Page 112 of For Better or Hearse
Last night, he received an email promising they’d have an answer for him soon. It seemed so appealing when he applied. When he had wanted to get away from it all.
Expression thoughtful, Augustus settles back into the seat. “One thing I’ve learned in this life, Nathaniel, is that if we’re lucky, we get one shot. One death. One life. One good love. I only had ten years with Rosalea. But the one thing I’m glad for…” Augustus tilts his head back, absorbs the warmth of the late afternoon sun. “I’m glad I didn’t hold back my feelings.”
For some reason, Nathaniel thinks of Ash.
For some reason, he doesn’t stop himself.
For the better part of the afternoon, Ash shops until she literally drops. The swanky outdoor mall is drenched in afternoon sunshine. Luxury retailers and high fashion shops seem out of place in the laid-back atmosphere of Hawaii.
“Go,” she huffs, plopping onto a bench.
Delaney and Claire blink down at her. She has never been more in fight-or-flight mode than when she’s in a mall. All afternoon, she’s played her part, not wanting to alienate the Whitfords. Now? She’s done. Personal shopper is not in her death doula duties.
“Are you sure?” Delaney asks. Shopping bags hang off her arm. “There’s a sale at Gucci.”
Ash squints. Sweat beads her brow. “Don’t they have Gucci in Los Angeles?”
“You haven’t even bought anything,” she complains.
Claire gives her daughter an amused look. “I’m going to get a coffee,” she says. “Anyone want one?”
Ash shakes her head. “Leave me here to rot.”
With that, mother and daughter turn away, in search of clothes and caffeine.
As soon as they leave her, Ash breathes a sigh of relief.
Her feet have hurt less hiking with Nathaniel than they have today. Typically, she’d considered herself well skilled in the art of shopping—how could she not be with Tessie as her cousin?—but clearly, for the Whitford women, shopping is an extreme sport.
Her phone vibrates with a message from Tessie:How are you? You need me to fly down there and kick Maui’s ass?
As soon as she sees it, the words fold around her like a hug, and that tightness in her chest loosens.
I’m surviving,she types back.But my wallet might not. How are you?
Fine!!!
Ash frowns at the barrage of exclamation points.
Baby still on your bladder?
No, I think I’m just dehydrated.
A swell of music, and Ash looks up from her phone. A woman with a ukulele is in the center of the square.
Smiling, she stands and drifts through the crowd. She tips the musician and then heads back to her bench. Only, she doesn’t get far. As she passes a pink brick storefront, she stops. And even though gasps are more Tessie’s MO, it’s exactly what she does.
In the window of the boutique, on a mannequin that no normal woman could even hope to emulate, is a long white silk dress. Spaghetti straps, a sweetheart neckline. The exact opposite of vampy. Feminine, flowy and delicate. When was the last time she wore something so girlish?
“That’s hella cute.”
Ash startles at the voice in her ear.
“I don’t know,” she says, twisting around and telling her heart to settle. Delaney’s like the ghost of shopping past who keeps popping up when Ash least expects it.
“It’s pretty.” A new shopping bag hangs off Delaney’s wrist. Lifting her hot pink sunglasses, she says, “Virginal beach vibes. I like it.”
But would Nathaniel like it?