The Cast Net

by Mille West

  While at some of the schools, Mills discovered the buildings were of varying advanced ages. Some of the buildings had water stains on the ceilings and were in need of renovations.

  After the last assembly, Mills said to Dr. Warren, “I noticed that some of the schools we visited are in need of repair.”

  “This is rural South Carolina. Some school districts are more financially capable than others. The buildings in this area aren’t as bad as some I’ve seen.”

  “But why isn’t something done about it?”

  “In order to conquer problems with public education, there has to be enough concern in the state’s leadership.” Dr. Warren paused before continuing, “It takes generations to overcome the effects of poverty—I’m afraid the water is still wide.”

  After they parted ways with Dr. Warren, Cooper invited Mills to join him for a late lunch. “I know a wonderful Mexican restaurant near Walterboro.”

  She accepted his invitation and they drove to the restaurant on the outskirts of town. The building was constructed of concrete block and had brown leather booths and tables in the middle. Fans slowly rotated from the ceiling, and a waiter seated them in a rear booth. “Mr. Heath, I’m so glad to see you again. It’s been months since you’ve been in. What can I get you to drink? Margaritas?”

  “No, thank you, just iced tea for me.”

  “I’ll have the same,” Cooper added.

  While the waiter went to get their drinks, Cooper told her, “I think you’ll really enjoy their food. The chef is from Cuba and the owner is from Mexico.” Cooper was right. The dishes were spicy and delicious. She could have spent the rest of the day with him, but after they finished dining, he took her back to Edisto. Before she got out of the car, he told her, “Thank you for your help today. I think there were a number of students who were very interested in our scholarship program.”

  “You mean, your program.”

  “No, Mills, I mean it is our scholarship program.” She felt a blush spread over her face.

  Friday afternoon, while Mills read on her screened porch, Cooper came by to see her. He was nicely dressed in dark khakis and a white linen shirt. “I wanted to see you before I left. Are you going to the Freedom School with me on Sunday?”

  “Yes, where are you off to?”

  “My aunts and uncles want to take me out this weekend.”

  “Are you celebrating a special occasion?”

  “Yes, Saturday is my birthday, and they wanted to take turns treating me to dinner.”

  “I wish I’d known. How old will you be?”

  “I’ll be thirty-five.”

  She rose from her chair and kissed him on the cheek. “Happy birthday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.”

  He looked down into her eyes. His face was so handsome and he had such a calm look in his sapphire-blue eyes. “Thank you, Mills, and I hope you have a nice weekend as well.”

  Cooper continued to stand near her, and then, it was as though he felt that he had lingered too long. “I’d better go. See you on Sunday.”

  He left her cottage and walked to the end of the row of camellias before he turned and waved. She felt terrible that she had not known that Saturday was his birthday. She wondered what she should give him. She went into her cottage and began to think of a gift she could purchase in Charleston before she joined Joshua White for dinner the next evening. As she stood in her living area, her eyes focused on her recently completed painting of the field of daffodils near the old slave row. She was very proud of her artwork and she immediately realized that she’d like Cooper to have her painting. That evening, she signed the back of the canvas and entitled the painting, A Host of Golden Daffodils, as a tribute to the Wordsworth poem she had enjoyed so much as a child. She also wrote the inscription, “For my dear friend, Cooper, on the occasion of his thirty-fifth birthday.”

  Mills knocked on the glass doors of Joshua White’s office at six on Saturday evening. He was promptly at the door with a set of keys to let her inside the building. As soon as she entered, he put his arm around her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “I’m glad you could join me this evening. Now, here’s my treat—I’m about to show you one of the best views of Charleston’s harbor.” They took the lift to the rooftop, which had a beautifully designed sitting area. As a large container ship entered the harbor, Joshua commented, “That’s one of your employer’s ships—see on the side, ‘Heath Brothers.’ They have quite a fleet.”

  “Yes, I see the words now. That ship is enormous.”

  “I’ve seen larger ones come into port. Has Cooper given you a tour of one of their ships?”

  “Not yet.”

  “What would you like to drink?”

  “White wine would be fine. Thank you.”

  He returned with a glass of chardonnay for her, while he sipped a martini. They talked for over an hour, admiring the harbor at twilight, then Joshua looked at his watch and said, “Our dinner reservation is at eight at Carolina’s—we should probably get going.”

  When they reached the restaurant, their table wasn’t quite ready and they took a seat in the bar. Within a few minutes, Mills noticed a party of four following the maître d’ to a table in the back of the restaurant. The group consisted of Cooper, his aunt and uncle, and Jeff.

  “Well, speak of the devil,” Joshua said.

  “It’s Cooper’s birthday.”

  As soon as he noticed Mills, Cooper stopped to say hello, and he reintroduced his aunt and uncle. Jeff smiled and winked at her. “Joshua, it’s nice to see you again,” Cooper told him.

  “Mills has told me that you’re celebrating your birthday—so, happy birthday.”

  “Thank you, and I hope you and Mills have a nice evening.”

  Cooper smiled again and then continued with his party to their table. After a few more minutes, Mills and Joshua were seated in a location in the dining area that gave them a view of the table where Cooper sat.

  Joshua helped Mills with her chair and then sat in a seat that placed his back to Cooper’s family. “I’m going to sit in this direction, so that I don’t have to look at Jeff Radcliffe all evening,” he said with a wry smile.

  Twice, Mills glanced in Cooper’s direction and found him looking at her. He would smile and then return to the conversation at his own table.

  After dinner, Mills and Joshua walked around the downtown. Nighttime in the city was almost as beautiful as in the daytime because of the thoughtfully placed lighting on the homes. They found themselves in front of a house on Church Street with a plaque inscribed with the details of its haunting by the ghost of a long-dead physician. “Did you know that there are a number of haunted houses downtown?”

  “Yes, I have heard this. I’ve also been told that the old plantation ruin on Cooper’s property is haunted.”

  “Generations ago, that property was in Cooper’s family. He might know who’s rumored to have not rested in peace—I’m only kidding you.” He pulled her close to him and gave her a lengthy kiss on the mouth. Whoa—I’m not ready for this. “I have to catch a flight tomorrow morning back to Washington, and I’m probably going to be up there for the next
several weeks. I’d like for you to spend the night with me at my townhouse. It’s a long drive to Edisto.”

  “Joshua, I’m not ready for a commitment.”

  “Baby, I’m not asking you for a commitment. I do care about you, and I think we could give each other pleasure.”

  “No, we barely know each other—please walk me back to my car.”

  “I’m disappointed that you won’t stay with me tonight, but come on—we’re just a few blocks away from my office.”

  He walked her back to her car and then gave her another passionate kiss on the mouth.

  “Want to change your mind?”

  “Joshua—no.”

  “All right, honey. Good night and drive safely.”

  He closed the car door and stood in the parking lot until she drove away. He was very nice to her, but she was not in love with him and she didn’t want to be involved in a relationship that was based on sex.

  As she neared Alston Station, several wild animals crossed the road in front of her, their eyes glowing red in the headlights. Just before she reached Cooper’s driveway, she noticed lights, white and not very bright, deep in the woods near the direction of the old mansion ruin. For a moment, the lights appeared to move about, but as she pulled the car to the side of the road for a closer look, there was nothing, only darkness. What was that? She waited and watched, but there was only the blackness of night. As she drove down the sandy lane to Cooper’s house, she caught sight of the light on her porch, welcoming her home.

  When she woke the next morning, Mills made coffee and then put on her jeans and barn coat for an early morning walk to the river. There was a mist in the air. As she got closer to the water, the fog became so dense that she could only see a few feet in front of her. The air grew cold as she neared the river, and she pulled her coat tightly around her. A light shone inside the boathouse. She walked to a window and peered inside. Someone sat at the table in the center of the room. She wiped moisture from the glass. My God, it’s Cooper. What’s he doing out here? He stared out of the front window toward the river, and she thought that he spoke, but it was inaudible, except for the words, “in her sepulcher there by the sea.”

  When he stopped talking, he stared at an old lantern on the table in front of him. Concerned for his welfare, Mills knocked on the door of the boathouse. At first, he did not acknowledge her, but as she knocked louder, he looked in her direction and told her to enter. He appeared to be exhausted and he did not smile. His white shirt was open to his chest and his shirttail hung outside of his slacks.

  “Hello, Mills, what brings you out so early?”

  “I wanted to get some fresh air before I got dressed for church. Cooper, is there something wrong?”

  “I had a bad dream and I’m afraid I couldn’t sleep after it.”

  “Why are you down here?”

  “I like listening to the sound of the river.”

  She touched his hand and found that he was very cold. “Can I help you?”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment, and then, as if he had been somewhere far away, he turned and faced her. “I’m sorry, dear. What did you say?”

  “Cooper, why don’t you come with me to my cottage? I have hot coffee and I think you need to get out of the cold.”

  He slowly seemed to realize what she had said. He rose from the table and accompanied her back to her home. She fixed him a large mug of coffee and he wearily sat in one of her armchairs, his face drained of emotion. As Mills turned on the fire logs, she inquired, “Is there anything you’d like to talk about?”

  He stared into the fire, before responding, “No, but thank you for helping me.”

  “I thought I heard you talking when I came to the boathouse.”

  “I don’t remember.”

  He seemed as if he was in shock as he sat in silence in her living area. Worried about his state of mind, she attempted to comfort him by gaining his attention.

  “Cooper, how was your birthday celebration?”

  “What? Oh, it was very nice.”

  “I thought you planned to stay in Charleston until today.”

  “I wanted to come home.”

  Mills observed him in silence for a few moments and then went to retrieve her painting, A Host of Golden Daffodils, which was in her bedroom. She placed the neatly wrapped present in his lap. “This is my gift to you—happy belated birthday!”

  Her kind gesture seemed to take his mind off of what troubled him, and he looked up into her eyes. “Thank you, Mills. Should I open it now?”

  “Yes, absolutely!”

  As he removed the gift wrap from the painting, Mills stood by his side and watched his expression warm up with a smile as he studied the artwork. “This is beautiful. You painted this from the daffodils in the meadow?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  Cooper rose from his chair and put his arms around her. “Thank you for such a lovely, thoughtful gift.”

  The embrace lasted for just a moment, and then he took a deep breath and noticed that his shirttail was out of his pants. “What I must look like.”

  “Cooper, please let me help you.”

  He took another deep breath before responding, “Mills, I had a bad dream, but that’s all it was, a bad dream.”

  “I, too, have bad dreams sometimes.”

  He lifted the painting again to admire his gift. “Does the painting have a title?”

  “Yes, it’s entitled A Host of Golden Daffodils, after a Wordsworth poem that my mother read to Vivien and me when we were young.”

  “I’ll treasure it.”

  He glanced at his watch. “I’m holding you up. I know you’d like to dress for church.”

  “I’ll stay with you if you need me.”

  “No—no, I’m all right now. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

  CHAPTER 11

  “Annabel Lee”

  D uring church services, Mills could not stop thinking about Cooper and his troubles. She repeatedly offered her prayers to God for his well-being. The phrase that she had heard him say in the boathouse went through her mind repeatedly, “. . . in her sepulcher there by the sea . . .” Where have I heard that phrase before? A story, a poem? She recognized that she was being allowed a glimpse into his innermost frailties—perhaps the first person permitted to do so. When the services were over, she realized that she had not paid attention to the sermon as thoughts of Cooper had predominated. Mills rushed home from West Ashley, changed into work clothes, and went to Cooper’s house.

  He answered the door and welcomed her inside. They stood together in the foyer before he said, “I hope you will excuse my behavior this morning. I wasn’t myself.”

  “Cooper, we’re good friends, and friends look out for one another.”

  Her response brought a smile to his face. “I have something to show you.” He led her into his living room. Her painting was on the wall near the piano.

  “I can admire the daffodils while I play. It’s lovely.”

  “I’m so glad that you’re pleased.”

  When they re
ached the Freedom School, a large group of volunteers was working busily on the restoration. Finishing touches were under way and several people were painting the wooden siding and the hurricane shutters.

  Mr. Camp sat in front of a fire and he motioned for Cooper and Mills to join him. “Cooper, I believe that yesterday was your birthday. I know that I’m a day late, but happy belated birthday. Did you enjoy yourself?”

  “Yes, sir. My aunts and uncles and Jeff took me out to celebrate.”

  “Mr. Jeffrey, how is he? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

  “He’s well, but seems to be working most of the time.”

  “I see.” Mr. Camp looked at the schoolhouse. “I declare, this old building never looked so good, even when it was new.”

  After they spoke to Mr. Camp, Mills and Cooper began to help plant shrubbery around the school. “The next several weeks are going to be beautiful as the trees bud and the flowers bloom. April is one of my favorite months in Charleston,” Cooper told her.

  “Would it be all right if I plant some flowers around my cottage?”

  “Purchase whatever you want and I’ll reimburse you.”

  When they were finished with their work, Mills joined Mr. Camp by his fire.

  “Mr. Camp, can I ask you about something?” Mills asked.

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “On my way home last night, I saw some dim lights in the woods near the old house ruin that’s on Cooper’s property. Since the leaves aren’t out on the trees, I could see soft lights moving about. When I stopped the car to get a better look, the lights had vanished.”

  “Strange thing, these lights,” Mr. Camp said.