This Side of the Sun (The Sun Trilogy) (7 page)

“Thanks,” I said, truly grateful that this woman was trying to take care of me.

“Joe? Justine? Do you want to tell her?”

“Tell me what?” I asked.

Justine lifted her mug to her lips and blew on the steaming liquid to cool it. She smiled at me, and peeked sideways at Joe.

“We’re having a baby,” she said, grinning.

I looked at her for a moment, trying to comprehend her news.

“Serious?”

“In October,” said Joe.

“Wow.” I was speechless.

“Just ‘wow?’” said Joe.

“Well, yeah, WOW,” I repeated. “Congrats!” I smiled, the news finally sinking in. “A baby? Really?”

Justine giggled, and nodded as she sipped at her tea.

“Wow. Oh geez. Justine, I’m sorry I stressed you out.” I suddenly felt horrible for causing her worry.

“Just don’t do it again, okay?”
she said with a smile.

I nodded. “As long as I get to babysit?”

She giggled again. “Sure you can!”

I sipped at my tea, trying to wrap my mind around their news. I looked up when there was a knock on the door.

I looked at my watch. 2:44.

“I’ll get it,” said Joe, standing.

I watched as he walked to the door. I choked on my tea when the door opened and it was my father and his wife Helen.

“Dad?” said Joe, obviously as surprised as I was.

“Joe. Good to see you, son.”

Our father held his hand out to my brother, who took it and indulged him with a quick handshake.

“Helen,” said Joe civilly.

“We came as soon as we heard about the explosion,” said my father, still standing on the porch. “Where’s Hattie?”

I stood, dreading talking to Helen. “Right here.”

Helen pushed her way past Joe and into the living room.

“I told Jim we should just stay put and wait to hear from you. Why didn’t you call?” she asked me condescendingly.

“Nice to see you too, Helen,” I said in the prissiest voice I could manage.

“Have some respect Hattie,” said my father. “We just flew in from across the globe to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, Jim,” I said.

“Will you stop calling me that?”

I sighed. “Yes, Daddy.”

Joe shut the door and my father and Helen sat on the couch.

“Can I get anyone a cup of tea?” asked Miranda.

“No. We won’t be staying long, Manda,” said my dad. They had been close when Joe and I were little kids and he had always called her that.

“At least stay for dinner? I know Hat’s had a long day and Joe and Justine are tired. I’d be happy to cook.”

“We need to check in to our hotel,” chirped Helen. “How about if we all go out to dinner later?” She spoke in a soft Southern drawl and I had always suspected she faked it.

“Sounds good to me,” said Justine.

“Sure,” said Joe as he sat back down next to Justine. “We have a lot to talk about.”

“By the way,” said my father. “Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Leonardo!”

“Would have been nice if you’d have been here,” I said, a bit too snippily.

“We’re doing very important work in Kenya,” said Helen. “I’m sure Joseph and Justine understand.”

The room went quiet for a bit. I checked my watch again, and was thrilled to see it was nearly three o’clock. I checked my phone and was disappointed to not have any new messages. The charge was at ninety three percent, so I coiled the charger cord up and slipped it into my small handbag.

“New phone?” asked Justine.

I nodded. “My old one was in Joe’s car when the explosion happened.”

“Looks expensive,” said Helen.

I just shrugged, not bothering to answer her, let alone look up at her.

“Well, it’s
three o’clock. We should go check in at the hotel. How about if we meet in Anacortes at four-thirty? At Myrtle’s Steak House?” suggested my father.

“Steak sounds so good,” said Justine. She sounded a bit too excited.

“Sure. We’ll be there,” said Joe.

“I’ll let you guys have a nice family night,” offered Miranda.

“No, Manda. Come. You know you’re part of the family.”

“He’s right,” said Helen. “You have to come.”
She didn’t sound very convincing.

Miranda smiled. “If you insist.”

“Hat? We can drive you,” said Justine.

I had been picking at a loose thread on my jeans, but looked up. “Oh, I can’t make it. Sorry.”

My father stood. “We just flew in. It took us over thirty hours with layovers. Thousands of dollars for day-of tickets. You can meet us for dinner.”

I clicked my phone on, glad to see Saul smiling at me, and
was sad to see the clock read 3:07.

“I can’t. I have plans already.”

“Hattie, come on,” said Justine. “It’ll be fun.”

I looked up. “I’m sure it’ll be a whole heap…but I have plans already. Sorry.”

Another knock sounded on the door, and I jumped up to answer it.

“C’mon, Jim, we need to get going,” said Helen in her irritating nasal drawl.

The door opened on its own, and my heart sank when I saw Everett coming into my house. I had hoped it was Saul coming to pick me up, and Everett was the last person I wanted to see. Well, other than Helen.

“Hey honey,” said Miranda. “Look who’s here!”

“Mr. Leonardo. Mrs. Leonardo,” he said, offering each of them his hand to shake. He had always known how to be a kiss-ass, and was in full charm mode.

***

Irritated beyond belief, I snuck out of the room while greetings were going around. I took my mug into the kitchen and felt sick to my stomach when I heard Everett’s voice from behind me.

“Hattie?”

I turned to look at him but didn’t answer.

“Can we talk? Please?”

“I’d rather not.”

I turned to face the sink and rinsed my mug. I felt Everett standing close behind me, and held my breath. I didn’t want him near me.

“I’m sorry, Hat,” he whispered a little too close to the back of my head. “I didn’t mean to freak you out. I had too much to drink and lost a little control.”

I turned to face him, only to find he was even closer than I had anticipated. His front was nearly touching mine, forcing me to back against the counter.

“I guess you know now, huh?”

“Know what?” I asked.

“How I feel about you, Hat. I guess I’ve known for a while, but it didn’t really slap me in the face until I thought you might have died in the explosion. I’m not sure what I would have done,” he said, obviously on the verge of tears.

“Everett, stop. I didn’t die. I’m flattered that you care about me, but what happened last night wasn't okay.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry. If I could undo it I would, but I need you to know how I feel about you. And I want you to know that last night…well…it’ll never happen again.”

I didn’t say anything at first, I just looked at him. He wore a mask of pain on his face, and in that moment I felt bad for him.

“Ev, you know I care about you too. We’ve been friends since we were just little. But that’s what it is: a friendship. I don’t want you hurting, and I’m not trying to be mean, but I only love you as a dear friend.”

He stepped back from me a half turn, leaning against the counter that branched off into an ‘L’ shape. “You don’t think it could ever be more?”

I looked sideways at him. “I just don’t feel it, Ev.”

“Can you at least forgive me for last night?”

“Yeah, I can. I just need to know you won’t try to force anything with us.”

He reached a hand out to me, and I took it in mine.

“Friends?” he asked.

“Of course.”

His body language suggested he wanted to step closer, but kept himself from doing so.

“So your dad’s here for a few days?”

“I guess so. Somehow their thing in Kenya being interrupted is my fault, of course,” I said with a sigh as our hand-holding-session ended.

“You going to dinner tonight?”

“Nah. I have plans.”

“If you don’t want to be around me I understand. I can skip it if you want to go.”

“Spending an evening with Helen? Please.” I rolled my eyes in dramatic exaggeration. “I just have other plans already.”

“With that guy?”

I nodded. “Saul.”

“You sure you’re safe with him? I mean none of us know him.”

“I’m sure. He’s a good guy, Ev. I promise.”

He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his feet. “Okay. Just…” he trailed off.

“Just what?”

“Just be careful.”

“I will.” I grabbed his hand again and squeezed gently to reassure him. “Ev?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for talking to me.”

He smiled.

***

After Everett and I had a heart to heart in the kitchen, we walked back to the living room together. Helen was busy adjusting the hem of her beige jacket and fluffing her floral silk scarf in an attempt to look sophisticated while my father was kissing Justine on the cheek.

“Hattie. We’re headed out to check in at our hotel. Hope to see you for dinner,” said my father.

I didn’t bother to respond, since he obviously didn’t care about anything going on in my life that might be important to me.

“Dinner?”

I turned to the chair in the corner, where I saw Saul sitting.

“Saul?”

He stood and walked to me, kissing me on the cheek. I could sense Everett tense beside me.

“When did you get here?” I asked, surprised that he was suddenly in the room with me.

“Just a minute ago. I hope you don’t mind, your brother let me in.” He extended a hand to Everett, who took it hesitantly. “Everett. Good to see you again.”

“Saul.”

The entire room felt tense and I was pretty sure I wasn't imagining it.

“Hattie, what’s up with dinner plans tonight?” He stepped closer to me and slid my hand into his. I instantly felt calmer.

“Her stepmother and I have just flown in from Kenya, and Hattie here says she’s too busy to meet us all for dinner.”

“I told you I have plans,” I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.

“What time?” asked
Saul.

“F
our-thirty,” answered Helen.

I really wished it was acceptable for me to smack her in the face.

“We’ll be there,” said the man holding my hand.

I looked at him, horrified.

Finally settled into the cab of Saul’s truck, I frowned at him.

“I don’t want to go,” I said
, being very honest.

He looked at me very seriously, his blue eyes making me want to melt despite my frustrations over family.

“I know you don’t, but it makes me look good to get you there.” He winked and leaned over, kissing me tenderly. Eventually, he whispered near my ear. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” I said, still sulking.

“Stop pouting? I promise we’ll do something fun after dinner.”

I sighed. “You don’t know how irritating she is.”

“Who?”

“Helen.” I looked over at him as he pulled away from my house. “My stepmother.”

“You can tell me all about it tonight,” he said. “If you want.”

“What do you want to do until dinner?” I asked.

He glanced at the clock on the truck dash.

“We have an hour. How about a drink? There’s a little bar I found that’s pretty quiet.”

“Sure. Might help me get through dinner.”

“Cheer up, sweet thing. I’ll make sure you have fun.”

He sped up as he hit the main highway, and I felt his warm hand on my knee. We drove in silence, aside from the quiet hum of classical music from the radio. I watched the landscape outside the window as we drove by. Dark clouds were rolling in, as if mocking my mood.

“Penny for your thoughts,” said Saul as he turned the radio off.

“It looks like it’s gonna rain,” I said lazily.

As if the sky heard me, drops began to splatter the windshield.

“You’re quite the weather lady,” he said, chuckling.

“Sorry I’m in a bad mood.”

“The bar’s just up ahead. I’ll have you feeling better soon enough.”

“You’re sweet.”

“As pie.”

The Tracks
was a hole-in-the-wall bar and grill tucked behind a small strip mall not far outside of Anacortes. It was situated halfway below ground, underneath a book store. The stairs down were steep, and I gladly held onto Saul’s hand as I stepped down just in front of him. Music from the 90’s was playing in the background, but thankfully not too loudly. I had hoped for some quiet time.

“Mind if we take a booth in the back?” asked Saul.

“That’s fine.” I smiled at him sweetly.

He kept hold of my hand and I followed him to a booth with brown vinyl seats. I slid in ahead of him, and he sat beside me. I tucked my purse onto the bench beside me, next to the wall. There weren’t many other people near us, just an older couple sitting at the bar and a single man at a small table near the center of the room.

“You and Everett okay?” he asked.

I looked at him and smiled gently. “Yeah. He apologized. I forgave.”

“Good. He seems like an okay guy other than being a jerk to my girl.”

“We’ve been friends a long time.”

A waitress walked up to our table. She wore a tank top and a short black skirt that showed off her long legs. Her bright red hair was tied up in an intricate bun.

“Welcome to The Tracks,” she said. “My name’s Carrie. What can I get for you two?”

“I’ll have a Mac & Jack’s Amber, on tap.”

“Great choice,” answered the waitress. “And for the lady?”

“Know what you want, babe?”

“I’ll have the same.”

I had no idea what a Mack & Jacks Amber was, but figured I’d give it a try.

“I’ll just need to see some ID, sorry.”

“No problem,” said Saul. He fished his wallet out of his pocket and handed her his driver’s license.

“Ah, cool,” said Carrie. “You and I have the same birthday! Down to the year.”

“Well happy birthday,” said Saul.

“Sweet twenty-four,” she said with a smile.

I handed the waitress my own license, and she looked it over before handing it back with a smile.

Carrie left our table and I looked over at Saul.

“When’s your birthday?” I asked out of curiosity.

“May first.”

“I just missed it?”

“Yup,” he said with a smile.

“Can I ask you for a huge favor?” I asked.

“Sure.”

“Is it ok if after dinner we just go to your place? Just have a quiet night?”

“Of course. Anything you want.”

“Sorry plans got all screwed up.”

“I’m not. As long as I get to hang out with you.”

He kissed the top of my head and mumbled something about sunshine and honey. The waitress came back over with our two beers and a bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup and whip cream.

“On the house,” she said. “For a belated birthday.”

“Thanks, Carrie,” said Saul. I liked how he called her by her name. I thought it was pretty classy.

“Anytime. Just let me know if I can get you anything else,” she said as she set two napkins and spoons
down.

“That was sweet,” I said.

Saul held a small spoonful of ice cream smothered in chocolate up for me to taste. I did so, my eyes never leaving his.

“Good?” he asked.

I nodded. “Very. You should try it.”

He leaned forward and softly placed his lips on mine, opening my mouth gently. His tongue was warm in my frozen mouth, and he groaned as he tasted both me and the ice cream. The feel of his hand running through my hair as he deepened the kiss made me feel warm inside, and left me near breathless. He ended the kiss as suddenly as he had begun.

“Yup, it’s delicious,” he said. His voice was deep and husky, and filled with desire.

“You’re kinda driving me crazy,” I whispered.

“I hope so. I told you I’ll make sure you have fun tonight.”

“Let’s skip dinner,” I answered.

“No way.”

I sighed.

***

We finished our beers and most of the ice cream before Saul paid and we headed back to his truck. I had offered to pay for my own, but he just rolled his eyes at me.

The drive from the bar to the steak house was short. We arrived a few minutes early, so sat in the truck to talk.

“Promise me we can leave if Helen starts talking about her garden gnome collection?”

Saul laughed. “We’ll just show up, eat, and leave. Does she really collect garden gnomes?”

“Uh huh.”

“You ready?”

I took a deep breath and looked at him. “I guess so.”

“Okay, let’s go eat steak.”

We both stepped out of the truck, and Saul met me on the passenger side. He offered me his arm like a gentleman, and I wrapped my hand around his elbow. We walked together and it felt safe. It felt right.

He held the restaurant door open for me and I stepped into the dimly lit interior. I hadn’t been to Myrtle’s in years and it looked just the same as I recalled; cowboy hats and boot spurs on the walls, tall booth backs for privacy, and battery-operated flickering “candles” placed strategically for mood lighting. The walls were wood paneled and the ceiling was made from timbers and smaller logs. In the center of the restaurant hung a chandelier made from an old wagon wheel. It was cheesy overall, but they had good food and the service was well known for being fast and friendly. We walked up to the reception podium and a young clean-cut man with dark skin and light green eyes greeted us.

“Welcome to Myrtle’s. Two of you tonight?”

I shook my head. “We’re meeting six others.”

“Name?” asked the young man.

“Leonardo.”

“Ah, yes. We have your table ready, but you’re the first here. Would you like to be seated?”

“Please,” answered Saul.

“Right this way.”

We followed the greeter to a large table in a back room. The table was circular, which I knew meant that no matter where I sat I’d be forced to look at my annoying stepmother. Saul and I walked around to the back of the table and sat beside one another.

“Can I start you with something to drink?”
asked the greeter.

“Hattie, what would you like?”

“Lemonade if you have it?”

“We sure do. And you, sir?”

“Coffee, black. And a glass of water, no ice.”

“I’ll have those right out.”

As the man left us, I looked at Saul and smiled.

“That ice cream was good,” I said, smirking.

“Best I’ve ever had,” he winked.

“I’m starving,” I said.

I looked at my new phone to check the time. Watches had always bothered me, so I was used to relying on my cell.

“Hattie,” I heard my father’s voice.

Saul stood and extended a hand to my father. I stayed seated as Helen took her jacket off and hung it on the back of her chair.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Leonardo,” said Saul.

“Please, just Jim.”

“Alright. Jim.”

My father and his wife both sat across from us, leaving two open seats between them and us on either side.

“
Manda and Everett are right behind us. Joe called and he and Justine are running ten minutes late.”

Helen began inspecting her silverware as if it were diseased. A waitress walked up and introduced herself as Ellie, and delivered our beverages. Helen pointed out
what was likely an invisible speck of dust on her spoon and asked for a new place setting. She and my fathered both ordered wine and once Ellie left Everett and Miranda joined us. It was a bit awkward when Everett sat beside me, sandwiching me between him and Saul.

“So, Saul and Hattie,” said my father with a fake smile. “How did you two meet?”

Saul finished a sip of his coffee and smiled back. “We met over in Fidalgo by the flower shop. Hattie was having a bit of a bad day, so I helped her out and gave her a ride home.”

“A ride home?” said Helen, sounding exasperated. “When you didn’t know him? That doesn’t seem like very bright thinking, Hattie.”

“Well, Helen, I guess I had a lot on my mind at the time.” I imagined myself throwing my glass of lemonade at her. Saul’s hand on my thigh under the table helped calm me.

“It was the day of the explosion,” explained Saul. “I couldn’t very well leave a pretty lady alone down there amongst the rubble.”

“Saul?” asked Miranda. “You were there?”

“Yes, ma’am, I was.”

“He actually saved me,” I said, locking eyes with him and blocking out the rest of the world for a brief moment.

“So you’ve known each other what, two days?” asked Everett.

I ignored him. “Saul saved a baby too.”

“Oh God, I heard about that on the news. That
poor baby died yesterday,” blurted out step-bitch.

I looked at Helen and blinked, not quite understanding what she had said.

“What? No, Saul got it out.”

I felt Saul tense beside me and heard him sigh.

“Smoke inhalation did it in. The poor thing never stood a chance,” continued Helen.

I found Saul’s hand with my own and took it, feeling myself tremble. He leaned over and whispered. “I’m sorry, Hattie. I was going to tell you later tonight.”

I felt my eyes fill with tears and focused on just breathing.

“Her mother died too, from a head wound. Probably best that they’re together now,” said Helen.

“You are such a clueless bitch.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Pardon me, missy, you best watch that lippy mouth of yours,” she hissed at me.

“Ladies, please. Hattie’s been through a lot the past couple of days. Let’s all try to just calm down,” said Miranda.

As usual, my father sat there unspeaking, letting Helen wear the proverbial pants. He used to dote over
me and Joe, once upon a time. I stood, intent on going to the restroom to compose myself. Saul kept hold of my hand, standing with me.

“Excuse us,” he said.

I walked back through the restaurant until I found the ladies room. I could feel Saul right behind me.

“You gonna be ok?” he asked softly.

“I’ll have to be. I just don’t want to be here right now.”

“Sorry your step is so rotten. I can see what you meant about her.”

He wrapped his arms around me and I nestled into his chest, loving the feel of his muscles beneath his tight white t-shirt.

“Take my truck keys, okay? I’ll go settle our drink bill and let them know we’re leaving. I’ll meet you at the truck.” He kissed my forehead and gave me a last little squeeze.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

He slipped his keys into my hand and I felt instant relief.