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“I know. But I get it. Everyone gets turned around every once in a while.”
“True. And everyone there is so friendly that it’s a good place to get lost.” Caitlin remembered wandering around the charming town at her own pace, stumbling upon beautiful view after beautiful view. Even in the colder weather, it was a breathtaking place.
“Definitely,” Alissa said. “We’re preparing for the luau too. All of the businesses are getting ready for it. It’s almost like a holiday with how people are going all out. Like imagine Christmas, but instead of lights, everyone has leis and flowers and palm trees everywhere.”
“That sounds like fun!”
“You’d probably love all of the food that people are planning. I’ve been talking to a bunch of places here and they’re planning special Polynesian meals,” Alissa said.
“I’d totally love that.”
Caitlin had loved all of the restaurants she’d tried when she visited. She had high standards when it came to flavor—she couldn’t turn off her restaurant owner brain even if she tried—but she wasn’t a snob about it. She loved everything from street food to Michelin star experiences. As long as the food was good and made with care, she could appreciate it.
And there was so much to appreciate in Blueberry Bay. Even thinking about the sandwiches at The Crab made her hungry. Once she visited again, whenever that was, she was going straight there to get something.
“People are excited about all of it. Things at The Outlet are really picking up too, both the paper and the magazine. Our print run keeps going up and Dane has been talking to other newspaper owners in the region. News is really spreading about it, especially the magazine.”
“The magazine is amazing, so I’m not at all surprised.” Alissa and Dane had started it together when they realized that they could do a lot of long-form pieces on the area. “When is the next issue?”
“Not long after the luau. I’m going to write a piece on it and it’ll be the cover story.” Alissa gasped in excitement. “It’s going to be my best piece yet, I think, and I’ve only started doing some interviews. There are so many people in the area with incredible stories that haven’t been told yet.”
Caitlin smiled at Alissa’s buckets of enthusiasm as she spoke about the people whose stories she was going to tell in the long-form article. As happy as she was for Alissa, Caitlin’s heart tugged with a bittersweet feeling. She was so glad that Alissa had forged a new life for herself. She had been in such a rut at her old newspaper job. But seeing all the ways Alissa’s life was branching out reminded Caitlin of how stuck she felt.
They had always been different, but the differences felt starker now. Still, nothing could dim the happiness Caitlin had for her sister.
“How have things been with you?” Alissa asked.
“Good! I just dropped Pearl off at day camp. This one is an art camp so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of pieces for the fridge.” Caitlin chuckled. “She’s going to a theater camp in a few weeks, which should be fun for her too.”
“Oh, I bet she’ll love that,” Alissa said. “How are things with James and the restaurant?”
The smile that had been on Caitlin’s face for most of the call faltered. She had pushed thoughts of James aside for a while, but she didn’t want to keep things from her sister.
“Not great,” Caitlin admitted.
“I’m sorry, Caitlin.”
“Thanks. We’ve been trying, but nothing seems to fix the divide.” Caitlin slowed to a stop at a light. “I don’t know what else to do. The other day, we were supposed to go to the aquarium, but he didn’t show. He called when we were most of the way through the place saying he had to stay at the restaurant.”
“Oof. Did Pearl notice?”
“No, thankfully. She insisted on getting him a little gift at the gift shop.” Caitlin massaged the back of her neck, thinking of the sparkly magnet they’d gotten him and put on the fridge. “Aside from that, I’ve tried to spend more time with him in the evenings, schedule date nights, everything. And it’s just not bringing us any closer together. It’s just awkward. It feels like we want completely different things at this point.”
“What does he want? Out of the marriage, I mean.”
“And I want to focus on us as a family. He wants to be fully devoted to the restaurant.” Caitlin sighed and pulled off when the light turned green. “The restaurant is the only thing that seems to make him excited or happy these days.”
“Well, you’re trying, at least. What’s James been doing to try to fix it?”
“We’re going to couples counseling once a week.”
“That’s great.”
Caitlin wasn’t sure what to say in return. Their next appointment simultaneously felt very close and very far away. Caitlin didn’t enjoy the process even if it was necessary. At first she had latched onto each appointment, hoping the counselor would reveal the key to fixing their marriage. But each time, the rift between them showed more and more.
The more James opened up about what he wanted, the more Caitlin realized that they’d started to go down different paths. Guilt squeezed in her chest until she remembered how much she had tried. And that was all she could do.
“It’s a hard process,” Caitlin finally said, turning off the main road to a side road she used as a shortcut to their house. “I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. We talk about our goals and keep talking past each other. The counselor is great, but it’s just so hard.”
