Sara's Promise

by Deanna Lynn Sletten

  William returned to bed with a mental note to put the painting away in the closet under the stairs in the morning. It was a first step. A first step toward putting Sara in the past and Annie in the future. Just as he drifted off to sleep, William's last thought was his hope that Sandy was okay, and he'd see her in the morning.

  Chapter Fifteen

  It was an unspoken promise between Annie and Sandy not to mention to William about the night Sandy called her. When Annie had presented her with the clean, mended clothes the next morning, Sandy knew that was Annie's way of saying it would be their secret, and they never spoke of it again. And although the scare of that night didn't stop Sandy entirely from partying on the weekends, it did seem to bring Annie and her closer.

  The following week found Annie and William both busy with work so, much to William's disappointment, she didn't stay at his house until the next Friday. Annie had been gone two days on an assignment in northern California, and William had been spending long days at the Beaverton office in meetings, which he hated. By Friday night, they were both exhausted and ready for a quiet weekend.

  William suggested they go out to a nice restaurant for dinner since he felt guilty for eating so many dinners at home over the past month. Annie readily agreed. She was changing her clothes in the bedroom when she noticed the unfinished painting was gone.

  "Where is Sara's painting?" Annie asked William as he was shaving in the bathroom.

  "Oh. I put that away last week with the others. I thought it was about time."

  Annie looked over at William, who only looked back with a grin. "I didn't mind it here," she said, walking closer to the bathroom door.

  William stopped shaving and looked at Annie. "That's nice of you to say, but I thought it was time to finally put it away. I want this house to feel like your home, too, Annie."

  Annie pondered this as she dressed, and William showered. While she waited for him to finish, she went downstairs and turned down the hallway to where the closet under the staircase was. She remembered this was where William had said Sara's unfinished paintings were stored, and she decided she wanted to see them.

  Carefully, she opened the door and looked inside. Leaning against each other, each covered in a white sheet, were several canvases. Annie pulled the first one out and lifted the sheet. It was the painting from the bedroom. Leaning it against the wall behind her, she pulled out the next painting. Just as she lifted the sheet, a voice behind her blurted out, "What are you doing?"

  Annie jumped and almost dropped the painting. Turning around, she saw Sandy standing there, her weekend duffle bag slung on her shoulder and her car keys in hand.

  "Geez, you scared me to death," Annie told her.

  Sandy looked contrite. "Sorry, I was just wondering why you're in the closet."

  Letting out a sigh of relief, Annie answered. "I'm curious to see more of your mom's paintings."

  "But they're not finished," Sandy said, dropping her duffle bag to the floor and setting her keys on top.

  "I know, but I want to see them." Annie lifted the sheet covering the painting she'd been holding onto and gasped in delight. "It's a waterfall."

  Sandy came around to look at the unfinished painting. "It's Multnomah Falls. I was fairly young when Mom started this one. The colors are still vibrant, aren't they?"

  Annie gazed at the waterfall, noting the outline of the bridge, the mossy rocks, and the bright green ferns that grew around the waterfall. Looking into the upper falls, Annie noticed several curved lines crossing the water in soft, translucent colors. "What's that?" she asked Sandy, pointing to the lines of color.

  Sandy inspected the painting closer. "I think she was starting to paint in a half rainbow. Mom always got excited when she saw a rainbow in a waterfall," she added wistfully.

  Annie studied the lines a moment and was reminded of the ribbons of colors in her dreams. Coincidence? A small chill prickled the back of her neck. Pushing away the thought, she continued on. She and Sandy pulled the next painting out of the closet, and this time, Sandy unveiled it.

  "Another waterfall," Annie said with glee. She looked at it closely. The crystal clear water spilled over stair-step rocks, and the moss and ferns were so rich in color, Annie felt like she was standing right there at the falls. "Oh, Sandy, I think this one is Fairy Falls. Isn't it beautiful?"

  Sandy nodded. "I think you're right. This one is almost finished, too. The colors are just beautiful, aren't they? I wonder why she never finished it."

  Annie shook her head. "It's such a shame. She was so talented. It would have been wonderful if she could have finished all of these paintings and shared them with the world."

  Sandy nodded.

  Annie looked directly at Sandy. "You're an artist. You should finish some of these. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to finish your mother's work so it would be a part of both of you?"

  Sandy frowned and stared at Annie. "Are you crazy? I'm not that good of an artist. Besides, I don't paint landscapes or seascapes like my mother did."

  "What do you paint?" Annie asked.

  "I don't know, just stuff. I haven't really found my niche yet. And like I said, I'm not nearly as good as my mother was," Sandy said sharply.

  "Well, what do your art teachers say about your work?" Annie asked.

  This brought a sly smile to Sandy's lips. "They call my work 'explorative and introspective'," Sandy said, mimicking her teachers with a high-brow tone. "Which is just a fancy way of saying they think I suck."

  "I doubt that very much," Annie told her. "And you should think about working on your mom's paintings. Maybe that's why you haven't found your niche. Maybe your niche is landscapes and seascapes."

  Sandy just shook her head. They continued pulling out unfinished paintings and looking at each one. There were twelve in all. They found one of Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach and another of a lighthouse high atop a cliff. Another painting was of a small cottage by a beach, the trees surrounding it painted brightly in autumn colors. So many beautiful paintings, all unfinished, just like Sara's life.

  By the time they'd recovered and carefully replaced each canvas into the closet, William had come down, ready to leave for dinner.

  "Hey Sandy," he said, giving his daughter a quick hug. "I'm surprised to see you here. Thought you'd be out with friends tonight."

  "No, I'm going to stay around home tonight," she said. "Maybe work on the last of my projects for school."

  "Why don't you join us for dinner?" Annie asked.

  Sandy looked at the pretty, black dress Annie wore and the suit her father had on. It looked like they were ready to go somewhere nice for a change, and she didn't want to intrude. "Thanks, but three's a crowd. You guys go on ahead. I'll find something for dinner."

  After several more unsuccessful attempts to get Sandy to join them for dinner, Annie and William left in his Explorer and drove down the coast to a quiet restaurant by the ocean. They enjoyed a wonderful seafood dinner and caught up on each other's lives since they'd both been so busy all week.

  During a lull in the conversation, William said, "I'm so happy to see you and Sandy getting along so well. I worry about her, even though, officially, she's an adult. I think it would be wonderful if you and she become friends."

  Annie smiled. She thought back to the night Sandy opened up to her. "I think we are, sort of." William seemed pleased by this.

  That evening, after spending time on the deck curled up under a blanket with mugs of hot coffee keeping them warm, William and Annie went up to bed, feeling content and happy. He slowly drew her to him, caressing her gently until desire took over, and they came together in a passion that can only be shared when two people care deeply for each other.

  Afterwards, William held Annie close, enjoying the feel of her silky hair brushing his cheek. "I miss you so much when you aren't here," he whispered into her ear.

  Annie rolled over in his arms and faced him, looking up into his eyes. "I miss you, too," she said gently, reac
hing up to run her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck.

  "Annie, I'm falling in love with you," he said seriously. In the soft light of the room, her face and eyes were only subtle shades of grey, and there was no reminder of Sara in them. He knew then it was Annie he was falling in love with, not the eyes that reminded him so much of his wife's.

  "I'm falling in love with you, too," Annie said. And she was. Even though she'd never believed in fairy tales, she felt that she was indeed living one. William was everything she'd always hoped for, and his kids, even though grown, were her perfect idea of the family she'd never had.

  William kissed her softly, his love for her evident in his gentle touch. They fell asleep, feeling warm and content in each other's embrace.

  Saturday morning, Annie sat at the kitchen island, checking her e-mail on her laptop while William poured them each a mug of coffee. Sam had already left to play a round of golf, and Sandy hadn't yet emerged from her bedroom. As William set Annie's coffee down beside her, he noticed she was frowning.

  "Something wrong?" he asked.

  "I finally got my schedule for the shoot for Travel Washington. They want to do it over a weekend when the trails are busy with tourists."

  "Oh." William sat down in the stool opposite of Annie. "So, what weekend do they want to do it?"

  Annie looked up at William. "It's the same weekend as Sam's party. They want me to come up Thursday night and stay through Sunday."

  William sat quiet for a moment, sipping his coffee before replying. "If you go on Thursday, you'll miss his graduation and his party on Saturday."

  "I know."

  "Can't you ask them to change it?" William asked.

  Annie's brows furrowed. Did William actually expect her to ask a magazine to change its schedule just for her? "I can't do that. They want these in the September issue to promote fall tourism to the area. Magazines prepare at least three months in advance, sometimes up to six months. If I say I can't do it, I'll lose this assignment."

  "Don't you want to be here for Sam's party? You've worked very hard on it. You should be here to enjoy it, too."

  Annie sighed. "I know, but this is a big opportunity for me. I just can't pass it up. I'm sure Sam will understand."

  William stood and walked over to the counter, staring out the kitchen window at the ocean and the waves as they broke over the beach. He spoke quietly, facing away from Annie.

  "Sam will be very disappointed. He's grown to like you very much over these past weeks. Your choosing work over an important event in his life will be upsetting to him."

  Annie bit down on her lip, refraining from answering quickly. She didn't like the way William was trying to make her feel guilty about her choice. She stood and walked over to him, touching his arm to make him face her, then looked up into his eyes. "William, why are you trying to make me feel guilty about working? My work is important to me. I'm not a pivotal person in Sam's life. He needs you, his sister, grandparents, and close friends to celebrate with him. I've only been in his life for a few weeks. He's certainly not going to fall apart just because I'm not here."

  William contemplated what she'd said. He reached out his arms to her, and she stepped into them. He pulled her close.

  "I'm sorry, Annie. I didn't mean to make you feel guilty." The word 'guilty' stuck in his throat. He'd felt guilty often throughout the years after Sara died, and he hadn't realized he was pushing his feelings onto Annie. "I was only hoping you'd be able to be here. I'm sorry."

  He and Annie stood like that for several minutes, each in their own thoughts. Even though William had apologized, Annie had a feeling this conversation wasn't over.

  The rest of the weekend was quiet. They spent time on the beach and enjoyed grilled dinners each night with Sam and Sandy. It should have been a fun weekend, but the fact that Annie chose work over William and his family hung over their heads the entire time. Even though William didn't mention it again throughout the weekend, Annie sensed he was thinking about it. Often he was distracted or slow to respond to her when she spoke. He also didn’t attempt to hold her while they slept, which was unusual for him. By the time Monday rolled around, Annie was ready to spend some time alone at her own place. She made the excuse to William that she had a lot of work to do and thought she'd stay home for a few days. This time, he didn't try to talk her out of it, and his indifference hurt her deeply.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Annie had a lot to think about that next week. Although she spoke to William regularly on the phone, he seemed distant and distracted. They didn't make their usual plans to meet for lunch or go out to dinner. Even though she knew that William was upset about her missing Sam's graduation and party, Annie didn't understand why he was giving her the cold shoulder all week. Hadn't he just proclaimed his love for her the very night before she received the e-mail? Could his feelings for her have changed so quickly? She really didn't know what to think, and she felt hurt by his sudden change in attitude.

  Near the end of the week, Annie received the hospital records she'd requested in the mail. It was late in the evening when she'd picked up her mail, because she'd spent the day with Cherise shopping around town and having lunch at their favorite spot. Cherise's parents were back for the summer and working at the coffeehouse, so Cherise could sneak away more often than she could in the winter. Annie liked when the Adams' came home, because they treated her like family, and Cherise had more time for fun.

  Annie sat on her sofa and gingerly opened her hospital records from her appendectomy. The date of the surgery was clearly marked on the top of the page. It had been in early March as she'd suspected. She read through the surgeon's jargon, trying to understand what occurred during the surgery. Then she came upon the word 'expired', and that made her stop and re-read the sentence. Patient expired but was revived within 1.23 minutes. Annie frowned. Expired? Revived? She continued reading but found no other explanation of what had occurred during surgery. The records after the surgery did briefly state that all her functions seemed to be working properly, and there was no lasting damage from what occurred during surgery.

  Annie suddenly felt chilled. She shivered. Had she died during surgery and no one told her? Is that what the dreams were about—dying? Grabbing the blanket off the back of her sofa, she wrapped it around her to control the sudden chills. She tried to think back to her stay in the hospital but couldn't remember much about it. It was all a blur. Maybe the doctor had told her about dying during surgery, and she'd been too drugged to remember. All she remembered was her recovery took longer than expected, and she'd become depressed. She'd taken antidepressants for some time, then her depression finally lifted, and she felt normal again. But when did the dreams start? She really wasn't sure.

  As Annie contemplated this, Cherise's words from a few weeks ago came back to her. It's not like you both died during surgery, and you came back as her, right? Cherise had said jokingly. Now Annie wondered if she had been close to the truth.

  "Joey might know what happened," Annie said aloud to herself. He'd left her not long after her surgery, and they'd never discussed it, but maybe the doctors had said something to him. Annie looked at her phone. It had been almost five years since she'd talked to Joey, and she wondered if she should even try. But she needed to know for certain what happened that day of her surgery.

  Slowly, Annie tapped out the number she still remembered. She hoped he hadn't changed his phone number after all these years. It rang.

  "Hello?" a male voice answered.

  Annie froze. Should she answer or hang up? She suddenly felt silly for calling. "Joey? Joey Baird? Is that you?"

  "Yes," the voice on the other end said. "Who's this?"

  "It's me. Annie," she said softly.

  "Annie?" Joey asked, his voice questioning. "Annie Paxton? Oh my God! I can't believe it's you. How are you?"

  Annie relaxed when his tone sounded friendly and welcoming. "I'm fine. How are you doing?"

  "Great. This is such
a surprise. What's going on?"

  "I need to ask you a couple of questions," Annie began.

  Joey's tone became serious. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

  "Do you remember when we were still together and I had my surgery?" Annie asked.

  "Well, of course I remember. You scared me to death. I was afraid you were going to die before I could get you to the hospital. You were so ghostly pale. What about it?"

  Annie hesitated. No matter what she said, it was going to sound strange. "Did the doctors say anything to you after the surgery? Like, about how the surgery went. Or, if anything serious had happened during the surgery?"

  There was a long pause in which Annie didn’t hear a sound. She was afraid she'd lost the connection, but finally, Joey spoke. "The doctor did come out after your surgery and told me there had been some complications. But, weren't you told about all this?"

  "No, actually no one told me anything. Can you tell me what he said?"

  "Well, the doctor came out and said you were fine, but that you had some trouble with your heart during surgery, and they had to revive you. Apparently, you had a reaction to the anesthesia, and your heart stopped. I guess you were actually dead for a short time before they revived you. I can't believe you weren't told all this afterwards."

  Chills prickled Annie's arms. "I never heard about this until now. I was reading my medical file, and it said I'd expired during surgery, but I needed to find out more, so that's why I called you."

  "Are you okay? Has something happened that you need to know this now?" Joey asked, concern in his voice. His concern touched her.

  "No, nothing is wrong. I was just looking into what happened that day. Everything was so fuzzy then that I wanted to know what actually happened."