“Actually, I only agreedI’d come to the windmill at five forty-five. What I promised was that I wouldn’t make you leave the partyearlyto take me anywhere,” Nicole reminded her. “And I never said I wouldn’t ask you to stop on the way for an emergency item I didn’t even know I’d need.”
“We’re not stopping,” Caitlin reiterated loudly. “This isn’t an emergency. You don’tneedlipstick.”
“I guess I shouldn’t expect someone who doesn’t ever wear makeup to understand why my appearance is important to me,” Nicole retorted. “But fine. If you don’t want to drive a couple more blocks or stop to let me out, then once we get to the beach, I’ll walk to the pharmacy from there.”
“That’s two miles each way,” said Caitlin, calling her bluff.
Nicole shrugged. “No problem. I’m sure I’ll get back to the beach before dark—although wouldn’t it be funny if Pam andBob happened to drive by and see me walking down Main Street?”
Caitlin recognized the veiled threat; Nicole’s mother would be very upset if Caitlin ditched her. Not that it would be unusual for Nicole to wander off on her own; whenever she went with Caitlin to the beach, Nicole would take a long walk by herself.
At the start of the girl’s vacation, Caitlin had offered to go with her, but Nicole had been so snarly about needing her space that Caitlin had given up trying to accompany her. Since most of the other beach-goers were families with young children, she figured Nicole was fine on her own. Caitlin herself had walked countless times from the private beach in front of the cottages, past several town beaches, all the way to the boardwalk, and she always felt completely comfortable alone. The tidal flats in the opposite direction were far more isolated, but Nicole rarely headed that way because the walkable stretch of sand was cut off by a marshy inlet, and she didn’t like its briny smell.
The only specific instruction Pam had ever given the girls was to watch out for each other if they went swimming, even though the waters were usually calm, and lifeguards were on duty seven days a week. But Nicole never took a dip with Caitlin; she claimed the sand felt too oozy and she didn’t want any creepy crawlies touching her skin. Plus, the water would’ve ruined her makeup. So, there’d never been any reason to worry about Nicole’s safety during the afternoon.
However, now that it was almost evening, Caitlin felt hesitant to let the young guest walk from the pharmacy to the beach. While Hope Haven had a very low crime rate, she wouldn’t put it past Nicole to “act” as if she needed a ride from a stranger, which didn’t seem like a good idea no matter how safe the island was.
“Fine, I’ll stop at the pharmacy,” she gave in. “But you’d better run right in and come right back out.”
“I will.” Yet Nicole didn’t emerge from the store for twenty minutes. When she did, she showed Caitlin the inside of her wrists, which were dabbed with creamy red dots. “It took me forever in there because I couldn’t find the lipstick I usually wear. I had to try, like, two dozen shades before I finally found one that complemented my skin tone.”
Caitlin was too annoyed to speak. Gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white, she stared straight ahead as they continued down the road.
After several blocks, Nicole asked, “What’s up with the silent treatment? Is it because I didn’t come out of the store right away?” When Caitlin remained silent, Nicole huffed. “You’re being totally unfair. IsaidI was sorry.”
“No, you didn’t,” snapped Caitlin. “You made an excuse. That’s not the same thing as apologizing. But it doesn’t matter if you say it, since you wouldn’t mean it anyway.”
“That’s not true,” Nicole objected in a plaintive voice. “I do, too, mean it. I’m truly very sorry I made you upset.”
From the corner of her eye, she could see Nicole lift her hand to wipe her cheek, but Caitlin didn’t believe she was genuinely tearful and she said nothing in reply.
After a few minutes of sniffling, Nicole tried again. “Listen, you’ve been so nice this whole time and I thought we were going to have fun together on one of my last nights in Hope Haven. But if you’re sick of me, we can turn around and you can drop me off at the cottages.”
“Yeah, right,” snickered Caitlin. “That would make me evenlaterto the party—and I’d also get in trouble with your mom for leaving you on your own.”
“Not if I hang out at your aunt and uncle’s place until Pam and Bob get back,” suggested Nicole. “Maybe I could perform a little skit while we’re waiting.”
“I wouldn’t wishthaton them,” uttered Caitlin under her breath, but she was softening.
“Sarcasm, nice. Sounds like something I’d say.” Although Nicole chuckled, she seemed sad when she added, “But you’d better be careful or people won’t want to be around you, either.”
Caitlin exhaled heavily. “I didn’t really mean it. I’m just crabby because…” She hesitated, unsure whether to confide in Nicole about how she was feeling. “Because I haven’t seen Donald for three days. We’ve both been so busy cleaning up after the storm and there’s still more work to do tomorrow. This is one of the last chances I’ll get to be with him before he leaves the island, so every minute counts.”
“Oh. I never thought of that. If you had told me, I would’ve hurried faster in the pharmacy.”
“It’s okay,” Caitlin finally conceded. “I guess it doesn’t matter if we’re late. It’s not like I’m going to be able to spend time alone with Donald anyway.”
“Why not?”
“Because the chaperone, Dave, always wants the whole group to stick together.”
“So, who cares whathewants? You should do whatyouwant,” advised Nicole. “Like I do.”
Chuckling, Caitlin asked, “You mean wearing miniskirts and bikinis behind your mother’s back?”
“Sort of, but that’s mostly just for fun. I mean more important things, like auditioning for a role in a play instead of dancing as Clara inThe Nutcrackerfor the fifth time like Pam thinks I should,” she said, her tone a mix of resentment and determination. “If you’re really passionate about doing something, and it’s not going to hurt anyone else, then you owe it to yourself to go for it.”
“Ican’t,” Caitlin complained. “The only way I could be alone with Donald is if we sneak off down the beach, but Dave watches everyone like a hawk. We’d never get past him.”
