Page 35 of A Future in the Bay

“Andyouclose to her heart,” she said, squeezing his hand.

He cleared his throat, nodding.

“I used to think I would worry about her a great deal if she didn’t come home after college,” he said, looking out across the ocean, watching the way the golden sunlight was dancing on the water. “But I don’t feel that way anymore. I love that she has someone who will be there for her. Luke is a great guy, and I trust him to look after her.”

She nodded and smiled, and then she got quiet for a moment, looking out across the ocean. A light breeze, which smelled fragrantly of Marsha’s budding flower garden, brushed against their faces.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he teased, lifting his brows at her when she turned in his direction.

“I was thinking about Isaiah,” she said, smiling fondly as she spoke about her nephew. “I want him to find something like that—a relationship with someone who will really be there for him. I think he could use it. He’s so charming and friendly, but I think he’s a bit lonely deep down. And he’s the kind of free spirit that would do well with someone to anchor him.”

“Hmm.” Willis nodded, grunting in agreement. He was fond of the young man, and he agreed with what Marsha was saying.

She sighed, smiling, and he squeezed her hand again.

“I’m sure everything will work out fine for Isaiah,” she said, and he thought he saw her eyes dancing more than usual.

“I’m sure it will,” he said, bumping her shoulder with his.

They sat there side by side, sipping their tea and watching the ocean waves until it was time to go inside to begin preparing dinner.

Gwen glanced up nervously at the big red brick building of Little Clams Elementary School. Her stomach was flopping as if she was a little kid on her first day of school—except it was clearly the wrong time of day for school, since the first traces of a vibrantly pink sunset could be seen along the horizon.

She was there to help out with the renovations, as she’d promised, and she wondered nervously if Isaiah was going to be there as well. She kept telling herself it was unlikely—and she couldn’t decide if she wanted him to be there or not. She felt disappointed about the prospect of him not being there, and anxious about the idea of him working with her.

Just before she’d reached the front doors, one of them opened, and Olivia stepped out onto the sidewalk, grinning at her.

“Dr. Gwen! I’m so excited you’re here. Thank you so much for agreeing to help out.”

“Oh, of course,” Gwen said, a little breathlessly.

She followed Olivia into the school and couldn’t help but admire how clean and charming it was. It was an older building, but it was clear that it had been lovingly maintained for many years.

“Let me show you the rooms where we plan to do ‘glow-ups,’” Olivia said, gesturing down the hallway. “Hopefully you will have a lot of fun working on this. I always find these kinds of projects very exciting.”

Gwen smiled feebly. “I don’t know that I’m going to be of much use.”

“I’m sure you’ll be a great help,” Olivia reassured her. “Besides, any help you can give us is welcome. You’re helping us get ahead.”

Unless I break something and set them behind schedule, Gwen thought pessimistically, but she just smiled instead of responding to Olivia out loud.

Olivia proudly showed her the classrooms where they wanted to do some minor renovations, and Gwen felt touched by the way Olivia’s eyes shone when she talked about the school. It was clear she loved it very much.

“Let me take you down to the teachers’ lounge,” Olivia said, grinning, after they’d looked at the classrooms. “We have a lot of the supplies for the rooms stored in there.”

Olivia led her down a couple of hallways until they reached a charming little teachers’ lounge, decorated mainly in lime green and pink.

“What’s that?” Gwen asked, laughing a little as she saw a giant smiley face made out of M&M’s lying on one of the tables.

“What on earth?” Olivia laughed, clearly surprised by it as well. “Oh, I know.”

“What?” Gwen prompted, curious.

“That was definitely put there by Isaiah.” Olivia gestured to the M&M smiley face. “He’s the kind of guy who does things just for fun. He likes to spread joy. I think he left these here as a surprise for us, since he knew we’d be here.” She picked up a couple of the brightly-colored candies and popped them into her mouth.

Gwen didn’t quite know what to make of that, but she took a few of the M&M’s anyway, being careful to take them from the end of the smile so she left the shape of it intact. She couldn’thelp smiling herself over the whole thing. It was sweet, pun unintended.

“Let’s sit down in these armchairs and discuss the plan,” Olivia said, walking toward a collection of armchairs placed by a window. “Do you want some coffee? There’s a Keurig over there on the counter.” She gestured to where a couple of coffee makers were nestled amidst racks of colorful mugs.

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