“That’s so cool! And you like everyone you work with?”
“Yeah, those guys are nice. Real friendly. We hang out after work, grab a drink, and stuff.”
I don’t say anything about this because I’m not sure what he means bydrink, so there’s a stretch of silence between us.
“Blythe?”
“Yeah?”
“I know you’re worrying now, and please don’t.”
“Okay.”
“Like I told you, alcohol isn’t really my problem.”
“Okay.”
“I know you’re still worrying, so stop it. It’s awesome here. I’m building tree houses, so how could it not be awesome? Insane stuff. I mean, anything people want can happen. I saw a tree house being used as an office, and it had a lookout over the ocean and a hand-carved desk. And…and…oh, Pearce is designing a house now with a pulley system, so the owner can get her two-legged golden retriever up and down. Like, it’s a fucking elevator for the dog! Nice lady but even nicer dog. He’s almost fifteen, and he lost his legs when some asshole ran over him. Sad.
“Anyhow, yeah, I really like this job. You gotta see the ocean here. I know you’re on the coast right now, too, but the West Coast isn’t like the Maine waters. Just a different feeling and flavor. Pearce’s property is huge, and it feels like I’m in the middle of nowhere because there are trees all around. His house is buried far back from where I am. We’re not that far north of downtown San Diego, really, and I don’t mind the drive.”
“That’s great, Sabe. So, if you’re going out with friends and being all Sabinish, why aren’t you meeting girls? You were stuck in boring Bar Harbor with us for so long. I thought you’d get to the big city and go wild.”
He laughs a little. “Yeah, I dunno. I’m out of practice.”
“Aw, you need a little lovin’, huh?”
“Maybe. We’ll see.”
I roll onto my side and stare at the empty fireplace. There’s a stack of wood next to it that we never use. “Sabin?”
“Yeah?”
“How come you kept bringing in new firewood when you were here?”
Sabin routinely chopped logs and replaced those stacked by the fireplace with new ones. We never burned them because I still can’t tolerate the sight of flames.
“Did it bother you?”
“No. I liked it for some reason. But why did you do it?”
I can tell he’s a bit uncomfortable with my questions.
“Oh, I’m not sure. It’s nice to be prepared. Maybe, one day, you’ll be ready. You go through the motions, keep stacking the firewood, and maybe things get easier.”
“I miss having you do that.” I didn’t realize it until now, but I do. The same firewood has been here since he left.
There’s another long silence.
“I’m sure Chris will do it for you.”
“I wantyouto do it.” Suddenly, while I’m staring at the empty fireplace that might never light, my heart absolutely aches for Sabin to be next to me. “I wish you were here. Tomorrow won’t be the same without you.”
“You don’t need me crashing your party.”
“You can crash my party anytime, dummy.”
“Hey, that’s Luke Bryan’s line.”
