Jeb looked directly at Garrett and took another drag on his cigarette. “Because if I know you, you’re going to be the one who ends it, and I’m here to try to stop you if I can.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” he said quietly. Turning around, Jeb opened the door and left Garrett’s office without another word.
* * *
Later that night, with the remnants of his father’s comments rolling through his head, Garrett couldn’t sleep. He rose from his bed and went to the kitchen, knowing what needed to be done. In the drawer, he found the stationery he always used when his mind was conflicted, and he sat down with the hopes of putting his thoughts into words.
My darling Catherine,
I don’t know what’s happening to me, and I don’t know if I ever will. So much has happened lately that I can’t make sense of what I’m going through.
Garrett sat at the table for an hour after writing those first two lines, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of anything else to say. But when he woke the following morning, unlike most days, his first thought wasn’t about Catherine.
Instead it was about Theresa.
* * *
Over the next two weeks, Garrett and Theresa spoke on the phone every night, sometimes for hours. Garrett also sent a couple of letters—short notes, really—to let her know that he missed her, and he had another dozen roses delivered the following week, this time with a box of candy.
Theresa didn’t want to send him flowers or candy, so instead she sent him a light blue oxford shirt she thought would look good with his jeans, along with a couple of cards.
Kevin arrived home a few days later, and it made the next week pass much more quickly for Theresa than for Garrett. His first night home, Kevin ate dinner with Theresa, telling her about his vacation in fits and starts before collapsing into a deep sleep for almost fifteen hours. When he woke, there was already a long list of things that needed to be done. He needed new clothes for school—he’d already outgrown most of what he’d worn the previous year—and he had to sign up for fall league soccer, which ended up taking almost an entire Saturday. In addition, he’d come home with a suitcase full of dirty laundry that needed to be washed, he wanted to develop the pictures he’d taken on his vacation, and he had a Tuesday afternoon appointment with the orthodontist to see if he needed braces.
In other words, life was back to normal at the Osborne household.
On Kevin’s second night back, Theresa told him about her vacation at the Cape, then about her trip to Wilmington. She mentioned Garrett, trying to convey how she felt about him without alarming Kevin. At first, when she explained how they were going to visit him the following weekend, Kevin didn’t sound so sure about it. But after she told him what Garrett did for a living, Kevin began to show some signs of interest.
“You mean he might teach me how to scuba dive?” he asked as she was vacuuming the house.
“He said that he would, if you wanted to.”
“Cool,” he said, returning to whatever he’d been doing before.
A few nights later she took him to the store to get him a few magazines about diving. By the time they were ready to leave, Kevin knew the name of every piece of equipment it was possible to own, obviously dreaming about his upcoming adventure.
Garrett, meanwhile, plunged ahead with work. He worked late, thinking about Theresa while he did so, acting much the same way he had after Catherine’s death. When he mentioned to his father how much he missed Theresa, his father only nodded and smiled. Something in his father’s assessing gaze made Garrett wonder what exactly was going through the old man’s mind.
By prior agreement, both Theresa and Garrett had decided it would be best if she and Kevin didn’t stay at Garrett’s house, but because it was still summer, nearly every room in town was booked. Luckily Garrett knew the owner of a small motel a mile up the beach from Garrett’s house, and he had been able to make arrangements for their stay.
When the day finally came for Theresa and Kevin to visit, Garrett bought some groceries, washed his truck inside and out, and showered before heading to the airport.
Dressed in khaki pants, Top-Siders, and the shirt that Theresa had bought him, he waited nervously at the gate.
In the last two weeks his feelings for Theresa had grown. He knew now that whatever happened between him and Theresa wasn’t based simply on physical attraction—his longing hinted at something much deeper, more lasting. As he craned his neck for a glimpse of her among the passengers, he felt a pang of anxiety. It had been so long since he’d felt this way about anyone—and where was it all going?
When Theresa stepped off the plane with Kevin beside her, all his nervousness suddenly faded away. She was beautiful—more so than he remembered. And Kevin—he looked exactly like his picture and a lot like his mother. He was a little over five feet, with Theresa’s dark hair and eyes, and gangly—both his arms and his legs seemed to have grown a little faster than the rest of him. He was wearing long Bermuda shorts, Nike shoes, and a shirt from a concert by Hootie and the Blowfish. His choice of apparel was clearly inspired by MTV and Garrett couldn’t help but smile to himself. Boston, Wilmington . . . it really didn’t matter, did it? Kids would be kids.
When Theresa saw him she waved, and Garrett moved toward them, reaching for their carry-on bags. Not sure whether he should kiss her in front of Kevin, he hesitated until Theresa leaned over and gaily kissed him on the cheek.
“Garrett, I’d like you to meet my son, Kevin,” she said proudly.
“Hi, Kevin.”
“Hi, Mr. Blake,” he said stiffly, as if Garrett were his teacher.
“Call me Garrett,” he said, holding out his hand. Kevin shook it, a little unsure. Until this point, no adult other than Annette had said that he could use their first name.
“How was your flight?” Garrett asked.
“Good,” Theresa responded.
“Did you get anything to eat?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, how about we grab a bite before I take you to your motel?”
“Sounds good.”
“Do you want anything in particular?” Garrett asked Kevin.
“I like McDonald’s.”
“Oh, honey, no,” Theresa said quickly, but Garrett stopped her with a shake of his head.
“McDonald’s is fine with me.”
“You sure?” Theresa asked.
“Positive. I eat there all the time.”
Kevin looked delighted at his answer, and the three of them started walking toward the baggage claim area. As they left the gates, Garrett asked:
“are you a good swimmer, Kevin?”
“Pretty good.”
“Are you up for some scuba lessons this weekend?”
“I think so—I’ve been reading up on it,” he said, trying to sound older than he was.
“Well, good. I was hoping you’d say that. If we’re lucky, we may even be able to get you certified before you head back.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s a license that allows you to dive whenever you want—kind of like a driver’s license.”
“You can do that in a few days?”
“Sure. You’re required to take a written test and spend a few hours in the water with an instructor. But since you’ll be my only student this weekend—unless your mother wants to learn, too—we should have more than enough time.”
“Cool,” Kevin said. He turned toward Theresa. “Are you gonna learn, too, Mom?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“I think you should,” Kevin said. “It would be fun.”
“He’s right—you should learn, too,” Garrett added with a smirk, knowing she would feel cornered by the two of them and probably give in.