“Are you ready to party?” Nicole asked, as she ducked into the car.
“I’m driving, remember,” Chloe said, shifting the gear to reverse.
“C’mon, one drink’s not going to hurt you.”
Chloe grinned at Nicole’s response. They arrived at Josh’s house ten minutes later. Half Moon Bay was a small town so it was easy to get from place to place. They overheard loud voices and music coming from inside the house. It was an old ranch style house that needed a paint job. It was evident that the previous owners had abandoned what used to be a colorful landscape in the charming courtyard, if the shaggy lawn was any indicator.
“I thought we were the only ones invited,” Chloe said as she parked her car and they got out.
“That’s what I thought,” Nicole said. “Maybe Phil invited some friends.”
“Hmmm.”
As they strolled up the walk, Matt opened the door and came outside to greet them. “Come in, ladies.”
They followed Matt inside Josh’s three bedroom house. As they entered, Chloe saw three men playing Xbox at the couch, while two ladies were playing pool in the family room with Josh and Phil. From the outside the house had looked old, but inside it was clear that it had been remodeled. It had high ceilings, and white crown moldings that offset the taupe wall coloring and dark hardwood floors.
“Hello, ladies, so glad you came,” Josh said walking towards them. “Remember my brother Phil?”
“It’s been a long time,” Phil said, shaking their hands. “It’s good to see old friends.”
Phil looked amazingly similar to Josh, but his skin was much darker, perhaps from surfing, and his hair was darker too.
“You both look so lovely,” Josh said, his eyes glued to Chloe. “Let me introduce you to the others.”
Nicole and Chloe followed him to the dining room where two decidedly beautiful women sat on one side of the table.
“Chloe, remember me?”
Chloe squinted.
“It’s Heather, from fourth grade summer camp.”
“You two know each other?” Josh asked.
Chloe scratched her head. “Heather… Heather?”
“That’s me,” Heather said, giving her a wide smile.
Oh my gosh, she looks like a Barbie doll. Chloe remembered her as lanky with thick glasses and braces. They used to call her “The Ugly Duckling.” She was definitely a swan now. “It’s nice to see you.”
“Yeah, small world, and this is my friend Amber.” Amber had shoulder length light brown hair while Heather had long brown hair with blonde streaks. They were both wearing a mini skirt and a halter top with high heels.
“They look like Barbie twins,” Nicole whispered from behind. Fortunately, the music was quite loud so the two women couldn’t overhear Nicole. “Looks like they’re searching for their Ken.” Chloe nudged Nicole.
“I’m serious. They both look like they’ve had a makeover,” Nicole added.
“You think so?” Chloe whispered over her shoulder. “Now I feel bad for teasing Heather.”
“Let me take those nachos, I’ll put them in a bowl,” Josh said. “Do you want me to mix you both a drink?”
“You betcha,” Nicole said, walking over and taking a seat on a bar stool by the dining room.
“All right then. I’ll be back in a minute.” He winked.
Nicole leaned over and whispered, “He hasn’t stopped looking at you, girl.”
“You’re imagining things, Nicole,” Chloe said, brushing aside the idea with a sweep of her hand.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.” Nicole glanced around. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Richard.”
“I love Richard,” Chloe said defensively.
“Sure, sure.” Some of the people started dancing, so Nicole stood up to dance to the music played by a famous artist. After all the bad news I’ve heard, I’m going to try to think positive.”
Nicole’s eyes glistened, and Chloe gave her a big hug. She was worried about her friend. The economy was wavering and there were a lot of foreclosures in California. People were losing their jobs, and uncertainty filled the air. Chloe felt bad that it had to happen to her best friend’s mom. Chloe was thankful that her father had provided for her and her mother.
Josh came back with two margaritas and Nicole took a big gulp, and then licked her lips. “Oh, Josh, this tastes perfect.”
“Thanks, I used to work as a bartender when I was in Oregon. It helped me pay the bills while I was in college.”
“That explains it,” Chloe said, smiling.
Nicole left them and joined Matt in the living room. Chloe could tell by her friend’s expression that she was prepared to get wasted.
When Nicole was gone, Josh turned to Chloe and grinned. “How are things going with you?”
“The usual, busy managing the shop.”
Josh suddenly appeared shy. He could hardly look Chloe in the eye. “Speaking of your shop, I did promise I would check it out. How about tomorrow?”
“Um, uh, sure.” Chloe fumbled with her words. “I also need to check out your shop.”
“You should. Maybe we can go surfing again,” Josh said, drinking his margarita.
“That would be fun.”
He smiled at her and she quickly looked away, hoping he hadn’t seen her blush. What was she doing? She couldn’t go surfing with Josh again. She was engaged! And yet the thought sent a rush of excitement coursing through her followed by an immediate flush of guilt.
“You look different tonight,” he said, changing the subject.
She gave a nervous laugh. “I do? Is that good or bad?”
He took a sip of his margarita then looked her straight in the eye. “You look perfect.”
For several moments, they drank in silence then she told him the latest about the love letters.
“I still can’t get over what you said about finding those love letters from this Ignacio to your mom.”
“Yeah, I haven’t read all of them. There are nine but I’ve only read five.”
Josh turned his seat towards Chloe. “There are nine and you only read five? I would have read all of them in one sitting.”
She felt like she needed a paper bag to stop from hyperventilating. Josh was seated right next to her after all these years. Why couldn’t he have returned a year ago instead of just weeks before her wedding? “Um, yeah, I should have read all of them, but I’ve been … busy.”
“Right,” he said looking down. “So when’s the date?”
She jerked her head up. “What date?”
“Your wedding.”
She nearly dropped her glass. “June fifteenth.”
He leaned back. “Are you nervous?”
Fortunately, before she could answer, Phil came to get a bottle of vodka and ice.
Once he was gone, Josh turned back to Chloe. “So where were we?”
Chloe sighed in relief. “Did I tell you that I have a dog?”
Josh beamed. “A dog? What kind of dog?”
“Her name’s Greta. She’s a French Bulldog.”
He set his drink on the granite countertop. “I love dogs. Phil and I are thinking of getting a pug to keep us company.”
“Oh, you’ll love Greta. She eats a lot and even snores when she sleeps. Sometimes I think she’s human. She thinks she is.”
“I’d love to meet her,” he said, taking her hand.
“You will,” Chloe said, gently extracting herself from his grip.
“So your mom’s in South America?”
“Probably looking for Ignacio.”
Josh laughed. “I remember your mom always yelling. Is she still the same?”
Chloe nodded. “Nothing has changed. You still remember, huh?”
“Of course I do,” he said, running a thumb across the back of her hand. “I remember when I’d come visit you at night and we’d chat by your window.”
Chloe laughed, but it sounded high, tinny. “We had lots of fun.”
His hair flowed down past his face and his tan, though not as dark as Phil’s, had a healthy glow so different from Richard’s pale skin. Josh wore a surfer’s bracelet and was wearing a t-shirt that showed his muscles.
“How about I make you another drink,” he said, standing up.
“Not too strong. I don’t want to get a DUI.”
“You can always crash here if you get too buzzed.”
“I have work tomorrow,” she reminded him.
She watched him mix the margaritas; then they sat down in the kitchen alone. “Tell me about Oregon.”
“What’s there to tell? I spent high school there, did a lot of snowboarding during the winter. Took up Business Administration in college, and here I am back in California.”
She grinned. “That’s a short story.”
“You know me, don’t focus too much on the details,” he said. “How about you? I see you have quite a rock there. I bet you have lots of stories to tell.”
She wiped her mouth. It was clear they needed to talk. “His name is Richard. He works for a bank doing real estate loans. We’ve been dating for two years and we’re getting married in June.”
“Where is the lucky man?”
“He’s a workaholic.”
He nodded. “I’m happy for you.”
Wait a minute, was that a hint of jealousy she’d heard in his voice? “Thanks.”
He went to mix more drinks for the others. When he returned Chloe said, “Is Phil competing for the Maverick?”
“Yes, in two weeks. Would you like to come and watch?” He paused. “I mean you don’t have to, only if you want to.”
Why did he suddenly sound so careful? Because of Richard. “Sure, that would be fun.” Chloe smiled.
“Great.”
At that moment, Heather and Amber entered the kitchen looking for Josh.
“Josh, Amber wants to play ‘Truth or Dare’,” Heather said.
“I do not. It’s Heather who wants to play.” Amber giggled.
Matt came up behind them. “Yeah, let’s play.”
“C’mon, c’mon,” Phil said, calling everybody to the living room.
They all went to the couch as Phil got an empty beer bottle.
Chloe brought her glass and sat down beside Nicole. Truth or Dare? She felt like they were in high school again.
“Chloe?” Josh called.
“I’m not playing,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.
“Everybody should play,” Phil said, holding an empty beer bottle.
“Yeah, c’mon, Chloe, it’ll be fun,” Heather cheered.
Since when did she become my best friend?
“Please?” Nicole said, looking happy for the first time all day.
Chloe looked at her friend and sighed. “Oh, okay. But just this once.”
“I’ll make a whole round of drinks for everyone,” Josh said.
Jim smiled. “Cool.”
He came back with stronger margaritas. Chloe hesitated. If she drank anymore, she would have trouble driving home. Just then, she felt her iPhone vibrate. She looked down to see she had a message from Richard. Found a home for Greta. B SUR 2 Give Notice at work, R.
A home for Greta? Give notice at work?
She felt her temperature rise as she took the proffered drink. After reading that message from Richard, she didn’t care if she did get drunk. Who did he think he was, telling her to quit her job and to find a home for her dog?
“Is everything okay?” Josh asked, concern written in the set of his eyes.
“Everything’s fine,” she said, ignoring both Josh and Nicole’s worried expressions as she took a seat on the floor.
Before she could back out, Phil spun the bottle and it landed in front of Nicole.
“Nicole, truth or dare?” Phil asked.
“Dare.”
“Okay, kiss Matt passionately.”
“That isn’t hard to do,” Nicole said, leaning over Matt and giving him a passionate kiss.
“Okay, time’s up, you guys. You need to spin,” Phil said.
Nicole spun the bottle and it landed in front of Amber. “Truth or dare, Amber?”
“Truth.”
“Who is your crush in this room?”
Amber giggled and pointed to Phil.
“Really, I never knew.” Phil blushed.
Chloe rolled her eyes. Isn’t it obvious?
Amber giggled some more while she spun the bottle. It landed on Jim. The game continued until it finally landed on Chloe.
“Truth.”
“Tell us something terrible that you’ve done in your life,” Amber said.
“Hmmm, let’s see.” Chloe paused. “I didn’t talk to my mother for two years.”
“Oh gosh, that’s terrible,” Heather said.
Chloe took a big gulp of her margarita. “I know, but we’re talking now so it’s water under the bridge.”
She spun the bottle and it landed in front of Josh.
“I choose truth,” Josh said.
“How old were you when you had your first kiss?” Heather asked.
Chloe, who was looking down, shot a quick glance at Josh, her heart beating fast.
“I was twelve.”
“Twelve, with whom?” Heather asked.
Chloe’s heart skipped a beat. She had never forgotten their first kiss.
“You’re only allowed to ask one question,” Josh said, spinning the bottle.
Chloe excused herself to get a glass of water. Her head was spinning and she was feeling uncomfortable with where the game was leading. She came back when the bottle landed before Amber.
“Dare,” Amber yelled.
“Kiss the person you like in this room,” Heather said, smiling from ear to ear.
Amber immediately ran over to Phil and they locked lips.
Chloe was tongue-tied when she came back and saw what was happening.
Amber spun the bottle and it landed in front of Heather. She told Heather to kiss the person she liked best. Heather giggled and rushed over to Josh, who was caught off guard. Amber and Phil were kissing again and before either Josh or Chloe knew what was happening, Heather had thrust her tongue in Josh’s mouth.
Chloe turned around. She’d had enough of the Barbie twins. This is so not happening. Where was Nicole? But Nicole was still busy with Matt. He could drive her home.
She silently slipped out of the door. As she was walking towards her car, Josh came running out. “Chloe, wait!”
Chloe slammed her door, opened the window and yelled, “Josh, next time you have a party, count me out.” She didn’t hear what he said because she had stepped on the gas.
When she arrived at her house Greta licked her as soon as she came in. She went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and sat down on the couch. She had made such a fool of herself by showing Josh she was upset. But what was she supposed to do when she saw Heather kissing him? She stared at her big teddy bear. Perhaps Josh belongs in the past. But her future wasn’t looking any brighter.
Chapter Six
Chloe had a splitting headache when she woke up that morning. Ugh, I hate hangovers. It was only 5:30 a.m. Now what was she supposed to do?
She tried going back to sleep, but kept tossing and turning. Finally, out of frustration, she decided to get up, and make some breakfast. She made coffee and toast with jam, and brought it back to her room. Greta, who seemed oblivious to Chloe’s mood, was running around the house, happy that Chloe was awake.
What was I thinking last night? And why was she so angry with Josh? Truth or Dare was a silly game and a waste of time, but it wasn’t his fault Heather had kissed him.
She checked her email, browsed on Yahoo news and looked at the weather. She paid all her bills online, but once that was finished she discovered that having too much time on her hands made her restless. She turned on the TV, but there was nothing she found interesting. She hated days like this when she couldn’t find anything to do.
She decid
ed to do a Google search on ships that came to San Francisco from Latin America in 1968. Bingo! There were photos of ships and sailors, but none matched the destination described by Ignacio in his letter and, after narrowing her search to what seemed a lot of ships from South America, she finally found an obscure reference to a ship named the Natividad that had docked in San Francisco for a week before going to Asia.
She clicked on the other links, but it took her to the same article. According to the letters, Ignacio had stayed in San Francisco for only a week. Wait … one week and they were deeply in love? How could that be? She checked the images and saw photos of the sailors with some women dancing at a party. She looked for her mom but didn’t recognize the names listed.
She signed out of the computer, and then took a long shower thinking about Ignacio Rodriguez. Who was he? How had he and her mom fallen in love in only a week? None of it added up. Well, she couldn’t deal with that now. She needed to call Richard and ask him if he could help Nicole with the foreclosure, then get ready for work.
Chloe punched in Richard’s number then waited, only to get the message machine. She left an urgent message to call her back. Then she snapped her cell phone shut. She had all the time in the world to blow dry her hair before work. Then she tied her hair back and put on a black mini skirt and a printed top.
She arrived at work earlier than usual and spent the whole morning conducting an inventory of their stock. She was filling out the order forms inside her office when her assistant, Maureen, knocked to tell her there was a man waiting outside to see her.
Josh.
She didn’t want to see him after last night, but she couldn’t make a scene in front of her coworkers. She took off her glasses, and left her messy desk to reluctantly meet with him outside the shop.
Josh was standing next to the building dressed in a t-shirt and shorts with flip flops, his shades on his head. His eyes were bloodshot from a night of drinking. “Hey, Chloe.”
She stiffened when she saw him. “What brings you here, Josh?”
He was carrying gourmet sandwiches and sodas. “I brought you lunch. I thought you could use it … after last night.”