“I don’t have a crystal ball. If she moves back here, then I suppose there’s a chance. But we’ll have to see.”
My sister shrugged. “Don’t let her be your life buoy. Be your own float, Gabe. That’s all I ask.”
She turned and walked away, leaving me to hammer in more nails to a piece of furniture that would potentially outlive whatever it was I had with Anya.
* * *
I spoketo the contractors about the plans, the couple of last minute changes I was making and how I needed them to be carried out. Ryan had been more of an expert at new builds than me, and I’d done what I could to channel him, trying to meld my interest in environmental with his in restoration. I felt I’d done him justice so far with the designs. Similarly with the properties I’d looked at on the island; I thought of what he would’ve done, how he would’ve argued for the energy saving features and weaving with the landscape.
I was knee deep in unloading bricks when a familiar banger of a car pulled up. Catrin had been away for pretty much the whole of the last four weeks, having headed out further into the sea than normal on some form of expedition to study some sea creature I’d never heard of and still suspected was a myth.
She’d scared me at first, being a small dynamite packed imp of a thing who should only be allowed in society when everyone had signed a disclaimer around their eardrums being broken.
“I come bearing news.” She didn’t have to shout it. The wind bowed down to her power and dropped its noisy breeze so she could be heard easily.
“Good or bad?”
“Good for all parties concerned. Kim’s finally having the baby.”
I grinned. I’d gotten to know Kim fairly well in the last few weeks, although she’d been permanently grouchy and sarcastic. And very very big. “That’s good. Has Anya got Harry?”
Catrin nodded. “She’s taking him down to the foodie festival later for tea. Thought I’d come and check up on how you’re treating my friend.” She put her hands on her hips and tried to look menacing.
It was a bit like a pug attempting to out-sass a heavyweight boxer on weigh-in.
“I hope I’m treating her well. Did you ladies of the island decide today was the day to interrogate me?”
“Why? Who else has been down here?” She looked around, as if expecting someone to materialise from a pile of rubble.
“My sister. She… never mind.”
Catrin eyed me as if I was a piece of meat that was more than a bit contaminated. She inched closer.
“Gabe, I like you. I liked you before you made Anya’s summer. I like you more now because she’s smiling and when I saw her six months ago she wasn’t smiling and I wasn’t sure if she’d smile again. But she has been.”
“Good. I’ll aim to keep her smiling.”
“Good. Then I won’t have to murder you and feed you to the fish.”
I laughed and thought of Julia, the woman Anya’s aunt had become intertwined with. Anya had been reading Marcy’s notebook to me some evenings, when we were grabbing something to eat before I made sure she burned the calories and more in my bed, or wherever else we ended up.
We’d talked about the island afterwards, how Marcy must’ve felt about Don, although she wasn’t explicit about what she thought of him. We talked about how it should’ve been a summer romance and then about ours.
But it didn’t feel like that anymore.
I knew she was going back to her flat in London, to her job and the life she had there and Janie was right; when she left I’d be grieving again.
“I don’t want her to go back.” It was the first time I’d said the words, admitted to anyone that this was more than than just sex and a few laughs. Telling Catrin wasn’t the wisest move, as I was pretty sure it would get back to Anya. But maybe that was the reason for telling her.
“Neither do I. Neither does anyone. Are you going to let her know how you feel?”
I shook my head. “That wouldn’t be fair. And we’ve known each other just a couple of months. Possibly neither of us are in the right place to be able to make life-changing decisions at the moment either.”
“I’m not sure anyone is ever in the right place to make a life-changing decision.” Catrin looked at me as if she was studying some new species. “You should tell her that you want it to be more than just a summer, Gabe. Not to make her stay, but there’s no reason why you can’t carry something on long distance.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. There’s a problem there though.”
“She’d have to do the travelling?”
