The Jump

21 Dusk

The sun was beginning to set and it was time for Sylvia and the kids to drive home. It had been a good weekend for Merrill. He loved spending time with his grandchildren, but most of all he felt as if he had become closer with his daughter. Over dinner they chatted about old memories from when Sylvia was younger and used to bring home stray animals. Then the kids had a good laugh as Merrill told them stories about Duncan and his crazy antics. He also managed to convince Sylvia to give her husband another call before they left.

Except his warm, fuzzy feeling over getting her to call George fell short as he said his goodbyes to her. When he asked her if their conversation had gone well, she forced on a smile and replied that everything was ok. However, that didn't sit well with Merrill. Sylvia was holding back the truth and as much as he wanted to push it, he knew deep down that it wasn't the right moment. He needed to be patient and let her reveal the truth once she felt ready to. It was a tough lesson to learn over the years, but his wife had taught him that sometimes people just needed a little patience and then they'd open up. After all, flowers didn't just bloom as soon as they were planted, they required time, and Sylvia was his flower at the moment.

There was, however, still one last thing plaguing him and he needed to get to bottom of it before Sylvia left. All weekend long she kept ignoring her phone whenever it rang and at one point Merrill caught a glimpse of the caller ID. It was Aaron. As soon as the kids were loaded up in the car, he decide to ask why Sylvia had been ignoring him.

"Honey," he said as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "I couldn't help but notice that Aaron has called you several times and you've ignored him. Why?"

Sylvia gave him a hesitant look and looked back at the kids already situated in the car, then back to Merrill.

"He knows about your trip to Breeze Bay..." she looked down as if she was guilty of something. "After I came to visit while you were gone, I drove back home and George was surprised to see me back so soon. So I told him how your neighbor Duncan said you were on vacation in Breeze Bay." Sylvia bit her lip. "Well the next day George told Aaron at work and he's been bugging me for details ever since."

"Well if he wants to know so badly why doesn't he just call me and ask!" Merrill said with irritation.

"I know Pop, but you know how Aaron is. He's always so busy and never has time for anyone."

Merrill looked down and shook his head. "I don't know when your brother became such an arrogant prick."

"Dad!" Sylvia exclaimed.

"Well he is! Never brings the kids around, wants to sell my property... I'm not stupid. I know that was all his idea."

"Don't worry Pop, I won't tell Aaron that you're leaving for Breeze Bay again. Just, please call me and let me know when exactly you leave. Otherwise I'll be worried all day."

"Sylvia I'm going to take off at around four or five in the morning."

"I don't care. Call me and then call me again once you get there. I don't care how late it is."

Sylvia climbed into her SUV and a piece of Merrill's heart ached as he watched the taillights of her SUV disappear down the road. Now that he knew about Aaron finding out about his escape to Breeze Bay, he felt an uneasiness creep in. He could feel, deep in his gut, that something bad was crawling up on the horizon.

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Back in Breeze Bay and in the cafe, Lucinda was elbow deep in suds as she washed dishes in the large industrial sized sink. As she rinsed them off she handed them to Raif so he could dry them. She knew he was trying to talk her out of going to the Riptide by the way he kept hinting how tired he was. However, Lucinda was not having it.