Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Caroline

S itting beside Calvin in the SUV, I'm pretty sure I entered The Twilight Zone .

It's me and him but everything else is different. The scene outside is rural, sweet, innocent. The polar opposite to high-strung Manhattan. The car is rugged, seen better days but fits in perfectly with the earthy, bucolic mountain town. Light years from my Mercedes that Paul drives me around town in. Then there's Aunt Pearl who is straight out of a TV sit-com. The eccentric, doting side character with no filter.

But the most obvious indication of this alternate universe is the palpable attraction between me and Calvin. I was sure it would let up once I got out of Dodge and found myself in a no-stress setting. I guess my brain needs more time to adjust.

My mind keeps going back to the near-kiss in the guest bedroom. My heart races just thinking about it.

My friends have been calling him Dr. Handsome since they heard how he treated me in the ER after the fall that kept me from joining Evie on her birthday getaway to Yosemite. Until now I thought of it as a fun moniker. Not anymore.

Calvin's a hottie. Especially for a guy five years my senior. He's tall and buff. His graying hair, forehead wrinkles, and questionable wardrobe do little to retract from his good looks. I ponder what he looked like twenty years ago. I wouldn't have been able to keep my hands to myself. I mean, it takes every ounce of restraint not to grasp his free hand right now.

He's maybe a foot away from me, one hand firmly on the steering wheel, the other completely available. I can practically feel him without touching him, his presence is so startlingly profound. But actual touching would be a whole lot better.

I tell myself to stop the crazy thoughts.

When did this happen? More importantly, why? Bernard hasn't been gone long. If my therapist was here, she'd remind me that I never completed the grieving process. If Josh were here, he'd probably say I never loved his father to begin with. He would be wrong.

While ours wasn't the heady love affair that comes with youth, I loved Bernard. Despite the age difference or family dynamics. He was a kind, wonderful partner for the short time I had him. I like to think I was the same for him.

"You okay?" We are at a stop sign and Calvin is looking at me. More like studying me. He's been pretty quiet. I'll bet a hundred bucks he's mulling things over, just like I am.

"Yep, just tired." Bold-faced lie. I'm fired up.

"I hear ya. Long day."

In the distance I see ski trails cut into the mountain. Above it, clouds are gathering. Should make for a solid ski day.

We're entering the downtown. At least that's what the road sign says.

Welcome to Sugarbush Falls Historic Downtown

Founded 1788

Pop. 3,023

Same population as one square block in the city.

Downtown Sugarbush Falls consists of several quaint streets lined with cozy-looking cafés, sundry shops, a steepled church, and ski gear shops. I notice the residual snow on the ground is still white, not the quickly-blackened mess we get in the city. We're in a valley, surrounded by the Green Mountains. It looks like a Norman Rockwell painting.

"This is hopping Main Street," Calvin says with amusement. There are two people outside.

He slows the car down, peering at each individual business. "It's been so long," he says to himself.

I hadn't pegged him as the sentimental type. Of course, I don't know Dr. Handsome for very long. And some of that time he was in Africa. I asked him about the medical mission on the drive up. It sounds like he had an incredible and exhausting experience but I get the feeling he's holding back on something. Just a feeling.

"It's so quaint here. Is this where you grew up?"

"Not far. Some of these stores are still run by the same families who started them generations ago. Can't say that for many places." He's driving in slo-mo, taking in each establishment, as if we're rolling down Memory Lane.

"That's for sure," I say. "Just last week, I saw the bistro on my corner is now an art gallery. It happened so fast I never even noticed they went out of business."

"Exactly."

We roll past someone shoveling the sidewalk. Calvin nods in his direction. "That's Jenny's boy."

He looks more like a full-grown man. Seems Calvin's falling back into his small-town dialect.

"Who's Jenny?"

"Old friend."

Hmm. "Did you have a happy childhood?" I ask.

"Wonderful. Peaceful, idyllic."

"Don't hear that every day." Calvin has to be the only New Yorker not paying through the nose for therapy.

"It's a lucky combination of a loving, supportive family and a great place to grow up."

"If your aunt has anything to say about it, it's a great place to grow old, too."

Calvin laughs, a sound I've begun to crave. "She's something else, isn't she?" he says.

"You're incredibly fortunate to have her."

We are approaching the end of the commercial area, such as it is. The next block is taken up by a hospital.

Calvin points. "Green Mountain Medical Center. Almost ended up working there. Director of the Emergency Department."

That surprises me. "Impressive. Why didn't you?"

"There are fewer than a hundred true emergencies in this area in a given year and most are ski related. May through October is boring as all heck."

I hear the mixed emotion in his voice. Sounds like there are some unresolved issues. Maybe I'll hook him up with my therapist, after all.

My stomach growls and to my utter embarrassment he looks over at me once more, this time with a question in his eyes. "Hungry?" he asks.

"Starving."

Calvin makes a turn onto a side street lined with evergreens. "I know just the place."

"Don't you have to get some shuteye before the long drive home?"

He shakes his head, vigorously. "Nothing comes between me and my Bobby burger."

"What's a booby burger?"

"Not a booby burger," he smirks. "Bobby burger."

"I stand corrected."

"You're about to have the best culinary experience of your lifetime."

I laugh heartily. He knows I've been to several of the world's top eateries. What are the odds the best burger on the planet has been hiding all this time in tiny Sugarbush Falls?