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Elise rolled her eyes at her daughter's comment.
“And I just wanted to tell you that I support you in all things,” Penny continued. “And I can’t wait to read the script that comes out of this. The world is waiting for more brilliant ideas from Elise Darby. Oh, Mom, I’m at rehearsal. I’d better run. Love you! Ciao!”
Elise blinked back down at her phone, and then her laptop. Before she could finalize any kind of thought, there was a loud knock at the door. There were only two other people staying at the bed and breakfast, and Rhonda didn’t ordinarily make appearances like this.
Elise opened the door to find Rhonda, apologetic; her hands clasped at her waist. “There are two people here to visit you downstairs,” she said.
“Huh.”
“I told them that you’re preparing to leave the island,” Rhonda said. “But they told me to tell you they’ll wait as long as you need.”
Elise heaved a sigh. “Okay.”
She followed Rhonda through the hallway and all the way to the foyer below. Wayne sat next to Tracey on the little bench. Wayne looked overly large for the bench. As Elise approached, she watched as Tracey studied her painted fingernails with fearful eyes.
“Here she is. Our California resident,” Rhonda said brightly.
Elise’s heart thudded hard in her chest.
Here sat the man she had thought she was falling for, and the woman that very well could have been her half-sister.
Elise couldn’t help it.
Her words sounded cold.
“Can I help either of you with something?”
Wayne stood. His eyes looked wounded, the irises a darker blue than normal. “Elise. Can I talk to you for a moment?”
Elise turned her eyes toward Tracey, who nodded and gave a slight smile. Elise might not have labeled the smile as a friendly one.
“Okay.”
Elise led Wayne out to the balcony that overlooked the water. Wayne sat and then stood again when he realized that Elise didn’t plan to join him. She remained by the railing; her hands stretched across the wood.
“I’m really sorry about last night,” Wayne said softly.
Elise gave a light shrug. “It’s okay. You obviously had your reasons for canceling last minute.”
Wayne’s lips opened wider. He looked conflicted about what to say. “It’s really difficult to explain. There are so, so many things I want to tell you.”
Silence filled the space between them.
“You don’t owe me anything,” Elise told him. “And I’m headed back to Los Angeles shortly. I guess I came, and I saw what I wanted to see. I found some kind of truth, and then I figured out how much that truth actually didn’t matter. It’s a weird sensation, for sure, but...”
Elise and Wayne studied each other for a long time. Finally, Elise said, “Why is Tracey here?”
Wayne shrugged. “She wants to talk to you. If you’ll let her.”
Elise’s heart jumped around her chest. “What did you tell her?”
“Hardly anything,” Wayne said. “It’s your business. Not mine.”
Again, it seemed there wasn’t anything to say. Wayne’s face looked pained. Elise wondered what she would think of him years from now. He would surely just be a blip in her life. She hoped she would remember the better parts, the shared laughs on his couch, the time out on the sailboat.I was just another girl in a long stream of girls in his life.
Suddenly, Tracey appeared in the doorway that led out to the porch. Elise and Tracey made eye contact and held it for a long time. Wayne shifted uncomfortably.
“Do you mind if we talk for a while, Wayne?” Tracey asked.
