Seventeen Days

by D. B. James

  “Your urgent text messages gave me the pregnancy test idea. Since I was already in the aisle, I grabbed a ton of them and ran over as quickly as possible. We don’t actually need one. Um, but I do need to go back to the aisle, for other things.” She’s so cute when she rambles, hell who am I kidding, she’s cute period. She’s nervous, so I leave her to go back to the aisle alone. And there I go with the cute word, again.

  “Okay, babe, meet me over in the dairy section. I’ll grab eggs and whatnot and leave you to get whatever it is you need.” Knowing full well what she needs in that aisle but choosing not to say, she’s embarrassed enough. Bending, I place a kiss upon her cheek and leave her with the buggy.

  Did I actually ask her to marry me in the middle of a fucking grocery store? Yeah, I did. Smooth, jackass. Real fucking smooth. Making a pact with myself not to bring up the word marriage again until December, I grab the eggs, almond milk, ready-made pizza dough, and am browsing the cheese selections when she finds me. “Grab a bag of shredded mozzarella and we can call it good.”

  “Any mozzarella won’t do, we need provolone, and parmesan as well. The more cheese, the better in my book,” I reply with a confident smirk.

  “You’ve made your point more cheese is good. I grabbed a jar of sauce before coming to find you, and also fresh spinach, eggplant, tomatoes, and garlic cloves. The more veggies, the merrier.”

  Eggplant? No, not on my pizza. Not on my anything. Hopefully I can leave it in the buggy when we’re checking out and she’ll never notice. Or conveniently leave it off the pizza when I’m tossing it together. Never been a fan of eggplant anything. Spinach, I can stomach, but not eggplant. Have to draw the line somewhere.

  “Babe? Put the eggplant back.” I may have said it like a question at first but I didn’t give her sufficient time to answer before turning it into a statement. Eggplant and this dude do not mix. Ever.

  “No, I will not put the eggplant back. If you don’t want it on your pizza, you don’t have to have it on your pizza, but I want eggplant. Deal with it.”

  It appears my spitfire of a girl back in full force. Good, I haven’t seen her in a while, and I thought maybe she was left behind in Paris. She hasn’t been her feisty self-much lately. Wait, I take it back. She was feisty to Sienna the day she showed up at Savannah’s. What I ended up overhearing, anyway. She didn’t back down from the bitch. I’ve been debating on calling Julian lately and seeing if there’s any legal action that can be taken out on Sienna. But without losing Morgan’s confidence, I can’t do it. Her confidence in me means the world to me. Maybe if I get advice from an unknown third party? Seek legal advice from one of those random lawyers who advertise all over the radio or television. Fuck, anyone who could give me peace of mind.

  “Fine, get the eggplant. But I won’t be eating it. No can do, not even for you, sweetness.”

  “But you would eat anything else I asked you to?” she asks sweetly.

  Did I say I would?

  “No, I didn’t say that. At least, I don’t believe I did.”

  “Well, I could always go find Jess and tell her you're free tonight to take her out, if you like. Or maybe you could try a teeny tiny bite of eggplant on your pizza. Honestly, I didn’t plan on you trying it when I tossed it in the buggy, but now you’ve planted the idea in my head, and I shall make you try it. Muah-ha-ha-ha.” Reaching up, she grabs my face and plants a loud smack on my lips. “That’s my evil laugh, by the way,” she says as she saunters, yes saunters, away.

  Fuck … this woman. She’s amazing.

  “You should have seen her face, Aunt Savannah. I wish we could’ve taken a picture. Funniest. Thing. Ever. Now I want to run into a bunch of Harrison’s old conquests and pull pranks on them, if only to see the looks on their faces. Today may have been a tiring day, but the expression on her face made it all worth it. I don’t care if she tells the whole town I’m knocked up!”

  Smiling to myself, I continue slicing up veggies for our pizzas while Morgan fills in her aunt on our eventful trip to the store. Shit, Jess can post it as her Facebook status and I wouldn’t care. The world could think I was expecting a baby and I’d be happy about it. Eventually, I want to have a few children anyway, so why would I give a shit if people thought we were starting before we were married?

  “Oh! Harrison, before I forget, I saw on the weather about a big storm is coming in. Do you have a tour scheduled for the morning?” Savannah asks, her voice full of concern.

  “Yeah, but the last I checked the storm is going to pass over this part of the gulf, so we should be okay. We’ll check again before going out in the morning. No worries.” We’ve dealt with storms before, hurricanes even, so I’m sure Gentry and I will be good in the morning. Steve has the day off and Thad is still out sick. We have the one tour going out and that’s it. “Promise, ladies, we’ll double and triple check. Red, you can stay home in the morning, you caught everything up today, and I don’t want to be out on the water worrying about you in the office if it does indeed storm.”

  The mood in the place went from one of delight to somber in an instant. Red must not have seen the forthcoming weather reports. Shit. She’s never had to deal with a storm yet. Being on the gulf it’s a common thing around here and we depend on the morning weather reports, checking those right up to the minute before we leave. Checking them the entire time we’re out as well. A tourist catching a fish isn’t worth them losing their lives over. Money in my pocket isn’t worth it, either. Nothing is. I’ve never taken a risk with taking the boats out in inclement weather before, and I sure as hell wouldn’t start now.

  “Red?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t worry, babe. Not about the weather, and not about me. I’ve never taken a risk when it comes to the weather, and tomorrow won’t be any different. Ever heard the saying, ‘mackerel scales and mares tails cause tall ships to fly low sails’? It’s something we abide by once we’re out on the water, if the weather changes, paying attention to the clouds can tell us a lot about what is coming. Trust me, we’ll be careful. No unnecessary risks will be taken. Not tomorrow, or ever.” I’m not worried about the storm. If it was a hurricane, I would have already called off the tour, stored the boats, boarded up the office windows, you name it, I’d have done it. Evacuated if it called for it. We don’t play with storms in these parts.

  “Now, who’s ready for some pizza? These bad boys appear good to go. Let’s toss ‘em in the oven, ladies!”

  Before you ask, yes, I put eggplant on one of the pizzas. I’ll try it, for her. This one time. If I have to down a whole beer to get it down my throat, so be it.

  “Come on, Red, let’s go watch the sunset from the porch swing while these bake.”

  Setting the oven timer, grabbing a couple of beers from the fridge, we head outside to watch the sunset. “What's actually bothering you? The weather or something else?”

  “Nothing, really. The weather does bother me, but I trust you to know what’s best. You’ve been doing this for a while now, so you know what you’re doing. I’m only thinking. About my future and what I’d like to study. I’ve been thinking about going into business. Opening my own coffee-bookshop after college. I’m actually toying with the idea of asking Julian to buy the land next to your place. It’s a great spot.”

  Holy crap. She wants to open up shop next to me? I’m in love with the idea. We could build and expand the business together. The office could be attached to her shop. How cool would it be?

  “It’s a fantastic idea, babe. You should do it. If he doesn’t want to buy the land, I could see about buying it. I’m already expanding, so it would make sense for me to purchase the land. We don’t need it for the charter business, but I could get it for you for later, while it’s up for sale. I also happen to know the owners; they may sell it to me without using the realtor so that would save us money too.”

  She shouldn’t call Julian, fuck it, I can buy the land. Give it to her as a wedding present. “Tell you what, do
n’t ask him to buy it. I’ll see what I can do. If you want to buy it from me later on down the road, you can. I’ll snatch it up for you this week.” It’s hers, no matter what, she’ll never buy it from me. Never owe me for it. Her love is payment enough.

  Wonder if her going into business has anything to do with me or if it’s something she’s deep down always wanted to do? “If you like, I can help you pick out classes. When we go up to visit campus, we can stop into admissions as well. Get a class schedule, and I can show you where everything is. Unless you decide on a different university, you’d be prepared come spring semester.”

  “That’d be great. About the classes. The land, I’m going to run the idea by Julian first. See if he wants to invest in it. He may want to be a business partner if he likes my idea. And I have a name picked out. Would you like to hear it?” Wow, she honestly has given this more thought than I knew about.

  “Lay it on me, what’s the name you’re thinking of? And would you only sell coffee and books? Before today, I didn’t know you knew what you wanted to major in. Thought that was something you’d still had to decide on. You’ve mentioned business maybe once, back in Paris.” At least, that’s what I remember.

  “It was. Well, that’s not entirely true. Deep down, I’d always wanted my own little place. I never thought it was anything I could do, though. Sienna has always filled my head with lies. Always told me I’d amount to nothing so it’s what I choose to believe. Until the last few months when I started to stand up for myself, I believed her. Always thought I was destined to be nothing but used. It’s what I saw myself as, Harrison. A fucking pawn. Now, though? Now I see myself as so much more. It’s mostly because of you. Because of this place. Savannah. Dog. Mac. The sunsets and rises. Julian. But mostly because of a stormy-eyed jackass named Harrison who makes me believe in more.”

  How can I not kiss her after that? I can’t form any words to say back to her. She’s left me speechless yet again. This amazing, fierce woman has left me speechless by loving me. Too bad it was all about to come to an end, I just didn’t know it yet.

  Waking in my own bed felt foreign to me. The smell of Harrison didn’t envelop me like it would on any other morning.

  It’s the first morning since coming to Alabama I’ve felt off balance.

  Nothing feels right. I’m not able to explain it. And then I look outside and see the storm clouds. Shit. That’s why I’m feeling off. It’s storming out and Harrison is out on the water. He promised he wouldn’t leave if the weather was bad. Dammit, he promised. He fucking promised.

  Jumping from my bed, I run down the stairs to find the house empty. What did I think I’d find, my aunt in the kitchen as worried as I am? You’re a stupid naive girl. What he said about not going out in the rain yesterday, was only bullshit. Of course he was going to go out in the rain. You’re a stupid twit. It’s his job after all.

  Take it easy on yourself, Morgan. Quit calling yourself names.

  Telling my internal voice to fuck off, I run to locate my cell phone, and I quickly dial him, and what do you know, it goes straight to voicemail. Not taking that for an answer, I call the satellite phone. Not getting an answer on it, either, I call Gentry next. He doesn’t pick-up. Figures.

  After about twenty minutes, I try all three again with still no answer and only Mac and the thunder keeping me company. At least there's no lightning, that’s a good sign, right? Can I honestly take a lifetime of this kind of worry? Always wondering when a storm hits if he’s going to come home? Am I strong enough? Can I be that kind of woman? Yes. Wait, no. Maybe.

  I’d like to think I can be, but honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never felt like a strong person until recently, and it’s mostly due to Harrison. All it’s taken to break me apart is a stupid little storm. I’m freaking-the-fuck-out right now. If there was any hard liquor in this house, it’d be my best-friend-forever at this point. I’d be slushed and not giving two fucks. Laughing to myself, I realize exactly how crazy I sound. Calm down, Morgan, it’s a storm and not a bad one. Harrison is fine. He’ll see you called and will call you back shortly. Calm your tits, girlfriend. Did I really tell myself to calm my tits? You bet your ass I did.

  Trying one more time to reach him with no luck, I call Julian. May as well try to take my mind off things by focusing on anything else. Wouldn't you know it, his voicemail picks up too. My luck today sucks. Leaving him a quick message, I hang up and call my aunt. She, at least, answers.

  “I know, I know, you’re freaking out. I’m on my way home. The weather reports aren’t too bad. So don’t worry about it more than you have too. My last patient left a few minutes ago, I’ll be there shortly.” She didn’t say hello. God bless the woman.

  “Thank you,” is all I reply. Running back upstairs, I decide to take a shower. Might as well do something productive with my worry while waiting for her to get home. Taking both my cell and the home phone into the bathroom with me—wouldn’t want to miss a return call.

  When I finally make it back downstairs, my aunt is pulling into the drive, and there’s still no word from Harrison.

  She runs to the back door, but she should’ve walked, running didn’t stop her from getting soaked. “Do you want to go wait for him at the office? Will it help you worry less?”

  The thought has crossed my mind, but what he said yesterday evening also comes to mind about his worrying if I was in the office. “No, I don’t think it’s a good idea. There’s too many windows at the office. We’ll be better here; I’ll worry anywhere. The weather reports truly aren’t too bad? Be honest, give it to me straight. Don’t sugar coat it.”

  “They said the worst has already passed us by. It didn’t really hit us here, and the clouds should be lifting shortly. We’ve seen the heavy rains, but most of it skipped over this area. I don’t think we should let ourselves worry too much. Have you tried calling him? Of course you have, don’t answer me. It was silly of me to ask.”

  If I wondered where my nervous rambling came from, I don’t any longer. She’s as bad as I am. Funny, I never noticed Sienna doing it. It appears most of my best traits I get from my aunt. And Julian, I’m sure. Although, I haven’t spent enough time in his presence to know for sure.

  “It may be only eleven in the morning and I’m a minor, but can we open a bottle of wine? Don’t know about you, but I could go for a glass or ten.” Like I said, if hard liquor would’ve been in the house, we already would’ve been acquainted. Aunt Savannah doesn’t have a problem with my drinking on occasion, she did see me having a beer last night, but I’m not entirely sure she’d be a fan of my day-drinking.

  “That’d be okay with me. But, I think this calls for something a tiny bit stronger. You’ve earned it. In the pantry all the way in the back on the top shelf is where I keep the good stuff. Tell you what, I’ll go grab it. You grab two glasses and meet me in the living room.”

  There’s something stronger here and I didn’t know it? Good damn thing, or I’d be passed out on the floor by now. Mac follows me into the living room and plops down at my feet. “Hey, I know when we first met, we didn’t get off on the right foot, but you’re an okay dude. Can we be friends, Mac? I could use a friend right now.” As I’m rambling to Mac, tears start to form in my eyes. What ifs start playing in my head again. I can’t help but think of the worst possible outcome. If only Harrison would answer my call.

  Stupid storm.

  Stupid love.

  Stupid dog.

  Stupid hormones.

  Doubt if I wasn’t on my period I would be half this emotional. Oh, who am I kidding? We all know I would be. Fucking Harrison. Stupid guy making me fall in love with him. He all but dared me to love him. He said a lot could happen in a few short days. He was right. He made me love him within those days. Although, I’m pretty sure I loved him the first day, the moment my jade eyes met his stormy gray eyes.

  “Wasn’t sure what you’d like best, so I grabbed three bottles. We have my friends Jim, Jose, and Jack. If you haven’t
met them before, now you can meet them again. We’re good friends on occasion.”

  Laughing a little, because hey it was funny, I reach for the bottle of Jack. We’ve had a good relationship in the past. “He’s a been a good friend to me. Jose, not so much. Jim? Maybe, but the jury's still out.”

  “Good call. Jack is always the right choice for us Young women. We can’t go wrong with a little Jack in our Coke. In case you need to know, Jim is a good standby. Jose is good in emergencies which is why I brought him out. But he can go back in hiding now. He’s a fair-weather friend.” She’s trying her best to crack me up this morning. It’s mostly working. Mostly. Good to know my sense of humor is still intact.

  “Use a heavy hand when pouring, Aunt Savannah.” The heavier, the better as far as I’m concerned. Screw the glass and let me drink from the bottle. That’d be better.

  “Only because you’re stressed and worried am I even allowing this. I’m pouring you three fingers, and that’s it. It’s equal to three shots, and it’s more than enough. You’ll be lucky to stay awake after that much straight Jack. If we hear from Harrison before you drink it all, or the storm passes, you’ll dump it down the sink. You hear me?”

  Well … shit.

  “What if I drink it super-fast?”

  “If you drink it that fast, you deserve to pass out, sweet girl.”

  If I pass out, then I won’t have to worry about Harrison and Gentry.

  If I pass out, I’ll wake up and this will be over.

  If I pass out, I’ll wake up and this will all have been a nightmare.

  If I pass out, Harrison will be here when I wake up.

  If I pass out.

  If I pass out.

  If I pass out.

  If I pass out.

  When I pass out.