Page 2 of Letters Book Two
The sports bar was jumping for a lunchtime crowd. Several tables of college kids, a couple of families and several seniors dining out on lunch-special coupons. The restaurant had the same sports-heavy motif that most sports bars tend to have. Plenty of sports memorabilia adorned the walls and a minimum of fifteen to twenty televisions were playing outdated sporting events from the previous weekend. My stomach grumbled and that must have been Chad’s clue to come to my rescue.
“Here ya go, Perry. Cheddar and extra pickles. Enjoy.” Chad smiled and squeezed my shoulder after placing the plate in front of me. I hadn’t ordered it with pickles either.
“Let me guess. Jack told you I love pickles?” Chad was damn near clairvoyant and had proven his skills of apparently communicating with the dead in the past.But pickle clues? Really, Jack?
“Nope. I watched you demolish a jar of Maggie’s at the house on your last visit.” Maggie was his mother’s name. He grinned and took a fry off my plate and blew on it before eating it. He chewed it like one does when food is too hot, grimacing and opening his mouth to bring cool air in fast. I stared and laughed at him. “And how is Jack? He in the G wagon?” he asked, reaching for another fry.
“He isnotin the G wagon. But heisin the new S63.” I pointed to the parking lot and my new shiny car. “He likes the fresh air the convertible affords.”
His eyes lit up. “It better be the AMG version, Mr. Jackson.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “What do you think?”
Chad smiled. “In black?”
I smiled. “Damn, boy! You’re eerily spot on. As usual.”
“Great! I’m off at two, after the lunch rush, and you and I are going to hang out. I can’t wait to test your new ride.” He stood staring out the window, taking measure of my new toy. “Dad is going to shit when he sees your new car.”
“How’s he going to see it?” I asked, wondering if Alex was in town.
“Because you’re going to Virginia Beach with me to see them this weekend.”
“Excuse me, what? What if I have plans?” I asked, wishing I actually did.
He turned to me and laughed. “Yeah, right. You don’t and we both know it. Lunch is on me by the way. Be back in two hours and we can stop by my place to grab some clothes and then we can hit the road.”
“How far is it?” I couldn’t believe I was actually listening to this kid again.
“About four hundred miles. Eight hours in a normal car, but you bought the AMG package, so...?”
I nodded my head in the affirmative. He was right, it had all the extra horsepower.
“Good. We’ll do it in six. Six hours is perfect for you to catch me up on why you’re in Columbia... alone.” He paused and stared off into the distance, before realigning his eyes with mine. “I already sense Jack’s disappointment. You better have a good reason, Mr. Jackson.”
CHAPTER FOUR: Lucas
I’ve attended funerals that were livelier than this dinner. Mrs. Howard was doing her best to treat me like she always does by spoiling me with yummy appetizers and keeping my glass full of sweet tea. I was trying to be cheerful, but I doubted they were fooled. I didn’t feel anything actually. Well, that would be a lie. I felt shitty, is what I felt. I felt undeserving and unlovable. I felt alone. I’d lost at love again.
I’d spent the better part of the last thirty-six hours wondering where Perry would be at any given moment. Would he go home to New York? Would he go to his Hamptons house? Would he continue on his road trip to try to meet another guy? I’d walked out of the hotel room without answering his questions. I didn’t tell him what I wanted from life or from him. He said he was going home and didn’t want to stay in Beaufort any longer. He’d probably figured out I wasn’t a good match for him. It was bound to happen. It always did.
“We know it’s none of our business, Lucas. You can ask us to stay out of it too, if you prefer. But, honey, Mr. Howard and I hate seeing you like this. It pains our hearts.” Mrs. Howard sat down after clearing the table of dinner dishes. She’d slid a fat slice of pecan pie in front of me and, unbelievably, I was considering passing on it.
“I’m sorry, ma’am.” I tilted my head down and stared at the pie. One more reminder ofyou know who. Perry had fallen in love with pecan pie while he was here. I’d told him we were famous for pecan pie in South Carolina. Many homes had huge pecan trees in their yards, and my meemaw had the biggest one I could remember ever seeing. I used to climb into it as a kid at the end of summer and shake the branches to get the nuts to fall off so she could gather them for pies.
“We just want to make sure you’re going to be alright, son. Ed and I worry about you like you’re our own young’un. When we see you hurting, we hurt. Let us help if we can. Would you do that for us old folks?” Mrs. Howard reached her hand across the table for me to hold. I did and lifted my face to hers.Too late.There was no hiding the tears.
“You two wouldn’t understand, ma’am. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I truly don’t think you’d be able to.” I felt alone in my pain. I didn’t have anyone to talk to about this. Daddy wouldn’t want to hear it and I hadn’t seen him in close to a year anyway. I was afraid the Howards were too old-fashioned. I knew they cared about me, but I figured this was a bit out of their wheelhouse.
I saw Mr. Howard out of the corner of my eye. He was looking at his wife and nodding his head toward me, indicating he wanted her to lead the way.
She cleared her throat. “Does this have anything to do with Mr. Jackson, son?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She’d met Perry a few times at the station, and we’d run into her at the hardware store once where he charmed her senseless, pretty much like he did with everyone he met in Beaufort. He stood out in this small town. When you saw him, he just looked fancy. I can’t think of another way to put it. Perry had an ease with strangers, and he always exerted a huge effort toward engaging them. He told me that he was trying to be a better person. A more open and a warmer person. You could tell that he was hungry for real contact and real conversation. I figured it had something to do with his other high-society life.
“Would it help you to tell someone what’s happened? Maybe we’d surprise you with our listening abilities.” Her eyes moved to her husband.
