FINN
ON FRIDAY MORNING, WE PACK up Uncle Albie’s red Dodge Caravan and all six of us pile in—Florence and Alistair in the front, Rose and Alba in the middle, and Violet and I shoved into the back. We stop only once on the four-and-a-half-hour drive, my brother dutifully driving the speed limit the entire time.
During the trip, Florence debriefs us on the docket for our weekend away. When we arrive in Halifax, we’ll drop off our things at the Airbnb downtown. I’m sharing a room with Alistair, which we haven’t done in years.
We’re headed to Peggys Cove for the afternoon, which sounds like a lighthouse on a rock and not much more. Then after dinner, we’re going axe throwing. On Saturday, we’ll spend the morning in a place everyone refers to only as the Valley, where we’ll partake in a wine tour before heading back to the city for karaoke.
I notice as we near the end of our car ride that Violet’s phone is blowing up.
Ding, ding, ding—texts come flooding in one after another. She looks at the names on the screen, scoffs, and shoves the phone back into her bag.
Who is it? I ask her, gesturing towards the phone.
My family.
And what do they want?
She sighs, a long, pained exhale. Something from me, no doubt.
I’ve spent a lot of time over the last week thinking about my conversation with Violet on top of that godforsaken, moose-infested mountain.
Violet’s family seems to depend on her a lot. And she seems exhausted by it. She also seems like she hasn’t had a bloody moment to herself to try and figure her own shit out. We still haven’t gotten to the bottom of how she lost her job—or why she’s never had a boyfriend.
I couldn’t seem to get out of my own way on the morning of our hike. But it was a relief to know that she didn’t think of me as a complete and total monster for wanting a break from Mum. Uncle Albie is staying at Allie’s place this weekend, so she has some company.
I wasn’t entirely forthcoming with Violet about why, exactly, I’d felt such a need to deal with all of my anger in the initial years after our dad left. The fear that my father’s rage could be somehow passed down to me, that lingering question about whether I’m capable of the level of violence he always was.
I know, deep down, that I’m not. Billie has spent a good chunk of our friendship reassuring me that’s the case, anyway.
Viollleettt, I singsong, desperate to get out of this train of thought. She groans. I’m bored.
We’re almost there, she says, patting my leg like I’m a child. When she moves to pull her hand away, I snatch it, wrapping her hand in mine.
I am going to make you a promise, darling Violet.
She glances down at our hands, looking a little perturbed. I feel my smile get bigger. What’s that?
I promise that I’ll go easy on you at axe throwing tonight.
She scoffs, yanking her hand back. You don’t need to; I don’t care about axe throwing. I only care about beating you at Scrabble, she says this with such a delightful smugness that it almost soothes the sting of not having defeated her yet. Besides, it’s not me you have to worry about.
It’s me, Alba says, grinning and turning fully around in her seat in front of mine.
Gie it laldy, Alba. Should we raise the stakes?
What, like a bet? What could you possibly bet on?
I shrug, flashing my smuggest, most arsehole smile. I’m sure I’ll think of something.
Alba only snorts and turns back around in her chair.
HOURS LATER, THE SIX OF us find ourselves wandering through the quaint street leading up to the Peggys Cove lighthouse. The little houses, blue and pink and green, sit nestled into the rocky hill. The shops along the road offer up glass ornaments and nautical home decor, and there’s even a truck where you can buy fresh lobster.
Allie and I agree to get something for Mum, a little lighthouse made of pewter.
Finally, we get to the top of the hill and make our way to the rocks surrounding the lighthouse itself. After getting a stranger to take a photo of the six of us, Florence and Alistair pose in front of the lighthouse for a few more photos, just the two of them.
I am, of course, determined to get the same shot with Violet.
