Page 21 of Five Summer Wishes

We walked. Not far. Just around the corner and down to the little overlook near the water. The tide was high. The boats bobbed lazily in the harbor like they weren’t in a hurry to go anywhere.

We leaned against the railing in silence.

“You always this quiet?” he asked gently.

“Only when I’m thinking.”

“What about?”

I picked at the sleeve of my hoodie. “How hard it is to be someone people rely on. How it’s sometimes easier to disappoint strangers than the people who know you.”

He didn’t react like most people did. Didn’t try to reassure or correct me.

He just nodded, like he got it.

“You seem like someone who shows up,” he said. “Even when you’re empty.”

I swallowed. “Yeah.”

“That’s brave.”

I looked at him then. Really looked.

“Most people call it exhausting.”

He smiled. “That too.”

I sat on the bench. He sat beside me. We didn’t talk much more. Just watched the water, the slow tug of it against the rocks. A gull screamed overhead. Someone’s wind chime clattered in the breeze.

Grant stood after a few minutes. “I’ve got to open up the shop,” he said. “But thanks for letting me steal a few minutes.”

“You didn’t steal them.”

He smiled. “That’s good to know.”

And then he walked off, easy and unhurried, like he didn’t need to say anything else.

I sat there a moment longer, feeling the stillness where he’d just been.

Not a hole. Not a loss.

Just space.

Like maybe I didn’t have to fill it.

I walked back slowerthan I meant to.

The house stood quiet when I reached it, the porch swing swaying just enough to look like someone had recently left it.

Inside, the smell of coffee had gone stale, and someone had left the back door open. Willa’s music was drifting in from the hallway. Something jazzy and inappropriate for midmorning.

Lily sat cross-legged on the living room floor, completely absorbed in a glittery sticker book and humming to herself.

She didn’t look up as I walked in. Just said, “Did you bring me anything?”

“Just a hug.”

“Hmm. That’s good too.”

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