Chapter 21 [Forty minutes later]
Henry leaned back as he watched the familiar landmarks pass by between the precinct and Abe's store. While many of the familiar places had come and gone, it gave him comfort to see some establishments that he'd known from half of a century or more still around….
…that even in a time of change, Familiarity's moorings comforted him…
He inhaled deeply and managed an almost dreamy smile while thinking of friends.
"Good thoughts, Henry?" Jo queried from the driver's seat.
"The best kind. Just remembering the best of the past instead of brooding." Suddenly he felt a wave of drowsiness buffeting his consciousness. He just managed to slap his hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn. "My word! Excuse me."
"I know the feeling. Close your eyes and nap a little if you need to. It's okay," she assured him. "It's been a long day."
For some reason, he felt a tug toward that nap. "Thank you. I believe I shall." He reclined ever so slightly and folded his hands across his lap. Then he closed his eyes to relax.
As he did, a bright light swept over him…..
[Somewhere Else]
A warm breeze tickled his nose and rustled his hair. The aroma of fresh coffee and salt air enticed his nose further. A Brahms concerto caressed his ears. "Mmmm….?"
"Relax, Henry. It's good to see you catching up on your sleep, Darling," a welcome voice assured him gently.
His eyes snapped open. He jumped in surprise to find himself sitting in a wicker chair under a veranda. He saw gentle palm trees swaying in the aforementioned breeze. The ocean lapped gently against the shore some fifty yards away. In front of him, two scones sat on a plate with a medium-sized dab of butter alongside. A mug of coffee steamed invitingly for him to imbibe it.
Most importantly Abigail smiled at him from across the table's expanse. "Hello."
"Allo indeed," he concurred. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I felt it was time to talk about things and about Jo," she indicated pointedly. She sighed deeply.
"What have I done?" He panicked feeling that he'd somehow disappointed or worse…scandalized…his beloved by being friends and entertaining some musings about being more.
"You are fine, Henry, in that regard at least. Please settle yourself," she admonished while sipping on her coffee and sampling a scone on her own plate. "And do try some of these. Pierre does wonders in the kitchen."
He cut a scone and spread some butter on it. From the way it melted in his mouth and flavored its passage down his throat with subtle cherry and vanilla musings, he knew she was right as usual. "Marvelous indeed. So what is going on?"
She considered her next words carefully. "You need to proceed further down the path, Henry. We had our time. I will always love you."
"And I you," he insisted. "What do you mean move further?"
"You are meant to be with Jo now, Henry. I will always be there to watch over you both. So will Ramon who is here too," she informed him firmly. "You have to embrace this new life. Please stop trying to kill yourself. It is such a bloody waste of time. Really!"
"I am out of place and admittedly tired of living, Abigail," he insisted morosely.
"You have your purpose, Henry. You aren't just meant to be Jo's companion. You are also her teacher in the ways of your kind. As you yourself have said, there are ways you all have to live to survive in the world just as we all have to deal with such things. Did that man aboard the rescue schoonernot tell you so? Really now! You two are such a pair indeed," she continued. She smiled. "You both will see each other soon enough. When you do, be prepared to help Jo deal with the ways of his kind. That is your task."
"I am not the best student. How can I bloody well be a decent teacher?" he queried impatiently.
"Perhaps in sharing what we know, you will learn how to learn, Henry. It is her journey that you're sharing in just as she is sharing in yours," Abigail admonished. "Open up, my Love. Take her hand. I know it will take time but she is the Companion now." She smiled. "Let it go…" She leaned across the table and kissed his cheek. "Bonne chance, mon Coeur."
And with that the bright light swept him away again…..
[Jo's Car]
He suddenly awoke with a jerk and a panicked stare on his face. He looked around to find himself back in the car about five blocks from the antique store. "My word!"
"Figures you'd have a nightmare after what we've been through. You're going to be all right?" Jo wondered.
He rubbed his forefingers across his temples. "Yes. I was in a tropical paradise of sorts."
She snorted incredulously. "And the problem with that is? Henry, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I would still be there if it was me."
He shrugged heavily. "I suppose." His head drooped sadly. "Abigail was there."
She scrunched her eyes with even greater levels of incredulity. "You're losing me here. Okay. Tropical paradise…your deceased wife's there with you. What was there a damn hurricane or something going on?"
"No. It was very pleasant weather wise."
"I'm lost. So what was so depressing, Henry?" Jo puzzled. "If it was Ramon arranging that for me, I would have been excited."
Henry simply nodded silently soaking in her words. His mind struggled to come up with a retort that wouldn't offend but simply explain Abigail's point of view.
"Hello? Earth to Henry? Any time now. I'll even take one of those lectures," she insisted.
He sighed deeply. "The truth?"
"That would be refreshing in the midst of all of these questions. Yes," she concurred.
"All right." He summoned up his courage and declared, "She told me that our time was over. I needed to be focusing on you now."
"I see." Jo recalled her asking him about why he gave up being a doctor and the answer he'd given to her. "That sounds like what she and Ramon said to me. We both need to be moving on, Henry. We need to be there for each other. Is that what she also said?"
"Precisely," he agreed.
She shrugged. "It's not easy having Ramon pushing me away either. Still I guess I can deal with where he's pushing me toward…stuffiness and all." She smirked at her partner to soften the rejoinder. "I can deal with your issues. Let me guess, she also gave you the 'quit trying to kill yourself' lecture too, right?"
"Yes," he admitted tersely.
"Well good for her! Henry, you're the best damn coroner I've ever worked with. You're an asset to the department in so many ways. I admit I went back down into Dust Bunny Central and found your old file from those days. You were some cop for those days. Too bad you can't tell Reese. She might promote you to Detective on the spot," she insisted. "Yes you help us with your expertise. Still I'm glad Reece lets us partner up on cases. It gets you out of that damn mausoleum and into the real world! Abigail told me something too if you want to hear it," she lectured.
"Go ahead." He really didn't want to listen but knew he had to.
"She told me that I was supposed to help you rediscover the joy of life while I'm learning from you. We have to teach each other, Henry! That and get you to liven up your wardrobe a bit," she admonished with a bit of teasing at the end. "Just promise me something?"
He really felt uneasy about her request. He almost could feel her vibes crashing up against his resolve. "All right."
"Such enthusiasm there, I have to say," she quipped half-seriously before moving on to her main gist. "Henry, promise me that you'll stop trying to kill yourself permanently. Maybe having that creep, Adam or whatever his name is, around would want to make you do that. But you're going to stop that. Bad enough you've done it accidentally. I know I'll do a few too. But I'm stuck with you now. I'm not going to let you die. Got it?" She went silent for a second before pressing, "Promise me, Henry. I mean it."
He ground his teeth knowing that he had no other way he could go. "I promise."
"There! You see? Not so hard even for you." She parked the car beside the antique store. "Right on cue, we're here. Come on. Good food awaits."
He slowly emerged from the car's passenger side and looked around at his surroundings. Despite Familiarity's ties, he did feel transformed in certain ways by the drive over there. His ladies' admonitions had melted the ice surrounding his heart pushing him toward some uncertain future. He didn't know what it would feel like to have faith again…to live again without trying to die….
Still a good dinner and companionship seemed like an excellent place to start all things considered.
And so it would go…..