then laughed again. “I’ve thought that for years.”
“I’m serious. I’ve been seeing things, like that fog I told you about, and bright lights like when Nick wiped out, and since the concussion it’s gotten worse. My eyes aren’t working right.”
“Yeah, well, your ears don’t work right either.”
I groaned.
“Edwards, don’t take this the wrong way but whenever you come across something you can’t figure out with scientific reasoning, you get like this. I mean, take the fog. Is it possible that fog just happens sometimes? Was it possible that someone, God help them, dumped something noxious into the water and what you saw was fumes from the chemicals? And when Nick wiped out, it was just the sun.”
I thought about it. When I’d seen the mist at The Bakery it had been dark. Maybe the unit had been overheating. Maybe if the coils hadn’t gotten enough airflow, it had iced up and was defrosting, the condensation seeming sparkly because of the fluorescents. But that didn’t explain the lights I’d seen on the beach that morning with Jericho or the light in his eyes. Yep, brain tumor.
I was off for the weekend and went to Austin. I spent the night with Mom, tickling her pink and silly. She made me play duets with her on the piano and I acted like I didn’t enjoy it, but I did.
At two in the morning, there was a noise outside that I couldn’t place. I’m okay. My ceiling at home looked the same—bumpy.
CHAPTER SEVEN
He opened his bedroom door and
“He didn’t have one, but he’d probably be Muffin-Sometimes-Cookies. I haven’t heard from him for a couple of days, so I guess I decided to be nosy and come over under the pretense of getting this book. I’m a little embarrassed to be admitting that.”
“Don’t be. We have a fishing operation in Maine. If there are problems with the boats, Jason often goes to oversee the work. I expect he’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Really? Wow, that’s kinda—” I stopped myself from finishing the sentence because it was absolutely none of my business.
“Like no one in Maine knows how to fix a motor?”
“I was gonna say real expensive.”
“It is. The captains handle most of the work, but the guy we’ve been using for the major repairs retired. Jason’s there to get the new guy up to speed on the armada.”
I eyed Donovan again. I swore I’d seen him before. Or maybe it was that Julia had described him to me, called him stern or authoritative and then laughed like crazy. He did seem pretty stiff. Opposites attract.
When Jericho had told me he lived with friends of his parents, I’d pictured them to be older, like my mom. I wasn’t disappointed; Sourdough was one of my favorite people. The strange thing was that she didn’t seem surprised to see me at her back door.
_______
After work, I waited for Derek’s last table to clear and we went to Nick’s. I made a couple of cheese sandwiches, the fridge and pantry having nothing better to offer, as usual.
He went out to the patio. “Jericho’s an okay guy.”
I put my hand on my chest. “I’m so happy you approve.”
“I didn’t say I approved. Walk?”
“’Kay.”
We ambled down the beach and he told me about his new temp job in Rockport, a stone’s throw from Pam’s place. I couldn’t blame him for giving Crazy Jim’s his notice. He wasn’t making nearly enough to cover his fall tuition. And he always got stuck cleaning the men’s room, which was totally beneath him.
I touched his arm. “I’ve offered before, but seriously, you can have my insurance money from Dad’s death. I want you to have it.”
“Don’t feel right about it. I owe you a couple hundred as it is.”
“But if you use it, something good will come out of it and you don’t owe me anything.”
He shook his head. “Can’t. You might really need it someday.”
I took a few more bites. “Dude, I think I have a brain tumor.”
He laughed, looked at me, and then laughed again. “I’ve thought that for years.”
“I’m serious. I’ve been seeing things, like that fog I told you about, and bright lights like when Nick wiped out, and since the concussion it’s gotten worse. My eyes aren’t working right.”
“Yeah, well, your ears don’t work right either.”
I groaned.
“Edwards, don’t take this the wrong way but whenever you come across something you can’t figure out with scientific reasoning, you get like this. I mean, take the fog. Is it possible that fog just happens sometimes? Was it possible that someone, God help them, dumped something noxious into the water and what you saw was fumes from the chemicals? And when Nick wiped out, it was just the sun.”
I thought about it. When I’d seen the mist at The Bakery it had been dark. Maybe the unit had been overheating. Maybe if the coils hadn’t gotten enough airflow, it had iced up and was defrosting, the condensation seeming sparkly because of the fluorescents. But that didn’t explain the lights I’d seen on the beach that morning with Jericho or the light in his eyes. Yep, brain tumor.
I was off for the weekend and went to Austin. I spent the night with Mom, tickling her pink and silly. She made me play duets with her on the piano and I acted like I didn’t enjoy it, but I did.
At two in the morning, there was a noise outside that I couldn’t place. I’m okay. My ceiling at home looked the same—bumpy.
CHAPTER SEVEN
He opened his bedroom door and
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