Allison slowly rose from her chair. “You’re firing me?”
“If that’s the language you want to use.”
The statement should have rocked her. But all she felt was peace.
Derrek turned to Linda and said, “Before we finish, is there even a microcosm of what Allison has said that is true? Other than my slight exaggeration from time to time, is there anything to her comments? Am I blind and do not know it?”
Linda shook her head as if in great sadness. “No, you are not blind, and no, none of it is true. She is an abhorrent person.”
Allison turned to Linda, and as she did, something extraordinary happened. All her anger and bitterness slipped away, and she saw the scared little girl hiding under Linda’s facade.
“I’ve hated you, Linda. The way you’ve treated me has been horrendous. The disrespect, the condescending attitude, convincing Derrek I shouldn’t be a partner—it hurt deeply. But I get it. I do. You’re not in an easy spot in life. Haven’t been for a long time.”
“Oh, is that right, Allison?”
The conversation she’d overheard the other day filled her mind. “I know you’re in pain. And I’m sorry for that. But you’re here where you have tremendous value. And you’re protecting a place where you feel special. Derrek has given you validation, and you love him for it. And you’ll do anything to protect it. And I threatened that relationship. You saw me as someone who could steal away what you’ve found. So you lashed out at me. But that’s okay. I don’t blame you. I would have done exactly the same thing.”
Linda’s face went hot red and she sputtered, “You are a Jezebel. I knew from the moment I met you. One of the most despicable creatures I’ve ever encountered.”
Allison responded in a voice just above a whisper. “There is light inside you, Linda. It’s shrouded by deep darkness that you have invited to be part of you, but the light is still there. You only need to see it. Just like me. You don’t know who you are. You’ve forgotten. May you someday remember.”
Linda started to rise from her chair and growled, “I swear to you, Allison, I will—”
“Enough. Please sit down, Linda.” Derrek cleared his throat. “You have an hour, Allison, to collect your things and leave.”
Derrek clasped his hands. Allison looked at Derrek till he dropped his gaze.
“Goodbye, Derrek.”
The warrior was alive and well.
fifty-one
SUNDAY MORNING ALLISON OPENED THE journal to the first page and took a picture of her entry with her phone. She did the same with each of the pages she’d written in. Someday soon she’d take the pictures and copy the words into her permanent journals. This one? She had a sense her time with it had come to a close. So she was hardly surprised that moments after she’d captured the last image, the words in the journal began to fade. Within a minute all the words had vanished.
Late Sunday night Allison and her mom picked up Parker from SeaTac airport. They spotted him as he trudged through the sliding glass doors onto the sidewalk on the arrivals level, glancing both ways, looking for them.
“Parker!” their mom called out from the passenger window. He spun at their mom’s voice and trundled toward them. He looked tired, but only his body. There was something different about his countenance that Allison could see even from fifteen yards away. And when he got close, she saw eyes far brighter than she’d seen in forever. Allison leaped out of her car and ran around the back as she watched Parker take their mom in a long embrace.
Then it was her turn, and she hugged him fiercely.
“How are you?” she said into his ear, her arms still wrapped around him.
“Better than I’ve ever been. Big changes. You?”
“Same.”
They released each other and grinned with the smiles of kids. They chatted nonstop on the way home, but by the time they reached Issaquah, all Parker wanted to do was grab a quick shower and go to bed. But he stopped by Allison’s room before heading for the family room to crash on the couch.
“Let’s grab some time tomorrow, huh?”
“I’d love that. Find a place where we can talk for a long time.”
“Agreed.” He whapped her doorframe and said, “Love ya, sis.”
“Love you too.”
The next morning Allison rose early and fixed breakfast for Parker and their mom. The three of them sat around the table telling stories from ages past, and it drew them together like nothing had in years.
After cleaning up, Allison and Parker got in her car and headed for Tiger Mountain. Not to run. To walk and tell the stories of the past four months.
“What trail should we take?” Allison asked as they headed for the mountain.
“Has to be Poo Poo Point, don’t you think?”
Allison rolled her eyes. “I think you just like saying the name of the trail.”
“Who, me?” Parker laughed. “Yeah, maybe, but Weyerhaeuser cleared out the trees and the stumps years back, so a lot of paragliders launch from there. It would be a kick to watch a few of them, and the view from there is spectacular.”
“Promise me you’re not going to talk one of them into letting you take a spin?”
“Promise.”
“You know it’s almost seven and a half miles, round trip.”
“If you’re good, I’m good.” Parker patted his stomach. “Alaska fit, baby.”
“And the trail rises almost two thousand feet.”
“Like I said, I’m fit.”
“Repeat that to me once more when we’re done, okay?”
They reached the trailhead and soon were climbing up an old railroad grade through a mixed deciduous and coniferous forest. When they reached the top two hours later, they found a somewhat secluded spot away from the paragliders. Allison stared out over the view of Lake Sammamish and Bellevue and put her arm around her brother’s shoulder. He grinned and said, “Okay, time to talk. You go first.”
“No, you, Parker.”
“All right.” He stretched his legs out straight. “What a trip. Mind blowing. I thought going up there was about fishing, making money to help Mom out. And it was. But that was the smallest part.”
Allison laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I thought going to work at Wright Architecture was about making money to help Mom out, but that was the smallest part.”
“I think I’ve heard that line somewhere before.” Parker laughed. “What was the biggest part for you?”
“Finally got authentic. And did what you’ve been wanting me to do for a long time. I stood up for myself. Stood up to my boss.” Allison smiled.
“And what happened when you did?”
“Got fired.” She mock glared at him. “Thanks for the advice, bro.”
“Are you serious? He axed you?”
“He did. But it was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”
“So you’re not making anything right now.”
“Nope.” Allison laughed. “I don’t know why I’m laughing—it’s not funny. But it’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah, it will. I have some good news in that area.” Parker grinned. “Not only was I paid well for the work up there, but I got a sizable bonus.”
“Really? Why didn’t you tell Mom last night?”
“I wanted to talk to you about it first.” Parker kicked at a rock with his heel. “Plus, it’s not like it’s going to wipe out all of Mom’s debt, but it’s better than nothing.”
“With me out of work, it’s everything. How much?”
“Twenty-five thousand.”
“And you’re willing to put all of it toward—”
“Don’t even try to ask me that.”
Allison grinned as hope washed through her. “What’d you do to get the bonus?”
“I guess that happens when you save the captain’s life.”
“You did what?” She pushed his shoulder. “Oh my gosh!”
Parker told her his
story from the beginning, about Logan, about Abraham, about diving into the black waters of the Bering Sea and somehow surviving.
“Wow, you saved Logan’s life. After all he put you through.”
“Yeah, but thing is, I didn’t save his life.”
“So did you or didn’t you?”
Parker stopped and stared through the forest as if he were reliving the scene.
“I was part of it, the rescue, but I blacked out before I could get Logan back to the boat. No one really knows how Logan and I got out of the water. It’s weird. Something about Abraham coming to and getting in the water . . . I don’t know exactly. It’s all a little fuzzy. But I guess the point is that I jumped in and, yeah, it helped save Logan’s life, but it helped save mine too.”
“How?”
Parker turned and watched a paraglider launch herself off over the mountain.
“Because as I stood there on that railing deciding whether to jump, I realized I didn’t have to do it to prove anything to anyone. I jumped in because in that moment I figured out who I am. A person who would step up to the challenge and face it head-on, even if it meant dying. Who would do the right thing.”
“I always knew that’s who you are.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t. And it doesn’t matter if others tell you. You have to know it for yourself.”
She nodded and grabbed Parker’s hand. “Well said, brother.”
“I’m starting to know who I am. To live from the deep part of me that’s been there all along. And it turns out that person has worth. More than I knew.” Parker paused and looked down at a stick he’d picked up off the ground. “Does that make any sense?”
“More than you can imagine.” Allison took his hand. “Go with me somewhere, will you?”
“Where?”
“Into a memory from another age.” She took his other hand. “You are a warrior in a great kingdom. As am I.”
Parker grinned and whispered, “Another mighty battle won.”
“By whom?”
“By whom, you ask?” Parker said as his voice grew louder. “The greatest.”
“The greatest who?”
“The greatest warriors!”
“The greatest warriors what?” Parker’s voice was just below shouting now.
“The greatest warriors the kingdom has ever known!”
They saluted each other, then cried in unison, “May it ever be so!”
Both she and Parker burst into laughter, then she embraced him with all her strength and, before pulling away, repeated, “May it ever be so.”
They sat in the moment till the emotion had passed, but the sweetness of it still hung in the air.
“Anything else about Alaska?” Allison said.
“I owe so much to Abe.” Parker tossed his stick and watched it whirl through the air. “A lot of wisdom inside that guy.”
“Have you talked to him since you got back?”
“Nah. I have his info. He has mine. Abe said he’d be in touch sooner rather than later.”
“I’d like to meet this Abe.”
“You’d like him. No doubt. We’ll have to make that happen someday,” Parker said. “Okay, your turn. Tell me about your life. Tell what you found out about that journal thing. I never gave you the chance before I left.”
Allison sniffed out a quick laugh. “You won’t believe it.”
“Try me.”
“It was one of seven angel journals created by a monk back in the 1500s. When you write in them, the writing changes in ways that make you face the truth about your life.”
“You’re crazy.” Parker grinned. “Can you show me? Can I see the journal again?”
Allison shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“My time with the journal is over. It’s someone else’s turn now.”
Allison told him about her time at Wright Architecture, about the confrontation with Derrek, about Linda and Cannon Beach and meeting Micah and Sarah and finding a strength inside her that she’d never known and yet had always known.
“You didn’t know that strength was inside you? Yeah, you did. Like when you stood up to Nathan, when you stood up to the loan sharks.”
“You’re right, I did. But I never believed in it. Not till now.” She looked at her brother and then to the sky. “Just like you, I’ve been figuring out that I have to live out of who I truly am. Not for others. For me. I have to realize my worth, not from getting a partnership or winning races or even having a dad who made me his favorite. But from remembering who I am. That I’ve always been a warrior.”
They didn’t get back to the parking lot till well after eight o’clock. They’d talked for over three hours straight and still there seemed more to say. They both went for a quick stretch at the exact same time.
“In sync with each other, just like the old days.”
“Let’s make the old days the new days, okay?” Allison took Parker’s fingertips and gave a gentle pull.
“Done.”
“Hey, what are you doing Monday?”
“Not much,” Parker said.
“Well, I’d love for you to meet a friend of mine. Do you have time?”
“My only plan is to get back to Mazama at some point. Or maybe not. So yeah to meeting your friend. Whenever is great.”
“Okay, I’ll try to set something up.”
“So who’s this friend I’m going to meet? Male or female?”
“Male.”
“Is this going to be one of those brother-checks-out-his-sister’s-hot-prospect-and-makes-sure-he’s-worthy-of-her type things?”
“No.” Allison smiled and reached for her toes. “He’s the furthest thing from that in the universe that you can imagine.”
fifty-two
WEDNESDAY MORNING ALLISON WENT FOR a walk down at Lake Sammamish State Park, and when she got back to her car she found a text message on her phone that made her smile. Micah Taylor.
Hi, Allison, Micah Taylor here. Can you call me as soon as you get this? Thanks!
She slipped her Bluetooth over her ear and dialed Micah as she left the parking lot. He wasn’t there. She left a message. As she reached the 405 freeway three minutes later, her phone buzzed. Micah calling back.
“Micah.”
“Hey, Allison. How are things?”
“Life has been extremely interesting.”
“Oh?”
“I’ll tell you and Sarah next time we get together.” She pulled onto the freeway. “What can I do for you?”
“I have a question.”
“Sure.”
“A mutual friend of ours says you might be looking for work.”
“Our mutual friend is right.”
“Do you remember us talking about my working with Hale & Sons?”
“Yes.”
“Truth is, we’re going into a full-on partnership with them. We weren’t sure it was going to happen when Sarah and I saw you last month, so I couldn’t say much, but we just finalized things.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. It’s a major wow. You know what that means, right?”
“You’re going to start building homes together. But not normal ones. You’re going to build the type that your home was. And is.”
“Exactly,” Micah said. “Remember my friend Rick, the mechanic? He’ll be our main client. At least three-quarters of our jobs will come from him. And Rick’s plans are aggressive.”
“A mechanic has that kind of money to invest in homes?”
“It’s a long story. Remind me to tell you sometime. The point is, we’ll need a full-time architect to keep up. Are you interested?”
“Highly.”
“There is one condition. Actually two.”
“Okay.” Allison took her exit and slowed as she came to the end of the off-ramp. “Hit me.”
“Did I say two? I meant three.”
In the background she heard Sarah say, “Give me the phone. Let me tell her without you stringing her alon
g.”
Micah laughed and said, “Sarah says hi and that she can’t wait to see you again.”
“Micah!” Allison heard Sarah shout.
“Condition one: You have to come to Cannon Beach four times a year for company planning and meetings and playing at the beach and in the ocean.”
“Done.”
“Condition two: Bring your brother and mom with you at least once a year.”
“Done.”
“Condition three: You come on as a partner in the company. I’ll send you the paperwork tonight.”
“Partner?”
“It’s the only way we’ll do it. And there’s a nice signing bonus that will give you some relief from your current financial situation.”
Allison swallowed hard. “I know you’re serious.”
“Yes. We are. And nothing happens till all paperwork is signed.”
“How do you see divvying up the company?”
“Hale & Sons gets thirty percent. Sarah and I get thirty percent. You get thirty percent, and the remaining ten percent we give back.”
“You’re being extremely generous to me.”
“It’s fair, and believe me, you’ll earn it.”
Allison went silent and Micah did as well. Finally she spoke. “You barely know me.”
“Our mutual friend speaks extremely highly of you.”
“Richard.”
“Yes.”
“He’s not really a cop, is he?”
“He probably was at one time.” Allison heard a smile in Micah’s voice. “But now? No, he’s not.”
“And at times he probably goes by other forms of the name Richard. Like Rick maybe?”
“Yes.” Now Micah was laughing. “That he does.”
Allison called her mom and told her things were going to be okay.
“Really?”
“Yes, Mom. I promise. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home, okay?”
She hung up, and a few minutes later her phone buzzed. Even before she looked at caller ID, she had a feeling who it was. She was right. Richard.
“I was hoping to talk to you today.”
“Is that right?” he said.
“Yes. Some things have happened that I’d like to talk about. And I want you to meet my brother. He’s back from Alaska.”
The Pages of Her Life Page 29