Page 53 of Burn Point

Smiling at the reminder of her, I sent her a quick picture of the backyard overlooking my new garden.

My phone rang instantly.

I answered after the first ring. “That was quick.”

“Please tell me that’s a garden I see in the background,” she said excitedly.

Of course she noticed that first. I grinned, because I’d known as soon as I sent the photo that she’d pick up on it.

“Yes, ma’am, it is. Tomatoes and cucumbers are in the ground,” I boasted, my mood lightening by the second.

“You must really be bored now that I’m gone if you’re resorting to growing a vegetable garden.”

I grinned. “Hey, now. You drove off in my hobby and I had to have something to do.”

“Okay, whatever. You aren’t allowed to guilt-trip me when you agreed to help.” If she’d been here, she would’ve thrown something at me, teasing me.

“And you aren’t allowed to make fun of my gardening skills.”

Her laugh made me smile in earnest. “Okay, slick. Truce. I think it’s cool you planted a garden. I hope it does well.”

I leaned back in my chair and shifted to get more comfortable. “So, where have you and Pearl gone lately? See anything cool?” I asked, like I hadn’t been checking her location every single day. Like right now, I didn’t know she was up north near Cape Cod.

“I came to see my dad.”

“Oh, wow. That’s cool, I guess? I mean, is that a good thing?” She’d not mentioned her family. And I felt like a shitty friend for not asking before.

“Yeah, it’s been really good, actually. I’ve had a chance to reconnect with him and my stepmom. I’ve been visiting him every day. Pearl is parked at a nearby campground and the owners have let me borrow a bicycle. Oh my gosh, you would’ve cracked up laughing at me on that thing the first time I tried to ride it.”

I kicked up my feet on the railing and listened to her laughing about falling over on the bike, forgetting to put her feet down. She was so animated and full of life. A far cry from the injured quiet woman I’d carried out of that house that first night that we’d met.

I laughed with her about her dad’s corny jokes.

She told me all about how she handled a small leak in the sink on Pearl.

And I couldn’t get rid of this stupid grin on my face.

I’d missed talking to her every day. I hadn’t even realized how much I’d cared about her, until she was gone.

But I was also happy for her. She was in the middle of a story about a puppy when I interrupted her. “I’m proud of you, Skippy. You’re doing great out there on your own.”

She grew quiet. “Thanks, Nate. I appreciate you saying that.”

I cleared my throat, uncomfortable with the emotion clogging it.

“So, you went to see your dad, huh? How was that?”

“Hang on, let me plug my phone in.” Something rustled, and she sounded closer, like she’d shifted and pulled the phone closer to her mouth. I imagined her laying in the fluffy bed in Pearl, with the blankets wrapped over her legs, maybe her tank top glued to her ribs, outlining her breasts.

She’d have an arm up, using it as a pillow, her long hair cascading behind her on the mattress.

“It was good to see him. I guess I’ve never told you about what happened with him. He was a pilot and flight instructor. One day he was helping a student get certified. It was him, the student-pilot, and a guy from the FAA. The student made an error landing the plane, I don’t know if it was windy or what happened, but she clipped the wing, and it sent the plane spiraling and flipping down the runway. Dad was thrown through the windshield, the pilot died, and the FAA guy walked away.”

“My God. That’s horrible.”

“Yeah, after that I couldn’t face seeing him. I couldn’t bear the thought of him being anything less than the man he’d been. So I was an asshole and stayed away.” She paused, and finished quietly, “So yeah, this time with him has been good. Healing.” I grabbed a second beer, because this was some heavy shit she’d dealt with.

“Sounds like it. I’m happy for you, babe. So, what’s next? Are you going to stay there for a while?” The darkness of the evening lent an intimacy to our conversation. It felt like she was here with me, though she was miles away.

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