I smile. Priya and I were so proud of how it turned out, and it’s become an even bigger seller at the cafe than the pumpkin creamer. “Thanks. I might have to agree with you.”
We head downstairs and throw on some rain jackets—Dylan thankfully has an extra yellow one for me—and start the walk into town. It’s cool out, and the rain splashing against the nylon fabric is soothing. I wasn’t the type ofperson to go outside in all kinds of weather before meeting Dylan. If I had to go, I would just drive or order in, but since our only option is walking if we want to go into town, I’ve come to enjoy dressing for the weather and embracing it.
As we get into Killick Bay, I give Dylan my best puppy-dog eyes, hoping we can grab a treat at the Breeze Cafe. He smirks and nods, pulling me inside and into the eclectic space I’ve come to love.
“When we’re in 2025, I will buy you all the coffee to make up for you always treating me,” I promise as I lovingly push him up to the front counter. “Can I have an iced vanilla latte, please?”
I order and look at Dylan, who winks at me and throws in, “Make that two, please.”
Suddenly, I start to feel a presence in my personal space, and a voice adds in, “A green tea as well, dear. On me.” I turn and see my friend Iris, wet from the rain, water droplets caught in her frizzy waves. She’s holding an umbrella in one hand, a tiny puddle pooling below, where it stands on the floor.
“Iris,” Dylan and I both say in unison, and she offers a small smile for us.
“How are you both doing?” she asks as we walk to the other end of the counter where they call the drinks out.
“Better,” I say to her. It’s the truth. We have a plan. We’re going to fight for it. That’s all I can ask for. To try.
Her gaze lands on him and then back to me before she replies quietly. “That’s good. Would you like to sit with me for a moment?” She motions toward a free table over in the corner by the window, overlooking the rainy street outside.
“Of course,” Dylan answers as he grabs the first iced vanilla latte and hands it to me before taking his own. He lets Iris lead us over to the table, and we take a seat together.She holds her tea in her small hands, and the sound of her long nails clacking against the ceramic mug tells me she has something on her mind that she wants to talk to us about. Almost like she was hoping to find us here.
“Is everything alright, Iris?” I ask her, gently placing my hand on top of hers. As I look into her eyes, I grieve for the woman she could have been. She should be so full of life and love, but instead, she’s heartbroken, even after so many years without Grant. This is the reason, right here, why Dylan and I have to give everything we have to keep him alive. To bring him to my time. Or else, I’m going to end up exactly like Iris. When I see her in 1993 and 2025, I’m seeing who Icouldbe if Dylan dies. I don’t think I could ever move on, and would probably stay here too, where I felt closest to him. I shudder at the thought of what would happen if our plan doesn’t work.
She takes a deep breath and scans the busy cafe before speaking. “I did go back to Killick Point. One more time. For Grant,” she starts, her voice coming out in a quiver. “I found out that he died and went back to tell him. It had been years since we’d seen each other. But the red door worked, and I was able to go back into the past. He was just as handsome as I remembered.” She smiles wistfully as she places her hands around her mug once more to warm them up. “I went back, and I told him, in a last-ditch effort to make him change his mind. See, I was miserable without him, and then to find out he was going to die. It was too much. I had to tell him. I spent hours on my knees, begging and pleading with him to come back with me. I’m not proud of that. But I was absolutely desperate to keep him alive. To be with him. In the end, of course, he chose to stay. To spend his last few years with his daughter. I told him how he died—a terrible fall while up on a ladder painting. He was alone with noone at the bottom to spot him. They say the ladder must have slipped, and he went down on the rocks, hitting his head. He promised he would do his best to stay safe, and then I left, a bit of hope filling my chest that when I got back to the present, I would learn that he lived a longer life. That my advice helped.” She takes a minute, placing her hand on her chest, bringing herself back down.
“Did it, Iris?” I ask, also hopeful that she could, in fact, change his story.
“Unfortunately, no.” She’s crestfallen as she continues. “The articles were all the same. Nothing had changed.” She takes each of our hands in hers. “This is why I warned you both. I want you to be careful and to keep your expectations neutral. I tried my absolute best to change the past, and in the end, what was meant to happen, happened. Please take that into consideration when you’re planning whatever it is I know you’ll plan.”
Dylan and I both sneak a look at each other, the weight of the world suddenly back on our shoulders. I take a deep breath, knowing that I have to be like Priya here. The optimist. The silver linings and rose-coloured glasses girl that I love.
“I am so sorry that happened, Iris. I wish we could know if he tried to change anything based on what you told him. But I have the advantage of beingherewith Dylan, and wearegoing to try. We’re going to do our best, and I appreciate your warning, but it doesn’t change anything.” I don’t like being firm with her because I know she’s coming from a good place. A heartbroken place, but her intentions are always good. A place where hope had been built up and then shattered, even after trying to help and change things. But we’re different. This is different.
It has tobe.
Dylan laces his fingers in mine under the table and looks at Iris, eyes soft. “I’m so sorry for everything you’ve gone through, Iris. I know you and Grant both loved each other very much. I wish it could have been different. I hope it is for me and Lucy.”
“I hope so too, dear,” is all she says as she slowly stands and takes her empty cup and umbrella into her hands. “I wish you both the best of luck, and I pray I’ll see you on the other side, Dylan Hart.” With that, she drops her mug off at the front counter and exits the cafe, leaving us alone at the table.
“She’s not changing your mind, is she?” I ask, concern causing my voice to rattle. My fingers pick at the fabric of the soft sweater I’m wearing, the motion the slightest bit soothing.
He places a hand over mine, stopping me, then gives his head a quick shake, clearly lost in thought. “No, of course not, Luce. We can do this.” His lips quirk to the side, offering the start of my favourite teasing grin, and he leans in to kiss me. “Let’s go get my car and buy those barricades, okay?”
“Okay.”
The hardware store in town has everything we need, and after paying, we bring our two carts out to the car and pile everything into the trunk and the back seat. We found temporary orange fencing that you attach to a metal rod with a weighted rubber base, similar to the kind of thing road crews would use to block off dangerous or off-limits areas. We couldn’t get anything that needed to be staked in the ground because the entire area around the lighthouse is all rocks. Hopefully, the weighted bases, poles, and mesh fencing will be enough to stop these kids from making their way too close.
Once we’re back at the lighthouse, Dylan and I store everything in the shed outside. As he closes and locks the door, he turns to me and sighs, rubbing his jaw. “I guess that’s all we can do for now.” He reaches for my hand, and I take it as we turn to go back inside the lighthouse. The sun is setting over the ocean, and we’re almost one day closer to the day we’re trying to prepare for.
Chapter Forty-One
When I leave Killick Point on Sunday evening, I step over the crumbling concrete strewn across the path and turn back to look at it once more. That’s when I see something that causes me to stop in my tracks.
A notice.
Stapled to the front of the faded red door I just came out of. I can’t make out what it says from here, but I see capitalized, bolded, black letters. That’s never anything good. I run back to the door and turn on the flashlight on my phone. As I read the paper, an icy chill runs down my spine, and I swear, for a moment, my heart stops beating.
Notice Of Condemnation And Demolition
