He didn’t say anything else, just came out of his bedroom a few minutes later wearing a wetsuit that was zipped up to his neck and left.
“How was your day?” she asked herself in a low voice as she flipped her sandwich on the skillet.
“Wonderful. I got so much done,” she replied. Then sighed. They weren’t friends.
But this would be so much easier if they were.
Chapter 7
“I am lonely, sometimes, but I dare say it’s good for me…” —Louisa May Alcott
Bytheendofthe week, Eliana could count on one hand how many words Asher had said to her. It shouldn’t bug her. This was exactly what she wanted.
Quiet served on a fancy platter, with a side of peace and inspiration.
The inspiration was flowing. She’d written an entire chapter since moving into Asher’s bungalow. With the window open, facing the ocean, she could write and think and highlight her many saved research articles to her heart’s content.
But after almost seven days straight, she was starting to feel antsy. Even on the weekend, he made himself scarce.
For someone who was supposed to be going through boxes, there was a significant lack of going through boxes happening.
“When does he eat, Louisa? When does he relax?”
She was starting to suspect he waited for her to leave to help Julia with the wedding to do any of those things. And that bothered her. She hadn’t meant to kick him out of his space. Only to share it with him.
“Should we go for a walk, Lou?”
She searched through Asher’s kitchen cupboards until she found a plastic Tupperware to hold Louisa in for their walk, and headed toward Grandma Winnie’s house. The fresh air was exceptionally nice after being in the stuffy house. The box situation was a problem—nearly overwhelmingly so.
Eliana heard talking as she approached Grandma Winnie’s door. She knocked, but after a moment, she let herself in, surprised to find several people sitting around Grandma’s kitchen table. She recognized them all from The Palms.
Cameron sat at the table as well, playing a game on his tablet.
“Eliana!” Grandma Winnie stood. Did she look guilty? For what? Eliana took in the group around the table, the plate of cookies in the middle with large glasses of milk or lemonade in front of everyone. “What are you up to?”
“Just taking Louisa for a walk,” she said, still feeling like she’d interrupted something. “If this is a bad time …”
One of Grandma’s friends turned the notebook they’d been writing on face down.Okay. “I’ve got a minute to chat,” Grandma said.
“I don’t want to interrupt.”
“I’ve been meaning to reach out to you.” She took Eliana by the arm and pulled her a few feet away from the table. “Your mom says you temporarily moved in with a friend. Where at?”
“Not too far from here,” she said, somewhat evasively.
“Is it a friend I’ve met before?”
“Maybe.” She didn’t want to lie, so she changed the subject. “Want me to take Cam for a walk while you chat with your friends?”
“Oh, I’m sure he’d love that. He’s been on that tablet for almost an hour.”
Eliana was sure he’d much rather stay on the tablet, but it was good for him to get up and move around. She knelt beside Cameron while her grandma introduced her to her friends.
“Everyone, this is my granddaughter. Eliana, you know Don. And this is Polly, Walt, Rosa, Nancy, and Harry,” she said, pointing to each of them as she said their name. They all waved, and their names swam together into one big mush.
“Nice to meet you,” she said. She held up her turtle’s plastic bin. “And this is Louisa, my tiny desert tortoise.”
“He’s adorable,” the one she was pretty sure was Polly said.
