I speak into my mug, unable suddenly to meet his green eyes.
‘I know it’s probably not an excuse, but I was upset. You’ve probably heard all about it, but I grew up here and haven’t been back in a really long time.’
‘I try not to pay too much attention to island gossip,’ he says, stretching his legs in front of him and reaching down to absentmindedly stroke Rex’s ears. ‘I prefer to hear things from the people who are actually involved. Besides, I know what it’s like to have your story become the latest form of entertainment.’
‘Oh really?’
‘I caused quite a stir when I first moved here.’
He talks half to me and seemingly half to Rex.
‘How long ago was that?’
‘It must be seven years now. I bought this land on something of a whim and lived in a caravan on the plot while I was building it. I was an architect back on the mainland. I thought it would be creative but I ended up mostly designing the same type of office block over and over. But I’d always dreamed of building my own house.’
‘And it took you a while to settle in here then?’
‘You could say that. I suppose I kept to myself at first. I was so focused on getting the house done. And you don’t exactly move to an island because you’re looking for company. Rumours quickly spread about me. I heard the things people said about me, that I was wild, a recluse, antisocial …’
I nearly laugh out loud.
‘You don’t seem antisocial to me! And yesterday at the school – well, Alice and the others clearly think the world of you.’
His ears glow pink and he looks down at Rex again, scratching the top of his head.
‘Aye, well they’re good folk, most of them anyway. And I guess Iwasa bit antisocial when I first came here. I’d just got divorced and I suppose life hadn’t really panned out like I’d thought it would. I wouldn’t say I was a bundle of laughs back then.’
I want to ask Mallachy about his divorce. I picture a young wife, perhaps also an architect or a designer. But he moves on quickly.
‘Over time the islanders got to know me though.’
‘I know I grew up here but being back now … Even though most people have been kind to me so far, I can’t help feeling like an outsider, like a mainlander. I suppose after all this time I am.’
‘I don’t know about that, although I must say an islander would probably have brought a raincoat with them today.’
He smiles at me and I can tell he is joking.
‘How did you settle in here in the end then?’ I ask him. ‘What changed with the islanders?’
I can’t help but think about my conversation with Mrs Anderson and the curious glances when Ella and I arrived at the harbour yesterday. Alice and her friends have been welcoming but I can’t help but feel there are others on this island who are not so pleased to see me back here.
Mallachy tilts his head slightly.
‘I guess I needed my space at first, but once the house was underway I started turning up more frequently at The Lookout. I realised I’d been sitting in my caravan feeling angry that the islanders weren’t being more welcoming, but I hadn’t made any effort myself. For all their gossiping, they welcomed me once they actually got to know me. I turned up to island events. I offered my services when I heard the village hall needed some repairs. I even went to church a few times.’
‘And it all helped then?’
‘Aye, it did. The islanders helped me get the job as assistant harbour master. Some of them still drive me crazy, but I’ve made friends too. Now I can’t imagine living anywhere else.’
I look around the room again, it seeming even more impressive now that I know he designed this space himself.
‘What drew you here in the first place? Why this island?’
He looks at me with an amused expression on his face.
‘Do you really need to ask that? Just look.’
Together we turn and look outside at the rain-soaked view, the horizon hazy with mist and the long grasses in the dunes bowed over in the wind. I think it looks incredibly bleak. I shiver, even though it’s warm inside. But Mallachy smiles, his gaze resting on the beach and the waves crashing against the sand.
