I can’t stop thinking about this, Clay, the second email said. If there’s anything at all you need from me, please let me know. Kate was such a sweet, sweet girl. Riva.
Cindy found that odd. She wondered why Riva made no mention of Sean at all. Why didn’t she say they were sorry?
“Are Riva and Sean sharing a room?” Cindy asked as she read the correspondence.
“Sure,” said Clay, “why?”
“She never once mentions him,” said Cindy. “She doesn’t say we’re sorry, just that she is.”
Clay stood up straighter. “Why should she mention him? She doesn’t want to rub it in. She’s concerned about me, not Sean.”
The next email from Riva came a few hours later. Hi, there Clay, how are you doing? All alone? Need anything now? Riva.
Parents will be here in a little while, Clay had answered.
Cindy got up from the computer. There was a lot more to look into here. She had to check Kate’s email correspondence as well. Had Kate and Riva been in touch before she died? What about Kate and Sean? Was their meeting at the hotel truly accidental?
“Can I take Kate’s computer with me for a little while?” Cindy asked Clay. There was hours of work ahead of her and it would be good to go back to her room and work on it alone.
Clay stood up fervently. “No, you can’t. I want it here with me. I like looking at it. I need to look at it. I want to remember over and over how happy I made Kate. I want to show my parents, too. You can see for yourself that she loved me, can’t you?”
“Yes, I can,” said Cindy sadly, “Kate looked thrilled. You look like a wonderful couple.”
“Thank you,” said Clay, “thank you,” as he turned and went back to the chair on the edge of the patio, alone again.
Cindy got up then, stretched, thanked Clay and said she’d be back a little later. She had to go down to the lobby and catch up with Mattheus now.
Clay, stood up, and accompanied her off the patio.
“Are you two in love?” he asked under his breath as they walked to the door.
Cindy was taken aback. “Why do you ask that?”
“I just wanted to know if you can even begin to understand what I’m going through.”
Cindy turned and looked into his eyes. They were deep blue, filled with pools of fear and sadness.
“Yes, Clay,” she said, “I can understand. I lost someone like this, too.”
His head flipped back. “Who?”
“My husband died down here on the islands during our honeymoon,” said Cindy.
That stopped him totally for a moment. “You were married to someone else?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re with Mattheus now?”
“That’s right,” said Cindy.
Clay’s face grew tight and grim. “Just like that, feelings can change? You can go from one to another?” he asked.
Cindy felt put on the spot. “It didn’t happen just like that. It took time.”
Clay took a step away from her. “But I don’t believe in time,” he said.
*
There were all kinds of ways of coping with the sudden shock of loss, Cindy thought as she rode down in the elevator back to the lobby to meet Mattheus. Clay was partially numb, partially disoriented, partially lost in memories of the past. That was normal. Deep inside he was desperately trying to figure things out, make life go back to the way it was, or the way he thought it should have been. Of course Clay didn’t believe in time, thought Cindy. How could he right now? Time had ripped his love from him. If time didn’t exist for him, then all could be the way it was again.
As Cindy stepped out of the elevator, she saw Mattheus sitting at a small sofa nearby, drinking coffee. He got up when Cindy walked out of the elevator.
“Come on,” he said, “we’re going for lunch at a great spot on Orjeanstadt Street. It’ll be good to get out of the hotel for a while and clear our heads.”
Cindy linked her arm into his. “Great,” she said, happy to be with him, and to be headed to the main street in town where they’d get a change of scenery, fresh air, and time to review what they’d found so far.
Orjeanstadt Street was filled with shops, restaurants, outdoor cafes and tourists ambling about as if there was nothing more important to do in the world than be down here enjoying the balmy days. The sun, that had been trying to break through the clouds all morning, was slowly seeping through. It was unusual to get a cloudy or rainy day down here this time of year. If it did rain or grow cloudy, it usually only lasted for a short time. Cindy enjoyed the feel of the sun on her body as they walked.
“You look great,” Mattheus said, pulling Cindy closer to him. Clearly, he had decided to pick up the relationship where they’d left off. Cindy was tremendously relieved that the tension between them had eased up.
“I have so much news,” she said.
“Let’s have it,” said Mattheus, eager, as they picked up their pace.
“Kate’s ex-boyfriend, Sean is still at the hotel, with his date, Riva. They’re staying for another few days.”