AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You should,” Brenda said. “Liam’s been gone three years. And you said it yourself…” She trailed off.
Eloise tilted her head. “What did I say myself?”
Brenda wrinkled her nose and took a bite of cake. “I shouldn’t have said it.”
“Come on, Brenda. You can say anything to me.”
Brenda sighed and tapped a napkin across her lips. “After Liam died, you were, of course, very sad.”
Eloise furrowed her brow. There was so little she remembered from the time directly after Liam’s death.
Brenda went on. “You spoke very little, of course. I don’t know what the girls and I expected you to say, not so soon after losing your husband. But you did mention something that surprised us. You said that Liam wasn’t the love of your life. That you’d already been in love, real love, but that you’d had to turn your back on it.”
Eloise raised her eyebrows. That was something she thought she’d never told anyone. She supposed that in her grief after Liam’s death, she’d allowed a few thoughts to the surface, ones she shouldn’t have.
“I don’t suppose it matters who the love of my life was,” Eloise answered. “I was married to Liam for decades. That has to count for something.”
Brenda dropped her gaze, clearly embarrassed. “Of course. Liam was your life. We understand that.” She paused again, then went on as though pushing herself before she chickened out. “You’re young, Eloise. There’s so much life for you left. Maybe you could even meet someone here in town. The girls and I know plenty of divorcées.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Eloise said, bristling at the idea of going on a date as a sixty-five-year-old woman.What on earth would she wear? Her overalls? One of Liam’s big sweaters?She had nothing, clothing-wise, that made her feel like a youthful and vibrant woman. She’d made her peace with being a widow. That was the hand she’d been dealt.
Eloise finished her cake and eventually found her way back to Liam’s truck. From the driver’s seat, she waved to Brenda, then dropped her foot on the pedal and pulled herself out of there. The traffic had cleared slightly, and she found herself turning out onto the country road all alone, with the haze of the spring evening folding into pastels around her. She cracked the window of the truck and leaned her head back so that the wind cut through her gray curls.
And then, she smelled it.
It was the smell of smoke, of ash. Eloise dropped her foot on the brake and slowed, inhaling deeper through her nose. At the very edge of each breath, the smell of smoke intensified to the smell of burning — of melted steel, of burning wood.
Next came the sirens. In her rear-view, two fire trucks skidded into the country road and burst to the left of her, followed by two cop cars. Eloise wanted to close her eyes and tell herself it couldn’t be the Clemmens Farm; there was no way.
But a deeper, secret part of herself knew. She just knew.
Eloise drove slowly down the country road until she could see the Clemmens Farm around the curve of the road. Sure enough, there it was: over one hundred years of Clemmens family history beneath a violent roar of a flame. Eloise stopped the engine about a half-mile from the farm and watched as the firemen did their best to pound water onto the farmhouse, but already, the second story had splintered away and left only a charred skeleton of the first floor.
It was remarkable to watch your entire life go up in flames, Eloise thought. Even now, she thought of everything in those walls— everything she’d just recently lost. All of Liam’s shirts were burnt to a crisp. The few items she’d brought with her from Nantucket were gone. The computer, books, an antique table, and even the painting on the wall that she’d made back in 1988 when she’d taken a painting class at Ball State University. It was all gone in the blink of an eye.
Slowly, Eloise reached for her cell and dialed Brenda’s number, as she wasn’t sure who else to call.
“Eloise? Did you forget something?” Brenda asked, her voice chipper.
Eloise sighed, then heard herself begin to laugh. “Brenda? I’m beginning to think that place in town isn’t such a bad idea.”
At that moment, one of the windows in the downstairs of the farmhouse burst, shattering glass across the lawn.
“That’s so good to hear!” Brenda said. “I knew you’d come around.”
Eloise sniffed as tears came to her eyes. She hadn’t realized how much she’d relied on this farm. It had been lonely, but it had been all hers.
“I’ll talk to you soon, Brenda. Maybe we can look at houses together?”
“I’d like that very much,” Brenda returned. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
ChapterFour
Anna and Dean’s week on Orcas Island was nothing but blissful. Together, they feasted at the inn’s breakfast buffet, roamed the fields, forests, and beaches, dined at the restaurant Anna needed to write about, along with several others, spoke to locals, and drank at classic Orcas Island bars. Everywhere they went, Dean, practiced saying, “This is my fiancée, Anna,” and Anna practiced saying, “This is my fiancé, Dean,” and each time, they giggled about it, as though they shared a secret that nobody on the planet could ever understand.
On the day before they planned to return to Seattle, Anna and Dean met Everett and Charlotte for breakfast. Charlotte was headed back to Martha’s Vineyard that afternoon to reunite with her daughter, who was in her final few months of high school.
“It’ll be hard to say goodbye to Martha’s Vineyard,” Charlotte said as she drew her fingers through her hair, flashing her own engagement ring. “But Orcas Island is ripe for discovery.”
