Night Passage

Chapter 54

After work on a Tuesday evening, Jesse bought a large sandwich with everything on it at a shop called the Italian Submarine near the town wharf, and brought it home for supper. He would have two drinks. One before the sandwich and one with it. He was on his first drink when Abby called him.

“I’m ready to forgive you,” Abby said.

“That’s good.”

“I wish you trusted me, but you don’t. Maybe you can’t. But I find that I’m missing you and decided that not seeing you was punishing me as much as you and so I want to see you.”

“Okay.”

“Control yourself,” Abby said. “I hate it when you get giddy with excitement.”

“You want to go with me to the Halloween dance at the Yacht Club?” Jesse asked.

“Well, yes,” Abby said. “I mean I want to go with you, but I wish it didn’t have to be to the Yacht Club dance.”

“Sort of part of my job,” Jesse said.

“I know. Chief of police and all that,” Abby said. “Actually I guess I’m supposed to go too, being town counsel.”

“Want to come here first for a drink?” Jesse asked.

“Yes. What time?”

“Say seven, we don’t want to get to the ball too early.”

“I guess,” Abby said.

They were quiet for a moment. Jesse sipped his drink. He suspected that Abby was sipping hers.

“How have you been?” Abby asked.

“Good.”

“Any progress on who killed that young woman?”

“Some,” Jesse said. “I know who did it, but I need evidence.”

“You know who did it?”

“Yeah.”

“Well who... I guess you can’t say, can you? Have you heard from your ex lately?”

“Yeah.”

“She hasn’t let you go, has she,” Abby asked.

“I hear from Jenn pretty regularly.”

“Have you let her go, Jesse?”

“No, I don’t suppose I have, altogether.”

“So where does that leave me?”

“Where you’ve always been, Ab. You’re a really wonderful woman. But I am not really finished with my first marriage yet.”

“I know.”

“You shouldn’t put all your eggs in this basket, Ab.”

“I know.”

“I’m sorry it’s that way,” Jesse said.

“Hell,” Abby said, “let’s play it as it lays. The worst we can do is have a hell of a good time for a while.”

“I don’t know how it will turn out, Ab.”

“Me either, but let’s start with the Halloween dance, and a drink beforehand.”

“And maybe we won’t have to stay long,” Jesse said.

“And have the rest of the night to kill,” Abby said.

“We’ll think of something,” Jesse said.

“I already have,” Abby said.