She pads back down around the divider, and the door to her side of the duplex opens and shuts. The air temperature shifts and drops. Maybe it’s because Poppy is no longer next to me. She radiates warmth, that one. But if she’s not careful, she’s going to run herself into the ground.
I stare up at the sky and play back our conversation. I’m glad I said what I said, but I hadn’t counted on her throwing my own point back in my face. Can what I’m doing be called living? I thought I was content. I’d made my peace with my lot in life when I decided to take the high road. But my own warning to Poppy rings in my ears. Am I hiding behind my care for others? Am I so worried about Tricia—and her family—that I’m selling myself short? I’ve always been the deadbeat. The nobody. Holland is what most people consider the face of Cashmere Cove. I’m the backbone. I do a lot behind the scenes, but no one notices me. And I’m basically the butt of all the jokes. Which is fine. It’s what I’m used to.
But then there’s Poppy.
Around her, I see everything in a different kind of light, and I’m starting to wonder if I don’t want more.
13
Chicken and Silversides
Poppy
“Wouldyouquitit?”Rose eyes me from the passenger seat.
“What?” I glance down at where my fingers are drumming a steady beat against the steering wheel of Holland’s car. “Oh. Sorry.” I flex my fingers.
“Why are you so nervous? This is supposed to be fun.”
I stare straight ahead, focusing on the road instead of responding.
Fun.
Mack’s questions last night have plagued me all day. I’ve gone from feeling defensive—I’m fun! I have fun.To depressed—Who would ever want to hang out with me? I literally have nothing to show for my life but two sisters and a job.
It’s been a great little teeter-totter of emotion all day, and I sort of want to wring Mack’s neck for putting me on it.
Then again, when I remember the kindness in his eyes when he was talking to me on the deck—the way he complimented me in his own, toned-down way—I can’t be mad. Especially since I think he’s on to something. Which is why I’ve been spending all my free time today thinking about what I like. Whatisfun to me? I don’t even know. How pathetic is that?
I park the car in the lot Mack directed us to.
Rose wrenches open the car door and takes a deep breath of bay water air. “This is gorgeous.” She practically skips across the grassy area that leads to the sand.
I pull in a deep breath of my own and follow her, taking in the water of the cove ahead.
Wool Beachisbeautiful, tucked into a low spot of the bay, surrounded on the sides by jagged rockface. I know, based on the position of the P&R building, that on the other side of the rock is the populated, tourist-y beach area. But this little inlet is secluded. It took us a minute to find it, and I can see why the locals want to keep it to themselves.
I start sweating at the thought of Mack inviting us. Are we ‘local’ enough to merit an invitation?
“Hey! Poppy!” I turn to see Collin jogging down to where I’m standing. “I’m glad you and Rose came,” he says. “It was good of Mack to invite you. First time he’s done anything neighborly in years. Color me surprised.”
“I think you’ve got enough color going on for now.” I point at his bruised face, which resembles Van Gogh’sStarry Night, grateful for his warm welcome.
Collin laughs a deep belly laugh. “Good one. Come on.”
We wander down to the beach together.
Off to one side, a campfire blazes. There are sticks for s’mores neatly stacked nearby, along with a couple grocery bags, which I assume are filled with all the fixings. Rose has dropped the blanket we packed near a handful of multi-colored towels and shimmied out of her jean shorts and tank top. She’s jogging toward the blue water of the cove, which looks incredibly enticing in the late-day heat. A group of people is submerged up to their necks. They wave Rose over as she splashes in up to her ankles.
I admire her lack of inhibition. She has no qualms about meeting new people, taking new adventures. She doesn’t stop to think about what could go wrong. It’s a good thing, really, and it’s the gift I’ve tried to give my sisters. I worry about things so they don’t have to. They can be carefree and innocent because I’ve dealt with the stress and seen the tainted nature of humanity on their behalf.
“Have you met Piper and Ed, Holland and Mack’s cousin and her husband-to-be?” Collin asks, following my gaze and drawing me from my thoughts.
I nod my head. “At Sunday dinner.”
Collin taps his temple. “Of course. Infamous Sunday dinner. How could I forget? Looks like Inez is here too.”
I recognize the Getaway Café owner bobbing up and down in the water. I hear her laugh as Rose goes under and comes up for air next to her and Mia. Patrick is out there too. I can’t mistake his tall figure. And the shorter guy next to him must be Lou. Across from the two of them, I recognize the figure of Mack.
