What If
Page 22
Chapter 22
Another One
Duncan would be gone for most of the day to meet up with his publicist. There would be some discussion on his new project to drive up with the fifth wheel and explore route 101 along the northern California, Oregon and Washington coast. It was a project he was looking forward to doing. Although he had briefly mentioned how great it would be for her art to go along with him, Heather had quickly told him that she wasn’t quite ready to discuss that kind of a trip. Alone with him for some time, she wasn’t sure how either of them would react. Although she was almost sure that Duncan was really Duncan and not Ian, she didn’t want to rush too fast into another relationship. Not yet.
Heather thought it would be best if she went back to the pier. It was close enough to the shop to walk and there were more photos she needed of the view from the end of the pier. That was a difficult painting. While she could visually see the town from the end of the pier, she wasn’t quite sure how much of Pismo Beach she wanted in the painting. She felt she should concentrate more on the limited view from the end of the pier. Perhaps some seagulls flying about and only a suggestion of people, if any. She would have to take many more photos to see what would look best.
She had to wait until there were fewer people on the pier. While she could mentally put them out of her thoughts, it would be easier if there were less people. She pointed the camera toward the ocean while she was waiting and took some snapshots of that area. There were never enough photos of all of the moods of the ocean, the way the sun danced on the waves. It was never the same. Then there were the surfers standing on their boards riding the waves, challenging the ocean. She had not yet done any art work including surfers, but she might. To be realistic, that might be good for sales. There were so many of them in the area. Again, she turned her camera toward the end of the pier and began to take as many photos as she could before more people invaded her space. Click, click. It was good that she had extra discs to put in her digital camera. Each one allowed her two hundred photos. Of course, she would only print what looked good. But this allowed her to take so many. Technology was wonderful, she thought as she took more.
Suddenly, she looked up, startled. Was that Duncan near the end of the pier? It couldn’t be. Maybe his meeting had ended early, but then there had been a long drive back from Santa Barbara. He couldn’t have made it back so soon. Again she adjusted the camera to take more photos of the man. She snapped away taking as many as possible while he was in her sight. Then he was gone. Why hadn’t he come back to where she was? Surely he had known it was her. They had even discussed her coming here the night before when he had told her he would be gone all day.
As she walked toward the beach, she kept looking for him. Where had he gone? Surely Duncan wasn’t haunting her. He was very much alive. Perhaps he had come back early to surprise her. Maybe he hadn’t seen her so far out on the pier and had gone back to Linda Sue’s shop to meet up with her. She hurried back to the shop.
“Hi, Linda Sue,” she called out toward the back room of the shop where she knew her employer was supposed to be framing some paintings.
Linda Sue came out to the front of the shop. “Did you get all the photos you need? I really think there will be a good market for this painting and a few more like it. It’s so unusual.”
“More than enough. Where is Duncan? Is he here?”
The pretty blonde looked startled. “No, why? I thought he was gone for the day.”
“I thought I saw him at the pier while I was taking photos. Perhaps I was wrong. Let me go into the office and print out some of the photos. I was so sure.”
Linda Sue rolled her eyes a bit. Not another look alike, she thought. “Sure, go in and print out some of the photos. The computer is on. I’d love to see them.”
“I was so sure,” Heather muttered as she went into the office. She took the disc out of the camera and inserted into the printer to download the photos. It had to be a mistake. If he wasn’t here, he was in Santa Barbara. There was no reason he would have lied to her. Not when they were getting along so well. It had to be a mistake.
As the photos loaded into the computer, she caught glimpses of the man. It did look like Duncan. Then she printed out a few of the better ones. Too bad she hadn’t thought to zoom in better. She did the best she could to enhance the pictures without ruining the view. Some were a bit blurred, but there were a few that looked so much like Duncan.
“Look,” she held up a few of the photos to Linda Sue. “Doesn’t that look like Duncan?”
“I’m not sure,” Linda Sue scratched her head. “I’m just not sure. Do you have any better ones?”
“No, that is the best I have. I forgot to zoom in.”
“Well, I guess you will just have to ask Duncan when he returns. Until then, just print out your photos and stop worrying about it. You know he would have come up to you if he had returned early. It was just a tall man that looks like him from a distance.” She said, but even she wasn’t sure.
Heather continued to print out the photos she thought she could use. A short time later, Duncan called to let her know he would be a little later than he had first planned and would it be alright to meet up the next day at his fifth wheel. “I’ve heard about this great restaurant I need to visit.” His voice was so casual, Heather was certain she had just made a mistake.