Part 19 (1/2)
He yawned. ”We are?”
”Yep. I'm taking you to the Maine house for a little while.”
”Okay,” he said, offering no argument.
”First, we're going to treat you to a nice hot shower. Come on.”
She gently helped him up and out of the room.
In the bathroom she went about undressing him.
He stood before her naked, watching her dip her hand in and out of the shower, adjusting its temperature.
”Kate,” he said, his voice rubbery.
”Hmm?”
”You're an artist.”
”Mm-hmm.”
”Well, I was wondering. About when you've created something.
When it's something really good. You know, like a new CD. And when it's all done, you have it and hold it in your hands. And there it is. All said and done. You can keep going back to it, but no matter how great it is, it's past. History. So. What I want to know is, do you ever feel like you'll never be able to do it again? Do anything again?”
”All the time, love.” She took his chin in her hand and kissed his forehead. ”But no matter how hard it seems at the time, if you did it once, you can do it again.”
”Promise?”
”You know it.”
”Good. Will you come in here with me?”
”Yes.”
PART II
Chapter 7
Eating breakfast in the cafe had become part of Peter's daily routine. The waitress greeted him as he sat with his usual pile of newspapers. She returned with a cup of coffee, a scone, and a gla.s.s of orange juice.
He was grateful for the privacy his vacation home offered. It was Matthew who had introduced him to the quaint town of Camden, Maine, a place popular in the summer with executives and their families from Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, and over the last three months he had been recognized by only a few executives around town. Today, however, anyone reading the ”Wall Street Journal” would see on the front page of the business section a small picture of Peter's face, positioned three paragraphs below one of Matthew Locke's face. Perhaps, after giving it a little thought, the reader would realize that he or she had seen him there in the cafe or in one of the town's small shops, or walking along the inlet. And after reading the story, the next time they spotted him they might even feel a pang of sympathy.
It read:
WALLABY ANNOUNCES IMPROVED PORTABLE COMPUTER