Lift Me Higher (8 page)

“All right, babe, I’m on my way. Just hang in there. I’m sure your mother will be found soon, and she’s going to be just fine. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you. Thanks, Torie,” Monte said.

Monte hung up the phone and stared out of the window toward the park in front of him. It took him several minutes before he got the strength to get out of the car. In those minutes, he thought about how people always complimented him on his strength and fortitude. So many people, especially men, believed that it is strength that makes a man. They never stop to think about where that strength comes from, as if a person is just born that way. Monte knew differently. He knew that his strength came from the women in his life, beginning with his mother, who nurtured him from birth, and continuing with every woman who’d ever guided, instructed, loved or taught him. He added Torie to that list of women, realizing that he was becoming more and more dependent on her. Just talking to Torie had the power to make Monte’s days brighter, and touching her was like striking gold. As Monte sat in that
car, he let himself acknowledge what he’d already known was there. He was in love with Torie Turner, and he knew that making her a permanent fixture in his life would be like winning a multi-million-dollar lottery jackpot.

Monte prayed that his family made it through this current ordeal intact. He especially prayed for his boys, not wanting them to have to suffer through any more loss in their young lives. They’d had enough. He told himself that after his mother was brought home safe and sound, he would make sure that Torie knew exactly how he felt and what his intentions toward her were.

A
t noon, Monte phoned Berger at Kinko’s, and by the time Monte arrived at the copy center, Berger had two hundred copies of his mother’s photograph printed, with the word
Missing
and the local police station’s telephone number at the bottom. Two of the flyers were already posted in each of the windows of the Kinko’s, and Berger had sent one hundred copies out with two of his young clerks to post and hand out to storekeepers in the town’s business district.

“Mr. Berger, I can’t thank you enough for that. How much do I owe you?” Monte wanted to know.

“I’ll mail the invoice to your house. You can settle up later, after your mother’s back home, safe and sound,” Berger said.

He walked Monte out to his car, carrying the box of remaining flyers.

“Again, thank you for this. God bless you, man,” Monte said.

“It’s nothing,” Berger said, waving Monte off. “I’ve got a mother, too.”

Monte returned to the house to find the boys and Cheryl
at the table having sandwiches. Surprise stopped him in his tracks when his eyes landed on Torie, seated in the family room with the yellow pages on her lap, looking as beautiful as ever—and astonishingly comfortable.

“Okay, thank you very much for your help. And you have my number, right? Great. Thank you,” Torie said into her cell phone.

She disconnected the call as Monte approached.

“That was the elementary school on Walnut Avenue. They’re putting an alert out in the school and they’re also sending an e-mail bulletin to the parents with a description of your mother. I read this article once about how elderly people who are suffering from Alzheimer’s or any sort of dementia sometimes gravitate to places where children are, like schools or playgrounds. Studies on the subject are still inconclusive, but they think it has something to do with their memories of their own childhoods.”

“What do you mean, like they’re trying to go back to childhood?”

“I’m not sure. I was thinking more that they’re struggling so hard right now, but they can go back and remember the most uncomplicated times of their lives. What do you think?”

Monte studied Torie’s earnest face. He glanced at the notepad she had on the sofa next to her, with at least ten names and checkmarks on it.

“I think you’re amazing,” Monte said.

He sat down on the sofa next to her and kissed her forehead.

“Hey, didn’t I ask you to call me from the station? I would have picked you up,” Monte said, remembering his earlier instructions to her.

“Stop being ridiculous. You were busy and there’s a taxi stand right outside of the station,” Torie said.

She placed a hand on his forearm and rubbed gently.

“Thank you,” Monte said. “Wait a minute, you’re here!” Monte exclaimed, suddenly realizing that Torie was actually in his home. “That means you met the boys?”

“Yes, I did. Joshua opened the door for me, like a little gentleman. Just as I expected, they are their daddy’s sons. Handsome as they want to be.”

“That’s just how we Lewises do!” Monte exclaimed.

“Anyway,” Torie continued, swatting Monte playfully. “I introduced myself, and we talked for a few minutes about school and that little Carey Ann Washington who he’s been giving the chocolate pudding Cheryl packs for him.”

“Carey Ann who?”

“Ssh! Don’t say anything, but looks like you aren’t the only Lewis man who likes to bribe his women with food. Anyway, I also met Josiah, who’s in the back practicing the latest Madden video game. I told him what my high score is so I think he’s a little scared of me.”

“Don’t tell me you play Madden, girl.”

“Yep. You didn’t know that I’m a Play Station fanatic, did you? Josiah promised to give me a run for my money later.” Torie laughed.

“That sounds like Josiah. He thinks he’s the king of video games. Highly competitive, that one,” Monte said.

“I can guess where he gets that from,” Torie said. “What’s that?” she asked, motioning to the box Monte held on his lap.

Monte opened the box and handed one of the flyers to Torie. They were silent as they studied his mother’s face. The picture he’d given to Detective Smythe had been taken on a cruise for seniors his mother had gone on four years ago with a few of her friends. It was a beautiful close-up of her at one of the formal dinners held onboard. She was wearing a black cocktail dress and her silver hair was pulled up into a neat bun.

“She looks a lot different from this now. Mostly, in her eyes. They were so bright and clear here, but now there’s this cloud in her gaze. It’s like all of the confusion in her mind is played out in her eyes,” Monte said.

“She’s beautiful,” Torie commented.

Monte was quiet. All day he had been trying to keep the worst-case scenario from entering his thought process, but it was beginning to settle in on him. It had been hours since his mother’s disappearance, and it was as if she had disappeared off the face of the earth.

“Daddy, can Miss Torie come to our room?” Josiah asked as he came bounding into the living room.

“Uh, little man, maybe later—”

“Sure, Josiah, I’d love to,” Torie said, patting Monte on the knee before rising. “Why don’t you continue making calls,” she suggested, handing the yellow pages over to Monte.

Monte watched as Josiah grabbed Torie’s hand and led her out of the living room and down the hallway to his room. He picked up on the phone calls where Torie’s last checkmark indicated she’d left off. Happy Time Nursery School.

When the doorbell rang hours later, Monte was just about to search for a fourth time. He and Torie had gone out, driving to surrounding towns and posting flyers in store windows, at schools and at bus and train stations. He’d spoken to Detective Smythe a couple of times; he had assured him that they’d contacted police departments throughout the county and into the next two and were still out searching. It was well past sunset and Monte could no longer keep up a brave front. He’d sat the boys down and explained to them that he was worried about their grandmother. All three of them got down on their knees and said a prayer, asking God to bring Marva home safe and sound.

Cheryl had put the boys to bed and was now making a pot of coffee in the kitchen. Torie was on the sofa in the family
room, nodding off. It had been a long, trying day, and while Monte felt exhaustion in every bone whenever he tried to sit down and rest, he was unable to remain in one position for more than a few minutes.

The six o’clock local news had run the photo and a description of Marva. At the sight of her smiling on the television set Monte had had to excuse himself from the room. He stood in the bathroom, running the water and trying to force back the tears that soaked his face. It was like Shawna all over again; although the circumstances were so different, the dread and paralyzing fear were the same. He banged his hand on the side of the porcelain sink and cursed through clenched teeth. When he finally came out of the bathroom, Torie was standing in the hallway. She studied his face for a moment before moving close to him and sliding her arms around his back. She held him silently and, for a few moments, he allowed himself to be held. Monte realized that this time was different because, unlike when he lost Shawna, he had someone to help him through the pain.

Detective Smythe had said that the next course of action would be to organize search teams and bloodhounds to go out at daybreak to scour the wooded areas of town and of the neighboring areas. Monte shuddered at that statement, knowing that the expectation of the search would be to find his mother’s body. After hours of uncertainty, Monte was trying to steel himself for the worse, knowing that he’d have to get the boys through the second dark cloud in their short lives.

When the bell rang, Monte rushed from the kitchen table to the front door. He yanked the door open to find his mother, wrapped in a wool blanket and flanked by two police officers.

“Mama, thank God. Mama, are you okay?” Monte asked.

He enveloped his mother in his arms and pulled her gently into the foyer. She seemed even smaller and more fragile than he remembered as he maneuvered her into the house. Both Cheryl and Torie came running at the sound of his voice.

“Glory be, thank you, Jesus,” Cheryl said, lifting her arms, palms up, into the air.

“She hasn’t said anything, Mr. Lewis, since we found her, but she appears to be in good physical condition,” one of the officers said.

“Mama? Are you hurt?” Monte asked, looking down into his mother’s round face.

“I’m fine, William. I don’t need you making a big fuss over me,” Marva said at last.

She’d called Monte by his father’s name, immediately clueing Monte in on the fact that her mind was in another time and another place.

“My father,” Monte explained to the officers who nodded understandingly.

“Mrs. Lewis, why don’t I help get you into bed. I’m sure you’re tired,” Cheryl said, moving to Marva’s side.

“Yes, child, I had a long day at work. Thank you,” Marva said.

Monte stepped aside as his mother looped her arm through Cheryl’s and shuffled slowly down the hallway. He turned to the police officers.

“Thank you, officers, for bringing her home,” he said.

“No problem, sir. It seems she hitched a ride from someone. Probably out on Route 25, as near as we can figure. Anyway, the person probably thought he was doing a good thing. He dropped her off at the Presbyterian Missionary in Huntington. That’s a homeless shelter run by the church. Apparently, she mixed in with the other residents, and it was hours before they realized that she wasn’t a regular. One of the workers recalls noticing her sometime during lunch, but it wasn’t until bed
check that they really paid attention to her. They contacted the sheriff’s office over there and, from the bulletin they’d received earlier, they immediately knew who she was.”

“I can’t believe this,” Monte said, “I can’t believe she made it that far. Well, thank you again, officers, for all your efforts today.”

“We’re just glad we had a good outcome. You’ll probably want to take her in to see her doctor tomorrow, but like I said, she appears to be in good condition. No signs of any injuries or anything. Good night, Mr. Lewis.”

Monte closed the door behind the officers and leaned heavily against it. He opened his arms to Torie, who moved in front of him, and she wrapped hers around his waist.

“I didn’t believe in miracles until now, but this definitely ranks, doesn’t it?” Monte asked.

“Nope, this wasn’t a miracle. This one was called good old-fashioned faith and prayer,” Torie said, squeezing Monte as tightly as she could.

That night, after Monte had checked in on his sleeping mother, who Cheryl had helped bathe and change into new bedclothes before securing her in bed, he made sure the guardrails were in place on her bed. After giving Cheryl the following day off and seeing her out, he double bolted the front and back doors and placed the keys on top of a bookshelf where his mother would be unable to find them. He intended to contact the alarm company in the morning and have some sort of sensor placed on the door to his mother’s bedroom so that he would receive a signal if she opened the door. He and Torie settled into his bed and, with his arms wrapped securely around her, Monte’s worn-out body succumbed to the most restful night of sleep he’d had in ages.

T
orie arrived at the first day of a two-week scheduled rehearsal period and from the moment she walked onto the set she felt as though she were finally home. Everything she had done in her life up to this point was nothing more than practice for the moment that now lay before her. She had never felt more confident and more ready.

She met her fellow cast members, some of whom she had idolized for their previous work on television and in movies. Although she’d expected to feel somewhat intimidated by working on a pilot for a show that boasted a fine cast of experienced veterans, it was, in fact, quite the opposite. Everyone was down-to-earth and extremely cordial, and after just a few days, it began to take on the feeling of a family as opposed to a group of coworkers at a job.

Torie was complimented by the other actors, as well as some of the show's producers, on her perfect memory of her lines and her ability to ad-lib when needed. Two days before taping was to begin, there were substantial script changes made and Torie and the others worked the new lines in without
a hitch. Torie felt like a seasoned professional, in this, her debut.

“I can’t wait until we’ve taped these episodes and the network sees them. I’m telling you, Monte, this is going to be a fantastic show,” Torie said, excitedly using her fork to stab at a piece of lettuce in her salad.

She was seated across the table from Lisette, with Lisette’s boyfriend, Jean Paul, to her left and Monte to her right. Their celebration tonight was twofold—Lisette wanted to congratulate Torie on her anticipated success with the show, and they were christening Lisette and Jean Paul’s chic new Upper East Side penthouse apartment. Jean Paul, an interior designer by trade, had taken what amounted to an empty shell and designed the entire space. He’d captured the very essence of Lisette’s tastes in areas like the kitchen, dining room, master bedroom and bath. The living room was a modern room, styled in earth tones, with bright walls and paintings, and there was also a large guest bedroom, an entertainment room with an at-home theater system and a balcony that had the beauty and warmth of a tropical rain forest.

“I can’t wait to add you to my weekly must-see television-viewing lineup. It’s going to be so cool watching my girl do her thing once a week on the tube—provided you don’t come on at the same time as any of the
CSI
TV shows. Then I’ll have to TiVo your behind,” Lisette said.

The table broke out in raucous laughter. What was most funny to Torie was that she wholeheartedly believed Lisette’s statement because, in all the years she’d known her, there was absolutely nothing that could come between her and Horatio Caine.

After dinner, the men volunteered to handle the cleanup while Lisette and Torie settled down in the entertainment room. The minute they were alone, Lisette gave Monte an enthusiastic seal of approval.

“
Mami,
that man is hot.
Ai, Papi es muy guapo.
”

“You’re a sick puppy,” Torie said.

“I’m serious. You know I don’t usually go for those suit-type guys. You see Jean Paul. Last year I had to practically beat him into a jacket for my sister’s wedding. But,
chica,
Monte is fine. He’s got that whole Johnnie Cochran meets Denzel Washington thing going on. And he’s not uptight like most suits. Nice open smile. He looks people dead in the eye when he’s talking to them, like he’s actually listening. And as if all that’s not enough, he takes good care of his body and health. Nice teeth, clear skin…You done good, kid, really.”

“You saw all of that over dinner?” Torie marveled.

“Girl, if there’s two things I’ve got an eye for it’s shoes and men, and not necessarily in that order. Monte Lewis is a ten if I’ve ever seen one.”

Lisette winked and nodded her head conspiratorially. Getting the seal of approval from a best friend was a load off a woman’s mind, and Torie knew that getting Lisette to endorse someone Torie was dating was truly a big deal. Lisette was what you’d call a hard sell.

“Well, that’s big coming from you. You never like anyone I date,” Torie stated.

“That’s not true. Ooh,” Lisette said, smacking Torie playfully on her thigh. “You make me sound like your mother or, even worse, my mother before she passed,” she said, making the sign of the cross in front of her chest and kissing the cross she wore around her neck.

“That is so true. You hated Roberto, the cute Cuban guy I dated freshman year in college—”

“Torie, he was a full head shorter than you, and I could probably braid all of the hair he had on his back! And what was up with his sister bringing him dinner on campus every night? Talk about an L-seven.”

Lisette placed her thumb and pointer finger in the shape of and
L
and pressed it against her forehead.

“Okay, what about Ike, that fine wide receiver with the tight end?” Torie giggled.

“Oh, no, you did not go there. Let’s start with the fact that he was as dumb as a doorstop. You spent more time sophomore year helping him with his assignments than doing your own. I thought you were going to flunk out. And the boy had a serious case of B.O.”

“Now, Lisette, that’s just mean. He couldn’t help sweating so much—he worked out a lot.” Torie laughed.

“So what? The brother never heard of soap and water? Some body wash? Cologne?
Fabreze
odor spray? Something!” Lisette snapped. “Shoot, if he was my man, I would have rubbed one of those little pine-scented car-freshener tags all up under his armpits.”

Torie collapsed against the back of the sofa, choking on her laughter. Lisette had always had that effect on her, making Torie dizzy from mirth even when she didn’t want to crack a smile.

“And before you bring up that weird-looking guy from English class or the kid who’s dad owned the meat market in town, just don’t. They were both hot messes.”

“Jeez, I can’t believe you remember every guy I’ve dated since college. What are you doing, keeping a record of my love life?”

“Somebody has to. If left to your own devices, I don’t know who you’d end up with.”

“All right, Miss Know-It-All, how do you account for the fact that you absolutely loved Kevin at first?”

“Now that’s an overstatement. I didn’t love Kevin. I said he was gorgeous. I also distinctly remember warning you about dating basketball players. But see, you never want to learn from my mistakes. No matter how many times I trip and fall,
you will go right down the same path. You’ve got to get out there and bump that big pumpkin of yours yourself before you believe me.”

“That’s not the way it is. Just because the path is the same it does not mean the journey’s going to be the same.”

“Save that new-age nonsense for somebody else,
chica.
Who was the one who told you that it wasn’t a good idea for you to go to Spain with Kevin?”

“That would be you, O Wise One,” Torie said, lowering her head and arms at the same time to feign as though she were bowing down to Lisette.

“And who was it who flew all the way to Spain, dried your tears and then went with you to kick in the door of that chick’s apartment to catch that lying cheat playing naked Twister game?”

“You, O All-knowing Goddess.”

“All right, then. And you still owe me for the boot I ruined on that thick-assed door,” Lisette reminded.

“Oh, would you let that go already!” Torie exclaimed.

“Seriously, though, Torie, I’ve really got a good feeling about Monte. He seems like a genuinely decent guy. And the way he looks at you…whoo-wee! He’s got it bad for you,
mi amor
.”

Torie held her tongue, not wanting to let slip the fact that she, too, had it bad for him. Monte had gotten under her skin in a way that both exhilarated and frightened her. She suspected that Lisette already knew that, but Torie felt that as long as she didn’t give words to her feelings, perhaps she could ignore the depth of them. Ever since the scare they’d had with his mother and the night Torie had spent with him in his home, she’d found it more and more difficult to keep her emotions in check. When Monte casually mentioned wanting to take the boys away over the winter holidays, perhaps skiing in Colorado or on a cruise or to someplace warm, he’d slipped
in a comment about hoping that her acting schedule would allow her to travel with them. Torie’s response had been an enthusiastic and meaningful, “I hope so, too.”

It wasn’t that her reservations had disappeared. Indeed, they had intensified. As a result, Torie was at war with herself, feeling her emotions deepening from attraction, to a strong like, to what they were now—love.

Monte and Jean Paul entered the entertainment room, one carrying a tray of coffee, creamer and sweeteners and the other carrying slices of the caramel cheesecake Torie had baked the night before.

“Miss Celebrity, I can’t believe you baked this cheesecake yourself. It is delicious,” Jean Paul said setting his tray down.

“I told you my baby can burn.” Monte beamed.

“Why, thank you…both of you. Wait a minute, Jean Paul, just how do you know my cake is good already?” Torie teased.

“Because he was picking at it the entire time we were making the coffee,” Monte ratted.

The group laughed as they settled in for dessert and conversation. Jean Paul put a Carlos Santana CD in the player, providing the perfect background tunes to complement the evening. They joked and talked well into the night, an easy mood guiding their dialogue. By the end of the evening, though not surprised, Torie was pleasantly comforted by how well Monte had gotten along with two of the most important people in her life. As they said their goodbyes at the door, Torie could not help but acknowledge to herself that if things didn’t work with Monte, the chances that she’d ever find another man of whom Lisette approved were slim to none.