Chapter 13 #3
“Oh, no. Damn it. That’s what I was afraid of. She did the same thing when her mother died. Scared the hell out of me. She’d look at me and answer me when I asked her a direct question, but it was almost as if no one was home.”
“Yes, that’s it. Exactly. When I put my hands on her shoulders, I could tell she was trying not to recoil away from me.”
“That, too,” Frank said with a sigh. “Same thing. She couldn’t bear to be touched for weeks after Jo died.”
“What do we do?” Owen asked with growing desperation.
“For one thing, it’s time I had a talk with her husband. I promised her I’d stay out of it unless she asked me to get involved, but enough is enough.”
“I agree. If you can get him to sign the divorce papers, I think that would help.”
“I’ll do what I can. In the meantime, you’ll be with her?”
“Every minute that I can. She wanted some time to herself, so I came down to the lobby.”
“Don’t leave her alone too long.”
“I won’t.”
“You love her, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Owen said, his voice gruff with emotion and fear and confusion. There was also relief to admit to someone—even her father—that he was in love with Laura. Sometime soon he hoped he could tell her, too.
“Good.” Frank sounded relieved. “Don’t give up on her. She’s going through a rough time right now, but we’ll get her through this, and then you two can make some plans.”
“I hope you’re right.” Based on what Owen had seen since they left the restaurant, he had good reason to fear that nothing was going to work out the way they’d planned.
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure she gets what she wants,” Frank said. “Will you head back to the island tomorrow?”
“Yes, we’re on the ten-thirty boat. We’re supposed to go to a party at our friends Luke and Sydney’s tomorrow night. But after this . . . I don’t know if she’ll be up for it.”
“The island is good for her. It always has been. After my wife died, I was so out of my element with two grief-stricken kids on summer vacation. I had to get back to work, but I was torn, needing to be in two places at once, you know?”
“I can only imagine.”
“When my brother and Linda offered to take them for the summer, I jumped at the chance to give them some stability and the distraction of five cousins who were about their same age. But I was frightened by Laura’s withdrawal and reluctant to leave her, even for a little while.”
“What happened?”
“With Mac and Linda’s support, I gave it two weeks and then went out to the island to see them for the weekend.
Laura wasn’t quite back to her old self by any means, but she was better than she’d been.
By the end of the summer, she’d come back to us almost all the way.
Neither of my kids were ever quite the same after we lost their mom, but I never again saw the scary withdrawal that happened right after. ”
“Until now.”
“When it happened the first time, the psychologist I consulted with told me it was her coping mechanism. By withdrawing into herself she could keep the bad stuff out and postpone the emotional firestorm for that much longer.” Frank paused for a moment and cleared his voice.
“Linda told me they all went out for ice cream one night toward the end of the summer. God bless Mac and Linda. They had seven kids underfoot, but they made that summer so fun for my kids. Anyway, apparently Laura dropped her cone on the ground outside the ice cream shop and broke down. Linda realized she was finally allowing the grief to come out and sent Mac home with the other kids. She and Laura sat on the seawall for two hours while my poor baby cried her heart out.”
Owen ached as he pictured nine-year-old Laura coming to terms with her mother’s death.
“It was a tough time for all of us, but she was a little better after the summer on the island.”
“I’m glad you told me this. It makes me feel a lot better to know that she’s doing what she needs to do to get through this. I wish she wasn’t shutting me out, though.”
“Be patient. When she’s ready, she’ll let you back in.”
“I can do that.”
“Will you call me if you need me? If she needs me?”
“Of course.”
“In the meantime, I’ll do what I can to dispose of him.”
Owen released an unsteady chuckle. “Legally, I presume.”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“It was really great to meet you, sir. Laura talks about you so fondly.”
“That’s nice to hear, but please call me Frank. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
“I sure hope so.”
Owen ended the call and forced himself to give her another half hour before he couldn’t stay away any longer. He let himself into the room, which was dark and quiet. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw her curled up on the bed.
“Laura?” he said in a whisper.
When she didn’t reply, he hoped it was because she was asleep.
He pulled the throw blanket from the foot of the bed and spread it over her.
Feeling weary but wired at the same time, he took a shower and shaved.
Then he stretched out on the bed next to her, wanting to be nearby if she needed him during the night.
It took him a long time to fall asleep.