What did it mean? It sounded like a proposal of sorts, she supposed, but given the absence of a husband-to-be (or indeed a ring), that just wasn’t possible. Then rereading the words, she noticed the presence of quotation marks, indicating that it must be a quote of some kind, just like the one hidden in the coffee cup. Then the realisation struck her and she smiled.
This wasn’t a proposal or a romantic gesture. It was another clue.
She looked up at the salesperson, who was studying her face, almost as if wondering whether Beth was working this all out in her head.
Beth looked down and read the words out loud. ‘“Someday if I had the money, I’d take you… we’d sail away… around the world and back again. I promise you.” It’s another clue. Isn’t it?’ she asked, but the salesperson stayed silent. However, her wry smile remained.
Beth searched the recesses of her memory, trying to fit the pieces together, trying to work it all out – make sense of what was going on here. Of course the saleswoman had to be part of this; there was no other way to explain it and she was definitely in on it. In fact, she’d been instructed by someone – the instigator – on what to do, hadn’t she? Which suggested that the words she had first spoken to Beth had something to do with this puzzle, too.
‘What was it that you originally said to me?’ she asked her, urgently. ‘When I first arrived earlier? Will you say it again?’
The woman simply smiled and nodded, only too happy to oblige. ‘What’s it gonna be, Angelina?’
Beth listened, working hard to make a connection and find a deeper meaning.
‘What’s it gonna be, Angelina?’ she repeated. ‘It’s part of a clue, isn’t it? I know it.’ She looked again at the salesperson, but the woman’s face gave nothing away. And then she smiled delightedly. ‘Is this… some kind of scavenger hunt?’ she asked. It had to be, though, admittedly a very elaborate one. ‘Or,’ she clarified, eyes shining with anticipation, ‘a… treasure hunt?’
The woman’s next words confirmed everything that Beth needed to know. She grinned broadly. ‘Good luck and happy hunting.’
Chapter 10
Danny felt as if his skin was a sheet of ice. He couldn’t wait to get indoors somewhere, away from the bitter cold that was freezing the hell out of New York this December. Although everyone seemed to think the weather had been mild lately, to Danny it felt like being in the Antarctic.
But then, he wasn’t feeling great these days anyway. With all the strain he was under, he was exhausted and weak. He had a load on his mind, and still there was so much to set straight: with Beth, Adele, as well as various things work-related and otherwise, that were in danger of running away with him. He had messed up, and he really had no idea how to go about putting things to rights. At this point, was that even possible?
It seemed, though, as if fate was trying to intervene today, in some manner anyway. He found himself now in Beth’s neck of the woods. He’d just finished a client appointment a couple of blocks away, so he decided that no matter what might happen tomorrow or the next day, the very least he could do was try to reconnect a little with Beth. They’d barely seen one another over the last while and he really wanted to make it up to her.
Turning the corner and facing the main entryway to Carlisle’s, he pulled open the door and was met with a blast of warm, centrally heated air. Sighing with relief, he felt himself becoming eager – excited, almost – to see Beth, as if it was their first date instead of their one-thousandth. He tried to recall the last time that he had surprised her at work like this – indeed, surprised her at all – and realised that he couldn’t. A fresh wave of guilt washed over him and to try to fight it, Danny focused on a good memory of him and Beth together.
He recalled one of the dates they had gone on early on – when they had sat on that park bench all night in the summertime, with the Queensboro Bridge as their audience, laughing with each other, learning about hobbies, interests, passions – beginning their relationship.
Danny had very quickly realised that he and Beth were almost re-enacting a scene out of Woody Allen’sManhattan, one of his favourite movies and one that somehow movie-mad Beth hadn’t seen at that point in her life. Her fascination after learning of their connection to that iconic spot, and the significance she’d attached to it, had made Danny fall even deeper in love with her. It was rare to find a person with such passion and wonder for everyday life, who found such happiness in ordinary things and was able to imbue them with the extraordinary. Who had such a good heart and who truly believed in fate and possibility.
But that was years ago, almost a lifetime ago. And things were very different now, that was for sure. Danny longed to recapture some of that old joy and excitement but he wasn’t sure if it was even possible now.
Since meeting Adele, had that ship truly sailed?
Trying to push aside his troubling thoughts, he found his way upstairs to the ladies’ shoe department, keeping his eyes peeled for Beth. He knew that she was working today and it was still a little before her usual lunchtime break, so she had to be around here somewhere. It would be a welcome relief to spend some time together, catch up on what was going on with her.
Danny looked around and saw that the department was decidedly empty of salespeople, including Beth. Standing in between a display of shiny heels and a table of aggressive-looking studded pumps, which looked more like weapons than accessories, Danny stuffed his hands in his pockets and craned his neck, looking for someone who might be able to direct him Beth’s way. She could be out back checking stock or something. And, knowing Beth, marvelling at every piece. He never quite got her – or indeed any woman’s fascination – with what were essentially just trussed-up pieces of leather, but as a guy, why would he? Though he did appreciate the sentimental attachment Beth always had to her grandmother’s wedding shoes. Nostalgia he understood, dangerous-looking studded stilettos, not so much.
Just as he decided to go find a sales associate in a neighbouring department to help him, someone walked from the inventory room onto the main sales floor. Not Beth, though, but Jodi.
‘Hey, Jodi,’ Danny called out, happy to see a familiar face. ‘How are you? Long time, no see,’ he said cheerily. True, Jodi was loud and a bit abrasive, but she was also a good friend to Beth – and pretty funny when she was in the right mood.
‘Danny. What are you doing here?’ she asked with a slight frown, and his smile faded ever so slightly at her less-than-enthusiastic greeting.
‘I came in to see Beth. Thought I would take her to lunch today. She is working today, right?’ he enquired, his mind running through a million other scenarios, including the idea that maybe she had got a new job in another department and he hadn’t been listening when she told him.
‘Yes, she’s working today.’ Jodi looked around and her gaze focused past him on a position to the upper right of her vision, before returning her eyes to meet Danny’s. He thought she looked nervous and a little jumpy, and completely devoid of her usual devil-may-care attitude. ‘But… I think she already went to lunch. Had to go out a little bit earlier today, she said; you just missed her. I’d imagine she won’t be back for an hour or so.’
Jodi seemed to make a great show of tidying a shelf in front of her, despite the display looking barely touched, and somehow Danny felt as if he was being dismissed.
‘Oh, I see. Well, do you know where she went? Maybe I could go and meet her.’
‘I really have no idea. She just said something about an errand. I’m sorry, Danny, I wish I could stay and chat but I have tons to do.’ Jodi looked around as if she had a long queue of waiting customers vying for her attention and, realizing it was an empty sales floor, motioned with her hand to the stockroom. ‘When she gets back, I’ll be sure to tell her you were looking for her, OK?’
‘Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you if you are busy,’ Danny said. Jodiwastrying to get rid of him. Why was she so jittery?
