The Way to Her Heart (6 page)

She pulled out of the driveway and drove the short distance to Gabby’s trailer. “Hey, Mr. Rodriguez,” she said in greeting to Gabby’s father when he answered her knock.

“Bernie! Come in. It’s good to see you.” He tucked his shirt in as he opened the door. Bernie noticed his unshaven face and sunken eyes. “I just made some coffee. You want some?”

Bernie didn’t care much for coffee, but she didn’t want to refuse his offer. “Sure. That would be great.” She added lots of sugar and milk to make it at least somewhat drinkable.

“So, what have you been up to, Bernie? I haven’t seen you around for a while.”

“Yeah, I’ve been staying with, um, friends. Mom and I aren’t getting along.” She didn’t want to air their dirty laundry. “How are you doing?”

He took a sip of his black coffee and shook his head. “Not too good, Bernie.”

“There’s been no news? Have the police been back lately?” She fumed silently as he shook his head again, realizing the case was going nowhere.

“They think she ran away. They said they’ve done everything they can.” He took another sip, and Bernie noticed his hand shook.

“I can’t believe she ran away, Mr. Rodriguez.”

“No. Me neither.” He reached for a napkin to wipe his eyes. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. Could I look in her room? I won’t take anything, I promise.”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

Bernie opened the bedroom door slowly, as if she didn’t want to disturb her friend. The room smelled stale, unused. She walked around the tiny space, touching the remnants of Gabby’s childhood: various perfume bottles, stuffed animals, and picture frames filled with photos of Gabby, Natalia, and Sofia. She found a lone photo of Gabby and herself at Bernie’s fourteenth birthday party. Those had definitely been happier, simpler times.

She sat at Gabby’s desk and searched through the drawers, looking for anything that might give her some clue to Gabby’s location. A diary or journal of some sort would have been nice, but Gabby had never been much of a writer. She sighed and looked around the room.
Where are you, Gabby? Give me some kind of sign. Please, Gabby.
Her eyes fell on an item that made Bernie’s stomach drop in dread—her contact lens case and cleaning solution. Bernie had watched Gabby take out her contacts dozens of times before bedtime and she knew Gabby would never run away from home without taking something so basic. She realized it was possible, of course, that Gabby had taken a different case, but as she gazed around the bedroom, she recognized other things Gabby wouldn’t have left behind—her hairbrush, her makeup, and her favorite stuffed alligator.

Wherever she was, whatever had happened to her, Gabby had not run away. This was proof her disappearance was not voluntary, and Bernie had a horrible feeling about it. She sniffed and wiped her eyes as she pushed to her feet, determined to return to the police station to force Detective Garcia to listen this time.

***

Bernie
let the nearly hot water wash over her, reveling in the warmth after an especially cold night. She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer, but she didn’t see another viable option right now. She turned off the shower and sneezed.
Great. All I need is a cold.
She’d felt a kind of tickle in her nose and a vague ache in her throat since she woke up. She thought she heard voices in the locker room and hoped whoever it was left soon. She was not in the mood to make up excuses today. She was cold again and wrapped her towel tighter, eager to get to her locker and dress. Josh had sweetly refused to take back his hoodie, saying she needed it more than he did, but she was still hesitant to wear it at school in front of his girlfriend. Kayleigh was exceptionally nice to her, and Bernie wanted to keep it that way. She turned the corner into the aisle with her locker and nearly bumped into a couple locked in an intense embrace, kissing. She shrieked in alarm, grabbing for her towel.
Jeez, who brings their boyfriend in the girl’s locker room?
The couple sprang apart, and Bernie realized her mistake—it was definitely two girls. And one of them was Kayleigh.

“Sorry!” Bernie said, ducked her head, and rushed past to her locker.
Holy shit! Did I just see that?
She threw her clothes on and finished getting ready, her head spinning.
What do I do? Do I just pretend it didn’t happen? Yes, that’s what I should do. It’s really none of my business, after all. Live and let live.
Then she remembered Josh.
Oh God. Does he know? Of course not. Poor Josh!

She wasn’t terribly surprised to find Kayleigh waiting for her outside the cafeteria before lunch.

“Can I talk to you for a minute, Bernie? Please?”

Bernie nodded and followed her into the nearby girls’ bathroom. Kayleigh checked every stall, found them empty, and returned to where Bernie was leaning against a sink.

“So, is this the shakedown?” Bernie asked.

“The what?”

“You know, the part where you threaten to sic all your football player friends on me if I tell anyone what I saw?”

Kayleigh laughed bitterly and shook her head. “Yeah, right. None of them know. Jenna said I should try to threaten you, but it’s not really my style.”

“So, what is your style?”

“Hell if I know. I’m a little confused, if you couldn’t tell.” Kayleigh ran her hands through her blonde hair. “I just wanted to talk to you before lunch, to beg you not to tell anyone.”

“Especially Josh?”

“God, yes! Especially Josh!”

“So…I hate to state the obvious, but you were kissing a girl. And you have a boyfriend. From what I’ve heard, the two don’t necessarily go together.” Although she felt it was none of her business and she certainly wasn’t going to judge, the part that affected Josh was her business because she considered him a friend.

Kayleigh slid down the wall and sat on the floor, laying her head on her knees. “Is there a question in there somewhere?”

“What’s going on, Kayleigh? Are you gay?”

“I don’t know. Oh my God, what am I going to do?” She started sobbing.

Bernie wished with all her heart she could leave Kayleigh crying and walk away. “Hey, it’s okay.” She sank down beside her. “It’s not the end of the world, you know. Lots of people are gay.”

Kayleigh sobbed harder. Bernie let her cry for a while, wondering how in the world she got herself into this situation. When Kayleigh finally slowed down, she handed her a wet paper towel.

“Are you going to tell Josh?” Kayleigh whispered.

“No. But you are. He deserves to hear it from you.”

Kayleigh looked into Bernie’s face for a long moment, then nodded. “Okay. Can you give me some time to think? Please?”

“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “But not too long, Kayleigh. He’s a really nice guy. Don’t toy with him.”

Kayleigh shook her head. “I won’t. I swear. I love him.”

Bernie raised her eyebrows, disbelieving.

“I do! I care about him. But—”

“But what? You say you love him, but it sure didn’t look like it this morning!”

“I know, I know! I’m sorry!”

“You don’t need to apologize to me! You need to talk to Josh. Your boyfriend. And you need to figure out which way you swing.” Bernie’s stomach growled, and she hoped this little tête-à-tête would be over soon. If she missed out on free lunch, she would have to spring for fast food after school on the way to work.

“Okay, yeah. I get it. Just give me a few days. I swear I’ll talk to him.”

Bernie left her in the bathroom and hurried to the cafeteria before the lunch line closed. She managed to get something, although the pickings were slim, and saw Josh waving to her from across the cafeteria.
Ah, crap! What do I say to him?
She remembered the good old days when she’d had no friends.

“Hey, Bernie. Have you seen Kayleigh? I know she’s here today, but she’s not answering my texts.”

“Um, I think she’s in the bathroom. She’s not feeling well.” She cringed inwardly at the lie.

Josh started to get up. “Which bathroom?”

Bernie placed her hand on his arm. “I think she’d rather be alone right now. Girl stuff, you know?” The lies rolled off her tongue. She sneezed for about the hundredth time that day.

“Oh. Okay. Hey, are you getting a cold?”

She nodded, reaching for a napkin. “Yeah. Rotten luck, huh?”

“Well, come by after work, okay? I’ll make you some chicken soup. It’ll make you feel better.”

Right now it made her feel worse knowing the secret she was keeping from him. He was such a nice guy! How could Kayleigh do this to him? How could she prefer a girl to him? If she ever had a guy like him…she had to laugh at the thought. Right! Like that would ever happen!

***

She
stopped by Josh’s house after work that evening. They had some work to do on the project, but it wasn’t really necessary to do it immediately; it was becoming a habit to stop by after work. Bernie felt so welcome in his home and hoped she wasn’t taking advantage of his and Claire’s hospitality. She tried to be ultrasensitive to any hints they might be tiring of her company. Tonight she was exhausted and her throat was killing her; she hoped Josh hadn’t been kidding about the soup he promised.

“Bernie! Come in, sweetheart. I was hoping you’d come by.” Claire welcomed her at the front door. “Josh isn’t here right now, but come on back to the kitchen.”

“Oh.” Bernie stopped in her tracks. “I can come back another time.” She started to turn to leave.

“Nonsense!” Claire practically dragged her in the house. “He’s just out for a run. He’ll be back soon. He made soup and will be upset if you don’t have some. Get down, Freddie! Stop jumping on her!”

Bernie followed her to the kitchen and allowed herself to be cosseted with a steaming bowl of chicken soup and a mug of hot tea. “Thanks, Mrs. Harris. This is great.”

“Call me Claire, please. ‘Mrs. Harris’ sounds so old. Josh said you weren’t feeling well?”

“Oh, it’s just a cold. More annoying than anything.” Bernie was a bit taken aback when Claire laid her forearm on Bernie’s forehead.

“Hmm. You’re running a slight fever.” She disappeared and returned a moment later with some Tylenol. “Take a couple of these.”

“Thanks. This soup is really good.”

“Everything Josh makes is good. And I’m not just saying that because he’s my son.” She smiled. “Well, not
only
because he’s my son. He has his father’s gift. Everything he touches turns into culinary magic.”

“Did his dad always like to cook? I mean, even when he was younger?” Bernie yearned to know more about this family that was so different from her own. Even though Josh and his mom had been through the worst sort of grief Bernie could imagine, they were still happy. They still stuck together.

“Yeah, Alec always loved to cook. He played sports, like both my boys, but cooking was his first love.” Claire got a faraway look as she reminisced. “Well, I was actually his first love. I guess cooking was his second. That is one thing I always knew for certain—how much that man loved me.” She wiped away a stray tear streaking down her cheek. “Sorry, Bernie. I know you don’t want to hear all this. I just get maudlin from time to time.”

“No, it’s fine. I’d love to hear how you met. If you don’t mind. I mean I don’t want to bring up bad memories or anything.” Bernie belatedly realized Claire might not want to talk about her dead husband.

“I don’t mind at all, if you don’t mind that I might cry some. They’re all good memories, you know. I met Alec when I was fifteen. He was sixteen and so gorgeous. Josh looks so much like him it hurts sometimes. Caleb looked much more like me. We were inseparable, much to the dismay of our parents. I got pregnant right after I turned sixteen.” She paused at the look of dismay on Bernie’s face. “Shocking, huh?”

“No! Of course not!” Bernie saw that Claire looked amused. “Well, sort of. I mean, my mom had me when she was sixteen, but you’re nothing like her! You seem so…normal.”
Well-adjusted, socially acceptable, rich
—that’s what Bernie wanted to say. “How did you manage it? You seem to have it all together now. How did you go from a teenage pregnancy to this?” Bernie gestured to the house at large.

“It wasn’t easy, but Alec and I worked hard. My parents were livid when they found out I was pregnant! They insisted I stop seeing Alec immediately and made plans for me to give the baby up for adoption.”

“But you didn’t go for that, huh?”

“I tried for a while. I was scared to death, of course, and thought it was the end of the world. I broke up with Alec and transferred to New Futures High.” She referred to the high school that catered specifically to unwed, underage mothers. “Alec went crazy. He refused to accept our breakup. He showed up every single day after school to try to talk to me. Well, of course I didn’t last long against that kind of devotion.”

“What happened?” Bernie leaned forward on her barstool, totally immersed in the love story.

“We got back together, of course. My parents kicked me out, and I moved in with Alec’s family. His parents were incredible. Alec and I both dropped out of school and got our GEDs. He went to culinary school, and I took business classes at the community college. I had the baby—Josh, of course—and we became a family. We got married on my eighteenth birthday. Caleb was born seven years later.”