“How cryptic.” She looked around. “I figured Dax would be here. You stole my only customer for that terrible coffee.”
Celia held on to the counter, keeping a neutral smile. What would a friend do? Tell Khanti of Dave’s heart attack, and Dax’s family emergency? But no, he’d pointed out that it was just for family. She was not invited in the circle.
Perhaps Khanti was?
Celia bit the inside of her cheek. “Can I get you something to eat this morning?”
“Well, I don’t plan on cooking for a while. Told Nino he was on his own for breakfast, if he wasn’t up for quiche.”
Smiling, Celia pointed to the savory tomato, basil and goat cheese pie. “Can I slice you some of this? I recommend a mug of dark roast to go with it.”
“Sure.” Khanti studied her. “You look awful. Was it too stressful yesterday? Not knowing about the signage? Randall Wallace is a jerk. Born that way. His dad was really nice. We were all sad when he passed away.”
Celia’s eyes welled with tears.
“You are a softie,” Khanti said with a shake of her finger. “Either that, or you’re upset about something else.”
Veronica came in, dressed in pajamas. “Celia! I am so sorry,” she cried.
The jig was up, but it hadn’t been Celia who told.
“What is going on?” Khanti demanded.
“Dax’s father is in the hospital.”
“What? And you weren’t going to tell me?” Khanti faced Celia, but then calmed down as she realized that Celia couldn’t speak through the rush of tears.
“It just happened. I understand that you couldn’t go to the hospital because of opening your new business,” Veronica said. “So I am here to help. I will run the register, and you go see Dax and Dave. I leave in a few hours back to my country, and Umberto. But I would do this for you, Celia.”
Celia wiped her eyes. “Dax doesn’t want me there.”
“Says who?” Veronica lifted her lip in a disbelieving curl. The woman made flannel look sexy.
“Dax.” Celia sniffed and breathed in. “He said he only wanted his family.” She patted her aching heart.
“I saw you two together yesterday. Why do you think I stayed with Dave? Not that I don’t like making fun of the Kardashians,” she said with a shrug. “I sent Dax a text.”
“His phone was in the hall,” Celia admitted with a fiery blush.
Khanti slammed her hand down on the counter. “Hello! Is Dave all right?”
Veronica nodded. “Heart attack.”
“I am staying here with Veronica. I don’t have to be at the gas station until eight, so hurry back. But go, don’t listen to Dax. If you care for him, and we all see that you do, go. Men think they have to be tough for us, but they don’t realize that together is when we are the strongest.”
Celia looked at her two friends. She closed her eyes and listened to her intuition. Her heart, her head, everything was in agreement. “I’ll go. Thank you both,” she said.
“My cab is waiting for you outside. Already paid,” Veronica said.
“You’re like some sexy fairy godmother,” Khanti observed.
“I can give you some tips,” Veronica said.
“My people invented tantric yoga.” Khanti touched the center of her forehead. “I could probably teach you a thing or two.”
Celia, laughing, raced out the door and hopped into the waiting cab. The guy nodded. “Holy Family?”
“Yes,” she said, nervously tugging at her skirt.
Would Dax be angry with her?
She had to follow her heart.
She got out in front of the emergency room and ran inside, just as Dax came from the back.
“Celia.” His jaw tightened.
“I am here,” she said. “I’m not leaving. I can only stay for an hour, but I wanted you to know that I am here with you.”
She put her hands on his shoulders and forced him to look at her. She saw his buried pain and realized that he was barely hanging on. “It’s okay, Dax.” She led him away from the desk, to a private area by the window.
“It isn’t.”
She took his hand in hers, gently applying pressure. “Tell me.”
“Heart attack. Not the first one he’s had this month. Why didn’t I see it? I should have been paying closer attention.”
Celia gripped him tighter, sharing her warmth. His fingers were like icicles. “Why didn’t he say anything?”
“He thought he was having indigestion.”
“So there was nothing you could have done differently.”
He bowed his head, two tears falling to where he and Celia’s hand were joined.
“I can’t save him.” His words were a growl.
“No.” Celia agreed. She pressed his head to her breasts, caressing his hair. “Just love him.”
“I was coming out here to call you,” he said.
“Really?”
He pulled free of her grasp to look her straight in the eye.
“What I said earlier, it was mean. But I, I need to handle this emotional stuff, and I don’t know how.”
Celia listened quietly.
“You called me Zen, but being with you is ten times better. You instantly give me the peace I get after an hour of meditating on the beach.”
Celia didn’t care that she cried, and made no move to wipe her cheeks. She let him see her vulnerability, just as he was strong enough to share his.
“So, yeah. I wanted to tell you that.”
They faced each other in the plastic waiting room chairs, the sound of the door opening and closing in a constant rush now that the world was waking up.
“Last night, you laid claim to me.” Celia pressed her hands to wildly beating heart, then leaned over to press them against Dax’s. She felt the rapid beats. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easy.” She caressed his stubbly jaw. “You belong to me.”
Chapter Nineteen
Celia went back the café, her step lighter. She didn’t know what the future held for her and Dax, but she knew that for today, for this moment, she loved him and he loved her. She walked into Ambrosia wearing a grin.
Damn it, it was freaking plenty.
“I told you!” Veronica said, wearing an apron over her flannel pajamas. She’d tied her hair up with a dishtowel and served happy customers, who all applauded as Celia walked in. “Does she not wear the look of a woman in love?”
Khanti smiled and shrugged. “Veronica’s a natural storyteller,” the woman said. “I have to go-but how is Dax? Dave? Has Darcy been called?”
“Darcy is on her way. Dax went home to get clothes, and Dave is sleeping.” She rubbed her eyes. “Thank you, ladies, for helping me.”
“It’s what we do,” Khanti said. “You are one of us, by the sea.”
“I am an honorary member,” Veronica declared. “Though I do love the penthouse suite of the resort I’m in. I might ask Umberto to buy it for me.”
Teresa, looking more confidant at the register, said, “Good morning, boss.”
“Morning,” Celia answered with a happiness that went all the way through to her soul. She was home, at last.
❋
Dax waited at the hospital for Darcy. His dad had been moved to a private room, so Dax had run home to bring back clothes and his medicine. They wanted to keep him a few days, just in case he had another heart attack right away.
Now, he paced outside his dad’s room, too restless and afraid that he’d wake his dad up with his frenetic energy.
The elevator dinged, and he looked up, knowing it was his sister. She got out of the car, looked around and saw him. She rushed forward, her eyes streaming and her long blonde braids flying out behind her.
She was like a giraffe, all legs and neck and hair, with giant brown eyes she’d gotten from their mother.
“You’re here,” Dax said, prepared to catch her as she lunged into his arms.
“I am.”
He swung her around. “It’s onl
y eleven, Darce.”
“So maybe I went a little over the speed limit.” She pulled away from him and looked at the partially open door. “Is dad in there?”
“Yeah.” He put his hand on her arm, torn between telling her everything now, or later.
“Darcy?” his dad called in a weak voice, taking the decision from Dax.
She went in, and he felt her shock at seeing Dad. Darcy hid it well, stumbling over her words for just a minute before covering his face with kisses.
“Dad, what were you doing in South Beach?”
“Darcy,” their dad said, reaching up to cup his daughter’s cheek. “A man has to have some secrets.”
The joke didn’t put a dent in the stream of Darcy’s tears, but she gave his arm a gentle poke. “How have you been feeling?”
Dax knew she was seeing the skeletal face for the first time, and it had to be a blow.
“I’ve been all right, really,” their dad said.
Dax cleared his throat, holding his father’s gaze. Tell her.
Dave winced. “Darcy, honey.”
“Oh, no, I already don’t like the sound of this,” his sister said, leaning over the bed as if she could fend off the Grim Reaper herself.
“You know I had a very bad lung infection.”
“Right, which led to COPD.”
“Not exactly,” his dad hedged.
Darcy looked at Dax, then back at their dad.
“Dad,” Dax warned.
“The scars from the infection hid cancer, Darcy.”
She gulped, her eyes huge in her face, which paled beneath her tan.
“And?”
“I’m dying.”
Darcy looked at Dax and stood up, her body shaking with fury that Dax couldn’t blame her for. “You knew this?”
He nodded, bracing himself for the impact as she rushed forward and pushed his chest. “Yeah.”
“Jerk! How could you?” She punched him again, and again.
“Darcy!” Their dad sat up in bed, coughing.
His sister backed off, but she was not through with her anger. “Not fair. Not damned fair. You should have told me! I would have been here sooner.”
She pushed past him and ran out into the hall.
Dax hustled after her, leaving his dad alone in the room.
Darcy took the stairs, running as only she could, All Star through high school and college.
Huffing, he followed, knowing she’d head to the pier.
Chapter Twenty
Darcy waited for him in their old place by Anglin’s, leaning over and holding her side as if she had a stomach cramp.
“You’re freaking fast, Darce,” Dax puffed like a three pack a day smoker. “It isn’t natural.”
“Don’t joke with me, Dax. I am furious with you. With Dad! How could you make that kind of decision?” Her face twisted with anger, sadness, fury and acceptance all at once.
Dax clenched his fist against his hip, pressing on the protesting muscle. “It wasn’t my choice, Darcy. It’s been hell, keeping this from you. Dad wanted you to finish your project. You were working on something special.”
“Well, it’s over. All of it.” She glared at him. “I am here now, so don’t even think about lying or covering up.”
“I won’t.” He held his arms open and she walked into them, sobbing. “I am really sorry, Darcy. Okay? But Dad was waiting to tell you, because he believed it would hurt less. He knew it was going to hurt no matter what, but he was trying, in his way, to make it more bearable.”
“Stupid,” she muttered.
“Maybe. But it came from a place of love.”
They turned to stare at the ocean, the waves coming in, and out. “I want to dive,” she said.
“Now?” Dax thought of everything that needed to be shared, or handled, now that she was finally here. All of it could wait until she was ready.
“Yeah. It’s the only thing that will calm me down.” She started walking toward the dive shop. “But call the hospital first, would you? Let Dad know what we’re doing.”
Dax called as they walked. “You want to talk to him?”
“No. Maybe later, when I’m not so mad. I know I shouldn’t be, but Dax, for reasons I refuse to get into right now, this feels three times as crappy.”
“Okay,” he said as he was connected to his dad’s room. “Dad, we’re at the beach. Going to dive for a while.”
“I figured as much. Dax, maybe I made a mistake.”
Really? “You can tell Darcy that when you see her later.”
“I’m going to sleep,” his dad said. “Come for dinner. Bring some of that food from Celia. Son, that girl is a keeper. Veronica is fun, but Celia is the true pearl.”
❋
From her condo window, Celia observed Dax with a girl so like him in features that she had to be Darcy. Alike enough to be twins, the siblings trenched from the ocean like sea creatures in a sci-fi movie, resting their diving gear on a giant blanket. Dax had texted her earlier to let her know that his dad was in his own room, and requested her presence, and food, for dinner.
Like a voyeur, Celia watched Dax say something to Darcy. Then he pointed up to her condo. She jumped back, feeling guilty for watching them.
Her phone dinged. Come down
She typed back. I don’t want to intrude!
This is Darcy. Come down
Celia grabbed a hamper and tossed in some ice-cold bottles of water, some sliced cucumbers and raw almonds. Then, oddly nervous, she smoothed back her hair, which she’d put in a ponytail against the wind, and ventured downstairs.
Dax, stripped down to swimming trunks, stood up and introduced Darcy, who still wore her slick black diving suit. Darcy pulled her into a hug. “I hear you are something special,” she said. “And I refuse to be one of those jealous sisters. We should be friends instead.”
Dax shook his head, spraying Darcy with water. “You’re such a dork,” he said, but Celia could tell he was pleased.
“I’ve never had a sister, or so many friends. Thank you.” Celia reached out to touch Darcy’s hand. “Are you all right? With your dad?”
“Sure,” she said, flipping back her wet braids. “Once I remind the two men in my life that they don’t run the show, I’ll be better. Why is it that men think they get to be in charge?”
Dax held up his hands in surrender. “For the record, Darcy, I wanted to tell you. Dad thought it was best, and he’s our dad, for Christ’s sake. What was I supposed to do?”
Celia looked from one sibling to the other, sensing that this argument might not be resolved anytime soon. “I brought water, and some cucumbers. What else do people need after a dive?”
Darcy exhaled. “A shower, but I’d love a bottle of water. Thanks.” She took it, cracked it open and drank. “Give me the keys to the shop,” she said to Dax. “I’ll shower, then meet you up at Celia’s so we can go to the hospital together. The dive was…” She closed her eyes and breathed in, digging her bare toes into the sand. “Just what I needed.”
She waved and took off at a run.
“She runs barefoot, like you?”
“I don’t run. But Darcy always has.”
“How’d it go?”
Dax pulled her down onto the blanket and they faced the sea. “Shitty. It hurt her. Dad, trying to save her pain, caused it. But he really did think he was doing the right thing.”
Celia nodded, leaning into Dax, who smelled of the intoxicating ocean and sun. “Water?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” He drank the entire bottle in three long gulps. “Water. We need it to survive, for our bodies, but I think our souls need it too. Why else would so many people be drawn to the water when they are trying to heal something within themselves?”
Celia curled her hands around Dax’s bicep, running her thumb along the smooth skin and the muscle beneath. “Interesting thoughts, for a day when we can have wine and a lazy afternoon to talk about it.” She lifted her face to the sun. “The sea called to m
e when I was at my darkest moment. I knew that if I could be near the ocean, I would be all right.” She leaned her head against his shoulder.
“You were strong already,” Dax said. “Coming here, facing Randall. But this,” he picked up a handful of sand and let the particles slide through his fingers. “This is like a shot of B vitamins without the needle.”
Celia, laughing, pulled Dax up to his feet. “Let’s bring some to your dad.”
They used Dax’s empty water bottle to make a sand terrarium, with little colored shells inside, before going upstairs to her condo. Celia and Dax went straight to the kitchen, where she felt most at ease. “I made soup for your freezer. Potato mash for dinner tonight, a la Holy Family Hospital.” She started taking things out of her refrigerator and piled them on the counter.
“You make this easier to bear.” Dax cornered her, his hands on either side of her as he pinned her to the stove.
“That’s what friends are for,” she said, breathing heavily. She’d never forget their first night together so long as she lived.
“None of that friend bullshit, remember?” Dax cupped her cheeks. “You are mine.”
She shimmied so she stood on tip toe, and held his face, too. “It’s a two way street, Mister.”
Darcy knocked on the condo door, and Celia ducked under Dax’s arm to let her in. “George let me up,” she said. “You two ready or not?”
“Totally ready,” Dax said, hoisting the picnic basket. He accidentally knocked the ugly vase to the side.
It tottered, and Celia watched in horrified fascination as the fragile flesh-colored vase crashed to the floor.
“God, Celia, I am so sorry, I know how much you loved that thing.” Dax looked at her, his eyes round.
“I didn’t love it,” she said, breaking into hysterical giggles.
Darcy leaned down and picked up the plastic baggie of ashes that had been inside the vase. “What is this? You doing some weird shit we all need to know about?”
Celia grabbed the bag. She gasped for air, the sound high-pitched and panicked. “That’s my dead husband.”
Horrified, Darcy rubbed her hands on the front of her shorts. “Gross, that is gross.”
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