But Nina didn’t seem to have picked up on his discomfort. ‘Maeve seems scared of the water and I get that. I was for a long time. I hope you don’t mind the question, but is Adrian scared too?’
‘I don’t mind. But no, I think his avoidance is more about guilt than fear.’
She nodded, understanding. ‘It must be really hard for Maeve, as I know she doesn’t want her fear to become Jonah’s.’
‘She and I have talked and cleared the air, but did you know she went off at me when she found Jonah trying on a wetsuit on the beach?’
‘I heard she lost her temper. I think she was a bit embarrassed.’
‘I should’ve asked him more questions. It’s a bit odd, ayoung boy coming to help out a man in his shop when the man knows nothing of him.’
‘It’s not odd if you know you, Leo. You’re not some weirdo.’
‘Thanks for the vote of confidence.’
‘So why did you let him help if you thought it was odd?’
Leo shrugged. ‘Because he reminds me of myself at that age. I loved going in to help Mum and Dad, especially if it got me out of doing any school work. Like Jonah I was happy sweeping up, doing the boring jobs, as long as I was around anything related to the beach or water craft. Adrian was the same as a kid too. I think we once fought over who took out the rubbish from the boatshed.’ That made her laugh, and it was a pleasant sound after all this time.
Leo turned his focus back to Jonah. ‘He’s desperate to try everything – kayak, surf, paddleboard, sail – it’s like he was born for it. But he knows he has to be patient about going in the sea, wait for his mum to make the decision. He’s good like that, most boys would ignore it and go in anyway.’
‘You and Adrian would have. I can’t imagine the Magowan boys accepting the word “no” when it came to the sea.’ And then more seriously she asked, ‘Does Jonah know why Maeve is so frightened of what might happen?’
Leo shook his head. ‘I get the impression Maeve doesn’t want to tell him, not yet anyway. It would be a lot for a kid to hear, especially when it was the reason she left.’
‘We all had a great childhood here; it’ll be wonderful if he gets to enjoy it the way we did.’
She wasn’t wrong there and you fast learnt to respectthe sea when you lived somewhere like Stepping Stone Bay or in the town of Salthaven. ‘Maeve probably knows she can’t keep Jonah in a bubble forever; sooner or later he’ll be in that water. Maybe coming back here was a way to force herself to move forwards.’ He paused. ‘Talking of returning, I know you’re here to do up the cabin for Walt, but is he all right?’
Nina’s gaze drifted beyond the cabins, the boathouse, the sea beyond, the white frothy tips of the waves you could just about see in the distance. ‘He’s in good health apart from the odd niggle, he’s happy, but he’s a planner and I guess he knows it’s inevitable that he’ll slow down. He wants a financial cushion if you like, an assurance he won’t have to leave his bungalow.’
‘I can understand that, it’s his home.’
‘He knows he’ll have to make some alterations.’ She began to laugh. ‘Last night he told me it needs some changes to make it old-fart-proof.’
‘Now that sounds like Walt, always did have a bit of a sense of humour.’
She put one hand on top of the other, slotting her fingers together on her lap. ‘My brother is living out of the country now so it’s just me. I’m not sure what to do about that. William helped Grandad a lot and I love to help him too, it’s why I came here. But long term … well I can’t stay off work forever.’
‘Are you worried?’ Silly question, he could see she was; her knuckles alternated between pink and white when she squeezed her fingers together and then released them.
‘I’m too far away to see him on a daily basis. And if something happens one day …’
‘What about your mum? Could she help out?’ Herlook told him the answer to that one. ‘Still looking after number one then?’
‘Yup.’ She sighed.
‘Well you have to work, I get that. I’m one of the very few who work so close to home and in such close proximity to parents and grandparents. But I can see why you worry with nobody else being around for Walt. He has us all though, and Camille, they’re great friends.’
‘I know.’
‘But it’s not the same.’
She shook her head and then on a breath he suspected she’d been holding until deciding whether to tell him she said, ‘I’m considering transferring my job closer down this way.’
If she’d told him that when she first arrived he would’ve told her to pack up and go away, but now, he didn’t want that. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, but friendship might be a start.
‘I think it’s time, and although Grandad says I shouldn’t uproot my life for him, I want to. I want to be near him. It’ll be good for us both. He’s my family.’ Before he could ask her more about where she intended to live – would it be here in the bay? Would he see her all the time? – she added, ‘But even if I do work closer to Grandad, I still won’t be around all the time. I do shifts, and although I’ll be able to check on him every day, that might not be enough as he gets older. And I don’t have enough money to cover his care, to pay for someone to go into the bungalow each day for him. He’s really worried the government will tell him to sell his house to fund care.’
