Posted by hummingbird on 2/18/2014, 9:45 am VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Chapter Eleven
I don't like this shirt either. Maybe I should wear the green one, Nora thought.
She started to unbutton and toss the blue shirt onto the bed with the others she had discarded.
No! What is wrong with you, Nora Buchanan? This shirt is fine! Get a grip! This is not a big deal!
“No big deal,” she said aloud. “Just showing an old friend some of the local sights…that’s how I have to look at this. Why did I even agree to this?” she asked herself shaking her head. Her thoughts continued to goad her, I move seven hours away, and he still finds me and invades my heart. I can't let this happen.
But it was happening. She could feel it. She tossed and turned for hours last night after her visit with Bo. She replayed their conversation over and over again in her mind. She thought about how her heart raced and her hands trembled just seeing him again. She thought about how his eyes looked into hers at moments with remorse...at moments with teasing. I'm worse than a giddy school girl. Pathetic, her thoughts berated her.
She jumped when she heard a knock on the screen door. “He’s here,” she whispered to herself. Then, in her mind...Calm down. It's...no...big...deal...
She could see him peering in the door as she calmly walked down the hall.
“Good morning,” he said as she approached.
“Hi, Bo. Come on in,” she said opening the door for him. The diaper bag and backpack were ready by the door.
“All I have to do is put some sunscreen on Matthew, then we’ll be ready.” She took Matthew out of his playpen and sat him on the edge of the table while she rubbed the sunscreen onto his arms, legs, and cheeks.
“Hey Matthew,” Bo said. “You look happier than you were last night.” Then to Nora, “He’s really growing.”
“I know. This first year goes so quickly. He is already sitting up on his own and rolling around the room. Now he’s starting to rock on his knees. He’ll be crawling soon, I’m sure. I think he’ll do everything early.” She put a sunhat on his head. “I guess we’re ready.”
“Your cottage is nice,” Bo began, “Aren’t you going to give me a tour?”
“Sure. Remind me when we get back. I don’t want to miss the ferry.”
They enjoyed the ferry ride to the island. The sea was fairly calm and, while rain was in the forecast, so far, skies remained clear. Nora was surprised to find that, within a short amount of time, their conversation was flowing easily...just like old times.
They decided to get lunch before the lighthouse tour, so they found a table on the outside terrace of the Seaside Cafe.
“What’s good here?” asked Bo perusing the menu.
“Well, from what I’ve heard, everything is good here...but I’ve only been here once. I had the king crab legs, and they were excellent.”
They continued in silence for a few moments. Then Bo peered over the top of his menu at Nora. She felt his eyes watching her and glanced up.
“Let’s do something daring,” he said looking into her eyes.
“Daring? Just what do you have in mind?” she asked with a puzzled expression.
“I think we should both order something we have never tried before and then share like we used to.”
“Noooo. We can’t do that,” she said with a scrunched face. “Ewww...this is seafood, Bo. What if they bring something to the table with the head still on it. I just can’t eat something that is staring up at me. No,” she said shaking her head, ”I’m ordering the Coconut Shrimp. You can get what you like, then we’ll share if yours looks appetizing. How’s that?”
“I’m surprised at you. Where’s your sense of adventure, Red?” he asked with disappointment in his voice.
“Now when have you known me to be adventurous when it comes to food? Remember all of your unsuccessful attempts to get me to eat pizza with those little fish…? I like what I like. I’m playing it safe and ordering the shrimp.”
“Fine,” Bo said, “but, since I’m not sure what a lot of these items are, I’m just going to close my eyes and point.”
She laughed at him. “That’s crazy.”
“Well, I guess I’m just in a daring and crazy mood,” he said smiling. “Here goes.” He lifted his finger and plopped it down on the menu. Under his finger was the word Calamari.
“Calamari,” he read. “What’s that?”
“I don’t know, Mr.Adventure, but it’s what you’re having for lunch!” she said with a grin.
“And you,” he said. “Remember, we’re sharing...”
“Only if it doesn’t look icky and have eyes staring at me,” she reminded him.
They placed their order, then Nora fed Matthew while they waited for their food. When it finally arrived, Nora was relieved to see that calamari did not have eyes peering up at them. This was deep-fried and almost looked like onion rings.
“Ready to try this?” asked Bo.
“You first. You’re the daring one, remember?”
Bo bit into one of the rings. Nora watched him. “Well?” she asked.
“Not bad,” he said. “It doesn’t have a strong flavor. The sauce is excellent. Try it.”
Nora was chewing her first bite when the waiter came back to their table.
“And how is everything today?” the waiter asked them.
“Good,” Bo replied. “Hey...what exactly is this, by the way?”
“Calamari? Why, that’s squid, sir.”
“Oh...it’s squid. I see. Well...thank you…”
Bo looked at Nora as the waiter walked away. He laughed at the expression on her face as she quickly swallowed the bite and rinsed it down with her drink.
“Come on, Red. Admit it. You thought it was good until you found out what it was.”
“Bo, I had Matthew at the aquarium last week. Do you know how creepy squids are? They have these... creepy eyes and these tentacles that…” She moved her fingers back and forth. “Uh...no. I can’t get past that visual. You can have your calamari. I’ll stick to the shrimp.”
“Well, shrimp aren’t exactly pretty little things either. They…”
She held a finger against his lips. Still chewing a shrimp she said, “Stop, Bo. You are not going to ruin this shrimp for me. You want to try it? The sauce is amazing.” She dipped the shrimp and fed him a bite.
He chewed nodding slowly. “You’re right. The shrimp is better. We were going to share, remember?” He looked at her with questioning eyes.
She smiled and pushed the shrimp plate between them.
“I’ll share...we’ll order more if we need to.”
* * * * * * *
After lunch, Bo took his turn with Matthew’s backpack as the explored some of the town’s shops. They visited a few gift shops, but spent the majority of their time in an antique shop. Nora found and purchased a few things to decorate her cottage.
After the shopping, they bought ice cream cones and made their way toward the lighthouse. You could get there by walking through and out of town, but they took the scenic route walking along the beach.
Nora glanced at Bo eyeing his cone. “Do you want to taste my ice cream?” she asked.
“No. I like what I have,” he said.
“What was that called again?” she questioned.
“Yazoo Sue with Rosemary Bar Nuts,” he quipped. “Again...I was daring. What did you get? That looks pretty bland next to my mine.”
“Delaware Peach,” she answered. “It’s very good...peachy.”
They continued licking their cones in silence as they strolled up the beach.
“Oh come on, Buchanan. I shared my shrimp with you. Just one taste?”
Bo laughed. “Fine...and I’ll taste your boring one.”
They leaned over each other’s cones to get a lick, but Nora licked too hard. The ice cream fell off the top of Bo’s cone sliding down the front of his shirt and landing in Nora’s hand.
“Oh no! Oh Bo, I’m so sorry!” She crammed the ice cream back on top of the cone, then looked at her hand and his messy shirt and finally into his face. She started laughing.
“You find this funny?” he questioned.
“No,” she said laughing, “but your expression...you should have seen your face.”
“And you should see yours.” He started laughing.
“What? What’s the matter with it?” she asked startled.
“You have Yazoo Sue all over your nose and chin,” he said.
“Are you kidding me? Well, we’re a pair, aren’t we? Luckily I have baby wipes.”
She took two wipes from Matthew’s bag and started cleaning the ice cream stain from Bo’s shirt front. Just his close proximity and touching his chest were having an affect on Nora. She looked up into his eyes solemnly.
“Here,” she said handing him the wipe. “Maybe you should do this.”
“I’ll just help you with yours since you can’t see what you’re doing,” he said dabbing her nose and chin.
She looked into his eyes and smiled sheepishly. “Your shirt’s a mess. I’m really sorry, Bo.”
“It’s not a big deal,” he told her. “At least you saved my ice cream,” he said. “By the way, your boring peach is good too.”
“Told you so,” she said.
They continued their stroll toward the lighthouse talking about a variety of things from the antiques she purchased to the beach roses growing along the sand. Nora was surprised that the conversation between them was so comfortable already. She was glad about that...she had missed her friend.
“You know, there is a legend that says this lighthouse is haunted,” Nora began.
“Really? Tell me about it.”
So Nora began the story of “Mad Maggie”, the ghost of the Southeast Lighthouse. “Legend has it that years ago one of the lighthouse keepers murdered his wife. He was tired of her “nagging” he said. One day he just lost control and hurled her down the lighthouse steps to her death. He claimed it was suicide but he was later convicted of her murder. Anyway, legend has it that her ghost, named “Mad Maggie” still haunts the lighthouse. She hates men because of what her husband did to her, so she tries to hurt them. But she never bothers women and children. I guess that means Matthew and I are safe, but you...better watch out Buchanan,” she said giving him an impish grin.
Just then Bo started twisting his shoulders and back.
“What’s the matter?” Nora asked. “Do you want me to take a turn with the backpack?”
“No…” Bo said. “I just feel like something is on my back...something feels wet.”
Nora looked at Matthew in the backpack.
“Ohhh,” she said getting back into the diaper bag.
“What is it?” Bo asked.
“Oh….well…...Matthew had a little accident...he...uh...spit up on your shirt.” She grimaced. “I’ll just clean it off with this wipe,” she said. “This has just not been your day, has it? Your shirt is a mess. Maybe it’s true...maybe Mad Maggie is after you,” she said with a glint in her eye.
Bo shook his head. “It wouldn’t surprise me. But...you know what they say…”
“What?”
“Spit happens.”
She rolled her eyes at his comedic efforts.
* * * * * * *
When they returned to the cottage later, Nora gave Bo the ten second tour.
“I know it’s small,” she said, “but it meets our needs right now. Of course, I’ll be happier when I finally get all this painting done. Everything takes so much longer than I expected.”
“That’s always the way it goes,” he agreed buttoning his clean shirt.
“Would you like me to pack you something for your trip? I have apples, some leftover pizza, root beer…?”
“No, that’s ok. I’ll need to stop along the way anyway. I should be getting started.”
He slowly made his way toward the door. Nora scooped up Matthew from where he was playing on the floor and they followed Bo to the porch.
“In spite of the shirt,” Bo said tossing it inside his car, “I had a great day...Thanks, Red.”
She smiled. “It was almost like old times, wasn’t it?” she said.
“Almost,” he agreed. “I’m really glad we were able to clear the air and spend some time together.”
“Me too,” she said.
Bo looked at Matthew. “Hey Buddy, you take care of your Mommy, ok?” He shook Matthew’s tiny hand. “And you,” he said to Nora, “take care of Matthew.”
Nora put her free arm around Bo’s neck and drew close to him for a hug. “Thanks for making this effort, Bo. I really appreciate it,” she told him. “Drive safely.”