Page 2 of Fish Out of Water

“Hi, Aunt Isabel.” Jake hugged her back. “Sorry if I’m a little late. I got lost trying to find the right street, and?—”

“Oh, sweetie, I don’t care.” Isabel pulled away, holding onto his arms as she stepped back to get a better look at him. “I’m just glad you’re here. Goodness, you need to get inside and have a proper meal. You’re too skinny.”

“I’m fine, really. I ate before I left.”

“And how long ago was that? This morning?”

“About three hours ago.”

Isabel huffed. “Well, it’s about lunchtime anyway. Come on inside and I’ll make you a sandwich. Do you still like sandwiches?”

“Yeah, yeah, I still like sandwiches.”

“Good.” She finally let Jake go, and he heaved his bags out of the car. “You’re happy and healthy, I take it?”

Jake took a deep breath, which was hard to do when he had heavy luggage in his arms, pressing against his chest. “Yeah, I’m good. It’s, uh, it’s good to be here, Aunt Isabel.”

“We’re going to make the most of the time we have together, I’m telling you that right now.”

“Well, I’ll be busy helping you get this place back into shape.”

“Of course, of course.” She opened the door stepped aside to let Jake in first. “But we’ll have plenty of time to spend together, too. You know, those last few months while your Uncle Mark was sick, I really let everything go. I shouldn’t have, but it just got to be too much.”

“Mom and Dad are sorry they couldn’t get over here more often,” Jake said.

“Oh, sweetie, that’s not their fault. They were working, and I understand.”

“They just wanted me to tell you that. Alex wants to come visit soon, too.”

Isabel’s eyes lit up at this. “I would absolutely love that. How is she?”

“Fine, I think. Busy with work.” Jake didn’t know if that was entirely true, but he could guess.

With her recent promotion, Alex seemed to be on the clock every hour of the day. He knew as much from the late-night texts she sent him, when she must have been sitting at her desk with nothing but the artificial blue glow of screens illuminating her quiet home office.

“Anyway, she can bring her work with her now.” Under his breath, he added, “Would’ve been nice to have that job when Uncle Mark was sick.”

“Everyone helped as much as they could,” Isabel said quickly, still smiling, though the smile had turned sad. “I’d always hopedboth of us would pass away peacefully and quickly when our time came, but when Marcus was diagnosed, I suppose reality hit me pretty hard. It never got easier after that.” She cleared her throat. “But you’re here now, and thanks to you, I can get caught up on all the repairs the house needs and put it on the market. You really are a Miersend.”

Jake sloughed his bags onto the couch and turned back to Isabel. “What? Oh. I forgot about the whole sea thing.”

“Mier, Jakey,Mier.”

“I remember, Aunt Isabel. It’s just… weird, that’s all.”

“Not to us, dear. It’s very important to us. This town has continued to thrive for as long as it has because of Mier. You should know that, especially if you’re going to be staying here for Mier knows how long. I’m hoping the house sells quickly, but in a place like this, you never know.”

“It’s a nice place,” Jake said in a tone that he worried sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than make a simple statement. “It’ll sell fast.”

“Perhaps. It’s a very small town, though, and not that many people seem keen on living here like they used to.”

“What do you mean? Why not?”

“Well, it’s… complicated.” A shadow crossed Isabel’s expression for just a moment. “The town is changing, and in some ways, not for the better. You’ll see once you’ve spent a bit of time here. Speaking of which, you should go down to the beach as soon as you have a chance and pay your respects to Mier.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess I will.”

“I promise it will be rewarding to you if you just stop being so skeptical all the time.”