I could almost feel her trying to decide whether or not to take pity on me. Finally, a telephone number popped up on my screen.
Zelda:That’s Kara Crocker’s number. She’ll know where Q is. She can give you her address, too.
I exhaled, closing my eyes briefly before I tapped out another message.
Leo:Thank you so much, Zelda. I really appreciate this.
Zelda:Don’t make me sorry I helped you. My promise about grinding up your dick still stands. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.
My stomach tightened and my balls shrunk up into my body.
Leo:I haven’t forgotten either. Don’t worry. I’m going to do anything and everything to make Quinn happy.
Zelda:Make sure you do.
I decided it would be more expedient to call Kara Crocker instead of texting her. I didn’t know if she would answer a strange number or if she’d even know who I was. I was pretty certain Quinn had mentioned me; we’d discussed her deep conversations with both the Crockers, and I imagined at least some of them had to have involved me. When it came to talking about the Trio, it was hard to speak about one without including all of us.
I was in luck, because Mrs. Crocker not only answered her phone and knew me, she sounded delighted to hear that I was in town.
“Your timing couldn’t be more perfect,” she’d confided. “Quinn’s here at the house with me right now, in the other room, but I was just about to send her out for the afternoon, make her take some time off. Is this a good number for you? Once I convince her to take a break and find out where she’s going, I’ll text you and let you know.” She paused. “I’m trusting that you’re here for a good reason and not to break her heart.”
“I have no plans to do anything at all that would hurt Quinn. Ever. I promise.” I felt like I was a parrot, repeating what I’d just assured Zelda.
“Good. Don’t disappoint me.”
I decided to take a taxi into the city, since it seemed likely that was where Quinn would be. We’d just crossed over the Bay Bridge when my phone buzzed.
Kara:She just left. Heading for Fisherman’s Wharf.
I’d told the driver that I needed to go to a house near the Presidio Forest, because Quinn had so often mentioned walking there. Now I leaned forward and made the correction.
“Hey, I just got a message that, uh, plans have changed. Any way you could take me to Fisherman’s Wharf instead?”
“Sure, no problem.” The cabbie shrugged. “We’re going that direction anyway. Little shorter ride for you is all.”
He wasn’t kidding. It wasn’t long before I was swinging my bag over my shoulder as the cab pulled away. I stood at the edge of the Wharf, scanning the crowds, overwhelmed by the sheer number of people walking around. How in the hell was I ever going to find her?
I wandered for a while, peering into shops, checking out any faces as closely as I could without looking like a creeper. I sat down for a minute on a bench near the water, next to an older guy who nodded at me.
“Waiting on a woman?” He raised an eyebrow in my direction.
“Kind of. It’s a long story. Lots of complications.” I sighed. “She’s my girl, but I don’t think she knows it yet.”
The man laughed. “That’s not unusual, son. They do like to put us through our paces, don’t they?”
“Yeah.” I searched the passing people and then glanced back at the man. “Are you waiting for ...?”
“My wife, Lara.” He nodded. “She’s in one of those knick-knack stores, looking for gifts to bring home to our grandkids. Not that they need a blessed thing, but she can’t think of going back home to Tennessee without something little for each of them.”
“That’s sweet. She sounds like a good grandma.”
“Oh, she is.” He heaved a long breath. “Still seems strange to think about us as being grandparents. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that we were just like you. It felt like I was living on the edge, never sure whether or not we were going to have a real shot at forever. I didn’t know if she was interested in me or not. She kept me guessing.”
“Oh, he was just slow, that’s all.” A pretty woman with short white hair and sparkling blue eyes approached us, laying one hand on her husband’s shoulder. “If you want to know what really happened, I’ll tell you.”
Dropping a paper shopping bag on the guy’s lap, Lara squeezed next to him on the bench and smiled at me. “It all started back in high school, where we met. I was friends with this one’s buddy, Ted. They were both football players, and I played in the band, but I never really paid any attention to Myles here.” She shot him a saucy look, and I hid a smile. “We crossed paths quite a few times, but we never connected until a few years after graduation.”
“I had a freak accident and fell, breaking my shoulder. I couldn’t drive or do anything to take care of myself, and I asked the man I was dating to bring me food—I had a hankering for Mexican. He was a real jerk, and he refused to help me out. So I called my friend Ted, and he told me he’d be glad to bring me food, only he was hanging out with Myles, and Myles wouldn’t come with him.”
