Somewhere To Spend Christmas

by Clay, Verna

  DIARY.

  14: Northern Lights

  Sunny sat at one of the two-person tables at Mama Pink's Diner and listened to the buzz around her. She'd started going to the diner on her days off, which were Tuesday and Thursday, and now knew most of the waitresses by their first names. Harriet, Julie, and Suzy worked the morning and afternoon shifts, while Petra, JoJo, and Taylor worked evenings. And Mama Pink, who was called Mama at her behest, worked the counter until around three in the afternoon. Mama was certainly a character and her last name was really Pink, and she capitalized on that fact by tinting her white hair pink. The waitresses also wore pink T-shirts with the name of the diner emblazoned across the front and back. Photos and paintings of pink vehicles—Cadillacs, Mustangs, Firebirds, Volkswagens, Vegas, Pintos, classic Chevys, and others decorated the interior of the diner. Mama was always nice to Sunny and even treated her to free desserts from time-to-time.

  It had been five days since Noah had shocked her by asking her to the Christmas Prom, which she had no intention of accepting, but she couldn't get him out of her mind. He was nerdy and cute at the same time, and she hated that her heart went crazy whenever he came to the B & B, which was often. He always tried to strike up a conversation and she always did her best to ignore him. The problem was, Gabby would give her an assignment and then ask Noah to help out. A couple of times she'd even asked Noah to drive Sunny to the store for something. Noah was always happy to oblige, even though Sunny was mostly bitchy to him.

  The door to the diner opened and Sunny glanced up to see the guy she wanted most to avoid, enter the diner. He saw her, smiled, and walked to the counter at the back. She heard Mama greet him in her loud voice and he responded with something she couldn't decipher. Because Sunny's back was to the counter she didn't know if he was sitting there, and she wasn't about to turn around and look. She received her answer when Noah said, "Do you mind if I join you?" and pulled out a chair, setting a soda on the table.

  "It looks like you just did."

  Giving her one of his heart-stopping grins, he sat and said, "Have you decided to go to the Christmas Prom with me?"

  "As I told you before, I'm not going. I graduated high school last year and left that disaster behind forever?"

  "Are you going to college?"

  She fidgeted. "Maybe."

  "What will your major be?"

  "I don't know?"

  "What do you like doing?"

  "Are we playing twenty questions again?"

  He grinned again. "If that's what it takes for me to become your friend."

  Sunny huffed. "What is it with you? You're probably the most popular guy in school with babes falling all over themselves wanting you to ask them to the prom, so why me?"

  "I love your eyes."

  That shocked her and she gaped at him. Then she leaned forward. "You're crazy."

  "And your eyes sparkle when you're angry…which is most of the time."

  Their conversation was interrupted when Mama, standing at a table not far from theirs, said loudly, "Art, someday you'll become a believer."

  Art, the owner of Art's Art Gallery, which Sunny had visited a couple of times replied, "It's an old wives' tale!"

  To which Mama retorted, "Just ask Tabby or the mayor or Mr. Gasgar, they'll tell you it's not an old wives' tale."

  Noah chuckled and Sunny said, "What are they talking about?"

  Leaning across the table he said, "We go through this every year. Half of the townspeople think there's magical power in the Northern Lights and the other half are like Art."

  "What are the Northern Lights?"

  Noah leaned back. "You're kidding. You've never heard of the Northern Lights? How about the aurora borealis?"

  Sunny shook her head and took offense. "Well, you don't have to be rude about it."

  Noah leaned in again and touched her hand. "I wasn't trying to be rude. I'm sorry. I guess you can't see the lights from as far away as L.A."

  Sunny liked the feel of his touch, even though she pulled her hand back.

  Undeterred, he said, "The aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, happens when particles from the sun collide with earth's magnetic field and photons are released."

  "Geez, you are a geek. So what's magical about that? Sounds scientific."

  Noah scratched his chin. "The physics of the phenomenon aren't magical, but when you see the swirling lights, they make you believe in magic. They're indescribable."

  Glancing at Art, who was now reading the newspaper, Sunny said, "So what was Mama talking about?"

  Noah smiled. "Okay. Here's the magic part. Mama and half of the town believe that the first person to see the lights each year and make a wish will have their wish come true. And Tabby, Mayor Marsh, Mr. Gasgar, and others can attest to that. Tabby, who's ten, said that when she saw the lights at the age of seven and wished for a mommy, her dad met a woman the next day that he ended up marrying, and Tabby loves her stepmother.

  "As for Mayor Marsh, about five years ago he was diagnosed with cancer, so, of course, he wished to be cured. He was. He claims it was a miracle, others say it was the treatments he received, even though, according to him, there was less than a one percent chance of remission.

  "And lastly, Mr. Gasgar was losing his home in foreclosure after he put all of his money into an investment that turned out to be a swindle. A week after he wished on the lights, he won the lottery for two million dollars. And there are other stories," he added.

  Sunny shook her head. "There's nothing you've told me that can't be attributed to luck, so I'm sticking with the half of town who says it's ridiculous, but what about you? Which side are you on?"

  Noah grinned. "You might change your mind when you see the lights."

  "Ha. I don't think so. You haven't answered my question."

  He stood. "And I'm not going to because you already know what my answer will be." He touched his index finger to his brow in a saluting motion and then turned and walked out the door.

  15: Breeze

  Vicky was perched on the edge of the bed in the bedroom that had belonged to Belinda. It was the third day after finding the word DIARY written on parchment and she'd been searching for a diary. The first two days after the event she'd refused to enter the bedroom because she was so freaked out. So much so, that she hadn't given Michael Wainwright much thought, which was unusual, since he was usually on her mind.

  Before opening the museum that morning, however, she'd garnered enough courage to enter the bedroom and walk to the desk to stare at the paper that she'd flipped over so visitors couldn't see the words. Then she'd lifted the ink well and pen to study them. She'd started to turn away, but noticed a drop of ink on a corner of the desk. Holding her breath, she'd reached to touch it and jerked her hand back. When she'd turned it over, there was blue ink on the tip of her index finger. That's when she'd barely breathed out, "Belinda, are you trying to tell me something? Do you want me to look for a diary?"

  Her question had been met by silence, which was good, because anything supernatural would have sent her running from the house, and ironically, she realized it had only been a few weeks since Baxter and Faith had confronted her about their own encounter with a ghost—her dead brother's.

  At lunchtime, because she hadn't wanted to wait until evening, she'd locked the museum and searched Belinda's bedroom, Rose's bedroom, and the other two bedrooms. She'd found nothing in the way of false bottoms in drawers, loose floorboards, or hidden wall compartments, and returned to Belinda's room to now sit perplexed on the bed.

  For the next few days Vicky expanded her search to every room in the house and found nothing. However, three more unusual events occurred, the first of which didn't seem strange until connected with the other two. Someone had opened the museum door and a dozen or so brochures had toppled off the edge of her desk and scattered across the floor. She'd picked the brochures up and returned them to the neat pile on her desk.

  The second time it happened the h
air on her arms stood up. No one had opened a door. And the third time, she'd said into the air, "What are you trying to tell me?" and reached for a brochure that had fallen some distance from the others, at her feet.

  Now, with the brochure in her hand, she began reading what she knew so well, the history of the town and how Oliver Hope's wife had inadvertently named it when she grew weary of travel. She had told her husband that he'd better find somewhere soon, and shortly thereafter they had come upon the cove. In jest, he'd said to his wife, "Looks like we've found Somewhere."

  The brochure then described the family's first home that had come to be known as Stone House, built on the headland of the northern peninsula in 1890. After that, it detailed the history of the beginnings of Somewhere and the building of three identical homes near downtown in 1910, one for each of the Hope twins, and the other for Mr. and Mrs. Hope.

  It was the final words on that page, however, that started Vicky's heart pounding. The sentence was continued on the next page, but the last two words were, "Sebastian's home…" However, it wasn't the words that stole her breath; it was the tiny ink blots beneath them, one under each word—blue ink—the same color as the word DIARY had been written with. Reaching for other brochures she began opening them and her hands went clammy. There were no blue ink blots under the black printing.

  She rushed to the parlor/souvenir shop and pulled out another stack of brochures from under the counter. None of them had the splats.

  At precisely four o'clock she closed the museum and retired to her living space upstairs. She turned on her electric kettle to warm water for tea, but while it heated, she went to the second floor, entered Belinda's room, and said, "I guess you're telling me that the diary is hidden at Gabby's house."

  Although the window wasn't open, a subtle breeze blew against the drapes and moved them ever so slightly.

  16: Rendezvous

  Gabby pulled into the parking lot of the elegant Kimpton RiverPlace hotel in Portland and found a parking space behind the building. Her hands were clammy, her breathing rapid, and her heart slammed her chest. She was about to meet Leo in the foyer of the hotel. He had wanted to meet in Eugene and leave her car at a long-term parking garage, driving them both to Portland, but she had refused. The thought of driving any length of time with Leo, with their intended end being one night of lovemaking, was beyond comprehension. In fact, she was sorely tempted to restart her car and get the hell out of there. However, the only thing that kept her from doing so was her desire to get Leo out of her system. She sighed and exited the car.

  Grabbing her overnight suitcase from the hatch of her 2010 Toyota Sequoia, she swallowed back bile, lifted her shoulders, and made her way to the front of the hotel.

  Leo was sitting near the fireplace in the alcove off the impressive foyer and lifted his hand when she entered. His smile was warm and welcoming, and she felt the bile rise again. She was crazy for doing this. He walked over to meet her in the tiled entrance beside a waist-high vase of dried flowers and said, "I've already checked us in, Gabby. We're on the top floor with a lovely view of the Willamette River. Let me take your suitcase."

  Because her voice wouldn't work, Gabby nodded and handed over her rolling travel case. Leo motioned toward the elevator and followed her there. He punched the UP button and while they waited for the elevator to arrive, he said, "It's certainly a lovely day for travel. I left early and walked along the riverbank until check-in time. How was your drive?"

  She cleared her throat and forced out, "It was very nice. I haven't been to Portland since I picked Baxter up at the airport at the beginning of summer."

  The elevator arrived and then whirred smoothly to the third floor. When the doors opened a young couple with a toddler was waiting to enter, and Gabby wanted to engage them in conversation just to delay entering the hotel room with Leo, but the child started to cry. Leo continued his conversation as they walked down the hallway. "We're the last door on the right. And speaking of Baxter, I hear he's moving back to Somewhere."

  "Yes. And I have Faith to thank for that. After I got to know her, I realized she and Baxter would be perfect together. For a while, though, their relationship was touch-and-go, but Baxter finally got his head screwed on straight." She glanced up at Leo. "In fact, I think there may soon be wedding bells."

  Leo's blue gaze roamed her face and she felt faint.

  "That's wonderful," he replied.

  Gabby's grip on her purse tightened as they paused beside a door and Leo slid a key card into the slot and the door clicked. He held the door open for her as her mind screamed, If you're going to chicken out, now is the time.

  She stepped inside the room, which was incredibly luxurious and her thoughts stilled. The first thing she noticed was a huge bouquet of yellow roses on a table near the window in the sitting area. How had Leo known roses were her favorite flower and yellow her favorite color?

  Leo walked to the king size bed with a lovely blue and lavender floral spread and set her suitcase on it.

  Gabby stepped farther into the room and then noticed a connecting door. She glanced from the door to Leo. He gave her one of his disarming smiles. "In case you want to back out of this arrangement." She jerked her gaze away from his. He said, "Why don't you unpack while I check out the hotel amenities?"

  Gabby nodded and Leo left. She knew he was giving her time to regroup and it touched her heart. He really was a thoughtful man.

  When he returned to the room, she had showered and dressed and was just stepping out of the bathroom wearing a flowing, pale yellow, caftan dress that reached her ankles, and she knew her hippie upbringing was shining brightly. She had French braided her hair, pinned it in a circle at the back of her head, and slipped a yellow rose above her left ear. She even wore a touch of makeup: foundation, eyebrow pencil, blusher, mascara, and light brown eye shadow that Sandy insisted enhanced the blue in her eyes, and, at that moment, she was glad she'd asked her friend for a makeover.

  Leo paused beside the bed to stare at her. "You're beautiful, Gabby," he said softly.

  She blushed and ducked her head. "I guess I clean up okay." She tried to make light of his compliment and looked back to see he was smiling. Amazingly, she smiled back with no self consciousness.

  Leo said, "If it's all right with you, I thought we could eat at Castagna. I've been there a few times, so I know the food is terrific."

  "I've never been there, but I've always wanted to go." Unbidden, she suddenly wondered if he'd been there with other women, which, of course, was none of her business and irrelevant to their rendezvous.

  Leo walked to a closet and pulled out a suit. "Give me a few minutes to change and then we can head out. Since our reservation is at five, we have three hours to explore. Is there any place in particular you want to go?"

  Gabby thought about that. "I haven't been to the Japanese Garden in years. Would that be okay?"

  Leo's sensual mouth lifted in a smile. "I'll take you anywhere you want."

  17: Voice Message

  Gabby woke to a ray of sunshine slanting through the window and stretched. She felt sore and wonderful at the same time. She moved her gaze from the sparkles of dust in the sunlight, to the man sitting at the table beneath them. He smiled and her heart melted.

  "I was hoping a little sunshine would wake you," he said in his deliciously masculine voice; the same voice that had whispered in her ear the night before. He lifted a coffee mug to his lips, sipped, and continued, "I brought you a mocha coffee since I know you love chocolate."

  Leo's thoughtfulness warmed Gabby's heart even more. "Thank you."

  He stood. "I'll give you time to dress."

  Again, his thoughtfulness was endearing. "Thank you," she said again, this time shyly.

  As Leo passed her on the bed, he bent and kissed her forehead before gently passing his lips over hers. Then he was gone and she wished he was still there. After their night of lovemaking, there wasn't any part of her he hadn't touched, and she wanted more.
No, you don't, she told herself.

  She rose, saw the voice message light on her cell phone blinking, and retrieved her phone from the dresser.

  The message was from Vicky. "Hi Gabby. I was wondering if we could get together. There's something important I need to discuss with you. It's not an emergency, but it is, well, important. Give me a call when you have a chance." Although Vicky said it wasn't important, something in her voice begged to differ.

  While Gabby grabbed her clothing, she pressed autodial to return Vicky's call.

  "Hello," said Vicky.

  "Hi, hon, it's Gabby. Is everything okay?"

  "Oh, sure. I just need to see you about something I'd rather not discuss over the phone. Can I come over later?"

  "Um, well, I'm out of town at the moment, but I'll be home this afternoon. I'll call you then."

  "Great. See you soon."

  Gabby disconnected and sat on the side of the bed. Reality was rearing its head. She had done what she set out to do. She'd spent a night with Leo. Now it was time to move on. He was out of her system—or soon would be—and she could live the remainder of her life concentrating on her business, her son, her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, and hopefully, grandchildren. When she felt tears welling, she jumped up and rushed to the bathroom to shower and dress.

  Leo returned shortly thereafter and she was sitting at the table under the window sipping her mocha coffee. It was delicious, but she had to choke it down when he smiled and his blue eyes twinkled as he approached.

  "I was thinking we could visit the zoo today and spend another night or two here," he said cheerily.

  She blinked several times and replied, "Leo, I'm leaving. I said one night and it was so beautiful…" Her voice failed her and she glanced down.

  Leo walked to the table and sat across from her. "Why, Gabby? Last night only solidified the fact that we love each other. Why are you throwing away our happiness?"