by Sonia Parin
Thinking it wouldn’t pay to look too desperate or needy, she tried to make herself inconspicuous, forcing her attention into browsing mode. She visited one shop after another, taking her time, admiring the wares, and counting to ten before taking another step.
It nearly killed her.
She’d never had time to dawdle. Her daily schedules had always been packed to squeeze in as much as she could into her day, always keeping a cracking pace.
As for shopping...
It had never been her favorite activity. More often than not, she’d opted for online shopping.
After half an hour of browsing through The Mad Hatter’s Tea Shop, she would swear she could list the entire contents without missing a single gimmicky teapot.
As she inspected the bottom of a teacup, the tail end of a conversation wafted her way.
“I didn’t come all this way to go home empty-handed...”
Looking up, she didn’t see anyone standing nearby. Eve leaned slightly and looked around the corner. There she saw a young couple.
They looked familiar. The girl, in her mid twenties, had long blonde hair cascading down to her waist and wore the latest in casual country wear, a cable knit sweater Eve knew must have cost a fortune, and fashionable skin-tight jodhpurs hugging her slim body, her riding boots screaming handmade. Her companion was roughly the same age, but with hair the color of dark chocolate. He had the sort of preppy look Eve had become suspicious of because it spoke of entitlement, but mostly because it reminded her of her ex husband.
Setting the teacup down, she continued her pretense of browsing, and tried to move within easier earshot of the conversation, which was about to get heated, Eve thought watching the girl jab a finger against the young man’s chest.
“You said this would be a cinch,” the girl said.
“Mel—”
“Don’t you Mel me.”
“You said you knew how to play him—”
“I’m out of here,” the girl huffed out. “Do it before the week is out. I can’t waste another week of my life waiting for you to grow a backbone...”
The couple left the store still arguing.
Eve tried to remember if they’d been part of Reggie’s entourage. She’d only really noticed the woman she’d assumed was a gallery owner. There had been five women. The girl, Mel, could possibly have been among them. Why couldn’t she remember?
As she turned, her gaze met the store clerk. A blonde girl...
Blonde...
The women at the restaurant had all been blonde.
She looked out the store window at the street opposite. The bakery door swung open and Jill stepped out.
Eve wished she had good news for her.
She considered inviting her to dinner but common sense told her to give Jill more time to cool off. She hadn’t said anything, but Eve knew she couldn’t possibly be happy about recent events.
She turned back to pretending to admire the teapots on display.
“You are not seriously thinking about taking up tea drinking.”
Relief swept through Eve. “Why not?” She turned and smiled at Jill who’d come into the store.
“Your body would go into meltdown, the earth would tilt on its axis, disrupting the orbit of the moon and in turn, playing havoc with the tides.”
“I don’t drink that much coffee.”
“I’ve never seen you drink anything but coffee.” Jill gave her a small smile. “I saw you coming in and after twenty minutes decided you needed rescuing.”
“You know me too well.” Eve realized Jill knew she’d been up to no good. The knowing smile said it all, but Jill didn’t reprimand her for still trying to catch sight of Reginald. “Mira’s gone off on her cruise.” Eve felt her cheeks redden. “I don’t suppose you’d like to have dinner with me?”
“Are you cooking?”
Eve nodded and bit off the sudden urge to tell Jill she’d missed her these last couple of days. “We could make a night of it,” she said and hoped she didn’t come across as too needy.
“That would be good. My folks are planning their next road trip and bickering about whose turn it is to choose the destination. I’m trying to stay out of their way because they seem intent on dragging me along too.”
“How does tomorrow night sound?”
“Perfect.”
“I assume you’ve just had a coffee. At the risk of coming across as too clingy, is there any chance you might have room for another?”
“Coffee and cake,” Jill agreed.
With Mira gone on her cruise, it took Eve a couple of hours to get used to being alone in the house again. After having a bite to eat, she strode out to the beach and walked along the shore for a bit. The sky provided a blanket of twinkling stars for her to gaze at. In the distance, she watched a yacht disappearing into the horizon and heard seagulls squabbling over a tasty find.
If she stayed on in the island, she decided she would have to seriously consider adopting a dog she could take out for walks.
Time to start a pros and cons list, she thought and mentally divided a page into reasons why she should stay on and reasons why she should return to New York.
With enough moonlight to navigate by, she continued her walk, every now and then crouching down to pick up a seashell. Along the way, she stopped to inspect a piece of driftwood. The trunk had some lovely twists and interesting gnarls. She tried to lift it but it was too heavy. Looking back at the house, she calculated the distance she’d have to drag it.
Putting some more effort into it, she managed to dislodge it but didn’t get very far.
“A rope would do the trick.”
Sprinting back to the house, she hunted down an old rope from the front veranda. The brilliant idea as well as her intention to haul the piece of driftwood back to the house weren’t enough. She still needed to put some brawn into the task.
With the rope tied securely around the trunk, she dragged it half way back and had to stop to catch her breath and give her hands a rest.
“Heave-ho, Eve. You can do it.” Her arms ached from the exertion and the rope chafed her hands, but she’d already committed to the task.
It took her several goes to get the trunk to the house. By then, she’d had to dangle a carrot as a reward in the form of a tall glass of wine or two. When she reached the front veranda, her hands shook, but nothing beat the sense of satisfaction she got from seeing the lovely piece alongside the rest of the nautical paraphernalia.
Back inside the house, she put on some music, cleaned the kitchen and, to her surprise, spent the rest of the evening reading a book, choosing one from Mira’s favorite collection of fantasy romances.
While she managed to get through a quarter of the novel, it didn’t surprise her when she woke up in the sitting room where she’d fallen asleep.
“Eve, better take yourself off to bed.”
Yes, she’d definitely get a dog.
“That way, I won’t have to be so obvious about talking to myself.”
As she made her way toward the stairs, she saw the phone message light blinking, but decided to leave it until the morning.
If anything had happened to Mira, the call would come through to her cell phone, so just to be on the safe side, she checked it. Nothing. Meaning she had no urgent need to check the message.
She set her book down on the bedside table thinking she would finish it the next night, and went to draw the curtains close.
Looking out the window she noticed the sky had clouded over. Eve smiled. She’d been lucky to enjoy the display of sparkling stars before the weather changed.
As she was about to draw the curtains, something caught her attention.
The lighthouse.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen it working, yet there it was, the intermittent light blinking, almost as if trying to taunt her with a reminder of the oaf who lived there.
Belatedly, Eve realized her offering of donuts had been a bad idea. It would be
an entirely different story if she could somehow cut off his supply from the bakery.
Then, she’d have him eating right out of her hand...
Chapter Five
The next morning, Eve had to use every inducement under the sun to get herself out of bed. Hauling the piece of driftwood the night before had left her exhausted. Her arms ached and her hands felt slightly swollen.
She had a dinner to plan for Jill. It would go some way toward mending the rift between them. Jill would deny its existence, but Eve knew she’d put her foot in it. She owed her friend big time.
A long shower, with the water gushing out as hot as she could take it without suffering third degree burns, went a long way toward soothing her aching muscles. The strong cup of coffee she made finished the job, giving her a much-needed boost in energy and enthusiasm.
She grabbed her shopping list and rushed out of the house only to double back when she remembered the message she hadn’t listened to the night before.
She hadn’t missed one message. She’d actually missed two.
“You baked donuts for that oafish man?”
How had Abby found out?
The second message came on.
“Word is you tried to poison Reginald Bryant Burns. Call me.”
Poison?
Eve drove into town at breakneck speed and made a beeline for the travel agent’s office. Helena Flanders greeted her with a gurgle of laughter.
“I had the most entertaining night eating at The Galley Kitchen.”
“Don’t tell me, Reggie was there with his hangers-on.”
Helena clapped her hands. “They were hanging on his every word. He said he’d had to make an appearance in town to show everyone he wasn’t intimidated by you.”
“Me?”
“Apparently, your donuts gave him the runs. He said his strong constitution saved him from a bout of food poisoning.”
Her lips moved but no sound came out.
“If you’re thinking of setting up another restaurant here on the island, I’d wait for the furor to die down. It’s all anyone can talk about this morning.”
“M-my donuts... my donuts gave him the runs?” she finally managed to say.
“What on earth possessed you to bake them for him? I heard about your run-in with him at the bakery.”
Again she tried to speak, but her words got all clogged up in her throat. She’d kill him.
Helena patted her shoulder. “He’s clearly baiting you.”
“Why?”
“The man has a humongous ego. I hear things are not going well for him. He hasn’t sold a single painting in over a year. You’ve become an easy target for him.”
“He’s taking his frustration out on me?”
“That’s what bullies do, dear. I’m afraid you picked on the wrong man.”
“But... but... I didn’t pick on him. I just wanted him to invite Jill to his studio.”
“Yes, and when that failed you tried to poison him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Well, that’s what he’s going around saying. Come on, I’ll buy you a coffee. This will all blow over. He only stays here for a month or so.”
Eve returned home with her purchases for the dinner she’d promised Jill. After her coffee with Helena, she’d dropped in on Abby who’d been busy packing up for her trip.
She too had been out eating at The Galley Kitchen the night before. Rather than being amused, she’d been as furious as Eve had been over Reginald’s behavior.
He’d again been entertaining his full entourage, something Abby had found disheartening saying that if the ten men in the group were representative of the wider population of men, she didn’t stand a chance of meeting her perfect match.
While they’d tried changing the subject several times, they’d kept coming back to Reginald’s accusations.
Setting her grocery purchases down on the kitchen counter, Eve decided she needed to go out for a long walk to blow off some steam or she’d end up serving Jill a plate full of her anger.
She walked along the well-trodden path running alongside the shoreline, occasionally meandering onto the beach and then back to the path.
With no particular destination in mind, she lost track of time and only turned back when she began feeling slightly better.
Back at the beach house she was surprised to find Jill had already arrived and was waiting for her on the veranda.
“Did I get the date wrong?” Jill called out.
Eve trotted up the steps. “No, I just need to get myself a watch. Come on in, you can keep me company while I cook.”
“Where did you get to?”
“Nowhere... out for a walk. I needed to take care of something.” To eject all the thoughts that had been plaguing her. “Come on, I’m starving and I’m making your favorite dish.”
“Anything you cook is my favorite. Lead the way.”
In the kitchen, Eve dug around the refrigerator and brought out a chicken.”
“Oh,” Jill said.
“Oh?”
“We’re having chicken. I thought you said you were cooking my... Never mind.”
“But you like chicken.”
Jill shrugged and turned away. “Has Mira done something with the decor?”
Eve sighed. “It just clicked. Extra large pizza with the lot. That’s your favorite.” Eve raised her hands palms up. “Sorry, they’re not up to kneading dough.”
“What happened?”
“Oh, nothing.” She selected a bottle from one of the many she’d purchased that day and poured them each some wine.
“Um... hitting the bottle?” Jill asked.
“I thought we’d make it a proper girls’ night in and let our hair down. You should stay the night.”
“You won’t need to ask me twice. My parents ganged up on me today. They’re saying I’m at risk of turning into a hermit and should go with them on their next road trip. They’re trying to sweeten the deal by including a stopover in Washington. They even compiled a list of museums for me to visit.”
“Don’t they know all the worthwhile galleries are in New York?”
Jill laughed. “Can you picture us driving up Fifth Avenue in our Winnebago? Oh look, honey, that there is Central Park. Can we go around it again? A park, where, where? Not a park, honey, Central Park. Laura, please, I’m trying to find a place to park,” Jill said mimicking her parents.
Eve laughed. “We should plan a trip to New York. Or maybe you can come visit me.”
“So you’ve decided, you’re leaving.”
“What?” Her heart gave a sudden thump, “No. It’s all still up in the air.” Eve swung away and pressed her hand to her chest. If her overreaction was anything to go by... Was it? Was a part of her ready to dig her heels in? Was she that divided about leaving... or staying?
“I’m thinking of getting a dog,” Eve said.
“Quick change of subject, but I’m willing to go with it. What type of dog?”
“A companion. A friendly dog.”
“I meant, what breed?”
“Oh... I haven’t given that any thought. Your Labradors are placid. But I’ll probably end up getting something smaller.” She shrugged. “Something that’ll only want short walks.” She prepared a cheese platter and some bread. “Come on, let’s go nibble on these and drink lots of wine while the chicken cooks.”
She collapsed on the couch and took a long swig of her wine.
“Looks like you needed that.”
“You’ve no idea.” She wished she could decompress and tell Jill about her day, but that meant talking about Reggie and Eve felt it had become a sore point of contention with them. Jill had most likely heard about Reginald Bryant Burns’ latest verbal assault on Eve but she hadn’t mentioned it, so Eve decided to leave it alone. Besides, it had taken her a long walk to shake it all off and she didn’t want to wind herself up again.
An hour later they’d settled down to dinner, a second bottle of wine and
a lengthy discussion about pets.
With enough wine in her system, Eve forgot to avoid all mention of Reggie.
“Is Reginald Bryant Burns married?” she asked.
“Divorced, several times,” Jill said. “What’s for dessert?”
“Ice-cream. Sorry, I didn’t have time to bake.”
Jill gave her a slanted eye look.
“What?”
“Do you have any idea how odd that sounded coming out of your mouth? You always have time to bake. We could be about to face a tsunami, and you’d still manage to throw some ingredients together and cook something for the ride.”
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise. It’s just been one of those days.” She couldn’t help wondering if any of the women present at dinner the other night had been Reggie’s ex-wives. “What about children?”
“What about them?”
“Does he have any?”
“Oh... him. No. None. Why do you ask?”
“He and his group were having dinner at Shelby’s Table the other night and I was just wondering about the people who’d willingly spend time with him.” Then again, she’d been referring to them as hangers-on. Those types, she thought, had to have ulterior motives for being with him. Perhaps some were trying to gain a share of the spotlight. A young artist would definitely benefit from the association.
“How about a Beagle?” Jill suggested.
It took Eve a moment to remember they’d been talking about pets. “I hear they’re not very loyal.”
“You want exclusive rights?”
Eve shrugged. “I’d like a pet who’ll listen to me when I call him.”
“He’ll probably listen but he might not respond.”
“Well, I want one who’ll respond.”
“You have to train them to do that.”
“I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Haven’t you ever owned a pet?” Jill asked.
Eve shook her head. “We weren’t allowed to have them at boarding school.” Eve finished her wine and got up. “Rum Raisin Chocolate ice-cream?”
“Yes, please.”
She prepared two bowls filled to capacity, added a sprinkle of walnuts and set them on a tray with another bottle of wine and fresh glasses.