Sweet Reunion (7 page)

When she reached the back
door, she again made every effort to be as stealthy as a cat burglar when
opening and closing the exterior door. She didn't want any company on this
trip, and prying eyes weren't welcome either. This felt like private business.

The cool, crisp air pricked
at her skin, making her feel even more alert as she walked down the well-worn
path to the bunkhouse. Although in the past decade, she had done everything in
her power to avoid having to come down this path, walking it now, she couldn't
deny that it still felt incredibly familiar. Every footfall was an old familiar
friend, and the old tingle of anticipation that she had felt every time she had
tread this path in the past returned in full force. This path didn't lead anywhere
else, only to the bunkhouse. If she was traveling it, it was bringing her to
Justin, that was its only purpose, and that knowledge was always – ALWAYS –
delicious in some respect, no matter how much trepidation also colored that
excitement.

The darkness didn't impede
her. She knew that she could walk this path blindfolded, one hundred years from
now, and still know every single step of it like the back of her hand. It was
burned into her brain through both repetition and emotional intensity. Every single
time she had ever walked this path, she had been suffused with the tingling
sense of anticipation that was caused, for her, by one thing and one thing only
– the knowledge that, in just a few moments' time, she would be with Justin.
Yes, this was the path that led her to Justin, and it felt as familiar and
right as it always had.

When she arrived on the
front porch of the bunkhouse, she heard a sound that cut her to the core.

Snoring.

That absolute rat!

She cupped her hands around
her eyes and pressed them to the window, straining to see in. She couldn't
believe her eyes.

There lay Justin, fully
clothed, on top of the covers, using his duffel bag as a pillow.

Not only was he able to
sleep – but he had been so anxious to get to sleep that he hadn't even bothered
to undress. And now that he was asleep, it wasn't a fitful sleep. He wasn't
feverishly tossing and turning, vulnerable to being wakened by the slightest
disturbance. No. He was sound asleep, unmoving, and snoring sonorously without
a care in the world.

So, there she had it. There
was the proof. That was how much he cared, i.e., not at all.

Well, great, she thought as
she stomped angrily back to the house. Two can play at that game.

Chapter 7

“I don't know what to tell
you, Amanda, I'm just saying that if he took off once, he could take off again.
Guard your heart,” said Lauren reasonably as she guided the shopping cart she
was piloting down the aisle of the grocery store.

The four women had made a
special trip down into Lake Tahoe for the morning. They had treated themselves
to breakfast at Heidi's on Highway 50, a long-standing tradition, and were now
filling their carts at Grocery Outlet with supplies for the reception that
would be hosted at Amanda's house the next day, after Parker's memorial service.

Karina shrugged, “I
disagree, Lauren. He was young when he took off. He was under 25 at the time.”

Lauren looked at Karina like
she had a few screws loose. “And what exactly does being under 25 have to do
with it?”

“You know! He had Under 25
Disease!”

Lauren smirked, “Under 25
Disease? While I suspect that the American Medical Association has yet to
define that as a legitimate disorder, please, share with us the symptoms.”

Karina smiled, “Oh, man,
before you turn 25 you do all the stupid things in relationships! Under 25 is
when you believe your boyfriend when he says he was 'just hanging out' with his
ex until three in the morning. It's when you give him the last two grand in
your bank account 'just till next Thursday.'  It's when you let him crash on
your couch for two days that turns into two months, et cetera, et cetera, et
cetera.

“And it's not just about
what you let the other person get away with, either, it's about the horrible
shit you do in relationships, as well. Under 25 is when you'll go to the movies
by yourself and then lie about where you were just to see if he can tell when
you're lying. It's when you honestly think that sexy flirtation you have going
on with your coworker is totally harmless, and yes, it's when you run away from
things when they get too intense rather than running toward them. You learn
from all that terrible stuff, and you grow up! Usually around age 25, I've
found. Thus the name of the disease.”

Samantha grimace, “I know
people way past 25 who are still doing all of those things, if not even dumber
things.”

“Exactly!” Lauren chimed in.

Karina waved this off as
insignificant, “Well, yes obviously, it's a
disease
, not everyone is
going to recover from it! But my point is, I think you owe it to Justin to at
least see if he has. I like the guy.”

Amanda smiled, “You and he
always had a good rapport.”

“Exactly!” Karina affirmed,
“Because I have excellent taste, and so does he, obviously. He likes me, he
loves you...it's pretty much official. Impeccable taste.”

Amanda laughed, “He doesn't
love me, Kar! That's ridiculous!”

Karina shook her head,
“That's not what his smoldering looks were telling me yesterday.”

“What were they telling
you?” Amanda smiled.

Karina considered, “Well, I
think they were saying something along the lines of...'Amanda....I want you,
Amanda...I want to jump you...right now, in the middle of the will reading...”

Lauren smacked Karina in the
shoulder, “That's just crude, Karina!”

Samantha laughed, “You guys!
You act like it's up to you to decide whether Amanda still has feelings for
Justin or not! It's Amanda's heart! It's up to her!”

All three of the women
looked at Amanda expectantly. Amanda put her palm to her forehead and shook her
head back and forth.

“Honestly, you all, I don't
know what to feel. Yes, Karina, I see your point. We were both so young then. I
know I'm such a different person now, I can only imagine that he is, as well.

“But, Lauren, I definitely
see the wisdom of your point of view, as well. How could I ever trust someone
who I know has it in them to just disappear one morning? That's terrifying!”

They moved slowly down the
rest of the aisle they were in, each lost in their own thoughts, silently
collecting items from the shelves and putting them into the baskets, marking
them solemnly off the list. Suddenly the sound of Amanda's laughter broke into
their individual reveries, and the other three turned to look at her.

“Oh, man, you guys, I just
realized the sheer ridiculousness of this conversation. We're chattering back
and forth like seventh graders. 'Do you like him, like him? Do you think he
likes you, likes you back?'  And the truth is, I'm in a relationship! I have a
boyfriend! It's silly to even be going down this road!”

Samantha looked at Amanda
thoughtfully, “Do you love Geoffrey, though?”

“Of course,” Amanda
responded automatically.

“No, I don't mean like
that,” Sam responded, “Not in the way that takes you a nanosecond to answer.
Not in the way that requires no thought. I mean, do you actually love him?”

Amanda paused and considered.
“Well...I mean, we've been together for two years...”

Karina jumped in, “Ha! That
is not an answer! Not to mention, if you were really in love with him, it
wouldn't have taken you twenty minutes into this conversation to remember that
he even existed.”

Amanda shook her head, “God,
I don't know. If you would have asked me two weeks ago if I love Geoffrey, I
would have given you an unequivocal yes. I mean, he's dashing, and charming,
and so handsome and cultured. He's like a gentleman of another era.

“But since my father has
died, I've seen a whole other side of him that I never would have guessed was
there. He just has zero capacity for emotion, or empathy! I guess I never
noticed that before because our entire relationship has consisted of fancy
dinners and luxury hotel suites and lavish gifts and trips...I honestly think I
may have spent our entire relationship being dazzled.

“Now the rubber is meeting
the road, though, and I'm seeing behind the glitzy veneer, and...God help me,
it feels so disloyal to be saying this about him...but I think I may not like
what I'm seeing there.”

Karina smiled, “And what
about Justin?”

Amanda sighed deeply, and
felt relief and comfort wash over her as she relaxed into thinking about the
person who knew her better than any other human on the planet, “Oh, God, then
there's Justin. I don't have to hesitate before answering whether I love Justin
or not. I can answer that in a nanosecond because I know for a fact, I never
stopped loving that man. He's had my heart since age six, and whatever the
outcome of this crazy situation is, he'll probably have it until I die. But who
knows if he even loves me back? And even if he does...” she trailed off as
tears filled her eyes.

“Even if he does, in the
back of your mind, you're always going to be waiting for him to take off in the
middle of the night.” Lauren finished for her.

 “Yeah,” Amanda confirmed
miserably. “That.”

Chapter 8

Justin looked around at the
bunkhouse, and was pleased with what he saw. Yesterday, when he'd walked in and
saw the layers of dust, the spider webs, and the bare mattress with no bedding,
he had been too exhausted to care about any of it. He had made due with
accommodations much more primitive than this in the past, he could certainly
spend one dusty night bunking with the spiders, and it wouldn't kill him. So
he'd tossed his duffel on the top of the mattress to use as a pillow, laid
down, and promptly fell into a deep sleep that lasted for fourteen hours.

It was no wonder he had been
exhausted, he told himself when he arose the next morning, feeling refreshed.
The anxiety of knowing that he was going to see Amanda again had been eating
him alive for a solid week, ever since Henry had contacted him up in Alaska and
told him about both Parker's death and the fact that he was included in the
will.

Henry hadn't told him what
Parker had left him, but it wasn't the promise of a monetary inheritance that
had drawn Justin back to the mountains of Northern California that had raised
him. It was the promise of Amanda, of a chance to make things right.

The fact that he didn't hear
from her at all after he had heard from Henry had been disconcerting, and his
imagination had invented a million different possible scenarios about what that
silence could mean since then. Was it revenge for all of his years of silence?
Was it the sheer force of her rage that made it impossible for her to speak
with him? Was it bare indifference?

The one possibility that he
had failed to consider was that Henry hadn't actually told her that he was
coming back. The look on her face before she had dropped that tray had planted
the notion in his mind. The blood had drained from her face, and she looked as
if she had seen a ghost. Backing up this theory was the way she had acted
through the rest of the meeting, pale and shaky, as if the ground beneath her
feet was not quite solid. She had kept sneaking unbelieving glances at him, as
if wanting to reaffirm that he was, in fact, there, in the room, and real.

In short, she did not behave
like someone who had been adjusting to the idea of seeing a long-lost-somebody
for an entire week. She behaved like someone who had been completely
blindsided. Gobsmacked, even.

Hmmm. That was an
interesting development. He wondered why Henry would decide to keep something
as significant as Amanda losing 20% of her anticipated inheritance from her
until the official reading of the will. You would think that would be something
he would want to allow her to brace herself for, to begin dealing with as soon
as possible.

Although, when Justin
thought about it, she had barely batted an eye at the financial arrangement.
The money didn't seem like it meant that much to her at all. It was seeing his
face that had seemed to punch her in the gut.

He mulled all of this over
during the course of the day as he swept out and scrubbed down the bunkhouse,
unpacked his meager belongings, collected clean linens and fitted them onto the
cot, and generally made the bunkhouse livable. When, late in the afternoon, he
stood in the middle of the room and surveyed the results of his day's labor, he
was pleased with what he saw. In fact, he realized, it looked almost exactly as
it had during the years when he had lived here as a young man. The best years
of his life.

His stomach rumbled as
delectable smells drifted out to the bunkhouse from the main house, and he
realized that he had gotten so wrapped up in both his physical labors and his
rumination that he had actually forgotten to eat all day.

He started to grab his
wallet and head into town for a quick dinner at Sue Ann's cafe, but then
reconsidered. He needed to find out the details of the memorial service
tomorrow anyway, so he was going to have to make an appearance at the main
house at some point. No time like the present.