The Widow's Walk (19 page)

Whatever was going on between him and Constance, it was progressing quickly and affecting each of them, he realized. And because of his great desire for her, he could not convince himself that their growing attraction for one another was wrong.

Constance then closed her eyes briefly, her shoulders slumping down gently, as if in defeat.

“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to remain faithful to someone who has been gone for so long?” she asked. “No, of course you don't. How could you? I always believed that Adam would remain the one true love of my life. And then, for the first time in more than one hundred and seventy years, a man comes along who can both see and hear me. And with his coming, everything changes.”

There was a pained look on her face now as she shook her head back and forth.

“I am mightily confused, Garrett,” she said quietly. “It is as if something foreign is taking control of my heart. And until we solve the riddle of whatever is going on here, I fear that my feelings for you will only grow.”

Having heard enough, Garrett purposefully walked to her and held her close. Aside from his experience during the flashback, this was the first time he had truly taken her into his arms. And although she still remained hopelessly trapped between worlds, she felt to him like any other warm, flesh-and-blood woman might. Placing two fingers beneath her chin, he lifted her face to his.

“I understand,” he said. “I really do. But trying to condemn yourself over this is not proof that your feelings are wrong, or any guarantee that they won't deepen.”

Constance gently freed herself from his embrace then she looked blankly about the room.

“It is this house, Garrett,” she said quietly.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

She raised her arms and gestured toward the room.

“It is this
house,”
she repeated. “
Seaside
has done this to us. Can you not see it? There is more going on here than meets the eye. I just know it. Something about this place has changed us. A spell, an enchantment, or even a curse perhaps, call it what you will. But to my mind there is something about this house that put you and me together this way, and it is forcing us ever closer. It is almost as if Seaside has a plan for us that will not be denied, no matter what we do.”

This time it was she who initiated the embrace, and he was glad for it.

“God, Garrett, what are we going to do?” she asked.

Constance needed reassurance, he realized. Plus, he wanted to lighten her mood. He knew a way to try and accomplish these things, but would she go along with it?

“Well,” he said, “I have an idea, but it's going to require that you leave Seaside and actually venture out into the world. Do you think you can handle that?”

Constance shook her head questioningly, then she turned and gazed out the dining room window again. It was a pretty morning and the window was partly open, allowing them to hear the gulls crying outside.

“I don't know,” she answered softly. “It has been so long . . .”

“Well, there's one way to find out,” Garrett said.

He smiled and gave her a comforting wink.

“What say we go for a ride?”

Chapter 18

Garrett laughed as Constance let go another joyful shriek. He had never seen her so happy, and it warmed his heart. They were in Garrett's Jeep, heading down the road that led toward New Bedford.

At first he had had a difficult time persuading Constance to leave the house, but after some friendly coaxing she finally agreed. He could understand her apprehension. For more than 170 years she had never departed the property. There hadn't seemed a safe way to do it, plus going out alone had always scared her.

Moreover, they weren't totally sure at first whether Constance could really leave the property, even if she wanted to. Because she had never tried, she had no way of knowing what might happen. For all they knew, she could be somehow bound to Seaside by the same strange set of circumstances that kept her imprisoned between life and death. The idea of tempting the fates this way scared her, and Garrett sympathized. But they had to know, and so Garrett helped Constance into his Jeep, and they tentatively drove off the property, wondering whether at any moment Constance might disappear, or worse. By now they were well on their way, and everything seemed all right. Their test run was proving successful, and Garrett was pleased.

At first the Jeep ride scared her silly. She had never gone this fast, and it seemed to her as if they might crash at any moment. But she soon became accustomed to it, although from time to time she would still let go a happy shriek. She found stop signs and stoplights to be particularly troublesome to fathom, but by the time they reached the city limits she was more relaxed and enjoying herself.

For his part, Garrett was considering the “rules” to follow when going out in public with Constance. He could listen to her, but if there were people about, he shouldn't speak to her. Other unexpected issues would surely crop up as well, like her not wearing the shoulder harness in the Jeep. When she first got into the vehicle, Garrett had begun strapping her in when she gently stopped him, explaining that it would appear as if the shoulder harness was somehow being suspended in midair.

This is going to be one hell of a learning experience,
he thought.

When at last they entered New Bedford, Constance gawked at everything with awe. Despite all that she had seen on television and read in the newspapers, witnessing modern life was far more impressive. She watched the people, stared at the buildings, and marveled at how all the street traffic managed to so cleverly avoid crashing at the various intersections. Whenever Garrett looked over at her, she had a huge smile of amazement on her face, and he was glad to see it after their heartfelt conversation of less than one hour ago. Many important things had been said then, and they were both glad to be preoccupied with something else.

Garrett headed straight for Dartmouth Mall, where he soon found a remote parking place for the Jeep. Laughing again, Constance ran her fingers back through her hair in an attempt to look more presentable. After checking to see whether anyone was in earshot, Garrett looked over at her and smiled.

“So tell me,” he said quietly, “what do you think about this newfangled form of transportation called the automobile?”

“How marvelous!” she said. “And so fast too! I am actually beginning to think that living in the here and now might not be such a bad thing!”

Garrett laughed a little.

“Well,” he said, “I'm glad to hear you say that, because there's so much more for you to see and learn.”

Constance regarded Dartmouth Mall with interest.

“So this is what a mall looks like,” she mused. “I have seen them on television, but I did not realize they were so big. Why did you bring us here?”

Garrett looked around again to make sure there was no one nearby. He was starting to get the hang of this, he hoped.

“I need to fulfill my promise to you,” he answered.

“What promise?” she asked.

“I said that I would buy you some new clothes, remember?” he answered. “And I also promised to buy you a new bed and dresser, so that you could begin sleeping in the house full-time.”

“Thank you, Garrett,” she said, “but you needn't do this. I am getting along all right, just as things are now.”

Garrett shook his head.

“That's not good enough,” he said. “No offense, but I'm tired of seeing you in those same clothes all the time! Plus the weather is turning colder, and you can't sleep in that damned barn forever.”

Then he laughed a little again.

“Besides,” he added, “because you gave me all of that exquisite furniture in the barn cellar, this seems the least I can do. Now get out of the Jeep and let's get going. I can't honestly say that mall shopping has ever been one of my favorite experiences, but with you along, who knows?”

When they entered the mall, Constance became even more thunderstruck. Today was Sunday and the place was mobbed. Hordes of young people were texting relentlessly on their cell phones, and Garrett thought for the hundredth time that if this was what they called socializing, they could have just as well stayed home. Given the many glittering stores lined up one after another, Constance was at first overwhelmed.

No sooner had they gotten inside than Constance stopped walking. When she turned and looked at Garrett she wore a concerned expression on her face.

“We must be careful about this,” she whispered.

“What do you mean?” he whispered back.

“The way that we walk together,” Constance answered. “If we are not cautious, we will raise suspicion.”

“How so?”

“It is only logical,” Constance answered. “You must always remember that no one can see me but you. So if I walk ahead of you, the chances are good that someone will walk into us. That is probably also true if I walk alongside you.”

“So what do you suggest?” he asked.

“I will walk behind you,” she answered. “And I will stay close. I am not familiar with this place, so when you see a store that you think is appropriate, go inside and I will follow you. And if I say something to you, for heaven's sake do not turn around and reply.”

Garrett suddenly realized that this would be more complicated than he had first thought. Constance left his side and went to stand behind him.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered.

Constance laughed a little.

“You failed your first test,” she said.

“Huh?”

“You answered me,” she said. “You are not supposed to do that, remember?”

Garrett began leading her deeper into the mall. He tried his best to avoid other people, but the going was tricky. After a couple of minutes he felt the need to ask Constance whether she was still behind him but knew that he shouldn't. He would just have to trust her. A bit later he entered a fashionable women's clothing store, where he came to a stop and waited for her to speak to him.

“Do not worry,” she said. “I am still with you. There are fewer people here, so I think it is probably all right now for us to walk together.”

She came up alongside him and gave him a smile.

“Hello, handsome,” she said.

Although this time Garrett didn't answer her, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. When he did, a couple of women shoppers turned and looked at him oddly.

“Do you see?” Constance asked. “Like I said, we must be careful. Now then, I suppose the best thing for me to do is to walk around this place and point at the things I need. If it is something you don't like or do not wish to purchase for me, shake your head. Otherwise, I suppose that you will have to pick up my choices and carry them in your arms.”

Garrett nodded slightly.

“Very well, then,” Constance said. “Let us go.”

As Constance strolled through the store, she was amazed by the vast variety of clothing available to her. In her previous life there had only been a few stores in New Bedford and the selections were very limited, but here there were literally mountains of clothing from which to choose. The sizes were different from what she remembered, so when she found something, she whispered to Garrett to find a medium, and Garrett gathered it up into his arms.

“Am I taking too much?” Constance asked tentatively.

After looking around, Garrett shook his head.

“Then I am finished,” she said, “and I will never know how to thank you.”

Constance followed Garrett to the register, where she watched with rapt fascination as he used some sort of a plastic playing card to pay for everything. She could hardly believe that no cash had traded hands.

With that, they left the store and began walking through the mall again. Garrett next entered a ladies' shoe store, where he sought out and found the cowboy boots. Stopping before them, he nodded slightly. Although genteel women never wore such things during Constance's previous life, she liked them.

“So you think I should have a pair of those?” she asked.

Again, Garrett nodded slightly. While examining the selection, Constance stopped before a pair of shiny black leather boots with fancy tooling and she pointed at them.

Garrett looked down at her worn-out sneakers and did his best to ascertain her shoe size. On finding the appropriate boot box, he picked it up and the two of them walked farther into the store. After Constance also picked out a pair of Nike sneakers and a sensible pair of women's shoes, Garrett paid for the items and they left the store. Because there was so much to carry, Garrett got a shopping cart before he and Constance continued their explorations. But Garrett soon found himself blushing slightly, and the sudden change in his expression was not lost on Constance.

“Is something amiss?” she asked.

Garrett shook his head. Not being able to talk to her was maddening, but in this particular instance he didn't mind. He knew that there were some other things that she probably needed, but had been ladylike enough to not discuss. He rightly suspected that she needed some new “unmentionables,” and he soon decided that the best way to get the point across would be to simply visit an appropriate store.

A few minutes later, they found themselves standing before a Victoria's Secret store. As Constance stood looking at the giant advertisements of scantily dressed women, her jaw literally dropped. During her previous life, such things were scandalous beyond all reason and would have probably landed their creators in jail. As it was, she simply stood there, fascinated by the garish displays. She soon gave Garrett an incredulous look.

“You are not suggesting that we enter there, are you?” she asked tentatively.

Garrett nodded.

“But it is so outrageous!” she protested.

Smiling, this time Garrett couldn't help but to answer her verbally.