“I think we’re good,” she said, looking at her iPad. “Rosie, you have a fitting in Boston next week.”
“Yep! Will you come? Lark and Harlow will be there. Addison is a maybe.”
“I’ll see if I can,” Winnie said. “Thank you for including me.”
“Of course, hon,” she said, giving her a one-armed hug. “Oh, you should swing by and see our house! We’re gutting the kitchen and would love to hear what you think”
Winnie watched as they left, hand in hand, laughing at something. Both of them had so much energy, were so outgoing and happy, like puppies. Adorable, but exhausting, all that adoration.
“How are you doing, my dear?” Grandpop asked, waking abruptly. “Our family is filled with happy couples. It must feel a bit tiring occasionally.”
The man might mistake a squirrel for a cat, but he was a little too smart sometimes. “Eh. I think I’m better off alone.”
“Come now. I know you were quite smitten.”
She felt her throat tighten and didn’t answer.
“Tell your old grandfather,” he said. “I can keep a secret. Or I’ll just forget what you said. Either way, unburden yourself, sweetheart.”
She shrugged. “Well, it’s…I mean, I never thought I’d be in love-love, you know? And that was okay. I figured I wasn’t the type.”
“But then you found yourself exactly the type,” he said.
She nodded, ordering herself not to cry. “Yeah. Sure. But the guy I loved was a liar. A really good liar who had no problem cheating on the mother of his children or jerking me around. Long story short, I think the universe is telling me to stick to the sidelines where I work best.”
“It’s telling you you’re human, my dear. That’s the only thing the universe is saying. People wear masks, and it takes some time to see beneath them. It doesn’t mean it’s your destiny to be alone.”
“I think it is. And I’m okay with that. Anyway, Grandpop, I should go. I have to drive back to Chatham.”
“There are some people who can make us feel like we’re an entirely different sort of person,” Grandpop said, covering her hand with his own. His skin was crepey and thin, but his hand was warm. “And then there are those who make us feel that we’re perfect just as we are. My guess is that the former was your experience, am I right?”
She gave a reluctant nod. All that…happiness, that lightness and laughter…It was as if she’d been a version of herself she didn’t know existed. “I’m not the most…magnetic person in the world. So when he noticed me…” She swallowed. “I was flattered.”
“No!” Grandpop almost shouted. “You should expect someone to notice you, darling girl! You’re lovely and unique. If someone doesn’t see that, it’s because he’s the wrong person. The right person will know your value.”
“So far, Grandpop, you’re the only one.”
He laughed. “You’re still very young.”
“Not really. I’m almost thirty-three.”
“Just out of infancy! Don’t worry, sweetheart. Your old grandpop knows a thing or two. Why, just yesterday when I was cleaning out the gutters?—”
“Grandpop! What do we say about ladders?”
“Oh, pish,” he said. “When I was cleaning out the gutters…well, I nearly did fall, you know, but luckily, I grabbed the cornice and saved myself in the nick of time. Anyway, what I meant to say was that as I was clinging there, waiting for gravity to make up its mind, I found myself thinking that you’re my only grandchild not matched just yet. And I hope to see you happily ensconced in a wonderful relationship before I die.”
“All the more reason for me to stay single, Grandpop, if that’s your line in the sand. I have to go now.”
“All right, sweetheart. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
It would be a relief, she thought, to get back to Chatham, to the empty, beautiful house…Lorenzo was in Boston for the next two days, so she could pretend she lived in that beautiful, sterile house and fantasize about what she’d do to warm it up. The couch was coming tomorrow—a long, sumptuous velvet thing the color of red wine. She could watch a movie there and put the unused television to work.
She got off Route 6 in Eastham and headed toward Boat Meadow to see Robbie and Rosie’s house. Rosie worked as a location scout for movies, and it either paid very well, or her dad was made of money, because the view was incredible. It was low tide, and the mud flats stretched out a half mile or so. She got out and walked down the sandy little path that wound through the sea grass to the house where her formerly feckless brother would be living.
Little Robbie had done okay after all, she thought with a smile. A good job, the girl he’d loved since he was an adolescent, and now this place to come home to each night. She peeked in the windows. Lots of work to be done, but it would be a stunner, she was sure.
