Read Online Beautiful Musician by Sheri Whitefeather - Free Book Online Page A

to meet strangers and discuss your
personal life?”
    “ They’re going to be
talking about their lives, too.” Maybe one of them would even admit
that they were fearful.
    Carol set a full plate of food in
front of me. “It’s a long way for you to travel for something like
that.”
    “ It’s only an hour.” I was
looking forward to getting away. “It’s a Starbucks-type place in
the Media District. It’s called The Coffee Shell.”
    “ Will you text me when you
get there?”
    “ Of course. I’ll text you
before I head home, too.”
    Carol joined me at the table, and we
ate in silence. She’d already set my vitamins out for me. I’d been
through a couple of bouts of anemia and now she insisted that I
take lots of iron so it never happened again.
    I glanced out the window, which
presented a glowing green view of the backyard and the vegetable
garden we planted every year. We lived in a lovely old ranch-style
house that Carol had renovated years ago. Her consignment shop was
highly successful, affording us a comfortable lifestyle, which now
included the cost of Abby’s private care.
    Later, Carol left for work, and I
prepared to leave for my outing. But then my cell phone rang with
an unfamiliar number on the screen. I answered it, and a man’s
voice came on the line.
    “ Vanessa?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ This is
Duncan.”
    He was one of the people from the
support group that I would be meeting, and he was even more of an
online lurker than I was. I barely knew anything about his
situation.
    He continued by saying, “I got your
number from Linda. She asked me to call you.”
    Linda posted actively in the group and
was the one who’d arranged the get-together, along with her cousin,
Jamie. “Is there a problem?”
    “ Linda and Jamie can’t
make it today.”
    Disappointed, I blew out a sigh. “So
it’s cancelled, then?”
    “ Not unless you don’t mind
meeting with just me.”
    “ You’re still willing to
talk?”
    “ Sure. Why not? I’m not as
quiet in person as I am online.”
    “ Me, neither.” I smiled,
feeling comforted by his easy manner. “We might as well give it a
go.” I paused for a second. “How will I recognize you?” I had a
description of Linda, but that wouldn’t do me any good.
    “ I’ll be the guy sitting
off by himself drinking a double caramel macchiato.”
    I laughed. As if that was going to set
him apart. “I’ll be the short, skinny blonde in a green dress and
gold sandals. How about if you look for me instead?”
    “ Will do. See you,
Vanessa.”
    “ See you, too.”
    We ended the call, and I felt a sense
of calm. I liked that he’d been cautious online, yet was willing to
share in person. It made him seem like more of an ally, more like
myself. Was his story as troubling as mine? Was his family member
as ill as Abby? For his sake, I hoped not.
     
    ***
     
    I arrived at The Coffee Shell and
parked my car. While still seated behind the wheel, I texted my
aunt, as promised, letting her know that I was safe and
sound.
    I glanced at the time. Luckily I was
right on schedule. I put away my phone and entered the building. It
was much bigger than I’d expected and not all of the tables were
out in the open, as I’d assumed they would be. A row of high-backed
booths were positioned beside softly tinted windows, with natural
light filtering in.
    I was glad that Duncan would be on the
lookout for me, rather than me having to seek him out. Still, I
hoped that he would hurry up and notice me. Otherwise I would feel
stupid standing around, waiting for him to appear. The place was
packed with all sorts of people.
    I approached the front counter and
ordered a vanilla latte. If Duncan didn’t come out of the woodwork
before my drink was ready, I should probably call him, just to make
sure that he wasn’t running late. For all I knew, he wasn’t even
here yet.
    Then, as if on cue, I heard a man say
from behind me, “Excuse me, miss, but are you the short, skinny
blonde in