By My Side

by Grant C. Holland

  Derek said, “Okay, that’s all helpful, but here’s the big question. What is the LEAST likely explanation for the explosion. That means I don’t want to hear about terrorist bombs. What is the least likely or most outlandish explanation.”

  Emma said, “I’ve got it.”

  “Well that was quick,” said Derek. “What did you get?”

  Emma said, “Frieda is at that time of the month when her hormones are just totally insane. I don’t mean, ‘Wow, I’m a little off and I hate the world today.’ I mean, ‘I wanna burn it all down’ crazies. So Frieda is feeling like that, and her mother-in-law calls and gets on her last nerve. You know the one that just vibrates like the loudest most annoying twang ever when someone sits on it, and the mother-in-law stomps on it…with boots! So Frieda knows the mother-in-law will be shopping for flowers after she leaves. Frieda trails her to the shop and then she hurls a backpack filled with a serious bomb through the plate glass window. There is the sound of shattering glass and KABLOOIE!”

  A long pause ensued and then Derek said, “Well, that is different.”

  In a defiant voice, Emma said, “Well, Derek, that is what you said that you wanted. Of course you could use something much more dull and normal in your novel like terrorists…”

  Derek grinned to himself and then said, “Emma, I will have to give this careful and considered thought.”

  Emma said, “That was fun, but sweetie, I’ve gotta run. We’ll catch up at the next Blue Goose gathering. It was so good to talk, and take care of Yale!”

  Just like that, and she was gone. Emma was never someone to linger on the phone. Derek tried to settle back into his work, and he kept seeing an image of a mother-in-law in his head. He tried to shake his head clear and then stood up to get a glass of water.

  Sipping the water, Derek sat back down. He found himself typing, “It had been a particularly bad day for Lyla. Her green eyes were flashing when she stepped into the hospital room. She had just ended a phone call with her mother-in-law, and she was distressed that the woman was planning a visit. It wasn’t just a dinner where you held your breath and then were able to let it all out less than two hours later. No, the mother-in-law was coming to stay for a month. A whole fricking month!

  “Lyla leaned forward and gripped Houston Brant’s chin in her hand. It was the only part of his body that wasn’t sore, and the pressure from her fingers and thumb were probably going to leave a bruise. She stared deeply into his eyes repeating, ‘A whole fricking month!’”

  Derek grinned and laughed at his own words. They were silly, but he thought they just might be enough to help start to shake the plot of the book free. Lyla Perforce was a major new romantic interest for Houston Brant. She was going to turn his world upside down literally. He was always the one in charge of relationships, at work, at family gatherings, but Lyla was more than enough of a challenge.

  Major fireworks were on their way in this third novel. That made Derek excited. His readers were always up for anything with sparks and energy, whether it was literal explosions or the pyrotechnics of personal relationships. It looked like Lyla Perforce might be exactly what the whole series needed, and Emma’s mother-in-law suggestion was just the thing to get Derek’s typing fingers moving.

  9

  Yale

  Yale’s initial plans when he agreed to take over the bookstore were already coming to fruition. He was giving Derek the rest and the break that he needed. The dark circles under Derek’s eyes were starting to fade somewhat, and Yale himself felt refreshed after a night’s sleep in the apartment upstairs instead of sore and achy from a bad mattress.

  Business was picking up a little bit, too. Yale heard rumors that some female customers were stopping in just to get a look at the strong, handsome guy working at the counter. Yale always appreciated a well-intentioned stroke to his ego.

  He was closing up the bookstore on a Thursday afternoon when Derek stopped in. Yale said, “Just under the wire, Sir. We’re closing in five minutes. Please bring your purchases to the counter as soon as possible.”

  Derek stepped up to the counter and said, “Wow, you sound professional and even a little bit threatening. I’m not sure I would dare stay past closing time. You might throw me out on my ear.”

  Yale leaned slightly over the counter and said, “But for special customers, all sorts of exceptions can be made.”

  Batting his eyes, Derek said, “I am a very special customer. I think I kind of like the sound of those exceptions. What exactly did you have to offer?”

  Yale laughed and waved him away saying, “You’re horrible. Actually, we’ve had a pretty good day. Sales have been steady for most of the hours we’ve been open.”

  Derek said, “That’s great! I had a good day, too. It finally feels like both books are coming along well. I’m not just focusing on one to the detriment of the other. They are both chugging along. I might even get the thriller finished early. That would be a shock to my editor.”

  Yale said, “As soon as I get things locked up here, I’m headed over to Emma’s house. She called an hour ago with an invite. She said to mention it to you if I happened to see you. Aaron is planning to be there. Do you want to come along? I think we’re just going to get a pizza or something.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. No, I don’t really think I should, but I promise, things are getting better. I want to get as much writing done tonight as I possibly can. Please share my regrets. I miss everybody. I was stopping here at the store just to check how your day went and see if I could grab a couple of those freezer dinners from the back. I think there’s a few still left back there, and they aren’t nearly as old as the soup. I bought them just a couple of months ago.” He laughed softly.

  “You still haven’t gone grocery shopping?” asked Yale

  “Just a couple more days. I promise. I’ll get my kitchen back in shape soon. I really miss cooking.”

  Derek disappeared into the back while Yale tidied up the cash register and checked to make sure the rack of magazines was in order. When Derek returned carrying a plastic bag, Yale said, “We’ll miss you, but I understand. You look like you’re getting more rest, and that makes me happy.”

  With a grin, Derek said, “I am getting more rest. Five straight hours of uninterrupted sleep last night! Give everybody a hug for me, and tell them I promise that I’ll surface very soon.”

  * * *

  Emma opened the door to the house she shared with Jane. She exclaimed, “Yale! Glad you could stop by. I’ve managed to keep Aaron from calling for the pizza until you could get here.”

  Yale said, “That’s a good thing. If the pizza got here before me, I’m sure it would be gone. Aaron could eat the whole thing himself. I honestly never understand how he stays so skinny.”

  Emma laughed and gave Yale a big hug. She was short, only about five feet four inches tall, and had to stand on her toes to reach up to Yale. She asked, “Did you convince Derek to come along?”

  Yale shook his head. “I did see him briefly and he sends his regrets. He’s working on his books as usual. The good thing is he’s getting more sleep, and he smiles a little bit more. I think we’re on the right track. How about Thomas? Will he be here?”

  Emma asked, “Mr. Cloud Nine? I did my best, but he’s huddling with that new boyfriend. I suggested that he bring Hadley along, so we could all have proper introductions, but he turned that suggestion down, too. We’ll just have to have our own great evening, and Derek and Thomas will be jealous of the stories they hear in the future.” Emma gestured toward the living room and said, “Come on in. Jane is showing Aaron some of her latest pots. They really are something else.”

  The best way to describe the decorating scheme in the house Emma and Jane shared was “eclectic.” Emma’s family was one of the oldest in Catlett’s Cove. They traced their ancestry to the first eight families that settled the cove and surveyed the first small grid of eight blocks that later grew into a town. With that legacy, and being the oldest child
among two, she inherited multiple pieces of furniture that were passed down through generations.

  Jane’s family had an entirely different story. Her grandparents met, married, and had their first child in San Francisco in the late 1960. The hippie influence was successfully passed through the generations all the way down to Jane. Consequently, handmade art and vintage posters joined Emma’s family pieces in a style that was unique but worked very well together. The style was distinctively Emma and Jane. It matched their personalities perfectly. It was quirky, but it also was built on a strong, stable foundation of traditional elements.

  Yale settled on the antique sofa next to Aaron and looked at the five glazed ceramic bowls lined up on the coffee table. They were all the work of Jane, Emma’s girlfriend since high school. Emma and Jane converted the back porch of the small bungalow into a pottery workshop complete with a potter’s wheel. When she finished her work, Jane took her completed pieces to Mitchell to be fired in a kiln maintained by the community college.

  She was saying, “If you look close at these, you can see a difference in the glazes. That’s because I was experimenting with firing at different temperatures.”

  Yale said, “These are gorgeous Jane. They are a little different from what I remember us making in art class in high school. I had that one pitcher I tried to make explode in the kiln, but then that tiny little bowl I did was one of the art teacher’s favorite pieces. I still have it in a box somewhere. I think I even rescued it from the trailer.”

  “Oh, I still keep the butt ugly bowl I made, Yale. It’s a constant reminder of how much better I’ve gotten. I kind of like the feelings of nostalgia. It makes me think of you and me sitting in the back of the class, looking out the windows, and daydreaming.” Jane brushed her long dark hair out of her eyes and smiled up at Yale. She was kneeling on a cushion as she displayed her work.

  Aaron gave Yale a gentle elbow in the side. “It’s good of you to come join us even if you couldn’t get the reclusive author to grace us with his presence. How’s your new place treating you?”

  “The apartment?” asked Yale.

  Jane scooted forward slightly, and Emma joined her sitting cross-legged on the floor. Jane said, “Yes, definitely, tell us about the apartment.”

  Aaron added, “No holes in the floor I hope.”

  Yale smiled and said, “There are no holes in the floor. I haven’t done a whole lot with it yet, but yeah, it’s so much better. I actually get a good night’s sleep now. I really should invite you guys over soon. The kitchen works. When Derek surfaces, maybe I could get him to plan a little gourmet meal.”

  Aaron said, “Oh man, yeah, he really can cook when he sets his mind to it. Unfortunately it’s been awhile. Do you really think he’s doing better? The last time I saw him, those dark circles under his eyes made me feel sad.”

  Yale said, “Yeah, I do. Like I said, he smiles a lot more.”

  “And how is the bookstore?” asked Emma.

  “It’s going really well. I’m having fun. I’m still putting in some shifts for Jess at the diner, but I have more free time now, too, and I don’t have to worry about a landlord like Mr. Vance.”

  Aaron said, “Oh, I was going to mention that I think I saw him headed out of town just a couple of days ago. I secretly hoped that he wouldn’t ever come back. I was thinking he was probably headed for the tribal casino to gamble away all of the rent money from the trailer park. That’s why you had a hole in the bathroom floor, Yale. He threw away all of the money that he should have been using for improvements. Somebody really should take him to court some day.”

  Yale shook his head. “That costs money. As far as I’m concerned, he can do what he wants now. I’m putting all of that part of my life in the rearview mirror. I already don’t think about it much at all.”

  Jane smiled. “That’s perfect. You shouldn’t. Always just look to the future. That way you make it your own and make it better than the past.”

  Yale asked, “And how are things going with you, Aaron? Did you get Christy settled back in? And what about the online dating? Do you have a boyfriend yet?”

  Aaron reached up and wiped his brow. He said, “Whew, Yale. That’s a lot of questions, bud.”

  Emma said, “But we all want to know the answers.”

  Aaron replied, “Well, let’s see. First off Christy seems fine. That little girl of hers is so sweet. They brought over a plate of brownies to thank me for taking them home the other day. Little four-year-old Sylvia said, ‘We love you Mr. Austin,’ and then she looked up at me with those brown eyes. I nearly melted into a puddle.”

  “Awww, that’s so very sweet,” said Jane.

  “And the dating?” asked Yale. “Any hot prospects?”

  Aaron rubbed his narrow chin with long thin fingers and looked at each of them in turn. Then he said, “No. I dated a guy, and I thought we hit it off fairly well, but the next thing I knew he turned weird on me. It actually sorta freaked me out.”

  “Weird?” asked Emma.

  “Yeah,” said Aaron. “One example was that he invited me over for dinner, and then, when I got there, he met me at the door and pushed his way out on to the porch saying it was too much of a mess inside and we should go out. I suggested just ordering takeout, but he said no, and insisted that I not come inside. It made me feel like he was hiding something. It was just strange.”

  Jane frowned. “That is kind of unusual if he invited you over in the first place.”

  Aaron said, “And then he told me about very specific times of day that I could call him. Weird little things started to build on weird little things so I called it off.”

  Yale nodded and said, “That sounds like the best thing to do.”

  “Unfortunately, that leaves me stuck with the three of you instead of cuddling up with a hot guy like Thomas is doing right now.”

  Yale laughed and said, “I’m available for cuddling.”

  Emma grinned while Aaron gave Yale a sharp elbow. She said, “Aaron, I think there are much worse things that could happen than being stuck with us.”

  10

  Derek

  Derek looked at the clock on his cell phone. It read 3:00 a.m. It was the middle of the night, but it was a moment worth celebrating. He was only three chapters from finishing the Houston Brant thriller. Then he could send it off to his editor and breathe a huge sigh of relief. One more evening of solid work, and it would be complete.

  Unfortunately, for now, he had to shift gears. The talk for his mother’s church group was just seven hours away, and Derek had no clue yet what he was going to say. Since the group was meeting mid-week, he offered to host the gathering at the bookstore instead of requiring the group to reserve a room somewhere in the cavernous basement of the church. Derek’s mom thought it was a fantastic idea. She volunteered to bring refreshments.

  Derek thought a side benefit of hosting the women at the bookstore was the possibility that he could gain a few new customers and ring up a few purchases before it was all over.

  Derek stood up from his desk, and he suddenly felt slightly faint. He also noticed a cold sweat breaking out across his brow. The first thought that came to mind was weakness from a lack of food. He tried to remember the last time that he ate. He couldn’t remember any food since lunch. Derek sat back down again and took a few deep breaths. He was tired, too, and he thought that maybe a couple of hours of sleep before putting together his talk would help.

  The sleep was fitful at best. Derek instantly slipped into dreams about his mother. He loved her dearly, but the relationship was stressful. Even though he was convinced that her nagging wasn’t intentional, she was very demanding. In the dream, it was just minutes before his talk was scheduled to begin, but Stella Bradshaw kept demanding things that Derek didn’t plan for.

  In the dream, she said, “Derek, did you remember the cake? We can’t have a women’s group meeting without cake. I think I asked you specifically about cake.” Derek looked down at the table set with a
punch bowl and cookies and sighed.

  Then she asked, “Do you have enough copies of your last book so that I can give every member of the group their own signed copy? I think that would be an appropriate gesture. They took this time out of their week just to see you. I will pay for the books of course, but they do need your signature.”

  Derek kept a couple of boxes of his Houston Brant books in the back of the store, but with only two minutes before the beginning of his talk, there was no way to have them all signed. He woke up with a start when Stella demanded that he introduce his boyfriend to the group.

  Looking at his cell phone, Derek realized that he slept longer than he expected. It was already 6:30 a.m., and the time was running short. Standing up, he felt the wooziness return. The first thing he needed to do was find some food.

  * * *

  The women were all very polite. Derek’s mother mixed together her own punch in a perfect cut glass punch bowl. She took the time to explain to Derek that it was the one her grandmother used when she held parties for the ladies of Catlett’s Cove in her living room. Stella Bradshaw also brought cookies from the bakery downtown. She said, “I’m sure that Agnes Simms will complain that I don’t have cake, and I didn’t bake these myself, but she will just have to struggle through. Every occasion does NOT require cake baked from scratch.”

  Derek giggled softly to himself. He brought a box of copies of his latest Houston Brant novel out from the back. His mother asked, “Oh, are those copies of your book? Could I buy enough copies to pass them out to the group? That would be a fabulous surprise.”

  Derek said, “That’s what they are for, and no, you don’t need to buy them from me. I’ll give them out for free. Hopefully, I will find a few new fans, and they will buy my newest book.”

  “Is that coming soon?” she asked.