I think about it every night, in fact.
‘No, just some girl,’ he replied. Ellie raised her eyebrow and gave him a tight smile.This has not begun well, she thought.
‘I thought you might have a new girlfriend.’ The words were out before she could stop them.This is no way to play it cool, she rebuked herself sternly.
‘I don’t.’ Mark frowned. There was another silence. ‘I see you brought Marilyn down.’ Mark pointed at the motorhome at the end of the beach. ‘She runnin’ okay? Thought you were going to sell her.’
‘She’s perfect,’ Ellie replied. ‘I decided to keep her. I’ve been doing her up inside, in fact. You’ll have to come and see.’
‘I’d like that,’ he replied, giving her an intense look. ‘Been hopin’ you’d come back,’ he added.
‘You knew I was coming this weekend.’
‘Yeah. But still…’ He met her eyes and then looked away at the swimmers. ‘I… um. I think about you a lot. About that night.’
Ellie’s pulse quickened.
‘You do?’ she asked, neutrally.
‘Don’t you?’ He seemed to pause slightly before replying. He seemed awfully tense.
‘Of course I do,’ she replied, softly. ‘But whenever I’ve tried to be in touch with you, you… you didn’t seem like you wanted to hear from me. And that morning, when I woke up, you’d gone. You didn’t say goodbye.’
‘Got called out for a rescue. Didn’t want to wake you up.’ He scuffed his foot in the sand. ‘I wanted to say goodbye. But I didn’t want you to go, either.’
‘Oh.’ Ellie looked down at the white sand under her feet. ‘I missed you,’ she murmured.
‘Missed you too.’ He took a deep breath, as if he had to prepare what he said next. ‘Sorry I didn’t text much. I never really know what to say.’ He looked uncomfortable. ‘I guess I wanted to see you in person.’ He reached for her hand, and took it gently. Ellie took in a deep breath, remembering now the electricity that seemed to thrum between them. She had longed to feel this again all the time she was away.
‘Well, here I am.’
‘Yeah.’
Ellie waited for Mark to say something more, but he frowned again and looked away.If you’ve got something to say, then say it, she thought, frustrated at his lack of eloquence. They were standing on the beach, on a sunny day, holding hands. If this wasn’t a good time for Mark to make a move, then Ellie didn’t know what was. She had told him she missed him. What more did he want?
‘Ellie? I…’ Mark took a deep breath. ‘The thing is—’
‘Ellie! There you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’ Rowland jogged towards them, holding two ice cream cones. His loud, eloquent voice carried across spaces well: he was used to projecting his voice in the courtroom, after all.
Instinctively, Ellie dropped Mark’s hand as if she was doing something wrong by holding it.
‘Oh, hi!’ She shaded her eyes and smiled at Rowland, even thought she was annoyed at him for interrupting. It was a reflex: a social behaviour. Rowland had been her friend for a long time. She couldn’t not say hello if he approached her.
But you made it look like nothing was happening with Mark, her mind whispered.And it is. You’ll have to tell Rowland at some point.
‘Sweets for the sweet.’ Rowland handed her a vanilla cone. ‘Sorry, I wasn’t sure which one you’d want. The girl at the stall recommended the vanilla.’
‘Oh. Thanks.’ Ellie took it. Mark stood there like one of the slate boulders that lined the back of the cove: silent, sturdy and intractable. She wished he would say something easy and fun, to finesse the whole situation, but he stared silently at Rowland and crossed his arms over his chest.
‘Rowland Hyatt. Nice to meet you.’ Rowland held out the hand that didn’t hold an ice cream, but Mark’s arms stayed crossed.
‘Mark Gardner,’ he replied, giving the absolute minimal greeting possible.
‘Mark repaired Marilyn, my motorhome,’ Ellie explained. ‘Oh, and he’s Jamey Gardner’s brother. You have her case coming up in family court, remember?’
‘Oh, Isee. Good, good. Well, you understand I can’t talk about upcoming cases, of course. Lovely job on the motorhome, Gardner.’ Rowland gave Ellie a bright smile. ‘But I’m going to have to steal this one away for now. Important fundraiser business.’ He took Ellie’s hand and led her away, as if she was a stray dog. ‘You’re welcome,’ he murmured, evidently thinking that he was rescuing Ellie from an awkward social interaction. But Ellie saw that Mark had heard Rowland’s not-so-quiet murmur, and she was annoyed. She knew that he could be the model of politeness when he wanted to be.
‘I’ll see you later?’ Ellie called over her shoulder to Mark, but he had turned away and was walking up the beach.I guess I’ll never know what he was about to say,she thought, annoyed at Rowland for whisking her away. Like he owned her.
