I shook my head. “I feel stupid. I know your last name. Should have been obvious.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “I never mentioned it.”
“Still. Well, congrats!” I said again. “It sounds like something Edgartown really needs. Mimi’s been complaining for years about restaurants and stores having to stay closed on certain days because there’s not enough staff, and she always blames the lack of reasonable housing options for people who want to move here just to work for the summer.” Mimi was particularly fond of the charismatic men that often came from Serbia for the summer to work at The Atlantic restaurant. “This will be so good for the island!”
The corner of Luke’s mouth ticked up. “Thanks, Val. That’s exactly why the town wanted this project.” He clapped his hands. “Alright, I’m going to fire up the grill. Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone.” He looked pointedly at Luna.
She rolled her eyes.
Luke let me finish the salad while he grilled the burgers. I joined him outside when he went back out to flip them.
“How’s it going? Is it a lot carting her from place to place?”
“Oh no, it’s great. Her schedule keeps me honest. I go to the gym while she’s at tennis, and then I write while she’s at sailing. I like having lunch with her and hearing about her day. I think she’s pretty comfortable with me now.”
“Oh, definitely. I can tell. She talks about you after you leave, too.”
My lips tipped into a smile. I didn’t realize how much it would matter to me that Luna connected with me. That was the difference between babysitting here and there and seeing someone every day. “All good things?”
“Yeah, of course all good things.” He said it like it was the most obvious fact he’d ever stated. “What do you write?” he asked after a moment.
My eyes widened. I’d been so nervous to tell people, and yet it had just slipped out here, on Luke’s back deck. “Oh, um. Creative writing. Like, stories, maybe a novel. I’ve always had an interest init, written down ideas over the years. And now I actually have time to pursue it, so I figured, why not?”
“That’s really cool, Val. Impressive, too. Maybe one of your stories will take off.”
I peered at him. His encouraging smile showed no signs of doubt. My cheeks tugged upward. “Thank you.”
He dipped his chin and then pivoted to continue turning over the vegetables.
I leaned my elbows on the deck railing, looking out at the backyard. Flowers and a jungle of blue and purple hydrangeas lined the back fence. A weathered-shingle shed was tucked on the left side. Lush green grass covered the middle of the yard, leaving plenty of room for yard games. The faint din of birds chirping and bumble bees buzzing mixed with the sizzling sounds of the grill. A deep breath released from my chest.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Luke asked after closing the grill cover and joining me at the railing.
“Oh, nothing in particular. Admiring the yard. It’s peaceful here. I didn’t even have a balcony in New York, let alone a green space. It reminds me of New Hampshire a little. But the hydrangeas only take over like that here.”
“It’s gotta be the salt or something. My mom could never get the hydrangeas to thrive like this in Pennsylvania.”
I turned to look at him. His expression was contemplative, looking at the same cluster of flowers that I was a few moments ago.
“She must admire them when she’s here,” I said, hoping it would prompt him to talk about his family.
I found myself wanting to know things about him.
“Oh yeah. She comments on it constantly. They’re coming next week for July 4th. So I can give you some time back. They can help cart Luna around while they’re here.”
He meant it to be a relief, but my heart sank a little. I was starting to like my new routine with Luna. I didn’t mind seeing him every day, either.
“Great,” I lied.
He squinted his eyes slightly, like he could tell I wasn’t being honest.
“Did you like it? New York? I know some people love it.”
I took a long time to answer. “I liked New York in theory more than in practice. I love Broadway, and Central Park, and the fancy restaurants. But I honestly didn’t do much besides work the last six years. Eighty plus hour weeks were the norm, and weekends were a time to catch up on everything I couldn’t finish that week. Dinners out spent on my phone… I probably went to five total Broadway shows in six years because I never felt like I could be unreachable for three hours. And then when I took a vacation here and there, it was always to getoutof the city.”
When I finished speaking, Luke’s eyes were so wide, you’d think he saw something shocking.
I shrugged and cast my gaze down to the deck, bracing myself for the usual comments questioning if it was reallythat bad. My standard response—that no, it wasn’tthat bad, I learned a lot and I was compensated well and I paid off my loans and when I did go out I could afford to order whatever I wanted—waited on the tip of my tongue.
