Page 67 of Sea La Vie
“I said not today. I don’t want to hear about how I’m not the perfect guy for Lainey, not up to your standards, and never willbe.” She begins to open her mouth but I beat her to it, shushing her. “I’m not done,” I say. “You can hate me, you can think I’m a no-good out-of-towner—you can think whatever you want—but it doesn’t matter, because I know I love Lainey. She’s smart, strong, drop-dead gorgeous, and has the biggest heart of anyone I know. And she’s currently lost at sea in the middle of a freak storm. So, forgive me for not feeling like being berated today.”
Lucille rocks back onto her heels and crosses her arms over her chest. She appraises me as I stand there, and I wonder what she sees. A heartbroken guy, hair on end because I’ve run my hands through it more times than I can count, with deep purple bags of worry under my eyes? And a coffee stain on my shirt to match, because while I thought I wanted coffee and that it made everything better, I realized when I brought it to my lips that I couldn’t stomach anything and threw it at the wall in a moment of weakness. Thankfully, no one had seen. Eden was busy refilling the Coast Guardsmen’s coffee mugs on the opposite side of the room and when they heard the crash, I just said, “Weird. How’d that get there?” And rushed to clean it up.
Finally, she cracks a small smile. “I didn’t think you had it in you,” she murmurs. “Turns out, I was wrong.”
“Okay. Wonderful. I’ve gotta go, Lucille.” I try to walk past her, but she bolts up and spreads her arms and legs wide, grabbing me by the shoulder. She’s surprisingly strong for her small, delicate stature.
“I’m only going to say this once, you got that?” she says. She lets go of my balled up shirt in her fist and dusts her hands together. “I heard what you’re doing for her out in her momma’s garden,” she says softly.
“Great. Wonderful. Feel free to ruin the surprise when she finally gets back,” I mumble.
Lucille bites her lip, then smiles again. “You’re good for her.”
“Thanks for the approval I wasn’t asking for,” I say. I realize I’m being harsh, but I’ve had enough of this lady’s antics.
“I know you don’t care what I think,” she says. “But I care a lot about Lainey so take this with a grain of salt, or don’t. But what you just said confirmed everything. You said ‘whenshe finally gets back’. You aren’t losing hope, are you kid?”
My gaze meets hers, and I see a softness behind them I haven’t seen before. Years of worry and love for the family and girl I’ve grown to love too.
“No,” I say. “She has to come back.” I trail off and glance at the bay outside. It’s calmed down considerably, now only a steady drizzle filling the air. “Because if she doesn’t, I don’t know how I’ll go on. I love her,” I whisper, mostly to myself.
Lucille takes me in her arms, wrapping them firmly around me. Her head comes to my chest and she nuzzles in, the top of her gray frizzy bun right beneath my chin. Reluctantly, I wrap one arm around her and give her an awkward pat on the back. “Okay, well then,” I say but she grabs my free arm and does the honor of wrapping it around herself. A few awkward moments go by, and she finally releases me at an arm's distance.
“I remembered who you were,” Lucille admits. “I just thought it was fun to mess with you. But, keep this in the back of your mind,” she says, eyes narrowing into mere slits. She pokes a finger in my chest. “You break her heart, and,” she slices her thumb across her neck again then sticks her tongue out and closes her eyes in a very dramatic fashion. One eye cracks open, and she all but snarls. “Got it?”
I roll my eyes, but grin at her. “Got it.” She grins and winks back. Archer appears beside Lucille and looks between us. I hadn’t realized he had come back in.
“You love her?” he asks. Apparently he had heard my entire confession too.
“I do,” I say simply. “I always have. I always will.” Archer appraises me, then gives me a subtle nod. Before he can say anything else, there’s commotion in the corner and we all turn.
“You see that?” I overhear a Coast Guardsman say from his perch in the corner. “Right there.” He points to a laptop screen, and they both lean in closer. “Has anyone radioed in?”
At the perfect moment, the radio crackles to life, and I hear a man’s voice come through. “It’s Paul from theA-Fish-Ionado. We’re two hundred miles south of Haven’s Harbor and I have Lainey Adams with me. Everyone is fine, but Lainey has an injured ankle. We should arrive in Widow’s Wharf in about ten hours.”
I rush over to the table and grip the edges, afraid if I don’t keep my hands busy, I’ll jerk the radio away and try to speak to her myself. Archer joins me, his hands shaking enough to slosh a little of the coffee he’s holding.
“Copy that. Do you need us to send rescue?” he asks.
The few seconds in between responses feel like years. Finally, I hear, “Lainey says she’s fine. Just a bad sprain. We should see you soon.”
The Coast Guardsman replies, “Copy that,” and sets the radio back on the table. He turns to us all with a smile. “She’s coming home.”
The next ten hours are agonizingly long. The mood in Mugs and Memos has lightened, Lucille even running back to her place to grab several decks of cards. The Coast Guardsmen have even joined in, one accusing Lucille of cheating moments ago. Lucille, in return, accusedhimof disrespecting his elders to which heflushed, and stammered an apology. He obviously didn’t see a few cards flutter out of her sleeve when she waved her arms around like I had.
Eden resorted to passing the time with baking, the entire shop filled with the smell of warm, buttery pastries. Forty-five minutes from the time of their estimated arrival, I slipped down to the docks and took a seat on a bench. The sun was beginning to set, all signs of the earlier storm gone. The bay was as smooth as glass, the sky as bright and vivid as a freshly bloomed dahlia.
I pull my phone from my pocket and check for service, surprised to find one bar. I had gotten in the habit of not even carrying it since cell service was so spotty in this little town, but I kept it on me today in the slim chance Lainey would contact me through it.
I hit Jordan’s contact and it rolls over to his voicemail. I get a text from him immediately.
Jordan: With the girl from the dog park. She may just be my dream girl.
Tate: Every girl is your dream girl.
Jordan: ha ha. What’s up?
Tate: Liv showed up.
