Never Knowing

“Yup.”

“How much?” I said in a teasing voice.

“More than Moose loves his bunny!” She giggled and I pulled her in for a hug, squeezing so tight she said, “Mom-meeee!” and I had to let go. She joined a couple of friends and, giving me a little wave over her shoulder, she entered the classroom.

On my way to the station for a final briefing with Sandy and Billy, I tried to call Lauren, but she didn’t answer. Desperate to talk to someone, I almost called Melanie, then remembered I still hadn’t listened to Kyle’s CD. When I tried Evan’s number again I just got his voice mail. This time I even called the lodge’s direct line to his office, which I don’t like doing because he’s rarely there, and his receptionist, who I don’t like because she has no sense of humor, said he was working on one of the boats.

After the meeting at the station I was on my way home to kill an hour when I passed a store with bundles of flowers outside. I picked the biggest bunch I could and drove to my parents’ place. When Mom opened the door, her face lit up.

“Sara, what a lovely surprise. Have you eaten?”

As I sat there drinking coffee, playing with my cinnamon bun, wondering if I’d live through the day, Mom touched my hand every two minutes.

“I’m glad you came by, sweetie. It’s been so long since we’ve had a chance to visit.”

“Sorry, Mom, it’s just been crazy between wedding plans and work.”

“I’m always here if you need help.” As she smiled I noticed she’d put blush on her cheeks, but the makeup just sat on top of her pale skin. I wanted to brush it off and replace it with a kiss. She did always try to be there for me, despite her illness. But she couldn’t help with this. She couldn’t help with any of my problems growing up — not that I ever asked. I loved my mom for her sweet and gentle soul, but it was those same characteristics that stopped me from sharing anything real. I’d do anything to protect her from pain.

“I know, Mom. You’re awesome.”

She smiled again. She was so easy to please. All she wanted was for her children to be happy. The thought of all the lies I’d told her over the last couple of months, was still telling her, made tears prick at the back of my eyes.

“Dad never wanted to adopt me, did he?” I couldn’t believe I’d asked, and judging by Mom’s flushed cheeks, she couldn’t either.

She looked around like he was going to walk in right that minute. “Of course, he just…”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” I already had my answer. Guilt was written all over her face. I always knew why Dad was so distant, but to have it finally confirmed hurt more than I’d expected.

I switched the talk to Ally until it was time to go meet John. I gave Mom a hug and a kiss at the door, letting myself sink into it for a moment, inhaling her powdery cinnamon scent. Then, with a promise to bring Ally over soon, I got going. As I neared the park I tried to call Evan’s cell one more time. Still no answer, so I left him a message. I didn’t know what to say, so I just told him I love him and, “I’m sorry I’m such a pain in the ass.”

At Bowen Park I found the bench near the outdoor tennis court where I told John I’d wait, then watched every truck and car pulling in. My gaze roamed the park in case he walked in from a different direction, and I held my breath every time I spotted someone, letting it out in a rush when it turned out to be a false alarm. Billy, weeding a garden bed on my right, met my eyes a couple of times, giving me a hang-in-there smile. When I wasn’t watching for John, I was monitoring the whereabouts of the undercover officers.

Ten minutes passed. To occupy my hands I spun my coffee cup around and around and around. Another ten minutes and still no sign of John. The gallons of coffee I’d drunk had me needing to pee, bad. Images of my bladder exploding filled my head. Thank God I remembered to take my pill this time. I was about to risk speaking into the wire device when my cell rang. It was John.

“John! Where are you?”

“Sorry, Sara, but I’m not going to be able to meet today.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. I’ve been sitting here for almost a half hour.” I forced myself to calm down. “I’m just confused. Yesterday you were really excited about getting together, so why are you—”

“I changed my mind.” He sounded pissed off.

You don’t think I wanted to change my mind, you jerk?

“That’s too bad, John. I’ve been really looking forward to meeting you.”

“I’m sorry, I wanted to, but it just won’t work out.”

“Where are you right now?”

“Vancouver.”

“You’re almost here. Why don’t you see if you can catch the next ferry?”

“No, we’ll have to meet in a couple of days.”

“Unfortunately that’s not going to work for me. Evan’s coming home tomorrow.” Two can play that game.

“So?”

“So I’m going to be busy.”

His voice rose. “I don’t want to meet today. When I woke up, it didn’t feel right.”

Of course it didn’t feel right, you murdering son of a bitch — the cops were going to arrest your ass. But now this was never going to end. I had to give it one more chance.

“I don’t mind waiting a little longer so you can think it through—”

He hung up. Was he pissed off? Should I just leave? I glanced at Billy, but I couldn’t read his expression.

The phone rang a minute later.

John said, “It still doesn’t feel right. Let’s try for tomorrow.”

“I told you — that’s not going to work.”

“Because of Evan?” His tone made it very clear what he thought of Evan, and I realized my mistake.

“No, I’ve got a lot of stuff to do, work, Ally, shopping.” I had to get off the phone fast. “I guess we’ll just have to arrange something for another time. Take care, John. Drive safe.” I hung up before he could say anything else. When I walked by Billy I shook my head — subtly, in case John was watching. As I climbed into the Cherokee a text came through on my cell. Billy: Meet us at the station.

Great. More coffee and more talking. At least they had a bathroom. On the way there, Evan called.

“Hi, you been trying to get hold of me?”

“Oh, Evan. You’re going to kill me.”

One of his heavy sighs. “What did you do now?”

“I didn’t want to tell you in a message, so I kept calling, but your stupid receptionist said you were—”

“Hey, freak show — calm down. What did you do?”

“I set up a meeting.”

“Jesus Christ, Sara! When?”

“It was supposed to be today, but—”

“Today? And you didn’t tell me?”

“I was trying to tell you, but you didn’t answer.”

“When is it?” He sounded scared. “I’ll drive down and—”

“It already happened, but—”

“What?”

“He didn’t show up. You were right, he’s just manipulating me.” I filled him in on everything. “But that’s it. I’m done now, Evan.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“No, this is really it. I’ll change our numbers again. Maybe we can move, or go stay at the lodge like you said. I can home-school Ally. Or maybe we should just sell the house. I don’t know, but I’m going to tell the police they can’t tap our phones anymore. I won’t watch the TV or read the papers—” “Slow down. I’ve got a big group here tonight, but I’ll drive down first thing and we can talk about this.”

“Are you sure?”

“We’ll figure it all out, okay? Just don’t make any decisions until I get home and don’t change anything— please.”