“Because this place is special. If I can’t save it, does that mean I can’t save the rest of my endings? My husband Charlie’s ending? The ending of the girl who saved my life when I was little? If I lose this place, I lose my sense of possibility, and that’s the only thing that has kept me going.”
“That’s what I like about this place, too,” Devin said. “Anything is possible.”
“Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. They can’t all be happy endings, can they?” Bulahdeen paused, then turned suddenly to see Selma standing behind them, holding a white Chinese paper parasol over her head in one hand, her high heels in another. “Selma, I didn’t hear you come up,” Bulahdeen said coolly.
“I took off my shoes so I wouldn’t fall into this cesspool,” Selma said.
“What’s a cesspool?” Devin asked.
“A place beautiful women avoid,” Selma told her.
“What is it, Selma?” Bulahdeen asked. “Did you want something? There are no men here, and it’s not like you to come out here only to spend time with us.”
“I just passed Kate, sitting over there.” Selma waved in the direction of the lawn. “She wanted Devin to come up when she was ready.”
“Go on, baby,” Bulahdeen said, turning back to the water.
Devin and Selma walked down the dock in silence. Selma was so pretty, but sometimes, Devin thought, if she touched her, she would find that she was as sharp as wire. “Why don’t you like anybody here?” Devin asked her.
Selma’s mouth set into a thin line. She hesitated before she said, “Because they don’t like me.”
“Sure they do. They all do. I do.”
“You’re one in a million, kid,” Selma said as they stepped off the dock and she stopped to put back on her shoes.
“That’s what my mom says,” Devin said, stopping with her.
There was some movement near the water.
“Oh! Look!” Devin said, excited. “Do you see him?” She crouched down near the edge, almost like she would for a small dog, to get it to come closer. She could see the alligator’s eyes, just barely, over the water. He hadn’t talked to her since she found the Alligator Box. Whatever was in the box hadn’t made everything right. Not yet. She’d searched and she’d fought and she’d run. Devin didn’t know what else to do.
Selma stood next to her, her parasol resting on her shoulder, but she wasn’t looking in the water. “Who is that?” Selma asked, which Devin thought was an odd question, because clearly it was an alligator. “There was a boy there,” Selma said, pointing to the trail, “walking through the woods.”
Devin looked up but didn’t see anyone.
And when she turned back to the water, the alligator was gone.
Eby stepped out into the sunshine and took a deep breath. She felt like she’d been away for a while. She and Lisette had slept well past breakfast, which had vexed Lisette. Even when she was sick, Lisette always went downstairs in the mornings to see Luc. Eby thought it was marvelous, the sleep, like the way you sleep when you’re finally home. The dance floor and the canopy were still on the lawn, and some stray cups and plates were still scattered around, but Lisette had cleaned up the rest. Eby had heard her leave the house when everyone had gone home and the grills had finally cooled. Lisette missed nighttime.
Last night Eby had dreamed of George again, but not in Paris. He was right here. He was sitting on the lawn, and she was lying beside him in the grass with her head in his lap. He was stroking her hair, smiling down at her. There was such a feeling of peace around them, it was soft and pink and smelled of butter. She woke up to Lisette standing over her, petting her hair away from her face. Lisette had pointed to the clock on the bedside table, then left.
Eby saw Kate sitting on one of the picnic tables. She had two bottles of water in her lap.
Eby walked over to her. When her shadow fell over her, Kate turned. “I was just waiting for Devin. She wants to go for a hike.”
“Like myself again.”
“Is she okay today?”
“I think so. I think we’re both finally okay.”
Eby looked down at the lake, at Devin crouching by the water in her pink romper and fairy wings and Selma standing next to her with her white parasol. Selma pointed to something, and Eby followed her finger to the trail around the lake, where she thought she caught a fleeting glimpse of a little boy in overalls, walking away.
Eby’s breath caught.
“Eby? Are you all right?” Kate asked.
Eby turned to her. “What? Oh, yes. I’m fine. I thought I saw … it was nothing. Just a little déjà vu.” She shook her head. It was so long ago, she’d almost forgotten. “I was remembering the first picture of Lost Lake I ever saw, just after my honeymoon. It was on a postcard George showed me of some investment property. I felt like I was looking into the future. Maybe I was. Maybe I was looking at this very moment. Maybe I’ve come full circle.”
Kate stood. “Or maybe it’s just a new circle forming.”
Eby smiled at her as Kate walked away to get Devin. Eby put her hand to her chest, to check for that familiar fluttering there. But it was gone now, released to the wind like a caged bird.
The only thing she could feel now was the life inside her, the beat of her heart and the filling of her lungs.
She was alive and well, with plenty of fight left in her.
She looked at the postcard scene at the lake again and shook her head.
The big sign she’d been looking for had been here all along.
PART 3
14
A short time later, already sweating as the sun rose higher in the sky, Kate and Devin broke through the woods and finally found themselves on the dirt road leading to Wes’s old cabin.
They walked up the road, and as soon as the clearing came into view, so did a large white van with Wes’s handyman logo on it.
Wes was leaning against the front of the van, staring at where the cabin had once stood. He was wearing shorts and a long-sleeved T-shirt, and black sunglasses hid his eyes. He was as still as a statue.
Before she could take Devin’s hand to quietly lead her away, not wanting to disturb his moment with this place, Devin yelled, “Wes!” and ran toward him.
He turned quickly.
Devin reached him and hugged him, which made him smile and he put his arms gently around her fairy wings.
He watched as Kate approached him.
“We didn’t know you’d be here,” Kate said. “Do you want us to leave?”
“No, not at all,” he said. “I had a job down the highway this morning. On my way back, I found myself turning up the old road to this place. I don’t know why.”
Devin ran into the clearing. Her wings were starting to droop. They’d seen better days. They’d snagged on some branches on the trail, and there was a bit of Spanish moss clinging to one of them.
Kate leaned against the van beside him. The engine was cool. He’d been here awhile. They hadn’t interacted much at the party after bringing Devin back from the woods. They hadn’t danced again. Kate wasn’t sure where they stood.
“I talked to my uncle one last time this morning,” Wes said. “I couldn’t change his mind. He said he’ll still be coming by late this afternoon to give Eby another chance to sign over her land. Otherwise, he said he’s going to sue. I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m sorry I got mad at you at the party,” Kate said. “I know you’d never do anything to hurt Eby.”
“What do you think she’ll do? Do you think she’ll fight him?”