“Can’t hurt,” Jenny said halfheartedly.
“No, I’m resolved to do this. I’m leaving whenever the mission can find me an opening, at the latest in early July. I might even be going much sooner.”
“How soon?”
“Soon, that’s all.”
“Oh, that’s just wonderful!” Jenny exclaimed sarcastically. “You’re hurrying off to somewhere you don’t really want to go when you’re already somewhere you want to be. And what am I supposed to do with no best friend anymore?”
Ebony shook her head. “I don’t know what your problem is. You knew I was going in July anyway. What difference does it make if I leave a little earlier?”
“I couldn’t care less what you do!”
The two women grew moody and walked in silence along the shoulder of the road. Even though they were miffed at each other, Jenny and Ebony smiled cheerfully at a man and his wife getting out of their car, a baby in her arms. A few houses farther along, near the bridge, Mrs. Hurst, a woman in her seventies, waved to them, and Jenny called out, wondering if spring would ever arrive. Mrs. Hurst laughed and assured them that things would soon change.
“I’ll write every week,” Ebony said as they walked across the bridge into Bayside.
“Don’t bother. I’m not going to read your letters.”
“You’re just angry because you still feel guilty.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You know very well what it means.”
A brief silence followed.
“What are you going to do with your house,” Jenny asked, “or have you still not figured that out?” She paused. “Maybe you could let the teenagers use it as a drinking hangout on Friday nights.”
“I’ve already covered that with Martha. She said she might want to rent my place and could even buy it.”
Jenny bit her lip, and Ebony stared ahead with firm resolve. Both of them seemed to want to say something, but neither wanted to provoke a further confrontation. Knowing each other inside out, as best friends are wont to do, they simply continued walking in silence toward the house Jenny would be renting to Rebecca.
“I feel a heavy rain coming,” Ebony said.
The two women ran to the house, opened the door, and hurried inside just as the skies opened.
“What a dull afternoon,” Jenny said as they entered the kitchen. Her tone, as is often the case among close friends, did not betray that they had argued earlier. “The weather can be so dreary in the spring. Quite depressing.”
“True,” Ebony said shortly.
“Why are you crying?” Jenny asked softly, looking at her.
Ebony patted away her tears with a tissue. “I don’t know.” She sniffled and put on a brave face. “I haven’t been happy on my birthday for a long time.”
“Penny for your thoughts.”
“It’s sad,” Ebony answered, “but sometimes people hurt each other, even those they love.”
Jenny scrunched up her nose. “Let’s not be so glum. This is your birthday. And look, it’s clearing again.”
Ebony nodded and forced a smile.
Though the house was thoroughly clean, the two of them swept and dusted out of a sense of obligation. When they were about to leave, Ebony, by accident, brushed against Jenny’s purse and knocked it off the counter. The wallet fell out and flipped open, revealing a picture of Ethan with his arm around his sister. His hair was dark like hers and his features similar, though in the old photograph, Jenny looked to be about fifteen, and he was five years older. Jenny glanced awkwardly at Ebony, then hurriedly knelt down to scoop up the contents. She closed her purse as quickly as she could.
“Sorry,” Jenny mumbled.
“Time to go,” Ebony said, pretending nothing had happened. “I don’t want to be late for my surprise.”
* * * *
Even though it was six thirty and the rush hour was over, the traffic was much heavier than Ethan anticipated. The city itself had changed dramatically since the last time he saw it. Some of the architecture he particularly liked, especially the rejuvenated waterfront and its historic properties, but the volume of traffic shocked him. He shook his head going through the roundabout and then took a deep breath as he turned onto the Prospect Road. Soon, very soon, he would come face-to-face with Ebony. He had prepared perfectly for this moment, but as the hour drew near, he found himself perfectly unprepared for it.
As he passed through the villages, his nerves stretched to the breaking point. Every part of the road, from the ballfield in Goodwood where his team had won the championship, to the beach next to White’s Lake where he had partied and brawled, every inch held a piece of his history. But it was the people he knew, the human lives that had intertwined with his own, that preoccupied him. He pondered the disappointments and his own great failings, but now his past and future were two freight trains speeding toward one another on the same track, soon to hit head-on in a collision with fate. And this collision would occur the moment he looked into Ebony’s eyes.
* * * *
Ebony and Jenny hurried down the road. They retraced their steps, first crossing the bridge, then again waving to Mrs. Hurst. They passed the archery club, the government wharf, the Smelt Brook. The skies were clearing to the west, and the late-afternoon sun looked like a rainbow mixed in a blender and splashed against the sky.
“…don’t you think?” Jenny asked in a raised voice as they walked past the cemetery.
“I’m sorry,” Ebony said, turning to her with a distracted look. “I was drifting.”
“It’s turning out to be beautiful day, don’t you think?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Could anything be more beautiful than a sunset in Shad Bay?”
“No,” Ebony admitted, looking at the beautiful pastel colors above the big island.
“Why leave it then?”
“Beauty is everywhere. I’m sure there are spectacular sunsets in Africa, too.”
“Tell me the truth, Ebony. Do you really want to leave?”
“My furnace broke down last night,” Ebony said, keen on changing the subject. “But I got distracted and forgot to call the serviceman. I think I’ll wait until Monday.”
“Is that wise?”
“I have the woodstove. I’ll be fine. Besides, Jackie Dow is on call, and they have a new baby. I don’t want to bother him on a weekend.”
“Do you really want to go to Africa?” Jenny persisted.
Ebony looked straight ahead and was unwilling to continue speaking. They reached the Harrington house and walked up the driveway. At the door, Doc greeted them wearing a pyramid-shaped multicolored birthday hat sitting crookedly on his head.
“Little late,” he noted, holding up his watch to show them it was ten minutes to seven. “But that’s okay. Birthday girls are allowed to be late. In fact, we all know it is not only the right of women to be late, it’s their obligation!”
Ebony and Jenny laughed.
Doc was in his early seventies and very distinguished looking in his sharp clothes and flowing mane of gray hair. He wore a smooth green satin vest with dark green and black alligators printed on it, the chain of a gold watch dangling from his breast pocket. His loose brown trousers seemed modest compared to the flashy black leather shoes, but suited him nicely. For all his dignity, though, there was a mischievous, almost childlike twinkle in his eyes that never left his animated features. He gestured for them to come inside.
“So, do we still get a piece of cake?” Jenny asked as she and Ebony entered.
“Of course you do,” Rebecca said, laying out plates. “In fact, since Dad’s belly is getting a little too big lately, I think you can have his piece, too.”
“Let’s not get carried away!” Doc declared with an offended expression, then winked at Ebony and Jenny.
Rebecca pinched his cheek. “Just kidding, Dad.”
Jenny looked around the room. “Where’s Ron?”
“He took your advice and we
nt bowling with the other teachers. He figured that would give him a chance to get to meet them in a relaxed atmosphere.”
“He’ll fit right in,” Jenny assured her.
“Hope so,” Rebecca said with a nervous laugh. “Ron is slow at making friends.”
“He’ll be fine.” Jenny suddenly grew very animated. “Well, do you think I should give Ebony her other present now? I can’t wait much longer.”
“Jenny, you’ve already given me a wonderful present.”
“Oh well,” she said with a laugh.
“I don’t know when Ron will get back,” Rebecca noted, glancing at the clock, “so we might as well have our little party now.”
She brought out the cake, complete with the words “Happy Birthday, Ebony.” Doc had meticulously placed twenty-eight pink spiral candles on top. He lit them, and after a little coaxing, Ebony blew them all out in one try. Everyone laughed and congratulated her, and then Doc clapped and sang “Happy Birthday” in his deep, clear voice.
“Pavarotti has nothing on you, Dad,” Rebecca teased.
“He was a good student.”
Jenny looked hard at him. “A good student?”
“I taught him to sing,” Doc said, keeping a straight face. “He never had my natural ability, but he was doggedly determined.”
Everyone laughed, and Jenny went to her room and brought back a wrapped gift.
“Hope you like it,” she said, presenting it to her friend.
“Two gifts,” Ebony said to Rebecca and Doc. “First my favorite movie, now a second present. This woman is incorrigible.”
Jenny beamed at the description of herself.
Ebony unwrapped the small package, and her eyes opened wide. “It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed.
The present was a small piece of stained glass. The size of Ebony’s palm, the glass was stained with vibrant colors and a golden border. It depicted a young woman standing beside a lighthouse and waving to a young man steering his fishing boat into a sheltered cove. Every detail was vivid and sharp, rich in texture, and meticulously crafted.
“Thank you,” Ebony said, hugging Jenny. “It’s so beautiful! It’s from the gift shop, isn’t it?”
She nodded with childlike joy. “The day we went to Peggy’s Cove, you couldn’t take your eyes off it, so I knew it would be the perfect birthday present.”
“It’s a lifelong keepsake. I’ll cherish it always. You really are too kind to me, Jenny.”
“What can I say? You’re the best friend I ever had.”
Doc took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Ebony. “Here’s a little something I wrote for you.”
Ebony smiled as she read it to herself and then passed it to the other women.
“This is lovely,” said Jenny, smiling, “but quite the coincidence. Your poem is exactly the same as one of Shakespeare’s sonnets.”
“Doesn’t surprise me in the least,” he said with a wave of the hand. “Every two-bit hack plagiarizes my work.”
The women laughed.
“Oh, there’s one other thing,” Rebecca said, picking a green envelope off the china cabinet. “This came for you today. It was in the mailbox.”
“The surprise I referred to,” Doc said. “I saw a car drop it off this morning.”
“What car?” Ebony asked.
“I don’t know, just a car. It stopped, then left.”
“What is it?” Ebony asked, placing her stained glass picture on the table and reaching for the envelope with a look of confusion. She read her typed name on a white label. “Who could have possibly given this to me?”
“Secret admirer?” Jenny teased with an animated laugh. “Trying to get in your good graces?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“I hear a car,” Doc said, starting to get up. “Must be Ron.”
Ebony was going to wait until Ron came in, but everyone urged her to open the envelope. She smiled awkwardly, then, slowly and deliberately, opened it and found a small white cardboard box. Hesitantly she started to lift off the top. Her friends, eager to see what it was, crowded round and encouraged her with nods and gestures. Ebony removed the cover and found a beautiful locket. Attached to a fine golden chain, the heart-shaped locket gleamed brilliantly, its outside edge spotted with five tiny jewels, all of different colors.
Ebony smirked with bewilderment. “It’s a beautiful piece of jewelry, but I can’t imagine who would give it to me.”
Everyone shrugged, and they could hear Ron walking up the back steps. He entered the porch. Ebony pressed a catch and opened the locket. Engraved inside were two words: Forgive me.
“Does anyone know where this locket came from?” Ebony appealed, glancing around the room with anxiety, her voice strained.
“I do,” answered Ethan Harrington as he stepped into the kitchen.
Rebecca and Doc, seeing a complete stranger before them, looked in surprise. Jenny’s mouth fell wide open. She stared at her brother in silence for a moment, glanced awkwardly at Ebony, and unconsciously covered her mouth with her hand. Ethan glanced affectionately at her, then leveled a solemn gaze at Ebony.
“Happy birthday,” he said softly.
Ebony gasped as if she had seen a ghost. She staggered backward and bumped into the table, knocking the stained glass picture to the floor. It broke into several pieces. Ebony looked down in a kind of drunken haze, and then her eyes darted around the room, focusing briefly on the faces of Jenny and her new friends, then the clock on the wall. For some unknown reason, she noted that it was seven sharp. Then, irresistibly, she turned once again to the handsome, dark-haired man who studied her every move.
“Ethan,” Jenny murmured, staring at her brother. “Ethan!”
Ethan smiled at his sister with a pained look, then returned his gaze to Ebony. Without uttering a single word, whole worlds of meaning passed between the three of them. Ebony noticed Rebecca watching the scene in disbelief. She and Doc seemed befuddled beyond measure, looking at each other openmouthed.
Ron, who arrived moments after Ethan, suddenly opened the door. “Sorry I’m late, everybo…” His voice died, just as if someone was turning down the volume on a radio.
Ethan, noticing Ron only slightly, stumbled forward as if in a daze and stopped directly in front of Ebony. He tried to speak, but could not. She recoiled slightly, then suddenly swung her hand with tremendous force and slapped him across the face with a resounding whack! It was so loud and so shocking that everyone stepped back with a gasp. Ethan winced and turned away, his cheek turning blood red. Jenny shrieked and ran to him, throwing her arms around her brother. He hugged her back. Rebecca and Doc glanced at Ron and grimaced.
Ebony, shocked by her own action, moaned like a wounded animal and quickly ran out the door, tears streaming down her face. Her features were contorted, frantic. She seemed to see nothing, hear nothing, understand nothing. The world was a senseless mass of light and figures, so unreal at this moment that everything was like a dream, a mad dream from which she could run, but not escape. It was the moment she had dreamed of, longed for, dreaded—dreaded with every fiber of her being, so much so that she would have given almost anything to be in Africa right now, far from the shock fate had delivered her. But in her right hand she firmly clung to the locket. His locket. The locket he had just given her.
Her locket.
Chapter Two
Ebony ran down the Harrington driveway as if her life depended on it. Images flashed with lightning quickness, as if a thousand memories appeared all at once, then shredded into myriad meaningless pieces. Ebony could not hang onto one solid thought or define any of these new and strange emotions erupting within her, but she ran with all her strength away from that house, away from that man, away from those memories. Soon she was gasping for breath, and drivers in passing cars slowed to look at her, yet she did not slacken her pace, nor did she care who they were or what they thought. His face, burned into her mind’s eye as if with a branding iron, was all she could see. She cou
ld not even remember running up her own driveway and rushing into her house.
Without turning on any lights, she stood at her living room window, panting and staring at the Harrington house, feeling his presence like a great magnetic force. She wished with all her soul that he would go away, go away and never return. She tried to force him out of her mind. Never, not once, would she ever think of him again. But his gorgeous eyes appeared right in front of her. She shook her head and banished him from her thoughts. Then, abruptly, she was gripped by the fear that Ethan was following her and that he was reaching out to touch her. She raced to the door and leaned her back against it. Her chest heaved, and her face, as fragile as fine glass, seemed like it might shatter.
In the perfect silence, Ebony finally caught her breath. Though she felt under some semblance of control in her own home, she knew that everything, absolutely everything, had changed. She plugged in her electric heater, absentmindedly started another fire, then sat at the kitchen table. Bathed in the mellow glow from the streetlight outside, she buried her face in her hands and cried. She cried like a child lost in the woods, alone and terrified.
“Think things through,” she urged herself. “Deal with it!”
Suddenly, though, a car pulled into her driveway. Ebony could not move, so overwhelmed was she by emotion. Her hands literally trembled. The door slowly creaked open, and a breath of cold wind brushed the back of her neck. She swallowed hard, afraid to look. The door slowly closed, and she was no longer alone. Someone moved toward her in the dim light. Though she could feel the presence directly behind her, she did not turn her head. A hand touched her shoulder, and she jumped, quickly spinning around to see if it was him.
“Rebecca!” she exclaimed with a sigh of great relief. “Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
Ebony took a deep breath.
“We decided it was a good idea for me to come see you,” Rebecca said tentatively, staring into Ebony’s eyes, “just to make sure you’re all right.”
“Where is he?”
Rebecca sat across from her at the table. “He’s visiting with Jenny, if you could call it that. They seem awkward with each other considering they’re brother and sister. Apparently, he’s going to row out to his cottage on the big island.”
The Reunion Page 2