Chapter 26
An interview with Blaine and Tiffany
You two nearly set Gansett Island on fire with your incendiary romance back in the day.
Blaine: We were hot from the start. Still are.
Tiffany: Hush. No one wants to hear about that.
Um, yes, we do. Let me ask you this… How’s the ceiling fan?
(Blaine laughs while Tiffany hides behind her hand.)
Blaine: We’re on our third one.
Tiffany: You didn’t have to tell them that.
Yes, he did. We love you two! What’s your favorite memory from those early days together?
Blaine: For me, it was finding out she was officially divorced, and we were free to be together. By then, I felt like I’d waited forever for her.
Tiffany: My favorite moment was when Blaine sent the furniture he bought at the estate sale. We had that for years, and I cried when we replaced it with new pieces. That was the moment I knew he was for real, and I was well on my way to falling in love.
Blaine: I think I fell in love that first night, after you ended up in my jail and I took you home.
Oh yeah… The kitchen counter encounter…
Tiffany: You know far too much about what went on between us.
LOL, that’s my job! Tell us about the kids!
Tiffany: Ashleigh is sixteen and full of beans.
Blaine: To my horror, she looks exactly like her mother, and the boys are flocking around like bees to honey.
Tiffany: My girl doesn’t suffer fools. She holds them all at arm’s length while she studies dance, plays the piano and hangs out with her girlfriends. She’s still best friends forever with her cousin Thomas. They’re so cute together.
Do you ever tease them about Naked Boy, Naked Girl?
Blaine: (laughing) Not if we want them to speak to us. They prefer to forget that ever happened.
Whereas we’ll never forget.
Tiffany: No, we won’t. Our Addie is twelve and such a delight. She’s also big into dance and is so good with her little brother. Adrian is nine and loves to be with his cousins. They’re the best of friends, and the wrestling matches are epic.
I can’t even imagine… Are you teaching dance again?
Tiffany: I am! I keep the store open during the season, and I run the dance studio during the school year. It’s been so fun to teach our girls, our nieces and friends’ daughters—and a few of the boys, too. The studio is as busy as the store.
How’s life as the police chief, Blaine?
Blaine: Insane in the summer as always. Manageable the rest of the year. I still enjoy it for the most part, but I entertain thoughts about retiring more than I used to.
What would you do if you weren’t the police chief?
Blaine: Mac wants me to work with him in the construction business. Sometimes I dream of not being responsible for the safety of everyone on the island.
Tiffany: I’d be down with that. It can be a lot at times.
Does Ashleigh know what she wants to do after high school?
Tiffany: She’s interested in possibly pursuing the law in some way. She’s looking at colleges from North Carolina to Boston. When I think about her living off-island, I get a little twitchy. But she’s excited, and I’m trying not to let my anxiousness dampen her enthusiasm.
How’s that going?
Blaine: Day by day. We can’t picture life without her here, bossing us all around and taking care of her siblings and cousins.
The last time we saw Ashleigh, she’d just lost her dad. How has she coped with his death?
Tiffany: It’s been a process for sure, but she’s much better these days.
We still talk about him all the time, and she’s close to his parents.
They’re getting on in years, and she’s very good about visiting them and spending time together.
We’re proud of how she navigated such a big loss so early in her life.
Thank you for sharing your life today with us. We wish you many more happy years together!