The Waiting: A Supernatural Thriller(74)

“I think you’ve got a fan over here,” Evan said, motioning to Shaun.

Selena laughed. “You know the old adage about finding a way to a man’s heart.”

“Through a wineglass?”

“No, quit it.”

Selena moved with an easy grace around the kitchen, flipping a steak here, chopping lettuce there. Evan could see her doing the same thing in their kitchen in the cities. Could he somehow make it work if they left tomorrow?

“What’s got you down?” Selena asked, taking the potatoes off the stove.

“Nothing. Thinking again.”

“Looked like bad thoughts.”

“No, just cumbersome, like the song.”

“Which song?”

“‘Cumbersome,’ Seven Mary Three.”

“Which is the band and which is the song?”

Evan gave her an incredulous look. “You’ve never heard of Seven Mary Three?”

“Nope.”

“We shall have to remedy that, my dear.”

She smiled, and before she turned back to the stove, Evan thought he saw a hint of red on her cheeks.

~

They ate mostly in silence, not because they were uncomfortable but because the food was that good. Evan had never tasted steak like the one he devoured from his plate, its flavor oaky, with a hint of lime mixed in. The salad and potatoes were equally delicious, and before long all their plates were empty.

“Sorry I didn’t bring dessert,” Selena said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

“This is dessert enough for me,” Evan said, raising his wineglass.

“The way to a man’s heart.”

“Absolutely.”

Evan cleared the dishes away and began cleaning them in the sink while Selena talked about her day. She hadn’t seen many clients, but the few she did have were challenging.

“The guy tried to spit on me when I told him his wife might be right.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. He gathered up some spit and hocked it at me, but I was far enough away and it landed on the table between us.”

“So what’d you do?”


“I told him, if that was the way he dealt with difference of opinion, then it was no wonder his wife wanted him to have counseling.”

Evan smiled. “Are you even supposed to be telling me these things? Aren’t they confidential?”

Selena tipped her head from side to side. “As long as I don’t mention any details, like names or anything, it’s kinda like a case study, and those get printed in magazines and books all the time.”

“With the client’s permission.”

“I’d say once he spit at me, his permission was given.”

Evan laughed and glanced at Shaun, whose head was almost touching the table, his eyes closing and opening with long blinks. Selena noticed at almost the same time.

“Oh, poor baby,” she said, putting a hand on Shaun’s shoulder.

Evan dried his hands off with a dishtowel and came to the table, unfastening Shaun from his seat.

“He’s exhausted. I forgot he didn’t have his afternoon nap.”

“Didn’t he sleep good last night?”

“No, we actually had to take a nighttime cruise into town.”

“What? You’re kidding, what happened?”

Evan related the events of the night before, his throat trying to close up when he described Shaun’s seizure. He left out the parts about seeing Becky and the toes in the closet, skimming over the rest of the day’s details quickly as he picked Shaun up and carried him to his room.

“Sounds like you guys did a lot of cleaning,” Selena said, as he came back into the living room.

She handed him his glass of wine and sat on the sofa. Evan considered the chair but then rested beside her, a little distance between them. The sun held above the tops of the trees across the lake, a forest fire in the sky.

“Yeah, quite a bit.”

“You’re leaving soon, aren’t you?”

Evan sighed, took a sip of his wine.

“Tomorrow.” He chanced a look at Selena and saw a resigned look on her face. “I’m sorry, it’s just not working out here.”

He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

“I understand.”

“No, you don’t, you don’t. You’re great,” he said, scooting closer to her, until their knees almost touched. “You’ve really brightened things up for us. It’s me—”

He floundered for a moment, trying to think of how to explain. “I’m afraid.”

Selena looked up at him. “Afraid? Of what?”

“Of this, of what’s happening between us.”

“Evan, I—”

“No, you don’t have to say anything. It’s me, it’s the life I have. I worry, constantly. I’m afraid all the time. I’m terrified that Shaun will have an accident or another seizure and I’ll be completely alone, and I couldn’t withstand losing him too. I’d break.”

Selena moved closer still, as he lowered his head, her thigh touching his.

“But what does that have to do with us? With ...” She shrugged. “Being happy?”