Page 106 of Fighting the Tide
Brooke wanted to tell me about Colette.I know that’s what she was hinting at in this letter, and I reach into my pocket for the second note.I refold the first and hold it in my palm as I open the other.What I find is shocking and I have to skim over it a few times before it becomes familiar.I received something similar a year ago.
I am holding the results of a DNA test that states Sean Clark is unequivocally Colette’s father.This is why she didn’t share the results with Sean’s parents, she wanted to share them with me first.The wind blows hard at that moment and the paper slips from my hand, making me rush forward to grab it, but it sails through the air and over the ocean.It’s almost as if it’s being put to rest, and this is Brooke’s way of saying the past is in the past.
The weight of the first letter begins to pulse in my firm grip as if it, too, wants to join the first.I bring my fist to my chest and seal my eyes shut, knowing that parting with her words will be another torture to endure, but keeping it would only be dwelling on what needs to remain buried.
“We would’ve been best friends, Brooke Eastham.”My voice hitches on a sob as I reopen the letter.“I hope you approve of me and your daughter, and I promise you our love is explosive, everything you could have ever wanted for her.I will protect and love her until my last breath.That’s a promise I vow to keep.”
My chest warms as I hold the paper out over the ledge, her neat writing fanning in the wind.I take a deep breath and let it go, the pulse radiating through me is answer enough.My eye stays on that paper as it floats through the sky, and when I finally blink to clear the mist obstructing my view, it disappears out of sight.
It’s as if I put the last piece of her soul to rest because my chest is once again empty and the lighthouse is back to being cold and hollow.“Visit us often and I hope to see you again one day.”
“Did you do it?”Avery sits beside me on the beach as the party continues around us.Her silk white dress is long and sleek, a contrast to Monica’s billowing princess style.
“No, not yet.”I wrap my arm around her shoulders and drag her to my side, planting a kiss on her temple.“You both looked breathtaking today.”
“She’s my wife now,” she chokes on a sob as she wipes her eyes.She’s been crying since Monica’s father walked her down the aisle.It took them a few years too long, but they finally came around in hopes of creating a relationship with their grandson.In the process, they came to love Avery, as most people do, and now they’ve become an integral part of the family.“Could you see this happening when we were in high school?”
“There were a lot of things I didn’t see in high school, but you and Monica were always meant to be,” I assure her as we watch Monica and Colette laugh together and take another shot with Avery’s brother, Darren.He built the arch for their wedding as his gift to them.“She’s going to be a mess when I get her home.”
“When are you going to do it?”she asks as she wipes away another tear.
“This week.”I shrug and laugh when she gives me a puzzled look.“There has never been a clear plan for me and her.We’ve always followed our instincts and forged our own paths.I’ll keep doing that.”
“How does it feel to finally be home?”She nudges my shoulder.“And that it’s here in Chatham.”
“It feels like I never left.”
