“That’s right. Run, Anais. That’s what you do best.”
She dug her fingers into the wooden railing of the stairway and clenched her jaw. She was tempted to turn around and fight back, but she didn’t know what to say. There was nothing more to say. Melodie wouldn’t listen. She would attack. And she’d been hurt enough for one night. She climbed the stairs without looking back and found refuge in her room. She stared at the notes she’d been typing about her meeting with Professor Hubert, unable to focus.
Melodie cried as she did the dishes and cried again as she played with Thomas once they got back to their room, sitting on the foam mat. She knew she’d been hurtful, but she didn’t regret it. She’d been hurtful on purpose, at least. Ana was cruel without even realizing it. She truly believed there was nothing wrong with asking people who’d lived by the sea all their lives to simply move away. Even worse, she had the knowledge and resources to help them fight against the threat of rising sea levels and consciously chose not to. Because she didn’t think it was the right thing to do. Because it went against her convictions. Well, screw her convictions. Screw her thick auburn hair, green eyes, and soft skin. She was nothing but a selfish know-it-all and Melodie had been an idiot to think there could be a softer, kinder side to her. A side she’d even thought she was attracted to. Screw Anais Bloom.
“Damn shit,” she whispered to herself. Thomas answered with loud laughter and she brought her attention back to him. He was holding a textured book she’d read to him every night since his birth. It told the story of a baby whale as he discovered the sea with his mother. It was a sweet story, although Thomas currently seemed more interested in chewing on the soft fabric cover. She picked up the boy and sat him between her legs before she took the book from him so she could read. “Don’t worry, my love. You’ll grow up by the sea just like we all did,” she said as she got lost in the deep blue colors of the illustrated pages.
Chapter Sixteen
Present
Ana threw the ball again, but closer this time. Miller had obviously lost the stamina he’d gained the year before thanks to their daily walks. He was also a year older, probably about six years old if she remembered well, not too old to get in shape again. “We’ll take it easy, old man,” she said as she rubbed his head when he brought back the ball.
Ana had been at the White Sheep Inn for three days and Melodie still refused to have a conversation with her. She answered no more than yes or no to her questions when she answered at all. She never smiled at her like she did with other guests. Never laughed with her about trivial things like she did with them. Yet Ana found hope in the fact that she let her stay at the inn. She could have said there was no vacancy. Ana would have known it wasn’t true in the middle of December, but it would have sent a clear message. Instead she’d given her room number one. Ana had been inexplicably happy holding the red plastic key chain and its fading number one again.
Melodie served her breakfast every morning and changed her towels every day. She even let her hold and play with Thomas, and she let her take Miller for long walks. These were all reasons to hope, but Ana knew she would have to be patient. Melodie was as stubborn as they came, and the only way Ana would get her to listen was if she was just as stubborn. “I’m not running. Not this time,” she declared to a panting Miller. She crouched down to give him some water from the special bottle she’d bought for him the year before. “Let’s go back home. I have an idea.”
She walked into the lobby and saw Melodie play with Thomas behind the reception desk. She was tickling the boy, whose laughter was so joyful Ana had to smile. Melodie ignored her as usual. Miller sprawled out on the floor by the desk, exhausted. She climbed the stairs and went to her room, where she took off her boots and jacket and rummaged through her backpack until she found the article she was looking for. She used her hand to smooth over a corner of the title page that had flared up and read the title with pride, “Living on the Edge.”
She went back downstairs where Melodie and Thomas were still playing. She approached the desk knowing Melodie would keep ignoring her, placed the article on the desk, and walked back to the stairs.
“What’s that?” she heard Melodie ask.
She turned to answer. “It’s the article I wrote about Sainte-Luce-Sur-Mer. It got published. I thought you might like to read it.”
Melodie put Thomas in his playpen and turned to her at last. Her narrowed, light blue gaze sent a cold current through Ana’s veins. “Oh, Anais. Of all people, you should really know better than to waste paper like this. Where’s your ecological consciousness? I have no interest in reading this article and you know it.”
“Well, I think you should.”
“I don’t care what you think I should do.” Her tone was as glacial as her stare and Ana felt her airways tighten. She opened her mouth to speak but decided any argument would be fruitless while Melodie remained so closed off. She turned to go back upstairs, surprised when Melodie added, “You never answered me.”
“Excuse me?” she asked as she dared to meet her gaze again.
“When you arrived, I asked you what you were doing here. You never answered me.”
Ana stepped closer, until the only thing that stood between them was the reception desk. She held her gaze, knowing the answer had to be crystal clear in her own eyes, hoping she could see it. “I think you know what I’m doing here.”
Melodie averted her eyes and pointed at the window. “No, I really don’t. Didn’t you see the frozen sea out there? What happened last year won’t happen again. There’s nothing for you to study.”
“I’m not here about what happened that night and you know it. Look at me.” She did, and Ana saw that the icy stare was starting to break. “I’m here about what happened after that. Everything that led to…that other night,” she added with difficulty.
Melodie’s eyes welled up with tears and she turned her back to Ana. “What happened that night won’t happen again either. So you might as well leave now.”
“Melodie,” she started.
“No,” she blurted out as she faced her again, her frigid expression back in full force. “Leave me alone.”
Ana nodded and went back to her room where she cried quietly, trying to hang on to her hope. Her article had remained on the reception desk. Maybe she would read it later. If she did, she would understand.
Chapter Seventeen
One year earlier
“Would you please tell me what happened between the two of you? I thought you were finally learning to get along. Then I take off for one afternoon and when I get back the next morning, you can’t even look at each other. Ana seems very upset. What did you do to her?”
Melodie topped off the yogurt parfait with granola while Yvonne went on and on behind her in the kitchen. Of course it had to be her fault. Her grandmother couldn’t take her side against Ana, could she? So what was the point in trying to explain? She turned around and handed her the breakfast plate. “I really don’t want to get into this with you, Mammie. Can you please just take her damn yogurt?”
Yvonne took the plate and sighed with frustration before she left the kitchen. Melodie started cleaning, hoping her grandmother wouldn’t return, but she knew better. She wouldn’t leave it alone. She was back before Melodie could finish putting away the three ingredients she’d needed to make Ana’s breakfast. Yvonne stood in the middle of the room, her hands on her hips, staring at her as she wiped the counter with a dishcloth.
She wouldn’t escape her grandmother. She never could. Her best option was to make her understand she wouldn’t back down. She rubbed the countertop harder as she talked, “You’re right. We were starting to get along. When she offered to take care of Thomas so I could take you to the doctor, I even thought you were right about her so-called kindness. I went as far as inviting her to share dinner with me last night.”
“That’s good.”
“No Mammie. It wasn’t good.” She dropped the dishcloth on the countertop
and turned to face her grandmother. “That dinner made me see the real Ana, the one who thinks she knows what’s best for us and won’t back down from her own fucking beliefs, even for one minute to try to understand what we really need. She could help us, you know.”
“That’s what she’s trying to do, dear,” Yvonne said to appease her as she caressed her face.
“No, what she’s trying to do is prove a point. Her damn theory. She could really help us fight against this, but all she wants is to convince us we should give up. Why do you think she’s chosen this place? Because there’s a handful of us and she thinks we’re gullible enough to listen. Anywhere else people would laugh at her and tell her to fuck off.”
“Melodie—”
“No. Don’t even try to say she’s right. I’m telling you this because you insisted and now you know what happened. And I need you to understand once and for all that I will never think the way she does. You think what you want, but I will never agree with her. She will never convince me leaving this place is the right thing to do. Can you please respect that? That’s all I’m asking. I will cook for her. I will wash her dirty towels and her sheets. I will do what I would do for any other guest while she’s here, but don’t ask me to make nice again. It won’t happen. Is that clear?”
Yvonne simply nodded with a sigh of defeat and Melodie walked past her to exit the kitchen. She felt Ana’s eyes on her as she walked through the dining room but she avoided her gaze. She went straight to the bassinet where Thomas was… not. She turned and found him sitting peacefully in Ana’s lap, chewing on his giraffe while Ana ate her breakfast. She felt her blood turn to a boil instantly.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she barked as she rushed to Ana’s table.
“He started to cry, so I comforted him. That’s all.”
“Well, from now on I’ll be the one comforting my son, you got that?” she said as calmly as she could not to upset Thomas as she took him from Ana’s lap.
“Got it. I was trying to help.”
“We don’t need your help. Please don’t touch my son again.” She took him toward their room and turned around at the stairway to add, “Have a good day, Ms. Bloom.” She noticed Ana’s eyes were swollen and bloodshot, but she hurried to her room before empathy had a chance to mix with her anger. She wouldn’t let Ana weaken her resolve again. Ever.
“I tried, Yvonne. I did my best to explain my beliefs, but she seems to think I have some kind of evil agenda. Like all I want is to tear people away from their beloved sea. Everything I said only made her hate me even more. And then she said things I won’t repeat but she really hurt me. I can’t go through this again. I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m the one who owes you an apology. I shouldn’t have insisted so much. I can only imagine the horrible things she said to you. She can be awful when she gets defensive. I thought she could understand the logic behind relocating, but obviously I was wrong.”
She felt Yvonne’s hand rub her back as they stood side by side, facing the sea. She breathed in the strong salty winds and watched Miller sniff around rocks and driftwood in the sand. There was no snow left on the ground, no ice on the water as far as she could see. Only raging waves crashing on the beach. They seemed threatening even at low tide. It was unsafe to take a walk during high tides. And they would keep getting worse until they reached solstice heights in three days. Ana only hoped the low-pressure system shown moving their way would unexpectedly change its trajectory or weaken. “If the storm that’s supposed to hit us this weekend is bad, she’ll probably blame me for that too.”
Yvonne snorted a laugh and bumped her arm with her shoulder. “She did say you were just trying to prove a point. A storm would be a grand way to do it.”
Ana glanced at Yvonne and saw her wink. She smiled but was unable to find as much humor in the situation as the older woman did. She turned back to the sea with a sigh. “If she only knew how much I wished we would’ve stopped abusing the planet before we reached this point. What I would do to turn back time and avoid all this.”
Yvonne put her arm around her and squeezed reassuringly, pressing her to her side as they both kept observing the waves. “I know, dear. I know.”
Miller whined at her feet and she looked down. “You’re right, buddy. Let’s walk. Shall we?” she added as she turned to Yvonne.
“Absolutely. Enough brooding already.”
Ana reached into her jacket pocket for the blue ball and threw it for the dog as they walked west on the beach. They walked in silence for a few minutes before Yvonne added, “At least Thomas will be staying with his dad this weekend. They live in the boonies but he’ll be safe there. I’ll be okay at the duplex too, but I’m sure Melodie will refuse to leave the inn.”
Ana looked at Yvonne and understood the silent request in her soft, worried blue eyes. She took her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll watch over her.”
Yvonne squeezed her hand in response. “I don’t doubt it.”
Chapter Eighteen
Kevin had already packed the bassinet, toys, and everything else that needed to follow a six-month-old on any overnight trip. Melodie had called him the night before to say that his pickup truck wouldn’t do but was pleasantly surprised when he’d answered he’d already asked to borrow his parents’ SUV. Maybe he wasn’t completely hopeless after all. But the thought didn’t keep her from making sure the car seat was installed properly before she let him leave with Thomas. Just in case. After a thorough inspection, she turned to Kevin, who stood by the car with Thomas in his arms and a grin on his face. “Did I pass?”
“I must admit I’m impressed.”
“So will you let us leave now? They’re waiting for us to have breakfast.”
“You’re free to go. But don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions at all.”
“Relax, Mel. I’ll be in a house full of people who raised or are raising children of their own. They won’t let me fuck up even if I wanted to.”
“I guess you have a point there,” she replied with a chuckle. “All right, let me get him in his seat and then I’ll let you go.” She took Thomas from his arms and was pleased when Kevin stayed behind her to observe as she secured Thomas. These things could be tricky. She kissed Thomas on the nose and closed the door, trying to fight against the tightening in her heart. “You drive carefully now,” she warned Kevin as he walked around to the driver’s door.
“Promise. Seriously, Mel, I swear nothing bad will happen. Okay?” She simply nodded. “We’ll be back tomorrow afternoon. Enjoy your weekend. Do something special. Go out with your friends or have one of those long baths with candles and those disgustingly sweet smells you like so much.”
She let out a loud laugh that temporarily relaxed her tension, releasing some of the tears that she’d kept at bay until then. She wiped them away as she kept laughing. “That’s not a bad idea, actually.”
“I do have good ideas once in a while, you know.” He winked at her and got behind the wheel of the car that looked entirely too grown-up for him. She watched them leave and couldn’t help but feel empty. Fortunately she didn’t have time to stand there and wallow in self-pity. She glanced at her watch. Seven fifteen. Ana would be waiting for her breakfast. She hurried inside, left her boots and jacket behind the reception desk, put on her comfortable shoes and went straight to the kitchen. All without a single glance in Ana’s direction.
Once in the kitchen she found her grandmother lining up ingredients for eggs Benedict. “Where’s the Hollandaise sauce?”
“Let me,” she said as she took Yvonne’s place in front of the fridge and reached for a plastic container. “I made a fresh batch last night.”
“Really? How did you know? She’s had yogurt all week.”
“All week except last Saturday. She said she has eggs Benedict once a week, so I knew she’d order them today. I guess being boring and predictable has its perks. I’ve got this, Mammie. Go get her more coffee. It’s time for her second cup.”
> “Why must you be so mean?”
“If I were that mean I’d dump hot sauce all over her eggs. Don’t tempt me. I think I’m doing a really great job at controlling my urges.”
Yvonne shook her head, holding a fresh pot of coffee. “You’re impossible. You know that?”
“How could I forget?” Yvonne left the kitchen and she focused on the delicate orchestration making eggs Benedict represented. She wouldn’t sabotage Ana’s breakfast, of course. The bitch wasn’t worth ruining a recipe she’d spent years perfecting.
Ana savored her eggs with pure pleasure. She’d been waiting all week to indulge in Melodie’s recipe again, expecting that she might have exaggerated how delicious they tasted and would be disappointed on her second try. She’d been wrong. If anything, they tasted even better this morning. Yet as good as they were, she couldn’t enjoy them in peace. In fact, her delightful breakfast was being disturbed on two fronts, the first being the whirlwind of thoughts in her own mind. She’d followed the progress of the storm on her laptop and unless things changed unexpectedly, it would pass over their heads around the same time as this evening’s high tide, predicted to be close to sixteen feet high. The combination of both events could be catastrophic.
Her second source of distraction came from the kitchen, where Melodie’s and Yvonne’s voices grew louder. Melodie finally stormed out of the kitchen yelling something in French. She already knew they were arguing about Melodie going to stay with her grandmother in her duplex for the night because Yvonne had mentioned it to her earlier. Apparently it was going as well as she’d expected.
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