Page 18 of State of Grace

Blake was convinced that her mother was satisfied with only having Mason in her life and didn’t need or want Blake anymore. She believed her mother was crazy because how else would her father have been able to block at least split custody of her or visitation at the minimum. Blake thought Isla didn’t love her because she never came after her, although Blake waited and waited for her those first few months for her to show up. If she closed her eyes long enough and let her mind wander back to that time, Blake could still feel the same emotions of complete and total abandonment and betrayal by the person who gave her life.

“I love you, Blake.” Isla rested her hand on Blake’s arm. “I have loved you since the day I first held you in my arms. Those first few years with you,” her brown eyes were dreamy, “they were the absolute best.”

“Why…” Blake looked away from Isla, unable to look her in the eye any longer. She couldn’t articulate the questions that were soaring in her brain. A tear slid down her cheek, and Blake angrily wiped it away as she pulled her arm from Isla’s touch inadvertently in the process. “Why did he do this? That’s what I don’t understand about all of this.”

“I can’t speak for your father.”

“But?” She waited for Isla to continue.

“But,” Isla hesitated, “I can speculate. That’s it.”

“And what do you speculate?”

“Your father grew up with money. His parents were well off from owning a large coal mine, and they never struggled, and everything was handed to him. He never wanted for anything. If he saw something, he got it.”

Sounds about right, Blake thought to herself. She loved her father; she truly did. But he had been a materialistic man. Money always came first, and he always made sure people knew he had it. Whether it was the most expensive car or suit or vacation destination, Ben Calloway wanted you to know he could afford it.

“When I met him, I was drawn to his passion for life. He took me on these crazy trips – we went cliff diving and hiking up the side of a volcano and swimming with wild orcas. I don’t know if you know this, but my goal was to be on Broadway before you were born. I’d spent my whole life working toward that goal, and when Ben got me an audition for a new show, I was on cloud nine.”

“What happened?” She picked up her mug and took a sip of the now lukewarm coffee. Blake had no recollection of her mother ever making it to Broadway, but clearly, there were many things in life she didn’t know.

“I ended up getting the callback, but your father proposed, and I accepted, and nine months later, you were born.”

“Oh.” Sitting her mug back down, Blake avoided her eyes once more. “Do you regret it? Having me instead of having a career?”

“No.” There was no hesitation in Isla’s voice. “If I had to do it all over again, I’d like to think I’d still do it the same way.”

“Even knowing what you know now?”

“I’m not one for speculating on the what if’s but, yes. I believe this was the path we were supposed to take. And,” Isla shrugged, “we might never know why we had to go through that, but all that matters now is you are back in my life, and we can move forward from here.”

“I want to. Move forward.”

“Me too.”

“Here you go, ladies.” Maggie set two large plates with delicious-looking BLTs and homemade chips. They ate their meals as they casually talked about their lives, and as Isla paid the tab at the counter, Blake let herself wonder for the hundredth time since arriving in Moonflower Cove what it would have been like to grow up there. With Isla.

Her musings were quickly stopped by a playful smile across the table from Isla.

“So, Vera mentioned you’d asked about Alexis this morning.”

“Well, that didn’t take long.”

“Vera fancies herself a matchmaker.”

Blake grimaced. “Kinda wish I knew that before I opened my mouth.”

“She means well.” Isla snatched the check Maggie had left off the end of the table before Blake could as they slipped out of the booth. As they headed up toward the cash register, Isla placed a hand on Blake’s lower back and whispered in her ear. “For what it’s worth, Alexis is wonderful.”

“Oh, not you too.” Blake playfully shoved Isla’s arm off her as she paid. Busying herself surveying the cakes in the display case, Blake couldn’t get her mind off Alexis. She’d looked gorgeous when they’d run into her on the way to the café. For a moment, Blake had contemplated complimenting her Star Wars tee but she didn’t want it to come across as condescending or anything.

“Blake.” Slipping her wallet back into her bag, Isla motioned for Blake to join her as she put her hand on the small of Blake’s back. “I didn’t officially introduce you to Maggie. She was one of my first friends when I moved to the Cove.”

“Yes, your mother and I go way back. We used to work at the bar of hers back before she owned the joint.” Maggie beamed with pride, and Blake wondered what it was like to have lifelong friends. She had close acquaintances, sure; people she’d worked with over the years on different projects. But Blake had never had a best friend.

Returning to the sunshine outside, they walked shoulder to shoulder, each with their hands tucked into the pocket of their pants, Blake couldn’t resist a smile as she thought about how they must look to the people passing by.

“There you two are.”

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