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Authors: Mary Jane Clark
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head.
SATURDAY AUGUST 20
CHAPTER
21
The promise of the sun’s arrival was signaled on the ocean’s
horizon. The light was changing, ever so slowly, the inky black sky
fading to dark gray. As he stepped onto the boardwalk, Arthur knew the
grayness would gradually get lighter and lighter until the sun’s orange
and yellow rays took over and finally lit up the azure sky over the
dark blue sea.
It was basically the same every day. Arthur knew because he never
slept well. He was usually out on the boardwalk by 4:00 a.m. It was his
favorite time of day, before the joggers came or the fishermen arrived
to cast their lines in the water. At this precious hour he had the
boardwalk to himself.
Since he came to live in Ocean Grove after he’d been released from
the VA hospital, there wasn’t a morning gone by, a stroll down the
boardwalk taken, that Arthur hadn’t thought of Bonnie. The first time
he saw the water every day, heard a seagull’s early cry, and listened
to the never-ending rumble of the ocean, he thought of her. Today was
no different.
A welcome breeze swept in from the ocean, blowing Arthur’s partially
unbuttoned three-color desert camouflage shirt open. A rare gift of
late, the gust felt good against his face and chest. Arthur enjoyed it,
dreading the unremitting heat that was coming again later today.
A blue-and-white Dodge Durango stopped at the curb alongside his
spot on the boardwalk. “How ya doin’, Art?” the overnight police
officer called over the strip of grass that separated the two men.
“I’m doing all right. How ‘bout yourself?” Arthur said amiably,
concealing his disappointment that no matter how many times he asked
the cops to call him Arthur, they continued to address him as Art.
“Fine, Art. Thanks for asking,” said the cop. “Been out here long,
Art?”
“No. I just got here.”
“See anything out of the ordinary?” the policeman asked.
“Like what?”
“We got a call from the parents of one of the local girls saying she
hasn’t come home since she left for a babysitting job last night.”
Arthur felt himself growing anxious. “Well, I didn’t see any girl,”
he answered quickly, before coughing three times.
“Nobody’s saying you did, Art. But if you do see anything, let us
know, will you? We’re looking for a blond girl, about five-foot-one,
thin, pretty. In fact, she’s a waitress at Nagle’s. Carly Neath. Know
her?”
Filled with trepidation, Arthur tried to decide how to answer. Yes,
he knew her. Shawn had brought Carly with him one time when he came out
on the boardwalk to talk. But Arthur was afraid to tell the cop about
that. If the police thought he knew Carly, they might think he had
something to do with her not coming home last night. People like him
were always among the first suspected when anything went wrong.
“Nope. Don’t know her.”
Arthur kept walking on the boards that hovered over the beach as the
police car followed slowly alongside for a while and then pulled away.
Arthur thought about the pretty girl who had smiled so brightly when
Shawn had introduced her that day. She’d reminded him a lot of Bonnie.
When he reached his favorite bench, he circled it three times before
taking a seat. Uncontrollably, Arthur’s mind segued from thoughts of
Shawn’s girlfriend to Bonnie, calling up the memories, still
surprisingly clear, despite the time gone by and the medication
designed to take the edge off his pain. The medicine, when he took it,
did the job, somewhat. Though Arthur didn’t get as agitated as he used
to when he thought of Bonnie, nothing could eradicate her from his
mind. And though he still harbored some anger toward her for what she’d
done to him, to them, that didn’t mean he would ever want to forget her.
She had been his first love and his only love. Arthur knew he could
never love someone again the way he’d loved Bonnie. He also knew that
someone like Bonnie was never going to love him. Not the
SATURDAY AUGUST 20
CHAPTER
21
The promise of the sun’s arrival was signaled on the ocean’s
horizon. The light was changing, ever so slowly, the inky black sky
fading to dark gray. As he stepped onto the boardwalk, Arthur knew the
grayness would gradually get lighter and lighter until the sun’s orange
and yellow rays took over and finally lit up the azure sky over the
dark blue sea.
It was basically the same every day. Arthur knew because he never
slept well. He was usually out on the boardwalk by 4:00 a.m. It was his
favorite time of day, before the joggers came or the fishermen arrived
to cast their lines in the water. At this precious hour he had the
boardwalk to himself.
Since he came to live in Ocean Grove after he’d been released from
the VA hospital, there wasn’t a morning gone by, a stroll down the
boardwalk taken, that Arthur hadn’t thought of Bonnie. The first time
he saw the water every day, heard a seagull’s early cry, and listened
to the never-ending rumble of the ocean, he thought of her. Today was
no different.
A welcome breeze swept in from the ocean, blowing Arthur’s partially
unbuttoned three-color desert camouflage shirt open. A rare gift of
late, the gust felt good against his face and chest. Arthur enjoyed it,
dreading the unremitting heat that was coming again later today.
A blue-and-white Dodge Durango stopped at the curb alongside his
spot on the boardwalk. “How ya doin’, Art?” the overnight police
officer called over the strip of grass that separated the two men.
“I’m doing all right. How ‘bout yourself?” Arthur said amiably,
concealing his disappointment that no matter how many times he asked
the cops to call him Arthur, they continued to address him as Art.
“Fine, Art. Thanks for asking,” said the cop. “Been out here long,
Art?”
“No. I just got here.”
“See anything out of the ordinary?” the policeman asked.
“Like what?”
“We got a call from the parents of one of the local girls saying she
hasn’t come home since she left for a babysitting job last night.”
Arthur felt himself growing anxious. “Well, I didn’t see any girl,”
he answered quickly, before coughing three times.
“Nobody’s saying you did, Art. But if you do see anything, let us
know, will you? We’re looking for a blond girl, about five-foot-one,
thin, pretty. In fact, she’s a waitress at Nagle’s. Carly Neath. Know
her?”
Filled with trepidation, Arthur tried to decide how to answer. Yes,
he knew her. Shawn had brought Carly with him one time when he came out
on the boardwalk to talk. But Arthur was afraid to tell the cop about
that. If the police thought he knew Carly, they might think he had
something to do with her not coming home last night. People like him
were always among the first suspected when anything went wrong.
“Nope. Don’t know her.”
Arthur kept walking on the boards that hovered over the beach as the
police car followed slowly alongside for a while and then pulled away.
Arthur thought about the pretty girl who had smiled so brightly when
Shawn had introduced her that day. She’d reminded him a lot of Bonnie.
When he reached his favorite bench, he circled it three times before
taking a seat. Uncontrollably, Arthur’s mind segued from thoughts of
Shawn’s girlfriend to Bonnie, calling up the memories, still
surprisingly clear, despite the time gone by and the medication
designed to take the edge off his pain. The medicine, when he took it,
did the job, somewhat. Though Arthur didn’t get as agitated as he used
to when he thought of Bonnie, nothing could eradicate her from his
mind. And though he still harbored some anger toward her for what she’d
done to him, to them, that didn’t mean he would ever want to forget her.
She had been his first love and his only love. Arthur knew he could
never love someone again the way he’d loved Bonnie. He also knew that
someone like Bonnie was never going to love him. Not the
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