In Search of Grace (3 page)

             
“Can I assist you in any way?”

             
Alex shook her head silently.

             
“
I am giving you a warning this time.  You can
be on your way
but
stay awake.”  Seth abruptly stood
,
handed back her paperwork
then
strode to the cruiser.

             
“Well, guess I got out of that one.”

             
Alex gently pulled onto the highway
h
appy
that she was finally heading home
.  I
n a few
minutes,
she
even knew where she was.  Seth watched her pull away
before he
eased back onto the road
himself while
shutting
off
his emergency lights
.
Heading
back to the
barracks
in
Revere
to finish the
day’s
paperwork
,
she never left his mind.
He was sure that he
would see her sooner than later and a smile crossed his face
for the first time that
day
.
  
A twinge of guilt hit him as h
e wondered
for a moment
if he should have told her that they
were
neighbo
rs.

             
Twenty minutes later and b
reathing a sigh of relief
Alex
pulled the car into the
driveway
.  Hearing the familiar crunch of the tires against the
gravel,
she felt a
sense
of
peace
that she had not felt all day
yet so badly needed
.
  She was finally home
and it felt good.
  Alex had only been gone for four days, but it was always this way.  Pure
appreciation
for what she had.  She knew she was blessed, and as she always did
after
t
urning the engine
off, took
a deep breath and
looked with pride at her home. 
The
house
was not
large
but a huge improvement from the apartment that she had lived in during her
three-year
marriage
to Jeremy
.   This white, clapboard two bedroom
New England
Cape
home
was what she
had
always wanted
;
and now she had it. 
The most important part was that
it was
a
home
to make new memories.
 
As t
he street light
push
ed
away
the
darkness,
she
loved how
the q
uaint window bo
xes overflowed with geraniums and a whole army of
wild flowers
surround
ed
the
foundation
to
a
mass
into a
bee haven.

             
Closing her eyes
briefly
she breathed in the fragrance that
enveloped
her
as a warm
breeze strayed through her open window.  Damn she was tired.
  Alex knew that she should go in the house.  It would be just her luck to fall asleep in the car.  Summoning all of her remaining
strength,
she eased out of the
vehicle
.
Through her
fatigue,
she did not see the figure that was crouched in the darkness.   She had no idea
he was there or
how long he had waited. 

             
Yes,
he had waited
a long time
,
off and on for 3 days
but
now seeing her
face,
it was worth every minute. 
His eyes had adjusted
a long time ago to the lack of light, but until she opened the car door and the interior light displayed her face, he would not be a hundred percent sure. 
Oh, y
es he had waited. 
Any other person would have been frustrated at the length of time it took her to get out of the car, but not him.  He had patience.
In
fact,
the anticipation was just an added benefit
.
  He had waited too long to rush it now.  
As he w
atch
ed
her open the
door, the
light illuminating
that exquisite
face, his heart soared.
Her hair was longer
but it was the same
sable brown
that he remembered
.
He
had always loved
the color
;
and h
e loved the way it
now
ho
vered just above her shoulders.
As f
ingers itching to touch it
s silkiness
he clenched his hand into a fist.
It was her!  His heart beat faster in his chest
as he took in every
detail
with his eyes.  Her lean body looked strong and tight
.  He finally found her again
and his body became aroused with the confirmation
.  He waited until she entered the house before
standing to his feet.
He stood for a long time staring at the front door as his legs started to tingle while the blood rushed much needed oxygen back to his extremities.  He still could not believe it.  Soon she would be his again.  A smile spread across his face that never reached his eyes
as he turned to his waiting van.  They had unfinished business, he and Grace did
and he was ready to move forward already planning their reunion in his head.
  This time he would not fail.

             
Alex
w
as start
l
ed out of her
sleep by
insistent and loud
pounding
at her
front door
, followed by a shrill
voice
.
“Alex
! 
Are you sleeping?”  She groaned at the thought of having to deal with
Tara
before she even
had her first cup of coffee.
As the pounding and yelling
continued,
she had
no recourse but to
let her in
.  Alex was
afraid that the pounding would waken the whole neighborhood.
 
She
wearily
walked
to the front door
only
to see a grinning face pressed up to her window.  
Here was a
face that Alex always thought had
wore
a bit too much makeup
and fingernails that were a tad too long
,
clothes that were a tad to tight
but a heart and fierce loyalty to
those that she called friends. 
Forcing a
tired
smile,
she opened
the
door
.
“
Hi
Tara
.
”

             
“Where have you been
,
Alex?”
B
efore Alex could even reply
Tara
continued, “so much has been going on!
”
 
Tara
’s voice lowered to a dramatic whisper, “
I guess t
hey have
finally
sold the Greens old house
.  Y
ou should see what has moved in
while you were away.”

             
“
Is
it a good witch or a bad
witch?
” Alex asked with
a touch of humor in her voice.
Leave it to
Tara
to have already scoped out the new neighbors. 
“I have only been gone for four days…seriously, when did this happen?”

             
Tara
giggled, whi
le
Alex cringe
d
.  In her estimation,
40
something
s
should never
giggle
.
Running
her fingers through her hair she turned to her
overly excited
neighbor.

             
“No witches in that house my
dear….but a strong hunk of a ma
n
.
I am not sure when they sold it but the moving happened two days ago
.
”

             
Alex cringed again
but forced a laugh
, “h
unk
Tara
?  What are we
,
school girls?”   Her
curiosity
was piqued
though
.  Betsy and Hank
’
s house had not been on the market for that long.
 
Fully awake now, she looked at her friend. 
It ha
d
been a while since she ha
d
seen
Tara
so
animated.
 
Tara was the
epitome of a cougar….as long as they were of age, men
were
game to her;
and
right now
Tara
was licking her chops.   The poor guy won’
t
even
know what hit him
when
Tara
got her talons in him
thought Alex
.

             
“
Tara
, I just returned
early this morning, I am working on
four
hours of sleep
and
haven’t even
had a chance to make my coffee.  C
an we have this
disc
ussion at another time hon
?”

             
Tara
reached out
giving
Alex a big hug. 
“Okie dokie
,
it’s
good to have you back, from wherever you go
.
”

             
Alex watched as
Tara
sauntered off swaying her hips.  With a look back and a cheeky grin,
Tara
yelled out.  “
Remember,
I call first dibs!”

             
You can have him Alex thought.  The last thing she needed right now was a new relationship,
especially one right next door
.  
She was living in the now, and a
ll she wanted at this moment was to
take a long shower
, open her windows
,
head to her back yard
and do yard work, then
read a good book
,
and
nap in the open air. 
Her
thought
s
spurred her to
action
.  Twenty minutes later she was right were she wanted to be
, gloves in hand
, kneeling on the ground and digging
in the dirt.

             
Several hours later Alex looked in satisfaction at her backyard.  She had separated and transplanted numerous
plants
,
w
eeded the garden
,
and mowed the lawn.  This
manual labor
was exactly what she had needed. 
Her stomach growled, letting her know that she needed even more.  Putting her tools away, she made herself a sandwich
before grabbing
her book
and
heading
out to the backyard again.  Soon
she was
r
elaxing on the lounge chair
book
in hand. 
Viewing
her
little
oasis with joy
, watching t
he sun
as it
filter
ed
in through the trees
that
surround
ed
the
fenced in
ya
rd
. H
er heart
ached
as s
he
look
ed
towards the white picket gate
that separated her yard from her new neighbor.  H
ank Green had put
the gate in five years ago after she had moved
in
as a gift to her
.
She had instantly fallen in love with the couple when she met them on moving day.
At that
time,
Hank was 83 and Betsy 78
. W
hen
they
told her that they
were just as in love with each other as the day they met
,
Alex believed them.
  When Betsy spoke, Alex would see
softness
come over Hank
’
s face and pure love
shone
through his
eyes
as he would gaze at her.   Alex was in awe of their relationship. 
It was nothing like the relationships she
had
as a child or an adult for that matter. 
She learned, as their friendship grew, that they
never had children.
 
Over time,
t
hey became like her parents
and her
,
their daughter. She smiled as she remembered
her first anniversary of moving to the neighborhood
.  S
he
had come
home from a business trip to find
Hank had built
a
white picket
gate between the two homes so that she could
easily
access their yard
anytime she wanted.
 
Those
few
years with Betsy and Hank were some of the happiest years of her life.