Itʹs such a great feeling, Ivy. Do you know what itʹs like to float on a lake, a circle of trees around you, a big blue bowl of sky above you? Youʹre lying on top of the water, sun sparkling at the tips of your fingers and toes.
She had pictured it so many times, floating with Tristan at the center of a sun-spangled lake, that the dream had become as tangible as the real memories she carried of Tristan.
Why had she thought that escaping to Cape Cod would put distance between her and her memories? There was water everywhere, and everywhere that there was water, she thought of Tristan.
Ivy sighed, opened her book, and stared at the words without reading them. A week ago she had awakened in the hospital certain that she had been kissed by Tristan.
That had been no comforting dream as Beth had suggested; rather, it had made her long all the more for Tristan! And it made painfully clear the difference between what sheʹd had with Tristan and what she felt for Will. The weekend visitors and full work schedule had helped her and Will get through the last few days, but now that they had time to be together, she had been relieved when he said he was headed into Chatham to shop for art supplies.
ʺHey, girl, get off your sweet bum and come running with me,ʺ Kelsey called to Ivy, shaking her out of her thoughts.
Kelsey had trotted around the side of the inn and jogged in place for a moment.
Her auburn hair was pulled high on her head in a bouncy ponytail.
Ivy smiled at the invitation, which she suspected wasnʹt real, and shook her head no. ʺHow far do you run?ʺ
ʺToday Iʹm doing five miles on the beach, which is like ten on the road, then twenty minutes of hard swimming and an hour of biking. Iʹm thinking of doing a triathlon in September.ʺ ʺYouʹre amazing,ʺ Ivy replied. ʺYou donʹt have to tell her that,ʺ Dhanya said, stepping onto the porch, carrying a bowl of frosty‐looking blueberries leftover from the innʹs breakfast. ʺKelsey already thinks it way too often.ʺ
ʺKnows it,ʺ Kelsey corrected, then adjusted her iPod and took off for the stairway to the beach. Dhanya sat down. ʺBerries?ʺ she asked Ivy, holding out the bowl. ʺThanks.ʺ Setting the bowl on a small table between them, Dhanya rocked back and forth for a moment, then put her feet up on the railing, studying them.
ʺLavender polish looks good on you,ʺ Ivy said.
Dhanya wrinkled her nose. ʺIʹll never have pretty feet. Dancers donʹt — we abuse our toes.ʺ
ʺDo you do ballet?ʺ
ʺAnd modern, and jazz, even tap. I used to do Indian, but my teacher was old and strict — she had this thing about attitude. Discipline, Dhanya, discipline.ʺ
Dhanya imitated a British‐sounding accent, and grimaced. ʺWant to come with Kelsey and me to Chatham today? Max is having a group of friends over from college.”
ʺThanks, but Iʹm headed out to Provincetown with Beth and Will this afternoon.ʺ
Dhanya sighed. ʺYouʹre so lucky — Willʹs greatʺ ʺMmm,ʺ Ivy replied, and changed the subject. ʺTell me about Max.ʺ Dhanya rolled her eyes. ʺKelsey said you liked him,ʺ Ivy added. ʺKelsey would like me to like him. Somehow she thinks heʹs perfect for me, which is kind of insulting. She keeps telling me Iʹm a snob. Do you think so?ʺ
Ivy was surprised by the blunt question. ʺI think most of us are snobs in one way or another. We just donʹt see our own prejudices.ʺ
ʺYes, but some people really are nose‐in‐the‐air types,ʺ Dhanya asserted. ʺI hate that. Especially when they do it to me.ʺ
ʺSo, whatʹs Max like?ʺ Ivy asked.
ʺRich.ʺ Dhanya pointed her toes, then relaxed her ankles. ʺI need to stop digging my feet in the sand. Theyʹre paler than my legs. . Max is rich and tacky, into stuff like cigarette boats and gaudy sports cars. He may have lots of money, but he acts so… blue collar.ʺ
Ivy bit her lip to keep from laughing. Before her mother married Andrew, they had lived in blue‐collar Norwalk.
ʺHis father owns a chain of discount clothing stores,ʺ Dhanya added.
Ivy cocked her head. ʺSo?ʺ
ʺMax looks like he buys his clothes from his father. I want someone as rich as Max and as classy as Will.ʺ
ʺMaybe that guy will show up at Maxʹs beach party,ʺ Ivy replied, trying to hide her irritation— she didnʹt need anyone to remind her that Will was a great guy.
ʺDid you date someone you really liked in high school?ʺ
ʺNo, but I have a Facebook boyfriend,ʺ Dhanya said. ʺOf course, itʹs hard to take a guy from Australia to the senior prom.
After a long silence, Dhanya added, ʺThanks for not saying, ʹGet real, Dhanya/
Kelsey says I live in la‐la land. She says Iʹm afraid of real guys.ʺ
For a moment, Ivy felt bad for Dhanya. ʺKelsey has a lot to say about you.
Maybe she should focus on herself, and leave you alone for a while.ʺ
Dhanya smiled a little, “Yeah. Maybe she should. More berries?ʺ
ʺNo thanks”
Dhanya scooped up the last handful, then picked up the bowl and headed back to the cottage.
Opening her mystery. Ivy read the first chapter — read it twice before she had absorbed enough to go on. But eventually the sea, salty air, and sunny porch faded, and Ivy was creeping with the hero down a dark backstreet of London.
About a half hour later, she felt a hand resting on her shoulder.
ʺHey, Will,ʺ she said. ʺGet everything you wanted?ʺ
ʺWhoʹs Will?ʺ At the sound of Guyʹs voice, Ivy spun around, not sure if she felt annoyed or glad about his reappearance. ʺHow did you know where to find me?ʺ
ʺYour hospital papers. How did you know Iʹd come back to the parking lot?ʺ
He was wearing the sweatshirt and cargos she had bought him — and his old shoes; the new ones were tied to the backpack.
ʺI didnʹt. I was just too mad to go back in the store and return the stuff.ʺ
One side of Guyʹs mouth lifted in a smile. He dropped his backpack on the porch. Seeing a new bedroll attached to it. Ivy hoped he had used her cash rather than shoplifting it.
ʺHave a seat,ʺ she invited. He shook his head and leaned against the railing facing her. Iʹm kind of muddy.ʺ ʺWhere have you been staying?ʺ He shrugged.
ʺAround.ʺ Ivy closed her book. ʺAround here?ʺ ʺHere and there,ʺ he replied elusively. ʺHave you eaten anything in the last four days?ʺ
ʺYeah,ʺ said Guy, ʺbut you donʹt want to know what.ʺ
ʺSure I do.ʺ He laughed. Was it the unshaven cheeks, the tousled hair, or the mischief in his eyes? What made his laughter sexy? ʺLeftovers,ʺ he said. ʺAn assortment of leftovers.ʺ
ʺYum. Why didnʹt you come here right away?ʺ
ʺBecause you had already done enough.ʺ
ʺThen why are you here now?ʺ Guyʹs face grew serious. There was something mesmerizing about his eyes and the way they seemed to peer into her soul. She had no power to look away.
ʺBecause Iʹm hungry enough.ʺ He turned away from her and gazed out at the water. ʺNice view.ʺ
ʺSo what will it be,ʺ she asked, ʺbreakfast, lunch, or dinner?ʺ
ʺWhatever you have.ʺ She stood up and held open the door for him. ʺCome on.ʺ
ʺIʹll stay outside.ʺ
ʺNo oneʹs here,ʺ she said. ʺCome on in.ʺ ʺWhat if Witt comes home?ʺ Ivy thought she caught a gleam in Guyʹs eye. ʺThen Iʹll introduce you/ʹ she said. ʺI feel better out here.ʺ
Ivy shook her head. ʺAll right, but if I make you a meal, and come back and find youʹre gone, Iʹll be really teed off.ʺ
ʺIf s almost worth hiding in the bushes, just to see you lose it,ʺ he replied, grinning. Sitting on the floor of the porch, he rested his back against the wood railing.
Ivy retreated to the kitchen, and after a momentʹs thought made him a cheese omelet, figuring it would have plenty of protein, then cut a huge slab of Aunt Cindyʹs homemade bread. She added to the tray an assortment of fruit and a cup of tea, and carried the tray through the parlor, pausing to look at Guy through the screen door. His eyes were closed and his shoulders sagged against the porch balusters. Ivyʹs heart went out to him — he was exhausted.