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“Oh, I missed my niece. She’s busy working on the old place, and I’d like to see what she’s accomplished.”
“I hear there’s lots of activity at Bayou Cottage. Takes a lot of guts to be out there alone.”
She looked over at him, thinking it was probably public knowledge that the ex-girlfriend of the new boyfriend had ransacked the cottage, but she wasn’t going to engage him. As soon as Maggie had called her, she called an old friend, Tom Kovac, a retired sheriff, who told her that although the young woman had been set free on bail, there was a possibility she was going to end up going to prison for a while. The county didn’t look kindly at thieves.
“I’ll personally keep an eye on the cottage,” he’d said.
“Thank you so much, Tom. I know she’s a little uneasy.”
“Are you visiting?” he asked.
“I’m thinking about it.”
“If you do, let’s have coffee,” he said. “I’ll even bring it.”
“Okay, if I come, I’ll be in touch again. Note that I’m the one getting in touch. You basically fell off the face of the earth.”
“Ha! Sorry. I didn’t see any point in having my heart brokenagain.”
“Oh god, Tom, get over yourself.”
He just laughed. They said goodbye and hung up, and she knew she would make an attempt to see him if she could.
The dock came into view and Floyd pulled up to the shanty. Gus came right out, smiling.
“He’s happy to see you,” Floyd said.
She ignored the comment and climbed out of the car before he could come around.
“Nice to see you, Gus,” she called out, waving to her friend.
It hadn’t been that long since she’d been at the cove, had it? Just a few years, maybe six at the most? Once Maggie was in college, her traveling companion preoccupied, the trips to the lonely cottage no longer held the allure they once had. She wondered what it was that had changed so much for her. Moving in with Rose was almost an act of surrender, as much as she loved her. But there wasn’t enough to keep her busy at the cottage, and she felt like she might be losing grasp of reality. Yes, it was better to move to civilization.
And then she realized that she could be just as isolated in a city of fifty thousand people as she was out at Bayou Cottage.
After she paid Floyd for her two-block trip, they got her bags on board, and Gus held his hand up for her to take. Nimble as a younger woman, she hopped down into the boat.
“Well, this is a familiar trip,” she said, smiling at Gus with an eyebrow raised.
“It’s familiar all right,” he said, snickering. “You here for good or just passin’ through?”
“Can I let you know?”
“You can let me know,” he said, looking out to the water as the boat pulled away from the dock. “I hope you’re staying around. It’s a lot more interesting when you’re in the cove.”
“Isn’t that nice,” she said, laughing. “Gus, you always make me feel good.”
“I have my moments,” he said.
She sat down next to him, and he increased the speed a little, the mist coming at her refreshing and opening a window to memories of her former life there in the cove.
“You know Val is back,” Gus said. “Miss Wang died last year.”
“Oh no,” she said sadly. “I had no idea. Why didn’t someone let me know?”
A wave of sadness swept over her that Val Amotte’s wife had died. She counted on her fingers, and they must have been married for nearly fifty years.
“No one wanted to stir up bad memories for you. Polly wanted to, but we told her they’d have to search for her body if she opened her trap.”
