Page 59 of The Island Villa

“Yes.” He started walking again, his pace slow to accommodate the heat. “And it is one of the biggest regrets of my life that you witnessed that.”

“Don’t worry about that side of things because I’m fine. We’re not talking about me.”

“You’re not fine. And maybe we should talk about you,” he said. “I know you worry about me, but I also worry about you because I know that what you saw, what you witnessed, has affected you deeply.”

They’d reached the road that led into the village. To their right was the beach, already scattered with people. A mother rubbed sunscreen onto the limbs of a wriggling toddler, while a man wrestled with a sun umbrella. There were two young women in the water, splashing, shrieking as they plunged into the tempting shimmer of turquoise blue.

She felt a stab of envy at their total enjoyment of the moment. Whatever else was going on in their lives beyond this beach, right now their world was light and carefree. “Why would you worry about me? My life is steady and predictable.”

“I know. That’s why I worry.” Her father glanced at her. “When did you last do something even though you were uncertain of the outcome?”

She watched as a mother scooped up her toddler. “There is never any certainty in life.”

“True. But you try your hardest to remove it. Particularly emotional uncertainty. Are you still seeing that guy who refuses to meet me?”

She looked at him. “His name is Mark. And he didn’t refuse to meet you. You gave us barely any notice that you were coming, and the timing just didn’t work out.” In fact, Mark had all but refused to meet her father, but she wasn’t going to admit to that.

She really ought to tell her father that she and Mark had ended their relationship, but she didn’t like the way the focus of the conversation had shifted.

Unfortunately, her father wasn’t ready to drop the subject. “Does Mark make you happy?”

This conversation wasn’t supposed to be about her relationship. It was supposed to be about his.

“Can we focus on this wedding? I didn’t even know you and Mom were seeing each other. You didn’t mention it.” And that was one of the biggest hurts of all. Her emotions felt bruised. “When did it start? How?”

“It’s hard to say. We’ve always stayed friends, as you know.”

And she’d always found that part difficult to understand. She found the entire history of their relationship difficult to understand.

“There’s a big shift between friendship and a romantic relationship.”

“It was a gradual thing. We saw each other more frequently. I suppose it started to change last winter. Your mother was in the States on one of her book tours, and when it finished she spent a week with me at the house in Cape Cod.”

Her mother had stayed with him? It was the first she’d heard of it.

She thought back, tracing the timeline. “I saw you after her book tour. You never mentioned it.”

“There was nothing to tell at that point.” He paused next to a pretty taverna that had tables overlooking the water. “Breakfast?”

“I—yes, I guess so.” She wasn’t particularly hungry, but she wanted the excuse to have more time with him, so she sat down and waited while he ordered for them both.

“I probably should have mentioned it, but I knew you’d be upset and worried and at the time I didn’t know it was going anywhere. After she left, we realized we missed each other. We started talking on the phone every night.”

“You hate the phone.”

“I learned the art of video chat.” He looked sheepish and Adeline digested the fact that for Catherine Swift, her father had been willing to embrace new technology.

“You have a smartphone now?”

“I do. Your mother persuaded me that it was a good idea. I’m glad she did.” He reached into the pocket of his shorts and put it on the table. And there, on his home screen, was a photo of her mother. She was standing on the beach in Cape Cod looking windswept and happy.

Her father had a picture of her mother on his phone.

She tried to get past that so that she could finish the conversation. “But once you knew—and that must have been some months ago unless Mom sent out a speculative wedding invitation—why didn’t you tell us?”

Her father sat back in his chair. “It was something your mother felt strongly about. She wanted to do it face-to-face, and I respected her wishes. I actually agreed with her that telling you in person would be better. I wanted us to be able to have this conversation.”

She tried not to mind that he’d prioritized her mother over her.

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