At First Sight - Nicholas Sparks [43]
Doris said nothing; she didn’t have to. Whatever wavelength the two of them were sharing, whatever information passed between them, was incomprehensible to him. All at once, Jeremy was sure that each of them could be more specific if she wanted to be, but for some reason both had decided to keep him in the dark. Just as Lexie had kept him in the dark about that afternoon on the bench with Rodney.
As if on cue, Lexie reached across the table and rested her hand on Jeremy’s. “Maybe I should stay with Doris for a while.”
Jeremy pulled his hand back. Doris remained silent.
He nodded and rose from the table, again feeling like a stranger. He tried to convince himself that Lexie simply wanted to stay and comfort Doris, and he forced a smile. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”
“I’m sure that Rachel’s fine,” Alvin’s voice boomed out of the cell phone. “She’s a big girl, and I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.”
After leaving Herbs, Jeremy had swung by Lexie’s and dropped off the baby items. He debated whether or not to wait for her there, then decided to head off to Greenleaf. Not to write, but to talk to Alvin. Despite himself, he was beginning to wonder how well he really knew Lexie. To his mind, she’d seemed more concerned about Rodney than she had about Rachel, and he wondered again what Rachel’s sudden departure meant.
“I know, but it is strange, don’t you think? I mean, you met her. Did she strike you as the type who would just up and leave without telling anyone?”
“Who knows,” Alvin said. “But it probably has something to do with Rodney.”
“What makes you say that?”
“She’s dating him, isn’t she? I don’t know, maybe they had a fight. Maybe she thinks he’s still hung up on Lexie or something like that and just wanted to get away to clear her mind for a few days. The same way Lexie did when she bolted off to the coast.”
Jeremy took that in, remembering his experience with Lexie, wondering if it was some sort of southern woman thing.
“Could be,” he said. “But Rodney didn’t say anything to Doris.”
“So Doris says. You don’t know that for sure. Maybe that’s what Lexie and Doris are talking about now, and it’s the reason they wanted to be alone. Maybe Doris is as worried about Rodney as she is about Rachel.”
Jeremy said nothing, wondering whether his friend was right. When Jeremy remained quiet, Alvin added, “Then again, it probably doesn’t mean anything. It’ll all work out, I’m sure.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said. “You’re probably right.”
Jeremy could hear Alvin breathing into the line.
“What’s really going on?” Alvin asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You . . . all this. Every time I talk to you, you seem more depressed.”
“Just busy,” Jeremy said, falling back on his standard answer. “There’s a lot going on.”
“Yeah, so you’ve told me. The repairs are bleeding you dry, you’re getting married, you’re going to have a baby. But you’ve been under pressure before, and you’ve got to admit your life isn’t as stressful as when you and Maria were getting divorced. But unlike now, then you still had a sense of humor.”
“I still have a sense of humor. If I wasn’t able to laugh at this stuff, I’d probably curl up in a little ball and mumble nonsense all day long.”
“Are you writing yet?”
“Nope.”
“Any ideas?”
“Nope.”
“Maybe you should work naked and have Jed hold your clothes for you while you work.”
For the first time, Jeremy laughed. “Oh, that would work well. I’m sure Jed would just love that.”
“And the upside is, you know he wouldn’t tell anyone. Since he doesn’t talk, I mean.”
“No, he talks.”
“He does?”
“According to Lexie, he does. He just doesn’t talk to me or you.”
Alvin laughed. “You getting used to all the crazy animals in your room yet?”
Jeremy realized he barely noticed them anymore. “Believe it or not, I am.”
“I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
“To be honest, neither do I.”
“Well, listen, I’ve got someone here, and I’m not being a good host, so I should let you go. Give me a call later this weekend. Or I’ll call