Reflections

by Susan Griscom

  Serene, soft music hummed out from the speakers strategically positioned in each corner of the ceiling. The tranquil mood was almost too depressing. Uncomfortable and filled with tension, Maia breathed a sigh of relief when Aiden and Murphy walked to the front and picked up their guitars. However, that left no one between her and Finn. Relief flooded through Maia and she sucked in a sob as Finn’s hand reached out and took hers, squeezing a bit. She glanced at Gerry and he smiled, put his strong arm around her shoulder, and pulled her in close against him.

  “Careen loved music and had an angelic voice,” Aiden began as he and Murphy sat on the two wooden folding chairs next to the white lacquered coffin. “Although she would be the last one to ever admit it and most of you probably don’t know this, Careen had a soft side, particularly when it came to music. This was her favorite song—a tune originally written by Leonard Cohen, but made famous by another artist who fell before his time, Jeff Buckle. It just seemed appropriate for this moment.” As they strummed the heartfelt tune of “Hallelujah”, Maia’s eyes welled and she couldn’t keep the tears in check. She hadn’t liked Careen, that was no big secret, but death wasn’t something she had wished for the woman who was once important to Gerry. Whatever or however strong the feelings he had were, they were real. As if he heard her thoughts, Gerry squeezed her shoulder. For the first time in her life, Maia was ashamed of the way she had treated another person and regretted every harsh word she ever spoke to Careen, every disgusting thought she’d had about her. Suddenly she felt another hand on her arm. Turning, she was pleased to see it was Addie’s. The comforting touch of her beautiful niece was welcomed, but didn’t change the sorrow stabbing at Maia’s heart.

  ***

  Gerry stuck by Maia’s side throughout the entire memorial service. She was free from suspicion and if he could manage it, he was never letting her out of his sight again. In a perfect world, anyway, he mused. The small Oregon cemetery sat up on a hillside. Most of the headstones faced out toward the ocean, providing a fantastic view. For whom? Gerry considered and shook his head at the irony. Only in a town like Whisper Cape, where legends of monsters and rumors of whispering dead abounded would the dead be afforded such a great view.

  As they walked away from the gravesite toward the car, Gerry noticed a woman, someone he’d never seen before, standing by a tree. She wore a black coat over black slacks and stared out over the ocean, pulling the coat tightly to her neck as the wind whipped her caramel colored, shoulder-length hair out behind her. Like a magnet pull, she turned and stared at Gerry. He kept walking, not sure who she was, but curious about her. He glanced back at her, and she continued to stare at him. Was she a relative of Careen’s? If so, why would she be so standoffish? Maybe he should talk to her, but just then, Aiden came up and wrapped his arm around Gerry’s shoulder urging him toward the car.

  After helping Maia into the passenger seat, Gerry turned to Aiden. “Coming to the bar?”

  “Sure thing. I need a good stiff drink. I almost lost it out there. Finn’s in a bad way, man. He needs us all around him. It’s going to take a long time. The guy really loved her.”

  “Yeah, she had that effect on some.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry, man.”

  Gerry shrugged. “It’s the past. She pissed somebody off, though.”

  “She didn’t deserve this.”

  “No. She didn’t.”

  Every table at the Cliff Hanger had about six chairs around it and every seat in the place was taken. You’d have thought people expected to see Careen up on that stage once again, singing her heart out.

  “First round’s on the house,” Gerry yelled over all the chatter as he walked behind the bar, slinging a bar rag over his shoulder as usual.

  After pouring several glasses of whiskey, he picked one up and held it high in the air. “Here’s to a beautiful woman with an angelic voice, taken many years before her time. May she rest in peace.” Gerry smiled at Maia as she nodded her head in approval.

  After watching Gerry and his pals take several additional shots, Maia got up. “Gerry, I’m going to head home now. I’m feeling a little tired.”

  “Wait, I’ll come with you.”

  “No. You stay here. I’ll be fine.”

  “I don’t want you to be alone.”

  “Gerry, please, you can’t treat me like a child. I just want to go home and put my feet up. I know you want to protect me, but I need some quiet and rest and you need to stay here. Be with your friends.” Maia nodded toward Finn who sat at one of the tables, his head in his hands. “I do believe Finn needs some support right now. No matter what’s happened or how you or I felt about Careen, he loved her.”

  Gerry pinched the bridge of his nose in the way he did whenever he was frustrated, then wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “Okay, darlin’. At least let me get Cael to take you home.”

  ***

  Taking Maia’s advice seemed to be a good idea most times and this one proved no different. Gerry and Finn sat at one of the square tables in the dining room. Maia had been very perceptive of Finn’s needs; the guy was a wreck. His red-rimmed eyes said it all as he looked at Gerry. “I don’t know why it is, everything and everyone I’ve loved gets taken away.”

  Someone turned the jukebox on and smooth jazz permeated the air. Gerry closed his eyes, wishing there was a way to soften the blow. Surely Finn knew how Careen really felt. Could he have really been that lamentably naïve? Perhaps he didn’t care. Perhaps the cliché about love being blind had some truth to it. He shook his head and put his arm around Finn’s shoulder. Gerry kept the fact to himself that Finn’s love seemed to be one-sided. Careen had made it very clear to many that she wanted Gerry back in her life, to the point of making a fool of herself, but it would appear that Finn had been the fool. “She loved you too,” Gerry lied, but what else could he say? He hated to see his friend this way. Finn used to be carefree, everybody’s go-to guy for a good time.

  “She may have loved me a little,” Finn said. “But everybody knows she loved you more.”

  Gerry opened his mouth to protest, but Finn cut him off. “It was no secret, Ger. Let’s not pretend. Funny, I often wondered, when Reenie and I kissed … just whose face she saw when she closed her eyes, whose lips she actually wished were touching hers.”

  Gerry sighed. Perhaps Finn wasn’t as big a fool as he thought. He didn’t like the idea that Finn knew Careen’s real feelings toward him and considered using a bit of the old mind-altering ability, but fuck, Finn needed to get there on his own. He had to know what a manipulative little witch Careen really was. “Look Finn, that’s all in the past. What was … was. There’s no changing history. What Careen and I had in the past was remarkable for a short while, but it ended a long time ago. She knew it was over. She wanted to make a new life with you, man.” Gerry handed Finn the half-full shot glass and watched him down the rest of the light brown liquid. It was going to take a whole lot more whisky to get Finn to believe the pile of shit Gerry was dispensing.

  “Nice try, Gerry, but I know the truth. Careen loved you to the point of being unreasonable. Everybody knows we fought all the time. They just don’t know what we fought about. It was you, man. We fought about you. I loved her. I knew she wanted you. I went along with all her little schemes to win you back. She promised me if she couldn’t win your love back within a couple months, that she and I would be together and she would leave you alone, but we both know that didn’t happen.”

  Gerry narrowed his eyes, surprised by Finn’s confession; not so much that he knew about Careen’s plan but that he’d actually agreed to it and now admitted it. She made it clear many times how she felt about Gerry, but the fighting with Finn? Gerry thought back to those bruises Careen showed up with the night he answered the door in his underwear.

  Finn downed the contents of another glass and slammed it down on the table, making Gerry flinch. “Sorry, man.” He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know what to do now. She was my
life, in love with you or not, and I was willing to live with that. We were going to make a family. We had plans.”

  Chapter 25

  Last Minute Preparations

  Maia tugged the large wooden door open, fighting the heavy weight against the wind. She ducked inside the bar as the door began to shut, nearly crushing her hand in the process. That would have been a lovely accessory to the wedding dress she’d just come from having fitted. A cumbersome cast was not on the list. She turned to see Addie behind the bar talking with Darcy. Good that Darcy was here. The girl had become a lifesaver lately the way she easily took to bartending and without any argument, ever. I should get her a nice gift.

  Maia tapped Addie on the arm and her niece turned around smiling. “Hey. What brings you out in this God-awful wind about to turn hurricane slash tsunami?”

  “Shouldn’t you be at home with your feet propped up or something? Eating pickles and ice cream?” Darcy asked.

  Maia put her hand over her mouth. “God, that sounds awful.”

  “You’re right, it does. Why do they always say pregnant women eat that stuff anyway?” Darcy asked.

  Maia shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t know. For one thing, it’s too cold for ice cream, but give me a tuna sandwich on rye with pickles on it and I’ll gladly eat that.”

  “Well, coming right up. You sit and relax and leave the cooking to Jared.” Darcy laughed and headed toward the kitchen, whistling.

  Taking the younger woman’s advice, Maia sat on the bar stool in front of Addie and looked around. Not many people in the bar. The pending storm must be keeping them all home. That is where she’d be if she didn’t have so many errands to run before the wedding. “Where’s Gerry?”

  “He went to the bank. He wanted to get there before the storm, but from the look and sound of things outside, it seems he’s going to get caught right in the worst part of it.”

  “The worst of the storm. Seems like where my life has been for the past several weeks.” She sighed.

  “Gerry will be fine.”

  “I’m not worried about Gerry. He’ll make it back in time. Now that I think about it, I’m glad I’m here with you and not sitting at home alone.”

  “It should be over by tomorrow. It’s supposed to be clear on Saturday, maybe even sunny.”

  “That will be a miracle.” Maia smiled at Addie. “Addie, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”

  “Oh no. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’m sorry. With everything that’s happened, I guess I can understand why you would automatically think that. But truly, nothing is wrong. For once, everything is right.”

  “Did they find Careen’s killer?” Addie asked with excitement sparkling in her eyes.

  “Except that,” Maia said, pulling a straw from the plastic condiments case on the bar and sticking the end between her teeth, biting on it. Her nerves were shot.

  “Oh, then what is it?” Addie sounded a bit impatient.

  Maia pulled the straw from her mouth, pointing the chewed end of it at Addie. “I would love for you to be my maid of honor.”

  “Oh Maia, of course I will! I’ve been waiting for you to ask me.” Tears streamed down Addie’s cheeks as she hurried to the other side of the bar with her arms outstretched.

  Maia couldn’t keep her own eyes dry while giving Addie a long, snug embrace. She pulled back a bit, snaked her arm out, rescued a strand of Addie’s hair that had escaped her ponytail from becoming drenched by the tears on her cheeks and tucked it safely behind her ear. “There was no question in my mind about it, I’ve always wanted you. I just … well, things have been rather hectic lately.”

  “No kidding. You look beat. Maybe you should sit at a table and put your feet up on a chair. I think Gerry has a small pillow in his office you can use.”

  Maia nodded. “You know, that sounds like a great idea.”

  “Go sit, I’ll get the pillow and bring you something to drink. Then we’ll discuss dresses. You’ve only given me a couple of days to get one; I’ll make you pay for that somehow,” Addie said, laughing. “What would you like to drink?”

  “Water would be great. Thanks.”

  Maia giggled as she watched her niece leave to retrieve the pillow from Gerry’s office. Practically skipping, Addie hooted a “Yippee!” on her way.

  Chapter 26

  The Wedding

  Maia sat in front of the mirror, pen in hand. She’d been trying to write her vows for the past two days. Now only twenty minutes remained until she walked down the aisle and she still only had one line. “I’ll love you until the day I die.”

  Well, that sort of sums it up. Short and to the point. She shook her head in disgust. Pfft. She wasn’t good at this. Addie had suggested she look on the internet for some ideas.

  “But then they wouldn’t be my own,” Maia had protested.

  “Just to see some examples,” Addie coaxed, but gave up after Maia shooed her away so she could think on her own. She had only minutes to come up with the most important words she would ever say to Gerry. Why had she procrastinated so long?

  There was not going to be any of that obey stuff, that was for sure. They were equals. Partners, parents, lovers. That’s it, she thought with a renewed excitement about writing their own vows as she put pen to paper—actually the back of an extra wedding invitation—and began to write the words as neatly as she could.

  Addie and Siana had made the invitations. Siana, with the ability to teleport like her son’s, scored some very pretty white parchment paper from San Francisco, with a light pinkish-purple splash of orchids at the top right corner and bottom left. A solid purple border dressed the edge. Simple but elegant. The extra one-sided invitation would make the perfect keepsake with her handwritten vows on the back, something she wouldn’t mind putting in the wedding album alongside their picture. She’d even given one to Bart to take to Gerry so he could do the same. There hadn’t been much time for getting the invitations out; most of them had been hand-delivered to their close friends as they’d frequented the bar over the past few days.

  Gerry didn’t want to waste a single minute of their lives together. He wanted to get married immediately. She’d had to find a dress, hire caterers, and arrange for flowers. The band was a given, even without Careen. Careen’s funeral had been four days ago. Maia insisted that they wait a few days after the memorial before she and Gerry had their ceremony. Cael and Addison offered their beautifully manicured yard overlooking the ocean for the ceremony. It was large enough for a moderate amount of people; about fifty of their closest friends and family had actually accepted the invitation at such a short notice. She chuckled at the thought since she hadn’t even realized they had so many friends.

  They decided to have the reception back at the bar. One less thing to worry about Gerry and Addie had assured her, and she had to agree. With the kitchen, the bar, the dance floor and stage already in place, all that was left was someone to cook and serve. Maia didn’t want Jared and Darcy working on her wedding day, so she’d insisted they hire outside help, which was no small feat with such short notice.

  Breena would be the flower girl. Maia was glad Siana had decided not to take Breena back to the Sectory while Maia was in jail. Siana thought the idea of whisking her away only made things look more suspicious where Maia was concerned, as if her own family didn’t believe she was truly innocent and they had to shelter the little girl from what was happening. Extremely grateful for the confidence Siana showed, Maia considered her a true friend. She smiled remembering Siana’s heartfelt words, “Maia, I’ve known you since you were a little girl. I babysat you many times. I know what’s in here,” she’d said, gently touching her finger to Maia’s heart. “I know you could never hurt anyone, let alone murder someone, even a person as ruthless as Careen.”

  Maia finished writing the last words of her vows and stood. Smoothing down her dress, she looked up at Addie’s broad smile. “Oh, Maia. You look absolutely stunning. The da
rk cream with the tint of pink is perfect.”

  “Do you really think I look okay? Not too much like a cow? I was afraid wearing a floor-length gown might be too much, with my belly the size of a large watermelon now. There weren’t many off-the-rack-and-ready dresses available for pregnant women.”

  “No. The length is perfect. You look nothing like a cow. As a matter of fact, you’re radiant. That shade brings out the gold sparkle in your eyes. I love it. There’s just one thing missing.”

  “What? Did I forget my lipstick?”

  “No. You forgot this.” Addie brought her hands out from behind her back and presented Maia with a gorgeous crown of pink and cream orchids to match her dress and go along with the theme of the invitations.

  “Oh my. This is beautiful,” she said as Addie placed the ring of flowers upon her head. She took Addie in her arms and they held each other tightly.

  “You look like a Greek goddess!” Breena beamed as she entered the room dressed in a miniature version of Addie’s dark pink dress with subtle cream flowers etched throughout, but with little shoulder sleeves instead of the thin spaghetti straps holding up Addie’s dress. “I have this for you too.” She held out a bouquet made with the same pink and cream orchids in the beautiful headpeace for Maia to carry as she walked down the pathway to meet her new husband.