96 Hours

by Georgia Beers

  And she was completely naked.

  “Morning, sunshine.”

  The voice was so close to her ear, Erica started as if she’d been poked in the ribs. “Jesus Christ.”

  “Oh, honey, I don’t think he can help you today.”

  Abby. Damn her, she was enjoying this. Erica could hear the amusement in her tone. “What the hell did you do to me?” Her voice barely sounded like her own, more like gravel in a blender. She tried to clear her throat without moving her head or opening her eyes.

  “It wasn’t me. I tried to help. I gave you water and Motrin before you passed out. How’s the head?”

  “Feels like it’s been rolling around in a dryer.”

  “Yeah, tequila will do that to you.”

  “Ugh. I hate tequila.”

  “Didn’t look that way last night.”

  Erica groaned.

  “Do you want me to see what Corinne’s got to eat?”

  “God, no.” Erica’s stomach churned a warning at the mere thought of food.

  “I didn’t think so. You should drink some water, though. You’re dehydrated.”

  Finally, finally, Erica cracked one eye open and focused on her temporary roomie. She looked fresh as a newly blossomed flower, smelling of baby powder, the ends of her dark hair still damp and leaving wet spots on her T-shirt. “Why aren’t you like this?” she muttered in annoyance.

  “I am one of the few people tequila is actually nice to,” Abby explained, so cheerfully that Erica wanted to bust her in the mouth. If only she could lift her right arm. “I was a little tipsy last night, but . . .” Abby trailed off, arching an eyebrow.

  “Not like me.”

  “No. Not like you.”

  “How did I end up nude?” Covering her face, Erica pleaded, “Tell me you didn’t have to help me.”

  “I didn’t have to help you. You got undressed all by yourself.”

  Visible through her fingers, the trail of clothes from the bathroom to the bed told her all she needed to know. “Oh, god. You were here, weren’t you?”

  “Yes. I kept you from coming down the stairs on your face.”

  “And I undressed right in front of you?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Oh, god.” Erica pulled the covers over her head. From under them, she shouted, “And stop enjoying this so much!”

  Abby laughed, but it was kind, not teasing, not at her expense. Erica peeked out, made a face. “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Believe me, Erica, you have no reason to be.” She waggled her eyebrows lasciviously and Erica took a halfhearted swipe at her. “I’m going to go grab some breakfast and bring you down some juice or something, okay? Just lie here, take your time. There’s no hurry. I don’t think we’re getting out of here today.”

  Though it wasn’t the news Erica wanted to hear, not having to force herself to get up was a relief. Besides, she didn’t know if a herd of elephants stampeding through the room right now would get her to move. Her limbs felt filled with concrete and her head was too foggy for any attempt at raising it.

  “Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”

  Abby patted her shoulder and headed upstairs.

  “Ugh,” Erica said aloud, again, just to say something. She tried hard to focus her brain, to make herself remember the previous night. She was worried she’d done something worse than strip in front of a virtual stranger, concerned she’d said something stupid. Or worse, provocative. Alcohol usually made her kind of flirty, but last night, all she could remember was sober, then trashed—and nothing in between. She’d have to ask Abby later and hope she’d be honest.

  Abby.

  What was it about her? There was something Erica couldn’t put a finger on, something that intrigued her—which was unusual because Erica rarely bothered with people. People were unreliable, fallible, needy, and they made her uncomfortable. Her boss was unendingly telling her what an asset she was to the science lab because she didn’t get caught up in personal stuff: she was all about the facts, the organization, the marketing. He liked that; he wanted that running his lab.

  Abby, though; Abby interested her, much as she hated to admit it. She also annoyed her and irritated her and rubbed her the wrong way. But she was interesting just the same. She didn’t make her cringe as much as she had that first time in the airport, and Erica wondered why. Was Pollyanna actually growing on her? Did Pollyanna actually like her? No, that couldn’t be.

  Most people found Erica cold. She knew that, and she tried not to let it bother her. Shrugging it off had always been her response. That’s how she’d managed to get through high school, and it was a method she carried on into adulthood. She’d taught herself not to care. And it had worked very well until recently, the past year or two. Maddie—the one who’d given her the Cartier watch for their one-year anniversary—had snapped that an iceberg had more warmth than Erica. The next day, she packed up and left for good, leaving Erica to wonder for the first time since the ninth grade exactly what kind of person she’d allowed herself to become. She hadn’t liked the answers and so she’d spent the next year-and-a-half trying to avoid them, submerging herself in her work and unwittingly isolating herself, walling herself off. Erica wasn’t a stupid woman, not by any stretch of the imagination. Somewhere deep inside, she knew such segregation was unhealthy, but she continued on that same course for months until her life outside of work consisted mostly of, well, her.

  And now here she was, in Gander, Newfoundland, stranded in a house full of people, naked and hungover in the bed of a total stranger.

  What the fuck?

  Brian followed his nose down the stairs and into the kitchen, the scent of freshly brewed coffee the only thing driving him. His head throbbed, though not quite as badly as he’d expected. It was probably a good thing he’d bowed out of last night’s shenanigans when he had. A couple more shots and he’d have spent much of the night praying to the porcelain god. Luckily, he’d simply passed out and slept straight through the night. He woke up disoriented and alarmingly thirsty, but no worse for wear.

  Abby was humming quietly in the kitchen as she poured two mugs of coffee, looking as if she hadn’t had anything to drink the night before, let alone just as much as the rest of them. Well, him and Erica anyway.

  “He’s out for a run?” Brian said with thinly veiled disgust as he read the note on the counter.

  “Michael was the smartest one of all of us last night.”

  “I hate him.”

  Abby nodded with a quiet laugh.

  “Is one of those for me?” Brian gestured to the mugs with his chin.

  “Um, yes. As a matter of fact.” She pulled another mug from the cupboard, handed a full one to Brian, and filled the third.

  “So, three of us are accounted for. Where’s the fourth?”

  “Still in bed.”

  “Crying?”

  Abby barked a laugh. “Maybe. She’s a hurtin’ unit, that’s for sure. I don’t think an evening of shots is a regular occurrence for her.”

  “I don’t think it’s a regular occurrence for any of us. But for her especially. In fact, I don’t think an evening of people is a regular occurrence for her.” He took a sip of his coffee and dipped his head appreciatively. Hot, black, and strong, just the way he liked it.

  “You got that impression, too?”

  “Oh, yeah. She seemed to loosen up, though.”

  “I thought she was fun.”

  “She was. And I think she actually strung more than two sentences together at one time.”

  “I think she’s just shy,” Abby said, a hint of defensiveness in her voice.

  “Or an uptight bitch.” At Abby’s gasp, he grinned. “I’m kidding. Well, not about the uptight part. I don’t know her well enough to know if she’s a bitch.”

  “You’re terrible.”

  “She’s hot, though. What an ass on her.” Brian sucked air in through his teeth.

  “You have no idea.”<
br />
  “You tap that?”

  “What? No! But . . .” She let her voice trail off, a mischievous glint in her eye.

  Brian glanced at the closed basement door and lowered his voice, took a step toward Abby. “What? You saw something, didn’t you? Tell me!”

  “I can’t. It’s disrespectful.”

  Brian scoffed. “Oh, please. You were being far from respectful with the questions you were asking last night. No, you don’t get to fall back on respect.” At her look of hesitation, he decided to resort to begging. “Please, Abby. I’m divorced. I’m only in my thirties. Do you think celibacy does it for a guy like me? Come on, throw me a bone. Pun intended. Give me some material.”

  Abby hesitated. But one look at Brian’s face, at the hangdog expression and she thought, That’s what she gets for stripping in front of me like that. She relayed the whole story to Brian.

  “God.” Brian dropped into a chair as if his legs gave out. “My god.”

  “Guys are so easy,” Abby said with a good-natured eye-roll.

  “And you really didn’t hit that?”

  She cocked her head. “And that, my friend, is the difference between men and women. Call me crazy, but sleeping with an intoxicated, half-unconscious woman is not my idea of a good time.”

  Brian narrowed his eyes. “Tell me you didn’t think about it.”

  “Bri.” Abby leveled a gaze at him. “She was trashed.”

  His shoulders slumped and he blew out a breath. “Man, I hate my ex-wife. This divorce has turned me into a sex-crazed pig.”

  “Eh.” Abby waved him off dismissively. “You’re a guy. You didn’t have that far to go.”

  He laughed. “Hey, did you see Tim or Corinne this morning?”

  “Yup. Tim headed off to work and dropped Corinne at the Lions Club, so they could leave us these.” She dangled a set of keys in front of him.

  His eyes widened in disbelief. “Are those car keys?”

  “That they are.”

  “They left us a car?”

  “That they did.”

  “What is wrong with them?”

  Abby shrugged. “They’re Canadian.”

  They puttered for a few hours, letting Erica ease into the day and waiting for Michael to return from his run and then shower. By noon, Erica had swallowed (and kept down) a slice of dry toast and two cups of coffee, and all four of them were ready for a change of scenery, so they decided to go for a ride. Abby was elected to drive. Michael took shotgun while Brian and Erica piled into the back seat.

  It was another unseasonably warm day (or so the car radio reported) and Gander was beautiful. Lush and green, lusher than the flat, rural area where Erica had grown up, greener than the urban brick and mortar Abby knew.

  The town wasn’t big, so finding the main routes took only a little bit of driving, and Tim had left a map to make it that much easier. People were milling everywhere, up and down streets, hanging out in front of buildings, wandering aimlessly like zombies in a bad sci-fi movie. They were trying to pass the time as they hung in limbo, waiting for the moment they’d be told they could board their planes again, that they could resume their lives.

  “Hey, look at that,” Michael said, pointing to their left. Outside a building marked Newtel Communications, long tables were set up under outdoor tents. Some held telephones, others held computers. Hand-lettered signs boasted no-charge phone calls and internet access. “All free. Amazing.”

  “Corinne said the pharmacy is filling prescriptions for free, too,” Abby said.

  Brian’s voice was low, in awe. “These people are really something.”

  “What’s this highlighted part?” Michael asked, pointing at bright yellow on the map.

  “Turn it around,” Abby said, making a spinning motion with a finger. “See the gander head?”

  “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  She was right. Three streets: Elizabeth, Edinburgh, and Memorial, all curved and met in such a way as to form a crude outline of the head of a goose.

  “That’s where the town got its name. Tim told me.”

  “Huh. Clever.”

  “I was thinking maybe we could go to Cobb’s Pond.” She glanced at the map and pointed in the general vicinity. “Tim said there’s a boardwalk and it’s such a nice day. You all up for a stroll?”

  Fifteen minutes later, Abby and Erica were waving goodbye to the men in the car, who promised they’d be back in two hours or less.

  “Is walking along a boardwalk a girly thing or something?” Abby asked, a little stung that the guys didn’t hang around.

  “Yeah, it kind of is,” Erica replied, amused by Abby’s pout.

  “Too bad for them,” Abby declared with a shrug. “Look at this place. It’s gorgeous.”

  She was right about that. A large archway announced Cobb’s Pond Rotary Park and beyond it, beautiful blue water and the deep, thick green of fir, birch, aspen, and spruce trees. Other people milled about, dining at various picnic tables or launching canoes for a relaxing glide around the pond, but overall the atmosphere was quiet and peaceful. Erica sucked in a big lungful of air and let it out slowly.

  “Feeling better?” Abby asked, noting that the blue of Erica’s eyes had brightened since earlier that morning.

  “Much.” She turned to look at Abby. “Thank you.”

  “No problem.” Abby pointed. “Hey, that looks like the boardwalk. Tim said it goes all the way around, between three and four kilometers.” She laughed. “And I have no idea how far that is.”

  “A little over two miles.”

  “Figures you’d know that. You up for it?”

  With a quick dip of her head, Erica headed for the boardwalk, Abby jogged to catch up.

  They spent nearly fifteen minutes walking in silence, simply enjoying their surroundings. Birds were plentiful, as were squirrels, both feeding from the various feeders and houses scattered throughout the trees. Observation decks were spaced every so often for stopping and looking out over the pond, and breathing in the beauty of it all—the water, the birdsong, the clean air. Erica could feel her body relaxing, finally; the first time she’d been able to let go in several days. Her shoulders seemed to soften, the rock hardness of that area finally melting away. Her lungs felt clear, like every last molecule of airplane air was finally, only now, gone from her system. Muscles that had felt taut as stretched rubber bands gradually relaxed, the rigidity easing, and her pale skin soaked in the rays of the sun. She turned her face toward the sky, eyes closed, content.

  No wonder the people of Gander were so wonderful, she thought. How could you not be happy here?

  It was the most foreign feeling she’d had in ages. And it was so amazing it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

  Abby was in tune with people, a characteristic on which she prided herself, and she watched the change come over Erica with interest. She saw it happening, saw her relax, saw the worry lines on her face smooth out, saw the almost-smile that turned up the corners of her mouth. It was quite a sight. She wanted to ask if Erica was all right, but didn’t want to send her skittering back into her shell. Instead, they walked a bit farther in silence. When it felt right, Abby spoke.

  “It’s beautiful here.”

  “It really is.”

  “Where I grew up in Connecticut, it’s very green and there are lots of trees like this, but I was never close to a lake or anything. Were you?”

  “No. It’s pretty flat and dry where I grew up.”

  “What about where you live now? In Raleigh, you said?”

  Erica pursed her lovely lips, thinking. “It’s gorgeous there. Very green, lots of trees and lakes and trails for walking or biking.” The pursed lips changed into a slight frown. “I don’t get to enjoy it as much as I’d like.”

  “Work?” When Erica nodded, she asked, “What do you do?”

  “I’m a research scientist at a pharmaceutical company and I manage a team of other scientists.”

  “Cool.” Abby was impre
ssed.

  “It can be.”

  “But?”

  “But my seven-hundred-dollar bicycle has become a clothes rack in my apartment,” Erica replied.

  “I see. Too much work and not enough play make Erica a dull girl.”

  “You don’t know the half of it.”

  “So why were you in the U.K.?”

  “I was meeting with a division of our company, trying to pitch a new drug, which turned out to be a disaster.” She blew out a breath and watched a hawk soar high above the trees. “Enough about me. What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “What do you do?”

  “I’m sort of between jobs right now.”

  Erica squinted at her. “Between jobs?”

  “Yeah. I was a business major and I had a job in a small, up-and-coming company near home, but . . .” Her voice trailed off as she glanced over the water to their left.

  “But?”

  “I hated it.”

  “What did you hate about it?”

  Abby sighed, floundered around for the right words. “I just felt used up at the end of the day, you know? I was working ten-, sometimes twelve-hour days. I was exhausted. I never saw my family—and I was still living in my mother’s house. I was making good money but I didn’t have time to spend any of it. After a year-and-a-half, I decided I just couldn’t do it any more. I quit.”

  “Wow.” Quitting was something Erica had never done, not in her entire life. It was something she frowned upon, something her father frowned upon even more. Abby’s reasons made sense, but still. Erica had a tough time seeing herself doing the same thing. “You just decided one day you’d had enough and you just left?”

  “Exactly. I believe in happiness, you know? I believe we all have the right to live our lives as happy people. If we all did that, the world would be a better place, that’s for sure.”

  “You’re probably right about that,” Erica agreed, trying hard to imagine what it would be like to just up and quit her job, just walk out one day. “Did you have something else lined up before you left?”