Ian pressed his lips together and didn’t say a thing.
“I know you’re not the talking type, but this is how you work through things, E. That’s how you get through hurdles in a marriage. You have to have the uncomfortable talks; otherwise, the next time you sit down together, it’ll be in front of a divorce lawyer.”
“You and Darren weren’t like that. Some time apart did you both some good.”
“Do you want time apart from Lucy?”
“No, but I’m just saying it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”
Especially if it meant finding their way back to each other.
Ian could withstand anything so long as he knew Lucy was waiting for him on the other side.
Sophia finished her drink and cleared her throat. “I don’t think you should have that kind of attitude. You and Lucy need to talk and take it from there. Don’t go into it with a defeatist attitude.”
“You’re starting to sound like Dr. Singh.”
“Your therapist and I are both wise and beautiful.” Sophia stepped out from behind the counter and paused when her phone vibrated. She fished it out of her pocket and held it up to her face. “I hate to cut this short, but there’s been some kind of emergency at the bakery.”
“Oh, no. It’s a sugar emergency.”
“Shut up.” Sophia scowled and shoved her phone back into her pocket. “I’m going to go get dressed. You need to figure out what you’re going to say to Lucy.”
Ian twisted in his seat and watched his sister disappear into her room. “Why do I have to rehearse it?”
“Because when you don’t think about stuff, you tend to run your mouth,” Sophia replied, emerging a few minutes later in a pair of jeans and a sweater. “Come on. Teddy and I will walk you out.”
Teddy’s tail wagged even harder on the way out.
Sophia gave her brother another hug before piling into the car with Teddy by her side. She rolled down the window, gave him another wave, and drove off.
Exhaling, Ian set off in the opposite direction, making for the harbor. When he got there, he shoved both hands into his pockets and walked to the end of the pier. There, he paused and looked out at the water.
“Ian?”
He spun around and spotted Ben’s sister, silhouetted by the bright sun, and squinted. “Hi, Olive.”
“I’m sorry to bother you. I recognized you and thought I’d say hi.”
“I didn’t know you were in town.” Ian fingered the phone in his pocket. “Everything okay? Are you in trouble?”
Olive pushed her overgrown hair out of her face. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just at the police department… I was hoping they had something new about my son’s case.”
Ian’s expression softened. “I’m sure they’re doing the best they can. In hit-and-run cases, it’s not easy to bring the perp to justice.”
Olive sniffed and stared at the ground beneath their feet. “I know, and I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but I just thought… I don’t know what I thought.”
Ian’s stomach dipped. “I can try to look into it if you want.”
Olive glanced up sharply. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
Ian waved her comment away. “It’s not a bother. I’ll see what I can find. I can’t promise anything though.”
Olive lapsed into silence and came to stand next to him. Together, they watched the glistening water, barely exchanging more than a few words till Olive turned and disappeared into the horizon.
Ian stayed for a while longer, watching the water and wondering what to do about everything.
He’d never felt so lost or conflicted before.
