The West Wind

by Morgan Douglas

  “I can see that. Thanks, by the way.”

  “For what?” Brian’s brow furrowed curiously.

  “Just for being there for Hero. You’re very important to her. She talks about you a lot.”

  “She’s very important to me. Always been there for me. I’m glad she’s found someone who makes her happy.”

  “How about you?” Xander asked, changing the subject easily. “Are you happy?”

  “Me?” Brian seemed surprised that Xander had asked. “I’m good, I think.”

  “Can’t always be easy, with everyone else around you being together.”

  “Oh, it’s not too bad. I’ve got good friends and it’s good to see them happy. I’ll find the man of my dreams someday. Actually, you and Hero are pretty inspiring.”

  “Really?” Xander asked. He’d never really thought about how things might appear from outside their relationship.

  “Totally, dude. The way you just walked into the room and locked on to each other. It was awesome.” Brian grabbed two pitchers of pink lemonade from the refrigerator and handed them to Xander. He took the ice tea up and said with an amused tone of voice, “There is one thing I think I’ll do differently, though.”

  The tone made Xander laugh. “What’s that?” he asked.

  “I don’t think I’ll drop mine.”

  Consequences

  The last few weeks of summer flew by on the wings of doves. Xander, his father, Hero, and her mother continued their work preparing the Brighton House for the public. In their spare time the two young lovers seized every moment they could together. Thursday evenings found them dancing at Hellespont, though any day of the week they might be found in the Brighton House ballroom. Dark corners often found them kissing and taking advantage of their newfound freedom to get to know each other as deeply as two young people in love possibly could.

  The west wind blew strong the last few days of summer and as Hero began to prepare for her senior year of high school, autumn followed on its tail. Xander, who had never been to, nor wanted to attend public school, changed his mind, much to the consternation of his father.

  “No, Xander,” Zach McConnell said adamantly as they argued in the library one morning. Xander had come down to discuss the idea a few minutes earlier.

  “Dad, it’s just one year, what does it matter?” he argued.

  “It’s a waste of your time. If anything, you should have been in college years ago.”

  “So it will be easy, I’ll get a diploma and it will look better on college applications.”

  “Are you going to go to college now, too?”

  “Am I not supposed to?”

  “It’s not like you need to, you already know how to run our business at any level. What’s the point?”

  “To get an education, I hear,” Xander said sarcastically.

  Zach ignored his son’s tone. “You already have one, and know more than most college students ever will.”

  “I want to go to school this year.”

  “For Hero.”

  “And my other friends, yes.”

  “For Hero,” Zach repeated.

  “Yes, fine, because I want to be close to Hero,” Xander admitted. “What’s wrong with that?”

  Zach sighed. “It’s not as though you won’t see her outside of school, you know.”

  “Sure, but I want the chance to be there waiting when she gets out of class. I want to study together and hang out at lunch. It’d be a new experience, you know, and you’re always telling me I should get out and experience new things.”

  Zach rolled his eyes. “High school was not one of the experiences I was talking about.” He put heavy emphasis on the word ‘not’. “You are going to be bored out of your mind. You’re too mature for high school, the kids are going to drive you crazy,” he said angrily.

  “How do you know? You’re not me,” Xander shot back.

  “I take that mature comment back. You’re definitely still a teenager.”

  “No shit, Sherlock. Which part of eight-teen did you miss?”

  “Your mother and I did not raise you to talk to your parents like that,” Zach reprimanded.

  “Leave Mom out of this,” Xander demanded.

  “She’d be disappointed in this stupid plan of yours, too,” Zach pushed.

  “I said leave her out of this!” Xander’s volume raised a couple decibels.

  “She wanted bigger things for you than to have you waste a year in a public school,” Zach said, his voice matching his son’s.

  “I don’t want to fucking talk about Mom!” Xander yelled.

  Silence fell hard, almost immediately becoming oppressive weight that filled the air almost palpably. Zach struggled to find a calm answer. The two men glared at each other, both too stubborn and too much alike to back down. Finally, after neither had spoken for minutes and Zach managed to bridle his rage, he said, “My answer is no.”

  “My answer is, ‘Fuck you,’” Xander said coldly, leaving the room and slamming the door behind him before his father could answer. Zach didn’t follow. There was no point, as angry as they were. It would only force a larger wedge between them.

  * * *

  Hero blanched as she took another sip of her latte. Jaimie had met her at Ambrosia at 10:00 am. They intended take most of the day to go school shopping. Anna had given Hero her credit card, with the vague admonition not to spend “too much”. Hero was certain that her mother spent more than she would about once a week. Leana had been invited, but had already made plans with Jeremy that she refused to cancel no matter how much Jaimie cajoled her. Jaimie was still complaining about it.

  “Can you believe it? Leana’s even more whipped than Jeremy is,” Jamie whined.

  Hero wasn’t really listening. Her stomach gurgled ominously and the coffee tasted unusually acidic. The air conditioning felt abnormally cold and she pulled her cardigan tighter around her and took another sip.

  “Hero, are you listening to me?” Jaimie asked.

  “What?” Hero replied. “Oh, yes. Sure.”

  “Talk about whipped. Are you thinking about Xander again?” Jaimie scolded.

  Sitting out of sight behind a bookshelf in a chair that threatened to bury her, Jessica rolled her eyes and tried to pay attention to the book she was reading.

  “What? No. I just. . .” Hero trailed off. Her stomach turned again.

  “Hero are you ok?”

  “I’m fine. Just not feeling that great.” She swallowed back a bitter taste in the back of her mouth.

  “You look really pale, Hero,” Jaimie said. Her expression showed her worry.

  “I’m fine, really, it won’t last. It’s been happening every morning for a couple of days. . .” she trailed off again as she realized what she had said. Saying it aloud made her aware of what it might mean.

  Jaimie was shocked. “Hero,” she began in a louder whisper, “are you. . .”

  Hero wretched and ran for the bathroom. Jaimie followed her quickly, drinks forgotten. In her chair behind the bookshelf, a red haired, unnoticed eavesdropper smirked, slid a bookmark between the pages of her book and headed for the door.

  * * *

  Three hours after slamming the door on his father Xander was still stalking up and down the streets of Vista Bay. The sky was grey and the wind blowing strong, which didn’t help his mood at all. Right now it made him think of his mother and not even the memory of dancing with Hero in the rain made things any better. He had stopped by Ambrosia, but no one he knew was there and when he texted Hero, he’d only gotten a short, “Sorry, busy.” for a reply. She was supposed to be out shopping with Jaimie anyway, so he hadn’t really expected to get a hold of her.

  He was standing in front of jewelry store looking at the diamonds in the window, randomly wondering what cut Hero preferred when he heard the sound of heels on pavement. He turned to look, hoping to see Hero, and found Jessica headed straight for him. He sighed. They had managed to maintain a loose friendship since their fight,
but he still felt a little strained every time they talked.

  “Hey, Jess, what’s up?” he said as she came to stand beside him. The directness of her approach made him suspicious.

  She looked at the display in front of them. She smiled and if Xander had to, he would have described the look as vindictive.

  “Shopping, are you?” she asked without greeting him.

  “Uh, no. Just looking,” he answered, looking at her askance.

  She stretched languidly, bumping into him as she did. He was certain it wasn’t an accident. “Maybe you should be,” she suggested with innocent eyes. “It’s not like you two aren’t perfect together.”

  “Umm. Thanks, I think. What’s going on?” Xander asked. He definitely didn’t trust her sudden friendliness.

  “Nothing,” she almost cooed. Xander wondered if she could do anything without making it overtly sexual. “You know, if you want, I could try them on for you. Of course, the salesperson would probably think we’re together.” From the look on her face, she wouldn’t mind. She corrected hurriedly, “You would tell them we weren’t, of course. I’m just your friend.”

  Xander was now really off balance. “Jess, I don’t think. . .” he began.

  “I mean, if you don’t want to, no big deal. I was just offering.”

  “Thanks, I think.”

  “You might want to think about it, though,” she purred, leaning so close that his nostrils filled with her perfume. “Beat the race to the shotgun, and all.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Xander said, confused.

  “I’m sure Hero wants to be the first to tell you. I won’t ruin that for her,” Jess said wickedly.

  “Jessica, what are you talking about?” Xander demanded. He was starting to get frustrated again.

  “Oh, nothing,” she said as she started to slip away. “Congratulations, by the way.”

  She drifted off into the crowd traveling along the street, leaving a very uncertain young man behind. He pulled out his phone and texted Hero.

  Xander: Hey babe, what’s up? I just had a really weird conversation with Jess.

  Her reply came quickly.

  Hero: Talk to you later. Love you.

  He sighed. It was not the answer he wanted. The girls were probably in the changing room or something.

  * * *

  Hero put her phone down on the counter in Jaimie’s bathroom. The two girls had rushed from Ambrosia to a drugstore on the other side of town and back to the house. The last thing she needed right now was to worry about what kind of trouble Jess was causing. She had more important things to worry about. Jaimie stood in the doorway, staring at a small plastic stick in her hand. Hero’s eyes were glued to the window, watching rain spill against the glass.

  “It could just be the flu, right?” Hero asked miserably.

  “They aren’t flu tests, Hero,” Jaimie pointed out.

  “They could be wrong, right? They’re not completely reliable, everyone knows that.” Hero’s voice was panicked.

  “All five of them?” Jaimie asked, waving the fifth at her friend.

  “My mother is going to kill me,” Hero cried into her hands.

  “Well, at least she’d get put away for double homicide,” Jaimie joked. Hero cried harder and Jaimie stepped across the room and hugged her close.

  “It’ll be okay, Hero. These things happen,” she consoled her friend.

  “It hasn’t happened to you,” Hero argued in spite of the fact that it didn’t really make any sense.

  “I make Evan wear condoms. I don’t want an STD.”

  Hero looked up at Jaimie through her tears, confused. “Evan has an STD?”

  “Pregnancy, Hero,” Jaimie said a little coldly. Hero sobbed into her shoulder.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” Jaimie apologized.

  Hero changed the subject. “Do you think Xander will want it?”

  “What? That’s a stupid question. Of course he will,” Jaimie said, as reassuring as she was capable of being.

  “How do you know?” Hero whimpered.

  “Well, first, he loves you. I’m pretty sure he’s planning on marrying you, which usually involves having kids. You’re just. . .” Jaimie paused. “Starting early.”

  “Should I tell him?”

  “Umm. . .”

  “I’m going to tell him,” Hero said, grabbing her phone.

  “What? Now?”

  “Yes, why not?”

  “Don’t you think you should tell him in person?”

  “Good point. Do you mind if he comes here?”

  Jaimie thought about it. “Sure, I guess.”

  Hero hugged her tight. “You’re the best friend a girl could have,” she said.

  “Thanks?” Jaimie said with a question in her voice. She hadn’t really done anything special that she could think of.

  Hero texted Xander.

  Hero: Hey, are you busy?

  Xander: Not really, what’s up?

  Hero: We need to talk. Can you come over?

  Xander: Right now?

  Hero: If you can. It’s really important.

  Xander: Alright, I’ll be there as soon as I can. I love you.

  Hero: I love you too. Oh! I’m at Jaimie’s. Come here.

  She waited, but he didn’t respond. She sent him another text.

  Hero: Xander, did you get that last text?

  No response. Was he ignoring her? She tried again.

  Hero: Xander, are you coming to Jaimie’s?

  Her brow furrowed with worry. Jaimie raised an eyebrow. “Hero, is everything ok?”

  “No, he stopped answering.”

  “Call him. It is a phone.”

  “Oh my god, I’m an idiot,” Hero exclaimed, dialing.

  “That’s why you keep me around,” Jaimie grinned.

  The call went straight to voicemail. “Hey, you’ve reached Xander’s phone, he’s probably out dancing and left me alone. Leave a message, be brief, and he’ll call back, to your relief.”

  Hero hated his message, it was corny. It beeped.

  “Xander, call me back! I’m not at home!” she told the answer service.

  * * *

  Xander was walking along the boardwalk when Hero’s first text came. The rain beat down on his head and foot high waves crashed against the pylons. His clothes were soaked and his phone was slick as he tried to shield it from the falling water. Large drops still managed to find their way onto the screen. He walked as he texted her back, hunched over the tiny object. He was wet, irritated, and confused. It had not been a good day so far. It was nice to hear from Hero, but if she really wanted him to go out to the island in this weather, it wasn’t going to get any better. He shrugged. The things you do for love, he thought to himself.

  He had just hit send after typing, “I love you,” when his toe caught on an uneven board. He tripped and caught himself without falling, but his phone went flying. It soared through the air almost as if in slow motion, then bounced once on the wooden planks and skidded across the boardwalk. One arm reached out for it uselessly as it slipped between a wide crack and into the bay.

  “God damn it!” Xander yelled into the wind. He collected himself, pulled his coat tight and headed for his truck. Hero would just have to wait until he got there.

  When Xander pulled into the driveway, none of the lights were on in the Brighton House, though his father’s Ford F250 was still there. Smoke rose almost imperceptibly from the chimney above the library. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to go in to talk to him anyway. He stepped out of his pickup directly into a puddle, soaking his already damp pant leg further. He slammed the door of the truck, cursing, and headed down to the dock.

  * * *

  In Jaimie’s estimation, Hero was doing what she called “freaking out.” She had spent ten minutes uselessly trying to get ahold of Xander and the last ten pacing while they waited for him to show. Hero was worried. Terrible, frightening scenarios were pla
ying through her head. The most peaceful of those was that he somehow knew she was pregnant and no longer wanted anything to do with her. Or that he’d fallen for Jessica after all and was leaving her. Maybe he’d gotten in an accident on the way over. He’d known she was in town for the day, so he had to realize she wasn’t at La Casa Noble.

  “Where is he?” she demanded of the empty air.

  “How am I supposed to know?” Jaimie asked, irritated with Hero’s behavior and secretly disappointed her friend had been stupid enough to get pregnant.

  “You do think he’s coming, don’t you?”

  “Do you know how desperate you sound?” Jaimie said unkindly.

  “Excuse me?” Hero whirled on her.

  “All you’ve done is whine, complain, and mope about some stupid boy not calling you for the past half hour. I don’t even know where Evan is or what he’s doing and you don’t hear me crying about it.”

  Hero took a deep breath. It took all her willpower not to call Jaimie a selfish bitch. She took another breath before she spoke.

  “Jaimie, I just found out I’m pregnant,” she said with forced calm pervading her tone. “I can’t get ahold of my baby’s father, the man I love, mind you, who doesn’t even know we’re having one. If he were coming here, he should be here by now. I’m worried about him.”

  Jaimie tried to find some sympathy, but it wasn’t coming. She’d never really liked Xander that much in the first place, and now this. “You did this to yourself. If you want him so badly and he isn’t here, why don’t you go find him?” She stressed the last three words.

  Hero’s answer was to glare at her friend, collect her purse and coat, grab a set of keys off Jaimie’s dresser and head out.

  “Hero?” Jaimie called after her. “Those are MY keys!”