“Sure,” Marshall said, pointing at the board. “It’s your move, though.”
The Girl of Sugar Beach
“Friends” Part of Episode 2
*Based on the interview with Marshall Sebold
They sat in Grace’s cottage sipping rum and Diet Cokes. Ellie lay on the bed, legs crossed and with her back against the headboard as she stared at the television. Marshall sat at the table in the corner and arranged his chess set.
“We should probably get going,” Grace said. “Charlotte will freak out if we’re late. She’s already acting weird today.”
“Do you think she knows?” Ellie asked.
Grace paused as she ran a mascara brush over her lashes. She was standing in front of the full-length mirror and glanced at Ellie’s reflection, then at Marshall in the corner, before quickly shifting her gaze back to her lashes.
“Knows what?”
Ellie made an unpleasant face. “That George Bush is president.”
Grace smiled. “Probably. It’s common knowledge.”
“Do you think Charlotte knows or not?”
Grace turned from the mirror. “I don’t know, E. How would she know?”
“Maybe Daniel told her.”
“Why would he do that?”
“To be honest. To start their marriage off on the right foot.”
“Telling your fiancée that you slept with her maid ofhonor is not getting off on the right foot. It’s self-sabotage, and Daniel is too smart for that.”
“He’s not that smart,” Ellie said. “He came to your cottage to pledge his love to you two days before his wedding.”
“He did not pledge his love to me.”
“Then why did he come to your room?”
Grace turned back to the mirror. “I’m not talking about this anymore.”
Ellie took a sip of rum. She glanced quickly at Marshall, who was lost in his chessboard. “I thought this was supposed to be Daniel’s.” She held up a long pouch that had been resting on the bed.
Grace walked over and took the pouch from Ellie. She untied the tassels and stared down at the lock that was inside, an ancient-looking thing given to her by her grandfather. Turning the bag over, she allowed the heavy lock to fall into her palm. Engraved on it were the names:Grace & Julian.
She studied the lock now, thankful to have only fallen once to the urge of engraving the name of a high-school boyfriend onto it. One mistake was plenty. Any more and she would have ruined the lock.
“No,” Grace finally said. “This lock is meant for Julian. I brought it to St. Lucia to show him how much he means to me. Daniel’s name was never meant to be on the lock. That whole thing was a mistake. A big, shitty mistake that’s thankfully in the past.”
“Let’s hope it stays there. You know he still loves you.”
Grace faked a laugh, glancing quickly again at Marshall. “Daniel does not love me.”
“Have you seen how he looks at you? He could barely make eye contact at the pool yesterday. He’s still shy like he’s in high school trying to work up the courage to ask you to prom.”
“That’s because Charlotte was around and he still feels guilty.”
Grace took the lock and dropped it back into the satchel, cinching the cords and tying them off, before placing it on the dresser.
