‘As your boss I hereby grant you the time off to come back to the city with me. It’ll be fun. We can catch up with friends.’ Her voice softened. ‘Do some of the things we used to enjoy doing.’
‘No.’
‘Don’t just say no. Sleep on it. Let me know in the morning.’
‘I don’t need to.’ I picked up the tray again. ‘The answer will still be no.’
‘Pleasecome. You’re no fun any more. Don’t you think we deserve to have fun after everything we’ve been through?’
It was a dirty tactic, and I resented her for resorting to it. ‘Do whatever it is that makes you happy. But don’t get mad at me if I’d rather stay here and work.’
She stood up abruptly, picking up the glass and the bottle of wine. ‘I wish I’d never bought this place.’
I took a step backwards so she could pass. ‘Well you did. And you asked me to manage it for you. I’m just doing what you wanted, Hannah. For your future. You might not be able to appreciate it now, but hopefully one day you will.’
‘Don’t count on it,’ she retorted, then flounced off past me towards the stairs that led to the apartment upstairs. I watched her leave, feeling drained and frustrated.
3
TAYLOR
As I rode through the town, the nerves in my stomach kicked up a notch at the sight of so many familiar places. Every street corner, every bench seat, the sidewalks, the wharf, they all held memories. Memories I’d spent a long time trying to forget.
It was summer, the sweltering heat relentless, and the ferry had just come in, purging another batch of sandal-clad tourists to swarm through the picturesque town and historical paths around the island. You could drive across the bridge to Pine Harbor, as I’d just done, but most tourists preferred the scenic trip on the old ferries that shuffled between the mainland and the numerous islands off the coast of Maine.
Settled in 1786, Pine Harbor was originally founded by seafarers and loggers from Massachusetts and Nova Scotia, who’d been drawn to the area because of the harbor and the forests of white pine trees that surrounded it. Originally a shipbuilding town, the last yard had closed in the nineteen sixties, but the lobster fishermen still thrived, as well as the oyster farmers. I rode through town slowly, checking out what had changed – not much – and what was new. Again, not a hell of a lot. With its old buildings, manicured town green and picturesque wharf covered with colorful lobster buoys, the place looked as picture-perfect as ever.
My family lived on the other side of town. Ten minutes along the coast, towards the northern point of the island. My mother, no doubt alerted by the sound of my bike coming down the long, treelined driveway, was waiting for me beside the old garage before the noise of the engine had even died away. As I slowed down and parked, I took a moment to surreptitiously study her through the visor of my helmet. In two months, she’d be turning fifty-six, but she looked at least a decade younger. Thanks to the yoga she did every morning and the fact that she never sat still, she had a figure most twenty-year-olds would envy, and the cute little strapless playsuit she was wearing to combat the summer heat showed off her toned and tanned legs. Only the fine lines around her eyes and the graying-silver streaks in her hair gave away her true age.
‘Sorry,’ I pre-empted, pulling my helmet off. ‘I know I’m late, but I had to sort out cover at work and organize someone to water my plants.’ This wasn’t true. I’d actually forgotten about my plants until I was halfway here. I’d stopped buying myself houseplants years ago because, despite my best intentions, the damned things were more fragile than a new-born baby and had a tendency to die on me, despite my best efforts. Occasionally someone who didn’t know me well enough would gift me one. If it thrived on neglect, it was welcome to stay. If not, it soon joined its predecessors in the bin.
‘I can’t believe you rode that thing here,’ she tutted. ‘I can’t believe you’re still riding it at all.’
I slung my helmet over the handlebars and started peeling off my gloves. Now that I’d stopped riding, the lack of a breeze to cool me down meant my bike safety clothing suddenly felt oppressively heavy, and I could feel sweat pooling in the curve of my lower spine. ‘Bit of an expensive garage ornament if I don’t.’
‘You know how I feel about it.’
‘I do.’
‘Come here.’ She pulled me in for a hug and I held my breath against the onslaught of her perfume.
‘You’re too thin,’ she said.
‘Is there such a thing?’
‘Yes.’ She pulled back, holding me at arm’s length and looking me up and down. ‘It’s not healthy. And look at those shadows underneath your eyes. You look tired. I thought it was sorted.’
‘It is,’ I lied. ‘But someone woke me up in the middle of the night, remember?’
‘If I knew you were going to ride this thing here I would have gone with another option.’
‘I thought you said you had no other option.’
‘There’s always another option.’
I picked my helmet back up. ‘In that case, I’ll see you later. Enjoy the cruise.’
‘Don’t be silly.’ She took it off me. ‘You’re here now.’
