“Okay.” The TV went mute, and I heard her pick up on the third ring and say, “Hello? Well, hi!”
I shut the bedroom door.
Chapter 11
Sunday, Oct. 10
Abby was pensive the next morning. By mutual consent, Jennifer and I didn’t mention the phone call.
“How about we name the baby Jeffrey?” Jennifer asked, sipping her tea at the breakfast table.
“No, your brother will want to use that name.”
“The rate he’s going, his kids and ours will be in different generations,” she said scornfully.
“I don’t think so.”
“You may be right, but cousins can have the same name,” she said.
Abby was eating her oatmeal silently.
“How you doing, Abby?” I asked. “You look tired.”
“I am. I should have had a nap yesterday afternoon. It’s tempting to just fall into bed. If I fall asleep in church, don’t wake me up.”
“You could have slept last night after Jeff and Beth left,” said Jennifer.
“Probably should have. But then…”
“What?” asked Jennifer.
Abby looked up at us, then back at her oatmeal. “Greg Prescott called last night.”
I said innocently, “Oh, was that who called?”
I guess we were just smiling too much, because she got all mad and said, “You guys knew, didn’t you? What did you do, Harvey, listen?”
I shook my head, laughing. “No, I was talking to him earlier, and I knew he wanted to call you.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“That’s all right. We shouldn’t have held out on you.”
“Do you like him?” Jennifer asked eagerly.
“Well, it’s kind of soon to tell, but yeah.”
I went to the counter for more coffee. “He seems like a nice guy.”
“So, you’re the watchdog now?” Abby asked.
“And griller of suitors,” I said. “Would you like some coffee?”
She held out her mug, and I filled it.
“He’s older than me,” she observed.
Jennifer and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Abby shook her head. “I take it that makes him more eligible in this house?”
“How old is he?” Jenny asked. “I’m guessing thirty-two.”
“No, he’s not that old,” I said. “He’s about thirty.”
Abby said, “You’re both wrong. He’s thirty-four.”
“Whoa!” said Jennifer.
I shrugged. “He doesn’t look it. Maybe he is too old.”
Abby said, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t the critics have a sixteen-year age spread?”
Jennifer looked at me. “Maybe he’s not too old.”
I said, “How long did you guys talk?”
“Oh, half an hour or so.”
“Did you learn anything interesting?” Jennifer asked.
“Well…” Abby smiled a little. “He lives in Brooklyn, has an apartment with his cousin Bill, who is an insurance adjuster. Drives a Camaro and loves to ski, but doesn’t get to do it often. He flies mostly to Florida and Atlanta and places between there and New York, but once in a while he does a New England run, usually Boston, but occasionally to—ta-da!—Portland.”
“And when’s the next Portland run?”
“He’s not sure. He might see if he can swap with somebody and come up next week.”
Jennifer looked at the clock. “We’d better get dressed for church.”
“Abby, I thought Charlie Emery cast a wistful glance your way last Sunday,” I said.
She frowned at me. “Well, he’ll have to do more than cast glances if he wants to get acquainted.”
*****
I got the shock of a lifetime between Sunday School and church, when Mike and Sharon Browning walked into the auditorium, spotted us, and came up the side aisle to where we were sitting. I jumped up and said, “Mike! Sharon! Great to see you.”
Sharon said, “He refused to go to my church, but he said he’d go to yours, so here we are.” I knew she’d been begging him for years to go to church with her, and Mike had been just as persistent in his refusal.
We moved in, and Sharon and Jennifer sat together between me and Mike. There wasn’t much time before church for conversation. Eddie got a quick greeting in, then went to sit with the Driscolls. Red-haired Amanda looked very nice that morning. Abby seemed unconcerned. She sat between me and Jeff, taking notes during the sermon.
After the service, I conferred with Jennifer, and we decided to eat out. I invited Mike and Sharon to join us and Abby. Jeff told me he was eating lunch with the Rowlands, which put me in a great mood. We drove to a nice restaurant that had a good Sunday buffet.
Jennifer didn’t eat very much, but she ate and wasn’t nauseous, which was enough to make us both happy. Mike launched into a discussion as soon as we were sitting down with our plates filled.
“Your pastor was saying something about the Holy Spirit,” he began. “How the Holy Spirit does all these things, comforts people and teaches people and all that.”
I nodded.
“Well, if he’s a spirit, like a force, that doesn’t make sense to me.”
Sharon said, “He is a person, Mike. You have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Three people.”
“But the Holy Spirit is a spirit. See, if he’s a person, why don’t they call him the Holy Person?”
Sharon groaned.
I said, “I don’t know, Mike. I just know he’s real. He works in people’s hearts. If you know you shouldn’t have done something, that’s the Holy Spirit working on you.”
“Really? I never heard that. Is that in the Bible?”
“Yes,” said Sharon.
“Okay, so when I tell a lie and then I feel guilty, that’s the Holy Spirit?”
“You tell lies?” Abby asked with interest.
“Well, you know.”
“No, tell me about it.”
Mike was nonplused. Sharon said, “Yes, Mike, tell us about it.”
He looked at me and said, “Well, let’s say Fairfield calls and tells me they want to hire Harvey, and just, not thinking, you know, I say, ‘Can’t. He’s got an unbreakable contract.’ That would be a lie. And then when Harvey finds out, I feel guilty, and that’s the Holy Spirit, making me feel guilty?”
“So that’s what you told them.” I shook my head. “The town manager was really surprised when I called her. She said something like, ‘I thought you were committed to Portland for at least five years?’”
Mike winced. “Oh, boy. What did you say?”
“I said, ‘You must have received the wrong information. I can leave here anytime I choose with two weeks’ notice.’ That would be in my contract, wouldn’t it, Chief?”
“Uh, right. I guess it would.”
Jennifer was smiling a little, eating chicken and potato salad.
“You had a job offer in Fairfield?” Abby asked incredulously.
“Right. But I turned it down.”
“Why? That would have been great.”
“Long story,” I said.
“So, has Eddie got a new girlfriend?” Sharon asked in a not-too-subtle effort to change the subject.
“Oh, I don’t think it’s serious,” Jennifer replied. “The Driscolls invited him for lunch today, and their daughter is attractive, but Eddie’s still very much playing the field.”
“He ought to settle down,” Sharon said. “He’s a nice boy.”
I nodded. “He’s grown up a lot this year. I consider him the best man in my unit now.”
“How do you like being the chief’s wife?” Jennifer asked.
Sharon’s eyes sparkled. “Well, we’ve been to more dinner parties that I can count and have social obligations booked into the new year. To be honest, it’s exhausting.”
Mike said, “Speaking of parties, I’ve got another question for you, Harvey.”
&
nbsp; “Leave him alone, Mike,” said Sharon.
“That’s all right,” I told her.
“Well, now, at your wedding you didn’t have any liquor, but I know you used to drink quite a lot—”
“Harvey used to drink?” Abby asked, staring at me.
“Now, why is that?” Mike asked, waving a french fry at me. “They drank wine in the Bible, didn’t they?”
I had that one down. “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”
“That’s the same verse Sharon gives me, but it doesn’t say not to drink any,” he said.
“No, but we’re not supposed to let it control us, and I was definitely having that problem back then. We’re supposed to let the Holy Spirit control us.”
“Oh, yeah,” Mike said. “So, getting back to the Holy Spirit, you were telling me that’s your conscience.”
“Well, he’s a lot more than a conscience,” I said.
“A conscience that’s a person.”
I nodded, wishing I could explain it better. “Sort of.”
“Like Jiminy Cricket,” Mike said.
Sharon moaned softly.
*****
Mike finally quit asking theological questions, and we enjoyed the rest of lunch. I was glad he had come. Mike occasionally threw philosophical questions at me out of the blue, and I was used to it, but Sharon seemed a little embarrassed, and Abby found it highly amusing. I invited the Brownings to come to our church again and told Mike that maybe he’d have a chance to ask Pastor Rowland some of his questions. Sharon seemed eager, and Mike said he would think about it.
Abby was just about asleep at the table, so we went home, and she headed for bed. I convinced Jennifer to take a nap, too, and had settled down at my computer when Eddie arrived unexpectedly.
“Hey, Ed, did you enjoy your visit with the Driscolls?” I asked.
“Yeah, it was fine. I just felt kind of funny hanging around after, like Amanda was getting ideas.”
“And you weren’t?”
“Oh, I don’t know. She’s nice.” He sat down in the chair at Jennifer’s desk and swiveled to face me.
“She’s pretty,” I said.
“Kind of.”
“What’s the matter, Ed?”
“I think I should look for a woman I can be content with for the rest of my life.”
“Amanda doesn’t fit the bill?”
“Maybe, but I’d have to work at it.”
“Ouch. Better keep looking.”
“I guess I’m getting picky. I used to just think about having fun. Now I want what you and Jennifer have.” He turned on Jennifer’s computer, and looked up at the wall. Jenny had insisted on hanging a poster-sized picture of me in the Kevlar vest that once saved my life beside her computer. She’d wanted it in the bedroom, but I’d vetoed that.
“Jeff’s serious about Beth,” I said.
“I heard.” Eddie sighed. “Beth’s really nice. I lost out on that one.”
“She wouldn’t be right for you. You’re both headstrong.”
“Beth can be sweet and quiet.”
“I know, but she’s also opinionated and independent when she wants to be. That’s not bad, really, but you’d be butting heads constantly.”
“So, Jeff is a milquetoast, or what?”
“No, I just don’t think it will be an issue for him. For you, it might.”
Eddie frowned, in seeming consideration. “You mean, I enjoy confrontation, and he doesn’t?”
“Jeff is the kind of guy who would give up a lot to avoid an argument with the woman he loves.”
Eddie fiddled with the mouse for a minute. “Is Jennifer ever independent?”
“Well, I’ve heard her express opinions, but she’s mostly content to let me lead. I’d do anything her way, just to see her smile, but she almost never wants things differently than I do.”
Eddie clicked a few times and opened a computer game.
“Do you still think I ought to leave her sisters alone?”
“Did I say that?”
“I thought you did, back before the wedding.”
“Eddie, I once asked you to go slow because I thought Leeanne was too young for you.”
“What about Abby?”
I shook my head. “You’ll have to act fast if you’re interested in Abby. Major competition is on the horizon.”
“Who?”
“Greg Prescott.”
“The airline navigator?”
“Yes. He called her from New York last night.”
“He’s ancient. You’re telling me I’m too old, and you’re letting him into the nursery?”
“I’m not sure about that metaphor, Eddie, but Abby’s twenty-three. She can make up her own mind.”
“How old is he?”
“Thirty-four.”
He clicked on the game. “How old is Leeanne?”
“She’s twenty.”
He was silent.
I said, “Eddie, I gotta tell you, part of my apprehension about Leeanne was that you used to be a little wild. I think things are different now.”
He glanced at me, then back at the screen. “You do?”
“I think you’re more…”
“What?”
“I’m not sure how to put it. I wasn’t sure we wanted to see Leeanne get involved with you a few months ago. Since then, you’ve shown more gravity and maturity. I think I could trust my little sister with you now.”
“Really?” His face was serious, but suddenly he grinned. “That’s reassuring.”
“Well, if you took Abby or Leeanne out, you wouldn’t take them to a bar, would you?”
“Of course not.”
“So…where would you go?”
He clicked a few times. “Maybe to church. Or here. I don’t know. In high school, we used to take girls bowling and stuff. That seems pretty lame now. How about a movie?”
“Just be careful what you pick. These girls are my sisters now.”
“So I’d do like you do, get some old black and white thing with dead people in it, and bring it to your house and watch it on TV with her.”
“Sure, with Jennifer and me chaperoning.”
“Talk about lame.” He smiled. “Okay, I can live with that.”
“Great. Anytime you want to bring a girl, including one of my sisters-in-law, here for a date, it’s okay. We’ll even throw in refreshments. Or you could take them to a concert or a Sea Dogs game or the museum. Whatever you both like.”
“You really think Abby’s out of the picture?”
“Not yet, but Greg got her attention.”
“She and Leeanne are a lot different.”
“Yes, they are. Do you have a preference? You seem to have fun with both of them.”
“I do. They’re nice girls. Abby looks so much like Jennifer…”
“She does, but I think in some ways, Leeanne is more like Jenny inside. She’s quiet and thoughtful, and she doesn’t want to take a step until she’s sure she’s not making a mistake.”
He nodded and said slowly, “Sometimes I think I really want to get married. Dating is…well, it’s hard. It seems to get harder, not easier.”
“Tell me about.”
“Life must be a lot easier once you’re married, and you don’t have to look anymore.”
I smiled. “It is, Eddie. It’s good, knowing you’ve got a woman who loves you unconditionally, and that she’ll always be there. Really good.”
His dark brown eyes flickered to me. “Abby going to church tonight?”
“I’m not sure. She was really tired this morning. She went to bed right after we got home from lunch, but if she goes to church, she’ll still only have about five hours of sleep in.”
“Is Leeanne coming back down soon?”
“We could invite her.”
“How about we do another fort next weekend?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It’s getting pretty cold. Besides, do you know which
sister you’d want to invite?”
He turned back to the game and clicked a few times. “Maybe I’m not ready for this.”
I didn’t think Eddie had ever thought this deeply about dating. In the past, if he saw a woman he thought was pretty, he’d start flirting and let nature take its course, until he met another cute girl. I could remember times when he’d dated three or four different women in one week. Now he was actually considering a long-term relationship, and he seemed a bit lost.
He was still hanging around when Jennifer got up, and we scrounged supper for three in the kitchen. Nobody was very hungry.
At six-fifteen, Jennifer went upstairs and knocked on Abby’s door to see if she wanted to get up and go to church. She said she did, and twenty minutes later, she came downstairs, dressed but yawning. She ate a container of yogurt, and we were ready to go. Eddie invited Abby to ride in his truck with him, and she did.
“Well,” said Jennifer, as I backed the Explorer out of the garage.
“Well, what?”
“I can’t figure Eddie out. Or Abby either, for that matter.”
“I think Eddie’s making a test run,” I said. “He’s not sure if he wants to ask Abby out or not. He’s still thinking about Leeanne, too. I told him Greg called Abby, and I think he figures he needs to make up his mind now or never on her.”
“Why is dating so complicated?”
“Eddie’s feelings exactly.”
“Maybe it’s just them,” she said. “I never had to decide between two or three guys. And when you asked me out, that was it. I never looked at another guy.”
“I think Eddie wants that, too,” I said. “But he’s used to taking different girls out. He’s more outgoing than I am. It sort of comes naturally to him. You and I were both a lot quieter.”
“Did you date many girls when you were young?”
“Me? No. Not many at all. I was kind of like you, I guess. Stand on the sidelines and look until you’re sure you want to jump in.”
“Abby’s had more dates than I ever did,” Jennifer said. “It’s easier for her somehow. Maybe she and Eddie would make a good pair.”
“They enjoy each other’s company.” I turned into the church parking lot. “He’s got a serious side, though.”
“Édouard?”
I laughed. “Yes, believe it or not.”
Found Art (Maine Justice Book 3) Page 13