Part Two

He Said

“I need to ask a favour.”

Jim looked up in surprise. He had not noticed Brian’s arrival.

“What is it?” he asked.

Brian hesitated. “I have surgery scheduled. I need a ride to the hospital – it’s in Buffalo – and a ride back again a couple of days later.”

“I could probably do that,” Jim answered, reaching for his calendar. “When is it?”

When Brian told him, Jim tried his hardest not to show a reaction. It was true that the date was completely free on the calendar, but that was because the meaning of the date was a secret. For several moments, Jim debated with himself on how to react. At last, he decided that he had no choice but to agree to help Brian.

“That should be fine,” he answered, pencilling a mark on the date to help him remember.

“Don’t write it down,” Brian chided, seeing the action.

Jim shook his head. “I wasn’t. If you want me to remember, though, you’ll have to put up with me making some kind of mark.”

“Fine.” Brian hesitated in the doorway. “And thanks.”

Jim nodded his reply and waited until his friend had gone before bumping his forehead on the table. Now, he just had to explain matters to Trixie – but without telling her Brian’s secret.

When the telephone rang ten minutes later, Jim was dismayed to find that not only was it for him but that the caller bore bad news. Immediately before his commitment to help Brian, he would now be taking a work trip to Chicago. He wrote it on the calendar in angry, scratchy letters, then threw down the pen. Feeling agitated, he began to roughly clear his desk, tossing items into the drawers and balling up papers to throw across the room.

After a few minutes, he surveyed the mess he had made and let out a sigh. This was not helping, he decided, and set about putting the room in order. He had just finished straightening up when to his further surprise, he found he had less time than expected to figure out his strategy: Trixie had arrived on the doorstep.

“Trixie! I wasn’t expecting to see you today,” he greeted, drawing her inside and giving her a kiss.

She screwed her face into a wry expression. “I just remembered that I hadn’t done anything about the mail,” she explained. “I’ve just been around to deal with it and thought I’d come and see you while I’m close by. So, are you busy?”

He shook his head. “I’m all yours. Though, if you want to go out somewhere, I’ll need to get changed.”

She pushed him inside his room and closed the door behind her. “I didn’t see Brian anywhere. Let’s stay in.”

Jim nodded, trying to hide his sudden nerves. “Okay, but I thought he was here. You’ll need to be quiet if you don’t want him coming in here to see what the noise is all about.”

With a smile, she locked the door.

“I had some ideas for our secret anniversary.” She gave him a teasing smile. “Do you want to hear them?”

“Ah, well, there’s a small problem there,” he admitted, wondering how he was going to explain this, without giving away the very thing that Brian wanted kept secret. “I got a call from work just before you got here and they’re sending me to a conference in Chicago for the few days before the anniversary, which I can’t get out of. I’ve asked about them sending someone else, but they don’t want to, unless I can give a good reason. Then, once the trip is done, there’s a couple of important errands I need to run – which I also can’t get out of without good reason. I might be back by evening, but I’m not sure. So, my dilemma is: do we reveal the secret, or risk missing the anniversary?”

Trixie frowned, and he could hear the disappointment in her voice when she spoke. “You really can’t get out of these things?”

He gave a helpless shrug. “What am I supposed to say? I can’t claim that it’s my wedding anniversary when I’ve let everyone assume that I’m not married.”

“You have a point, I guess,” she conceded. “Okay, let’s keep the secret. You’ll just have to make it up to me when you get back.”

“I will, I promise.” He leaned to kiss her. “In fact, we’ll do it all twice. We’ll have one celebration before I leave and another when I get back. How does that sound?”

She smiled. “I can’t argue with that kind of logic.”

“Good.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Got to keep my best girl happy.”

“You always do,” she replied, but something about the way she said it seemed wrong.

Jim looked down at her and smiled, but his insides were tied up in knots. Something was very wrong, but he had no idea what it could be.

She Said

Diana glanced at her watch. He was late, which was not at all like him. For all of her nonchalance when Honey and Trixie were pressing her for information, Diana was passionately hoping that this relationship would last the distance. She let out a sigh and glanced at her watch once more.

“Did I keep you waiting? I’m sorry.”

She smiled. “I think I can forgive you, just this once.”

Her boyfriend returned the smile and took a seat opposite her. “I’ll have to make sure it doesn’t happen again, in that case.” His face turned serious. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

Di shook her head. “I’m sure that this is the right thing to do.”

“You’re sure they won’t find out?”

Once more, Di shook her head. “The way things are going, they won’t notice a thing. They all have enough of their own troubles at the moment.”

A slow smile crossed his face. “Let’s get started, then.”

She nodded and took his hand.

He Said

On the day of Brian’s hospital admission, Jim acted as chauffeur, as promised. They travelled in silence, with Brian spending the time looking out of the car window with a solemn expression. Jim allowed him his silence, since that seemed to be what was wanted. On arrival, he dropped Brian at the door and went to find a parking place. He found this readily enough and retrieved Brian’s bag from the trunk.

Jim slammed the lid of the trunk and hoisted the bag onto his shoulder. The walk back to the hospital took about ten minutes. Along the way, Jim passed the entrance to another building in the complex. Outside the door, a group of giggly teenage girls were waiting. Opposite them, he noticed a man of perhaps thirty or thirty-five watching. He was well-dressed, with fashionably-messy hair and about three days’ growth of beard.

Sensing something amiss but unable to pinpoint where, Jim glanced from the man to the group of girls and back again. The effect was immediate: the man turned abruptly and strode away. Jim paused and watched him for a moment, then went on his way. By the time he had reached Brian’s room, he had almost convinced himself that he had imagined the whole thing.

“Here you are,” he announced, setting the bag on a chair. “Is there anything else you need?”

Brian shook his head, but did not say anything.

“Are you okay?” Jim asked, wondering what he was supposed to do now.

Brian shrugged. “I guess so. I’m feeling a bit nervous.”

“Do you want me to stay?” Jim asked, in concern.

At once, Brian shook his head. “Go home. I’ll be fine.”

Jim considered for a long moment, then nodded. “I’ll see you later, then. Do you want me to be around when you wake up?”

“No. I’ll call you when I’m ready to be picked up.” Brian’s tone was dismissive and Jim took the hint.

“Well, good luck, then. I’ll see you later.”

Brian’s only reply was a nod.

She Said

While Jim was away, Trixie tried to keep herself busy, but still found herself at a loose end now and then. It was during one of these spells that she received a disturbing telephone call. When the phone rang, she had welcomed the distraction, but once she heard the caller’s voice she soon changed her mind.

“I have something I want you to hear,” the unfamiliar male voice informed her.

Before Trixie could respond, there was a crackle and what seemed to be a recording began.

“Right now, I’m only interested in you.” It was unmistakably Jim’s voice and Trixie smothered a gasp.

“What about Trixie?” She did not recognise this voice, which was feminine.

“There’s nothing going on between me and Trixie,” Jim answered.

“Honey seems to think there is.” The girl’s voice turned teasing. “Or is it that Trixie thinks there should be?”

“It doesn’t matter what Trixie thinks. I’m only interested in you.”

Another crackle indicated the end of the recording. The man added a taunting comment: “Think about it.” A moment later, the line went dead. Trixie stared at the phone for several moments, before setting it down. She took a couple of shaky breaths and shook her head, trying to clear it of the thoughts, the fears and above all the memory of Jim’s voice saying “It doesn’t matter what Trixie thinks.” Those words echoed in her mind, over and over again.

He Said

Having arrived back far earlier than he expected, Jim put in a call to Trixie in the hope that they could do something spontaneous for their anniversary. He tried to call her land line, but was disappointed to find that she was not answering. He then tried her cell phone and she picked up almost at once.

“I’m free for the rest of the day,” he told her. “What would you like to do?”

“Oh,” she answered, sounding disconcerted. “I’ve made some other plans. Sorry.”

For a moment, Jim paused. He felt that something was not right, but could not put his finger on it. He tried again, asking, “Then how about later? When are you free?”

“I’m not really sure. Dinner, I guess.” She sighed. “Let’s just say dinner. Do you want to book somewhere or will we just get take-out?”

He frowned, now certain that something was wrong. “I’ll book somewhere. I’ll pick you up at six, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah. I guess so. Bye.”

Jim’s frown deepened as he heard the call disconnect without even getting a chance to say anything further. It seemed certain that Trixie had been distracted by something. Whether he should worry about it was another question altogether. With a shrug, he decided to monitor the situation and see how it panned out.

She Said

Trixie fidgeted as she waited for Jim that evening. She had treated him poorly, she knew, but those words had still been echoing through her mind and it had been difficult not to demand an explanation. Further to that, the association between the ringing telephone and the things she had just heard had been so strong that she had stood and listened to it ring without being able to answer it. It was only when she had seen who was calling that she had gotten the nerve to pick up her cell.

There were still ten minutes until she expected him, but she was uncharacteristically early. Most times, she would leave it until the last minute to get ready, but today she had been on edge, ever since they had made the date. To pass the time, she paced back and forth, picking things up here and putting them down there. She looked at the clock time and again, without registering what it said, so that when the buzzer sounded she jumped in alarm. Calming herself with an effort, she let him in.

“Happy anniversary, Trixie,” he greeted, handing her flowers.

She plastered a smile on her face and lifted them up to smell them. “Thank you, Jim. They’re beautiful. I’ll just put them in some water.”

She fiddled around as she did so, never able to stay still. Jim did not seem surprised by this behaviour and for a time she thought she might be able to get through this evening without making him suspicious. They talked of trivial matters until it was time to leave.

On their way down to the car, he slung an arm across her shoulders and she tried to relax and lean into his embrace. He held the door for her and helped her in, smiling as he did so. The radio came on as he started the engine and an upbeat song was playing. Trixie tried to focus on it, to try to lift her mood.

The song ended and a news report began. Trixie had not been paying any attention to the news, so had not heard about the abduction of a teenage girl in Buffalo earlier that day. She thought she saw a flicker of alarm on Jim’s face before she reached over and switched it to another station. Her good humour was fragile enough without having to listen to that kind of news; those sorts of situations rarely ended well.

That thought brought another: that if she did not make a big effort, this evening would not end well. With that in mind, she pushed all of the hurt and suspicion out of her mind and tried to focus on the man next to her. She just hoped that the effort would be enough.

He Said

On receiving a telephone call from Brian, to say that all was in readiness, Jim drove down to collect him from the hospital. He managed to secure one of the short-term parking spaces right by the door and it only took a short time to get Brian into the car, toss his bag in the trunk and be back on the road. Jim was in no particular hurry, but he could see that Brian was uncomfortable and would probably be much happier out of the vehicle.

Traffic was heavier than Jim thought was usual, but he felt patient and in control. He allowed a furniture truck to go ahead of him, to the disgust of the driver immediately behind him. The man blew several long blasts on the horn, which Jim ignored.

“What is his problem?” Brian wondered, frowning.

“Thinks he owns the road,” Jim answered, keeping his eyes on the traffic.

Following in the truck’s wake was not the most pleasant experience, as it periodically let forth a stream of black smoke. Jim decided to take a left turn at the next intersection to get away from it. They were nearing the place he wanted to turn when some disturbance happened in the traffic ahead of them, although they could not see what was happening.

The furniture truck ground to a halt in the middle of the intersection. Somewhere nearby, a motorist made a few angry jabs at their horn. Moving slowly, Jim abandoned his former plans and manoeuvred around to the right, trying to get out of the way. The roar of a large engine being revved hard sounded close at hand, followed almost immediately by the crunch of metal on metal as the huge four-wheel drive right behind them crashed into the passenger side of the car. Stunned, Jim could only stare at the bullbar which had come to rest only inches behind Brian’s head. The spell was broken a moment later, as the driver who had caused the accident started yelling a steady stream of abuse at Jim.

Still in a daze, he scrabbled at the door handle and eventually managed to open it and climb out. Over the roof of the guilty party’s vehicle, red and blue lights were flashing and Jim felt a surge of relief to see two burly police officers approaching. The driver of the four-wheel drive had gotten out of his vehicle, too, still cursing and threatening, despite the crowd of witnesses gathering.

The other driver thumped his fist into a meaty palm as he approached, flexing large arm muscles visible through the tears in his worn and dirty shirt. An arm’s length away, he stopped short and swung a punch. Even in his dazed condition, Jim easily avoided the clumsy blow, which landed on his car, just above the door frame. The thug let out a howl of pain and rage, while the two officers drew their weapons and called a warning, which only enraged the man further.

The next ten minutes passed in a blur for Jim, but at the end of them, the man who had attacked him was secured in the back of the police car and he and Brian were waiting for the paramedics to arrive. In the heat of the moment, while he was under threat, he had forgotten Brian’s presence, and the possibility that he could have been injured, especially considering his recent operation. Once the man was in custody, someone had asked about his friend and Jim had recalled Brian’s presence with a flash of guilt.

A passer-by with some medical knowledge attended to Brian as they waited. He was in some considerable pain, but did not seem to have sustained any obvious injuries. Someone else had asked Jim whether he had hit his head, as he looked concussed.

Sirens sounded in the near distance and soon Jim was answering the same questions for the paramedics. Both he and Brian were carted off to the nearest hospital – which, by chance, happened to be the same one that Brian had so recently left. Hours later, Brian had been admitted, but Jim was released to leave.

Walking slowly through the corridors, he wondered whether his friend would want him to let anyone know that he was in hospital. Considering his recent behaviour, Jim deemed that the only way to find out what Brian was thinking was to ask. His friend’s anger at the wrong course of action would quite likely be extreme.

There was a lengthy delay before he was able to see Brian and, when he did, he was faced with an uphill battle. The other man was vehement that he did not want anyone to know of the incident.

“They’re going to find out,” Jim told him flatly. “I can’t go home minus my car without drawing a whole lot of comment. I have to tell my family and friends that I was involved in an accident and of course they’re going to ask if anyone else was in the car with me. I’m not going to lie about that.”

“Fine,” Brian snapped. “Undermine everything I’m doing to keep my situation under wraps. That’s great promise-keeping from you.”

Jim’s face reddened as his temper flared. “I’m really beginning to regret promising anything! This is ridiculous, Brian. You can’t keep this from your family. The question is not if I tell them, it’s what I tell them.”

There was a long tense silence, during which Jim scowled at his friend and Brian gazed at the wall. Finally, Brian spoke. “You can tell them that I received a minor injury and am in hospital overnight for observation.”

“Is that the truth?” Jim asked quietly. “I’m not going to lie to anyone – not even for you.”

“It’s true that the injury that I received in the car accident is minor. It’s true that they want to observe me overnight. It’s not the whole truth, certainly, but you promised you wouldn’t tell that, didn’t you?”

Grumbling under his breath, Jim left to deliver this dubious message to the Beldens.

The next morning, Jim went to collect Brian from the hospital. He had gotten a motel room for the night and hired a replacement for his car while it was being repaired, choosing to drive, in spite of their recent mishap. Once he found a parking place, it did not take long to find Brian and see that he was already checked-out and ready to leave.

“So, how are you?” Jim asked, in a low voice, as he picked up Brian’s small bag of belongings.

Brian sketched a gesture of uncertainty. “I still have to wait for everything to heal. We’ll have a better idea in a couple of months.”

Jim nodded. “I’m sorry about the accident.”

His friend shook his head. “Nothing to be sorry about; it wasn’t your fault.”

“Still, I am. I really wish it hadn’t happened. I feel like I’ve handed you another set-back.”

Brian grimaced. “Right now, my life is one long series of set-backs. This one isn’t any more important than several of the others.”

“You’ll let me know if there’s anything I can help with, though?”

“Of course.” Brian gestured to the door. “Let’s start with getting out of here. The sooner I can put this incident behind me, the better I’ll like it.”

She Said

“Eric?” Di called, poking her head through the door to the hotel room they were sharing. “Are you here?”

“In the bathroom,” came his rather muffled reply.

Diana entered the hotel room and closed the door behind her. She sat down on one of the beds and waited for him to finish. The bathroom door opened a few minutes later and he came out, wearing a towel around his narrow waist.

“I wasn’t expecting you back this soon,” he told her, glancing from her to the pile of clothes he had evidently tossed on the bed.

“Did you want me to go?” she asked, while enjoying the view.

He shrugged, unconcerned. “You were the one who wanted to hold back,” he reminded her. “I don’t mind if you watch, or you could close your eyes.”

She smiled and did so, refraining from peeking as he dressed.

“You can open them again,” he told her a few minutes later.

She breathed a silent sigh as she saw him across from her, still pulling the shirt across his body. When they had crossed paths a few months back, Eric’s fair, curly hair and pale blue eyes had reminded her of Mart Belden, but it was there that the resemblance ended. Eric was leaner than Mart, mostly through having a smaller appetite, Di was sure. At twenty-seven, he had a more mature outlook, too, which appealed to Di.

That maturity was also the reason why they were here. Eric’s career in architecture was already well-established and he was on the road doing some research. Di had elected to come along for part of the trip, rather than be separated from him for most of the summer. Financial reasons had caused them to share rooms, but Di did not want the sort of conclusions drawn that would be made if the fact was known. As a result, she had chosen to keep the trip – and even the relationship – a secret.

“Okay. I think I’m ready,” he decided a few minutes later. “Are you ready to pose as a wealthy potential client?”

“How do I look?” she asked, twirling around. “Will this outfit do?”

He eyed her critically for a few moments, then nodded. “You look perfect.” His expression altered and his voice lowered for the next words. “So perfect that I’m tempted to skip the whole thing.”

Di shook her head and walked to the door. “Not today.”

He Said

Once he had finished helping Brian, Jim made a point of spending some extra time with Trixie to try to make up for missing their anniversary. Brian had been carted back to Sleepyside by his concerned mother, much to his distress, leaving the apartment he shared with Jim free. With this freedom, Trixie had decided to stay over for a few days while her brother was out of the way.

The big news over the last few days had been the abduction of a teenage girl only an hour after Brian was admitted to hospital for the first time. Furthermore, she had last been seen in the vicinity of the hospital. The day of the car accident, the news had detailed the rescue of the victim and an early morning police shoot-out with the alleged perpetrator which left him critically injured. He had lingered for a few days and his death had just been announced. The television was showing footage of the crime scene, interspersed with still images of the victim, the perpetrator and other points of interest. To Jim’s astonishment, he recognised the perpetrator from somewhere.

“Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.” The story concluded and the next one began in its place.

“What are you staring at?” Trixie asked, as Jim’s mind supplied the rest of the details and he continued to gaze into space, open-mouthed.

“I saw that man and I’ve just remembered where,” he told her. “He was at the hospital. I guess I’d better contact them.”

“Jim,” she reasoned, in overly-patient tones, “you heard the story; when you were at the hospital, that man was unconscious, dying. You couldn’t have seen him.”

“Not that day,” he corrected, with a self-conscious jerk. “A different day. Before that.”

Her eyes narrowed. “But you weren’t there. You were in Chicago. You couldn’t have seen him.”

“No,” he admitted, gaze dropping to the floor, “I left Chicago the day before. I was running errands that day and one of them took me to Buffalo.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” She frowned. “That’s twice you were in Buffalo, without mentioning anything about it to me. Who is it that lives in Buffalo?”

“I don’t think I know anyone who lives there,” he objected. “They were just errands. I know I told you about the errands, Trixie.”

Cold fury shone in her eyes. “You know you didn’t! You let me believe that you’d be here, when twice you were actually in Buffalo. Why did you lie to me?”

“I didn’t lie,” he whispered, his heart constricted in his chest.

“It was a lie of omission. You meant to mislead me and I want to know why.”

“It was an accident,” he answered, ambiguously.

“An accident? No, Jim. This was a deliberate attempt to mislead me and I want to know why.”

He held out a hand to her, trying to get her to calm down. “It’s not like that. I didn’t mean anything of the kind.”

“I can’t believe you’d lie to me like this!” Trixie yelled, right in his face. “You cut out on our anniversary and for what? You won’t even tell me where you really were, or what you were doing there. How am I supposed to deal with this? Do you expect me to just forget about it?”

“If you’d only let me explain-”

She cut him off, turning her back and throwing her words over her shoulder. “There’s nothing to explain. You’re lying. I don’t want to be with you if you’re just going to lie to me about something as important as this.”

“What are you saying, Trixie?” He was so still, so quiet. She turned to look at him, her expression hard.

“I’m saying our relationship is over. I don’t want to be with you any more.”

His jaw dropped. “But, Trixie…” He shook his head in frustration. “It’s not like that. You can’t just dump me!”

She dropped her voice to a steely cold whisper. “You want me to talk about divorce?”

“No! No, I want you to listen. I’m telling the truth. Please, don’t punish me for that.”

“You want to tell me the truth?” she asked. “Then, I’d like the whole truth.”

Jim thought of his promise to Brian and gulped. “Well, there’s another factor involved here,” he began, but did not get any further.

“If you can’t tell me the whole truth, then I don’t want to hear any of it.”

Before he could answer, she had gone, slamming the door behind her. Jim rushed after her, throwing the door open once more and thundering down the stairs calling her name. She took no notice, but got out of the building and into her car before he caught up.

“Just leave me alone,” she demanded, getting inside and starting the engine.

Jim considered standing in front of the car, if only fleetingly, but decided against that course of action. He stood and watched her drive away until she was out of sight, then turned to go back inside. His steps were heavy as he trudged back upstairs and into the apartment. With deliberation, he locked the door and went to his room, carefully closing and locking that door too. It was not until then that he allowed himself any show of emotion.

Alone in his room, Jim’s tears fell unheeded. Trixie had seemed so hard, so determined. She had not just been angry, she had shown such a cold fury that it had scared him. He wondered whether she would get over it in a few days, or weeks. A small part of him feared that she would not and he went cold at the thought of exactly what that would mean.

The temptation to break his word to Brian was almost overwhelming. He shouldn’t have asked me for secrecy, Jim reasoned to himself, half-believing the justification. Our relationship hinges on a more important promise than the one I made to Brian. I’d rather lose Brian’s friendship than Trixie’s. The last argument was almost enough to make him pick up the phone and call her. Still, a little voice told him to hold back. She might not believe it. I might lose both.

Back and forth, the internal argument raged: break his word to Brian, or risk losing Trixie. There seemed no solution to the problem; no matter which he chose, it felt like he would lose a part of himself.

She Said

“Strange,” Honey murmured as she put down the phone. “I thought someone should be there.”

She had tried to call Jim to ask what time he would be back in Sleepyside the next day, but no one had answered the telephone. After trying Trixie as well and having no response, she decided that they must be out together and left the matter. She would find out when she saw them, she supposed.

Her next attempt for a conversation was with Diana, who also was not answering her telephone. Honey frowned at the instrument, as if it was its fault that she was at home and all of her friends seemed to be out.

“What are you doing?” Mart asked her, as he came into the room.

“Trying to find someone who’s at home to talk to me,” she answered, in a forlorn voice. “Everyone seems to be out having fun, while I have no energy to spare and hardly any mobility, if I managed to find the energy.”

Mart ran an affectionate hand across her bump. “You have me,” he offered. “I’m right here and waiting to listen to your every word.”

“It’s lucky I have you,” she answered. “I have a lot of words to say at the moment – I don’t have much of anything else, but words are in ample supply.”

“I love words.” He gave her a kiss. “Come and sit next to me. We can spend the evening sharing as many words as you can find.”

Honey giggled. “You’re silly.”

He waggled his eyebrows and led her to a comfortable chair. “You love me for it.”

“I do,” she answered.

“And I love you too.”

Continue to part three.