Chapter 5
Eve
My phone buzzed,pulling my attention from the blank page. I smiled when I saw my daughter’s face on the screen.
“Finally. We’ve been playing phone tag for two days.”
“Sorry, I’ve been swamped,” Grace said.
“How are you? Did you get all your papers written?”
“I handed the last one in yesterday. And to celebrate, I’m heading to London for the weekend with some friends.”
“That’s great. I know you’re there to get a master’s degree, but I want you to enjoy your experience at Cambridge, too.”
“I am. What about you? Are you having fun with Aunt Winnie?”
“For sure. You know how amazing she is and it’s so beautiful here.” I sighed. “I wish I visited more through the years. Instead, we only saw each other during her annual trips to Scranton.”
“Well, you’re there now and that’s all that matters. In fact, once you’re done there, you should come here for an extended stay. There’s plenty of room in my flat. You’ve always wanted to live in England.”
That’s true. I planned on studying abroad when I was in college, but got pregnant before that happened. I’ve never regretted having my daughter, but there are things I wish I’d gotten to experience. So of course I’ve done my best to make sure Grace didn’t miss out on anything without being too much of a nag.
“Thanks honey, but you don’t want your mom there cramping your style.”
“I could call you Eve and tell everyone you’re my sister. God knows you look young enough.”
“I appreciate that,” I said. “Let’s talk about it after I see how this summer goes.”
“Don’t think I’ll forget about it.” The line was quiet for a few seconds before Grace spoke again. “Mom, in between writing amazing books, make sure you enjoy your experience in Seaside. Relax, maybe hook up with a hot guy.”
“Grace!”
I tried to sound shocked, but couldn’t stop laughing.
“What? You’re young and single,” she said. “Live a little.”
“I’ll live once I finish my book.”
That led to a conversation about my lack of writing, then the subject shifted to her classes and what she planned to do in London. When she yawned, I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. It’s almost midnight in England.
“I’ll let you get to sleep. I love you, honey. Enjoy London. Send pictures.”
“I love you too,” she said. “And I will. Tell Aunt Winnie hi and that I love her too.”
I hung up and looked at my computer. I’ve been sitting here longer than I care to admit and once again, have nothing to show for it. Standing, I slipped on my sandals and headed downstairs. It’s such a beautiful day and I’ve been cooped up inside. Maybe a walk on the beach will help clear my mind and the words will flow.
When I didn’t find Aunt Winnie in the house, I walked out the backdoor to check in her studio. The window Max installed a few days ago was open and so was the front door. I knocked on the door jamb and she turned from the canvas in front of her.
“Come in.” She gestured with a paintbrush. “How’d it go today?”
“Not well.”
“Well, you just got here. Give it time.”
I was going to say it’s been almost three years, but don’t want to whine about it anymore.
“I did talk to Grace though. She says to tell you hello and that she loves you.”
“She’s such a sweet girl,” she said. “You did a good job raising her.”
I smiled at her compliment and turned my attention to her painting.
“That’s so beautiful.” I looked around at all her finished works. “They all are. How is it
that you can create this, and I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler?”
“We all have our own talents. You’re an artist with words and I paint.” She looked at the
work in front of her and frowned. “Of course, I don’t paint faces. They never turn out quite the way I want them to.”
The beach scene she’s working on depicts a family having a picnic in the near distance,
but none of the people’s faces have features. Yet somehow, she manages to portray their happiness.
“What you do works.” I studied the painting again, then turned to face her. “I’m going to take a walk on the beach and pray for inspiration.”
Standing, she wrapped her arm around my shoulder and squeezed.
“The words will come. Just relax and enjoy being here.” She pulled back to look me in the eye. “Maybe find a young man to spend time with. You do write romance after all. Having a romantic encounter might help with that.”
That’s the second time in ten minutes I’ve been told to find a man. Am I that pathetic?
“I don’t know about that last thing, but I will relax and enjoy being here.”
“You know, Max Corbin is single. And in case you didn’t notice, he’s good looking. He’s also very sweet.”
“I’d have to be dead to not notice Max’s good looks, but I think he’s a little young for me. How old is he anyway?”
“I have no idea,” she said. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Age is just a number.”
“Aunt Winnie, I’m here to spend time with you and get my writing back on track, not have my own How Stella Got Her Groove Back experience.”
“Who says you can’t do all three?”
Max
Pop inventoriedour remaining supplies while I set the batteries for our cordless tools into their chargers. We had a busy day building stages and structures at the festival grounds and tomorrow will be more of the same.
“This’ll get us started tomorrow. We can figure out what else we need once we know exactly what we still have to do. They keep changing their minds.”
What is usually a cookie-cutter job has turned into something a bit more complicated. The committee decided to change some things for this year’s festival so we’re playing it by ear.
“Sounds good,” I said. “If there’s nothing else to do down here, I’m going to take a shower to cool off.”
“It was kinda warm today.”
“That it was.”
Plus, I worked double-time so Pop didn’t have to walk around too much. His limp isn’t as pronounced as it was a couple days ago, but I still don’t want him to overdo it.
“No, we’re done for the day,” he said and I followed him to the door. “We’ll have breakfast at the diner at six, then head over?”
“Sounds good.”
That said, he walked across the yard to the house. I closed the workshop door and headed upstairs to my apartment. When I first moved here, I lived over there with him, but a few years later asked Pop if I could renovate the space above the workshop. I must have been getting on his nerves in the house because he immediately agreed. I could have bought my own place, but I like being close to Pop, just not under the same roof.
I stripped on my way to the bathroom, stepped into the shower, and turned on the water. A shiver ran through me as the cold spray hit my skin. Once I was sufficiently cooled off, I added some hot water to make the temperature more tolerable.
After washing off the dust of the day, I turned my back to the spray and let it loosen the muscles in my shoulders. I stood like that until my fingers turned pruney then I shut off the water, pulled a towel off the rack, and dried off.
I grabbed my cell on the way to the bedroom and saw a missed call from my mother. She didn’t leave a message and I’m not going to call her back. Since I moved to Seaside twelve years ago, I’ve only spoken to her a handful of times and that was only when she wanted something. If it’s really important, she’ll leave a message.
Putting thoughts of my mother out of my mind, I slipped into a pair of shorts, grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, and headed onto the deck. Pop’s property sits steps from the beach and the view is amazing, which is another reason I chose to stay here instead of buying my own place. I sat back in my Adirondack chair to enjoy it and my beverage.
I’d just finished my drink when the view got even better. I’ve been hoping I’d run into Eve again, and here she is walking right toward me. Setting the empty bottle down, I stood and made my way to the beach. Once I stepped onto the sand, I waved to catch her attention. Her eyes widened and she gave an awkward wave.
“It’s nice to see you again, Eve.”
“Hi Max.”
“You remember my name.”
“I never forget the names of people who wake me from a peaceful sleep with whining saws and pounding hammers.”
“Sorry about that.” I flashed a smile. “Don’t worry, next time I’m working at Winnie’s, I’ll just be wielding a paint brush, so you’ll be able to sleep soundly.”
“Good to know.” She looked over my head toward my deck. “That’s your house?”
I nodded.
“I live above Pop’s workshop. His house is right behind it. Well, right in front of it if you’re coming from the road.”
She nodded then looked out at the ocean.
“It’s so beautiful here.”
Without taking my eyes off her, I said, “It sure is.”
Her eyes shifted back to mine and her cheeks seemed a little more pink than they had been a minute ago. I guess she caught my meaning. We stood just looking at each other for several heartbeats. My phone buzzed, breaking the spell. I slipped my hand in my pocket and silenced the call. Whoever it is can wait.
“Would you like to come up for a drink? The view is amazing from my deck.”
“Oh thank you, but I uh, I better get back,” she said.
I thought about trying to convince her, but would rather use my powers of persuasion for a real date.
“I’m actually glad I ran into you.” She raised her right brow. “I was wondering if you’d like to go out to dinner this weekend.”
“Oh thank you,” she said as a way to turn me down for the second time in less than a minute. “But I really don’t have time. I need to finish my book and I’m way behind.”
“You need to take a break sometime and you have to eat.” She shook her head and before she could say no again, I held out my hand. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll put my number in your phone and if it turns out you have some free time, text me and we’ll go grab a bite to eat.”
Her eyes shifted back and forth as she nibbled on her bottom lip. I thought she was going to refuse, but instead she pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to me. I took it and entered my number then gave it back to her.
“Text anytime,” I said with a smile.