Spanish Bay (7 page)

Chris felt the air drain from the room, and his world collapsed. If Sally were to die, he’d lose his job, he’d have to leave Carmel and Neil, and… Who would ever hire someone like him? The fact that he’d come across Sally was a godsend, and he was already very fond of her.

As if he sensed Chris’s emotional state, Neil said, “You’re coming back with us. I don’t want you to be alone tonight.”

Chris tried to shake his head, but he was too upset—and frankly, too tired—to put up a struggle, particularly as Joe and Sarah sided with their son.

“Neil’s right. This is no time for you to be alone. I’ll drive your car, because I don’t think you’re capable of that right now. Sarah, can you take ours?”

As they got up to leave the ER, the doctor took his leave, but added, “Do you have any way to get in touch with her next of kin? We need to know how to proceed in case things worsen for Sally.”

Joe nodded. “We’ll see what we can do. I know she has a sister in New York. I’ll see what I can find out. We’ll be back in the morning.”

The drive home was somber, and in both cars nothing much was said. Chris asked Joe if he knew anything more about Sally’s family, and they decided to swing by the house in the morning to see if they could find any clues—a phone number or an address. They also drove by the café to put up a sign, stating the café would be closed for a few days, and then drove back to Neil’s house. Sarah and Neil were already home and anxiously awaiting their return.

“We took a quick detour to the café,” Chris explained. “I’ll keep it closed for a couple of days, until I have a better idea how things are going with Sally. I need to be with her tomorrow, and I can’t do that and run the café at the same time.”

“Makes sense,” Neil said, guiding Chris to his bedroom. “Good night, Mom, good night, Dad. See you in the morning!”

“Night boys. Get some rest,” Sarah called after them.

***

The next morning, the entire family drove to Sally’s house, early, to see if they could find any information about Sally’s family. It felt really strange rummaging around a stranger’s house, even though Sally was known to the whole town, but few had ever been to her house. She valued her privacy, especially after an entire day surrounded by the people of Carmel.

Joe finally found something in her phone directory in the office. “Here’s a Samantha Hawking-Ashbury in New York. Could this be her sister? Let me see if I can call her.”

He dialed the number from Sally’s office phone, and almost instantly, a dark, smoky voice picked up on the other end.

“Sally, hi. How’s the foot?”

Joe knew he’d gotten to someone close to Sally, at least. “I’m sorry,” he began and could hear the deep intake of breath on the other side of the line. “My name is Joe Horner. I’m a friend of Sally’s. Are you her sister?”

“Is she okay? Yes, this is her older sister Samantha. Please tell me she’s okay.”

“I’m sorry to call you like this, and to bring you bad news, but it seems your sister had a stroke last night. She’s alive and being treated at our local hospital. The doctors are very vague in their prognosis, and they need to be in touch with you. You may want to come out here.”

The sobs on the other side of the phone were audible in the entire office, and it broke Chris’s heart to hear them.

“Yes, of course, I’ll get on the next plane. I assume my best option is San José, right?”

“It depends, ma’am. We have a small airport in Monterey, with commuter services to San Francisco, Phoenix or Los Angeles. Depending on your flight, you might be able to make it here faster by that route. Either way, we’d be happy to pick you up. I’ll give you my number. You can let me know when and where you’re flying into, and we’ll come and pick you up.”

Once Joe had given Sally’s sister his number and hung up, they drove back to the hospital. Sadly, things remained unchanged. The doctor was grateful that Samantha was on her way.

“Sally is still in critical condition, and I really can’t say more than that. It’ll be good for her family to be here. Naturally, you’re welcome to stay here as long as her family is okay with it. I’m sure you understand.”

Chris was confused. “What do you mean?”

“You see, son, you’re not family, and while, right now, you’re the closest of kin she’s got, once her sister arrives, she’ll be making the decisions about Sally’s care, and if she believes that having you around isn’t in Sally’s best interests, that’s what it is. Until Sally wakes up and makes her own decisions, it’ll be up to her sister to make that determination. I hope you understand and respect it. There’s really nothing we can do about it. But I wouldn’t worry about that right now. She can’t have any visitors anyway. Do you have an ETA on Mrs. Hawking?”

“No, not yet,” Joe answered.

“I see, well keep me posted.” The doctor left them again.

Chris was deflated. “What now?”

“Well, there really isn’t much we can do for Sally right now,” Joe said. “At least not here. Why don’t I take you out to lunch? It is Sunday, after all. And later, when Samantha comes in, we’ll pick her up.”

They drove to a nice restaurant, out near Spanish Bay. Given the circumstances, there was little conversation, even though Joe tried his best to keep spirits up. But Chris was worried.

“What am I going to do if the café closes and I can’t pay my rent?”

Neil seemed to rather like that idea. “You can just move in with us. I’d love to have you near me all the time. Can he, Mom? Dad?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? But if you really do end up in a crunch, we’ll help you, of course. You’re a nice kid, Chris.” Joe’s response ended that conversation.

It seemed odd to Chris that Neil’s parents were being so nice to him, and he completely understood their caution. He’d only known Neil—and them—a couple of weeks, and there was no guarantee that he and Neil would become a couple. Although, hadn’t Joe referred to Neil as “Chris’s boyfriend” the other night?
How have we come this far in such a short time?

On their drive to the restaurant, a text arrived from Samantha to say she was flying into Monterey at five thirty that afternoon, and they decided that it would be best if Joe went to pick her up, while Chris, Neil and Sarah waited at the hospital. Chris was not looking forward to meeting Samantha—not that she’d said or done anything wrong, but he felt very protective toward Sally. She’d been like a mother to him since he’d arrived in Carmel, and he kept replaying what the doctor had said.

He understood, of course, that as a sister, Samantha trumped the employee, but it still felt wrong in his heart. What if she was evil? What if she didn’t like him? What if she thought he was dumb? He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely registered Neil’s hand touch his leg.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking. Thanks for sticking around.” He smiled at his…boyfriend—yes, he liked that term—and Neil smiled back in response.

“Everything will be as it should be, don’t worry. Sally will recover, and you’ll continue to run the café. She did make you manager, so be the manager. I’m sure she has full confidence in you. Besides, in less than a month, I’ll graduate and I can help you out all summer.”

“That’s nice of you, and I would like that, but what about this fall? What about when you start college? Where will you be going?”

“I’m staying right here. Mom and Dad invested so much money in remodeling the house that we really can’t afford any expensive university. I doubt I’d feel comfortable in a dorm anyway, so I’ll be going to the Monterey Peninsula Community College. In two years, who knows? Maybe I’ll go to San José or whatever. But right now, I feel fine staying right here. Besides, now that you’re in my life…”

Chris shook his head. “Don’t make any life decisions based on me. We’ve only known each other a couple of weeks. You don’t know if we’re going to last or not.”

Chris already believed it would, but he didn’t want to limit Neil’s choices, and it got him an appreciative glance from Sarah.

“Chris is right, Neil,” she said. “While we appreciate that you’re staying here, don’t base your decisions on comfort and what feels good now. You need to keep the future in mind.”

“I know, Mom, but you know I’ll never truly be independent, not with this chair. I’ll always need to rely on someone. I might as well rely on the ones I love.”

“Son,” Joe interjected, “you’re right, of course, and it’s not like any of us are trying to get rid of you, but don’t restrict yourself on our account. If you want to go to Berkeley to study, then apply. If you want to go to Stanford or Harvard, apply. Just make sure you get a scholarship, because I can’t afford those places…” Joe laughed at his own joke, but Chris heard the sincerity in his words. They were all trying to look out for Neil, to make sure he got to live his life to his full potential, not limiting himself to what others wanted or needed. Not like Chris had.

After lunch, they walked along the path between the golf course and the beach, just off Sunset Drive, until they reached a point where Neil couldn’t continue any farther, because the boardwalk was covered in deep sand. Joe and Sarah went on, while the boys stayed behind to admire the view of the Pacific Ocean rolling into the bay. Chris loved the ocean, but he was also a little afraid of it. He had learned to swim as a child, but he had never been able to swim in the ocean. Not that he had any inclination to do so here, in the Pacific. It was way too cold. He didn’t even dream of surfing and doubted he’d ever be able pick that up. There was just something unnerving about having so much water underneath him. But to watch it, to admire the rhythm of the waves, the soothing sound they made as they came ashore, lapping along the beach, was something different entirely.

“You okay?” Neil asked.

“Yeah, I’m just thinking. I don’t know what I’d have done if I hadn’t found you out on the sidewalk that day. I’d be freaking out in the hospital now, all by myself. And your parents are really great. You’re lucky. I hope you know that.”

“I know. They try really hard not to be too overprotective, to give me freedom. It’s weird. Like today, at the restaurant. The discussion we had. I sometimes think I limit myself more than they do, because I do take their feelings into account. I know they worry. When I got sick, they were going nuts, and they feel guilty about it, even though there’s nothing they could’ve done differently. This disease just happens.”

Chris thought back to his own family, and how his life had rarely been about him, what he wanted, what he needed, his dreams, hopes, desires. There was always something else taking precedent—whether it was the farm, or his dad, his mom, or his siblings—but most of the time it was Frank, which was fine with Chris. He loved Frank and would’ve done anything to help his brother. Anything. It was weird, because he was starting to feel the same way about Neil, even if that meant they couldn’t stay together in order for Neil to pursue a good education elsewhere. Chris also knew that he would never be able to go to college and study. He just didn’t have the brains for it, and he didn’t mind. Not everyone could, not everyone did. As long as he was able to work hard and pay his own bills, he was fine.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Neil said, interrupting them.

“Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about Frank.”

“Your little brother?”

“Yeah, I miss him…”

Neil squeezed Chris’s hand and kept hold of it until Sarah and Joe returned from their walk.

“Time to get back to the hospital,” Joe said. “I’ll have to go and pick up Samantha at the airport soon. Let’s go.”

***

When they walked through the hospital door, Chris immediately saw the resemblance, but where Sally only had a few gray hairs nestled into her dark mane, Samantha was completely gray, and she kept her hair in a strict and simple pony tail.

Joe made the introductions. “Samantha, this is my wife Sarah—” they shook hands “—my son Neil—” Samantha managed a smile “—and his boyfriend Chris. He’s the one who found Sally.”

“Thank you, Chris. It’s nice meeting you all, although I wish the circumstances were different. Where’s the doctor? I’d like to talk to him right away.”

Joe took Samantha to see Sally’s doctor, and they disappeared down a corridor.

“She seems nice?” Neil said.

Chris wasn’t sure he agreed, but he kept his thoughts to himself and simply shrugged. He had always been a keen observer of people, and there was something about Samantha that struck him as odd, although he couldn’t really put a finger on it.

About half an hour later, Joe and Samantha returned.

“The doctor was slightly more optimistic now than he was this morning,” Joe began.

“Yes, indeed. It seems there is a good chance that my sister will live. She’s stable for now. I suggest you all go home. Thank you for everything you have done. Oh, and Chris, would you mind very much coming by the house tomorrow morning? We need to discuss the future of the café.”

“Sure, what time?”

“Shall we say nine o’clock?” She smiled at her own comment.

“Do you need a ride to the house?” Sarah asked.

“No, I’ll stay here a while longer. I’m allowed to go see her in a little bit, so I’ll grab a taxi. Thanks. You go ahead.”

WHEN CHRIS RANG the doorbell to Sally’s house at nine o’clock the next morning, he was worried. He had a hunch that Samantha was going to permanently shut down the café or put it on the market. He didn’t even know if Sally was leasing the property or if she owned it. Things had been tough in the past years, with the economic downturn, and even though Sally’s Café did fine, it would be difficult to find a new owner.

Samantha opened the door. Dressed in a fancy suit, she was a typical east-coast resident for anyone with two eyes.

“Good morning, Chris, come on in. Can I get you a coffee? Or tea?”

“A glass of water would be nice, thanks.”

He had been to the house so many times in the past couple of months—to drop off or pick up stuff, usually early in the morning or late at night—and this was only the third time he’d actually been inside. He walked up to the balcony, taking in the vista of Carmel Bay and the town.