“I won’t pretend tonotknow what you mean.”
“Good. I can’t stand bullshitters.”
“Hmm.” I take another sip, preparing a dig of my own. “How are things with you and Sean?”
She tenses, taking her time chewing her food before replying. “I don’t know what you mean.”
I hide a smile and stand. “Thank you for dinner. I’ll be back in a minute to help clean up.” At the doorway, I glance back. “He’s a good man, by the way.”
“Yeah?” Ellenor resumes eating without looking up. “Takes one to know one, Brando.”
I call in at Rupert and Barbara’s. I’ll ask if they can host the farewell lunch. It will be neutral ground since Willoughby’s coming, and less disconcerting than inviting him into my home.
Rupert won’t mind. He’ll be thrilled to show off that wild jungle of a garden to anyone he can. Meanwhile, I can commandeer his barbecue to make grilled oysters. It won’t be the quiet dinner I once imagined with Lily-Anne, but perhaps that’s for the best, if the feeling gnawing at me now is anything to go by.
Still, it doesn’t seem enough. A single lunch.
At least I still have Friday to look forward to—an entire day spent in her company. And hopefully a few moments in between.
25
Almost Like Being…
Brandon
I’ve just showered after work, still towel-drying my hair when the sound of a guitar drifts in through the open window. Lily-Anne’s playing outside again.
It’s the first of what promises to be a string of impossibly sunny days—a final hurrah before she leaves Whitstable.
I should change, or start dinner, but the melody stops me cold. It’s so beautiful it’s almost painful, making me ache in a way it wouldn’t have a few days ago. Now, with time slipping through my fingers, it hits differently.
I tell myself to ignore it, but I can’t. Not when this is one of the last times I’ll hear her play.
So, I give in. I step outside. The towel is still draped around my neck, the air thick with warmth and the low hum of summer insects. She’s sitting cross-legged on the lawn, sunlight glittering in her hair, guitar balanced on her lap.
I stop in the patio’s shadow and listen as she sings.
Goodbye shadow
You just cling to the doorway
Watch me, follow me—if you can
But my suitcase is light
And my heart’s still beating
With hope-driven steps
To a place I can breathe
I don’t know this town
But it feels like healing
Though the streets are so strange
And the cracks are revealing
