Good question. “There are two reasons I came back here. But first, I need to feed you.”
Holly clapped. “Thank God. I’m starving.”
“Where to? My treat.”
“Well, then. Clearly the Impudent Oyster.” It was the restaurant where his parents celebrated their anniversary each summer, known for its fine dining. Holly was joking, but it did give him an idea.
“We should go. A business dinner, of course,” he added quickly.
“Don’t be silly. Let’s just grab a sandwich or something simple.”
He wondered if she was turning down his offer for the Impudent Oyster that day, or altogether. “Fine,” he said, switching the subject. “A sandwich. Still up for seafood after standing in the processing room all morning, or have we ruined it for you?”
“Always!”
Ben turned his car out of the boatyard and onto Barn Hill Road toward town. They rolled down their windows and Holly’s hair blew up and around her face, a wave of gold when he looked over at her. It felt both familiar and strange to be in the front seat with her again.
“So, you’ve got me captive in your car,” she said, slipping out of her shoes and putting her feet on the dashboard. “Tell me your two reasons for coming back.”
When they were younger, Holly never let him off the hook; he liked that she still wouldn’t. “First, Jonah asked me to. Heneeded the help. But I don’t think he would have if he didn’t already know what took me a little longer to figure out.”
“And what’s that?”
“I needed it, too. I needed a change. You can’t get much further away from an urban law office than standing in a shellfish processing room, can you?”
“No, I don’t imagine you can.” She turned to him. “Was it because of your divorce?”
Whenever people asked about the divorce, he steeled himself, but not this time. “No. At least I don’t think so. We’d been divorced awhile when he called me, though that is certainly part of the bigger reason.”
“Which is?” Holly cocked her head as if trying to puzzle it together.
“Me,” he said, completely seriously. “I wasn’t happy. I didn’t feel like myself anymore. Work had been grinding for years, and each time I represented another insurance claim I felt like I could barely look myself in the mirror. I also realized I didn’t really miss my ex-wife, but I missed being married, if that makes any sense?”
“It doesn’t.” Holly laughed. “Though I’ve never been married, so what do I know?”
“You know how to be yourself, that’s for sure.” He’d meant it as a compliment, having watched her in the processing room all morning. And at the inn, surrounded by her staff. Holly was older and more experienced, better in all the ways she used to be good. But she was still completely herself, as far as he could tell. “I think I stayed with Laura longer than I should have, because I liked the idea of it and the comfort of it more than I liked us.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, putting her feet back on the floor. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you seem that different.”
He stole a look at her, smiling. “Maybe because I’m hanging out with you?”
“It is funny how being with people from your past brings you back to your old self, a bit. For better or for worse.” She laughed, but she was right.
They drove through the roundabout and coasted onto Main Street.
“Wherever we’re going, this is the long way,” Holly warned.
“I know.”
With the good weather most people were down on the beaches, but there was always foot traffic on Main Street. He slowed as they passed the old Orpheum Theater, the Black Dog, and the surf shop. “Anyway, enough about me. I’m happy helping Jonah, and the change has been good. Though I imagine by the time summer ends I’ll be eating these words and eager to return to Providence.”
“Wait. You’re going back that soon?” She spun around in her seat.
“I’m lucky the firm agreed to these three months as it is.” He could tell this was a surprise to her. “Let’s talk more when we get there,” he suggested.
“Where isthere, exactly?”
“Wait and see.”
