“I know. I can’t believe it. Sean and I thought Meredith would be all right with our being together, but we didn’t really know that for sure.”
“Now you do. What do you think you’re going to do about it?”
“I don’t know. Sean’s gone. I don’t know what to do.”
“Your sister very clearly condones a relationship with Sean. Let me say this, Marla. Sean needed to go and you released him. That’s real love in my book. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “let them go and if they return to you, it’s true love.”
“I’ve heard that,” Marla said.
“What are you feeling about Sean after reading Meredith’s diary? What are you feeling about Michael? I know it’s complicated.”
“Reading that part in her diary opened up my heart to Sean again. I thought it was closed for good. But now it’s not.” Marla paused, choosing her words. “It’s been good to be with Michael. He’s a good person and he’s been there for me. But I know that I don’t love him, not in the great romantic way I love Sean.”
“You just said you love Sean,” Diane said.
“Yes. I love Sean.” And then she started to cry.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sean left the mountains behind him and headed down the highway to Bay Point. Cody stuck his head out the window and let the wind blow in his face and hair. Sean had been very out of touch with Marla and had no idea what kind of reception he was going to get. But he didn’t want to call her. He wanted to surprise her. That would tell him a lot.
He called his mother once he was out of the mountains.
“I left the mountains,” he told her.
“Are you coming to Atlanta?”
“Not yet. I’m going to Bay Point. I’ve got some things I need to take care of there.” He couldn’t tell his mother about Marla. Not right now. But when he did, he was sure that she would be happy for him. She had been so worried.
“I know my car is there taking up space,” he said.
“It’s all right. No problem,” his mother said. She was a good mother.
“I was thinking of giving it to Caitlin. She’s always loved it. Do you think she would want it?”
“What are you going to drive?” his mother asked. “If you give your car to your sister?”
“I bought a truck. I don’t really want the BMW anymore. It doesn’t suit me.”
“Oh,” his mother said. “Well, I think Caitlin would love to have it. Should I call her when we hang up and tell her?”
“Definitely. Tell her she can get it anytime she wants.”
“Are you giving it to her?” his mother asked. “Giving it and not selling it?”
“Giving it,” Sean said. He felt good when he got off the call with his mother. Caitlin was going to be so surprised.
He kept driving and by the time he got to Mobile it was dark. He decided to stop for the night and get a fresh start for Bay Point in the morning. He figured the more expensive hotels wouldn’t allow Cody so he opted for a Days Inn on the edge of town. In the room, he gave Cody food and water, which the dog lapped up gratefully.
After a shower, Sean looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit he was a little scraggly looking. His hair and beard could use a trim. He’d do that in Mobile before he went to Bay Point. He fell into the bed and Cody lay down on the floor beside him. Good dog.
Sean drove through the streets of Mobile the next day looking for a barber’s pole. Surely, there were still barber’s poles, he thought. He finally spotted one and pulled his truck into a parking space. He put the leash on Cody and the dog jumped out of the truck.
“Do you allow dogs in here?” Sean said when he opened the door. An old black man who was standing by a barber’s chair cutting a man’s hair looked up at him. He gave Sean the up and down before breaking into a big smile.
“Sure,” he said. “Bring him in. I’ll get to you in a few minutes. That all right?”
“That’s fine,” Sean said leading Cody to a chair against the opposite wall. He sat down and waited. About ten minutes later, the barber brushed the man’s back and neck and he left.
“Come on over here,” the man motioned to Sean. He and Cody walked over to the chair.
“What can I do for you today?” the barber asked.
“Well, all I want is a trim on my hair and beard and mustache. Can you do all that?”
“Sure can.” The barber put a towel around Sean’s neck and removed the elastic from Sean’s hair. He brushed it out and Sean couldn’t believe how long it had gotten.
“You wanna keep the tail or you wanna go shorter?” the barber asked.
Sean thought for a minute. “Let’s go shorter, like to here,” he said putting his hand a couple of inches above his shoulder.
The barber cut four inches from Sean’s hair, then started to shape it up, creating layers where they needed to go but not in an obvious and hair-do way. When he was finished, he removed the towel and brushed Sean’s back and neck.
“Let’s go over here for the beard and mustache,” the barber said. Sean and Cody moved to another chair that seemed set up for beard trimming.
“You want it short or medium?” the barber asked.
“Between short and medium,” Sean said.
When the barber was finished, Sean looked in the mirror. He didn’t look scraggly anymore. He looked almost respectable. He laughed inwardly, wondering what Marty and the guys would think about his new look.
“Thanks,” Sean said as he paid the barber. He gave him a twenty-dollar tip.
“You are more than welcome,” the barber said. “More than welcome.”
Sean and Cody got back in the truck and headed down the road, toward the bay.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Marla, Jada, and Derrick were in the courtyard. The day was hot and sticky, but they had work to do. They only had a couple of weeks until the big Labor Day sale and a lot of pieces of furniture to refurbish. The buzzer went off, letting them know someone had come in the shop door.
“I’ll get it,” Marla said to Jada, who had on rubber gloves and was scraping paint off of a dresser.
She opened the back door and saw the most handsome man she’d ever seen standing at the front door.
“Is it okay if I bring my dog in here?” the man said.
Marla was about to say they didn’t allow pets in the store and then she froze. Her whole body began to vibrate and she thought she would faint. Didn’t know if she could take a step. But she did. She started walking to the man and when she got there she held out her hands.
He took them. “It’s good to see you, Sean,” Marla said. Tears were forming in her eyes.
“It’s good to see you too, Marla,” Sean said. He pulled her close against his chest. She began to cry softly.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” she said. “I thought you were gone forever.”
“I’m sorry,” Sean said. He lifted her face and leaned down to kiss her on her lips. She knew she should be mad at him for being out of touch with her for so long, but she kissed him back anyway.
The back door opened and Jada walked in. Sean and Marla looked at her. Jada seemed uncertain as she looked at them, still locked in an embrace. And then recognition crossed her face.
“Sean!” she said.
“Hey, Jada. How are you doing?”
“Don’t hey me,” she said running over to him and giving him a hug. “We’ve missed you around here,” she said, and Marla saw that her eyes were shiny. “I’m going to get Derrick,” Jada said, walking toward the back door. “He’s going to freak out!”
Sean and Marla and Cody followed her. A few seconds later, Derrick came through the back door. He and Sean shook hands. “It’s good to see you, Derrick,” Sean said. “You too, man,” he said back. “It hasn’t been the same around here since you left. I’ve got to do all the heavy lifting by myself.” He and Sean laughed.
“What are y’all doing after the shop closes?” Sean said.
“I was thinking we could go down to Steamboat Joe’s. On me.”
Jada looked at Derrick, who gave her a slight nod. “That sounds like fun,” she said. “We’d love to go.” And then she turned back toward the door. “Come on, Derrick. We’ve got a few things to do before then.”
After they left, Marla said, “Where are you staying?”
“I’m not staying anywhere. I guess I can find a place later.”
“Okay,” she said. What was she doing? Why was she saying okay when that was not okay.
“Or you can stay here,” she said.
“Is that all right?” he asked, looking at her.
“Yes. You’ve still got your shaving mug here, but I guess you don’t need that anymore.” What a dumb thing to say. Could she get any dumber?
Sean laughed. “No, I guess I don’t.”
“You know what?” Marla said. “I’m done for the day. Why don’t we go to Steamboat Joe’s early and get some shrimp? I could use some shrimp.”
“What do you think I should do with Cody?” Sean asked looking at the dog who sat beside him.
“Hey, Cody,” Marla said, leaning down to pet the dog. “Do you wanna stay in my apartment for a while? Will he be alright up there?” she said looking up at Sean. “Lucy’s out on the patio, and I can leave her there while we’re gone.”
“He’ll do great up there.” Marla went out the back door to the courtyard and told Jada and Derrick she was closing up shop and they were going to get shrimp. Jada stripped off her gloves. “I’m ready,” she said.
Sean followed Marla upstairs and Cody followed him. She opened the door and he stepped in. “I missed this place,” he said. “It feels like home.” He turned and pulled Marla into his arms. “I’ve missed you, Marla.”
“I’ve missed you too,” she said. “Come on. Let’s get going. We don’t want to leave Jada and Derrick waiting.”
“Are they officially a thing now?” Sean asked.
“Definitely. Ever since that night. The last time we went out together.”
Sean led Cody into the living room. “I’ll be back soon, boy,” he said. He put water in a bowl and dog food in another bowl before he and Marla went down the stairs.
The four of them walked down the street to Steamboat Joe’s, just as they had on that January day eight months earlier. They sat in a booth and ordered boiled shrimp and fried oysters. The waitress brought it all over on a huge tray and they attacked the food as soon as she set it on the table.
Just like the other time they’d gone out together, they danced and laughed. Marla had been wrong. It wasn’t a one-time thing, the four of them out on the town. Back at the booth, Jada looked at Derrick and then at Sean and Marla.
“We want you both to be the first to know that Derrick and I are getting married,” she said. “You brought us together in a way, that night we went out. So, you are the first to know.”
Marla got up from her side of the booth and walked over to hug Jada. “I’m so happy for you,” she said. She reached out and touched Derrick on the arm before going back to her seat.
“Congratulations!” Sean said. “This is good news. Let’s get a bottle of champagne.” He caught the waitress’s eye and ordered a bottle of champagne. When they had their glasses, Sean raised his. “To Jada and Derrick,” he said. They clinked their glasses and drank the golden bubbly liquid.
“To Sean,” Derrick said, raising his glass. “The prodigal son returns.”
When the champagne was gone, they got up and left the restaurant. Arm in arm, the foursome walked back to the shop.
“We’ll see y’all later,” Jada said.
And then it was Sean and Marla, really alone for the first time since Sean had walked back into her life. He took Cody out for a walk and Marla worried that he might not return. What if he didn’t come back? Why was he here, anyway? Why had he come back?
But Sean did return with Cody at his heels. Lucy was in the kitchen and reared her back and hissed when she saw Cody. “I guess it’s going to take Lucy a while to get used to Cody,” Sean said, leading the dog away from the kitchen. “I’ll put him in the spare bedroom,” he called over his shoulder. “He’ll be alright.”
Marla stood in the kitchen and waited. Her heart was thumping hard. She had wanted to touch Sean all night, and he had touched her. Under the booth, he put his hand on her thigh and rubbed it back and forth. It drove her crazy with longing. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but she was going with it, whatever it was.
Sean walked back in the kitchen and put his arms on her shoulders. He smoothed her hair before leaning down to kiss her. She put her arms around him. He moved his hands down her back, pulling her closer, before reaching down between her legs. He rubbed her through her jeans. If a person could have died with desire, Marla would have died on the spot, right there in the kitchen.
“Let’s go to the bedroom,” Sean said. He took her hand and they walked into the bedroom where Lucy had already staked out her spot. She jumped down as soon as Sean and Marla lay back on the bed, still kissing. Sean put his leg between her thighs and pressed and rubbed. She unzipped his jeans, and pulled on them, releasing him. When they had finally undressed completely, they reached for each other hungrily, kissing, kissing. Sean moved into her. “I love you, Marla,” he said.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
As Marla came slowly out of her sleep, she smelled bacon. Ummm, she thought drowsily. Then it hit her. Sean was back and he still loved her. She looked down at the bed, but it was empty of Sean and Lucy.
When she walked into the kitchen, Sean was standing at the stove turning strips of bacon and Lucy and Cody were sitting at his feet, waiting patiently for their next bite. The animals seemed to have made some sort of truce since last night, maybe due to their common love of bacon.
Sean turned when she came in and smiled at her. He looked so vastly different from how he used to look, but he looked more like himself than ever. He was a man who had been stripped emotionally and come out the other side. Marla loved him.
She sat at the table while Sean cooked, giving the animals pieces of bacon, first one, then the other. Marla heard her phone ringing inside her purse in the living room. She didn’t want to answer it but wanted to see who it was. It was Michael. He seemed so far away from her now. Before Sean came back, Marla had planned to tell Michael that she couldn’t see him anymore. Just as soon as he got back from the Keys, she was going to tell him that. Because she realized she was still in love with Sean that day in Diane’s office. As much as she cared for Michael, it wouldn’t be fair to him for her to be in love with someone else. He was starting to make permanent plans, and Marla couldn’t let him do that.
“Who was it?” Sean asked when she went back in the kitchen and sat down.
“I’ll tell you after breakfast,” she said.
“Oh?” he said, but didn’t press her. She wasn’t trying to sound mysterious. She just didn’t want to lie to Sean and she didn’t want to talk about it yet. That was reasonable. “I need coffee,” she said standing up to get a cup.
Sean made plates of eggs and bacon and toast and sat down. He reached across the table and took Marla’s hand. “I’m glad I’m back,” he said.
When they had finished breakfast, Marla said. “I guess we need to talk.”
She and Sean sat on the couch. “I know we’ve been through a lot,” Sean said, taking her hand. “I can deal with whatever you have to tell me.”
Marla told Sean about her feelings after he left. She told him about the group therapy. She told him about her loneliness, how she had finally come to believe that he was never coming back. She told him about Michael. And then she told him how their relationship had become intimate.
Sean rubbed her hand hard when she told him that. He didn’t say anything. He would have to tell her about Crystal, and he would just as soon as they were finished talking about Michael. He didn’t want to tell her, but he knew he had to. Things had to be honest.
He
looked at her. “Are you in love with him?” he asked. He was prepared to fight for her, was going to fight for her if Michael stayed in the picture.
“No.”
Sean’s body relaxed immediately and he realized how tense he had been as Marla talked.
“I’m in love with you, Sean. I tried not to be when I thought you were never coming back. I was so lonely. That’s when I became intimate with Michael. But last week I admitted to myself that I still love you.”
Marla’s cell phone started to ring and she knew without looking it was Michael. “I’m going to have to talk to Michael and that’s going to be hard. He’s been good to me and I know it’s going to hurt him.”
“I feel bad about that,” Sean said.
“I had already planned to break it off with him when I realized I was never going to be able to give my heart to him. I would have already told him but he’s been in the Keys.”
Sean leaned over and kissed Marla. She put her arms around his neck. Her phone started ringing again.
“I’m going to have to deal with this,” she said.
“I know. I’ll take Cody out for a walk so you can call him back.”
“I’m going to have to see him, I guess. I think I should do it in person, don’t you?”
“Yes. But I don’t want you to see him. I really don’t.”
He got up and called Cody, who was lying on the kitchen floor where it was cooler. “I’ll see you in a few minutes,” he said before closing the door at the top of the stairs.
Marla was filled with dread about calling Michael.
“Marla, where have you been?” Michael asked when he answered his phone. “I’ve been calling you since last night.”
“I’m sorry, Michael. It was a busy day yesterday and I went out with Jada and Derrick and didn’t even look at my phone.”
“Didn’t you think I’d be calling you?”
“Michael, where are you? I need to talk to you.”
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