A Flicker of Doubt - Tim Myers [20]
Erin didn’t press me on it I got out at the bank, made the deposit, then we headed back to River’s Edge.
“Thank you,” I said as we neared the complex. “You’re’ as good as your word.”
“I was glad to come along. It’s not often I get to ride instead of drive. It always amazes me how much more I can see from the passenger side.”
“That’s not what I’m thanking you for, though I do appreciate your company. I meant about not quizzing me on what happened.”
“Harrison, I’m your friend. If you want to talk, I’m here to listen, but I’m not going to press you about it”
I thought about it a second, then asked, “Would you like to see something really special? I’ll show you if you swear you don’t tell a soul about it”
“I’m intrigued,” she said. “Where is it?”
I pointed to toward my place. “Upstairs in my apartment.”
Erin laughed. “You certainly know how to get a girl’s attention, but if you’ve got etchings up there to show me, I’m going to push you out of your own window.”
“It’s nothing like that. I promise.”
“Then lead on,” Erin said.
She followed me upstairs to my place, then I led her back to the bedroom. I noticed an uncertain expression on her face, but she didn’t say a word. When I stepped into the closet, she was openly baffled by my behavior.
It was time to explain before she bolted on me. “This is the scuttle to the roof. It’s where I go when I want to get away from the world. Nobody but you knows about it now.”
“I’m honored,” she said softly. I climbed the rungs, with Erin just behind me. I grabbed the flashlight from the hook near the hatch, then realized I had only one of everything on the roof. There’d been no need to have duplicates, since I was the only one who ever went up there. “You need to stay close to me,” I said.
. I flipped the hatch open and stepped through, then moved aside so Erin could climb up. She looked around in wonder and said, “Hey, you really can see the lights of town from here.”
“Like I said, this is where I go to get away. I don’t want anyone to know where I’m at when I disappear.”
She nodded. “You have my word.”
I led her to the storage Inn where I kept my chair, blankets and umbrella. After pulling the chair out and setting it up, I offered it to her and sat on the bin itself.
She shivered in the chilled air and said, “Do you mind if I borrow one of those blankets?”
“Not at all,” I said as I retrieved one and handed it to her. I’d positioned the chair so she could see the lights of Micah’s Ridge, but not my face. It was somehow easier sitting there in the darkness not having to make eye contact as we spoke.
In the shadows, I began to talk. “I met Becka seven years ago. She was gorgeous, the kind of woman I ordinarily never would have approached, but she did that herself. I was at an art gallery opening in Charlotte where a friend of mine was showing his sculptures, and Becka was there with some friends as well. Her heel caught on the carpet and she literally fell into my arms. We dated off and on for a few years after that. It’s hard to describe what attracted me to her.” I paused, then said, “Okay, she was great-looking, but that only goes so far. There was something about her—a drive to follow her own heart— that attracted me. Was she perfect? Far from it, but there Was a bond between us I still can’t explain. Even when she was doing her best to drive me crazy, I still cared about her. Nothing romantic, mind you—not in the last ten or eleven months, anyway—but she was a part of my life, and now she’s gone....” I hadn’t meant to make such a long-winded speech, and I felt embarrassed by it
Erin took it all in, then said softly, “It’s okay to miss her, Harrison.”
I felt the tears come. I hadn’t wept since Belle had died, but I couldn’t stop them. Erin stood, moved near and put her arms around me, nestling my head to her chest. She stroked my hair and hummed softly as the emotion ran through me, until it finally faded