Wishing for Wonderful (Serendipity #3)(44)

At a few minutes after eleven, Lindsay parked the car on Fifteenth Street and they started walking toward Market. As they passed the shops, they saw window after window filled with festive red dresses, sparkling jewelry and Christmas trees.

“So soon?” Eleanor said. “The stores are ready for Christmas, and it’s not even Thanksgiving.” She didn’t say it, but I knew what she was thinking. Eleanor was wishing the days would slow down. To her mind, time was the great healer. It bridged the gap in friendships, brought new loves and erased old angers. If given enough time, she believed, anything might be possible.

When they passed by the Hallmark store Lindsay grabbed Eleanor by the hand and pulled her into the shop. They walked in and out of the aisles looking at trees decorated in a dozen different themes: nutcrackers, teddy bears, ballerinas, gold trees with glittery bows, silver trees with shiny globes, even what was supposed to be a natural tree hung with plastic pine cones and silk magnolia blossoms.

Lindsay stopped in front of the angel tree. “This is my absolute favorite.”

“Mine too,” Eleanor replied. The two of them spent more than an hour in the store, and when they finally left Eleanor had purchased a box of Christmas cards, two hand-painted ornaments and four glittery angels.

The next stop was Macy’s. They started in the china department and once they’d purchased the two place settings they came for, they moved on to dresses and sportswear. I could see there were moments when Eleanor allowed herself to get caught up in the excitement of the season, times when she could forget about the call she was both anticipating and dreading, times when she could think only of the sweater she slipped over her head or the pants that zipped without pinching, but trust me, those times were few.

It was almost four o’clock when Eleanor could hold it in no longer. “I’m worried that Ray hasn’t called,” she told Lindsay.

“Call him again,” Lindsay suggested and handed her the cell phone.

Eleanor punched in the number and waited. The telephone rang six times, and then the answering machine clicked on. She’d already left a number of messages and had nothing more to add to what she’d said previously, so she pressed End and handed the phone back to Lindsay.

“No answer,” she lied. “I guess they’re out.”





When they left the store at five-thirty, darkness was already settling into the sky. Lindsay glanced at her watch.

“We’d better hurry,” she said. “Matthew is picking me up at seven.”

They were standing on the corner of Market and Fifteenth when the phone in Lindsay’s pocket jangled. She switched the shopping bag to her left hand, pulled the phone from her pocket and said, “Hi.” She expected the caller to be Matthew.

“Who’s this?” the voice asked.

“Lindsay Gray,” she answered; then she remembered the call Eleanor was waiting for. “Is this Ray?”

“Did my mother put you up to this?”

“Nobody put me up to anything,” Lindsay said. “Your mother is right here, and she’s the one who wants to talk to you. Hold—”

Before she could finish the sentence, Ray started to talk again. This time it was in a loud angry voice. “I have nothing to say, so don’t put her on the phone!”

Lindsay had no love of Ray as it was and her intention had been to simply hand Eleanor the phone, but the anger in his voice triggered hers.

“Hey, just a minute there! Watch how you’re talking! All your mother wants—”

Eleanor caught the gist of the conversation and realized it was Ray. She turned toward Lindsay and reached for the phone. That’s when she saw the black car slam into the curb. A fraction of a second later the car was airborne and sailing toward Lindsay’s back. There was no time for warning, no time to step aside. The only thing she could do was what she did. Eleanor plowed shoulder-first into Lindsay’s side and sent the girl sprawling across the sidewalk.

Ray continued talking. “…I know what she wants and you can tell her to forget it. I’m not interested in anything…” He stopped when he heard the shriek of rending metal and the screams that followed. “Lindsay? Mom? Mom…”

He hit Redial but got nothing. No ring. No message. No anything.

He then tried calling the house but after a single ring, that phone also went dead.

~

Life Management is the cause of this. Now I know exactly what they’re up to. When that car went airborne the future became the present, and I could see straight into the center of what was to be.

As far as I’m concerned their actions are over-the-top irresponsible! I’ve had it! No more Mister Love, Mister Nice Guy, Mister Take-whatever-you-hand-me. Enough is enough. I’m ready for a fight!

I’ve been working on getting Eleanor and John together for over two years and now that I’ve got everything in place, they come up with this kind of disaster? Well, this time they’re not getting away with it. I’m going in with both fists swinging!

Yeah, I know the rules. Life Management’s events get First Priority, but this? No way.

I’ll probably catch the fire of retribution for what I’m about to do, but this time I’m not letting those guys get away with it! If I give up believing in love, my life would be hell anyway.