Zero Visibility

by Georgia Beers

  He couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “That was easy,” Cassie commented as Emerson plopped into the passenger’s seat. Carrie Underwood sang softly from the stereo, and the interior of the car smelled like vanilla and lavender, and Emerson tried to be subtle about breathing it in. Gordie stuck his head between the seats and proceeded to lick Emerson’s face. She patted at him absently. “Okay, bubs,” Cassie admonished him. “Lie down.”

  “Yeah, it wasn’t bad,” Emerson said. “Do you want me to drive?”

  “Nah.” Cassie waved her off as she put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. “You just drove three hours.”

  Emerson squinted at her. “Um…so did you.”

  Cassie chuckled. “That’s true. I don’t mind driving. If I get tired, I’ll tell you.” With a glance at Emerson’s skeptical expression, she held up a hand. “Promise.”

  They drove for several miles in silence before Gordie decided to venture more affection. He put his head almost on Emerson’s shoulder, and she couldn’t help but laugh at the move.

  “Oh, you are smooth, aren’t you, buddy?” she asked, scratching his head.

  “He’s definitely a ladies’ man,” Cassie said.

  “How old is he?”

  “Almost four.”

  “He goes everywhere with you?”

  “Just about. He loves people. He gets lonely if I leave him alone too long. He mans the store with me. He goes to my parents’ house with me.”

  “I was kind of surprised not to see him running with you.”

  Cassie nodded. “Yeah, we tried that for a while. He always wants to be with me, but he didn’t really seem to be enjoying it. I always cringe when I see somebody running and they’re practically dragging their dog along. I didn’t want to be that person. So he stays home when I run and seems much happier for it.”

  “And where does his name come from?”

  Cassie gave a mock gasp and pressed a hand to her chest in feigned insult. “You don’t know?”

  Emerson arched one eyebrow, which made Cassie laugh.

  “Gordie Howe? Also known as Mr. Hockey?”

  “Figures.”

  “Hey. He is arguably the greatest hockey player of all time.”

  “Better than Wayne Gretzky?” Emerson asked, doubtful.

  “Arguably,” Cassie repeated. “There is many a debate on the Internet.”

  “Well.” Emerson gave Gordie her full face and got bathed in kisses in return. “I think the name kind of suits him.”

  “I agree with you.” They grew quiet again and drove along, Emerson relaxing. Idle chatter and small talk were not her favorite things, and despite Cassie being pleasant company, she preferred the silence. She spared a glance at Cassie out of the corner of her eye. Whatever she wore, she always looked casually comfortable, but not sloppy. Today, she’d chosen a simple pair of black yoga pants and a royal blue long-sleeved shirt with a hood. A black down vest served as a barrier against the increasingly chilly weather. Her hair was down today, something Emerson didn’t see often, but immediately liked, the dark brown of it sleek and shiny in the afternoon light. And she had a great profile. Emerson wondered at that thought, but it was true, what with her smooth skin, softly defined chin, gently sloping nose, full lips… Inhaling quietly, Emerson could smell the unique vanilla scent that seemed to follow Cassie wherever she went.

  Settling into her seat more deeply, Emerson felt peaceful and surprisingly comfortable considering she was cooped up in a car with somebody she didn’t know well. She chose not to analyze why this was.

  Soon, Cassie spoke. “So, how long do you think you’ll stay?”

  Emerson pressed her lips together for a moment, then shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

  “You keep saying that,” Cassie pointed out. “You must have a great boss.”

  “I did,” Emerson said before she could catch herself.

  “You did?” Cassie glanced at her. “What do you mean?”

  Shit. Emerson exhaled, annoyed with herself, but figured it was silly to try to sidestep it now. “I lost my job.”

  “What?” Cassie’s eyes went wide. “When? What happened?”

  “I mean I am unemployed.” She tried not to snap her answer, wasn’t sure about her success. “I got the official call on Wednesday.”

  Cassie shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “Apparently, the knee replacements my fellow salespeople and I have been selling are defective.”

  Cassie’s eyebrows raised up to her hairline.

  “I know,” Emerson nodded, and it just came spilling out. What was it about Cassie that made words pour from her mouth like water? “There’d been a little bit of a rumor swirling around the company about a pending lawsuit, but we all thought it was just talk. Nobody told us anything solid, they told us not to worry about it, that the rumors were just that: rumors. So we went about business as usual.” She shook her head as she thought of all the doctors she’d sold the knees to, all the patients who may have to go through surgery again. When she glanced over, Cassie was looking at Emerson’s knee with a question in her eyes. “Oh. No. I don’t have that brand.”

  “Thank god,” Cassie and Emerson said at the same time, then grinned at each other.

  “Listen, I haven’t told anybody, wasn’t planning on telling anybody, so I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this under wraps.” Emerson grimaced.

  “Oh, of course. Of course.” Cassie crossed her heart. “Gordie and I can keep a secret. Promise.” After a beat, she glanced at Emerson and asked, “Why weren’t you going to tell anybody?”

  “It’s nobody’s business, is it?” She knew her tone had been a bit harsh as soon as the pained expression shot across Cassie’s smooth features.

  Cassie gave a nod, kept her eyes on the road. And stayed quiet, which bothered Emerson. Weirdly. She didn’t like that she’d obviously hurt Cassie’s feelings. She also didn’t like the fact that she didn’t like it.

  “Hey,” Emerson said, hoping to lighten the mood. “I told you a secret. I think it’s only fair you share one too.”

  Cassie glanced at her. “What?”

  With a shrug, Emerson said, “Fair is fair.”

  A small smile tugged at the corner of Cassie’s mouth, and Emerson felt instant relief. “I don’t really have any secrets.”

  “Oh, come on. We all have secrets.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Tell me about the hot hockey mom at the game Thursday night.”

  “Oh.” The smile immediately slid away. Cassie was quiet so long, Emerson thought she might not answer at all. She reached over, laid a hand on Cassie’s shoulder.

  “Hey, listen, I’m just kidding. You don’t have to—”

  “No, no. It’s okay,” Cassie said, her eyes on the road. She took a deep breath, then let it out very slowly. “Vanessa. Where do I start with Vanessa?” She seemed to be sifting through her brain trying to find the right place to begin.

  “How about why there was such a weird vibe between you two? Do you hate her? Is she always that bitchy?”

  Cassie shook her head slowly. “No. No, she is most certainly not bitchy. And I don’t hate her. I loved her.”

  “You loved her.”

  Cassie nodded. “Yeah.”

  Emerson watched her face, and then got it. “You, like, loved her?”

  Cassie nodded again. “Yeah. I did. I did love her.” She glanced at Emerson, seemingly to gauge her reaction.

  Emerson rolled the information around. “Interesting.”

  “Interesting? What, that I play for your team?” At Emerson’s surprised look, Cassie chuckled. “I was good friends with your mom, remember?”

  “Ah. Right. Well, your name when we were in school was Parker, not Prescott. I figured you must be married.”

  Another slow nod and Cassie said, “I was. Vanessa and I both were when we fell in love.”

  It was Emer
son’s turn to crank up her eyebrows. “Seriously?”

  Cassie sighed. “Yes. It was all so…bizarre.” Again, she became quiet, and Emerson felt immediately uncomfortable as she wondered if she’d opened a box that Cassie would rather keep closed.

  “Hey, look, Cassie. I don’t mean to pry. I was just kidding about the whole secret sharing thing. It’s clear this situation is hard for you, so you don’t have to talk about it.” Conversations this personal were not Emerson’s thing, and she tried—unsuccessfully—to subtly backtrack away from the subject.

  With a grateful smile, Cassie reached over and squeezed Emerson’s forearm, then forged ahead. “It’s okay, Em. Really. It’s a sensitive subject that I should probably talk about more often. Maybe that’ll help me get past it all.” With a determined nod, she said, “Prescott is my married name. Michael and I got married right out of college.” At Emerson’s amazed expression, she chuckled. “Yeah. I know. Way too young. But…did you ever see the movie Imagine Me and You?”

  Emerson shook her head. “I don’t really watch a lot of movies.”

  Undeterred, Cassie went on. “Really? Well, that movie was me and Michael. We were best friends. We’d been best friends since we were kids. It seemed perfectly natural that we should get married. So we did. And we were happy. Things were fine for nearly four years.”

  “Until Vanessa came along.”

  “Until Vanessa came along. I swear to god, I fell for her instantly. She was married. I was married. But we couldn’t help it. There was something, some connection, some missing piece, something neither of us was getting from our marriage. At least, that’s how I felt. I knew the very first time I kissed her that I was gay. It was like everything just fell into place, which sounds so incredibly corny and cliché, but it’s true. I suddenly got it. Light bulbs went off all over the place. The clue bus finally drove by with a big sign on it.” With a self-deprecating laugh she added, “I can’t believe it took me that long.”

  “Well, you live in a small town. You do what you’re supposed to do. You can’t be gay in Lake Henry without everybody knowing about it. You can’t do anything in Lake Henry without everybody knowing about it—” She waved her hand in the air. “Case in point. So the last thing you’re looking to do is create controversy. Plus, you had Michael. You loved him and he was good to you. So you probably didn’t go searching.”

  Cassie grinned, obviously impressed. “You are exactly right. If Vanessa hadn’t come along, I’d probably still be with my husband.”

  “No, you wouldn’t. Some other woman would have shown up.”

  Cassie looked at her. “You think so?”

  “I’m sure of it.”

  “Huh.” Cassie nodded slowly as she maneuvered the car along the winding road.

  “So? What happened?”

  “It didn’t take me long to figure out exactly what was going on with me. I sat Michael down and we talked. For hours and hours. I told him everything.”

  “Fun times.”

  “It was brutal. He was devastated. But here’s the thing about Michael: he’s an amazing man. He’s kind and loving and has such a good soul. He hated what we were going through, he hated losing me, but he wanted me to be happy, and he understood that he wasn’t the one who could make me. It crushed him, but he understood.”

  “Wow.” It was all Emerson could think of to say.

  “I know. I was incredibly lucky. He could have been angry. Worse, he could have been mean. He could have trashed me around town. He could have trashed Vanessa. He could have told her husband. He had more trouble with the fact that I was sleeping with a married woman than that I was sleeping with a woman. He told me so.” Cassie shook her head, slumped a little, as if the memories alone were pushing on her shoulders. “I’m just really lucky that Michael’s a good man, that he’s not vindictive. I hurt him pretty badly.”

  “So, you left your marriage for Vanessa. I assume she didn’t do the same.”

  Cassie’s voice went very quiet. “No. She didn’t.” She kept her eyes on the road and Emerson could see the pain on her face.

  “Bitch.” Emerson grimaced.

  The hurt that had creased Cassie’s face was glaringly apparent to Emerson, and she decided to leave well enough alone. She had enough going on without adding Cassie’s emotional baggage to her already full plate. She sort of wanted to know more, but not if it hurt this much, so she let it go. “Hey, let’s get something to eat. It’s the least I can do to say thanks for helping me out. Is there someplace we can grab dinner and eat it outside with Gordie?”

  A glowing smile replaced the discomfort immediately. “I know just the place,” Cassie said, hitting her turn signal.

  Half an hour later, they sat on the bumper of the open hatchback in the small parking lot of Jefferson’s Roadside Grill, Gordie on the ground between their feet. The air was brisk and a little chilly, and Cassie breathed in deeply through her nose.

  “Ah. Smell that? Smells like winter’s coming.”

  “I can’t smell anything,” Emerson said, holding a hand in front of her full mouth, “except for this most divine cheeseburger on the entire planet.”

  “Told you,” Cassie said with a grin, seemingly pleased with Emerson’s satisfaction. “Best burgers in the Adirondacks. Wait until you taste the fries.”

  They sat in very companionable silence, thigh to thigh, as they chewed and watched the stars slowly begin to glow as the sky darkened.

  “Days are getting shorter,” Cassie remarked softly.

  Emerson gave a nod.

  “Bet you don’t get to see stars like this in L.A.”

  “Not this kind of star,” Emerson said. “But I see lots of the other kind.”

  “Really? Who? Tell me who you’ve seen.” Cassie turned so one leg was up in the hatchback and she was facing Emerson. She looked like a little kid, all giddy and expectant, her eyes sparkling, and Emerson laughed aloud.

  “Well, let’s see. I saw Luke Wilson in a grocery store once. Ryan Gosling stopped next to me at a stop light and waved. Jennifer Garner and Angie Harmon go to my gym.”

  Cassie’s eyes were bright, even in the waning light. “No way! That’s so cool.”

  Emerson gave a half-shrug. “I guess. You get used to it.”

  Cassie sipped her soda. “Do you like California?”

  “I do,” Emerson said quickly. “Can’t beat the weather.”

  “I don’t know.” Cassie made an encompassing gesture with her arm, indicating the rainbow of trees that lined the edge of the lot. “Look at all this. It’s beautiful. I think I’d miss the change of seasons.”

  “Everybody says that. But when it’s ten below with five feet of snow here, it’s seventy-five and sunny there. I’ll take sunny.”

  Cassie tipped her cup so her straw aimed at Emerson. “I see your point.” After a beat, she asked, “Do you have somebody there? Your mom could never really tell when you were dating or not dating.”

  Emerson thought of Claire, of how differently they would each describe their relationship. “I date,” she said with a half-shrug.

  Cassie studied her for a moment, and Emerson was prepared to shut the conversation down. Her love life was her business, nobody else’s. Instead, Cassie surprised her. “Don’t you miss Lake Henry even a little?” she asked softly.

  Emerson swallowed, startled by the change in tone, and popped a fry into her mouth. She rocked her head one way, then the other, as if weighing the options. “Once in a while, I suppose. A little.”

  Cassie seemed to wait for more, but Emerson offered nothing further. Instead, Emerson crumpled her burger wrapper, turned to Cassie, and asked, “Ready?”

  Emerson took the wheel this time, despite feeling tired. She knew it was from the constant conversation. She was quiet by nature, liked to be alone, didn’t need endless chatter. Cassie, apparently, was the opposite because they had driven no more than a mile before she asked, “What do you think you’ll do with your mom’s stuff? Any idea?”
/>
  “Her stuff?” Emerson asked.

  “Yeah. You know. The inn.”

  Pressing her lips together, Emerson thought about everything, from her indecision to her confusion to her phone call to Arnold Cross. Then she simply said, “I don’t know yet.”

  “Are you going to sell it?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “You should talk to Mary.” Cassie’s gaze was out the window as she spoke. “She could show you the ropes. Or probably run it herself. You may have to hire somebody to help a little, because let’s face it, Mary’s no spring chicken. But she loves the place as much as your mom did.” Suddenly, her eyes widened and she turned to Emerson. “Wait. You don’t have a job anymore.” She poked Emerson in the shoulder. “You could stay here and run it. How awesome would that be?”

  “Oh, no. Not awesome. Not awesome at all. I’m going back to L.A.” Emerson shook her head. “The last thing I want is to be stuck back here in this godforsaken town.”

  “Hey,” Cassie snapped, causing Emerson to flinch. “This is where your mom lived. This is where I live, and I happen to think there’s no better place on earth.” She turned to gaze out the window, and her voice softened a bit. “You don’t have to agree, but maybe you could at least think for a second before you open your mouth.”

  As if on cue, they passed the Welcome to Lake Henry road sign. Emerson felt heat crawl up her neck at having been scolded like a child.

  Cassie kept quiet after that.

  Emerson immediately missed her banter.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The mouthwatering aroma of pot roast hit Cassie’s nostrils the second she entered her parents’ house at 6:35 on Sunday. Cassie had worked at her store from when they opened at nine that morning until closing at six. She was exhausted, but happy to be where she was. Katie Parker stood in the kitchen, black apron tied around her waist, mashing potatoes by hand. As Gordie headed off to the living room in search of children to kiss, Cassie took off her jacket and draped it over a kitchen chair.

  “Hi, Mom,” she said and kissed Katie on the cheek.