Part 1
It was a hot, humid June day. The sky was clear, moisture filled the air, and the heat of the sun blazed down on the earth. Will Krudski drove through rural Massachusetts, the only thing keeping him cool was the wind that blew against his face. It was a surreal moment for him, as the trees that surrounded the road quickly passed him by. In the distance, glimpses of the glistening lake could be seen. The place that he once called home was now so foreign to him. As an eighteen-year-old high school graduate, Will left New Rawley and never looked back. There was nothing for him here—not even his childhood friends or his family could give him reason to stay or even come back for a visit. Until now that is.
Three months had passed since Will left New York City. His bittersweet farewell from the only woman he had ever loved left him questioning everything—especially himself. He had loved Jacqueline Pratt for so long that he wondered who he was before it all came down. With Hamilton's return, Will decided that there was only one thing to do—leave. So, he packed his bags and drove away and just as he had when he left his hometown—he never looked back. Will didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do, only that it had to be anywhere but where she was. For months now, he'd traveled up and down the East Coast, as far down as Savannah, Georgia and as far north as Waterville, Maine. Stopping for days at a time, taking in the local sights, overcoming his writer's block through this sort of adventure; finding inspiration and encouragement from the everyday people he met along the way. From this, he found a kind of freedom and solace. His feelings for Jake remained, but the intense pain that was once unbearable now faded with each day.
Strangely, he was headed towards the place he thought he'd never see again. As he reached the main street, he looked around him and in doing so, noted that everything about the small town seemed unchanged. The buildings retained the same shades of paint and signs; the houses, refurbished rather than rebuilt in newer, contemporary styles. The American flag still waved high above the buildings from the flagpole.
Then his eyes came upon a place that in the years when he lived in New Rawley, was more familiar to him than his own house—the gas station. There he saw Bella Banks, preoccupied within the station itself, totally unaware that Will was not far away.
He pulled up to the pumps, honked the horn, and awaited her arrival. Bella dashed outside and without looking at the driver asked, "How can I help you?"
She observed the red Mustang convertible, surmising that it was another family headed to Rawley Academy for the graduation ceremony that would take place that evening. The voice that answered her query took her by complete surprise.
"Hurry up townie!" Will laughed as he got out of the car. "Is this what you call service?"
Bella shrieked with delight. He had changed since she had last seen him, but she didn't know exactly how. Somehow, he was just different. She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him firmly.
"Nice to see you too," she answered happily. "It's been forever!"
Released from her hold, he smiled at her, "So it has."
For a while, Will scrutinized her. Her hair was still a lush, golden blond accentuating her rosy cheeks and sun-kissed complexion. Her frame was small, yet not delicate. He grinned, thinking of how this girl, who he once played with in the sandbox, had turned into a beautiful and strong woman. She couldn't compare to Jake and never would, because to Will, Bella was like a sister. A sister who, unfortunately, he'd left behind. Now, he had the chance to make it up to her—or try to at least.
"I almost forgot how much I missed you," he said finally.
"Really? Because I haven't missed you at all," Bella replied jokingly. She really had missed him—a lot. New York City was only three hours from New Rawley, but it seemed like a million miles away. They hardly ever saw each other and when they did, it wasn't enough. Bella missed him and Jake terribly. However, she never went to New York because…Scout was there too. The uncertainty of how she would react if she ever saw him again was ample reason to stay away.
The sound of Will's stomach growling broke her introspection. She looked at the watch on her wrist, seeing that it was well after one. "Hungry eh? Come on…let's eat. Friendly's…my treat."
"Can't resist an offer like that! Lunch at New Rawley's finest dining establishment…I'd be honored."
Bella's eyes twinkled with merriment and taking Will by the hand, led him toward the restaurant.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Jake sat in Scout's office, staring out the window, impatiently waiting for him. She eyed the clock on his desk—3:00 p.m. Scout was never late for his appointments, but today was the exception. They agreed to meet at 2:30, but he was no were to be found. She drummed her fingers on the desk in front of her and propped her elbow atop it, resting her chin on her hand.
"Jake! Sorry about that! I missed the train," Scout exclaimed as he came in the door, gasping for air. He looked like hell—clothes disheveled, hair ruffled, dark bags circled underneath his eyes. He stood in the doorway, pausing to catch his breath.
Incredulously, Jake answered, "What's up Calhoun? You're late—you're never late! And you look as if you've been run over—twice!"
"Like I said," he explained, "I missed the train."
"Uh huh," she retorted, unconvinced. "Let's get going secret agent man! We have a lot to do before Saturday and time is running out!"
"Give…me…a…second."
"What did you do? Run over here? Where were you anyway?"
"Staten Island."
Confused, "Huh? What in the hell were you doing in Staten Island?"
"Visiting…a friend," he replied hesitantly.
"A friend? Since when have you had a friend that lives there?" Jake was totally perplexed by what he said. It wasn't that having a friend in Staten Island was unbelievable—the thought of Scout Calhoun, king of the Upper West Side, in Staten Island…now that was unreal.
"Since now." Jake studied him carefully. He was keeping something from her…that much she could tell. Scout was usually up front about things. When he hid something it normally meant one thing—it had to do with a girl.
Patting him on the back, she walked out the door and said, "Ahh…I get it. Come on lover boy…you can tell me all about her in the cab."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Bella and Will sat in the booth by the window—the same one that the gang would occupy whenever they were at Friendly's. They sat across from each other, half eaten burgers on their plates—cold, half eaten burgers to be exact. The two had been sitting there for more than three hours—laughing, joking, talking about nothing and everything. Will and Bella were completely relaxed with each other. The distance between them failed to trample their friendship.
"So, how was Maine? It's beautiful this time of year isn't it?" Bella questioned. "Everyone says to go there instead of the Cape. I've always wanted to but…I just never got the chance." Suddenly she seemed sad. Besides the four years she spent going to school at the University of Connecticut and her sporadic jaunts to Boston, she'd never left New Rawley. After awhile, she began to think it was her niche to live there—perpetually.
Catching the underlying melancholy in her statement, Will said, "We'll just have to go there someday soon."
Grinning, "I'd like that."
Will glanced at the clock on the wall. 4:26. "Whoa. I didn't know we'd been here this long."
Bella chuckled, "Maybe we should get going. We wanna get to New York before it gets too late and I still have some stuff to do."
"Okay."
They rose from their seats and walked out. When they reached the door to the station, Will stopped. Not hearing his footsteps behind her, Bella turned and asked, "You all right?"
"I was just thinking…what time does the graduation start?"
"I don't know. Five maybe? I should remember. It's the only other time of year that we get that many Beamers rolling up to fill up their tanks."
Laughing, Will rebutted, "Yeah, you'd think so."
"Why you ask?"
"I think I need to pay a visit to an old friend."
Knowing exactly whom Will was referring to, she smiled. "Guess I'll see you later then?"
He nodded and began his way towards Rawley Academy.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Hamilton sat with his arms crossed in front of him, head down, eyes closed, falling in and out of sleep, during his subway ride home from Brooklyn. He spent the entire day there, taking shots of the borough for a photography book of New York City. Shortly after his return to the city, he landed a book deal with a sister company of The National Geographic. He had a couple more months until his deadline, but the summer always gave the metropolis a different feel. Unlike some of the other places he had photographed over the years, New York definitely had seasons.
The subway reached his stop, causing Hamilton to get up and make his way through the mass of people crowding the car. Carefully guarding his photo equipment, he exited the train and quickly made his way up the stairs to the street. Drops of perspiration trickled across his face, his shirt sticking to his saturated back. A ray of light hit his eyes, inducing him to squint as he rummaged through his bag for his sunglasses.
Not far from the station was their apartment. He sighed in relief upon entering his residence, for the air conditioning flowed throughout it, making it much cooler than it was outside.
Before he even put his things down, the sound of footsteps making their way down the stairs filled his ears.
Moments later, Jake appeared and a wide smile spread across Hamilton's face.
"Hi boy," she greeted him. "How was your day?"
Her arms around his neck, he gave her a quick kiss. "Exhausting. It's like 130 degrees out there. Lugging around that equipment all day didn't help."
Wiping beads of moisture from his forehead, she kissed him again and told him, "You're home now so you can just relax. I'll take care of everything."
She moved towards the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was nothing—absolutely nothing. "I guess we're gonna have to go out to eat," she shrugged.
Hamilton groaned. He was so tired it was unbelievable. "I don't think I can make it out there," he whined.
Jake rejoined, "Okay you big baby! I'll run to the market." She swiftly walked to the door, picking up her purse next to Hamilton, who was now lounging on the couch. "I'll be back in a half hour." She closed the door, but a second later was back again. "Oh yeah, Scout's upstairs taking care of some things for Saturday. I'm sure he'd love your help." With that, she was gone again.
Needing to change out of his sweat stained attire, he slowly made his way up the steps. He went into their room momentarily and changed his shirt, then went across the hall to where Scout was.
"Hey Ham," Scout said, acknowledging Hamilton's presence although his eyes remained on the computer screen in front of him.
"Hey." Hamilton took note of the weary look in Scout's eyes. Still in his rumpled shirt and tie, Scout finally looked at him and observed Hamilton's own fatigued demeanor.
"You look like shit man. What have you been up to all day?" asked Scout.
"In Brooklyn, taking pictures for the book." Hamilton rubbed the back of his head and shot Scout a confused look. "You think I look like crap? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?"
"I've had quite a day myself."
"You have an air conditioned office and a secretary, how could you have a rough day?"
Scout remained silent and instead, fixed his stare once again on the computer screen. Hamilton glared at him, waiting for a riposte.
Hamilton raised an eyebrow and stated satirically, "Ooooh I see…this is the part where you keep it to yourself and it all comes out when we get stranded in the middle of nowhere, forced to spend the night in an old, creepy cabin."
Scout was not amused. "Ha Ha Ha Fleming. If you must know, I was in Staten Island this afternoon."
"You? Staten Island? You gotta be joking."
"That's what Jake said."
"Well yeah! Who wouldn't say that!"
Turning serious, Scout got up from his seat and closed the open door behind Hamilton. "Ham, I'll tell you why I was there, but you have to swear not to tell Jake. Not yet at least."
The expression on his face was one of concern and curiosity. What in the world was so important that Scout didn't want Hamilton telling Jake? He told Jake everything and didn't Scout trust Jake enough to understand whatever it was he was so adamant about keeping secret? Then, Hamilton's thoughts switched gears. Was Jake keeping something from him? Had she asked Scout not to tell him about it? Now, he had to know what was on Scout's mind. Whoever or whatever it was about.
"I won't say anything. Promise."
Scout sighed and rubbed his eyes. Extending his arms towards a recliner, he offered, "I think you better sit down."
