Chapter 13
Thirteen
June 9
On my way to my appointment at the clinic, I stop at a little coffee shop and pick up a few muffins and coffees, thinking Simon might like a muffin and some coffee too. Banana muffins with dark chocolate chunks sound absolutely delicious, so if Simon doesn’t want his muffin, I’ll enjoy it for him. I put the small bag containing the muffins into my pack and sling it over my shoulder so my hands are free to carry the two coffees just a few doors down.
I’m greeted by a nurse sitting at the front desk. “You must be Isa.”
“That’s me.” I toast her with one of the coffees.
“Here, please fill this out. I’ll let Dr. Easton know you’re here.” She hands me a clipboard, which I tuck under my arm, and points to a cup of pens. Behind her, Simon walks out from the same exam room I was in a few months ago.
“Isa! How are you this morning?” Simon greets me in a jovial voice. “Come on back. You can fill that out back here while we talk.”
“Hi, Simon.” I hand him one of the cups I’m holding. “I brought you a coffee.”
“Thanks!” He takes the cup and holds the door open for me, and we move into the examination room.
“Have a seat.” He points toward two chairs against the wall as he sits on the stool with casters. “How’s Jack? I haven’t seen him out and about lately.”
“Last I knew, he was in Nashville.” Simon’s brow knits in confusion, but before he can say anything, I continue, “We aren’t together anymore.”
“Really?” The brow returns to neutral and even crinkles a bit as his eyes soften. “He seemed serious about you,” he says gently. “As far as I know, you’re the only woman who’s stayed this long with him, and you’re the only love interest who’s stepped foot in his house here.”
“Well, it seems like I wasn’t the only woman in his life, so I moved out. It’s for the best.” I smile to hide the fact that I miss what we could have had. The picture of Jack and Lila in Nashville flashes into my mind, and I strengthen my resolve. I shrug. “I guess I was wrong about him.”
“I’m sorry. I like you both a lot.”
“Thank you.”
“What’s your plan? Are you going to head back to Maine?”
“Actually, no.” I sit up straight, proud of the decision I made. “I’m staying right here on the island.”
“That’s great!” His jovial voice is back. “What will you be doing?”
“I haven’t figured that part out yet.” I take a deep breath, knowing that I haven’t thought everything through. “I need to find a job and a place to live. I love volunteering at the library, but it’s not a paying role, as you know.”
“Hmm. I’ll keep my ears open, see if any of my patients say anything about hiring workers. In the meantime, will you continue at the library?”
“I’m happy to do it.”
“There is one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Jack’s a benefactor. Actually, the only benefactor other than myself.”
“Oh.” Disappointment deflates my mood.
“But all he really does is write checks. He doesn’t do much with the program on a day-to-day basis.”
“No, I wouldn’t think so.” Of course Jack pumps his money into projects on the island. He’s a giving person. And if I’m going to stay here, I better get used to it, and he better get used to me.
“Well glad to have you continue with us. So, how are you feeling?”
“I just started feeling hungry all the time.” Opening my bag, I pull out the muffins. “I brought you one.”
“No, thank you.” He laughs. “Sounds like your baby is growing. I’m going to have Amy assist me with the exam.” He opens a cabinet and takes out a pink johnny with starfish on it and sets it down on the exam table. “Change into this while I get Amy. She’ll come in and help you get your paperwork done and take your vitals. All the good stuff. I’ll be back in shortly.”
“One thing. You won’t tell Jack anything about me being here, will you?”
“HIPAA doesn’t apply here, but no, I would never violate a patient’s trust, and I never discuss someone’s confidential medical information unless they give the clinic explicit permission to do so.”
“Oh, thank you. I’m so relieved.”
Me: Baby is super healthy. I can’t stop eating
Suzanne: Great news! boy or girl?
Me: Won’t know until next month. I’m due November 2
Suzanne: If you go early, you could have a Halloween baby.
Me: Scary!
Me:
Suzanne: lol
Me: Any word on the boys?
Suzanne: I don’t think Ben works and there is a tent in his parents back yard. I’m still trying to figure it out
An image file quickly follows, and a photo of a family-size tent with two bikes on the ground in front of it opens in my messaging app.
Me: That’s Luke’s big boy bike and Cole’s balance bike. Maybe they’re playing campout at Grandma’s house?
I can only hope that’s the case. Carol wouldn’t make her son and grandsons sleep outside all the time, would she? “Charity begins at home” she always said when asked for donations to worthy causes, meaning the folks in need should ask their family for help instead of asking strangers. Well, looks like it’s Carol’s turn to practice what she preaches.
Suzanne sends another photo, this time a close-up of the tent. An adult-size bike is barely visible on the other side of the tent. Ben has never ridden a bike with our boys, so is that his father’s bike? Or is Ben entertaining company? But then where would the boys be?
My mind travels down a dark path before my phone buzzes again.
Suzanne: You still there?
Me: Yeah. Thanks for checking on things, I miss them. I hope they are ok.
Suzanne: 3
June 10
“You hungry?” Sarah asks me, and I know she knows the answer already as Simon and I sit down at the bar. “Hi, Dr. Easton.”
“Hi, Sarah.” Simon looks around the bar. The band is not one I’ve seen here before. It’s not Jack’s. Not Jack’s friends. Such a relief.
“Isa, we have your favorite mahi-mahi tacos tonight.” Yum!
“Really? Sign me up! And a large water with lemon.”
“Make that two and a Red Stripe,” Simon adds.
“You guys got it.” Sarah dances over to the computer screen and bounces to the music as she enters our order. Then she opens a cooler to grab Simon’s beer.
“I haven’t seen you for ages.” Sarah skillfully pops the cap off the Red Stripe using a bottle opener affixed to her side of the bar and sets the bottle down in front of Simon. She tosses the cap into the trash, fills a glass with ice and water, and puts the glass in front of me.
“Sarah, I saw you two days ago.” She stabs a lemon with a wooden pick and puts it on my water.
“Yeah, but I’m used to seeing you every day. You okay? I’m worried about you. How did your appointment go?”
“Whoa, settle down there, Mother Hen,” I tease. “Everything is all right. Baby is fine. Simon, here, gave me a checkup yesterday.”
“You’d tell her if she was doing too much, right?” Sarah bites out in Simon’s direction.
“Hey, you don’t have to be hostile toward me,” Simon says, visibly annoyed with Sarah’s inner bodyguard. “I’m keeping an eye on Isa, both as a doctor and her boss, and as the friend of her former boyfriend.”
“That sounds like you’re helping Jack stalk Isa. She doesn’t need any more men in her life right now.”
“Hello? I’m right here!” I can’t believe Sarah’s reaction. Did something bad happen to her that I don’t know about? Maybe my pregnancy is bringing up hurtful memories for her. “You know I’m volunteering at the literacy center with Simon. We just finished up and came here for something to eat.”
Sarah grunts and spins around to check on other customers.
“Geeze, I thought she liked me,” Simon says.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”
Simon shrugs. “I don’t know either.” He picks up his beer. “To another great day as a teacher. You did a good job today.” I pick up my water and tap his bottle gently.
“Thanks for the feedback.” I take a big sip of my water as he does the same with his beer. “I really enjoy it. Sebastian is so smart.”
“All the students are smart; they just lacked the opportunity to learn and now that they have it, they’re working hard to capitalize on it.”
“I like that.” Over Simon’s shoulder, the sun is sinking into the ocean. One more beautiful sunset.
Sarah brings out our tacos and sets them down. “Any hot sauce?”
“I’m good,” I say, afraid to ask her for anything for fear she’ll bite my head off again.
“No, I don’t need any. Thanks.” Simon is wise to follow my lead.
Three crispy tacos filled with heaps of pan-blackened fish, diced tomatoes, peppers, onion, avocados, pineapple, and mango take up most of my plate. A huge helping of rice and black beans fills the rest of the space.
“This looks so good.” I take a big bite and some of the fish goes down the wrong way. When I start coughing uncontrollably, Simon reaches around and rubs my back until I stop coughing.
“You need to slow down.” He leaves his hand on my back while I take a sip of water.
“Thanks, Simon.” His hand stays there as a familiar scruffy dog comes running over, barking and trying to jump up on me. “Ringo!” I quickly look around, knowing his owner must be somewhere close by.
Jack is standing there, the post-sunset sky a red glow behind him. From his perspective, we must look awfully cozy, sitting here with Simon and his hand on my back. Not that I must explain anything to anyone, especially Jack. Not that I even need to talk to him after seeing the picture in People .
He moves fully under the thatched roof, and I can finally see his face. His eyes are haunted and his hair is overgrown. His shirt is wrinkled, and there’s a stain down the front. He sees me looking at him and breaks into a tired smile, but it quickly disappears as Simon leans over, oblivious to Jack’s arrival, and says, “I’ll pick you up again on Friday. I’ll bring lunch.”
Can this get any more awkward?
Jack comes over to the bar and flags down Sarah. Then he turns to us.
“Simon. Isa.” His voice is frigid when he greets his friend, but it breaks when he says mine. He clears his throat. “Moving on already?”
Simon stiffens beside me, and I can hear his puzzlement as he says, “Isa had a coughing fit. That’s all. I’m not sure I like what you’re implying.”
Jack’s lips purse as if he’s about to speak, but he shakes his head. “You’re looking well, Isa,” he says. “Ringo, come.”
But Ringo circles my feet and sits down beside them, as if to declare his allegiance to me. Jack’s shoulders slump, and he sighs. “Even my own dog doesn’t want to be with me.”
He leaves us and goes over to the stage, where he chats with the band. Turns out they might be his friends after all. Or maybe Jack’s just good at socializing, using his Southern charm and “aw, shucks” attitude to get what he wants. That charm worked on me once, but no more.
I lean away from Simon to remove his hand from my back. I don’t want it there any longer. And I don’t want to be here anymore.
“I’m sorry, Simon. I’m very tired. I’m gonna take this home to eat.” I wave to catch Sarah’s attention.
“I’ll walk you home.”
“No, thanks.” When Sarah comes over to us, I ask, “Can you pack this to go?” She nods and picks up my mostly untouched meal. I’m sure she guessed why I asked. I take a sip of water and bend down to give Ringo some attention so I don’t have to deal with any human males. And because I missed my little buddy.
Sarah brings back my dinner in a bag. “Please give me my bill,” I tell her.
“Hold on. I’ll print it out for you.”
Bill before me, I lay down the cash. I’m not letting Jack or Simon pay for my meal. Grabbing my dinner, I head for the front door so I don’t have to walk past the band. Ringo follows me. When I get to the exit, I bend down and scratch the pup behind his ears. “Sorry, little guy, you can’t come with me.” He whines, but sits down.
Glancing back at the band, I see Jack looking my way. It doesn’t seem possible, but he looks even worse than when he came in. His misery threatens to tug at my heartstrings, but I shore up my resolve and go back to my villa.