Chapter 7d06
Chapter 7 (Draft 06)
There was a knock at the apartment door and Sally knew it had to be Ethan. She was praying he would stop by her apartment again like he had done so many times after their argument over the book. It was her intention this time to answer the door, make her apologies, and salvage whatever portion of their friendship was possible.
Expecting to hear his voice calling loudly once more from the hallway, Sally was nervous and a little fearful as she approached the door. She didn't realize until after their literary alliance had broken down just how much she had grown dependent on the man. Ethan Dodge had unknowingly helped Sally to reflect upon the world in ways far beyond what she could have imagined on her own. But more than their love of the individual books they shared, Sally was sure they were leveraging something much more important from each other.
There was an easy closeness and sincerity connecting the two of them; an ability to share their deepest secrets and feelings in ways they never could with anybody else. The man had unknowingly become a necessary part of Sally's existence in much the same way she needed air to breath. Without him, she felt hindered and suffocated. She missed their deep, reflective discussions more than anything she had in life with the possible exception of her daughter Mary. Of course, the irony of the situation had not escaped her. Their quarrel had centered itself upon the relationship with her late husband, whose memory Sally now realized was much less important to her than the damage it had caused to her relationship with Ethan. She missed the man terribly.
Sally peered through the peephole at the person on the other side of the door; she stepped back and frowned. It wasn't Ethan Dodge standing in the hallway after all.
"Yes?" Sally called out to the stranger on the other side.
"Mrs. Carmichael?" replied a deep voice. "My name is Police Detective Coleman. May I speak to you, please?"
Sally was surprised. She thought about it and then came forward to unbolt the locks, but left the chain attached as she opened the door to look out. A tall man with a solid build stood on the other side in a suit and tie.
"Yes? Is something wrong?" Sally asked the man shyly.
"Are you Sally Carmichael?"
"Yes… I am."
"I'm sorry to bother you at dinner, ma'am, but I'd like to ask you some questions about some recent burglaries in the neighborhood." He lifted his hand to show her his badge.
"Burglaries… in… in our building?"
"Oh no, ma'am. A couple of businesses a few blocks away. Can I come in?"
"Well…" Sally looked back unconsciously to survey the level of messiness in the room behind her, "I really don't know how I can be of help to you, but… yes, of course."
She slid the chain and opened the door fully. At once, the man standing on the other side of her threshold looked much more menacing, but his voice remained casual. It was obvious he understood how his intimidating presence affected those in which he came into contact.
"Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate your time." He stepped inside.
"You said there was a robbery?"
The man looked around the apartment appraisingly before finally turning to frown suspiciously at her. He paused and then removed a small pad from his inside pocket. He flipping it open to a page where Sally could see had already scribbled some notes.
"You… are Sally Carmichael?"
"Yes… I am."
His smile slowly returned. "My apologies, ma'am; I was told to look for an elderly woman in her mid-nineties. Forgive me for being so forward, but… you don't look your age."
Sally raised an eyebrow. "I hope that doesn't mean you think I looked older! I only recently got out of the hospital," she said, unconsciously preening her hair, "and your visit was a surprise."
"Oh no, ma'am. You look amazing, much younger than I…" he stopped to look down at his notebook again.
"You said you had a question?" Sally finally said.
The man was writing in his book and then looked up. "That's right. There have been a number of burglaries in the area over the last few weeks and I've been tasked to investigate them." He swung his jacket to the side to reach into his back pocket and Sally could see a firearm strapped to his side. He pulled out his wallet and then handed her his business card. Sally read it carefully.
"Senior Investigator, Residential Crime Prevention Coordinator, West Precinct Burglary Unit." She handed the card back. "And… how can I help you?"
"Do you know a man named Ethan Dodge? He owns the bookstore around the corner from you."
"Oh dear," Sally yelped, suddenly terrified. "Is Ethan all right?"
The man immediately looked to sooth her concerns. "Oh yes, we're sure he's fine. It's just that we believe Mr. Dodge is out of town and we were hoping to talk with him about the break-ins."
"Oh… I didn't realize that Ethan was away." She looked up at the detective, afraid for Ethan again. "Don't tell me somebody broke into the store while Ethan was traveling? All those books! His collection of rare books! Oh my… have they been…?"
"No, ma'am. We don't believe his store was robbed, but we need to be sure. Do you know how we might contact Mr. Dodge? Do you have access to his store?"
"I have his telephone number for his… ummm… what do you call them?" she made a gesture like she was talking on a telephone.
"A cell phone?"
"Yes, yes. That's right. He gave it to me after I borrowed one of his books. Get me get it for you."
She found her purse and then the number. "Here it is."
"Very good, ma'am. Thank you. I'll call him when I get back to the precinct to check if he's seen anything suspicious or anything he didn't think to report. He's the last business owner I need to speak to on that block."
"He has a new girl working for him. Maybe you should talk to her as well."
The detective seemed surprised. "He does? Would you know the girl's name?"
"I think he said her name was… Laura." Sally stopped to think. "I'm sorry; I don't know her last name."
"That's fine," the man said, writing the name down. "I'll check into it. Well, that's all I needed. Thank you for speaking with me." He started toward the door. "We're going to try and contact Mr. Dodge tonight, but I'd like to ask you to keep an eye out for him. If you happen to see him, please have him contact me immediately." He handed his card back to her again. "You can keep that."
"Yes… of course, I will."
She opened the door and the man stepped outside.
"Detective Coleman?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"I don't understand. Why did you come to see me about Ethan?"
"Ma'am?"
"I mean… surely with all the other shops around Ethan's store, there must have been somebody who could have given you this information."
The man shrugged knowingly. "Well… to tell you the truth, it hasn't been so easy to find anybody who knows that much about him. I did ask around, but the only person anybody could think of that might know where he is… was you. It was easy to find you once I got your name. Unlike Ethan Dodge, you're very well known in the neighborhood." He smiled at her and then looked down at the phone number she had given to him. "And you proved to be very helpful indeed. Thank you again.
"Please keep an eye out for Mr. Dodge and have him contact me as soon as possible. If he has valuable property inside his store, I'd like to warn him about these burglaries."
Sally nodded. "Oh — I most certainly will. Thank you, detective." She closed the door and didn't bother to lock it. She immediately headed for the closet to get her coat.
Outside the apartment building, Detective Coleman was already smirking. He stepped down onto the sidewalk, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. He looked back up at the window of Sally's apartment as he lit a cigarette and then smiled again as he continued down the sidewalk alone. When he reached the end of the block, he tossed his cigarette and opened the driver's door of a black sedan and sat down behind the wheel.
"Well?" said a woman's voice next to him.
The man looked over and smiled at Kari Dietz.
"She bought it."
"She wasn't too upset, was she?"
The man leaned over to put his face almost nose to nose with hers. "How about a kiss first?" he said, grinning expectantly.
Kari fell back. "That's old news, Robert," she replied, rolling her eyes and looking out the passenger side window.
The detective laughed. "Oh come on, Kari. It was always good between us. Why'd you call me then?"
She looked back at him. "I told you… I wanted to help a friend."
"You know… I could get into a lot of trouble for faking a police investigation like this. I could be suspended for doing this for you."
She scowled back at him. "Funny… you didn't mention that when I first asked you to help me put Sally and Ethan back together again."
He leaned in again. "Come on, just a little kiss; for old time's sake?"
Kari rolled her eyes again and then quickly kissed him.
"Now — now. I know for a fact that you can do much better than that, Ms. Dietz."
Kari smiled and then leaned in. "Okay… thank you for helping me," she said softly, and she kissed him long and deep. He groaned as he slid his hand over her waist and then up to her right breast. There was a delay and then Kari pushed back.
"You never knew when to stop, Robert," she said scathingly. "Is that why you agreed to help me?"
He fell back and smiled. "If you're asking me if I wanted you in the sack again… the answer is definitely yes." He leaned in again. "Come on, Kari. You have to admit, what we had together was fantastic."
She thought about it and couldn't stop herself from smiling. She reached up to softly touch his face. "It was good, Robert, but… we had a lot of problems too."
"Most of which were caused by your changing shifts, but we're both on days now. It would be better this time, Kari. Come on… what do you say?"
She looked into the man's dark brown eyes. Kari always loved Robert Coleman's eyes. Even in the dark and in the heat of their building passion, she always loved the way his tender eyes roamed longingly over her body. He was the only man she ever knew who wanted more of her even while they made love.
She leaned over to kiss him again. "Maybe…" she finally said. And then she looked over his shoulder.
"Oh, my God! Sally's coming. Hide me! She can't see us together."
The man looked back and saw Sally Carmichael bustling quickly up the sidewalk.
"The old woman moves pretty fast for," he looked over at Kari again, "how old did you say she was?"
"Ninety-three — hide me!"
He leaned over to hug Kari again and waited until Sally passed by the car. They pulled apart to peer over the dash and watched her frantically jabbing at the button for the crossing.
"And there she goes, making a beeline right to the bookstore." Robert looked at Kari again and found her smiling as she watched the old woman crossing the street and onto the curb on the other side. The detective frowned as he watched Sally with her.
"I know you see your friend nearly every day, so maybe you haven't noticed."
Kari looked at him and caught him scrutinizing her friend as he would some suspicious criminal.
"Noticed what?"
He pointed out the window. "I want you to take a close look at her and tell me… if you were to see her for the very first time today… how old would you say she is?"
Kari frowned and then looked over at Sally moving urgently through the crowd on the other side of the street. She squinted to study her friend closely.
"I don't know… mid-seventies… maybe."
"More like early sixties to me," he replied appraisingly, "and I'm very good at guessing a person's age. It's a talent I've always had even when I was growing up." He looked at Kari staring back at him. "Did I ever tell you I used to work the Guess Your Age booth at the wharf in Frisco while in college?"
Kari raised an eyebrow, and then turned to watch Sally continue down the street again. Her old boyfriend was right. Sally Carmichael looked years younger than when she was released from the hospital just a few weeks ago. Although she wasn't all that different to look at in the face, Kari usually didn't see Sally walking alone on the street. The way she moved, and especially the way she darted quickly left and right to avoid those passing going the other way. Robert was right; Sally was amazing.
The detective leaned over next to Kari's ear to watch Sally turn the corner. "Yep… no more than sixty-two, I would guess," Kari looked back at him and he smiled at her, "and I went a whole week in that booth without giving up a single prize for being wrong."
Sally was surprised when she found Ethan's bookstore open for business five minutes later. She walked in to the familiar tinkle of the bell and the fragrant smell of fresh stationary.
"I'll be right there," said a girl's voice in the back.
A few seconds later, "Hello, may I help you?" The girl Sally had seen the last time she was in the store came forward, smiling widely. "Oh, hello. You're Mr. Dodge's friend, right?"
"Sally Carmichael," Sally said quickly. "Is Ethan… I mean… is Mr. Dodge out of town?"
"Sally?"
She turned and found Ethan coming out of the reading room.
"Ethan! Oh… I thought… that you were traveling."
The man was coming forward quickly, his smile widening.
"Sally… it's so wonderful to see you again. Please… can I talk to you? I'm so very sorry, Sally, about the book, I mean. You have to believe me when I say I didn't mean to hurt you, I could never…"
"Ethan…"
"hurt you in any way on purpose. But I know what I did must have seemed insensitive."
"Ethan…"
"Sally, I'll do anything to make it up to you. I can't apologize enough for…"
"Ethan Dodge — enough!"
Ethan was staggered and immediately silenced. Sally came forward to stand before him, her purse clutched tight again.
"Ethan… I'm the one who should be apologizing to you." He looked like he was about to argue back, but she held up a hand to stop him. "Not another word, Ethan; not until I've said what I have to say."
She took a deep breath. "I was rude to you, Ethan. I was insecure with my feelings about my life and my husband, and I took out my frustrations on somebody I've come to regard as more than just a casual friend. I am very, very sorry for yelling at you without cause, for ignoring your virtuous attempts to reach out to me for the sake of our friendship, and most of all… for forcing you to think you did something wrong." Sally finally took a breath when the door tinkled behind her. Ethan never looked up. His eyes were completely focused on Sally's every word.
"I've missed you, Ethan. And I can only hope and pray that you will forgive me for my rudeness to you. My parents would be ashamed of me." The woman then took a step back from him, and Ethan could tell she was nervously waiting for his response.
Ethan couldn't stop his tears. He slowly reached out and took her hand in his. It was the very first time he had ever knowingly touched the woman, and he immediately noticed how soft her hand felt in his. He slowly bent down and kissed it, never breaking his gaze.
"My dearest friend; let us not lose our breath to speak,
"For you are the dearest thing to breathing in life.
"Let us not lose our sight to see one another,
"For you are the dearest of things in life to see.
"Let us not lose our passion one for the other in greeting,
"For passion defines itself in us.
"Let us be friends now and always,
"For now is short and always is fleeting.
Sally smiled gratefully and than came forward to hug him.
"I'm sorry… but I don't recognize the poet," she whispered to him, her eyes closed as she held him tight in her embrace.
He sniffed and then leaned back "Ethan M. Dodge… at your service… for a word, a good book or a poem, but always… as your friend, Sally."
They stared at each other for a very long time before another voice interrupted them.
"Well… it's about time you two made up."
They turned to find Kari standing below the bell at the door.
Sally immediately stepped back from Ethan, looking somewhat embarrassed by their obvious affections.
"Oh no, you two go right ahead. It's nice to see you together again."
Ethan smiled. "Hello, Kari. It's nice to see you again. Come in, come in."
Kari came forward to put her arm around Sally's shoulder. "I saw you coming this way on the street outside and decided to follow you. I see the two of you have finally made up?"
Sally looked again at Ethan, smiled, and then nodded.
"Good — it's about time. I came to take Sally to dinner, Ethan. You want to join us?" She looked up at the man and found him smiling.
"Only if you'll allow me the pleasure of buying."
Kari grinned, looked at Sally, and then back to Ethan. "Well I haven't seen a raise in nearly two years, so I won't argue." See looked at Sally again. "Whatdaya say, Sal?"
"I think… that would be lovely."
"Laura… can you close tonight?" Ethan hollered out, still staring at Sally.
"No problem," came the girl's voice from the back.
"Ladies?" Ethan said, sticking out a hooked elbow to each of them. "I've always wanted to try that new Italian place on Fifth Street. How does that sound to you?"
Kari was already on board when Sally thought of something.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Ethan. A police Detective Coleman came by my apartment a few minutes ago and he said he wanted to speak to you." She reached inside her purse and handed Ethan the policeman's business card. "He said there have been some burglaries in the area and he wanted to speak to you about them."
Ethan frowned as he took the card and read the information. "Burglaries? But I haven't heard of any burglaries."
"He was quite insistent that you call him. I think he's warning everybody in the neighborhood."
Ethan looked at Sally. "Okay… I'll call him first thing in the morning." He noticed Kari, examining a nearby shelf; she was a study of uncaring innocence. Ethan frowned and then looked down at the card again, regarding it skeptically.
Kari came forward to preen Sally's hair. "Sal, I have to tell you… you're looking absolutely fantastic these days. I was just telling a friend how wonderful you were doing."
Sally smiled. It was the second compliment she had gathered in the last hour. "Oh… well thank you, dear." She looked up at Ethan again. "What a very nice thing to say to an old woman."
Ethan found himself staring at her too. "She's right, Sally. You do look amazing." He stood back to seriously appraise her, raising his hand to his chin to think. "What have you done to yourself?"
Sally was surprised again. "What have I…? Nothing."
"No — seriously, Sal," Kari chimed in. "You have done something. You look… I don't know… younger." She looked at Ethan again for validation.
"Yes… exactly. My goodness, Sally, you look years younger than when…" he suddenly caught himself.
"When we were fighting?" Sally finished for him. "Well then, perhaps I should throw a tantrum a little more often if this is the praise I can expect in return."
Ethan moved in quickly. "No thank you. I like you just the way you are, Sally Carmichael." He stuck out his elbow toward her again. "Shall we?"
That night, the trio sat down to dinner and noticed Mario and his family nearby. They waved back at them.
"Sally! Oh it's so good to see you again," said Mario's wife, "reaching down quickly to kiss Sally on the cheek.
"Hello, Mary. It's good to see you again as well. You know Kari Dietz, of course, and this is Ethan Dodge." She pointed to Ethan who stood to shake the woman's hand.
"Hey… mister one-apple-a-day," Mario chimed in quickly, shaking Ethan's hand as well.
"You behave yourself, Mair, or I'll put a fork in your eye," Mary threatened him.
"What…? Hey, we're good friends now. The man's buying fruit almost as much as our beautiful Sal here; am I right?" Mario looked at Ethan for help.
"The best fruit in town. It just took me a while to appreciate it," Ethan answered. "Please… why don't you join us?"
"Oh, we don't want to impose," Mary said, politely.
"Please do," Kari added.
They motioned for the waiter and their tables were pushed together.
"So Ronald, I suppose you're soon off to college?" Sally asked Mario and Mary's son.
"Yes, ma'am. That is… if my father will ever cut me loose from working the fruit stand."
Sally looked scandalized. "Mario Bianchetti, you cannot keep that boy your slave forever! It's time to let him go into the world."
Mario put his hands up in surrender. "Madonn! He works until the first of the month and then he's gone forever and I'm supposed to be happy about this? He's my son!"
"Gone forever… listen to him," Mary said mockingly of her husband. "Ronnie will be lucky if he doesn't see his father every weekend up at that college.
"Listen to her," Mario answered, pointing with both hands toward his wife. "She'll be in tears for a month after he's gone and sleep in the car between our visits."
Mary finally broke a smile and reached over to hug her son. "Our little boy… all grown up and off to college."
"Ah, ma… please, no P.D.A."
"Public display of affection," Mario whispered to the rest over the back of his hand. He chuckled before looking again at Sally.
"Sal… what have you done to yourself tonight?" He frowned. "You look favolosamente – stupendous!"
Sally was surprised once more.
Kari's face immediately brightened. "Isn't that weird? Ethan and I were just telling her the same thing." She looked over to Sally again appraisingly. "Doesn't she look absolutely radiant?"
Mary reached over. "Let me see your hand, Sal."
Sally looked at the others skeptically and then stuck her right hand forward. She had done this many times before with Mary.
"Ma, please… not here… we're in a restaurant."
"There she goes again… with all that hocus-pocus and her palm-reading," Mario complained, looking around the table watchfully.
"It's not palm-reading, Mair. I keep telling you… it's called chirology."
"Tomato — Tomahto." Mario rolled his eyes and looked at Ethan. "Can you believe this?" he said, gesturing animatedly. "My wife… the good and proper Catholic, believing in all this hocus-pocus." He looked again at his wife. "What would the Pope say, I ask you?"
The woman opened Sally's fingers to peer down at her palm where she began tracing each of the lines on her hand. She immediately looked up and frowned.
"My goodness, Sal. What have you been doing to yourself?"
Kari leaned in interestedly. "What? What do you see?"
Mary pulled Sally's hand over to show Kari.
"Oblong hand with long fingers, ring finger longer than her index finger, most of her knuckles clean and straight, all the same as before." she looked up at Sally again. "But your broken finger is straighter now; in fact, it looks nearly perfect."
Sally smiled. "Yes… I noticed that yesterday, and it's much more flexible too — look," and she closed a fist several times to show them.
Mary grabbed her hand to quickly look in again. She rubbed it gently and then turned it over to smell the back. "Are you using a new hand cream?"
"No."
"Anything at all?"
"No."
"My goodness… your hands look better than mine. Look at this." The woman moved her own hand in to compare.
"I told you to use gloves when you're washing your dishes. All that scalding water is very bad for the skin," Sally explained.
"But the hands are so smooth, and using gloves doesn't explain the fixed finger." She turned Sally's hand over to look inside. "Your heart line has changed too," she observed, tracing the line across her hand under the fingers. She looked up again. "Did you meet somebody nice in the hospital, a man who showed an interest in you?"
"Mary!" Sally said, suddenly looking put off.
"What?" Kari chimed. She was smiling.
Mary looked at her. "Definitely romantic matters of the heart here," she whispered knowingly, pointing down into Sally's palm.
Kari's smiled broadened as she looked over at Sally. "You have been fixing yourself up, haven't you? I knew it! So–who's the guy?"
Sally looked aghast. "I have not; and there's no man running around looking to date a ninety- year old hag."
The table immediately erupted in protests to Sally's describing herself so rudely.
"There's Mr. Hirch," Ronnie added, and everybody turned to look at him. "He's the old guy living next door to Sally at the apartment. He's always knocking on her door and trying to pay for Sally's deliveries."
Everybody turned to look at Sally again.
"Ooooow," Kari cooed, grinning knowingly. "Why… Sally Carmichael; there's still a little fire left in that engine after all. Good for you! So… is he handsome?"
Sally was at first speechless, but when her voice returned she sounded angry.
"I wouldn't allow that old coot to cross my threshold if he were clutching his chest with both hands. He's nothing but a dirty old man, looking to…" she suddenly stopped to adjust the napkin on her lap. "I will not dignify this subject as a part of our conversation any longer."
Sally rolled her eyes in protest as Mary took Sally's hand again. The woman traced a long line from her thumb to her wrist before looking up.
"Your life line is deeper, Sal, and it's the most dominant feature on your entire hand now. Your fate line is longer too."
"What does that mean?" Kari asked her, excitedly.
Mary looked astonished. "Her life line reflects drastic changes to come, and the fate line signals circumstances are on the way that are way out of Sally's control." She closed her friend's hand to look up at her. "You've never had a travel line that I can remember. Are you planning to take a long trip? Maybe a vacation somewhere?"
"Heavens no!" Sally protested, finally taking her hand back.
"You know, chirology can trace its roots back to Hindu Astrology when it was called Jyotish," Ethan injected, trying to come to Sally's rescue. "The Hindu sage Valmiki is thought to have written a book on the subject more than five thousand years ago."
"I'll bet you'd love to get your hands on that book, ay Ethan?" Kari added with a wink.
Mary still looked confused. "I don't understand how your lines could have changed so much, Sally. I've never seen anything like it. It's almost like…" she hesitated and Sally frowned.
"Go on… what do you think it means, Mary?" Kari said, still excited by the demonstration.
Mary was still looking at Sally and then smiled happily. "It's like your life is just beginning, like you're starting over."
Sally raised her eyebrows, her mind slipping briefly to her hospital dream of her father and mother on the dirt road to Shubert. She took a deep, reluctant breath and said, "I'm ninety-three years old, Mary. How am I supposed to start a new life?" She picked up her glass of water and took a sip. "I think you're missing the obvious, my dear."
"What do you mean?" Mary replied. She leaned in, almost desperate for an explanation.
Sally sat her glass down and then daubed her lips with her napkin. "Heaven can also be considered a new life. It's life-eternal, isn't it? Perhaps what you're seeing is the end of my physical life and the beginning of my new life with God."
"Sally, how can you say such a thing?" Kari chided her, looking appalled.
Sally put her napkin down; she looked decided. "Kari, my dear, I'm a very old women and… a pragmatist. I've lived fifteen years longer than the average woman in America today. I'm not going to live very much longer and I'm fine with this reality. I'm ready for God's review of my life and to see my daughter again… my father and mother."
Kari looked to protest once more but Sally cut across her.
"When I first got out of the hospital, I will admit I was a little angry I was allowed to go home, to that drafty apartment again, and continue to live with all the aches and pains given my age. But I've come to realize… I've been recently blessed with a lot less pain and so many friends to make whatever time I have left joyful and pleasant. Thankfully… I still have my mind… thanks in part to Ethan's inspirations."
The waiter arrived with the plates, which seemed to break the spell of Sally's words.
"Ah… dinner," Sally said eagerly. She raised her glass of wine. "As someone who has lived a very long time, I would like to say something to all of you.
"Life is all about these shared moments with family and companions. I am blessed to have so many friends, both old and new," she said, nodding to Ethan. "A toast: to friendship and good cheer. If there is a secret to long life and happiness, I am convinced it must be here."
Ethan smiled and raised his glass. "Poetry."
And the rest followed with their own glasses, "Here-here."
The circle of friends tapped their glasses and enjoyed their evening together.
62
