Blind Squirrels Page 20

  “Kat – is that you?” she asked in surprise.

  I suddenly realized who she was. “Laura! Is it really you?” It was most surprising to see her here. Right after high school, Laura had gone full-on nuts about changing the world. She’d given up her dream of becoming a lawyer, joined some environmental volunteer organization, and set out for some remote place in Alaska. I guessed I’d never see her again.

  “You two know each other?” Ben asked.

  “Of course,” Laura answered. “We’ve known each other since high school.”

  The three of us sat down at the table. Laura explained that she had lost faith in the organization she was working with when many of her efforts were thwarted by bureaucratic red tape. She had then decided that she wasn’t as altruistic as she’d once believed and that someone else could save the world. She just wanted to come back home. Ben excused himself for a moment and left Laura and I alone to talk. He seemed very annoyed that I knew Laura. I could only guess at the reason why.

  “When did you meet Ben?” I asked Laura.

  “We’ve known each other for a while. We met right here – at this table. I was sitting here, and he joined me. He said this was his favorite table and I would just have to share it. He’s so cute and funny. How do you know Ben?”

  I knew from the look on her face that she felt something for Ben. She was in for the shock of her life. “He’s my...”

  “Has the waitress been by?” Ben interrupted me. It almost seemed that he’d done it on purpose.

  “No,” Laura said. When she looked in Ben’s face, her eyes glowed like two bright little stars.

  “Tell Laura how we know each other, Ben.” She needed to know. And if she and Ben had something going on, I needed to know.

  “We met in college,” he said simply. “A long time ago. Back when I was reckless and carefree.”

  “You were reckless and carefree?” Laura asked. “That must have been long ago. You’re so stable and down to earth now. I can’t imagine you as reckless.”

  Ben laughed. “Just wait until you’ve known me awhile. I’m not as steadfast as you might think. Right, Kat?”

  “Don’t let him fool you, Laura. He comes from a long line of dependable, unwavering, stalwart men – and women. You should meet his parents. He’s falling right into his father’s footsteps.” I had to let Laura know how well Ben and I knew each other. I was beginning to believe that Ben planned to tell her that I was his wife sometime during the night. I wanted the truth out right now.

  “You’ve met Ben’s parents?” The surprise showed on her face. Turning to Ben she said, “Don’t they live in Ohio?”

  Before Ben could lead her down another wrong turn, I jumped in. “Yes, they do. They have a lovely home in Upper Arlington.”

  Ben interrupted. “My parents do visit from time to time.”

  He fell right into my clutches. “Yes, Ben, and the first time I met them was at our wedding.”

  Ben had a defeated expression on his face. Laura’s expression was somewhat harder to describe. I was certain that I was beaming a look of triumph, but I quickly put on a mock look of dismay.

  “You really didn’t know, did you?” I said to Laura with feigned sympathy. “Ben, you never told Laura that you have a wife?”

  Neither of them spoke, but the look they exchanged told me all I needed to know. They were lovers, and they were in love with each other.

  For one brief second, I felt the wind leave my sails. My marriage was over except for the formal decree. I had lost my husband to a woman that had once been my best friend. The second passed and I realized that I didn’t need the wind. I had control of the oars, and I could go anywhere I wanted to go. Laura had in fact done me a favor. I stood up and turned to leave – eager to see where life would lead me.

  Ben stood up, too. “Where...where do you think you’re going? We need to talk.”

  “No, Ben. This is one time that we do not need to talk. We’ve said quite enough already. I’ll leave you to Laura. My lawyer will be in touch.”

  “Kat, wait.” It was Laura. “I want you to know – I thought Ben was single. Well, maybe I didn’t. But I didn’t know he was married to you. I’m...I’m sorry.”

  I walked away from the table and never looked back. It was the last time I saw Laura or Ben. I assumed that they moved away together to Ohio or some place. The lawyers handled our divorce, and I quickly put the past behind me.

  I had been living with my parents during the divorce and still commuting to Mobile. My dad was getting sicker, my mother was getting more annoying, and the long drives were getting tiresome. I knew it was time for a change. I took a day off work, picked up a copy of the want-ads, and started looking for something new. Within the next few weeks, I moved into my own apartment and found a new job at Bigelow Imports.

  Around this time, Olivia and I reestablished our friendship. While married to Ben, I’d been reluctant to call Olivia. As far as I knew, she hadn’t had a serious relationship since Chris, and I didn’t want to shove Ben down her throat. Now that Ben was history, calling her didn’t seem so unnatural. Of course, Olivia had avoided me, too. She had her life to live, and she was busy living it. Still, I needed to have Olivia in my life, and luckily she wanted me in hers as well.

  As it happened, Olivia had been in a very serious relationship with a man named Rusty. Until just recently, Rusty and Olivia had been living together in a small rented house in east Foster’s Bank. She had been going to college part-time, but quit because they were planning to get married and have a house full of kids. Then Rusty got a call from his ex-wife in Texas. She had just found out that she had breast cancer, and the doctors said she might not live another six months. She realized she still loved Rusty, and she just wanted him to know. In less than a week, Rusty was in Texas, and Olivia was back at her mom’s house. Apparently, Rusty still loved his ex-wife, too.

  Olivia took the whole thing like a trooper, but she told me that she was through with men – at least for a while. She was determined to concentrate on her career and possibly go back to college sometime in the future. She was now working in the office of an accounting firm, but she dreamed of one day being a lawyer. Losing Rusty had given Olivia a new determination in life, and I knew she was going to accomplish her dreams one day. Not only would she become a lawyer, she would also have that husband and all the kids she wanted. It was just going to take some time.

  I also threw myself into my work and put men aside for the time being. I did develop a small crush on Brad Hanover, my new colleague and mentor, but it was over in less time than it takes to say “I do.” After all, Brad married anyone at the drop of a hat, and, besides that, he was more than ten years older than me. Brad taught me almost everything he knew about programming, and I helped him get over three ex-wives. Somewhere along the way we became great friends.

  Max was always in my thoughts. I kept quiet about this with Olivia. She had never wholeheartedly jumped on the Max bandwagon to begin with, and she would be unhappy to discover that he was still hanging around – gathering dust inside my head. Brad was different. I told him all about Max. Not all at once, but in little portions here and there. He always listened intently – even if he’d heard the story before. Sometimes I felt as if Max was really a part of my life when I talked about him. At other times, I depressed myself by mentioning him so much.

  Sometime after I moved out of my parent’s house, my dad started having a terrible time with his health. He spent several months – from January until May – in the hospital. I tried to spend as much time as possible with him. I spent many nights reading him to sleep since he was often too sick to sit up and hold a book. When he returned home, I visited less, but I called him often. In August of that year, he passed away. I was at work when my mother called. For months after, I kept telling myself that I should have spent more time with him. But life goes on, and I had to forgive myself. I knew that Daddy had forgiven me long ago.

  Four years after my divorce
from Ben, I found out that Max had married. It was at my ten year high school reunion. I ran into – of all people – Mason Pearson, Max’s old neighbor and my old nemesis. Of course, Mason couldn’t wait to tell me that Max had married about three or four years earlier. I tried to act unconcerned, but I’m not sure I carried it off. Mason soon found someone else to harass, and I stayed away from him for the rest of the evening.

  Other than the Mason incident, I rather enjoyed my reunion. Bill Fine was there, and he’d changed a lot since high school. Thankfully he addressed me as Katrina instead of that annoying nickname Kitty-Kat. He looked older, but he was still the class clown. Diane Griffin showed up with her Navy husband – quiet, shy, and bespectacled just like Diane. Alice Lawson told me that she was now a Marine Sergeant. She was alone, but she showed me the engagement ring her fiancé had given her. I missed Olivia and Aurelia, but I had been unable to persuade either of them to come to the reunion.

  The reunion would be for the whole weekend. Friday night was a casual event at a local nightclub. Saturday night was the catered banquet and dance at a reception hall. Sunday was a BBQ at Jeannie Molina’s beach house. I decided to go to all three, although I was anxious about seeing Jeannie again. She was now married and had two children, so I hoped she would be too busy to notice me.

  When I walked into the bar on Friday night, I saw no one that I knew. A tall, good-looking man immediately approached me. He had dark brown hair and intense green eyes that I seemed to remember.

  “Hi, Kat. How are you?” He said this as he threw his arms around me and squeezed all the breath out of me.

  When he let me go, he must have recognized the mystified expression on my face. “It’s Wes. Wes Bonner. Remember?”

  Wes Bonner? Of course, Wes Bonner! Felicia’s old boyfriend. I hadn’t thought about him in a long time. “I knew it was you all the time, Wes,” I lied. “You look wonderful.” This was not a lie.

  “Are you here alone?” he asked.

  “Yeah. How about you? You don’t have Felicia stashed away somewhere, do you?” I prayed that he didn’t.

  “Felicia? Haven’t thought about her in a few years. I’m here alone.” Must be my lucky night, I thought.

  Wes and I found a table. We talked for hours. I had forgotten some of the good times we’d shared together. Apparently, Wes hadn’t forgotten anything.

  “Remember that Saturday we all went to the beach? I will never forget that day.” I did remember, and I wondered why Wes found it so unforgettable.

  “It was Laura, Felicia, you, and me,” he continued. “We bought some drinks and snacks and had a makeshift picnic. Just me and three beautiful women. What a fantastic day.”

  “I remember we couldn’t swim much because of jelly fish,” I commented.

  “Me, too. Luckily no one got stung. I would have hated to have to pee on someone. I’d have hated it more if someone had to pee on me!” He was laughing now. “We had some fun back then.”

  I agreed, and then I told Wes about Laura and Ben. He was very sympathetic, even though I didn’t need him to be. He told me that he recently divorced his wife, and he didn’t have a girlfriend. My interest suddenly intensified, but I feared that his only interest was in nostalgia.

  When the night ended, Wes walked me to my car. He said he would see me the following night. He paused a moment and then he bent down and kissed me. I think we were both a little surprised, but we also seemed to like where this was leading. I drove away dreaming about the rest of the weekend.

  The following night was just as pleasant as the previous one. Wes and I were inseparable. While we chatted with other old friends, we always came back to each other. We danced the evening away and we had our picture taken together. Wes looked stunning in a black suit and tie; I was wearing an olive dress. Even Mason’s little announcement about Max didn’t seem to bother me. At least, not until later when I was at home alone.

  I was going to meet Wes at his apartment on Sunday so we could drive together to the beach. I couldn’t force myself to get out of bed. I had dreamed about Max all night, and now I couldn’t get an image of him and his wife out of my head. The nights with Wes had been fun, but Max was my reality. It seemed that I had lost him forever now. I called Wes and feigned a headache. I promised to call him later.

  In the afternoon, I started feeling a little better. I called Olivia, and she came over so I could tell her about the reunion. I told her about Wes, and she began wishing that she had gone just so she could have seen him. I also told her about Mason and his big announcement, but if she noticed that it upset me, she didn’t let on.

  A few days later, I spoke with Wes. He wanted us to go out the following weekend. I was already feeling that the magic had ended when the reunion did, but I agreed to meet him Saturday night for a few drinks at a bar called The Coral Reef. Just before we hung up, Wes told me that his friend Gene was going to be there, too. Wes hinted that Gene wouldn’t mind if I brought one of my friends along. I didn’t commit to anything, but I knew Olivia would go if I asked her.

  Olivia and I left for The Coral Reef at seven-thirty Saturday night. The bar was on the beach and it would take us about twenty minutes to get there. Along the way, Olivia primped in the visor mirror on her side of my car. She looked fine to me, but she kept complaining about how horrible her hair looked. After ten minutes, she turned the visor up and gave a loud sigh. If she was expecting compassion from me, she was looking in the wrong place.

  The Coral Reef looked like a giant piece of driftwood that had been carved into a building. There were no windows, only knotty, saltwater-corroded boards and a swinging door that hung slightly askew. The roof was rusty tin and nails. The bar sat on the main corner of the only beach access road, and this helped bring in sun-worshippers, swimmers, surfers, and especially fishermen. A decent live band brought in everyone else. The place reached full capacity at about nine o’clock every night, although the tiny parking lot filled up long before that. Olivia and I were lucky to stumble on an empty parking space near the highway.

  Inside, The Coral Reef was exactly like every other two-bit bar in town. People were drinking at the bar, at tables, at the jukebox, while playing pool, and while throwing darts. Everyone else was heading to the restroom – some with a drink in their hand. Olivia and I decided to join the people drinking at tables. We found a table in the back room near the stage, and we order some drinks from a scantily clad waitress.

  Before our drinks arrived, Wes and Gene showed up. Gene was not at all what I had expected. He was clearly from abroad – possibly from the Middle East. Although his nose was large and somewhat protruding, Gene was rather good-looking. His black hair hung just below his ears and his bangs swirled across his forehead. Dark brown almond eyes were deep-set below two black, feathery eyebrows. He had small, thin lips and pearly white teeth. Gene was not tall, and he seemed a dwarf next to Wes. He was trim and fit and he looked very sexy in his tight blue jeans and red polo shirt.

  We had one drink, and Gene suggested that we drive down the beach. I didn’t really care one way or the other, but Wes thought it was a great idea. Olivia reluctantly agreed.

  Outside, Gene approached a brand new cherry red Firebird. He and Olivia slid into the backseat while Wes and I took the front. We drove towards the beach and everyone was quiet. Wes kept trying to take hold of my hand, but I cleverly stayed just out of reach. I wondered what was going on between Olivia and Gene.

  Just then, Olivia said, “Leave me alone. Don’t ever touch me there again.” She sounded angry.

  Gene said, “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you,” (with Gene’s accent, this was more like Don chew), “have any feelings?”

  “Yes, I do,” Olivia answered. “But I left them at home – under my pillow.”

  “Under your pillow? Why didj yew do dat?” Gene asked her. Then he said to Wes, “We must turn round.”

  “Why?” Wes asked.

  “We must go back and get Olivia’s feelings. Turn round.” He
sounded as though he really believed that Olivia could have left her feelings somewhere, and Olivia and I burst out laughing.

  Gene suddenly became angry. “Turn round, Wes. I want to go home. I no like these bitches.” With his accent, it sounded like he said that he didn’t like the beaches, so Olivia and I burst out laughing again.

  Even though it was funny, Gene’s anger concerned me. I was ready to turn and go back now, and I felt certain that Olivia was, too. “Take us back, Wes. This is not working out. I didn’t realize that this was that kind of date. Olivia hardly knows Gene, and…Well, I don’t really know you either.”

  Wes frowned. “I’m really sorry you think I was up to something when I asked you out. I like you. As for Gene, he makes his own decisions. I didn’t give him any ideas.” Wes seemed genuine. I wished I could care, but the more I was around him, the more I realized that I didn’t.

  “Just take me back to the bar,” Olivia yelled from the backseat.

  Gene shouted, “Wes, stop the car.” Wes stopped the car and Gene said to Olivia and me, “Get out.”

  “Wes, take us back to the bar. This is your car,” I said anxiously.

  “Actually, it’s not,” he said. “The car belongs to Gene. He wanted me to drive so he could talk to Olivia.” By this time, we all knew the kind of talking Gene had in mind.

  “Get out of my car,” Gene yelled. “I don’t need two fat bitches making fun of me. Get out.”

  Wes tried to soothe Gene, “Come on, Gene. We can drop them off at the bar. You can drive and they can ride in the back.”

  “I want them out of my car, and you are welcome to join them. Now, everyone get out!”

  “Make me,” Olivia said confidently. “I’m not budging from this spot until you take us back to Kat’s car. If you think you can haul me out, just try.”

  Maybe Olivia intimidated Gene, or maybe he was all mouth and no action. Whichever it was, he told Wes to drive and they delivered us safely back to my car. No one spoke a word during the drive. After we got out, Wes followed me to my car and apologized over and over again. I told him I wasn’t angry, but I also made it clear that I didn’t want to go out with him again. Wes got back into Gene’s car and they drove away in a cloud of sand, leaving Olivia and me laughing at the whole fiasco.