Tell Me a Story

Chapter 38

"My name. My real name. Thomas Granville." 

My stomach twisted. Even his name wasn't real. 

He reached for my hand, then hesitated. "Officially, Thomas Granville died. Years ago. If certain people found out that wasn't the case, well, things wouldn't be looking good for me. I realize telling you my real name may not make you want to trust me, but it means I trust you. Quite literally, with my life."

"Why? Why trust me?"

"I've watched you, Kate. I've rarely met someone so genuine and fiercely loyal to those they care about. It's a rare quality, one deserving of trust."

My thoughts wandered to Meera, the friend who benefited from that loyalty for so many years. My loyalty felt more like blind naivete at the moment, not a quality I was feeling particularly proud of.

"I need more than that. More than you trusting me. More than a name. If I'm going to stay, I need to know everything."

Eli, or Thomas, or whoever he was, stood up suddenly, and walked back toward the room that had led us to the patio. He reemerged with a large manila envelope. As he returned to where I was sitting, he stood in front of me, holding the envelope within my reach.

"This envelope has answers. And a taste of what's to come. But I need to know you'll stay. If you can't commit to that, then some things will have to stay a mystery." He set the envelope down on the lounge next to me. "I'll give you some time to think it over."

He walked back inside, leaving me on the patio with the envelope. I picked it up, feeling the weight of it. Inside was the promise of answers, possibly answers to questions I didn't even know I had yet.

Did I really want to know?

I hugged the envelope to my chest. Yes, I wanted answers. But even more than that, I wanted a future.

No matter where I asked Eli to drop me, no matter where I was set up to start a new life, I had no vision of what that life would be. Anything was better than the nothing I had waiting for me.

I opened the envelope and emptied the contents onto the lounge chair. I flipped through documents, names, dates, fake investigations; some information connected the dots, some raised more questions.

But it was a start. I shifted my gaze to a smaller envelope that had been inside the one I dumped.

Opening it, I could see a variety of items, but one stood out. A passport. I opened the passport and a familiar face stared back from the photo.

Mine.

"So, you're staying I take it?"

I turned toward Eli's voice, seeing that he'd entered the patio again. 

"Yeah. Or, I guess I should say 'Harper Digby' is staying?" I held up the passport with my face and new name inside. 

"Yes. I was going to explain all that before you opened the envelope."

"I get it. New mysterious life. New identity. But, uh," I scrunched up my nose, "Harper? Really? That's the best you could come up with?"

"It'll grow on you." Eli smiled before adding, "Harper."

I managed a slight smile in return.

"Do you ever miss 'Thomas'?"

"Not really. I didn't have a lot of choice in the matter when it happened. But it helped me make new choices, choices I felt better about."

"Like?"

"That's a long story."

"Far as I can tell, we've got time."

"I'll make you a deal. Let me show you around the place and then we'll talk more about Thomas Granville over dinner. And the future of Harper Digby.

"Seems fair enough."

Eli extended his hand, helping me off the lounge. We walked through the house and back out the front, where a black convertible sat in the driveway.

We stepped in and as Eli started the car I asked, "Where are we anyway?"

"A small island. North of Madagascar."

"Oh."

"You don't seem terribly surprised."

"Well, I get the feeling that this sort of thing won't be all that shocking to Harper."

"This is true. Just don't go changing too much. I like Kate."

"I think you're growing on her, too. But Harper might need some convincing."

The car rounded a corner and Eli sped up. The wind whipping around us kept us from saying anymore, but I needed the silence of the drive to let everything sink in. 

The winding road led us down to the beach, glowing in the early evening sun.

We arrived at a small restaurant, where Eli and I were immediately seated at a small table in the corner, by walls of glass that looked out at the ocean. He ordered something in a language I didn't understand, then leaned back in his chair.

"Where do we start, Harper?"

I was dying to know what was ahead for me. But I also knew the man sitting in front of me, the man who once was Thomas Granville was going to be huge part of that future.

"Tell me all about Thomas Granville."

Eli took a deep breath and began.

And so did the life of Harper Digby. Maybe it wasn't such a bad name after all.

~~~