At First Sight - Nicholas Sparks [51]
Jeremy glanced away. Even though the mayor was still standing beside him, he suddenly felt very much alone.
Back at Greenleaf, Jeremy debated whether or not to call Alvin again. He knew that if he talked to Alvin, he’d end up rehashing the entire evening, and he didn’t want that. Nor was he ready to accept Gherkin’s advice. Occasional lies might work in the mayor’s marriage, but that wasn’t what he wanted with Lexie.
He shook his head, tired of his troubles with Lexie, tired of wedding plans and house renovations, tired of not being able to write. Ever since he’d come down here, his life had become one misery after another, and for what? Because he loved Lexie? Then how come he was bearing all the stresses and she seemed just fine? Why did he have to be the fall guy?
No, he admitted, that wasn’t completely fair. She was under stress, too. Not only with the wedding plans and the house, but she was the one who was pregnant, she was the one who woke up crying in the middle of the night, and she was the one who had to watch everything she ate or drank. She just seemed better able to handle it than he did.
At loose ends, Jeremy gravitated toward his computer, knowing he couldn’t write but figuring he could at least check his e-mails. When he came to the first message, however, all he could do was stare.
HAS SHE TOLD YOU THE TRUTH? READ DORIS’S JOURNAL. YOU’LL FIND THE ANSWER THERE.
Nine
I don’t know what to tell you,” Alvin offered, sounding at a loss. “What do you think it means?”
After reading the message a dozen times, Jeremy had finally reached for the phone.
“I don’t know,” he said.
“Have you checked Doris’s journal?”
“No,” Jeremy answered, “I just got the e-mail. I haven’t had time to do anything. I’m just trying to make some sense of it.”
“Maybe you should do what the message says,” Alvin suggested. “Look through Doris’s journal.”
“For what?” Jeremy asked. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be looking for. And I can guarantee that Doris’s journal has nothing to do with what’s been going on lately.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jeremy leaned back in his seat, then got up to pace, then collapsed into his seat again as he related the events of the last few hours. When he finished, Alvin was quiet.
“I just want to make sure I heard you right,” Alvin finally said. “She was at Rodney’s?”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said.
“And she didn’t tell you?”
Jeremy leaned forward in his seat, trying to figure out the best way to answer. “No, but she said that she was going to.”
“And you believe her?”
That was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it? Would she really have told him?
“I don’t know,” Jeremy confessed.
After a brief pause, Alvin said, “Again, I don’t know what to tell you.”
“What do you think it means? Why is someone sending me e-mails like this?”
“Maybe they know something you don’t,” Alvin pointed out.
“Or maybe they just want to have us break up,” Jeremy said.
Alvin didn’t respond directly. Instead he asked, “Do you love her?”
Jeremy ran a hand through his hair. “More than life.”
As if trying to make his friend feel better, Alvin spoke cheerfully. “Well, at least you’ll head into the next phase of life with one heck of a party next weekend. Six days and counting.”
For the first time in what seemed like hours, Jeremy smiled. “It’ll be fun.”
“Without a doubt. It’s not every day that my best friend gets married. I’m looking forward to seeing you, too. And besides, a little trip to the city will do you good. I’ve been down there, remember? I know for a fact there’s nothing to do other than watch your toenails grow.”
And study people, Jeremy thought. He said nothing, however.
“But listen,