Page 74 of The Shell Collector
“Paul Grant, Paul?”
“Yep. Almost jogged right by us near the water one day. Iwas shocked.” She didn’t go into the whole we-thought-he-was-Jack part. That just made it sound a little too weird, even in her own head.
“You didn’t bury him in the sand, did you? Is this the hey-best-friend-we-need-to-hide-the-body call? I’ve heard of those.”
“No. I apologized for the way I acted.”
“Thank goodness,” Ginny said. “You needed to apologize. You were horrible to that man. I really felt bad for him.”
“Misplaced anger. I know.”
“I was just thankful it wasn’t me you were shouting at. I’d never seen you like that.”
“I can’t believe he even wanted to talk to me.”
“Especially after you told him he was just as dead to you as Jack was.” Ginny sighed. “He knew you were hurting. I’m more surprised he never tried to contact you.”
“No, he promised, and one thing about Paul—that man doesn’t break promises.”
“Even the promise to keep Jack alive?”
“Jack made that decision. Paul begged him to move over to another division with him, but Jack thought getting deployed for a shorter stint was a better trade-off. If he’d gone, maybe they’d both be here today, or maybe I’d have lost them both. I’ve made peace with that now. I knew it then, but I needed to blame someone.”
“Honey, you’ve been through so much. I’m glad he’s around. Paul’s a great guy, and he was always a good friend to you.”
“It’s been really nice to see him.” The words came out a little more wistful than she’d meant.
“Amanda, you deserve something nice. Something fun and happy. You’re okay, right?”
“Yeah. I’m great. A little cautious maybe, but I’m fine.”
“How’d he look?”
Like Jack.“Amazing. Better even, if that’s possible.”
“That’s just wrong. How can a man be that good looking, and nice? And single?”
“He’s just the same ol’ Paul. Fun, sweet, thoughtful Paul.”And I can’t wait to see him again, even though that feels so wrong.
“Oh, sweetie. This is good. A big step. I’m really proud of you, although I feel slightly threatened about losing my position as best friend. I always thought he was sweet on you. This could be your second chance.”
“Ginny! Stop that. I’m not looking for someone to fill a gap. I have the children to think of. Paul is a friend, but you’ll always be my best friend. No one can take that from you.”
“I’m holding you to that promise.”
“You can. As long as you promise to come stay at the beach with me this year. Even if it’s off-season and only two days.”
“I will do that. I promise. Look, I’ve got to run. I’m in the parking lot. I can call you back when I get home from work if you need me to.”
“No, no, I’m fine. I just wanted to tell you, and to thank you for always being there for me. I also wanted to thank you for the book you sent me.”
“I didn’t send you anything.”
“Yeah, you did. Not recently, but back when Jack died. Honestly, I couldn’t even bring myself to get through the whole inscription then.”
“Girl, that was two years ago. I can’t even tell you what the title of that book was if my life depended on it. I just didn’t know what else to do.”
“Yeah, well I couldn’t bear to read it then, but it has been helpful lately. I’ve been reading a page a day. Thank you. It’s been a long time coming. Might’ve been helpful if I’d read it when you gave it to me.”
