CHAPTER THREE WARNING: Once again, reference is made to two male lovers.
The Red Pearl Restaurant is totally fictitious. If there really is a Red Pearl, my apologies. I meant no intrusion.
February 25, 2003 (Tuesday)
DINNER AT THE RED PEARL
JULIE'S THIRD MEETING WITH HORATIO SINCE LAST DECEMBER
During the latter part of the week of February 20, Julie called Horatio from her house in Lakeport. It was late in the evening, 7:30, and he was still at work, but getting ready to go home.
"Hold on a second." Horatio said to his associate, as he answered his cell phone. They were standing on the upstairs landing outside his office at the crime lab.
"Yeah. Caine."
"Lieutenant Horatio Caine?"
"Speaking."
"This is Julie MacGyver. Not Piper."
"Miss Macgyver. What can I do for you?"
"Can I take--you--you to dinner?"
He hesitated before answering. "I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Why?"
He was trying to form the words in his mind, why it would not be a good idea. He couldn't find the words. He shuffled his feet, holding the cell phone to his ear.
"Is it because you are a lieutenant now? And I am a civilian?" Came her voice at the other end.
"That's--that's part of it." In truth, he wasn't at all sure he wanted to start another relationship with her, and have to deal with her leaving him again. And his dear wife had passed just a short time ago. He was still coming to terms with that. And now, there was this new man who seemed powerfully interested in him. Add to these things, the complexities of a few cases at the crime lab, and he was feeling a little overwhelmed, and bewildered.
"I do not work for you," Julie reminded him. "You will not be violating any rules of the police department if we just want to talk." After a silent moment, she added. "And I will pay for it."
She continued, before he could say anything, "And--and--I do not want to cause a problem with your--uh--family. I--I--just would like to talk to you."
"Um--well--um--I'm not--I don't--" (Have a wife or a family, he wanted to tell her.) He stepped into his office and closed the door.
"I will promise not to take up too much of your time."
He thought he detected a pleading tone in her voice. "Oh--kay." He glanced at his wrist watch. He was really tired, and wanted to go home to bed. "What time were you thinking?"
"It would be at 8:00, at The Red Pearl, on Highway One."
He took a deep, ragged breath. "It's almost 8:00 now, dear."
"This would be on--uh--February 25--next Tuesday. I will be in Miami on that day, and I would like to have the pleasure of your company." She added, quickly, "But only if you are not too busy." Her voice now sounded hopeful.
"Next Tuesday, 8:00. Mm hm, that'll work." He walked out of his office and down the stairs. "How about if I meet you there?"
"That would be fine."
"Goodbye, Lt. Caine."
"Bye, Julie."
At home that night, he chuckled as he thought of her paying for his dinner. He found the idea enticing. It had been years since a woman had bought him dinner. No gold digger, this one. He remembered how tight she had been with her money back in 1995, and how she had felt guilty about his spending any money on her when they went out to dinner. As the days passed, he found he was actually looking forward to it.
He realized he needed to clear something up with her. She seemed to be under the impression that he had a family. Somehow, he must muster the courage to tell her he had no family. The thought of his wife and baby's deaths still caused him pain. Or, he reflected, maybe he wouldn't tell her at all. That might be too much like making a commitment to her, and he was sure he didn't want to start any more relationships--with anyone--not even this new man who was trying to come into his life.
On the night in question, Julie arrived at the restaurant on time, and looked around the parking lot. His car was not there. Inside, a quick look around the dining area confirmed his absence. Actually, she didn't expect him to come. After all, he was a lieutenant now, and very busy, with many important things to do, and an entire lab he had to supervise, plus, he had a wife, she thought. Why would he even want to bother with her?
She desperately wanted to tell him that they had a son together, because of the promise she had made him years ago, and never been able to follow through with. Julie always kept her promises, so it really bothered her that the promise to him had never been fulfilled. She wanted to let him know about the boy. Damn promises. Why did she have to be so honest, and why did she have to make stupid promises all the time?
Horatio drove into the parking lot of the Red Pearl. He spotted her yellow and white International Harvester pickup truck, this time with a camper shell on it, and, as luck would have it, the parking spot right next to it was vacant, so he pulled into the space and turned off his engine.
When Horatio came into the restaurant, he saw her right away, standing in front of the very large aquarium at one side of the dining room, silently staring at the starfish, octopus, and miniature shark that were leisurely swimming around inside of the glass tank. She was wearing a black dress skirt above her knees, red low-cut short-sleeved blouse, and red beaded barrette in her hair, and, of course, the moccasins she always loved to wear. Her tawny hair hung in gentle waves to the middle of her back, and the ends were perfectly even. Nothing was out of place.
She was unaware of his presence, so he stood for a moment or two in the middle of the dining room, watching her from the back, his hands on his hips. He removed his sunglasses, and put them into his jacket pocket. He moved in closer, and stood beside her. Still, she didn't notice him, so intent was she on the starfish in the aquarium. He bent his head down, and softly whispered in her ear, "Echinodermata Asterozoa."
She whirled, startled, and she laughed, making an unplanned attempt to throw her arms around him, but caught herself just in time, and became serious, backing up a few steps. He had read her gesture, and had she followed through with her move to hug him, he would have reciprocated, and gladly.
She led him to her table, and the menus were already there. They sat on opposite sides of the booth, and he couldn't help but remember how she had always wanted to sit on the same side of the booth, just to be near him. He started the conversation, wanting to know what she had been up to, and she talked about a Peregrine falcon she had been working with, and was able to release inside an Indian reservation in Oklahoma. The bird had been found injured near Brighton, Florida, she took it home, nursed it back to health, and took it to Oklahoma to give it back to the wild.
She had every intention of telling him tonight, that he had a son, but she could not get up the courage to do so. Maybe she should just send him the letter she had written, and let him find out that way. She was such a coward, she thought. She finally had to admit to herself, though, that she wanted to see him again, be with him, hear his voice, and sending that letter just was not the tight thing to do. Also, she didn't want to face his anger. What would he say? What would he do? Would he show up at her house unexpectedly and yell at her in front of their son? Would he even want to know the child?
Horatio noticed how good she looked, fresh-faced, clean, and, as always, her clothing fit her well. She had a new ring on her left hand, he noticed, but it was not on her wedding ring finger. She ate her trout almondine and rice slowly, as though she wasn't very hungry. He picked up the vibes from her, that she had something on her mind, but, of course, since she wasn't telling him, he couldn't possibly know what she was thinking. He saw that there was something different about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
She seemed different in the way she looked at him, smiled at him, even in the style of clothing she was wearing. She was different than before. He noticed she no longer carried her backpack, just an attractive brown leather purse. She looked--he wasn't sure--more mature?
He talked about his duties at the crime lab, about one of his cases, about the team he was heading up. She asked him about some of the equipment she had seen in the trace lab during the tour with her sister, two and a half months before.
After the meal, they stood outside the restaurant to enjoy the seaside view from the boardwalk, and the gentle breeze that blew off the Atlantic. Her hand had somehow found it's way back into his again.
"You have probably noticed I like holding your hand," she said idly, as the breeze rustled her hair.
"Yes, I have. You always did." Well, at least, that part of you hasn't changed, he thought.
"It is a --uh--you have a--" Son, she wanted to say. But she didn't. Her eyes went down to his feet. "You must have seen I wasn't very hungry."
Releasing his hand, she turned her back to him, and he was forced to gaze at the back of her head. He didn't say anything. He saw that her shyness hadn't changed, either. But there was something else. What was wrong with her?
"I only wanted to be with you again, if only for a little while." She turned to look up into his face. "I--I suppose I should go now."
She went up on her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. He inadvertently bent his head down, so she would have better access. Then, she stepped back cautiously.
"What's that for?" He smiled.
"I am not sure. It just seemed the right thing to do."
"I feel--like--I--I have made a fool of--myself." Her head turned away again, to hide her redness.
He didn't say anything.
"But I didn't know any other way to let you know--know--that--I love you, still." Her blush crept up her neck and covered her face. She had not intended to tell him that at all. "Thank you for seeing me, Lt. Caine."
He followed her to her truck which was parked several yards from the front door of the restaurant.
She unlocked her truck door and stood beside it.
His eyes were big and wide. She loves me, echoed through his mind. After all this time, she still loves me. A surge of hope flowed through him.
"I--I--have no intention of wrecking your marriage, I just wanted to chat with you for a bit. I have done that, and now I will leave."
Wait a minute, he thought. Wreck my marriage? Where did she come up with that? Once again, she had made reference to his marriage. Should he tell her he wasn't married? Should he not? He was undecided. Once again, she had put him off-balance. She could always do that so well.
So he asked, "Excuse me? Wreck my marriage? What--?"
"I know you are married, Horatio. You told me in December, when my sister and I toured the CSI lab."
"Well--I--um--" He couldn't go any further, but she obviously had a misconception about his marital status. He remembered her asking him if he had married, and he had answered affirmatively, but they had been interrupted by her sister before he could tell her his wife had died.
He stood outside her truck, stunned at what she had just said, and asked her, after she opened the door, "Julie, would you like to--" Come home with me, he started to say. He wanted to explain things to her.
She cut his question short. "I have to go home now." She was on the verge of tears as she hopped onto the seat and closed the door.
"Okay."
She backed the truck out of the parking space, leaving him standing on the pavement.
By the time she drove out of the parking lot, she was bawling. She let her tears flow all the way home. Stupid! Moron! She berated herself. Why didn't I just tell him about Tommy, and be done with it? Then he can go his way, and I can go mine, and stop torturing myself.
Horatio was very good at reading peoples' faces. When Julie had gotten into her pickup, he was not unaware of the blinking of her eyes, and the tautness of her face, as she struggled to hold back the tears. And by the time she was driving out of the lot, he knew she was crying. He made a mental note to make a trip to Lakeport as soon as he could, to try and find her, to see her again, clear up the misconception about his marriage, and to help her with whatever was bothering her.
He was getting ready to get into his car, after Julie had left, when he was approached by a middle-aged grey-haired man, who had just come out of the restaurant.
"Can I help you?" Horatio inquired.
"I saw the young lady you were with. Was her name Julie?"
"I don't think it is any of your business who the young lady was."
"Well, it's just that she reminded me of someone I knew a few years ago. She was a singer."
"A singer, huh?"
"Yes."
"She could sing like a bird, dance like an angel, and play a mean violin and saxophone. She used to do a little thing with her shoulders, kind of shivering her shoulders, used to drive the audience crazy, the way she did it."
Horatio didn't say anything, just looked at the other with a bemused expression.
"I just thought she looked an awfully lot like Julie, but that is impossible. She lives up north somewhere, I think in Connecticut or Massachusetts, so it couldn't be her."
This had made Horatio very curious. "This Julie. Uh--what was her last name?"
"Davey. Julie Davey."
The two men regarded each other for a moment, neither speaking.
"Well, sorry to have bothered you, " the stranger finally spoke. Have a good evening." The man turned on his heel and went his separate way.
Horatio got back into his car and drove home.
END OF CHAPTER THREE
