“Why? Did it trip you?” Gabi asked, loosely fastening an adhesive bandage to her aunt’s calf.
“No, smart aleck. It crawled on me and I got creeped out and slipped.” Zoey imitated the spider’s movement on her skin by tickling her niece’s neck, which made Gabi giggle and roll back on her heels.
“There. That should keep the germs away until you get to the ER.”
Nick commanded Aidan, “While we’re gone, I want you to nail down that plywoodandput the screens in the windows. Got it?”
Aidan nodded but Zoey protested, “You can’t take me to the ER. I might be there for hours. I don’t want you wasting half your day waiting around for me. The new range is coming and you guys have to install it.”
“They don’t have to install it today. We can wait until the next time they’re both free,” Ivy opened a small purple thermal bag and set something inside it.
“No we can’t, Aunt Ivy. The delivery people are taking your old oven away and we won’t have anything to cook on,” Zoey reminded her. “I’ll submit a ride request. Gabi, could you bring me my phone? It’s in my room on the—”
Nick cut her off. “No.I’mtaking you to the ER.” Before she knew what was happening, he’d scooped her up again.
I could get used to this,she thought as her aunt looped the handle of the thermal bag over her wrist. “What’s in here?”
“Sticky buns and milk. There are napkins in the side pocket,” she said. Zoey half expected her aunt to add,Have fun you two,as if they were going on a picnic instead of to the hospital, but instead Ivy kissed her cheek and told Nick, “Take good care of her, okay?”
“I will, Mrs. Cartwright,” he promised, using her surname as if to show how seriously he meant it.
Before they pulled out of the driveway, Nick said, “I’m sorry for what happened in there. I shouldn’t have bawled Aidan out like that—not until we got home, anyway. Sometimes I try so hard to keep him in line that I end up being out of line myself.”
“It’s okay. Nobody gets it right every time—I knowIdon’t,” Zoey said. “It might not mean much coming from me, since I’m a novice as far as being responsible for a teenager goes, but Aidan seems like a really good kid—he works hard and he’s smart and friendly and well-mannered. A lot of that has to be to your credit.”
Nick glanced her way, beaming. “Thanks. That actually means more to me than you know.”
As they drove, Zoey asked him what it was like living on the island year-round, saying, “Until this year, I’ve never stayed here for longer than a week or two in the winter. I’ve always wondered if the islanders go stir crazy by the time spring comes because they’re so isolated.”
“A few people get cabin fever, sure, but most of the full-time residents are used to it. Those who can’t hack it usually move after the first year,” he answered. “I actually prefer the off-season to the summers, when the island gets so crowded. But even then, it’s not nearly as crowded as the NYC suburb where I used to live.”
Zoey couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice. “I thought you were a die-hard islander.”
“No. I left here after high school to go to college in upstate New York. Majored in computer science. Graduated. Got married—too young. We moved to the city and lived in a cell of an apartment. I was working for a tech analyst firm, in a cell of an office.”
“I sense a theme here.”
“You’re right about that. But after Aidan was born, we moved into a better place, a house in the suburbs. Which meant I needed to get a better job—actually, the job wasn’t better, it was worse in terms of how mismanaged the company was and how many hours they expected us to clock. But the salary was better. I got a lot of my fulfillment from being a husband and especially from being Aidan’s dad. And I was happy we could afford to live in a nice, safe area, so it was hardly a sacrifice to work at a job I didn’t exactly love. Unfortunately, Aidan’s mother…” Nick cleared his throat. “Anyway, we divorced when he was twelve and two years ago I decided to return to Dune Island to get a fresh start. Or maybe I should say I started over again, since I moved back to my home town and into my parents’ house.”
“You live with your parents?”
“Ha!” Nick snorted. “No. I inherited their house when my dad died, since my mother passed away about two years before that.”
“And Aidan relocated with you? Wow. From NYC to Dune Island is a huge adjustment for a teenager. Gabi’s only visiting, but I’m glad that the town she lives in in California is pretty small, otherwise I’d worry about her experiencing culture shock, in addition to all the other changes that come with moving to a new place and starting a new school.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. But Aidan’s thriving here. He went through a lot in New York… not because of school, but because of my ex-wife’s new husband’s drinking. Aidan’s found some kids here who have been really helpful to him though. And I enjoy the work I do as a contractor so much more than when I was working in a box for someone else… Anyway, that’s my life in a nutshell.” He brushed his hand through his hair. “What’s yours?”
Zoey told him about her family, how much she loved coming to Dune Island every summer, about getting her masters degree, living in Providence and being a librarian.
After she finished, he asked, “Right now, you don’t have—I mean your aunt said you aren’t…”
He seemed embarrassed to finish his sentence. Zoey realized her aunt must have mentioned to him she was unemployed, so she confirmed, “No, I don’t have a job. The branch I was working in closed in late November. But I have an interview in a week and I’m very hopeful about it.”
He pulled his chin back. “You lost your job? I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah. Wasn’t that what you were about to ask me?”
His face reddened. “Actually, I was going to ask if you were seeing anyone.”
