Running Northwest (49 page)

Ann smiled and grabbed Stephanie’s hand and said “It’s not just him that has to be ready, it’s you too my dear. If Thomas was to see you and somehow you two were, able to try again it would be a new beginning and start for both of you. It would be a new path, or perhaps getting back on a path you both strayed from. You both have to be ready not just one of you. I know you love him and I’d like to think in some way he still loves you but there is a lot in the middle that needs to be worked out if you know what I mean” Ann said smiling. Then adding, “I think you will see Thomas when you are ready, when the time is right and who knows when that will be, that might be up to you and it might be up to fate. Take an old ladies advice and don’t run from it when it happens, you tried that once and it didn’t work out”

“Part of me wonders if I’ll ever really find out” Stephanie said.

“Only time will tell Darlin, are you going to be okay tonight?” Ann asked.

“Yeah Ann I’ll be okay. I’m gunna go to bed in a bit” Stephanie replied then also saying with a cheesy grin
,
“you should get home, I think Ben’s expecting to get lucky.”

Ann slapped her leg, laughed as Ann did sometimes, and said “well we will see about all that, I’m a little drunk and a little tired. After Derrick left we all started drinking hard and plotting attacks
,
” Ann said
,
“that last part was a joke don’t worry,” she added.

“Oh I’m not, for some reason I trust you implicitly Ann” Stephanie said smiling and reached for her
friends’
hand.

Stephanie stood up with Ann then she gave her a big hug. Ann kissed Stephanie gently on the forehead and wished her a good night then walked home leaving Stephanie alone on the deck. She sat there for a while longer looking and thinking and listening to night sounds the ocean was giving her. Eventually she wandered in the house and fell asleep in her clothes with the picture of Thomas and her from Florida lying on the bed next to her.

The following morning after Thomas drug himself out of bed and headed off to the coffee shop to get a few hours of work in he still had a feeling of uneasiness in him. Tracie had the day off at the shop but came to the cottage to stay with Daniel while Thomas went to work. The boy was happy to see her and she was equally glad to see him. For Thomas it was nice seeing her also and he was glad they had gotten things settled. She seemed to be in a good mood and even he seemed surprised at the lack of awkwardness between them.

As he drove south towards town, he could see the fog slowly dying off near the coast. The sun was rising over the mountains to the east and although it was a little chilly with the breeze, it was great day. As he drove through Garibaldi, he could see fishing boats coming and going past the rock jetty, sailboats venturing out in into the sea and the wildlife coming home. The town of Tillamook and the surrounding area was getting life back to normal after the storm. Streets were, for the most part, no longer flooded. Cars came and went, shops were open and tourists and locals went along with their day. Yes, there were some issues that still were left over from the storms wrath but they too in time would be taken care of. Thomas had been on the coast long enough to kn
ow that no matter what the town
, the people and
the way of life would persevere
and continue
usually
.

On his way in, he tried calling Derrick to see if he and Erin or just Derrick alone wanted to meet for breakfast somewhere but there was no answer and no response to the voice mail by the time Thomas arrived at Sunset Café. It was odd for that to happen since Derrick usually called
right
back but it happened occasionally and Thomas did not dwell on it. He opened the shops door, headed inside, and went to his office. It was only 9 am but Thomas was considering opening up an hour or two early just for the hell of it. He looked at the calendar on the wall and saw that his father Ed would be here in just a few days. Daniel was excited to see his grandfather; however, Thomas and his dad decided to keep the exact day a secret and surprise the young boy. Although his father Ed was only going to be on the coast for five days, Thomas he was grateful for that. It had been a long time since his dad had come to the Oregon Coast, a few years in fact. Ed, Thomas’ father was not a fan of traveling alone, especially flying and it was only at the pushing of Thomas’ sister Amanda and begging from his only grandson that he finally agreed to come out for a visit. All Thomas would say is that he had a big surprise for his son on Friday.

After sitting in his office for a while, answering emails and making some phone calls. In addition, having more than a few cups of coffee and an equal amount of cigarettes he decided to open the shop up an hour early at 11 am. He felt like working
the counter for a few hours, to
mingle with the customers, besides he had a lot on his mind and the work would help. He sent a text message to Alexis and told her to come at 1 pm instead of her scheduled noon. Tracie was planning on hanging out with Daniel until three in the afternoon so after he left the shop he thought about stopping by The Whaleback to see Derrick for a bit.

He ground
beans and brewed the coffee, made sure the bottled drinks were stocked and turned Frank Sinatra on so it played through the speakers. He flipped the light on for the sign in front saying “open” in bright blue neon then opened all the windows on the side of the building. The breeze was strong and the fresh air smelled nice inside the shop as it mixed with scent of fresh brewed coffee still lingering in the air. He sat on a stool by the counter, sipped his coffee and read over the morning paper waiting for his first customer of the day. As he sat, he wondered if the woman Tracie saw was indeed Stephanie, he wondered if she would come in again.

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Stephanie woke up early that morning, enjoying one final walk on the beach with Ann and her dog. The two chatted away; the night before was not even brought up. Most tourists were not out and about yet that early in the morning; it gave the locals a chance to have the beach all to themselves. As they walked a wave splashed near their feet and both women went running and laughing hysterically. A black lab came up, tail wagging and smelled Ann’s small dog before being called away by its owner. The sun was out for the second time since Stephanie had gotten to Cannon Beach and she loved it. The sun gave a completely new dimension, feel and energy to the beach and she assumed also the town, she wished she could stay at least one more day. They walked up the beach and made their way to a small coffee shop a different one than she had been to before. They ordered two large coffees and two bagels to go, eating the bagels as they made their way back to the cottages.

“So I haven’t brought it up but how are you doing today so far…you know since the fiasco last night,” Ann asked.

“You know I was really upset but, I think things will be okay. Not sure why for sure but my guts telling me things will be okay. Today has been a good
day so far and I wish I wasn’t
leaving. It seems nature is giving me a nice send-off,” she said with a big smile on her face, sunglasses covering her eyes.

“It’s nice to see you smile while you’re here. I sure am going to miss you, Steph,” Ann said.

“I’m going to miss you too, I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t met you. I don’t think I would have had as much fun either
,
” Stephanie replied.

Before long, they were back at the cottage. When they got there, Ben was outside with Beth and Jack who came to say goodbye to Stephanie. They told her Pockets had some business down in Tillamook to tend to and told them to tell Stephanie goodbye for him. She got their addresses and pho
ne numbers and gave them hers
; she had every intention
of
staying in contact with them once she got back in Michigan. These people, these strangers in the short amount of time she had known them had become special to her, important and she was not sure why; she just knew they were. She hoped she would see them all again someday. Her bags were already sitting in the back seat of her rental car and since it was her last few hours with it, she fully intended to put the top down as she drove back to the airport in Portland. She decided to drive south and go through Tillamook, one last drive down the beautiful coast and then east through the mountains.

She left the keys for the cottage with Ann since that is whom she got them from in the first place. She never did meet the owners, and for some reason had not heard from them either except for the note, they left her on her first day in Oregon. After giving last minute goodbye hugs and kisses on the cheek to the boys and petting Ann’s cocker spaniel one last time she got in her rental car, lowered the top, headed up the short drive turned right and headed south eventually getting on the Oregon Coast Highway. Before she turned she looked behind her and saw her new friends waving goodbye, she shot her arms up waving back with big grin on her face.

After she turned and was out of view Jack turned to Ann and said “So Ann, how long do you think it will be before we see that girl again?”

“Sooner than we think I suspect, I’ve got hunch she we will be back in these parts much sooner than even she thinks” Ann replied then adding. “Oh Beth honey before I forget, here is the key to your place” handing over the same key that Stephanie had giving Ann before she left.

“Oh thanks, I would have walked off and forgot about it,” Beth said.

Ann, Beth, Ben and Jack headed into Ann and Bens house to have some mimosas. As they were walking Ann looked at Beth and asked “Beth how come you never told Stephanie you owned the cottage she rented”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe for the same reason you didn’t tell her that you sold your old cottage down the way to Thomas. She will find out eventually,” she said laughing as they walked inside the house.

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.

Thomas just finished making a customer’s drink when the front bell rang letting him know that a customer came in. He looked up to see the face of an old man that he knew quite well. The old man’s grey beard, round sunglasses, paperboy cap and leather coat were hard to miss. Thomas handed the drink over to the customer who already paid and told them to have a nice day. As soon as they moved away from the counter, the old man walked up and he and Thomas shook hands in firm friendly way.

“How you doing Tommy” Pockets said with a smile and slight Irish accent still holding Thomas’ one hand with both of his own. Pockets was born in Ireland but moved to America when he was very young with his mom and two sisters. No one knew if his slight and occasional Irish accent was real or not, but it did make people smile. It came out more when he was drinking for some unknown reason.

“Oh you know, fair I guess, I’m not dead yet and the shop is still standing so I think I’m doing okay” Thomas said then asking “you want some coffee Pockets or you feeling tea today”.

“Oh coffee I think Tommy, to go though, I can’t stay long, I was in town on business and saw your motorcycle next to the shop and thought I would stop and say hello,” Pockets said as he sat down at small table and opened up a newspaper and began reading.

“Black, right Pockets?” Thomas asked as he grabbed a mug.

“Like my soul young man” Pockets replied with in his growly voice and a wicked smile, his round black sunglasses still on.

Since there were no other customers in the shop, Thomas went around and sat with Pockets. Pockets was one of the first people Thomas met when he moved to the coast since he was friends with Ann and Ben. The old man had many connections and friends that as time when on and he and Derrick became better friends with the man he was willing to share those. A few years back Thomas and Derrick did the occasional odd job for Pockets. However, after Thomas got Daniel, Pockets stopped asking Thomas for help on those kinds of jobs. They sat and talked about business and Thomas filled his old friend in on how Daniel was doing and proudly showed him pictures.

“How’s Derrick doing? I haven’t seen him in a while,” Pockets asked, testing the waters and faking curiosity.

“I assume okay, I haven’t seen him since early yesterday. But he’s doing okay. Erin and him are getting married soon” Thomas said.

Pockets smiled a devilish grin. He was happy that Derrick had followed the rules given him and not talked to Thomas about last night. “Well that’s good I’d say. Erin seems to be a fine woman. Don’t know her all that well though,” he said.

“She
's
great, she helps me out a lot with Daniel when I’m working and have stuff
to do that Daniel doesn’t want to
be around for” Thomas said.

After a few more minutes of talking, Pockets finished his coffee and walked out the door. He stood on the front deck and had a cigarette, Thomas joining him.

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