Chapter 17
The sound of bouncing tennis balls greeted us when I dropped Luna off at her first tennis lesson.
I watched her walk toward the weathered-shingle tennis center that stood between the parking lot and the courts in her matching pink outfit, twirling her racket bag.
Should I go in there and make sure she goes to the right place?
I was about to unfasten my seat belt when a similarly clad little girl ran up to her. They hugged, racket bags clanking against each other, and a smile appeared on my face. When they reached the top of the porch steps, a teenager in an all-white outfit holding a clipboard guided them inside.
I exited the parking lot to head to the YMCA.
Max continued to text me consistently, and we usually saw each other every few days after I left Luke’s house in the evening.
About a week into the new routine, Luke texted me in the middle of the afternoon when I was writing at his kitchen table.
Luke
I’m picking up burgers to grill tonight. Want to stay for dinner?
A smile stretched on my face as I read the message again.
I hadn’t had dinner with them since we went for pizza after Luna’s last day of school, but I felt the tug to stay more often than not after Luke relieved me each day.
It was Wednesday, so Mimi had mahjong and dinner with her friends tonight.
And I didn’t have plans with Max, either.
Val
Sure, that sounds great!
Luke
What do you like to drink?
I got up and looked in his fridge. The only beverages were orange juice, milk, lemonade, and domestic beer. I could do a beer.
Val
I’m easy! Whatever you’re getting for yourself.
Luke
Oh c’mon. Tell the truth.
I laughed. Was there a camera in here? How could he tell?
Val
Okay, fine. I like rosé wine.
He liked my message.
My eyes landed back on the open spreadsheet on my laptop.
I’d decided to expand my insider trading story—the betrayed lawyer would form some kind of connection with the investigator after he offers her a deal that helps her avoid prison, and somehow her losing her job and having to reevaluate her entire life would end up being a good thing.
I was still working out the finer points, but it was so fun—having the time to imagine the potential scenes like a movie in my head, getting hit with an idea at the gym or while out running errands and jotting it down in a note on my phone.
Even the book on story structure I’d been working through sparked plot points and dialogue and character backstories, turning crackling embers of ideas into flames of inspiration that had me ripping open my laptop and typing for hours.
Envisioning writing instead of doing corporate deals was the easiest therapy homework Wendy had ever given me—I could absolutely picture myself doing this every day instead.
I didn’t know if I could ever make any money from it, but for now the first few babysitter checks were enough to quell my financial anxiety.
I still hadn’t told anyone besides my therapist and my mom and Mimi about my newly discovered penchant for writing, but maybe I would at some point. I thought it was a little odd Max hadn’t asked.
I wondered what he thought I did every day.
Luna ran inside, dropping her bag by the front door and rounding the corner into the kitchen like it was some kind of race. She must have noticed the classic rock playing through the speaker system—an irrefutable clue that her dad was home.
“Hi!” she yelled over the music, plopping down on a stool at the kitchen island, where Luke was chopping vegetables.
A wide smile transformed his handsome face into a beacon of light as he looked at her. “Hey, Luns! How was sailing?”
“Great. Clara and I won the practice race. We beat the boys.”
“That’s what I like to hear!” He held up his hand for a high five. She smacked it enthusiastically.
Standing a few feet from the island, I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling just watching them.
“Alright, first up, cheese and crackers.” He placed a charcuterie plate in the center of the island and nodded me over to join them.
“Cheddar?” Luna clarified.
“Of course. That’s the cubes. You could try the other one too,” he suggested, pointing at a triangle of brie.
Luna stuck her tongue out. “No, gross.”
Luke chuckled.
“Can I help with anything?” I asked Luke, gesturing toward the half-chopped tomatoes, zucchini, and summer squashes.
He shook his head. He held my gaze for a breath, some inscrutable expression replacing his smile, and then shook his head again, almost imperceptibly.
It made me want to ask what he was thinking about when he looked at me like that.
But before I could, he wiped his hands on a towel and held his pointer finger up, stepping toward the fridge.
He pulled out a bottle of light pink rosé.
“This work? It’s what the guy at the store recommended.”
He handed it to me gingerly, our fingers brushing, but only for a second. I read the label. “Yes, perfect, thank you! Any French rosé with a recent year will be great.” I moved toward the drawer that contained the wine opener.
“I got it,” he said, taking the bottle back. Less than a minute later a half-full stemless wine glass appeared in front of me.
“Want some lemonade or something, Luna?”
“Yeah!”
Luke tapped something out on his phone, and grabbed the lemonade from the fridge, returning the bottle of rosé.
I spread some brie on a cracker and popped it in my mouth. Luna stared at me, agape. “You’ll like it when you’re older, promise. You already like hummus so it’s only a matter of time.”
Luke laughed.
“He’s always saying stuff like that.” Her little nose scrunched as she pointed at Luke.
Now I was laughing.
Luke clinked his beer glass against my wine glass and watched me take my first sip. I closed my eyes as the dry, tart, and slightly sweet wine splashed across my tongue. When I opened them, he was still watching me, looking satisfied.
“Like it?”
“Yeah, it’s great. Thank you.” It felt like special treatment that he went out of his way to buy something I liked.
He nodded and returned to chopping. I made another cracker, stealing a look at his muscled forearms as he chopped with a big chef’s knife. It was hard not to stare.
“So, what’s the occasion?” I asked. “Cheese board, wine, grilling up a storm. You have a good day?”
A smile unfolded on his face, like it wasn’t on purpose.
I bit my lip. Damn. I had no doubt that smile has gotten him lots of special treatment in his life.
“Yeah, actually. We got a big contract with the town finalized today. We’re building a whole neighborhood of bungalows and multi-unit condos about halfway between here and the airport.
It’s going to be managed by the company and will provide a bunch of affordable housing units for seasonal workers in the summer. We’re adding a bus stop, too.”
“That’s awesome, Luke. Congratulations! So you’ll be working on it?”
“Yeah, I mean, Karas Construction got the contract.”
Realization hit me like a thwack to the back of the head.
Luke’s last name was Karas, as I learned from my first paycheck.
Karas Construction was…his company. It all made sense now: how it seemed like he spent as much time at the office as at the construction sites, his coming and going at random times throughout the day.
His eyes narrowed. “You didn’t realize it was my company, did you?”
I shook my head. “I feel stupid. I know your last name. Should have been obvious.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “I never mentioned it.”
“Still. Well, congrats!” I said again. “It sounds like something Edgartown really needs. Mimi’s been complaining for years about restaurants and stores having to stay closed on certain days because there’s not enough staff, and she always blames the lack of reasonable housing options for people who want to move here just to work for the summer.
” Mimi was particularly fond of the charismatic men that often came from Serbia for the summer to work at The Atlantic restaurant. “This will be so good for the island!”
The corner of Luke’s mouth ticked up. “Thanks, Val. That’s exactly why the town wanted this project.” He clapped his hands. “Alright, I’m going to fire up the grill. Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone.” He looked pointedly at Luna.
She rolled her eyes.
Luke let me finish the salad while he grilled the burgers. I joined him outside when he went back out to flip them.
“How’s it going? Is it a lot carting her from place to place?”
“Oh no, it’s great. Her schedule keeps me honest. I go to the gym while she’s at tennis, and then I write while she’s at sailing. I like having lunch with her and hearing about her day. I think she’s pretty comfortable with me now.”
“Oh, definitely. I can tell. She talks about you after you leave, too.”
My lips tipped into a smile. I didn’t realize how much it would matter to me that Luna connected with me. That was the difference between babysitting here and there and seeing someone every day. “All good things?”
“Yeah, of course all good things.” He said it like it was the most obvious fact he’d ever stated. “What do you write?” he asked after a moment.
My eyes widened. I’d been so nervous to tell people, and yet it had just slipped out here, on Luke’s back deck.
“Oh, um. Creative writing. Like, stories, maybe a novel. I’ve always had an interest in it, written down ideas over the years.
And now I actually have time to pursue it, so I figured, why not? ”
“That’s really cool, Val. Impressive, too. Maybe one of your stories will take off.”
I peered at him. His encouraging smile showed no signs of doubt. My cheeks tugged upward. “Thank you.”
He dipped his chin and then pivoted to continue turning over the vegetables.