The Widow's Walk (20 page)

“It's not outrageous, Constance,” he answered softly. “It's commerce.”

Without giving her another chance to protest, Garrett strode inside the store and Constance had no choice but to follow him. All the items for sale immediately entranced her, and Garrett shadowed her as she wandered from table to table, pointing to the things that she needed. Garrett couldn't help blushing all over again, and when the time came to check out, he felt a bit foolish standing in line with his arms full of ladies' unmentionables. When at last he reached the register, the young female associate gave him a crafty smile.

“Planning on a big night, are we?” she asked mischievously.

It was all Garrett could do to resist turning and looking at Constance, but he managed.

“Well . . .” he answered. “Not really, I guess.”

The salesgirl smiled again.

“That's a pity,” she said. “Because whoever is getting all this is a very lucky girl.”

While trying his best to remain unflustered, Garrett paid quickly, and they were soon out of the store and back into the hubbub.

“We should leave now, Garrett,” Constance said. “I have already squandered too much money, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Eager to be free of the mall so that he could talk to her once again, Garrett pushed the shopping cart out through the front doors and they returned to the Jeep, where he placed all of the packages into the back. Still no one had parked nearby, it seemed. After the two of them got into the Jeep, Garrett again looked around warily. At last he could speak openly to her.

“I really like the things you picked out,” he said. “For a girl from the past, you've got great taste in this day and age.”

As Constance laughed again, he found himself doubting that during the entire time of her imprisonment at Seaside she had ever been this happy.

“Thank you,” she said. “And thank you again for all the nice clothes. I am eager to go home and try them all on!”

Garrett smiled and shook his head.

“Nope,” he answered. “Before we go home, we have to get you a new bed, remember?”

It was clear by the look on Constance's face that she was starting to feel guilty about all this. He had done so much for her already that she wasn't at all sure about letting him buy her a bed as well.

“Are you certain?” she asked. “It would be nice to sleep in the house, but—”

“No more ‘buts,' ” Garrett said as he fired up the Jeep. “You're going to be sleeping inside the house from now on, and that's the end of it.”

With that, Garrett promptly drove to a furniture store with which he had previously done business. After parking the Jeep, he and Constance went inside. They strolled for a while among the various beds, and at last Garrett chose a large four-post affair and a matching armoire. They then wandered over to where the mattress and box springs were displayed, and while they stood there looking at them, a saleslady walked up.

“Can I be of help?” she asked. She was a tall redhead whose name badge read
CLAIRE
.

“We—uh—I mean
I'm
looking for a new bed,” Garrett said. “I've already picked out the frame, so now I need a mattress to go with it.”

“Do you know what size?” Claire asked.

“A king,” he answered.

As he looked to his right for approval from Constance, he was aghast to find that she was nowhere to be seen. Despite that Claire was standing right next to him he began blatantly gawking all about the store, trying to find her.

“Is there something wrong?” Claire asked.

“No . . . no,” Garrett answered. “I was just looking around at the other mattresses.”

Then he saw something that truly took him aback. A little way down the aisle of mattresses, Constance was lying atop one, and he desperately hoped that Claire would not notice the depressions that she was making in the plush pillow top. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Then Claire gave Garrett another curious look.

“Are you quite sure that you're all right, sir?” she asked. “I'd be happy to go and get you a glass of water, or—”

Garrett shook his head.

“No, no . . . thank you all the same,” he said. “But I am in a bit of a hurry, so could we write these up now?”

Realizing that she had just made an easy sale, Claire smiled broadly.

“Certainly,” she said. “Please come this way.”

Forty-five minutes later, Garrett and Constance were once more ensconced in his Jeep. Laughing broadly, Garrett turned the ignition key, and the trusty vehicle roared to life.

“So tell me,” he said. “Did you have fun testing out the mattress?”

Constance immediately blushed.

“That was so unlike me!” she answered. “I suppose that I am so overly glad to be here with you I could not help myself!”

Garrett smiled broadly at her. This was more like the real Constance, he supposed. He also knew that even if she had been a woman of this time, she would still be the most beautiful and vivacious one he had ever known. And he had meant every word of what he had said to her back at Seaside. He loved her with all of his heart, and no matter what obstacles might lay ahead of them, his love for her would never fade.

While Constance settled into her seat, Garrett pointed the Jeep homeward, toward Seaside.

Chapter 19

Garrett poured a glass of red wine then leaned back luxuriously against his new sofa. He'd purchased it—and a cocktail table—from Claire, and paid handsomely to have them delivered immediately. Although he had first considered bringing some of the antique stuff into the house, he wasn't ready to explain that to Jay and the workmen. Constance was upstairs, trying on her new clothes, and had eagerly promised to model some of them for him.

After taking another sip, Garrett put his wineglass down on the cocktail table. He had built a fire in the dining room fireplace, its heat spreading nicely throughout the room. Although this was only a small taste of the comfort he hoped to eventually savor here at Seaside, it was a welcome respite just the same. After a time he lit a cigar, letting its pungent smoke drift across his palette.

He had deeply enjoyed his time with Constance today, and she had shown him a childlike quality that he suspected hadn't surfaced for many years. For a few precious hours they were able to escape their awful predicament. But now that Garrett was back at Seaside, his worries about their future and his growing feelings for Constance began to crowd in on him again. He must begin trying to unravel this mystery, if for no other reason than that the pull he felt toward Constance was undeniable, and impossible to fight.

Perhaps he should have never bought this old house, but what was done was done. Either way, he and Constance were now involved in a riddle they might never solve. He loved Constance, and he wanted her here with him forever. But at the same time he remained unsure of her feelings for him. Her undying love for her late husband, Adam, never seemed to wane, and Garrett knew that until it did, his desperate love for her might remain unrequited.

After taking another sip of wine, he carefully tapped the ash from his cigar into an old ashtray he had found in the house. For a precise architect who worshiped organization, his life had certainly become quite the mess.

Clearly, this predicament had something to do with the concept of time. In the beginning he had considered Constance to be a total prisoner of time, but in some ways he had been wrong. She was only partly time's captive because she moved along with it. Yet she also seemed to defy time in that she never aged. It was as if time were somehow both her friend and her enemy. The concept of time also played a huge part in their flashbacks. Each one had been firmly rooted in the past, the most perplexing aspect perhaps being that the experiences had felt so real, rather than dreamlike.

Sighing deeply, Garrett put down his cigar and scrubbed his face with both hands. This was all so maddening. Even worse, he had no clue about how to proceed. And that notion discouraged him, largely due to the sheer incomprehensibility of the problem. To his mind, whatever forces drove all this seemed far beyond human understanding or a mere mortal's power to change them.

And what would be the outcome, he wondered, if he and Constance never found the answer? What would it be like living here with her decade after decade while he grew older, and she remained the same young and beautiful widow that she was now? Given how much he loved her, would that be such an awful life? Or would the nature of it eventually tear their relationship to shreds, and cause him to leave Seaside forever? If so, then what would it be like without Constance in his life, now that she meant so much to him?

So many questions,
he thought,
and not a single answer in sight.

Just then Constance walked into the room. She was wearing a white shirt with a pink pullover sweater, a pair of navy clam diggers, and her new sneakers. She looked freshly scrubbed, her hair was down, and as she neared he could smell the Chanel No. 5 she had chosen earlier today. As she sat down beside him, he told her how lovely she looked.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “You have been so good to me that I do not know how I will ever repay you.”

Although Garrett could never be sure whether Constance might eat or drink something, he poured her a glass of red wine anyway. She tasted it approvingly then set it back down on the table.

Garrett smiled at her.

“Not thirsty?” he asked.

Just then he saw a look of worry overtake her face. It was slight, but noticeable. As if she had just read his mind, she walked across the dining room and stood, staring into the hearth. Concerned, he put down his wineglass and went to her. She was gripping the fireplace mantel with both hands, her head slightly bowed as she stared into the mesmerizing flames.

“What is it?” he asked her. “I haven't known you for very long, but I can tell when you're upset.”

When she turned around to face him there were tears in her eyes, some of which had begun streaming down her cheeks. When he tried to wipe them away, she surprised him by backing off a little.

“What's wrong?” he asked again. “Please tell me. I can't bear seeing you this way.”

“Did you really mean what you said?” she asked softly.

As Garrett stepped nearer, he could smell her lovely perfume.

“About me loving you?” he asked.

“Is it really true?”

“Yes, Constance. God help me, every word of it.”

When she began crying again, this time her body trembled slightly. He could sense that she was holding something back; something that she perhaps had wanted to say to him for some time now but hadn't been able to find the courage. When she looked into his eyes again, there was a questioning expression on her face.

“Do you think it possible to love two people at the same time?” she asked quietly.

Before answering, Garrett reached out and brushed an errant lock from her forehead.

“I don't know,” Garrett answered. “I'm not sure that anyone does.”

On an impulse he put his arms around her, and this time she entered his embrace gladly. As her body pressed against his, he again felt the overpowering sexual attraction for her take command of him. Seconds later, he unexpectedly felt his consciousness begin to slip away. He quickly looked into Constance's eyes and could easily tell that she was experiencing the same thing. He tried to say something to her, but the best he could do was to soften their fall as they both slumped to the floor.

G
ARRETT SOON AWAKENED
to a living nightmare.

He was terrified and had absolutely no idea where he was. All he knew was that he was in a very dark room. The room was moving to and fro sickeningly, and its entire floor was covered with freezing cold, ankle deep water that sloshed back and forth. There was absolutely no light, nor any way to know when the room might shift violently yet again.

He heard Constance scream, her outburst telling him that she was somewhere inside this terrible place too. Then the room shifted drastically once more, literally throwing him across the floor. It took every ounce of his strength to stand up, but at last he succeeded.

“Constance!” he screamed. “Constance, where are you?”

A few moments later, Constance screamed again. This time her outburst gave him a better sense of her location. Struggling as best he could against the terrible swaying, he crawled on all fours toward her voice. He soon called out again, and to his relief this time she answered him.

Just then the room shifted violently again, this time to an even greater degree than before. As it did, an unseen door in the ceiling flew open and swung all the way over onto its opposite side, leaving an opening. Through the space Garrett could now see an occasional lightning flash, and watch rain literally pour down into the room. In a few moments, he realized, this chamber might well be flooded entirely.

Pausing in his search for Constance, he used the occasional lightning flashes to try and find her. And then, during one especially bright burst he saw her for a split second on her knees, about five paces from his position.

With the room still lurching horribly and rain pouring in unabated through the opened door, he again struggled across the floor on his hands and knees. When at last he reached her, he put both of his arms around her, and the two of them stood up. With the coming of the next lightning flash, for a split second Constance was able to look into his eyes.

“I know where we are!” she screamed. “Follow me! If we stay here, we die!”

Constance turned and began leading Garrett in a direction different from where he had come. After a few more steps there came another flash of lightning, allowing him to glimpse a set of stairs up ahead. When they reached the stairs Constance clambered up them and Garrett followed her. At last free of the terrible room, Garrett looked around himself and witnessed an absolutely unbelievable sight.