“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.
Chapter End Notes:
Thank you for reading! :)
