Chapter 23:
Max, Debbie, and the Light
“Good morning,
Nickolas,” Kate greeted me cheerfully while motioning for me to sit on one of
the tables available. She was still busy assisting one customer in the counter.
“Morning, Kaitlyn,” I teased back before I took a seat. Max sat
beside me.
Kate finally called
last night after three days of waiting. I have received the strange phone call
four times before Kate finally called. I thought she was playing pranks on me,
but she said it wasn’t her. And I believed her.
“Sorry to keep you
waiting,” Kate smiled sweetly and sat on the chair across me “Are these what
you wanted?” She opened the red velvet box she was holding and put it in the
table.
I waited for Max’s
confirmation before I answered “Yes.”
“Who was the owner
of these again?” She asked
“Debbie Jenkins. But
she died three years ago, so I will return these to her daughter, Elizabeth.”
“Ok.” She said
nodding
“What do you mean
Ok? Do you agree to sell these to me?” Max and I were smiling like crazy.
“No.”
“What?” The crazy
smile slowly faded from our faces.
“These are
definitely the most gorgeous earrings I have ever seen in my entire life. Not
to mention the fact that a very special person gave them to me. But they don’t
belong to me, so I’ll give them up to be where they truly belong. You can give
them to Elizabeth.”
“Are you sure?” I
couldn’t believe what I just heard. Didn’t she know how much these earrings
worth?
“Yes,” She gave me a
silly smile “I can’t remember how many times Jo asked me to wear those. But everytime I tried them on, there was this heavy feeling
like I didn’t deserve to wear them. Weird, right?”
“Not really,” I
answered with all honesty. This girl was really something.
“I just have one
favor, Nickolas.” Her beautiful hazel eyes were looking straight at me.
“Anything, Kaitlyn.”
“I want to
personally give them away, or at least I want to be there when you return them
to Elizabeth.”
I hesitated for a
moment. Every opportunity to be with Kate was welcome. But I was afraid she
might found out that I wasn’t really friends with the Jenkins. Her eyes were
silently begging me, and I didn’t have a heart to say no. After all, she was
giving up something very precious to her.
“Of course. Can you
take a break for like an hour or two? Elizabeth would leave for work in like
three hours.” That information came from Max, and he was smiling broadly beside
me.
“Sure. I’ll be ready
in ten minutes.” Kate smiled before she left us.
I turned to Max “Go,
get Mrs. Jenkins. Tell her we got the earrings. We’ll see you at Elizabeth’s
house.”
“I get it. You want
some private time with Miss Harris.”
“Go!”
Max laughed before
leaving Kate’s bakeshop. I hoped he’d be able to convince Debbie to go with
him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I was nervous as
hell while waiting for the door to open. Kate was holding the earrings tightly
as if she didn’t want to lose them. My heart broke for her, but I didn’t have a
choice. I looked at Max and Debbie beside me, the possibility of helping two ghosts
to cross over was more important for me.
“Yes?”
A woman in her early
forties opened the door. Max said she was Elizabeth, and Debbie’s wide smile
confirmed it.
“Hi. My name is Nick
Carter, and this is my friend, Kate. We are here to return something that
belongs to your family.” I nodded at Kate, and she took it as a cue to hand the
earrings to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth opened the
box, and her eyes widened. She was obviously shocked and surprised. Her free
hand covered her mouth while tears fell from her eyes.
“Oh my God! Where
did you get this?” Elizabeth asked
“It’s a long story,
and it doesn’t matter now. What’s more important is you got those earrings
back.” I hoped she would let it go, and won’t ask any questions.
“Right. For sure my
mom is smiling to us now from above.” Her voice broke “What’s your name again?”
“Nick Carter.”
“You’re one of the
Backstreet Boys?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Proud to be one.” I
answered
“Please come in,
sorry to keep you guys standing here. I was overwhelmed when I saw these
earrings.” She opened the door widely and motioned for us to come in. “I have
been looking for this ever since my Mom died. I promised her that I’d get these
back and pass them on to my daughter.”
“Actually, Kate Is
the owner of those earrings when I found them.”
“Thank you, Kate.
Um, how much should I pay you?” Elizabeth asked with an embarrassed smile. The
moment must have been very awkward for the girls.
“You don’t have to
pay me anything. Those earrings are yours. I just kept them safe for you for
three years.” Kate answered sweetly.
“Thank you! Thank
you! You are angel sent from up above.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Nick, how did you
know these earrings belong to my family?” Elizabeth asked after minutes of
silence.
“Um, my mom knew
your mom from way back. She told me about the earrings, and asked me to help
looking for them.” I stammered. I could feel the weight of Kate’s stare at me
while explaining. I could see from the corner of my eyes that her face was
creased in confusion.
“Oh,” was all
Elizabeth said, and I was relieved by that. “Let me prepare some snacks for
you, guys.”
“Let me help you,”
Kate offered which Elizabeth politely accepted.
“Thank you, Mr.
Carter.” I looked over my shoulder and saw Debbie watching Kate and Elizabeth
prepare snacks in the kitchen. “Now, I can go peacefully.”
“Do you see the
light, Debbie?”
“We can see it,
Nick.” Max butted in. His eyes were full of admiration, he was staring at
something.
“Any last words you
want me to pass along to your family, Max?”
“I’ve told you there
are no words left unsaid. I was watching my wife and son argue this morning,
the heated argument lasted for more than five minutes. But it didn’t take them
more than five minutes before they apologized to each other. They hugged, and told
each other how much they loved each other. They even said they still miss me,
and how everything would have been more perfect if I was still around. My
family would be alright, Nick. I’d just wait for them on the other side. They
already know how much I love them.”
“I promise to visit
them soon, Max. And help in any way I can.”
“That’d be awesome,
Nick. And if you don’t mind please take that tattooed band mate of yours with
you. My daughter would love to meet him.” Max smirked at me.
I smiled “I will.”
“Are you ready,
Debbie?” Max asked Debbie who was still looking at Elizabeth with so much love
and affection in her eyes.
“I think I am,”
Debbie answered, and then she smiled at me “Nick, a simple thank you is not
enough to express my gratitude. I’d be looking out for you from above as well.
You have no idea how much you made me happy.”
“You don’t have to
do anything for me, Debbie. Just to see you going into the light and finding
the peace you truly deserve are enough for me.” I was getting teary-eyed, the
moment was so freaking beautiful.
“Nick, I had fun
hanging out with you for almost two weeks. You are a good man, Nick, don’t
forget that. I would have stayed here to protect you, but a certain Andrea told
me it was her job and I should move on. Until we meet again, Nick.”
Max took Debbie’s
hand, and they walked towards the front door. They both smiled at me before
they disappeared. My smile faded slowly when I realized what Max just told me.
Protect and Andrea were the words that made my head spin a little.
“Nick, who are you
talking to?”
Kate was standing in
front of me holding a plate of cookies. The expression on her face told me she
wasn’t going to make this easy for me. I sighed in defeat.
***