Abigail’s hair was still damp from her shower and she was beginning to get cold. She shivered a little, then said, “It doesn’t.
I’ve said all I have to say. This is over, Scottie.”
“There’s only one way I’ll consider this over,” he said, and shifted a little closer to her along the bench. “You need to prove it to me. I know that we had that moment, and I do believe you that maybe you don’t remember it. I get it. But I’m not going to leave here unless you agree to make love with me one more time.”
Abigail expelled a breath, then laughed a little, not caring if it pissed him off. “That will never happen.”
“Why? You already cheated on your husband. What’s one more time? And if you’re right and we mean nothing to each other, then I’ll know. And I’ll leave you alone.”
Spreading out her words, Abigail said, “I am on my honeymoon.
I will never sleep with you again, and if you don’t leave me alone, I will call the police.”
“Then Bruce will find out everything.”
“I’m asking you to please not do that,” Abigail said.
“That’s not for you to decide.”
“I realize that. That’s why I’m asking. Please don’t tell him. Not for me, but for him.”
“Why not? He should know the truth.”
“You say you think we have a connection, then you should honor it. Please, for me. Don’t tell him. It would hurt him too much.”
“It would hurt you too much, you mean,” he said.
Abigail realized that what Scott was trying to do was keep her here talking to him, and she was starting to get annoyed. “Look,”
she said. “Do what you want. If you care for me like you say you do, you’ll leave me alone, let me live my life. And if you decide you want to hurt me, then go ahead and tell Bruce what you want to tell him. I’ll tell him my story, and we’ll see who he believes.
Okay?”
“He’ll believe me,” he said.
“Fine. If that’s what you think.”
“I’ll tell him about the birthmark.”
Abigail paused for a moment, confused, then remembered the birthmark under her left breast. She then remembered the strawberry birthmark under her left breast, shaped like a crescent moon, lightly pink and threaded with red. When she was young it was very visible, up near her top rib, but then when she developed breasts it had become hidden, and she’d pretty much forgotten about it.
Abigail stood, annoyed that her legs were shaky. “Fine, tell him anything you want. It’s up to you. I can’t stop you.”
“I’m two bunks down from you. It’s called Pinehaven. I’m here for four more days. Come down some night after your husband has fallen asleep. If you give me one more chance, I’ll let you go. I promise. He’ll never know.”
“Fuck you,” Abigail said, “and while we’re at it, fuck you for following me to New York and for showing up at my wedding.”
She walked away from him down the path before he could say anything back to her. Her heart was racing, and her arms tingled.
She checked her watch. It was not quite eleven. She’d have time to go back to the bunk, get changed for lunch. She hoped Bruce wasn’t there, that he was still on his walk. She needed more time to think about what had just happened, and what to do next.
When she got back to the bunk it was empty. Out of habit, she grabbed her cell phone and checked to see if there was any service, but there wasn’t. If she had service, she’d google “Scott Baumgart” to find out if that was really his name. Maybe he was a lunatic with a police record? Also, if she had service, she could call Zoe, tell her what had happened, and ask her for advice. That was what she really wanted to do, more than anything. She looked up Zoe’s phone number on her contact list and wrote it down on the inside cover of the paperback novel she’d brought with her to read.
Suddenly, more than anything, she wanted to speak with her best friend, to hear her voice.
She left the bunk and walked swiftly toward the lodge. The day had turned a little warmer, but the sky was still cloudy, a solid bank of gray, a hazy spot where the sun was located. In the hall of the lodge one of the employees was stacking wood by the fireplace, and Abigail asked him where the phone was.
“What phone?” he said.
“You must have a landline, for guests to use?”
“Of course. Is it an emergency?” The man, about her age and with a military buzz cut, looked genuinely concerned.