The Way Back to You

by Sharon Sala

  “Sure. I can give you both addresses and meet you there.”

  “I’m on foot. I’ve been backpacking across country, and with colder weather already an issue up north, I decided to stop for a while…maybe winter here. What are they renting for?”

  He named the price, then added, “Where are you now? I could easily just come pick you up to show you the places.”

  “I would appreciate that,” she said. “I’m actually sitting on a bench in front of Crown supermarket. You can’t miss me. I’ll be the only redheaded female with a backpack.”

  Dan chuckled. “Give me about fifteen minutes. I’ll be the dark-haired guy driving a truck that says Amos Rental Properties.”

  “See you then,” she said.

  Dan went back into the kitchen to finish breakfast.

  “We may have another renter soon,” he said.

  Alice looked up. “Really? Do we know them?”

  “Not unless we know a redheaded woman backpacking cross-country,” he said, and took his last bite of toast and jelly, then chewed and swallowed.

  “How many empty houses do you have?” Alice asked.

  “I only have two of what she’s looking for. One-bedroom furnished.”

  “Oh…that makes sense… Backpackers wouldn’t be traveling with furniture,” she said, and laughed. “Do you want more coffee, honey?”

  “No. I’d better grab those keys and get moving. I’m picking her up in front of the Crown. See you later,” he said, and kissed her goodbye.

  It didn’t take him long to get to the Crown, and the woman was right where she said she’d be. He stopped in front of the bench and got out.

  “I’m Dan,” he said. “You can put your backpack in the truck bed if you want, and we can lock it in the truck when we’re seeing the properties.”

  “I’m Cathy Terry. Thank you for the ride,” she said, and took off her backpack and dropped it in as she passed, then got in the truck.

  “One of these properties is closer to shopping than the other, so since you’re afoot, it might be more convenient for you. I’ll show it to you first, and then the other one.”

  She nodded without comment, sitting quietly as they drove. There were two blocks off Main when Dan turned to the left.

  “It’s the small blue house with the white shutters,” he said.

  “I like blue,” Cathy said. When they parked, she got out, put her backpack into her seat, and followed Dan to the front door and then inside.

  “The furniture is fairly new and in good condition. This TV works, but it’s not hooked up to cable. You’d have to do that. All the properties have monthly pest control.” He led the way into the kitchen. “Gas stove, and ice maker in the fridge. Garbage disposal in the sink.” He kept walking through the house pointing out amenities, and Cathy followed without comment until they got back into the living room.

  “So, this property doesn’t have a security system?” she asked.

  “No, but it’s easy enough to have your own put in if you want. I have no problem with that.”

  She nodded. “I’ll take it.”

  “Uh, you don’t want to see the other one first?” Dan asked.

  “No. This is good. Like you said, closer to stores. How do I get utilities turned on?”

  “They’re already on,” Dan said. “I’ll give you numbers to call to get them switched over into your name.”

  “Can I move in now?” she asked. “I have cash.”

  Dan blinked. He’d been a lawyer too long not to see some warning signs. Questions about security. Paying cash.

  “I have the paperwork in my truck. I’ll need to see some photo ID.”

  She pulled a wallet out of an inner pocket inside her jacket. “I have credit cards, too, but I don’t use them,” she said, and handed him her driver’s license and a credit card with a platinum rating.

  “I’m going to ask you two questions. And before you answer, I want you to know that in my other life, I was the most sought-after criminal attorney in Texas. So don’t lie.”

  “Ask away,” she said.

  “Are you running from the law?”

  “No. But I am running from an abusive ex-husband with as much power in his world as you had in yours. So if you don’t want me here, just say so. I’d like to be somewhere else before dark.”

  Dan heard both truth and anger in her voice and nodded. “I’m going to get the paperwork, and I’ll bring your backpack with me. Make yourself at home.”

  * * *

  In another part of town, Sully and Melissa were moving his things into her bedroom, but it was taking a while. The random kisses, and brushing up against each other as they worked, reflected an unconscious need to touch the reality of where love had taken them.

  “I think that’s everything,” Sully said. “There are only a few keepsakes I want from my apartment back in Kansas City. I’ll donate the rest to Habitat.”

  “Are you sure?” Melissa asked. “This is a huge house. There is plenty of room to incorporate things you want to keep within it.”

  “You’re the only thing from my past I want to keep. The furniture is stuff. I have no emotional connection to any of it. My lease will be up in a couple of months, so there’s no real rush for me to go back and deal with it.”

  Melissa paused in the act of cleaning out another drawer. “You don’t have to do stuff alone anymore, and neither do I. If you want a travel companion, you’ve got me.”

  You’ve got me. It was something he hadn’t had in his personal life in a long, long time.

  “Melissa…you have no idea what those words mean to me,” he said, and put his arms around her.

  They stood within their embrace, not talking, not moving. Just absorbing the fact that this was real.

  Then Sully’s phone rang and the moment ended. He picked it up from the bed, but when he saw the caller ID, he smiled.

  “It’s Elliot.”

  “I do believe you have charmed him right out of his hermit tendencies,” Melissa said.

  Sully sat down on the side of the bed to answer.

  “Hello.”

  “Good morning, Sully. This is Elliot.”

  “Good morning to you, too,” Sully said. “What’s going on?”

  “If you’re not busy around ten or so this morning, would you mind stopping by the house? There’s something I want to give you.”

  “Sure, I can do that,” Sully said. “I’ll see you then.”

  “Excellent,” Elliot said, and hung up in Sully’s ear.

  Sully was getting used to the old man’s eccentricities.

  “So, I’ve been invited to his house at ten this morning. He has something he wants to give me.”

  “I can’t wait to see what it might be,” Melissa said. “And on another front…are you ready for breakfast? I haven’t been hungry for food this early in the morning in years.”

  Sully grinned. “It’s all that good sex.”

  “Maybe…but we need to get out of this room before it happens again because I need sustenance first.”

  “I’ll make pancakes,” Sully said as they walked out into the hall.

  Melissa sighed. “I keep forgetting how multifaceted you are. Handsome, heroic, lover extraordinaire, and the man can cook. Thank you, Lord.”

  “Thank Station 12. I learned to cook under their tutelage. Mother wouldn’t let me in her kitchen. She said I made a mess.”

  “I don’t know about making one,” Melissa said. “But I know from when we were kids that you were a mess.”

  He grinned. “Hey. I had a reputation to maintain.”

  * * *

  Melissa went to the Crown to shop for groceries just before Sully left to go see Elliot. He could still smell the scent of her shampoo as he was putting on his shoes, then thought of that shower they�
�d shared and how gorgeous she was soaking wet.

  One glance at the time hastened Sully’s exit. He grabbed his keys from the dresser and hurried down to his car.

  It was straight-up ten o’clock when he pulled into the driveway and got out. He was whistling beneath his breath as he walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. Before his finger was off the bell, the door swung inward.

  “You’re here!” Elliot said. “And on time! A timely man is a successful man,” he added. “Come, come.”

  Sully grinned as he followed the little man through a maze of hallways until they were in a room at the back of the house. One whole wall was all windows and filled with so much natural light that it almost hurt his eyes.

  “This is the most amazing room I’ve ever seen,” Sully said.

  “This is where I paint,” Elliot said.

  “You’re an artist?” Sully asked.

  Elliot smiled. “Back in my day, a most successful one. You might even say I was famous in certain circles.”

  Sully’s eyes widened. “Wow. Apologies for my ignorance, sir. Now I’m going to have to do a little research to see what that’s all about.”

  Elliot led him over to a painting on an easel in the center of the room.

  “This is for you,” he said.

  It was a portrait of a young woman nursing the baby she was cradling. Her face was in partial profile, but the Madonna-like smile on her lips and the tender curve of her cheek as she watched the baby nurse were so lifelike Sully half expected the girl to look up.

  “She’s alive,” Sully said softly, then he began to notice details. The baby’s dark hair. The red and blue embroidery on the sleeves of her blouse.

  And then he saw the necklace resting just above the burgeoning curves of milk-filled breasts, and without thinking, he moved closer, his focus entirely on the silver pendant hanging from a fragile silver chain.

  His head came up, his heart pounding from the shock of what he’d seen.

  “Who is this? Why are you giving it to me?”

  “Because it’s you and your mother. I saw it the day when you put the letter in my hand.”

  “You saw it? What do you mean, you saw it?” Sully asked.

  “In my head. I see lots of things in my head. Some have already happened. Some are yet to come. That’s Janie Chapman with her baby boy, Johnny. Is that also your name?” Elliot asked.

  Sully was in shock. “You painted this for me?”

  “Yes, of course. Spirit wanted you to have it.”

  “Oh my God. Elliot…I don’t know what to say. This is beautiful. She’s beautiful. And that necklace around her neck… I have it.”

  “Your father gave it to her when they were still together. Do you know what it is?” Elliot asked.

  “Other than it’s some kind of cross, no.”

  “It’s a Byzantine cross. That’s a symbol of the ancient Greeks. And since your father’s name is Adamos, which is also a Greek name, I would say it all fits! I love it when a thing comes together like that, don’t you?”

  Sully heard Elliot talking, but he could only nod. He wanted the girl to look up. He wanted to see her face-to-face. He wanted her to tell him what had happened. How did so much love become displaced?

  When he noticed the baby’s hand was fiercely clutching his mother’s little finger as he nursed, tears welled.

  Elliot took a step closer to Sully. “I think this is why your parents didn’t tell you about her. There’s a soul connection between mother and child, and I think it frightened them.”

  Sully tore his gaze away from the painting and looked straight into Elliot’s eyes. They were sparkling—almost dancing—as if they’d seen the secrets of the universe but weren’t ever going to tell.

  “You know how much this means to me. Thank you will never be enough. How freaked out would you be if I hugged you?” Sully asked.

  Elliot chuckled. “I believe I could bear it,” he said, and when Sully wrapped his arms around him, Elliot returned the hug with a little pat on the back.

  “Thank you, Elliot. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Sully said.

  Elliot beamed. “You are most welcome. You might want to get it insured one of these days. My pieces still bring enough money to make it worth a thief’s while, and since this work is recent…”

  “It’s already invaluable to me. What would you suggest I insure it for?”

  “Oh…since it’s a new one, at least a hundred thousand.”

  Sully’s eyebrows went up, but he managed to nod.

  “Is it okay to take it like this? I can lay it down in the back seat.”

  “Yes, and it’s ready to hang. I’d advise not in direct sunlight, although the painting does not need light to be displayed because I painted light into them.” Elliot took it from the easel and put it into Sully’s hands. “I’ll escort you to the door,” he said, and back they went through the maze of halls and into the foyer. Then he opened the front door. “Enjoy!” he said.

  “That’s an understatement,” Sully said as he crossed the threshold and headed for his car.

  The door shut behind him again, but not as abruptly, and he knew without looking that Elliot was at the window. Sully settled the painting safely in the back seat, then got in and drove home at a snail’s pace, taking turns with great caution, as if the baby in the painting was behind him, alive and kicking.

  Chapter 11

  Sully got home with the painting, propped it against a chair, and then ran upstairs to get his necklace. Not knowing where to hang the painting without asking Melissa first, he left it where he could see it and sat motionless on the sofa, trying to wrap his head around the journey he’d already been on with this young woman—a woman he didn’t remember.

  * * *

  Melissa pulled up beneath the portico so she could go directly through the utility room and into the kitchen with her purchases. She was on her way inside with the first sack when Sully came loping through the kitchen, lifted the bag out of her arms, and gave her a peck on the cheek as he set it on the counter.

  “How much more?” he asked.

  “Just a couple,” Melissa said.

  “I’ll get them. You get the door,” he said, and brought the bags inside.

  Melissa started taking things out to be put away, but Sully stopped her.

  “What needs to go in the refrigerator?” he asked.

  “Only the things in that sack,” she said, pointing to the first one she’d brought in.

  “Then let’s empty that first before we do the rest. There’s something I want to show you.”

  “Oh, that’s right! Elliot gave you something? What was it?”

  “I can’t tell you. You have to see,” he said, and began putting away milk, butter, and cheese, while she put up the fresh produce and meat.

  As soon as they were finished, he led her into the living room.

  “Stop here, and close your eyes.”

  She laughed but did as he asked. “What on earth?”

  “You’ll see,” Sully said. He went to get the painting. “Okay, you can look now,” he said, and held it up in front of him.

  The smile was still on Melissa’s face when she opened her eyes, and then she saw the portrait and gasped.

  “Oh, Sully, that’s beautiful. Who are they? Why did he give it to you?”

  “He said it’s my mother and me. He said he saw it in his head the day I showed him the letter she’d left for me. He said Spirit wanted me to have it. I don’t know how that man’s head works or what he hears and sees, but I will never doubt his word again as long as I live. See that necklace around the girl’s neck?”

  Melissa nodded.

  Sully leaned the portrait against the wall and pulled the necklace out of his pocket and handed it to her.

  “This was in the envelo
pe with my birth certificate. According to the note I found, Janie left it by my crib with a note stating it was meant for me.”

  Melissa was stunned. “Oh, Sully! Oh, sweetheart! It’s the same, right down to the unusual design on the edge of the cross!”

  Sully nodded. “Elliot said my father gave it to her.”

  Melissa handed him the necklace. “Bring the painting, and let’s find the best place to hang it.”

  Sully dropped the necklace into his shirt pocket, picked up the painting, and followed her into the living room.

  “It needs to be in a prominent place,” Melissa said. “Somewhere in plain sight that lends itself best to the story it’s telling. It’s beautiful on its own, but it’s also such a personal thing for you.” She cupped the side of his face, and when his gaze shifted to her, she had no words for what she saw. “I can’t imagine how you’re feeling. I have no concept of what it would be like to find out everything about my past was a lie.”

  “It was a shock at first. Now, I just want to find her.”

  “If Elliot told you to stay in Blessings, I’m taking that as a very positive sign,” Melissa said.

  “After this, I’ll never question his veracity.”

  They began to circle the room with the painting, holding it up in first one place and then another, but they kept going back to the blank wall above an antique writing table. It wasn’t in direct sunlight, and it would be visible both going into the room and walking out. And they could easily see it from the sofa, as well.

  “I still like this best,” Melissa said. “What do you think?”

  “I think it’s perfect,” Sully said. “I’ll get some picture hangers later and hang it up before supper.”

  “I think I have some, if they’re large enough for the weight. Let’s go see,” she said.

  He set the painting against the writing table and went with her to the utility room. She opened the doors to a cabinet full of little drawers, then pulled a couple of them open before she found the one she was looking for.

  “Here are all of the ones Elmer had on hand. He kept a little bit of everything in this house.”

  Sully dug through an assortment of little packets until he found one of hangers with a twenty-pound weight limit and took it out. Then he saw a hammer on another shelf and took it, too.