Mary and Alvin Ch. 04

Maine Sushi

Mary had thought that she'd grown used to spending her Saturday evenings sitting on the couch, eating junk food and watching movies, but this Saturday felt different. She wasn't content with her ice cream and Netflix. She was lonely.

She had not heard from Alvin since their dinner date at the beach on Tuesday. She hoped he might call her, maybe tell her about some sight he had seen on his sail to Rhode Island, or just check in and say hello. But she had heard nothing. She considered calling him, and she'd even researched online to find out how far out to sea a cell phone was likely to get reception. But after having lunch with her work friend Kelly on Thursday, she had second thoughts.

They had gone to the little Chinese restaurant in the strip mall across the road from the bank. Mary had to hold her tongue whenever her coworkers praised the food at the China Garden. She was a California girl, and she doubted she'd ever find really good Chinese food in Maine. But China Garden wasn't so bad that she'd turn down sharing lunch with a friend.

"You're going to have to teach me how to do that sometime," Kelly said, watching Mary pick up a bite of Almond Chicken with her chopsticks.

"What, use chopsticks? It's easy."

"Look around, sister."

Mary looked around the restaurant. She was the only one in the place who was not eating with a fork.

Kelly laughed, and Mary joined her. "What can I tell you, I'm from away."

"Yeah, well now you're dating a local guy. How did your supper go the other day?"

"It was lovely. We went down to that little place at Lincolnville Beach."

"The Whale's Tooth?"

"Yes, and after dinner we had a lovely walk on the beach."

"Romantic."

"It was." Mary scowled. "So, you have to tell me, why did you react like that when you saw it was Alvin? You said he's a great guy, but you looked at me like I was about to step in front of a bus."

"I'm sorry," Kelly said, looking down at her plate. "I don't mean to be negative at all."

"Is it the age thing? You think he's too old for me."

Kelly shrugged. "No, I don't think that matters if two people make a connection."

"What then?"

"It's not the age thing. It's the dead wife thing." She wrinkled her nose. "Oh shit, that sounds awful to say it like that."

"You think he's never gotten over her."

"I don't know if that's it exactly. It's more like, well," she stopped and thought for a minute. "Look, Mary, you're pretty and you're fun to be around and even seeing the two of you together for a couple of minutes, I got the sense there is a spark between you."

"So, what's the problem?"

"You've probably got morning breath when you wake up."

Mary sat back in surprise. "Yeah, I suppose I do."

"You probably get cranky when you're tired, and you like music he thinks is crappy, and you get PMS and, who knows? You don't eat with your mouth open, so that's good."

Mary was starting to feel defensive. "What are you getting at, Kelly?"

"Bonnie doesn't have those issues. Bonnie will always be perfect and never disappoint him."

"I didn't think about it before, but you knew her, didn't you?"

"I didn't know her well. But yeah, everybody knew her. She was on the school board and the parks commission and the committee that put on the Harbor Fair every summer, all that stuff."

"It's been, what, ten years? Hasn't he had any relationships since then?"

"Oh, yeah, and one or two looked like the real thing. But they always just sort of, I don't know, flickered out."

As Mary sat on the couch eating her ice cream, that phrase kept repeating in her head. Flickered out. Two dates and she was afraid that what had seemed like the start of something special was already waning. She felt like she'd made a big mistake having sex with him that first night. Could it be that, once he'd slept with her, his interest had, in fact, flickered out? But he sent her flowers and took her for dinner afterwards. Or was that his way of letting her down easy?

She got up and crossed over to her window. The moon was near full and she could see the boats bobbing gently in the water along Faulkner's Wharf. He was just busy, sailing so far all alone. And he did say that he liked the solitude of being out on the ocean. He'll call tomorrow.

Alvin and Jennifer ate a bucket of steamer clams at a bar on the Newport waterfront, and decided they would stay the night in Rhode Island and drive back to Maine in the morning. It was a good decision. They checked into a motel room and Alvin flopped down on one of the twin beds. He was asleep before his daughter had picked out a movie for them to watch.

Jennifer hated driving in heavy traffic, so Alvin took the wheel when they left Newport the next morning. As they crossed into Massachusetts and made their way north, Jennifer talked enthusiastically about her plans for the farm, interrupted occasionally by her father's strongly stated opinions about Boston drivers.

"I've been studying about alpacas," Jennifer said as they crawled through Quincy.

"Alpacas?"

"There is a lot of money in alpacas, and they are relatively easy to take care of."

"You'd sell the wool?"

"Yes, but the real money is in breeding stock."

"How much would it cost to get started?"

"From what I'm looking at I'd say about $60,000."

"I wonder where you would get the kind of money," Alvin said with a grin.

"Oh, we will find it," Jennifer replied. "Some wise person will decide I'm a good investment."

Alvin picked up her hand and kissed it. "Just remember that you're going to have to take care of me when I'm old and feeble."

They stopped in Portsmouth for burgers at lunchtime. Jennifer decided to drive the rest of the way to Londonderry. As they crossed the Piscataqua Bridge into Maine, she looked over at the father.

"So, we talked about me all morning. What's new with you?"

Alvin shrugged. "You know, start of summer, been pretty busy."

Jennifer nodded, and was silent for a moment before asking, "Do you remember my friend Kathy, the one who changed her hair color, like every week and a half?"

"Vaguely."

"I haven't seen her in a while, who knows what color her hair is now. Anyway, we are still friends on Facebook."

Alvin was only half tuned into his daughter's chatter. Crossing into Maine always brought back thoughts of his return from Key West.

"So, you know where she works now?'

"Nope, no idea," Alvin said absently.

"She tends bar at the Whale's Tooth, down in Lincolnville."

Suddenly, Alvin was paying attention.

"So, tell me about her," Jennifer said.

"Her name is Mary. She works up to the bank. Just been in town a short while."

"Have you been seeing her long?"

"No, just had a couple of dates."

"Kathy said she was very pretty."

"That she is," he said, and without thought, broke into a grin.

"And young."

Alvin hesitated. "She's twenty seven." He paused. "Is that a problem?"

"Not for me it isn't. Charlotte is going to piss herself though."

"Yeah, she might well."

"Maybe we ought to stop in Portland, ask her what she thinks."

Alvin looked over at her. "That doesn't seem a good notion to me," he told her.

She laughed. "I'm just messing with you, Dad. You think I want to be around when she hears about it?"

"It's only been a couple of dates, no reason to make a big deal out of it."

"Whatever." She drove in silence for a few minutes. "Dad," she said at last, "You know I got your back, right? I mean, you never judged me, I am not going to judge you."

"Thank you, sweetheart," he said, stroking her hair. She smiled at him, and he was struck again by how much she reminded him of her mother.

They arrived in Londonderry late in the afternoon. Alvin wanted to check things at the wharf, so they went there first. Everything was well in hand. He looked up the hill towards Mary's apartment and thought about calling her, but Jennifer was waiting in the car, so he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

They drove out to the farm, and sent most of the evening in further discussion about Jennifer's plans to make it prosper again. She showed her father websites about alpaca raising, and about some of her other ideas. He had imagined that some day the wild meadows surrounding his home would be replaced with fields of waving corn, but she was describing riggings for growing hops, greenhouses to start sapling fruit trees, rows of garlic and kale. As he listened to his daughter, Alvin felt enormous pride in her, and had no doubts that she would succeed.

Jennifer left early the next morning. Alvin wondered how far down the road she's get before she called her sister to gossip about Mary. Once that thought entered his mind, he regretted that he had not called her when he returned to town. He considered calling now, but decided it was too early in the day. He planned to call her later, but once he arrived at work, he had to put that from his mind. It was a beautiful late spring weekend, and the wharf was busy all day. Business did not slow down until the sun began to get low in the sky. He was in the office closing up when he heard car tires rolling across the gravel yard.

He sighed, wondering what else he'd have to deal with. He turned to see his sister Diana getting out of her car.

"Hey, Di," he greeted her as she came through the door.

"Hi, honey. How was your trip?"

"It was good. Good weather, good winds."

Diana went to her desk and took out some ledgers. Alvin's heart sank at the sight of them. He loved his sister, but he hated talking business with her. Deal with the money, he thought, and let me just deal with the boats.

"How's Jen?" Diana asked, "Did she talk to you about the llamas?"

"Alpacas."

LLamas, alpacas, I don't know the difference. There's another one too, isn't there? Guanos? Something like that?"

"Guano is not the name of an animal, Di."

"Well, anyway, we need to talk about the financial aspect of her plans, and I'd like to do so before she comes home for the summer."

"In other words, you want to talk about it now."

"No, I wanted to talk about it last week, but you were off on a sail."

"That's work, Di."

"Work that absolutely no one but you could do. Right. Come on, let's go to Hurley's, I'll buy you a beer while we go over this."

They left the office. While Alvin locked the door, Diana got back in her car.

"Too lazy to walk up the hill?" he teased her.

"Getting too old," she replied, "and you aren't far behind."

"You're forty five, Di," he said as he slid into the passenger seat.

"Well, I'd walk up if I had to, but I don't have to, do I?"

"You've got a point, Sis."

They shared a plate of wings while they discussed their business. Things were very good, they had a healthy bank balance, and steady revenues coming in. Still, farming was a risky venture, and one in which neither of them had any experience or expertise. They would be taking an enormous risk backing Jennifer's plans. Alvin was willing to take it, no questions asked. She was his daughter. She thought about her words in the car. "You know I got your back." And he would have hers, using just his own money if need be. But the venture would be on surer footing if it was backed by the full weight of the family business. Diana had every right to be cautious. She had kids too, and they weren't looking for backing. Tim was a silent partner, and would go along with whatever they decided, but Diana's support was crucial.

Despite the importance of the subject, Alvin found himself distracted. He could not help looking towards the back of the room, to the booth he and Mary had shared just about this time a week earlier. He felt guilty for neglecting her in the past few days, then foolish for feeling that he had any obligation to her after such a short period of time.

Finally, Diana had covered all the issues that concerned her. They were in agreement on all the important points. They, as not just family, but a business, would back Jennifer, but at Diana's insistence, she would have to agree to some limits in advance, and to some form of financial oversight.

They stepped out of the bar, into the warm spring night. Diana kissed her brother on the cheek, then got in her car.

"Do you want a ride back down to the wharf?" she asked through her open window.

"No, I'm good."

He watched her drive away, then looked down towards the dark harbor. After a moment's hesitation, he turned the other way and started walking up the hill.

It looked like it would be another night alone in front of the television. Mary has spent the day running errors and doing chores. Now, her apartment was clean, her laundry done and her cupboards full. She had tried to put Alvin out of her mind, but she did look down to the wharf several times. It was a beehive of activity all day, and she couldn't be sure if one of the tiny figures moving about was him. When it grew close to supper time and she has not heard from him, she resigned herself to spending the evening alone again. The question in her mind was whether or not she also needed to resign herself to the idea that he was just not that interested in her. Could she, should she, try to do something about that, or just let it go?

The evening was muggy, so after a supper of warmed up leftovers, she stripped down to just her panties and a tank top. She wished she had an air conditioner, or at least a window fan. It didn't seem like anyone in Maine had air conditioning.

She settled in, with a big bowl of popcorn and a glass of white wine, to watch Game of Thrones. Only a few minutes into the show, there was a knock on her door.

She knew it was him as soon as she heard it. She jumped up and rushed to the bathroom, grabbing her robe and throwing it on as she went to the door.

Alvin stood in the doorway looking sheepish. Good, she thought, I hope he feels guilty.

"Well, look who's here," she said, allowing some sarcasm to seep into her tone.

Alvin didn't seem sure what to say or to do with his hands. He made a halfhearted gesture over his shoulder.

"I was just to Hurley's for a meeting with my sister, and thought it might be alright if I stop by."

"Come on in," she said, opening the door fully. As he entered she gestured to a chair. "Have a seat."

He sat in the chair, and she crossed to the couch. She picked up the TV remote and pressed pause. As she sat down she crossed her legs, letting her robe fall open to expose them. Alvin could not help but glance at them, as she knew he would.

"So, how was your trip?" she asked, "Did you have good weather?"

"Oh, yes, it was fine. Made good time."

"And how's your daughter?"

"Just fine. We had a nice talk about the farmland and all."

There was a minute of awkward silence while Mary sipped her wine. She hoped he noticed that she had not offered him any.

"Listen, Mary," he said, looking at the floor and scratching his scalp, "I'm sorry that I didn't call. I was just, well, I don't know, caught up in things."

"That's fine," she said, with a little more snap than she had intended, " You aren't under any obligation."

"It's not a matter of obligation, but I wish I'd called, that's all."

"I wish you had as well. And I wish if you wanted to see me tonight, you'd have called and asked."

"Well, I just thought..."

"What, that you could come over because you felt like it?"

"No, I..."

"But that's what you did."

"Why are you so angry?"

"I'm not angry," she lied, "I'm just annoyed."

"I'm sorry, but I really wanted to see you."

"If you thought we were going to fuck, you're wrong."

"That's not what I thought."

"Good."

Alvin stood up. "I guess I ought to go."

"I think that's best." She picked up the remote and restarted the program.

Alvin watched for a minute. "I like this show," he said.

"Did you read the books?"

"No."

"Well I did. If you don't treat me nice, I'll tell you spoilers."

"You would, wouldn't you?"

She nodded. Alvin turned towards the door.

"Hey," she called after him. He turned to look back at her.

"Where can I buy an air conditioner in this town?"

Alvin thought for a moment. "Best to go down to Rockland."

"Will you go with me tomorrow after work?"

"So, as long as I can tote heavy loads, I'm worth having around?"

Mary laughed. "Do they have any good Chinese restaurants in Rockland?"

Alvin shrugged. "They have a really good sushi place."

"Sushi is not Chinese."

"I am aware of that, believe it or not. But I thought it might be a good alternative."

"Alright. Pick me up at work then."

"I will. Good night, Mary."

Before she could reply, he'd shut the door behind himself. She turned off the television. She hoped that she had not been too bitchy with him. She wanted to sting him a little bit, not scare him away. But she was going to see him tomorrow, and that cheered her up, even if she was dubious about Maine sushi.

Alvin drove around the parking lot several times before he found an open spot from which he had a clear view of the building's front door. There had been a lot of controversy when First American Bank had announced it was locating a big billing and data center in Londonderry. Locals feared any influx of newcomers, people "from away" as they called them when they were being polite, "flatlanders" when the were not, would change the nature of the town. Alvin had hoped that the new people coming in looking for jobs would be a breath of fresh air for the community, and he felt that he'd been right. But he hadn't dreamed he would ever be dating one of them.

As he waited for Mary to come out, he thought about their encounter the previous night. He wasn't sure what he had expected when he went to her apartment. He was hurt that she had insinuated that he was just looking for sex, but what had he been looking for? Did he expect her to leap into his arms, when he had not even bothered to let her know he was back in town? He tried to remember if he had promised to call her. He thought he had, and if so, it was a promise he'd broken. He had gotten a date with her by lying about the kayaks, and now he'd already broken a promise to her. He had better decide if he was really interested in her, because it seemed like he was somehow really screwing things up.

When he saw her come out of the bank, there was no question he was interested in her. She wore a short red dress that showed off her long legs. He remembered her catching him looking at them the night before, when her robe had fallen open. You aren't as devious as you think you are, girl, he thought.

He tapped the horn and pulled out of his parking spot. She waved as he rounded the lane and pulled up in front of her. He looked at her legs as she slid into the passenger seat, and this time when she caught him, he didn't look away, but into her eyes. He grinned at her and she smiled back.

"So," she asked brightly, "where are we going?"

"There's a Home Depot in Rockland, probably get your best deal there. I have to say now, I don't think you really need an air conditioner."

She gave him a hard look. "Excuse me," she said, "I like to keep cool, especially when I'm sleeping. It's my apartment, don't forget."

He raised his hands from the wheel in a gesture of surrender. "That's fine, not trying to tell you your business." He paused for a few seconds. "But you don't need it."

She gave him a playful slap on the shoulder. They were on the highway now, heading south along the shore.

"You see that big ocean?" he asked her.

"Hard to miss," she said, then took a little dig. "Not as big as the one I'm used to, though."

"How far did you live from the ocean in California?"

"About twenty miles."

"Well, you live not a half mile from this one. And as we get to summer, the land warms up more than the water does and the sea breeze will kick up every afternoon. You'll be plenty cool."