Harvest Moon. Sharon Struth
the hamper, washed the slobber off her hands in the bathroom sink, then went to her closet to pick a new outfit. It would take more than an early morning broken hot water heater and ruined blouse to keep her from the annual librarian luncheon in Hartford.
She flipped through dresses, shirts, and slacks lined up in neatly separated groups, then arranged by color. A pretty red wraparound dress with capped sleeves caught her eye, one she hadn’t worn since the spring.
She shrugged off her terrycloth robe, slipped the garment over her head, and tied the side. Stepping to her dresser, she twirled her necklace carousel to her five strands of pearls, in varying gem size and length. Since receiving her first pearl necklace as a gift on her eighteenth birthday, a strand always draped her neck.
She lifted the graduated arrangement and slipped it on. The smooth beads rested against her collarbone, their touch in the familiar place always a source of comfort. She took a brush to her loose curls, dotted on some soft pink lipstick, and slipped into her black, open-toed pumps.
With some time until she needed to head into Hartford, she went into the living room, settled in front of her roll top desk, and logged into her computer. A quick perusal of e-mail showed mostly retailers, which she bypassed, in search of a reply from Ry. Nothing. She swept aside her disappointment and deleted the unwanted spam, but stopped when she hit an online invitation from PartyTime.com, a service she’d used last time she hosted a Christmas gathering at her place.
The subject read, “Gail and Eli’s End of Summer Bash.” Last year’s party had been fun, the annual event one of the few times she’d see her graduate school friends. She opened the invite, double-checked the date on her calendar, then responded yes. Fond memories of her friends brought a smile to her face. A section listed all invited guests, so Veronica figured she’d see who else might be coming.
Sometimes Veronica missed a good old-fashioned paper invite, but the Internet had changed the world. Her friendship with Ry was living proof.
Combing through the list, she noted how half the guests had profiles set up with personalized photographs, including hers—a photo holding Boomer when she first got him. Her gaze swept the faces and names, looking for her closest friends. She skipped past an unfamiliar couple, but then backtracked to take a closer peek. The man in the photo stared back. Panic rushed through her limbs.
For twenty years, Veronica hadn’t seen Gary Tishman’s face, but his image still haunted her. The clang of a silent alarm screamed inside her head, begged her to close the computer. Only she couldn’t move or figure out why he was on the invited guest list.
She scrutinized the face of the man who’d changed her life. Twenty years had added a few pounds, his handsome face slightly fuller. A soft sparkle rested in his eyes, set off by a warm smile. Veronica grimaced, recalling how it was the same bait he’d used to lure her to his side, a mask worn to hide the real monster lurking inside.
The woman at his side was her old friend Carin Cummings, who now wore her honey blond hair in a blunt cut, but otherwise still looked the same. Next to the photo, the name read “Carin Cummings-Tishman.” After grad school, Carin had moved west and rarely kept in touch with their posse of friends. She was now married to Gary? It didn’t make sense. They hadn’t mixed in similar circles back in college, so how did they meet?
Their response to the invitation remained unanswered. Still, sickness twirled in Veronica’s stomach as a cold reality hit. If she’d seen him on this online invitation, had he seen her? Did he remember her?
A slow chill tickled the hairs on her arms when a movement fluttered in her peripheral. She quickly jerked around, catching the flurries of her sheer curtains moved by the breeze from an oscillating fan. Taking a calming breath, she stood and went to the fan to shut it off. Outside the window, thick woods surrounded her small house, always giving her privacy and the illusion she lived in a protected fortress. The way her picture randomly appeared on the same website as Gary’s, however, told her otherwise.
Gail might be at the librarian luncheon today and could explain how Gary suddenly stepped into Carin’s life.
Enthusiasm for today’s event withered. Instead, horrible memories of the moment Veronica’s life and goals had changed shattered her well-being. For half a second, she considered changing her reply to “no,” only a voice inside her head whispered a challenge. Hasn’t the past haunted you long enough?
Despite the warm breeze drifting through the window, she shivered again. First the broken hot water heater. Then her ruined blouse. Now Gary Tishman’s return into her world. Going back to bed and starting the day over wasn’t a bad idea.
Instead, she grabbed her purse and went out the door, glad bad things were said to only come in threes. Nothing else could possibly go wrong today.
* * * *
Forty-five minutes after leaving the quiet country roads of Northbridge, Veronica spotted the jagged Hartford skyline. She’d nearly forgotten her one errand before the luncheon and now ran a few minutes behind schedule. The GPS directed her straight to the corporate offices of Resorts Group International.
She pulled into the underground garage and parked. The envelope she’d promised her friend Sophie she’d take to Duncan—Sophie’s fiancé—sat on the passenger seat. She slid the package containing his cell phone and signed contracts into the side pocket of her large purse. Lucky for Duncan, Veronica had planned to come into the city today and could make the drop off. Sophie had said he’d woken up so anxious about today’s meeting to finalize the sale of his firm he’d forgotten to put on his socks, a surprise to Veronica because the successful executive always seemed to have a handle on all matters.
Fifteen minutes until the luncheon started. She hurried from the car and hoped she wouldn’t miss the opening address by one of her favorite Connecticut authors. At the elevator, she tapped the “up” button and waited, jittery with anticipation of getting to her real destination. Bright orange cones placed near a used pile of yellow and black caution tape sat on the concrete floor several feet away from the elevator. She leaned forward to read a sign wedged between the cones. Please Use Stairs.
The loud screech of tires echoed against the walls. She snapped her head around to spot a red Audi TT navigate the corner. The vehicle zipped into a nearby reserved spot, close to the elevator. A rock beat rumbled from the car.
Veronica tapped “up” a few more times. Her peripheral vision caught a tall man with dark hair exiting the Audi. He leaned over and disappeared into the back seat. She gave the button another impatient swipe.
Ding. The doors parted. She hurried inside and scanned the panel until she spotted “RGI Reception-8.” She tapped the button and pressed her back to the far wall as the doors glided together.
Bang! An arm covered by a white dress shirt poked between the nearly closed doors, and they popped back open. The guy who’d just pulled into the lot stepped inside, now wearing a fedora, à la Justin Timberlake, and humming a song.
Their eyes met and his humming faded. She quickly looked to the safe spot right above the doors, annoyed she couldn’t enjoy her ride alone. He pressed his floor and leaned against the side wall. The doors slammed shut, and the metal box lurched upward.
Veronica peeked at her fellow passenger. His slightly wrinkled shirt hung outside the waist of black jeans and the top three buttons were opened, revealing a small patch of dark chest hair. Proper corporate attire didn’t seem to be his thing, surprising in this office building filled with company headquarters.
He cleared his throat, glanced her way. For a nanosecond, she couldn’t tear her gaze from his chiseled chin, but when his steel blue eyes softened, heat brushed her cheeks. She forced herself to look at the hardwood elevator floor.
His humming resumed. She again covertly peeked his way. He spread his thick fingers across his thigh and patted out a beat, his head moving with a slight sway to the music. She recognized it. “Oye Como Va,” by Santana. The only thing corporate about this guy was his leather attaché and prime parking spot in the garage.