Chapter Twenty-one #3
Fallon returned to the kitchen to find Cade holding a spoonful of sauce to Tyler’s lips. Blushing slightly, Tyler asked, “Can you take charge of the garlic bread, Fallon?”
By the time Nora came out of her room, Tyler was setting the table and Cade was draining spaghetti, having placed the aromatic sauce in a serving bowl. Fallon handed her a glass of red wine, and Nora sighed, then took a deep swallow.
“Caden, it’s nice to see you again. Please accept my apology for being so rude when I first came in.”
“No worries,” Cade said.
“Aren’t you going to apologize to me?” Tyler crossed his arms.
“Hell, no.” Nora poked him. “Answer your texts next time, you brat.”
“The way you did on your trip?” he retorted.
Nora colored as Fallon said, “All right, you two. No fussing at the table.”
As they ate, Nora reported on what she’d learned from her phone calls. “No one else knows anything about a buyout. At least, not that they’ll tell me.” She sighed. “Maybe Abel’s trying to find a way to get rid of me.”
“Why would he do that?” Tyler asked. “You’re their senior staff photographer and the only one who can make the crappy stuff they use from people’s cell photos look halfway decent.”
Nora shrugged. “I guess I’ll find out when I go into the office tomorrow.”
After dinner, Fallon volunteered herself for KP. Nora helped, stopping to look at her with a worried expression after watching Cade follow Tyler into his room. “I just don’t want him to get hurt.”
“I know,” Fallon said, holding her close for a moment. “But if he does, he’ll have you to help him through it.”
Finishing up in the kitchen, they went back to Nora’s room. Nora yawned as they settled into bed. “You never told me about your text messages.”
Fallon’s stomach tightened. Nora was tired and distracted. This wasn’t the time to talk about what would come next for them. “Yeah, I need to contact Maris. I’ll know more after that.”
It felt like she’d just closed her eyes when an insistent buzzing started up on Nora’s side of the bed. Nora cursed and picked up her phone. “What?” She listened for a few seconds before throwing back the covers. “I’m on it.”
Fallon sat up, but Nora was already in the bathroom. A few moments later, the door opened, and a crack of light illuminated Nora, fully dressed. “What’s going on?” Fallon asked.
“I’ve been called to cover an explosion and fire at an old fertilizer plant about fifty miles from here. I’ll probably be gone most of the day.” Nora was checking the contents of her gear bag.
“That sounds dangerous. I’ll go with you,” Fallon said, swinging her legs off the bed.
“No, it’ll be fine. This is my job. Besides, it will probably be under control by the time I get there.
” She came around and gave Fallon a quick kiss.
“Go back to sleep. Since it’s Saturday, ask Tyler and Cade to show you the town.
I’ll call when I can.” She was out the door before Fallon could answer.
Tyler didn’t seem the least bit surprised that Nora was gone, and he and Cade did their best to show Fallon some of what Tucson had to offer.
They took her out for breakfast burritos before a visit to the Cochran Gem and Mineral Museum.
Following pizza for lunch was a trip to the University of Arizona’s Science Center and Planetarium.
Fallon appreciated the effort, though she would rather have gone somewhere with actual rock formations or waited until dark to look at the Tucson sky.
But mostly, she was concerned about not having heard from Nora.
When Tyler saw her rechecking her phone after the laser show, he said, “Don’t worry.
There probably isn’t coverage out there in Nowhere, Arizona.
Or she’s obsessing over angles and lighting and framing the action just so. You know how she is.”
Fallon did know. In fact, she recalled very clearly what it had been like when Nora had become consumed with her video project during their first Firecamp days, and how Fallon had been left to wait and agonize over the loss of what little time they’d had left.
It’s not like that. She’s just taken a lot of time off tending to you and touring you around.
There was an emergency. Give this a chance. Fallon took a breath. “Yeah. Okay.”
“If you’ve had enough stimulation for one day, we can hit a happy hour.” Cade nudged Tyler. “Let’s take her to ABC’s.”
It was dark when Fallon stepped onto the bar’s outdoor patio between acts of the drag show.
The air was still warm, but she appreciated a break from the stuffy air-conditioning inside.
The bar was fun, with both male and female clientele, and she’d enjoyed two zero proof pineapple margaritas.
It had been amusing to watch Tyler and Cade on the dance floor, but as she’d feared, the noise level was such that she’d missed a call from Nora.
After she listened to a garbled voice mail, the gist of which was that Nora wouldn’t be home that night, Fallon went back in to tell Tyler she’d take an Uber back to the town house.
She wanted to see if a story about the fire was on the evening news.
He made a half-hearted offer to drive her, but she assured him she’d be fine.
As she attempted to book the ride, she realized she didn’t even know Nora’s address.
She gritted her teeth with apprehension.
Not knowing where she was or where she was going reminded her of times when she and her mother had been on the move.
She’d always tried not to sleep in the car because not being able to find any familiar landmarks upon awakening was too unsettling.
Could she find a North Star life in Tucson?
The fire didn’t seem to be a big story as there was only a brief mention on one news channel: “No injuries but the NEZ Plant is still burning,” was the essence of it.
Fallon perused the bookshelf in Nora’s bedroom in search of something to read, but Nora’s books seemed to be all nonfiction, topics like photography or Arizona or journalism.
She was about to give up when a familiar cover on the bottom shelf caught her eye. Seafire.
Fallon was touched. Nora had returned her copy, so she must have bought this one at another time.
Reading the first page was like getting into a great conversation with an old friend, and Fallon settled in bed, waking the next morning with the light still on and the book on the floor.
Tyler and Cade were obviously sleeping in, and Nora hadn’t called.
Fallon attempted to make coffee, but instead of filling the pot, the mechanism spewed brownish water and grounds on the floor.
After using almost a whole roll of paper towels to clean up the mess, she tried to find a coffee shop in the neighborhood on her phone, but the nearest one was six miles away, and she wasn’t confident about driving in Tucson traffic, even on a Sunday.
She opened the door, thinking she would walk, but the sun was intense and no detectable scents of vegetation carried on the air, only the sounds of the city.
Put off by the difference, the strangeness, she tried Nora’s coffee maker again, watching carefully and nudging the glass carafe every few seconds to remind the device of its intended target.
She was enjoying her second cup when Tyler made his way into the kitchen.
Seeing the half-full pot, he turned to her. “I’m super impressed. You’ve conquered Decker the Dripper?”
Fallon waved a hand. “Oh, nothing to it. Where do you keep your paper towels, by the way?”
Tyler eyed the depleted roll, and they both started laughing. Cade’s voice could be heard, asking what was so damn funny at this hour, which made them laugh harder.
After breakfast, they offered to take her to the botanical gardens, but Fallon declined, saying she wanted to wait for Nora.
She went back to Seafire, finishing it just after two o’clock.
The town house was quiet. Tyler and Cade had gone to the grocery store, so Fallon sat, thinking.
She grabbed up the phone when it rang, hoping it was Nora, but Maris’s name showed on the screen.
Fallon had deliberately put off having this conversation, but once it started, they talked for almost half an hour.
After they hung up, Fallon paced. Wandering into the third bedroom, which served as Nora’s office, she found a legal pad on the desk and started writing.
My dearest Nora,
I’ll never be able to tell you what these past weeks have meant to me.
After our last parting, I didn’t think I’d ever want to see you again, but I’ve been proven very wrong.
Being with you this time and watching you form new bonds with your family, even while caring for me, has given me an even deeper appreciation for the incredible woman you are.
I admire your passion for photography, which I can see is both your work and your art.
You told me once that it lights you up inside, and having seen you relishing your craft, I can confirm that light still shines as brightly as ever.
No one should stand in the way of that for you, no one should ever cast a shadow over that light, least of all me, who loves to see that spark in your eyes.