do you intend to stay here?” he asked, shoving the coins into his pocket.
“Probably until closing time. I really want to get this paper finished by the end of the week.”
“Which translates into I won’t be seeing you at least till Saturday, right?”
Her hair formed a silky scarf around her neck as she cocked her head slightly. “You’re not angry, are you?”
“Just disappointed. I’m going to miss you.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers, kissed the modest engagement ring with the tiny diamond in the center of it.
“In a week or so it will all be over. Then we can go out and celebrate. It’s been a long time since we’ve done it, hasn’t it?”
“Too long,” he said, gazing into the blue wonder of her eyes and wishing he could pull her close to him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Gary,” she said, rising a little and stretching for a peck on the lips.
God she smelled like heaven. “Okay, then, I’ll give you a call in a day or so. Or you can e-mail me right from the school computer here. That all right?” he asked, getting up and pushing the chair under the table.
She smiled a sweet and glowing smile that would carry him all the way home. It bothered him, though, that she had taken his story so lightly. Of course, what could he really expect. What he had suggested would be regarded as completely mad to any rational person-- and Shelley was as rational a person as anyone could ever hope to find. But that was fine with him. He needed her to balance his impulsiveness, his active imagination and maybe his gullibility, too, if that’s all it really turned out to be. But if she loved him as much as she said she did, she could at least bend a little and show a little more indulgence toward him. Humor him, anyway.
Excitement stirred his blood as he wheeled along, threading his way through the building dinner hour traffic. Tonight he would order something else, something that would convince her and maybe himself, too, that he wasn’t going mad. One way or another, if it killed him, he’d solve this mystery.
Chapter 5
Monday afternoon. He didn’t think classes would ever end that morning as he grabbed his books, slid out of his 1990 Honda and hurried into the house. “Any packages come for me today, Gram?” he called, his anxious voice echoing in the kitchen.
“Is that you, Gary? I’m back here in the spare room. I’ll be right out.”
He headed for his bedroom, saw no package, tossed his books on the bed and stripped down to put on a comfortable pair of pants and a tan Greg Norman golf shirt Shelley had given to him for his last birthday.
But I’m not a golfer!
So? I couldn’t help it, I loved the shirt. Maybe it will inspire you.
Stuffing his wallet, a couple of Kleenex tissues and the silver dollar in his pockets, he sat down at his computer to check his e-mail. “Ah, Shelley loves me,” he said, seeing the library e-mail address and opening his mail. The message, just a line, put a crease across his forehead and then a smile on his face. Shelley’s doing it to him again, playing games, making fun of him. He read the line again:
If you want a future forget the past!
Chuckling, he deleted the message, shut down the machine, slipped on his sweater and left the room, almost bumping into his grandmother outside his door.
“No package for me, I take it?”
“What a day,” she said, running her wrist over her tired brow. I’ve been working like a dog, but you’d never know it. Nothing shows.” She went to the cupboard. “You want some lunch? There’s some leftover roast beef.”
“I’m not really hungry, Gram.” He glanced around. “No package for me?”
“Some mail came. The usual junk for me and a letter for you. Even one for your grandpa. All this time, ten years, they don’t know he’s dead? At least no bills came.” She put a plate of cookies on the table. “You feel okay, Gary?”
‘I’m fine,” he said, straightening up.
“Too much school on your mind?”
“Among other things.”
“Worried about your examinations?” she said, sitting across from him.
“Not really.”
“A hard day?”
“Not so hard, just boring. I’m glad it’s almost over.”
“Well, that’s good. Your grandpa would be so proud of you, God rest his soul, to see you graduate from college. Nobody in the family ever did before, you know.”
“I know,” he said, grabbing a cookie.
“He always wanted that for you. I wish he could be here to see it, your graduation.”
“I know, Gram. But like you say sometimes, maybe he’s looking down, watching us. When the day comes, he’ll be there, I’m sure.”
“I pray so.”
“Gram, when you were young, did you by chance remember reading in the paper or hearing about a little girl--”
The phone rang. “That must be your Aunt Shirley,” she said, getting up. “She’s supposed to set up my doctor’s appointment for me. Your letter’s over on the stand by you,” she said, pointing and picking up the phone.
A sprinkle of cookie crumbles fell to the floor as he stretched for the envelope.
“What is it, Gary?” his grandmother said, alarmed by the expression on his face when he pulled the letter out. “Wait a minute, Shirley… Gary…?”
“It’s okay, Gram, don’t worry,” he said, scrambling to his feet, jamming the letter in his pocket and rushing for the door.
“Will you be back in time for supper?” she called after him, but he was already gone….
Chapter 6
Gary glanced at his car clock as he tooled down the road-- a few minutes past three in the afternoon. He hoped the mail-order office would still be open when he got there. The address wasn’t really that far from where he lived, but the route was a little convoluted, and the streets narrow and busier than usual at that time of day, especially with the new road construction all over town.
Wouldn’t it be something, he mused as he sped up to make
