2. Present Day
Chapter 2
Present Day
“ I can stay at a hotel,” Amy maintained, pausing to unfold the sheet in her hands. Frowning, she spread it out and took it to the bed.
In the doorway to the guest bedroom, Lily Alrich Taylor stood, a strange furrow between her brows.
It had been weeks since she last laid eyes on her stepdaughter.
But it felt longer since Lily packed up her entire life and moved out to Provincetown in search of answers about her mother’s past. After weeks spent tracing Lily’s letters and replaying it all in her mind’s eye as she tried to picture everything, she could hardly believe she was here. Or that the view outside her window was one of calm crystal blue waters and a single, faded, old lighthouse in the middle of the sandy dunes of the beach.
The two-story beach house sat atop a gentle slope along the dunes, offering a panoramic and scenic view of the world outside. With its navy-blue shutters and a sloping gabled roofline boasting two dormer windows atop the second floor, it felt like something out of a dream.
Like Amy had painted the entire thing and then brought it to life somehow.
The past few days had been exactly what she needed, the calm and peace of Herring Cove Beach making her feel better about her impulsive decision. And the longer she stayed there, the less inclined she felt to go back to the city.
Why would she?
There was nothing waiting for her there.
Even her kids, who called her several times throughout the day and sent various emails, all in the hopes of understanding her decision, couldn’t persuade her to return. As far as they were concerned, Amy was having some kind of crisis, one they couldn’t understand. Over the past few days, Amy had taken to getting up with the first rays of the sun and leaning over the railing to watch the sun rise to the middle of the sky.
Each morning, she watched in awe as streaks of orange and red lit up the morning skies, chasing away the shadows and bathing everything in a warm and buttery hue. Then she lingered on her balcony, not wanting to return inside and face her life. Although she knew Lily and Ben were happy to have her there, Amy knew she couldn’t stay forever.
Still, she was reluctant to leave because she didn’t know where else she was supposed to go. It had been forty-seven years since she made the decision to marry Eric, a hotshot lawyer, who had swept her off her feet in a few short months. Forty-seven years since she’d made any big decisions for herself and at least thirty years since she’d been on any kind of vacation.
It felt freeing to know she could still make her own choices.
Whatever else Eric had taken from her, he hadn’t taken this.
He couldn’t, and she wouldn’t let him, either.
Lily cleared her throat and stepped into the room, her ankle-length green dress flapping with the wind that poured in from the open window. She stopped in front of the large bed to smooth out the corners, and when she looked back up, Amy was struck anew at how different Lily looked.
Her stepdaughter was not the same person who’d left the city behind months ago. Gone were the dark shadows that had settled over her face, and there were almost no traces of the tightness around her eyes. Even the way Lily held herself was different, and Amy felt a surge of pride course through her at the woman her stepdaughter had become.
“You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you like,” Lily said with a wave of her hand. “You know I love having you here.”
Amy picked up the pile of folded laundry and threw the closet doors open. “What about Ben? I’m sure he doesn’t like having to share.”
Lily frowned. “Ben isn’t like Dad, Amy. You do know that, right?”
Amy shut the closet doors and spun around to face her stepdaughter, color creeping up her neck and cheeks. “Of course. I don’t know why I said that. Force of habit, I guess.”
Lily perched on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to her.
Like she’d done so many times when Lily was growing up, Amy walked over to her stepdaughter and sat down next to her. Lily surprised Amy by draping an arm over her shoulders and tucking her stepmother into her side. It was a gesture Amy had done to her so many times as a little girl that it filled her eyes with tears.
Provincetown had been good to Lily.
Amy was starting to wonder if it could be good for her too.
“You don’t have to make apologies for him, not here,” Lily said in a quiet voice. “I know it’s going to take a while to break a lifetime of habits, but I’m going to help you.”
Amy swallowed. “I appreciate that, Lily, but I feel ridiculous. I shouldn’t have brought more problems to your doorstep. Not when you’re starting fresh.”
Lily drew back to look at Amy, and her expression was solemn. “Is he still sending you threatening messages?”
“Messages, emails, and voicemails. He’s leaving no stone unturned except for the kids, but I don’t think he’s above using them to lure me back,” Amy admitted, pausing to push her overgrown blond hair out of her eyes. “I don’t know what I’ll do if he does that.”
Because she was already feeling anxious and uncertain about the whole thing.
It was one thing to need a break from her life, but it was another thing entirely to feel like her life wasn’t working anymore.
She was seventy-one, for heaven’s sake; she didn’t have much more time to waste being unhappy.
At least that was what she kept telling herself each time Eric sent another threatening message, explaining in painstaking detail all of the ways he was going to hurt her and make her pay. But what Eric didn’t know was she didn’t care about the house or the money or even her reputation.
None of it was worth her freedom, not anymore.
Lily sighed and stood. “If he stoops that low, we’ll figure it out. You’re not alone in this.”
Amy pulled Lily in for a hug and lingered.
She wished it was that simple.
But as she followed Lily down the hallway and into the kitchen to make some cucumber and cheese sandwiches, she realized nothing in her life had ever been simple. Ever since she’d laid eyes on Eric all those years ago from across a crowded lobby in the middle of a fundraising event, she’d known nothing was ever going to be the same.
Now, forty-eight years later, she wished she could take it back.
As Lily made small talk, discussing the details of the upcoming renovation to her beach house, Amy tried to focus but found she couldn’t. She kept going back to that night, to the younger version of herself who had leaned against the wall with her shoes in one hand and a drink in the other. She still remembered how it felt to see Eric from across the room and be drawn to the magnetic pull of him.
If she could go back in time, she’d stop herself from accepting his drink.
She’d even tell herself to put her shoes back on and get back to work.
Twenty-two-year-old Amy’s fate had been sealed as soon as Eric pulled her onto the crowded dance floor, his hands wrapping themselves securely around her waist.
When she blinked, Amy found herself staring at Lily, who was leaning over the marble counter and waving a hand in front of her face.
“Are you okay?”
Amy blinked and gave a slight shake of her head. “Yeah, I’ve just been nostalgic lately. A lot is changing.”
Lily sighed and drew herself back up to her full height. “Aunt Ashley says you’re welcome to stay with her while the house is being renovated if you want.”
Amy ran a hand over her face. “It’s probably for the best if I stay there, at least until the renovations are complete.”
Lily poured them both a generous amount of iced tea, and they took their sandwiches and drinks out to the veranda. When Amy leaned over the railing to look out at the sparkling water, Lily pulled up a chair and sighed. In silence, they ate their sandwiches and sipped on their tea till Ben, Lily’s boyfriend, came back, covered in dirt and sweat from head to toe and with his shirt on backward.
He offered them both a smile and a wave before disappearing up the stairs.
As soon as Lily finished her peach iced tea, she carried their empty plates and cups back inside. Amy twisted and saw her take the stairs two at a time. With a sigh, she turned back around and took in the view.
It was one of the most beautiful things she’d seen in a long time.
Half of her was tempted to take out her phone and capture the beauty of the setting sun and the kaleidoscope of colors that lit up the night sky to show to her children. The other half of her was afraid of what would happen if they recognized where she was. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her children, but with Eric trying to pull every trick in the book, there was no telling what he’d do to find out where she’d disappeared to.
Although she knew he had his suspicions, no one could confirm anything.
And she wanted to hold on to her little slice of heaven, her tranquil safe haven, for a little while longer.
Because Amy knew, like most things in her life, it wouldn’t last long.
“There are extra sheets and towels in the linen closet.” Ashley pushed open the door to the guest room, revealing hardwood floors, cream-colored walls, and a single bed overlooking a simple wooden closet propped against the wall next to a separate bathroom.
After making another sweeping hand gesture, she turned to face Amy, a small smile hovering on the edge of her lips.
Neither of the women knew each other, but since Lily and Ben had dropped her off over an hour ago, Lily’s aunt had gone out of her way to make Amy feel welcome. Nestled in a quieter part of Falmouth with two-story houses, the cobblestoned cottage with a chimney on the roof and a lush green garden out front stuck out like a sore thumb.
But Amy didn’t mind.
Not as long as she had plenty of peace and quiet to take stock of everything around her.
“Jude is gone most of the day, working on his projects and spending time with his friends, so it’ll mostly be us at home,” Ashley pointed out with a smile. “Do you want me to make you something to eat?”
Amy shook her head. “No. Thank you so much for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it.”
“Lily’s family is our family too,” Ashley replied with another quick look around. “Well, I’ve got to get to the laundry. Shout if you need anything.”
With that, she left the room, letting the door click shut behind her.
Amy wandered around and poked her head into the tile-floored bathroom, which had a shower stall with a glass door and a bathtub opposite it, next to what looked like a brand-new sink. A bar of red soap had been unwrapped along with a pack of fresh towels, and the smell of berries and honey lingered in the air.
When Amy went back into the room, she realized she had no idea what to do with herself. So, she found herself barefoot in the backyard, examining Ashley’s rosebushes. She tilted her head up to feel the midmorning sun on her face, and it warmed the bridge of her nose, chasing away some of the cold and darkness that had settled around her heart.
Coming here was the right decision to make, even if Amy had no idea what the future looked like.
She no longer felt like just a mother or a wife.
For the first time in years, Amy was free to learn exactly who she was outside of all of this, and she was surprised to realize that thought both terrified and exhilarated her.