by Ben Marney
When I opened Charley’s door, he took off running at full speed, flying up the winding staircase. I could hear his excited barking as he ran around the deck, looking in the windows.
Between every two houses was a wooden walkway that was build up and over the sand dune, leading to the ocean. I was halfway up the staircase when Charley had apparently spotted the walkway and flew past me, running full speed toward it.
Watching from the back deck, I saw him run over the wooden walkway, fly down the sandy beach and jump head first into the ocean. Swimming and barking in the surf, it was easy to see…Charley had finally found our new home.
After a few minutes of playing in the surf, he walked out of the ocean, shook himself dry and headed back to the house.
The back of the house that faced the ocean was all glass, so it was easy to see inside. It was completely furnished and the interior decorator had done a great job. The very large back deck was also furnished with solid, redwood lounge chairs and tables. In each seat was a soft, bright yellow cushion, so I sat down at the table and for the next hour, Charley and I watched and listened to the sounds of the waves breaking on the beach.
I heard a voice and when I turned around, I saw a man standing there smiling. “It’s quite a view, isn’t it?” he said. “I’m Wilson James.” He walked up to me, holding out his hand.
I shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Wilson. I saw your name on the sign out front. So you’re a realtor?”
He smiled. “Yes, I am. I’m also the developer.”
“You built this complex, all ten houses?” I raised my eyebrows and lifted my bottle of water. “My compliments to the chef. You did an amazing job! Please tell your architect he has a new fan. His use of space and exterior design...the way these houses seem to blend in with the seascape is nothing less than brilliant.”
He took a seat next to me. “I agree with you. What he designed here is amazing. Unfortunately, he never got to see it. He passed away years ago. If it wasn’t for his daughter, none of these houses would be here.”
“Really? Why is that?” I asked. “Was there a zoning problem or something?”
He shook his head. “It’s a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?”
“Absolutely,” I said, “but before you tell me, could you unlock the door and let us look around?”
The inside was exactly as I had expected. Not one square inch of wasted space, with sweeping panoramic views of the ocean from almost every room.
“What do you think, Charley?” He instantly took off, running around through the house for one more quick tour.
“Woof, woof, woof,” he barked, then gave me that silly smile.
“Are you sure?”
His tail was wagging at hyper speed. “Woof!”
I looked at Wilson. “You heard him. We’ll take it!”
He jerked his head up. “Don’t you even want to know how much it cost?”
I grinned. “Let me guess. You’re asking three million...I’ll offer you two. You’ll counter with two point seven. I will then tell you that this will be a cash deal and we’ll settle at two point four.”
He burst out laughing and reached out his hand. “Deal!”
To celebrate my purchase, Wilson and his wife, Connie, took Charley and me out to dinner at Cellar 6 that night. It was a nice up-scaled restaurant/martini bar located in the art district on Avila’s street, supposedly the oldest street in America. I was stunned to find out that it was also dog friendly. We were seated outside on the deck under an umbrella, but it was a cool, clear night and Charley settled next to my feet and seemed to be very happy and content.
“You never finished the story,” I said, “the one about the architect and his daughter.”
Wilson glanced over at Connie. “You grew up with her. Why don’t you tell him the story?”
Connie put down her fork and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “It’s a tragic story that we’re all hoping is going to finally have a happy ending,” she began. “The architect’s name was Jacob Dean. He moved to Saint Augustine back in the 50’s. Mr. Dean was a gifted architect and soon built a thriving business through out Florida. He designed many of the buildings you still see standing in downtown Jacksonville and literally hundreds more between Miami and here. He was extremely successful and bought the beach property your house is sitting on back in the 60’s.”
“What did he pay for the land?” I asked.
They looked at each other and smiled. “It’s worth about ten million now, but he bought it for only three hundred thousand.”
“Wow!” I said. “So why didn’t he develop it back then?”
“It was just an investment for him at first. Jacob was the definition of a workaholic. It was one of the reasons he was so successful and wealthy, but it was also the reason he had never married.”
“In the late 1980’s, he received a huge offer to buy the beach property from a Miami condominium development company. They were going to pay him a small fortune for the land and also hire him as the architect to design it. So he drew up some quick plans and submitted them to the city planning commission.
“At that meeting, there was a young, beautiful environmentalist protesting the development of that property. Her name was Alice Cornelius, and she was there trying to save that very special stretch of natural untouched beach from being destroyed by condo developers, like they had done to the beaches in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.”
“So she stopped the development?” I asked.
Connie grinned. “Yes, she did. It was a legendary town meeting that the old folks still talk about today. The ones that were there will tell you that it was obviously love at first sight for Jacob. He was so taken by Alice, that night in front of half the town and the city council, he announced that he was backing out of the condominium deal. He told them that he was going to keep his land and promised to design something very special for that property that would not damage the beach in any way. He made that promise under one condition: that Alice would go out to dinner with him later that night and that she would also agree to help him with the design.”
“Did she go out to dinner with him?”
“Yep,” Wilson said. “And they got married a few months later.”
“Really? That’s so cool!” I said. “What a story, but that doesn’t explain why he didn’t develop the land. What stopped him?”
They glanced at each other and laughed. “Because they could never agree on what should go there,” Connie said.
“They fought like cats and dogs over that for years,” Wilson added. “So he never designed anything. At least, that’s what everyone thought.”
“This is where the story starts getting sad.” Connie said. “There were ten years difference in their ages and they had waited years before they started trying to have a child; Alice was in her 40’s and Jacob was in his 50’s. After several miscarriages and warnings from her doctors not to try again, Alice was finally able to carry a child to full term. It was a girl they named Melissa. Unfortunately, there were severe complications with the delivery and Alice died, leaving Jacob devastated and alone to raise his daughter.
He shut down his business and dedicated the rest of his life to raising Melissa. She was a beautiful little girl and the apple of his eye. They were inseparable. You never saw Jacob without Melissa being somewhere close. Of course, he spoiled her rotten, but she never showed it. She grew up to be a sweet and loving person. In fact, we grew up together and she’s one of my best friends.”
“Where is she now?” I asked.
Wilson laughed. “Hold your horses, she’ll get to that part in a minute.”
“Ok,” I held up my hand, “sorry for butting in. But Wilson already told me that Jacob died. Was Melissa young when that happened?”
“No not really, she was twenty-two and had just returned home from college.”
“So she wasn’t with him the last few years of his life?”
“No, she wasn’t. He didn
’t tell her that he was sick and that bothers her to this day - that she wasn’t there for him when he needed her the most.”
“Unfortunately, that was just the beginning of Melissa’s troubles,” Connie said, frowning.
“There’s more?”
“A lot more,” she said. “It wasn’t long after, that Jerry entered her life.”
“Who’s Jerry?” I asked.
“He’s the no-good bastard that tried to steal all her money when she was sick!” Connie’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, I haven’t talked about this in a long time.”
I glanced over at Wilson. He shook his head and shrugged. “Jerry’s Melissa’s ex husband. He’s not from around here. She met him in college. When her father died, he showed up here and sort of swept her off her feet. Trust me, he’s a certified prick.” He took a sip of his beer and thought for a moment. “I guess it’s one of those ‘love is blind’ things. Everyone around here that knows him sees him for what he is and can see all the damage he’s done to her, but she just keeps taking it. At least, thank God, we finally convinced her to divorce his ass. But he’s still here, hanging around.”
Tears were running down Connie’s cheeks. “Don’t worry about it,” I said, handing her my napkin. “I understand she’s your good friend. We don’t have to talk about this now. You can tell me the rest of the story some other time. I think Charley is getting a little restless anyway.”
She wiped her eyes with the napkin. “Thank you, Grant.”
We all stood and started walking out of the restaurant. When we got to the parking lot, Wilson stopped, reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys to my new house.
“You might need these,” he said with a chuckle. “And I think there is one more thing you need to know before we go.”
I took the keys and lifted my eyebrows. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“Melissa is still beautiful...single...she owns a female Golden Retriever and...she’s your next door neighbor.”
6
Melissa and Donna
Melissa had noticed the man and his dog walking around the house next door earlier that day, but was shocked and a little concerned to see them back again that night sitting on the deck, so she took out her cell phone and punched in a number.
“Wilson, this is Melissa. I think you need to know that there’s a man with a dog sitting on the back deck of the house next door.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “That’s Grant Nash and Charley, they’re your new neighbors.
“What? My new neighbors?” She heard Connie’s voice in the background. “Yeah, he bought it today. Hang on, Melissa, Connie wants to talk to you.”
The phone rattled in her ear and then she heard Connie’s voice. “Have you seen him?”
“Seen who?”
“Grant, your new neighbor!” she exclaimed. “He’s gorgeous and he’s single!”
Melissa rolled her eyes. “Oh no, Connie. Not again.”
“This is different. I had nothing to do with it. Wilson found him at the house this morning and he bought it on the spot. And he paid cash!”
Melissa bent down the blinds with her fingers to get a better look. “Cash?”
“Yes, cash. He wrote a check on the spot! It’s so perfect!” she shrieked. “He’s gorgeous, apparently rich, single...your divorce is final, you’ve got a dog, he’s got a dog...I was just thinking...”
“I know what you were thinking and will you please stop it!” Melissa let go of the blinds, lifted her glass and took a sip of her drink. “Connie, I also have a daughter to think about and you know the nightmare I’ve just gone through with Jerry. The last thing I need in my life right now is another man. You know what Jerry would do if that happened.”
Connie sighed. “I thought with the divorce being final...that maybe...”
“Jerry’s never gonna leave me alone. Divorce or no divorce, we have a daughter together and until she grows up, that will always be his leverage over me, and he knows it.”
“What leverage could that bastard possibly have over you? Melissa, with all you’ve gone through with your health problems... you are a living miracle and you deserve to be happy. Don’t let that jackass stop you from living your life!”
“I wish it was that easy, but you know Jerry.”
“Unfortunately, we all know Jerry. At least meet Grant and Charley. You will like them, I promise. Will you at least do that for me? Please?”
After our dinner with Connie and Wilson, I had stopped at Walmart and loaded up the truck with groceries and supplies, so when the sun came up the next morning, I rolled out of bed and cooked us some breakfast.
I was sipping coffee on my back deck when Charley and I saw my neighbor’s dog for the first time. Actually, Charley spotted her first. When he saw her, he jumped to his feet and started wagging his tail.
“She’s kinda cute, huh?” I said.
He turned around and looked at me. “Woof.”
“Why don’t you go introduce yourself?”
Surprisingly, Charley didn’t take off running like I thought he would. Instead, he just plopped down and watched her every move through the posts of the deck railing.
A few hours later, after I had digested my breakfast, I decided to go for my first run on my new beach. After my run, Charley and I jumped in the ocean, splashing and playing together for a while.
On our way back to the beach house, walking on the wooden pathway over the dune, we ran into our new neighbors for the first time.
“Hi, I’m Melissa. You must be Grant and Charley,” she said, smiling holding out her hand. “Welcome, neighbor.”
“Hi,“ I said returning her smile, reaching for her hand. When our fingers touched, a cold chill shot through my body. Like electricity, it raced from my head all the way down to my toes. I wasn’t sure, but I think it happened to her as well, because she gasped and jerked her hand away.
We both stood there staring at each other in awkward silence, not knowing what to say. Charley finally broke the silence when he barked, walked up to her and lifted his paw.
She instantly started laughing and dropped to her knees. “It’s nice to meet you, Charley,” she said, shaking his paw, “This is Donna.”
Donna slowly walked up to Charley and sniffed him. He sniffed her back and then turned and looked up at me. “Don’t look at me. It’s your move, buddy.”
He looked back at Donna. “Woof?”
Apparently, that was dog for “Want to go swimming?”, because they instantly took off running toward the ocean.
Melissa and I sat down on the edge of the wooden walkway and watched Charley and Donna playing in the surf together.
“How did you know our names?”
Her smile glistened in the sun. I’d never seen teeth that white and perfect before. “Wilson and Connie are my two dearest friends. And Connie, well she’s sort of the town gossip, and she just couldn’t wait to tell me all about you.”
“Oh yeah? What’d she tell you?”
She was wearing a soft flowing bright yellow sundress and a large floppy hat, that almost covered her face, but I could still see her cheeks flush when I asked that question.
“She told me that you were rich, gorgeous and single.”
I grinned. “One out of three ain’t bad, I guess. I’m not rich and I own a full-length mirror. I know what I look like. But unfortunately, she was right about the single part. Actually, I’m a widower. My wife was killed in a plane crash two years ago. The money I used to pay for this house was from an insurance settlement.”
“Oh Grant, I’m so sorry. That must have been horrible,” she said, softly reaching for my hand. The second she touched me, I felt the cold chills, my heart began pounding in my chest and I broke out in a cold sweat.
Once again, she jerked her hand away and stared back at me with wide eyes. She parted her lips to say something, but stopped and turned away. It was obvious that she felt it, too, but it made no sense at all. We’d just met. I knew not
hing about this woman, she knew nothing about me and yet...
That night I turned and tossed in my new bed for hours. There was nothing wrong with the mattress; my mind was spinning and I couldn’t shut it off. Images of Rita, Audrey and Melissa constantly flashed over and over through my mind. Along with the images came deep, gnawing pains of guilt churning in my gut.
I kept asking myself how could I possibly have feelings for another woman this soon? Is that what that was? But if it wasn’t...then what in the hell was it?
After lying there for what seemed like hours, I fumbled for my watch on the nightstand and was shocked to see that it was only 2:00 a.m. As quietly as I could, trying not to wake Charley, I slipped out of bed, walked to the kitchen and grabbed a beer out of the fridge.
Listening to the waves lapping on the shore, I sat there on the back deck sipping my beer, staring at the full moon glistening off the water.
He answered on the second ring. “This is Dr. Taylor, what’s the emergency?”
“Marshall, there’s no emergency. It’s Grant.”
I heard him take a deep breath and sigh. “Grant? What the hell?” he growled. “You better be missing a limb or something!”
“You told me to call you if I ever needed to talk,” I said with a chuckle. “Remember?”
“I meant during office hours, asshole.” I heard him fumbling for his glasses. “Is it really 3:30 am?”
“Well actually, it’s 4:30 here.”
In the background, I heard a woman’s voice ask, “Is that Grant? Tell him I said hi.”
“Is that Brenda? Whoa!” I said. “Are you two living together? That’s great!”