Susanna let a smile form. He loved her and she loved him. Aunt Gayle could never take that away from her.
‘Has she been down here this morning?’ Gayle demanded.
‘She’s at school,’ Mateo answered.
‘She isn’t. They called me.’ Her remark was met with silence. ‘You’re in your twenties, you’re too old for her. You don’t want the same things.’
Mateo didn’t say anything and Gayle added, ‘If you see her, send her home. Please.’
Susanna made to leave at the sound of their voices drawing slightly closer, but not before she heard Gayle add, ‘Think about what I’ve said. Don’t stand in her way of having a decent future.’
Susanna had managed to run between a couple of boats on dry land at the marina and weave her way out without her aunt seeing her. She wasn’t going home. Instead, she headed past the fish and chip shop and up the steps, because she knew Aunt Gayle would go the other way to Bay Street and her precious workplace.
She hid out for half an hour and then returned to the marina, but there was no sign of Mateo. She asked after him and one of his colleagues said he’d taken a boat over to Guernsey. She hung around for almost two hours, but by then she was getting cold, and with no sign of her boyfriend she went back to the cottage. She called Aunt Gayle at the Sweet Life Café and told her that she had been sick on the boat on the way to school, that she’d missed a connection back but was on Anchor Island now.
When Aunt Gayle came home to check on her, she dived beneath her duvet, pinched her cheeks so she looked a bit red and – hoping it could pass for sickness – pretended to be asleep.
She felt better by dinner time and her aunt agreed that it was okay for her to go out for some fresh air. She left the cottage, went down to the marina and saw Mateo bringing a boat in. He must’ve delivered one to Guernsey and brought another back. She hoped someday she’d have a job she loved so much. Perhaps he could sail and she could do the business side of whatever venture they tackled together.
She beamed a smile his way as he spotted her, but he didn’t return it – he simply jumped off the vessel and then secured the thick rope around its mooring.
‘Where were you today?’ he asked her as he stood up from his kneeling position.
‘Well, I was planning to come and see you until I saw Aunt Gayle got here first.’ Instead of him sharing a conspiratorial smile his expression was hard to read. ‘I’m sorry she said those things to you.’ She reached for his hand, but he pulled it away.
‘Don’t tell me you’re listening to her,’ she said jokingly, until she realised that was exactly what he was doing.
‘She’s right, Susanna.’ He carried on securing a rope at the other end.
‘No, she isn’t.’
‘You’ve not been working so hard at school since you met me.’
‘Well, maybe I want different things now. We talked about it, remember?’
‘You’ve wanted to leave the island ever since I’ve known you.’
‘And we can do that. Together.’
He said nothing. He got his bag from the boat he’d brought in, and they walked side-by-side out towards the street.
‘I don’t want to be responsible for ruining your future,’ he said.
‘You’re not. Why are you listening to Aunt Gayle?’
‘Because she is looking out for you. And she’s right. I’m a lot older.’
She wanted to cry, and perhaps she might have done if she didn’t think it would illustrate his point perfectly.
‘I’m not academic,’ he went on. ‘Give me a boat and the open water and that’s all I need. You deserve a whole lot more.’ He put a hand on her shoulder.
She shrugged him off, crossed her arms. ‘How can you seriously be listening to her? Don’t you want me any more?’
He said nothing until he delivered a blow that shocked her beyond belief. ‘I’ve got a new job. It’s taking me away from Anchor Island, so ending things is probably for the best.’
‘You’re lying.’
‘It’s been on the cards for a while, and a couple of hours ago I accepted it. It’s a contract for a few years. I’ll be sailing boats to different places around the world. I need to do it for me, Susanna. Like you need to go to school, do university, find your career. It’s what you always planned.’
