Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
THEA
“Oh, my god. That was so good,” I moaned as I wiped my mouth with a napkin.
I had just finished a buttery lobster roll. A salty breeze gusted off the ocean as Joe nodded in agreement. He paused to take a swallow of water and glanced down at the little plastic basket sitting in front of me.
“How come you only got one?” he asked.
“Because one is enough.”
Joe had gotten two lobster rolls. He lifted the second one, shrugging and commenting, “Your loss.”
“Would you share with me?”
He’d just opened his mouth to take a bite and lowered the roll as he closed his mouth. “I don't know. I love you, but these are good lobster rolls, and you can always get your own.”
I kicked his foot under the table. “I don't want another one, but if that's a test of love, you failed.”
He rolled his eyes and took another bite.
A seagull called nearby, and I glanced out over the ocean.
It wasn't that late, and the sun was just starting to lower in the sky. We were about halfway between where Joe picked me up in Wells and Haven’s Bay.
Maine's coastline was scattered with seafood restaurants and food trucks, such as this one.
This one was in a small parking lot near an old car garage.
They specialized in lobster rolls and didn't serve anything else.
Lobster rolls were divine, especially dripping in butter.
It felt good to have a carefree evening.
I realized that next summer, Joe and I could explore on our own, branching out from our weekends.
It would be nice to go home to him every night.
A few minutes later, we were driving again, and Joe’s phone rang. The dashboard lit up with the name of Joey's mom. His eyes angled to mine. “I don't want to get this, but I should. Do you mind?”
“No, go for it.” I didn't mind, in part because him having the conversation in front of me meant he wasn't hiding anything. He lifted his phone, answering, “Hey, Vanessa. What's up?”
He nodded along to something she said. “I'll take care of it. I already told you I would. When is he coming to stay with me?” he asked after another pause.
“All right, that'll work. Thanks for keeping me in the loop.”
He ended the call, and my curiosity was burning up inside. “Is everything okay?”
Joe shrugged. “Yes and no. Vanessa’s going through some stuff. Joey’s gonna come stay with me for three months.”
“Oh, that's great. Right?”
“I think so. I love having him. I'll have to do a little scrambling to make sure daycare’s covered, but my mom will help out.”
“Oh.” I couldn't mask the surprise in that single word.
Joe glanced over quickly, his smile reassuring. “I'm surprised too. I planned to talk to you about it this weekend, so I guess we’re talking now. It'll be good for him to be there, I think. Do you mind?”
“Of course not!” I exclaimed, meaning it completely.
I was just puzzled as to how this came about, even more so that I hadn't heard a thing about it until this very moment. “Is everything okay with his mom?”
He shrugged. “She's just got some stuff going on.”
Joe had to look forward by necessity because he was approaching the stoplight. I tried not to interpret the hint of evasiveness in his tone and told myself it was nothing.
“Have you ever had Joey for that long before?” I heard myself asking.
I didn't like the uncertainty I was feeling.
“Not for this long.”
This conversation was effectively derailed when Joe slowed to turn into Haven's Bay Grocery. “I haven't had a chance to go to the grocery store.” He glanced my way. “Want to come in with me?”
“Of course.”
He grinned, and we walked in together. I smiled as I glanced around. This wasn't the first time I'd been here recently, but it still brought back a sense of nostalgia. The original store had been expanded substantially.
“They even have a new deli counter,” I commented, smiling up at Joe.
He squeezed my hand and winked. The original store was basically a corner of the space now.
In that section, they'd kept the old hardwood floors and the pressed tin ceiling, including the small pharmacy lunch counter with an old-school lemonade maker.
The rest of it was modernized and quadruple the size.
Even though Haven's Bay was still a small town, it wasn't as small as it used to be.
We got a cart, and it was actually fun to go through the store with Joe. It was something we hadn't done during our weekends together. It felt mundane and somehow intimate.
“I don't even know. Do you have a milk preference?” he asked when we stopped in front of the selection.
I shook my head. “I usually go with the store brand. It’s the cheapest option.”
“Same.”
He grabbed two gallons, and I glanced up, my eyes widening. “I need it to get me through next week. And you know I like cereal for breakfast during the week.”
I burst out laughing. “That’s a lot of milk.”
We kept on shopping. “Should we get takeout here for dinner?” he asked as he slowed in front of the expanded deli section. “They have really good pizza.”
“Let’s.”
With Joe wheeling the cart, we made our way to the counter. I grinned when I saw Sherry Levesque behind the register. “You're everywhere,” I teased after she finished ringing up a pair of teenage girls in front of us.
She smiled. “You know me, I like to keep my eyes on every place.”
“Do you own more than this, Emile’s, and Bay Bistro?”
She shook her head. “Absolutely not. My daughter wants to expand and open another place, but I told her that it's going to be all on her.”
“You all have really made this grocery store a nice place. I love that you kept the original space the way it's always been,” I commented.
“We knew we needed to expand. We figured if we kept this part as a small café, it was a way to honor how it started. You know Emile’s grandparents started it.”
“I know,” I replied.
“It's over seventy-five years old,” Sherry added.
“And still going strong,” Joe chimed in with a grin.
“Now, what can I get you two? Any minute now, there's going to be a line.”
“Pizza, please,” I said.
“We have full ones premade, or you can get slices, whatever your preference is. If you want something made, it's probably going to be about a twenty-minute wait,” she explained.
“What do you have premade?” Joe asked.
Sherry smiled. “Pepperoni, and I know that's your favorite.”
“Let's get two larges then unless you want something else.” He looked at me quickly.
“You know I love pepperoni.”
While Sherry boxed the pizzas, she commented to Joe, “So I hear you're gonna have little Joey for a few months.” When he nodded, she continued, “I hope everything's gonna be okay with his mom.”
Sherry cast a quick glance at me, and I felt as if she were assessing me. I didn't even know what I didn't know, but I knew I didn't know something now.
Joe simply replied, “Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine.”
His tone was almost too casual, and that sense of uncertainty curdled in my stomach uncomfortably. None of it made sense. Emotionally and intellectually, I knew it was ridiculous for me to wonder what was going on with Joey’s mom. It was none of my business. But what didn't I know?
I lay in bed that night, awake and listening to the sound of Joe's even breathing.
We'd had a good night together, enjoying pizza and watching a movie.
Since Joey was not here tonight, Joe had teased me to a shattering orgasm on the couch before carrying me into the bedroom and making me fly yet again.
It was easy to forget myself, to lose my worries in our fiery connection.
Except now I couldn't sleep. I felt left out of whatever was going on. And oddly, even though I’d told Joe more than once that my lease wasn't up until January and I couldn't move until then because of my job, part of me wished he’d thought to ask me to come earlier. I could help take care of Joey.
“Well, maybe not,” I grumbled to myself.
I rolled over, looking out the window. Joe had this house designed with an excellent view of the ocean from the bedroom.
Stars blinked at me in the darkness, and a crescent-shaped moon hung in the sky, the pearly sliver of light rippling on the dark waters beneath.
I resolved to ask Joe more directly what was going on.