Penny Serenade (16 page)

“I don’t believe so. Did you want me to tell her you stopped by?”

“No,” he shouted, and then smiled. “I mean, no, that’s okay. Thanks.”

Sweat beaded along his forehead and he hurried out. Realizing he hadn’t taken a breath the entire time he’d been in there, he inhaled deep. That had been harder than he expected, and not at all as he’d hoped. Audrey not being at work didn’t sit right with him. He wondered if she was sick or if something else was wrong. She’d been adamant that she never took time off. Maybe something bad happened to her since their date and that was why she hadn’t spoken with him. He’d feel like an ass if that were the situation.

Dominic started back to work and then paused. It was too unusual for her to not be at work. Concerned, he hopped into his car and drove to her house. When he turned on Foxglove he took it slow, in case she was outside. As he passed by the house he saw two newspapers lying on the welcome mat. Brows furrowed, he tried to read into what that meant. She hadn’t been up yet?
Too sick to get out of bed?
She probably wouldn’t want to see him if she had the flu. Whenever he got sick he hibernated in bed and refused to be bothered by anyone.

He followed the cul-de-sac and drove back by her house real slow. The blinds and drapes were closed, so he couldn’t see in. He considered going around back, but didn’t think she or the neighbors would go for that. Damn. What else could he do? When he got back to work he’d call the store and ask the woman about her, see if she could tell him anything. Otherwise his mind would buzz with all sorts of possibilities why Audrey, a self-proclaimed workaholic, wasn’t at work.
 

His cellphone vibrated and he pulled over to the sidewalk, across from her house to answer it.

“Dominic here.”

“Where the hell are you man?”

Dan’s gruff voice held an edge that he only used when something had gone wrong.

“I’m not far. Why?”

“Got a customer issue here.
A big one, if you catch my drift. When do you plan to be back?”

“I’m on my way,” he grumbled and flipped the phone closed.

He pulled back out onto the road and hit the accelerator, taking the turn faster than he realized. A black and white dog trotted out about the same time and came to a dead stop. Dominic slammed on the brakes, gripping the wheel with both hands. The dog kept moving in the same direction he went, oblivious to the situation with his tongue hanging out. He turned the car sharp, sending his front tires over the curb and into a tree. His head went forward and hit the steering wheel hard enough to see a star or two. Something warm and slick trickled down his face. When he reached up his hand came back with a smear of blood. He looked up to see the dog trot off, unharmed, his tail wagging.

Grumbling, he reached for his phone and hit redial.

Dan answered on the second ring, and he cursed. “Hey man, I’m uh…I’m going to be late. I hit a damn tree.”

The phone slipped from his hand before he could say more. He faintly heard Dan yelling at him when he slumped forward, his vision blurring to darkness.

*****

Audrey found a good spot to park and killed the engine. She got out and stretched the kinks out of her body. Tension still lingered in her neck and shoulders but she hoped that would lessen throughout the day. The fog had burned off sometime during lunch, leaving clear skies and sunshine in its stead. She popped the trunk and grabbed her aunt’s backpack, and tucked both her notebook and a pen inside it. If the mood struck she wanted something to write on.

She thrust her arms through the straps of the backpack and adjusted it so it lay even and comfortable across her back. Big breath in, she walked toward the dock. As with everything else she’d seen, not much had changed. The bay stretched all around her, filled with boats in all shapes and sizes. To her right she could see several people in their motorboats fishing, a couple out sunbathing on their yacht, the soft sound of jazz playing from their radio, and a man in a lifejacket scrubbing a large boat with the words Coast Guard in big bold letters on the side. Where the hell had they been the night her father thought it necessary to play hero? Oh, that’s right, she remembered grimly. Their boat had been damaged the week before and was in the middle of repairs.
Of all the stupid times.
Audrey clicked her tongue. To her left were two of the Dark Harbor Twenties, her father’s favorite wooden sailboats. They were sleek and beautiful, and moved across the water with incredible speed.

She shielded her eyes with her hand and looked out toward Cradle Cove. Though she’d lived by the sea and often went out in boats with her father, she’d never learned to swim, or how to steer a boat. If she knew how to handle one she’d go out to the cove herself. While she was certain someone would take her out if she asked, the thought of sharing the moment with a stranger didn’t interest her. Dominic would’ve been good company. She didn’t mind sharing the sacred parts of her life with him.

“Oh stop,” she mumbled, irritated for letting her mind wander to him. “Not now and not here.”

Audrey took a seat at the end of the dock. She removed her socks and shoes and let her feet dangle in the water. It felt cool, like liquid silk against her skin. This had been her scene for years.

The island.

The dock.

The water.

Now the only thing missing was the man who’d always sat beside her.

She reached over and unzipped her backpack, taking out the lunch her aunt made.
 
Opening the sack she rummaged around the apples and granola bar to the sandwich. A smile crept across her lips. Colleen hadn’t forgotten.
Peanut butter with grape jelly.
She pulled it out of the plastic wrap and sank her teeth into the soft homemade bread. Her stomach gurgled as she took her time, savoring each sweet and nutty bite. The smallest things meant so much.

When she’d eaten her fill, she cracked open one of the bottled waters and poured the now warm liquid onto her hands to clean off the sticky jelly. Unsure where the napkin went she wiped her hands dry on her clothes. The gentle swish of the water against the dock lulled her into peaceful state of mind. Inspired, she took out her notebook and started to write.

Audrey filled page after page with poetry and affirmations, thoughts and ideas for both herself and her shop, and a list of things she planned to do when she got back home. It felt like hours had passed and when she focused on her surroundings, she noticed less people out in the water. The sun sat lower in the sky and delicious aromas drifted in the breeze from the inn a mile away. She brought her knees into her chest, admiring her pruned toes, all wrinkled and pasty white looking from so much time in the water.

Little blips of memories came crashing at her. She hadn’t had her father very long, but he’d filled so much of her life in that short span of time. There were so many things she wished to do with him. Had she stayed here on the island, she likely would’ve studied to be a marine biologist, or something that involved the water. Not because of interest, but to impress her father. He would’ve taught her to drive, and she hoped at some point to have purchased him a sailboat.

Audrey thrust on her sneakers and moseyed over to her car, swinging the backpack at her side. Wanting a snack she pulled out the bag of apples and nibbled a few, leaned up against the back end. The wind had picked up and she saw grayish clouds in the distance. Curious to the time she checked the clock inside the car. No wonder people had left, it was nearing dinner time. She still wanted to walk around the area, and decided she better get moving. If she remembered correctly, she had another three hours of daylight, unless the fog rolled in.

Not needing the pack anymore she put it in the trunk. From there she crossed the road and hiked for about twenty minutes until the dirt road stopped. Audrey took the pebbled path that led to a long stretch of land that came to a point. She called it rocky beach because it resembled a narrow stretch of beach, with rocks instead of sand. Her father tried to teach her to not be afraid of the water there, without much success. She’d been able to brave walking out until the water lapped around her knees, but no further. They’d also skipped rocks and looked for buried treasure there. The best treasures were the pennies, and she’d earned quite a few of them as they sat on folding chairs and talked while sipping on fruit punch. Not many people ventured to that part of the island, so it seemed right to call it their special spot. They’d tried their hand at fishing there several times, but never got a bite.

The last time she’d been here, it had been in the company of her aunt and several of her father’s close friends. In his will he’d requested his ashes be tossed into the sea, where he’d be free rather than placed in the ground. They asked if she wanted to spread the ashes, but she couldn’t.
The thought too horrific for her.
Now she regretted having not done that.

In the distance lay a patch of tall evergreens and a further back a protected forested area. Her feet rolled over top the rocks as she left the pebbled pathway onto the sharper rocks. She walked along the narrow stretch with the water in almost a U shape on either side of her. The sun had started its descent, leaving behind streaks of orange, pink, and gold in the sky. She’d never seen a more beautiful sunset anywhere else.

A cool breeze blew against her body and sent a chill through her. She rubbed her arms to warm them. Audrey dug her toe in between the rocks, breathing in the salty air and being there in the moment. She bent down and found a nice flat rock, flicking it just so that it skipped along the top four times before plunking below. She swore she could feel her father around her.

Audrey walked right to the edge of the rock laden inlet and looked out across the bay. It was darker, but not too dark to see. She took the penny from her birthday card out of her pocket and fingered its smooth round shape. The wind picked up and she heard the sound of the boats groaning and creaking as the water moved them against each other.

She held the penny between her thumb and pointer finger and stretched her arm out to the sky. “Did you want to know my thoughts tonight, father?”

The water swished around her shoes.

“Because there’s a lot on my mind,” she continued, her voice growing louder. “I keep thinking that you lied to me. You wrote in my card that you loved me more than the water. You claimed I was your greatest treasure. If that were true, then why did you go out in the storm that night? I begged and pleaded for you to stay with me, but you chose the water. Just like you always did. You never chose me.”

Audrey paused a moment, blinking back tears. “I’m thinking, why couldn’t you have stayed home with me and protected me instead of going out and saving those men? Why were they more important than being there for me? Those families got to hug their fathers good night, but I didn’t.”

She’d been so angry then. Furious that the other families still celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Father’s Day year after year. God she dreaded Father’s Day and all the shops with their Hallmark sentiments and advertisements that felt like a knife in her heart.
Pictures of kids with their fathers flying kites, running along the beach, and riding piggyback on top of their shoulders.
Pictures to remind her of what she’d never have again.
It was bad enough her mom had left and she’d begged her to stay then too, to no avail, but not the way she’d begged her father.

People on the island wanted her to be happy and proud that her father cared enough to go out there and save his friends, when he should’ve cared enough about her to not risk his life. Audrey wiped at the tears that refused to stop. She wished for nothing more than to have him back. To tell him how sorry she was that she’d stood at the doorway that night as he put on his yellow rain slicker and matching boots, and screamed that she’d hate him forever if he got in his truck and drove away. Locked in her aunt’s stronghold she couldn’t get untangled fast enough to run after him. The last words he’d heard her say was that she hated him.
 

Tears burned her eyes. She felt she was experiencing his loss all over again. “And you know what else?” she shouted, her voice coming out all crackled and strained. “I’m thinking that I’ve stayed away from serious relationships to keep from getting hurt because I’d been hurt enough. Scared someone else I cared about would up and leave me. But I’m not angry with you anymore, and I never hated you. I know what I said back then, but I never meant it. Not a word of it. How could I hate someone I loved so much, and looked up to? You were supposed to be here for me dad, to walk me down the aisle, dance my first dance, and to dote on my babies. You would’ve made a wonderful grandpa.”

She took a gulping breath of air in and let the tears fall freely. A huge weight dissolved from her shoulders. It took her to come home to get that closure and make her final peace with his death. She could kick herself for having not come back sooner.