Finding Abigail (35 page)

On our drive to
Martin, Kathy gossiped about the customers from Mable’s. She knew almost
everything about everyone. The beautiful scenery rushed by as we headed out of
the rural area, seeing more houses and buildings as we drove. The radio was
playing Aerosmith’s latest, and a stab of fear ran up my spine. It was
ridiculous, Nick was nowhere to be seen, but like smells, music was linked to
my memory. Every time I heard “When a Man Loves a Woman,” I thought of my
parents. It was their first song at their wedding, and my father use to swing
my mother around the kitchen when it came on. “So, how are things going with
you and Noah?” Kathy asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

Shaking off my
memories, I sighed happily, leaning back in the soft leather seat, my elbow up
on the edge of the window. “Amazing, I’m so happy he pushed me into this. I’ve
never been in a relationship where we enjoyed each other’s company so much. I’m
glad we became friends first.”

She smiled as
she glanced at me. “You look really happy, you both do.” She pulled off the
highway and onto a side street, entering the city.

“Thank you for
pushing me too.”

“You’re
welcome.”

At the mall, I
found some really nice tops and a few skirts. Even though I had no place to
wear them, Kathy talked me into buying them, saying my wardrobe was severely
lacking.

It was at the
shoe store that we started to butt heads. “Try them on or I’ll kill you.” Kathy
threatened after we argued for a few minutes.

“I’m not trying
on heels. I’m happy with my tennis shoes.” Desperate, I noticed a pair of
burgundy flats. “Or how about these?” I asked holding them up.

“How the hell
can anyone be happy with tennis shoes?” She sighed. “And those are not the
right color. Try these on.” She waved the black pointy-toed pumps.

“They hurt my
feet,” I whined.

“How do you
know, you haven’t tried them on yet.”

I pursed my
lips, annoyed that another friend of mine hated my sneakers. What was wrong
with them? To me heels weren’t for everyday use, but reserved for weddings and
special dates. “They look like they would.”

“Listen, I feel
like I’m arguing with my kids. Just try them on and if they hurt, take them
off.”

“Fine.” I took
them from her and sat down on the bench behind a little boy trying on rubber
boots. What a lucky kid, he could wear whatever he wanted. Reluctantly, and
with an annoyed glance in Kathy’s direction, I shoved my feet in the pointy
shoes. I stood up and walked with shaky legs to the mirror, and was pleasantly
surprised. They looked sharp with the jeans and the black sequence top I was
wearing. But above all they were comfortable.

“So, what do
you think?” Kathy asked, stepping up behind me.

“I like them.
If Debbie could see me now.”

“Who’s Debbie?”

A flash of
homesickness settled inside me. Oh, how I missed her. “A friend of mine who
bugged me just as much as you to get me to wear heels.”

She tucked her
hair behind her ear as she looked at my feet. When she met my gaze her eyes
were soft. “It sounds like I would like her.”

“You would,
she’s great. You’d make a great team too.”

“Why?”

I walked back
to the bench where I had left my purse, and bags. I sat down and yanked off the
shoes. “Well, you’re a great cook and she’s an awesome baker.” I stood up and
gathered my stuff and we began walking to the cashier so we could pay for our
purchases. Kathy was getting her boys new shoes. She said their feet grew like
weeds.

“Why don’t you
talk about your family and friends more?”

“I can’t be
with them right now, and it hurts to talk about them.”

“Okay then,
lets go eat before you get depressed.”

We found a
table at the food court and each of us took turns getting our food. Although we
both ended up with sub sandwiches, hers was an assorted and mine was grilled
chicken.

“Why did I have
to hear from Sam that you told off Cindy? And why wasn’t it planned so I could
have been there to watch?”

I laughed,
lifting my sub up to take a bite. “I forgot about that. It wasn’t that big a
deal.”

“Are you
kidding? You took her down a peg. I just wish I’d seen it.” She took a sip of
her soda. “I can’t believe you said she was desperate.”

I watched an
older couple walk past, holding hands. They looked to be in their seventies.
The man was carrying the tray as he led his wife to a table. You could see the
love in their eyes. It gave me hope for my future with Noah. Maybe love could
last. “I said she was acting desperate. And then she told me she wasn’t taking
advice from some blond prude from the city. Am I a prude?”

She grinned,
folding the wrapper of her sub. “I used to think so, but that was before I
walked into Noah’s bedroom last week.”

I flushed,
covering my face with my hands. “Ugh, don’t remind me. That was so
embarrassing.”

“Okay then,
yeah you are a prude.”

After we
finished eating we headed out to her car.

Across from the
mall there was a plaza with more stores, and instead of turning right on Main,
heading home, she drove into the plaza parking lot. “I have to stop in here for
a quick minute. I want to buy the boys a book.” I glanced up and smiled. It was
a large bookstore, and I hadn’t been in one in a very long time. I had been to
the library a few times, but mostly to plan my escape. I had never had the time
to wander through the shelves and explore. Now I could, with one bonus—no must smell.

“Take your
time,” I said absently as we pushed through the front doors. She went off into
the children’s department, while I just walked around. I wasn’t in need of a
book right now. I had brought lots with me. I loved the looks of them lined up
on shelves; the different sizes, genres, and styles soothed my soul.

When I noticed
Kathy bent down searching through a low shelf, I headed to the children’s
department. I stopped and picked up a book of a colleague of mine, who was also
Debbie’s client. “Okay, I found them each one, we can—” Kathy was walking
toward me holding two of the books I’d written,
Marvin and the Meteor
,
and
Two of a Kind
, but suddenly she stopped, staring at something I
couldn’t see. I moved around the shelf that was blocking my view, and glanced
in the direction she was.

“Oh shit.” I
stood in front of her to hide what she was staring at.

It was a
picture of me that was placed on a table with all of my books in stacks
surrounding it. I chose not to have my picture on each of my books, but I had
had some done professionally for the publishing company when they asked. I was
a little camera shy, but the picture had turned out okay. My wavy hair flowed
over one shoulder, and I was wearing black fitted pants and a blue and black
flowered top. I was posed, leaning against a leather chair, where a stack of
books lay.

“That’s you,”
she said, trying to get around me.

I stepped in
front of the photo. “No, it’s not.”

She took a step
to the right to peek around me. “Yes, it is. You’re Abigail Watson.” Her voice
was full of wonder, her eyes wide with shock.

“No, I’m not.”
My words had her raising an eyebrow, not believing me for a second. And who
could blame her? She saw the photo. I hadn’t done anything to change my
appearance, just my name. I really never thought I would be in this situation.
“Okay, I am, but you can’t tell anyone.”

A little girl
with long red braids came around the shelf, looking at my picture and then at
me. “Look, Mommy, it’s the lady that wrote
Wendy’s Wish
.” Her mother
glanced at me quickly then back at the book in her hand.

“That’s nice,
dear,” she said dryly, not really listening to her daughter.

I took Kathy’s
hand and led her to the cash, moving past people and displays. “I have to get
out of here, now. I’ll meet you outside.” I ran out, leaving her in line with
her mouth open in shock.

I was waiting
in the car when she came out of the store. “Okay, what’s going on? Why are you
hiding who you really are?” she asked, once she was seated behind the wheel.

“Can you just
drive? I need to get out of here before someone else recognizes me.”

She put the key
in the ignition and pulled out of the lot. Now that I had to tell her
everything, I could be honest. Besides, Sam’s deadline was only a week away.
I’d have to tell her eventually. “Can we go to the library? I need to do
something.”

She pulled down
a street in the direction I wanted, and then turned to me. “Talk.”

“Fine, I’m not
from Chicago, and I don’t write articles for magazines. I used to live in
Renwood, a city in New York state. And you’re right, I’m a children’s book
author.”

She glanced at
me quickly before turning back to the road as she turned a corner. “But why are
you hiding in Shimmer Lake?”

I told her my
story, about Nick and what happened after we got engaged.

“Does Sam
know?”

I nodded. “He
knows that Nick is looking for me. He saw my picture at work when I first got
here, but he decided to wait and get to know me before he called the number. He
said the picture only said I was missing, not that I was a criminal. He figured
I had a reason for hiding. He also made me promise to tell you when I was
ready. I guess that’s now.”

She banged her
palm against the steering wheel. “That asshole, who does he think he is, that
he can treat you like that? Does your family know where you are?”

I glanced down
at my hands folded in my lap. I suddenly felt vulnerable now that she knew
everything. “No, he’s a policeman. I couldn’t tell anyone, or he’d find me.”
She pulled into the library. “That’s why I’m here though. Two weeks ago I
emailed Debbie. She’s my editor and friend. I sent her some of my work, using
an email with the name of another writer. I want to see if she responded.”

“Okay, I’m
coming with you.”

Inside the
library, I was disappointed to see that all the computers were taken. What was
I thinking? It was Saturday. Of course it would be busy. While we waited, we
sat in a lounge area and discussed my problem. Kathy also asked about my
family, and I told her everything, especially how much I missed them.

“I hope to meet
them one day.”

I grinned,
crossing my legs. “I hope you can.” Just as she was about to speak, a woman
stood up from her computer, gathering her stuff and walked away. We rushed to
it before anyone else could.

I checked the
email and there were two from Debbie. I opened the first one. “
Steve, the
pages look good, but I do have a few corrections. Attached are my notes. Let me
know what you think.
”

It was a
standard response from her, and I’d seen it a million times.

I clicked on
the attachment and read the real letter.

Abby, I am
so glad to hear you’re okay, we’ve been worried sick. Don’t worry about this
letter, I’m going to delete the words before the document, just to make sure
it’s gone. You’re right about Brian; when I told him what Nick did, he didn’t
believe me. Until recently, Nick’s behavior has become erratic. I think that he’s
so controlling over you, he’s losing his mind because he can’t find you, and
the longer you’re gone the more his true colors are showing.

He came to
the apartment and yelled at me for hiding you. When I told him I had no idea
where you were, he lifted his arm to slap me. Thank god Brian came in and
stopped him. He told Nick to leave, and to get a hold of himself or he’d report
him. I think Brian is starting to see who he really is.

Your family
is fine, they miss you terribly. They were so happy when I told them I’d heard
from you. All they want is for you to be safe, that’s the most important thing.

Your writing
is better than ever. All the Little Miss series are published, but I’ll keep your
royalty checks until we find a way for me to send them to you. The first draft
of the adventure book is awesome. I have a few thoughts though, and they are
attached.

I miss you
so much,

Debbie

When I finished
reading the letter, I hit print before deleting it, making sure it was out of
the trash.

“Are you okay?”
Kathy asked, sitting beside me, having read over my shoulder.

“Yeah,” I
replied, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “I miss them so much.”

She wrapped her
arms around me in a hug, just what I needed. She was so warm, and for some
reason I suddenly felt cold. I sobbed onto her shoulder. When I finally
composed myself, I opened the last email. I ignored the message to Steve and
opened the attachment.
Abby, it’s been two weeks, are you okay?

I opened a file
and wrote her back.
Debbie, I’m fine, better than ever. I just can’t get to
this library often. I have really good friends and I’m in love. You heard me; I’m
really in love with a great guy who would never hurt me. I wish you and my
family could meet my new family, maybe someday. But until then, know that I am
safe and very happy. I just wish I could see you or talk to you all. But at
least we have this.