Read Online The Owl & Moon Cafe: A Novel (No Series) by Jo-Ann Mapson - Free Book Online Page A

God. Doc? Is that you?”
    He looked at the computer screen and back at her. “Allegra? But it says here your name is Alice.”
    “Alice and Alvin. Remember? We sounded like the Bobbsey Twins so we made up nicknames that summer. I liked mine so much I kept it.”
    He took hold of her hands. “My God, Allegra. How long has it been? Come here and give me a hug.”
    Her paper gown rattled as she stood up. Doc embraced her. He smelled of sandalwood and cedar. It was warm inside his arms. They provided a perfect pocket of calm, something Allegra hadn’t felt in a long time. “This is just incredible,” she said.
    Doc nodded. “What a coincidence.”
    “Coincidence?” Allegra said, pulling back to look at him. “I prefer to think of it as two people hiking a very long trail to arrive at this moment.”
    He chuckled. “You were New Age-y before the term was coined.”
    “Well, I wish to hell I’d copyrighted it.” She gave him a frank appraisal. “At least I didn’t sell out and cut my hair.”
    “Had to,” he said. “It was starting to fall out. I looked like a demented monk.”
    She laughed. They stood there for a while, taking stock of each other. Then Alvin Goodnough, M.D., got down to business. He scrolled down the screen on the computer, examined a page of numbers, and Allegra nervously began to jabber. “Remember when we camped at Jedediah Smith?”
    “I remember that we didn’t get much sleep.”
    “When did you pop up here? I know everyone in this town and half the next.”
    “I only moved here a month ago.”
    “You live here now? Why all these years later…” She had no idea how to finish that sentence. She sat back down in the leather chair, wishing she’d brought a sweater. “Doc? Is it bad news? Please tell me it isn’t.”
    He blinked his eyes several times, something Gammy always said was the mark of a person hiding the truth. “I understand that you’re scared.”
    “I’m not scared. I’m just so glad to see you that I’d rather have a cup of coffee and talk over old times than blood tests. Let’s give the exam the big mañana.”
    “Allegra,” he said, and she could hear it in the tone of his voice—bad news.
    She crossed her arms over her breasts and the paper crackled. “No. I mean it. I can’t take it right now.”
    He looked at his watch. “Okay, we’ll talk about me for a while. I bought a house, one of those enormous places on the golf course. Big enough to house Microsoft corporate headquarters, but inside it’s cozy.”
    “You actually play golf?”
    “Allegra, please. Golf’s a game, not a political affiliation. I bought the house because it has a great view of the water.”
    “But golf? I can’t believe it. So you’re planning on staying?”
    “Yes. Now it’s time to talk about the blood tests.”
    That soon? It was the worst kind of news. “I’m thirsty. I need a drink.” She tried to pace in the small room. “I have a café to run and a grandchild and my mother’s getting old and she needs me. Please,” she said. “Keep talking about yourself. Please? Just a little while longer.”
    He set the computer on the counter, and she saw him hesitate. “I’m planning on staying. The job is challenging, and it’s a beautiful place to live—like you don’t know that already. The house has beach access. You’ll have to come by and enjoy the sunset with me sometime. We can catch up on everything else then. Now we need to talk about your condition, and how we can proceed to drive your leukemia into a nice, long remission.”
    “Leukemia?” Allegra said. “Are you sure?”
    “I am.”
    How could her body betray her this way? Admittedly, she could have taken a little better care of it, not drank so much, or stayed up so late, but hard work deserved hard fun. As Gammy would say when she came into work hungover, “Apparently you’re planning on sleeping when you’re dead, but that isn’t going to make the day pass any easier.” Leukemia. It