“People will talk, Nicole.” Her grandmother came into the room and straightened several packages on the buffet before continuing. “You don’t want folks to think you are ungrateful for their kindness, now, do you?
“Of course not, Grandmother.” Nicole had learned that the easiest way to deal with her grandmother was to simply agree with her, and then do what Nicole wanted to. No amount of discussion or debating would ever sway her. Nicole knew that down deep in their hearts, both of her grandparents loved her and only wanted what was best for her, and Nicole loved them for it. It was just that sometimes, her grandparents had different ways of showing it.
“I thought I would make a cup of tea. Would you like one, Grandmother?”
“No, dear. Your grandfather and I are going to go pick up your dress from Mrs. Fortenberry. I still can’t believe we had to have it hemmed. We paid enough that Vera designer in New York should have gotten it right.
“Yes, Grandmother.” Nicole thought if that Vera designer had been informed of her grandmother’s change in heel height, the hem wouldn’t have been a problem. Nicole wanted Mrs. Fortenberry to make her dress as well as the bridesmaids’, but her grandmother wouldn’t hear of it. So they had compromised. Her grandmother would allow Mrs. Fortenberry to make the bridesmaids’ dresses, but Nicole’s dress was to be designed by one of the leading wedding-dress designers in the world. Nicole only saw it as a total waste of money.
Nicole took her steaming cup of tea to the sun porch and checked the time again. Soon. She had butterfly’s in her stomach in anticipation of Will’s arrival. Her world would be put back together in only a few more moments. She would never have to say goodbye to Will again, and for that she was eternally thankful. During his four years in the military, she had never gotten used to his infrequent and much too short visits. After he’d left her, it would take her at least two weeks to get all the tears and angst out and for her sunny disposition to return in anticipation of his next leave.
She watched a bird fly into the hedge and smiled. When she and Will were little, they found a robin’s nest among the branches. They watched the eggs until the baby birds hatched and eventually flew away. Each year birds returned to the nest. At the time they thought the grown babies returned to have their babies in the same nest they’d been born in.
Nicole smiled and took a sip of tea. She still wanted to believe that. She checked her watch again. Where could he be? He should have been here.
A few hours passed and her cup of tea sat cold by her side. Nicole heard her grandparents return, and still no Will.
“That boy not back yet?” her grandfather asked, as he joined her.
“No, sir. He must have been delayed getting off the ship. I’m sure he’ll call when he can.” Nicole checked her phone for the hundredth time. Nothing.
The sun began to set. Will was three hours late, and still no call. Nicole walked back through the house to the front porch where she would be able to see Will as he drove down the driveway. She refused to be anxious or upset. She’d learned that military time was totally different from civilian time. She took a seat in one of the wicker rockers on the large front porch and checked her phone again. Nothing.
She leaned her head back against the rocker, closed her eyes, and dreamed of Will and their wedding while she waited.
“Nicole, dear,” her grandmother said from the doorway, hours later, “you’ve been out here a long time. Come in for dinner, dear.”
“No, thank you, Grandmother. I…I’m not hungry. I think I will walk over to Will’s parents and see if they have any news.” She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something made her feel…uneasy.
Will’s parents were just as confused as she was. “Now, Nicole, honey.” His mom wrapped her in a hug. “I can see how worried you are, but, sweetie you know how it is. The boat probably ran into bad weather and hasn’t even docked yet. Be patient, honey. He’ll be home. Why don’t you spend the night at your grandparents? I’m sure he will be over as soon as he gets home.”
“Okay, but if he comes here, you have him call. No matter how late it is, alright?” Nicole had to talk to Will. She needed some form of concrete proof that he was okay.
“Of course, sweetie. Now you run along and get some rest. I’ll have one of the boys clean up the treehouse. We’ll just bring everything in, and that way you can have it for tomorrow.” After kisses and hugs were handed out, Nicole found herself back on her grandparents’ porch. She couldn’t go inside. Something felt…off. She could feel it in every pore of her body. She could feel…Will, and she could feel…loss. She put a text through to Will, asking him to call and she waited. After an hour she tried to call. It went straight to his voice mail, and still she waited.
Nicole closed her eyes. She could see Will’s face the last time he had kissed her goodbye. She could remember every single moment of his last leave. They’d spent the majority of his time in bed, either making plans for their future or making love until they were too exhausted to do anything else but wrap up in each other and fall into a spent sleep.
She bit her bottom lip and worried it back and forth as she stared at her silent phone. Something was very, very, wrong. She texted Will again. Where are you? Is everything OK? She waited, and still no reply. She tried to call, and once again was put straight through to his voice mail. Panic began to bubble inside. She closed her eyes tightly and focused on breathing in and out. Losing control now wouldn’t help Will.
Nicole had read books about premonitions. Some people claimed to know in advance of some devastating event about to happen in their lives. If they could stop time a moment before the event happened, everything would stay the same. She wished she’d had the power to stop time and go back and change whatever kept Will from coming to her.
Nicole closed her eyes and leaned her head back in the chair as she gently rocked to comfort her soul. In her heart, she knew that nothing in her life would ever be the same after this night. Two tears slowly leaked from her closed lids.
The next morning found Nicole in the same spot she had been all night long, rocking on the front porch. She hadn’t closed her eyes all night. She’d watched the sun come up, as it always did, as if nothing were different. Her weary eyes wandered to the barren driveway, and still, no Will. She felt empty and cold inside. Once again she texted and once again received no reply. This time the message she left bordered on panic. Will, please call me. Where are you? Will, please answer!
For the first time since she was eight years old, she had no idea where Will was or what he was doing. Even on deployment she’d known where in the general vicinity of the world he was, but now she had no idea. All the scenarios she had been able to come up with through the night only made her ill. Was he sick? Had he been injured and hadn’t wanted to worry her? What if he had been swept out to sea from the deck of the ship as it crossed the oceans and nobody realized it until it was too late?
Nothing would have kept Will away. Nothing. Their wedding and their happy-ever-after were less than a week away.
She staggered next door, knocked on Will’s parents’ door, and found it strange they weren’t home, eating breakfast. Had they gone to pick Will up? She made her way back to her rocker. That was the only safe place to be. Will could see her as soon as he pulled into the driveway.
So she waited.
Later, her grandmother came outside. Nicole saw the concern on her face and found it strange that she could see her mouth move, but no sound was coming out. Her grandfather tried to lift her from the rocker, but she held on to the chair arms. Didn’t they understand? She needed to wait on Will.
And she waited.
Nicole almost dropped her phone when it began to ring. Her heart plummeted when Linda’s name popped up on the display. She considered letting it go to voice mail but she needed her best friend to tell her everything would be okay. “Hey.” Her voice broke and she choked back a sob threatening to escape.
“Oh, Nicole. What
’s wrong?”
Tears filled Nicole’s eyes. “He…he didn’t come, Linda.”
“What do you mean? Is his ship late getting to port?”
Nicole leaned back it the rocker and rested her head on the back. “I don’t know.”
“Nicole, I don’t understand.”
She bit her lip to keep from crying out. That’s what hurt so much; she didn’t understand. Nicole’s voice broke as she tried to explain. “I don’t either. He just didn’t come home. His parents didn’t know anything yesterday and today they’re gone too.”
“Oh, Nicole. I’m so sorry.”
Nicole swallowed and said the terrifying words out loud that she’d been thinking. “Linda, do you think…he was killed or injured and they don’t want to tell me?”
“No, honey. No, I don’t think they would keep something like that from you.”
Nicole’s lower lip began to tremble. “Then where is he?”
“Honey, calm down. There has to be a perfectly good explanation. Did you try to call him?”
“Yes. His phone goes straight through to voice mail.”
“That’s strange.”
Nicole squeezed her eyes shut but tears escaped anyway because the only other reason she could come up with hurt her heart. “Do you think…he didn’t want to marry me and didn’t know how to tell me?”
“Oh, Nic. You’re talking about Will here. He loves you. You’ve planned to get married since forever! No, I can’t believe he jilted you.”
Nicole was so tired of feeling lost and alone. She wanted to go to sleep and wake up with Will sleeping beside her. Then he’d explain with some silly reason for being so late. “Then where is he?”
“Oh, Nic.”
Hearing the concern in Linda’s voice only made Will’s disappearance hurt more. It didn’t help talking about. Nothing helped. “I’ve got to go.”
“Do you want me to come over?”
“Thanks, but I’d rather be alone.” Nicole stared at her phone long after she’d hung up, willing it to ring.
That night, after she’d spent an exhausting day rocking and waiting, Nicole’s grandfather carried her inside. This time she allowed herself to be removed from her rocker because Nicole wasn’t really there any longer.
The next two weeks went by in a blur for Nicole. She spent most of it rocking on the porch. At night her grandparents would convince her to come in. She would lie on her old bed, but she wouldn’t sleep. She couldn’t sleep. Before the sun was up, she would once more take up her vigil of rocking on the porch and watching. Watching, as wedding presents were returned. Watching, as her wedding dress was taken to the cleaners to be sealed for storage. Watching, as wedding decorations were taken down and returned. Watching, for Will who never came.
The next four weeks Nicole spent in bed. She had no energy to do more than sleep and pick at the food her grandmother left for her. Linda came to visit several times a week, but Nicole didn’t even have the energy to talk with her. Instead she just listened. Linda filled her in on town gossip, careful not to mention how Nicole was the talk of the town because she had been jilted at the altar.
Jilted. It was a word she would never have associated with her and Will. Will loved her. She knew he did. Where was he? Was he safe? Had he been injured or even…killed?
Will’s parents hadn’t been to see her. Her grandmother said they had been gone for two weeks, had come back for only a few hours, and then left again for what she presumed was their lake house because she’d watched them load up the boat like they did every summer. Nicole hadn’t seen them since the morning Will was to come home. She thought their behavior was very strange for people that professed to love her. Not even Will’s brothers had been to see her. Rob, she could understand. He went to college out of state. But Matthew lived in town. Shouldn’t he have stopped by to see if she was alright? It was almost like the Harrison family had wiped their hands of one Nicole Montgomery. Deserted. Abandoned. Just like her parents had. Everyone she loved left her.
Nicole was too tired to think anymore. All she wanted to do was sleep. Why wouldn’t everyone just leave her alone and let her sleep?
***
Six months after Will had jilted her, Nicole was once again presented with life-changing news.
“Nicole.”
Nicole forced her eyes opened from a restless afternoon nap and rolled over to find her grandparents standing in her bedroom doorway.
Her grandfather smiled at her sadly. “Nicole, honey. We need to talk to you for a moment if you feel up to it.”
If she could have, she would have smiled at her grandfather, but she’d forgotten how.
“Of course she’s not up to it. She’s made a spectacle of our family to the entire town. You always have babied her too much, Sherman. I never should have listened to you when you said we should let her associate with that…that…uncivilized boy next door. This day would never have come if I hadn’t.”
“Hester, stop.”
Nicole’s eyes widened. Never did she think she’d see the day when her grandfather stood up to her grandmother. Was she still asleep and dreaming? She blinked several times to clear her eyes. If Nicole hadn’t been watching she never would have believed her grandmother closed her mouth and stepped back, deferring to her grandfather.
Her grandmother cleared her throat. “Fine, we won’t discuss that disappointment. Nicole, we’ve come to inform you that as of the thirtieth of the month, you must find other accommodations. We’ve sold the house and have decided to move to Florida. Are you listening, Nicole?”
They’d sold the house? Was that what her grandmother had just said? By the look on her grandfather’s face, she knew he wasn’t happy.
“Of course, we’re not leaving you with nowhere to go. You have three options. You can move with us to Florida, but you will need to find a job and support yourself. You’ll not be living with us. You could go live with my sister Berta in Arizona. She’s getting on in years and needs help in her advancing age. Or you could stay, find another job, and live in the town that pities you and where you are still fodder for gossip.”
“Hester. Enough.”
The bottom of her grandmother’s brown day dress swished as she turned to leave. “The thirtieth, Nicole.”
Nicole blinked and stared at the space where her grandmother had been. She should be upset about what she’d said, but Nicole didn’t have any emotions left. She looked at her grandfather closely. He looked so old now. Where had the man with rosy cheeks and a peppermint in his pocket gone? He looked so tired and dejected. Why hadn’t she noticed it before?
“Nicole, honey, your grandmother and I are getting on in years, and it’s just so hard to bear these cold winters. Plus, I don’t want to leave you with this monstrosity of a house to deal with after we’re gone. And I think a clean break will do you good. You can’t spend your life in that bed or even in this house. Your mom and dad would have wanted you to go out in the world and find out all the amazing things you’ve yet to see and learn. Don’t let what happened with that young man rob you of a happy life.”
Long after her grandfather left, Nicole lay in her bed, staring at the water stain on the ceiling. She was that stain. The rest of the ceiling looked perfectly white except for that brown stain that bled through and ruined everything. Everyone in town thought she was that stain.
She knew the real reason her grandparents were leaving. It was because of her. They couldn’t hold their heads up any longer in a town that held them up to ridicule at every opportunity. All of her grandmother’s elaborate wedding plans negated by a disappearing groom. Rolling over, Nicole closed her eyes. Sleep. She just wanted to sleep.
Days later Nicole made her decision. Instead of option one, two, or three, she chose option four. None of the above. So on the one-year anniversary of her supposed wedding date, she took out every cent she’d saved from her job at the library, picked a place on the map she had never heard of, a
nd headed to Dirty Ankle, Alaska, with only one suitcase full of possessions to her name. She wanted little to remind her of the life she was leaving behind.
She’d heard not a word from Will or his parents. Nothing. No explanation, no words of comfort, nothing. Several times she’d seen them outside and never did they attempt to come see her or ease her worry. She didn’t exist in their world any longer, and that hurt almost as much as Will’s abandonment.
Nicole never thought she would be at the point where she felt absolutely nothing for Will. When he disappeared it killed every emotion she had. She would never love anyone as she had loved Will. But loving him was over now. What he had done to her and her grandparents was unforgivable.
If Will cared no more for her than to leave and not tell her why, then she owed him nothing, and that was exactly what she had to give. Nothing. She was through with self-pity and only going through the motions of living. Everyone in her life left her. Her parents, her grandparents, and the man she thought she knew and loved. Well, nobody was going to leave her again. It was time she left.
But first, she had one more thing to do. From the tool shed behind the now deserted house she took her grandfather’s old ax and made her way to the exact spot Will had appeared when she was eight. She started chopping away at the hedge. With each blow of the ax, tears streamed down her face as she killed each dream she’d ever had. Sobs came from deep inside as she chopped away until there was nothing left of a four-foot section of the hedge. She was so caught up in her memories she never noticed blisters forming on her hands or blood dripping from raw wounds. She was solely focused on eliminating Will just like he had eliminated her. Completely.
When she was satisfied with her destruction of the hedge, she walked through the gaping hole and made her way to their treehouse in the woods. The treehouse was connected to two trees and posts held the other two corners. Without stopping to think about her actions, she started chopping away at the posts until the treehouse crashed to the ground. She screamed in anger and kept chopping away at the wooden walls until the treehouse lay in bits and pieces around her feet, just like her life.
You Promised Me Forever (The Dirty Ankle Series Book 1) Page 7