“Will that be enough to make a difference?” Ivy asked Nick.
“It’s a good start, sure. We can look around and see what else might be contributing to the dimness. For example, that big rhododendron shrub right outside the side window. If we trim that back, we could let a lot of light in.”
“Oh, but Sylvia always likes to look at the rhododendrons while she’s washing dishes,” Ivy objected.
Just as Zoey was wondering whether anyone else noticed she’d referred to her sister-in-law in the present tense, Mark said, “Uh, Sylvia isn’t here any more, Ivy.”
You think she doesn’t know that?Zoey seethed.She’s aware of it almost every single waking moment.If Zoey’s legs were longer, she would have given him a swift shin kick beneath the table.
Fortunately, Nick quickly jumped in, replying, “Yeah, that’s right. I remember Sylvia telling me how much she enjoyed watching the bees opening up the blossoms, but she was glad they were on the other side of the window screen.”
His recollection made Ivy smile. Zoey was so moved by the genuine connection he seemed to have formed with both her aunts that she decided she shouldn’t hold it against him that he was also friends with Mark; clearly, he was the exception to the rule.
“So, we should leave the rhododendrons just as they are and I’ll buy new bulbs for the light, right Aunt Ivy?” Zoey asked.
When her aunt said yes, Zoey expected Mark to put up a fight again, but he was silently rubbing his temples. Their meeting might not have gone according to his plans, but she didn’t think he should look so dour; at the very least, he’d eventually be inheriting a modern, upscale stove.
Zoey cleared the table and washed the dishes while Nick, Mark and Ivy placed the order online and worked out the details for the delivery and installation. Finally, Nick got up to leave, asking, “How is that balustrade holding up, Mrs.—I mean, Ivy?”
“I haven’t been sliding down it since you fixed it, so it’s still nice and sturdy,” Ivy joked. Nick offered his arm and she used it to pull herself up from her chair. Turning to Mark, she said, “I didn’t tell you this because I knew you’d worry I’m becoming too forgetful, but your friend here saved me from certain death when I left the gas on, without the flame lit. He was working on the balustrade that day and he smelled it. I’m grateful he keeps an eye out for me.”
Zoey’s ears perked up.But Mark already knows about the gas. He said Aunt Ivy told him about it when he was checking in on her,she thought.It’s strange that she’d forget admitting something like that.Zoey was beginning to wonder if she was wrong about her aunt’s memory. Maybe Ivy wasn’t just distracted because she was mourning. Maybe her forgetfulness was more serious than Zoey wanted to believe… Noticing movement in her peripheral vision, she looked over just as Mark shook his head and pressed a finger to his lips, signaling Nick to keep quiet. Nick nodded.
It took a moment for the realization to click.Sothat’show Mark knew—Nick was here that day andhemust have told him.While Zoey was relieved to be wrong about her aunt having another memory lapse, she was disappointed to be right about Nick being in cahoots with her cousin.When Mark said he checked in from time to time to see how Aunt Sylvia and Aunt Ivy were doing, I assumed he meant he called them. But apparently, he’s been checking in withNick.
Zoey could appreciate that Nick was trying to be helpful by reporting the stove incident to Mark; it was the responsible thing to do. But she resented it that her cousin had involved him in keeping tabs on Sylvia and Ivy in the first place. Nick wasn’t family. He didn’t even work at the house very often—Carla, who came twice a week to clean, had been there far more consistently over the years than any other contractor. And Zoeywas the one who’d been living with Sylvia and Ivy for the past three months. But Mark nevercalledherto ask how they were doing. He virtually never called her at all.
So why had her cousin made an arrangement to check in with his high school buddy? And what was in it for Nick? Had he been looking after Sylvia and Ivy as favor to Mark, so that Mark would hire him for the big, future renovation projects he had planned?
Furthermore, if everything was on the up-and-up, why were the two men acting so conspiratorial?Probably because they know that Aunt Ivy would be offended if she found out Nick’s been spying on her as if she were a batty old woman!Okay, that was too harsh. Zoey had seen too much evidence of Nick’s respect for Ivy to believe that’s what he thought about her. But something about the whole situation made Zoey recognize she’d been hasty in thinking she could let her guard down around Nick.
She flicked water from her fingers and wiped her hands on the hanging tie towel. Facing the others, she said, “You’re right, Aunt Ivy, it’s very helpful to have an extra pair of eyes looking out for you.”Which is why I’ll be keeping an even closer watch on Mark and Nick from now on.
Chapter Five
Zoey had planned to poke around in the attic on Friday afternoon to see if she could gain any insight into what Mark may have been trying to find. But once he left the island, she felt so relaxed that she wound up taking a nap instead. Then Gabi came home and both aunts peppered her with questions about her first day at school, which she said she liked in general, although the classes were a lot smaller than what she was used to in California.
It rained on Saturday and Sunday and even though she usually loved listening to it pattering against the rooftop, Zoey didn’t go into the attic then, either. The longer Mark was out of sight, the farther out of mind she wanted to put him and his ‘monkey business,’ as Ivy would say. After the stove was installed, she’d be able to forget about Nick, too.
Meanwhile, she had more important things to focus on, like continuing her job search. And shopping for and preparing appealing no-cook meals, since she was worried about using the stove in its current condition. She also played cribbage with her aunt and niece more times than she could count. The card game had been something Sylvia and Ivy enjoyed daily; they even bet on it, awarding the winner a penny per point. Teaching Gabi how to play provided a brief distraction for Ivy when she became overwrought with loneliness for Sylvia, which happened several times a day. It made Zoey worry about how she’d fare once she herself went back to Providence and Gabi returned to California, but maybe if she got her aunt involved at the senior center or with the ladies’ fellowship at church, that would help.And I can come here on the weekends,Zoey thought. In any case, that was a bridge she’d have to cross in the future.
By Monday, she was itching to get out of the house, so while Ivy was napping she walked halfway to the high school to meet Gabi. On the way home, she suggested instead of using the sidewalk for the final half mile, they cut over the dunes to Rose Beach and follow the shoreline that ran parallel to Main Street. As usual, Zoey was hot and she convinced Gabi they should remove their shoes and roll up their pants’ legs so they could splash through the tidal pools.
“When you were a baby, you used to put everything in your mouth—even more than most toddlers do. Your mom and I would take you to this beach and she’d have to watch you like a hawk. If we turned our backs for even a second, you’d be licking a fistful of sand or eating seaweed. One time your mom caught you sucking on a pebble and you wouldn’t spit it out. She freaked and did a finger sweep of your mouth. Guess what you really had in there?”
“I don’t know.”
“A live periwinkle snail!”
“Gross.”
Zoey had expected more of a reaction. Gabi had been quiet this morning, too, and she wondered if she’d had an argument with Kathleen yesterday, because for once Gabi had actually answered the phone when she called. Or maybe something happened at school. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just tired.”
“Oh. Were you too warm last night to sleep? I knowIwas.” The heat was on again but Zoey hadn’t wanted to open her windows because without the screens on them, insects could get in.
“No. I heard something creaking in the middle of the night. It woke me up.”
