Istared at my screen until it turned to the screen saver and then turned black. My legs carried me to the fridge. My hands poured a glass of wine. My bare feet took me out to the deck. Wrung out like a washcloth that’d been twisted too many times, that was how I felt.
All the certainty I had drummed up leading into today had depleted with each confused look and pitying comment.
“The work is just too grueling for some people.”John’s condescending comment rattled through my brain on a loop. I spent my entire life trying to prove how smart and hardworking I was. But in the end, he was right. I couldn’t do it. I was“some people.”
I fixated on the half glass of pink wine on the wooden table, now glistening with condensation. The first few sips didn’t provide the relief I was hoping for, and I’d forgotten about it while I ruminated.
The sliding door squealed open. I turned as Luke stepped out. “Hey,” came the deep timbre of his voice, “I was hoping you’d still be here. How’d it go?”
I shrugged, a single, stubborn tear burning a stream down my cheek.
He sat down across from me, elbows resting on the table, leaning toward me, giving me his full attention.
A deep breath escaped my lips. “I quit.”
His eyes brightened. “That’s great, right?”
“I don’t know. Yes. I mean, I made up my mind, and I’m glad I’m not going back but I also…” I shrugged again. “I feel like a failure,” I whispered, like it was a secret I didn’t want anyone but him to know.
“Val, you are not a failure. You changed your mind about what you want.”
I nodded, pulling my lips between my teeth.
His head tilted back to the sky and then he stood abruptly, his large frame towering over me. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here. I have an idea.”
“What’s your idea?” I asked even though I was already pushing my chair back to follow him inside.
“Do you trust me?” He pulled a cooler out of the pantry and added some ice packs, beers, and the nearly full bottle of my rosé from the fridge.
“Of course,” I said, though my tone was skeptical.
He tipped his head toward the table. “Close that laptop and leave it behind.”
Windows down and Rolling Stones on the radio, Luke drove his truck along the beach road that ran from Edgartown to the neighboring town of Oak Bluffs. I waited for him to pull into each open spot that appeared along the beach, but he kept driving, tapping his hand on the steering wheel, peering over at me every few minutes.
For the first time all day, my body relaxed, sinking deep into his passenger seat. It was hard not to let the salt in the air, the warm wind whipping in through the windows, and the views of the happy beachgoers and the Atlantic beyond lift my spirits.
At least I get to enjoy a full summer here.
The next time Luke turned to look at me, I smiled at him.
His cheeks tugged up too, his brown eyes glittering like he was keeping a secret.So freaking handsome, this man.
When we eventually passed a sign for Aquinnah and Menemsha—named for the island’s Native Wampanoag roots—I figured out where we were headed.
“Are we going to Menemsha?” I couldn’t conceal the excitement in my voice. I glanced at the clock on the dash: 6:30. The sunsets at the beach in Menemsha—a tiny fishing village on the western side of the island—were unparalleled. Mimi and I drove out there in May to try and catch a sunset, bringing sweatshirts and blankets, but it was so cloudy that we couldn’t see anything. I leaned my head out the window. Clear blue sky stared back at me.
Reading my mind, Luke said, “We can stay for the sunset. Luna is all set at Clara’s.”
I wondered how long he’d planned this, or if he got the idea when we were sitting on the deck.
We rolled past the rock walls that lined the road. The farms and little houses zipping past us were so much more spread out on this side of the island. I envisioned the beach and the jetty and the little inlets of Menemsha. Drew and I used to hunt for crabs and other critters in the shallow, rocky inlet for hours when we were young. When things were simple.
“Did you ever bring Luna to that little inlet where kids always look for crabs?” I asked Luke, raising my voice enough that he could hear me over the wind and the radio.
“Oh, yeah. She loved it. Never wanted to leave. Pruned up like a raisin by the time I dragged her out.”
I smiled, picturing it.
