“Yes, you. I’m not going unless you’re coming with me.”
Remy’s heart did a spiraling nosedive. She couldn’t go to the mainland. What if she ran intohimthere and he thought her lovelorn and desperate enough to have followed him? The humiliation would kill her. “I’m engrossed in my work.” True. But mostly because she was escaping into it.
“I know you have work. And I know that you’re busy. But you have to help me. ElderTransport only operates here in Rockland. It won’t take me to Monroe.”
Remy bit her lip.
“When you came to Rockland, you asked if you could stay with me and I said yes,” Wendell pointed out. “Will you return the favor?”
“I already did return the favor and then some by purging your house and organizing sixty years of stuff.”
“Very well. Don’t do it as a returned favor. Do it for me. Please. I’ve worked up the courage to see Marisol. But I need you to go with me.”
Remy could feel herself losing this battle. It was as if his army was swarming over hers five to one.
“Will you come?” he asked.
You have to say no, Remy!But her mouth said, “Yes.”
“How soon can you get here?”
It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving. If she worked late tonight and all day tomorrow, she could finish her current sculpture. “Tuesday.”
“And you’ll spend Thanksgiving weekend with me? I’m going to my kids’ for Christmas but they’re spending Thanksgiving with their in-laws, so I’m on my own.”
She, too, was scheduled to spend Christmas with family in Texas. Thus, she’d planned to proceed as if Thanksgiving didn’t exist and work straight through. “Yes. I’ll stay with you for Thanksgiving weekend.”
“Hey, Wendell,” Jeremiah said over the phone the next day. He was standing on his freezing front porch surrounded by frost and snow because he’d needed to escape the walls of his house. A person could only do so much miserable pacing. “Have there been any developments in your search for Marisol?”
“The most wonderful news! Believe it or not, we found her.”
“That’s great.” Jeremiah pretended surprise. “Will Remy travel to the mainland to help with the reunion?”
“Yes. She’ll arrive Tuesday morning and stay through Thanksgiving. As soon as she gets here, we’ll drive straight to Marisol’s.”
“Excellent. Congratulations. I’m guessing you’re planning to take Remy out to dinner Tuesday night to celebrate?”
“Ah? No . . . I wasn’t. Dinner out is very expensive.”
“How about you take her to the country club? I’m a member there and you can put it on my tab.”
“I’ve never been to the country club.”
“Now’s the time. Order whatever you like. The most expensive food. The most expensive wine. Feel free to bring Marisol, too.”
“Wine? Put it on your tab?”
“Yes. All that you want. What time would you like to eat? I’ll call the club and tell them you’re coming.”
“I usually eat at five.”
Five? Did humans eat dinner that early? The ambience wouldn’t be good at five. “How about six thirty?”
“All right.” Wendell seemed to know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Now Jeremiah knew where Remy would be and when. He’d arrive at the club at the same time and the separation between them would be broken. “Same deal applies here as with the Indian food the other night. Please don’t tell Remy that I’m behind this. She won’t be happy that I’m letting you drink wine and eat rich food. You can just say one of your friends in town insisted on treating you to dinner. Deal?”
“Best deal ever.”
