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"Thank you, I understand." Phyl tapped the pencil on the side of the notebook in frustration, as she finished her conversation with the secretary to the assistant of another assistant at the State Department, or whoever it was they had transferred her to this time. She pressed the receiver to her chest and leaned her head back on the sofa, staring at the pine cathedral ceiling, the dark fan hanging down over her, then at the muted green walls above the paneled wainscoting. She glanced out of the window at the gorgeous autumn day. The cloudless sky was a stunning blue, the lake so shimmery bright, it was almost impossible to look at directly, and the trees a mass of changing fall colors. This was her favorite time of year. She sighed, hanging up the phone, and she got up and opened the door to let Bear back in from his morning outing, reaching down to rub the sweet dog. She returned to the sofa to go back down her list, as he went back to lay in his favorite spot by the fireplace. How many people had she just talked to? She'd lost count. Well, at any rate, she needed to call Thad before making any firm bookings in Nassau. She gazed out at the lake, thinking about the difficult phone call she'd made the night before to Jonathan's parents. They'd known about Kristin before she had even heard Jonathan's message, having received a call from the State Department, and they were trying to stay calm, she'd discovered, and had already booked a flight from La Guardia as well as reserved a hotel room in Nassau. She glanced at her watch. They should already be in-flight at this point. She picked up the receiver and dialed the clinic.
"Wellsley Animal Hospital."
"Hi, Candace, could you put Thad on?"
"Sure, Phyl. Hold on. Busy day, huh?"
"Yes, it certainly is."
Phyl twisted the cord, looking down at her list as she waited for her husband to pick up.
"How is it going there?" Thad's deep, warm voice never ceased to amaze her. She sighed, and wondered if he knew just how good he sounded. She pictured him standing at the counter, his white lab coat over the jeans and navy polo shirt he'd worn this morning.
"Well, because we're not family, no one will discuss anything with me at the State Department, and that will probably be the same case in Nassau."
"We'll have to depend on Jonathan's parents, then, to keep us informed." Thad cleared his throat.
"Are you all right with my booking a flight for tomorrow, and seven nights at a hotel in Nassau?"
"Go ahead and get that done." He paused. "With the Queen visiting in a few days, I'm surprised there are any rooms available."
"I know. I'll try the same hotel the Martins booked first. How is it going there?"
"I called Bridget, and she can take over the clinic for three days next week." Phyl could hear him tapping on the counter. "Candace and I are in the process of rescheduling the other two days' appointments. I shouldn't be too much longer."
"I'll book everything right now, then."
"I'll stop by the bank on the way home and pick up enough cash for the week." He exhaled. "I'll be home soon."
Phyl thought how incredibly lovely those words sounded to her. I'll be home soon. She sometimes imagined that during her year of discontent in Manhattan, when she had been drawn to this remote place in Vermont, that her soul was somehow, mysteriously, yearning for his over the hundreds of miles between them. She sighed as they hung up, and she dialed the number for the Burlington International Airport.
Within an hour, she had booked their flight to Nassau, and surprisingly, gotten them a room for seven nights at the same hotel as Jonathan's parents, wondering if there were vacant rooms during the Queen's visit because it was not the best hotel on the island. Oh well, she'd gotten it done, and they would just have to deal with whatever they found when they arrived there. A week was all they could spare, financially, and work-wise, and she sincerely hoped that this whole awful mystery could be cleared up quickly, for Jonathan's sake. She looked at her list, and was glad that 'Bear' had been checked off the night before. Emma had seen the same news story about Kristin and Jonathan, and recognizing his name, had called her pretty quickly. They had discussed what was known so far, and Phyl didn't mention the phone message to her sweet friend either. Emma had, upon hearing that they were leaving for Nassau, immediately offered to keep Bear for them, and although they could just board him at the clinic, they preferred that he stay at Emma and Pete's home.
Phyl had also called her eight clients - restaurants and markets around Wellsley - with Xaria Organic Herbs and Breads, and let them know that she couldn't deliver their orders for her herb bread until the week after they returned. No problem. Done. The organic herbs had been harvested and delivered to various locations around Wellsley and were on hold until the spring planting anyway, so she could concentrate on the bread, and her other business, Sycamore Cove Pottery during the fall and winter months. Since there were no more pottery deliveries to her gallery customers for three weeks, she could hold off on throwing the pots until they returned. She couldn't help but feel a little strange though, that she and Thad were rearranging their lives in order to fly to another country and help her former boyfriend, whom she hadn't seen for almost two years. But, Jonathan had turned to them with his heart-stopping, cryptic message, and they would do what they could for him.