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“No, we’re good.” Caitlin pulled her wallet from her purse and Michael rang her up.
He kept an eye on Kevin as he put together Caitlin’s iced coffee and almond milk, then handed the finished drink over to Caitlin.
“Thanks so much. This is a life-saver,” Caitlin said, poking her straw through the cup.
“No problem. It was good seeing you,” Michael said. “And nice meeting you, Pearl.”
The little girl waved as she and her mother left. Some more customers came in as they left, but Michael let his baristas handle them, taking a back seat and a moment to think. What had happened between Caitlin and her husband?
* * *
Caitlin sipped her iced coffee. It was smooth, the almond milk creamy. Perfect and just what she needed. She saw herself going back to Tidal Wave often, especially if she had a taste for something sweet. All of the pastries looked delicious.
She guided Pearl to the boardwalk, where the breeze ruffled their hair. They sat on an empty bench with a great view of the water. Even doing something as simple as this felt different. Usually they were rushing around from the restaurant to whatever activity Pearl was scheduled for. She coordinated with James to figure out who was going to pick her up or put together dinner. Then, Caitlin spent her time bouncing around from errand to errand until it was time to go home.
Now it was just this—sticking with Pearl for most of the day and taking her around to whatever Caitlin needed to get done. She’d texted Alissa about dinner, but that was the extent of coordinating she had to do. Pearl didn’t have anywhere to be either since it was summer.
As much as she enjoyed Pearl’s company, the strangeness of her day only made Caitlin’s stomach tighten in knots. Being a single parent was still so new to her. How was she going to juggle caring for Pearl and getting things done as they settled in? How was it going to be when she was busy without James to help?
Caitlin split the cookie into two, one half larger than the other, and gave Pearl the bigger half. She deserved it for taking everything in stride.
“Mmm,” Pearl said after she took a bite of the cookie.
Caitlin tasted the cookie too. It really was good, the kind of pastry that she loved, sweet enough to feel like an indulgence without being too sweet. The melted chocolate chips got all over Pearl’s cheeks and Caitlin wiped them away with a napkin.
“What do you want to do today?” Caitlin asked. “Do you want to walk on the beach?”
“Yeah!” Pearl stuffed more of the cookie into her mouth. She was going to have a sugar rush in a bit and running around on the beach was just the remedy. “Can we go now?”
“Let me finish my cookie and we can go.”
Caitlin polished off the smaller half of her cookie and gathered their trash to toss in the can nearby. She helped Pearl balance as she took off her shoes, then took hers off too. She tucked them into a reusable bag she kept in her purse and hiked it up on her shoulder.
“It’s warm,” Pearl said as she sank her toes into the sand.
“It feels nice, doesn’t it? I bet the water is nice and cool.” Caitlin took her daughter’s hand and led her to the water. She was right. The water was the perfect contrast to the warm sand.
Pearl kicked at the water, splashing and skipping ahead. Caitlin smiled, trying to keep up.
“Look!” Pearl came to an abrupt stop and squatted down. “A shell!”
“That’s really pretty,” Caitlin said, taking a look and digging through her purse. She swore she had an empty pouch in her bag that she kept to put her earrings in if they ever got too heavy. “Ah, here it is. Want to put it in here for later?”
Pearl put the shell into the pouch and they moved on, stopping and picking up other shells. A flock of seagulls landed in front of them, pecking at the sand. Pearl tentatively walked in their direction, but they all took off. She laughed, running after them as they flew.
Caitlin’s heart warmed as her daughter looked back at her, her small face alight with excitement. This was all Caitlin wanted: for Pearl to be happy, even with the changes going on.
Caitlin caught up with Pearl and took her hand again, giving it a squeeze and taking a deep breath. Focusing on Pearl got her through a lot of days back in Chicago, the ones where she felt the deepest emptiness of her failing marriage. Now she had to lean on her love for her daughter even more.
And in order to do that, she had to make sure that Pearl was happy about being in Blueberry Bay.
“Having fun?” Caitlin asked.
“Yeah.”
“So you’re glad to stay here?” Caitlin wanted to be sure that Pearl was as okay with it as she was.
Pearl swung their joined hands back and forth. “What about Dad?”
