Chapter Thirty-Four
While watching CC and her crew fade into the distance on the Great South Bay, Addison texted her friends: Who’s free for dinner Monday night?
Soon an array of hearts and exclamation points confirmed that everyone was available. Addison called in a favor for a res at Bad Roman and smiled.
I’m back, she thought happily.
She was confident she could forget about the roller coaster of nonsense she’d been riding for the past seven weeks. She was not Addie; she was Addison Irwin.
Back at the house, Addison went through the final closet for the white elephant sale. She would bring everything over first thing tomorrow and then head back to the city for her Monday meeting.
When she walked into the living room, she noticed Shep’s package peeking out from a now empty corner and looked at her watch. It was too late to visit him. She would head over there in the morning.
Early Sunday morning, Addison made two trips to the ferry dock, where the white elephant sale was spread out along the sidewalk. She now realized that she could have left everything for the new owners to deal with, in the Fire Island tradition—though if she had, it would probably have all ended up in a dumpster. While she was unhappy that she had fallen for Ben in the short time she’d been on the island, she was happy that she had also fallen in love with her aunt. Gicky’s things should go to other Fire Islanders. She was sure they would be snapped up by both sentimental and eclectic-minded residents as the treasures that they were. She slipped a set of handmade black-and-white poodle-shaped salt and pepper shakers into her pocket, suddenly unwilling to part with them.
Addison loaded the last boxes onto the wagon and placed Shep’s painting on top. She had enough time to make a quick stop at his house before dropping off the goods and catching the next boat, though she was cutting it close.
As she rang Shep’s bell, Addison decided that, if he wasn’t home, she would open the door—islanders seemed to leave their houses unlocked—and place it inside. In fact, she hoped he wouldn’t be home. The old man had won her over, and she didn’t feel like explaining where she was off to. Also, she knew that whatever she said would probably go right back to Ben, if he even cared to inquire about her whereabouts when he returned—if he returned.
Shep answered his door and immediately noticed the painting.
“You found it! I told you she left something for me!”
“Actually, she left it with her gallerist.”
“It’s a masterpiece, no doubt.”
Addison handed him the painting. He took it and joked, “OK, Don, let’s show him what he’s won!”
Addison smiled. She would miss this guy.
He untied the string, and the paper fell behind it. One look at the painting and his face became red and contorted. He quickly covered the canvas back up and put it down facing the wall. From his reaction, Addison reconsidered her plan to ask to see it. She again questioned what her aunt’s relationship was with Shep. It was a question she didn’t need to know the answer to.
“I have to run, Shep,” she said. “I have to bring the rest of this to the sale and make the next boat.”
Shep looked at his watch.
“Go!” he said. “I’ll bring this stuff for you and lock up your wagon by the dock. You’re never going to make the boat pulling that thing.”
She knew she would make it, but loved the thought of not arriving like a sweaty zenless mess. She took him up on his offer to bring the final round to the sale and headed to the boat with nothing more than her purse. Once on board, she took a seat up top and thought about how she had felt when arriving, compared to how she felt now. If anything, the heartbreak had proven that her former priorities weren’t so bad after all.