12. Shane
“Puns arethe highest form of literature.” ~Alfred Hitchcock
“Psst! Shaney!”
The soft, angelic voice by my ear sounds so real, I wonder if I’ve unlocked a new level of REM sleep scientists have yet to discover. I wouldn’t be surprised considering how many dreams I had of Hope throughout the night. But I am a bit thrown off by how tangible her touch feels… almost as if she’s poking me in real life.
“Shaney! Are you awake?”
Oh wait, she is.
My eyes fly open, and the first thing I see is her beautiful face gazing into mine. If I could wake up like this every morning, I’d die a happy man. After a long and full life spent with Hope by my side, Lord willing. But right now, I need to decipher the words coming out of her mouth.
“You’re up! You’ll never guess what I saw! Downstairs. Middle-aged woman. A green suitcase that sounds exactly like mine. We have to go investigate!”
I prop myself up on my elbows and squint against the sunlight streaming in through the sheer curtains. My body’s still waking up, but Hope sounds like she’s ready to tackle the day. From what I remember of her when we were kids, she was a night owl, so it’s a surprise to see her so energetic. “Investigate? Aren’t we on vacation? The only thing I want to look into is where we can get a good cup of coffee.”
Kneeling beside me, she shakes her head and smiles. “You’re still not a morning person, are you?”
“I didn’t think you were either.” I sit up and grab my glasses off the bedside table. Once Hope’s face comes into focus, I wince when I see the dark circles under her eyes. “Did you get any sleep, Hope?”
“Not really, but that’s not what’s important right now, Shaney! A woman downstairs has my luggage!”
“Are you sure? I thought you said it was a man who took it?”
“It was, but maybe he sold it to her, or she found it somewhere.”
“You’re sure it’s yours?”
“It sounded exactly like my suitcase! It has these really squeaky wheels that make a very distinct sound. Like scree scree scree,” Hope demonstrates for me while she moves her hand in the motion of an ocean wave. “It was just like that!”
She looks so earnest, I try my hardest to keep a straight face, but inside I’m two seconds from breaking. I don’t know what I want to do more—laugh or kiss her. She’s adorable beyond words. “You mean skee skee skee?”
“No, no, no! It’s more like scree screescree,with an R sound.”
“I didn’t know wheels could roll their Rs. But I guess it makes sense since that’s the one thing wheels are good at—rolling around.” As soon as I deliver the punchline, my composure cracks. Laughter pours out of me until my sides hurt. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”
Hope groans. “Shaney, how can you joke at a time like this?”
I spot the corners of her mouth twitching. “Admit it, you want to laugh, too.”
“Uh-uh.” She presses her lips together, then covers her mouth with her hand. “Are you going to help me investigate or not?”
“Most definitely. I want to hear this scree scree scree in person.” My comment earns me an eye roll from Hope. She’s so fun to tease. I really want to see the smile I’m sure she’s hiding behind her fingers, so I reach over and take her hand. She inhales sharply the moment we touch, and what was a smile is now a look of surprise. But when she doesn’t pull back, I take that as a good sign. “So, where do we look first, Nancy?”
“Nancy?”
“Nancy Drew. That was one of your favorite series to read, wasn’t it?”
“Um, yeah. How did you know?”
“A guy pays attention to everything about the girl he likes. I still do.”
She gives me a small smile, but takes her hand back. “Can I ask you something? A serious question.”
“Of course.”
“How are you so sure about us? So sure that you said you’d be willing to move to Arizona so you can see me more? Why would you say that? Is this some kind of early mid-life crisis you’re having? Like you’re bored with your life and want to try something new? Is this more about that than about me?”
“I believe that was six questions.” I grin, enjoying the way she raises one brow in disapproval.
“Shaney…”
“All of which I will answer with pleasure,” I promptly reply. “The first one—how am I so sure about you? I know feelings aren’t everything, but I’ve never felt so at peace before around a woman. I love that we can have fun together and talk about all sorts of things, from food to faith. You don’t take yourself too seriously, which I appreciate. We have a good foundation of friendship, and I believe our relationship will only get better if we put in the time and effort to develop it—that’s my answer to questions two and three. For questions four, five, and six—if a mid-life crisis or boredom is driving me to say these things—the short answer is no. The long answer is that in my line of work, I’ve seen how fragile and unpredictable life can be. I don’t want to live my life with any regrets. That includes you because you’re worth taking a chance on. This is definitely about you, Hope O’Connor. Does that answer your one-turned-six questions?”
A mixture of emotions flash across her face too quickly for me to decipher, but she punctuates them with a nod. “It does, thanks. I think I just need some time, Shaney. I didn’t come on this trip expecting this, any of this. From losing my luggage to having you pick me up at the airport to us rooming together—it’s all kind of felt like a strange dream.”
“I’m really glad you didn’t say nightmare.”
A playful smirk lights up her face. “Are you fishing for a compliment?”
“No, why?”
“Because you’re much too sweet and way too good-looking to ever be the stuff of nightmares.”
“Yeah? Thanks for saying that. How about now?” I cross my eyes and stick my tongue out of one side of my mouth. “Hmm?”
Hope cracks up laughing. “Especially now. How is it that you haven’t changed? I think the last time I saw you make that face was when you were ten.”
“Man, I really need to come up with some new moves.”
“So, you can impress the ladies?”
“So, I can impress the lady.” I give her a knowing smile. “There’s only one I care to impress.”
“Don’t worry, she’s already impressed.” Hope rises to her feet and motions for me to follow. “Come on, Ned, we have a case to crack.”
“Ned? Who’s Ned?”
“Ned Nickerson from the Nancy Drew books.”
It takes a moment for her words to register, but when they do, I’m on my feet in a flash. The Ned that Hope’s referring to is Nancy Drew’s boyfriend! That’s got to be a good sign.
- - - - -
Twenty minutes later, Hope and I are back at square one. After knocking on the door to the room that Hope saw her luggage disappear into and also a visit to the registration desk, we’ve come away empty-handed. There was no answer at the door and the inn’s manager refused to reveal any information about the guest. I can’t blame the guy. Unfortunately, Hope’s story about giving away her suitcase doesn’t instill much sympathy or confidence in any of its listeners. Except for me. Every time I hear it, I just want to take her into my arms and hold her. Who am I kidding? I want to do that regardless, but especially in this moment when she looks so disappointed.
“What should we do now, Nancy?” I ask, trying to lighten the situation. “We can wait around for the guest to come back, or we can go about our day and check on her later. It’s your call.”
Hope is stunning today wearing a long-sleeve top and skirt. As she glances around the inn’s courtyard, the green fabric swishes around her shapely legs. After a check of her watch, she meets my gaze with a determined look. “Let’s stick to our plan. It’ll be more fun than camping outside the guest’s room. The manager didn’t seem too happy when I suggested that. I think he was about ready to file a restraining order on the woman’s behalf.”
“He could definitely sense your passion.”
“I was kidding… mostly,” she adds with a halfhearted laugh. She gestures at herself and asks, “Are you sure you want to put up with this? I don’t exactly have it all together.”
The hesitation in her voice tugs at my heart. How does she not realize what an amazing woman she is? “If by put up, you mean care for, treasure, and love, sign me up. You don’t scare me, Hope, not by a long shot. You’re the stuff that sweet dreams are made of. I should know; I dreamt about you all night long.”
A pretty pink flush travels up her neck to the apples of her cheeks. In a hushed voice, she exclaims, “Shaney! Is it okay for you to be having dreams like that?”
“I don’t know where your mind is,” I tease her, “but these were all PG dreams.”
“I didn’t mean that!” Her cheeks are nearly as red as her hair now. “I mean is it normal to be dreaming about the same person so much?”
“I’m pretty sure it is. That was the best night of sleep that I’ve had in a long time.”
“Oh, stop. You’re just saying that.”
“Because it’s true.” Before I can say more to convince Hope, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, and my stomach sinks a little to see my sister’s name on the screen. “It’s Amelia.”
“I wonder how she’s feeling? Answer it!”
I put the call on speakerphone. “Hey, sis, how are you feeling?”
“A lot better! How are you guys?”
“That’s great to hear.” I try to sound as enthusiastic as I can without revealing my disappointment. The sooner Amelia feels better, the sooner she’ll be able to come to Solvang, which will cut my time with Hope short. “We’re good. Aren’t we, Hope?”
“Mm-hmm. The inn you booked, Ames, is really cute and so is the whole town. We tried ?bleskivers yesterday, too, and they’re just as good as I thought they’d be.”
“And Shane? Is he behaving himself?”
Hope smiles at me. “He’s being a perfect gentleman. He let me have the bed all to myself and slept on the floor.”
“I would hope so. He can be such a blanket hog. There was one family trip where we had to share a bed and I woke up with no covers, not even a corner.”
“I remember that trip,” I pipe up. “Wasn’t that the one where I ended up on the floor in the middle of the night after you kicked me in your sleep?”
“That’s because you stunk up the whole room when you far?—”
“Ahem!” I cut my sister off before she can spill any more incriminating evidence about me. “We’re about to head out, sis, so we’ll talk to you later. Remember to stay hydrated.”
“Hold on, I was going to tell you guys that I should be able to drive down tomorrow, assuming I have no problems keeping food down today.”
“Tomorrow?”
“So soon?”
Hope and I answer in unison. The surprised and somewhat disappointed look on her face matches how I feel, and for that I’m grateful. That has to be a sign that she’s taking my words to heart.
“It almost sounds like you guys don’t want me to come?” Amelia responds, confused.
“No, of course not!” Hope elbows me. “We want you to come, don’t we, Shaney?”
“Of course. We just don’t want you to push yourself if you’re not fully recovered yet. It’s a four-hour drive, and possibly longer if there’s traffic. And the rest stops along the way aren’t exactly five-star.”
“I know, but I don’t want to miss out on any more than I already have. I want to celebrate my 30th birthday with my best friend, not by myself!”
“And you will, Ames!” Hope reassures her. “Your birthday’s not till Thursday. I’m sure you’ll be all better then.”
“And I don’t have to drive back up for work until Thursday afternoon,” I add, “so there’s no rush. I’m rather enjoying my time off. You were right, sis, about me needing to take a vacation. This was long overdue. So, if you want to take another day or two to recover, you totally should.”
There’s a pause on the line before Amelia says, “You’re kind of being weird right now, Shane. Anyways, I’ll see how I feel in the morning and let you guys know. I’m going back to bed. Bye.”
As soon as the call ends, Hope sighs. “I’m a horrible friend. I’m supposed to be on this trip with Ames, but I’m not all that upset that she’s not here.” Her voice trails off as she bites her lower lip. “What am I doing?”
“I think you’re enjoying your time with me?”
“I guess, but what about Ames?”
I can tell her guilt is eating her up inside, so even though I know I’ll regret my suggestion later, I say to Hope, “We’ll call her back tonight and tell her to come down tomorrow if that’ll make you feel better.”
“It won’t, but okay. Thanks for understanding, Shaney.”
“No biggie. It’s not the first time I’ve had to share you with my sister. But if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have met you, so I can’t get mad about it. Let’s just enjoy our time together, okay?” I extend my hand to Hope and pray that she accepts it.
A couple of seconds pass in which I nearly lose my guts and pull my hand back, but Hope finally laces her fingers with mine. She gives me a shy smile and says, “Let’s go.”
We may only have a day left to spend together in Solvang, but I’m going to make every moment count.