by Sophie Love
“Oh, I’m not going to mail these,” Roy said. “These are my memories of you. A letter per photograph, written like a diary entry. I want to record everything I can remember about you, right down to what you ate, what you wore, how I felt as I held you in my arms.”
“Really?” Emily asked, overwhelmed at the thought. “You’re doing that for me?”
“Yes,” Roy said. “It’s my big project. And I only have a year to get it done.”
Emily felt beyond touched that her father had decided to spend his final months on earth creating such a wonderful gift for her.
“I love you, Dad,” she said. “Thank you for everything.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
They ended the call. Emily felt much better.
She was finally ready to have the talk with Daniel.
*
Daniel came home very late again that evening, when Emily was already in bed. But she wasn’t sleeping, just resting, and she turned to him as he tiptoed into the room.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” he whispered.
“I wasn’t sleeping,” Emily replied. She sat up, propping some pillows behind her back so she was comfortable. “I was waiting for you to come back so we could talk about last night.”
“Oh,” Daniel said.
Emily watched his silhouette moving around the room, removing his clothing. He approached her and slid into bed.
“Do you mean talk or are you just going to shout at me again?” he asked.
“I mean talk,” Emily said, reaching out and touching his chest. She’d read somewhere that maintaining physical contact with your spouse during arguments was a good way to stay connected, because it reduced the distance and reminded you of how close you really were.
“I’m really tired,” Daniel sighed. “Can’t we talk tomorrow?”
Emily shook her head. “Nope. It has to be tonight. Tomorrow you’ll be working again, and you’ll be tired again, and nothing will have been resolved.”
He sighed. “Fine. What do you want to talk about?”
Emily kept her voice calm and firm. “I want to understand what you’re feeling about the baby and the pregnancy. There’s been some distance between us recently and I don’t know why. I keep worrying that it’s because of the baby, because you don’t really want her.”
Daniel shook his head. “I really hate you saying that,” he said. “I want the baby, I do. I’m just, I don’t know, scared. Chantelle shook everything up with us, what if Charlotte does too, once she’s here? I almost lost you before and I’m scared that will happen again.”
“Things will change, of course,” Emily said. “But we’ll work through our difficulties. We always do.”
He nodded. “I’m just feeling a lot of pressure right now. I want to be able to provide for the whole family but I don’t know if I can. You’re working so hard and I just want to make things easier for you by getting the renovation done as quickly as possible. I want you to put your feet up for as much of this pregnancy as possible. And then when Charlotte’s born, I don’t want you to think you have to go back to work right away. I want you to have the option to spend time with her, because quite frankly I want to spend time with her too, since I missed out on the first six years with Chantelle. There’s just so much going on in my head, Emily. Like, can I be a good dad? What about Chantelle? Will she feel left out?”
Emily listened patiently, just as her father had done with her. It turned out that Daniel shared many of the same anxieties as she did.
“Do you feel better for having gotten that all off your chest?” Emily asked him when he was finished.
“Yeah, actually.” He turned and took her hands. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a jerk. I just didn’t know how to deal with everything.”
“Communication,” Emily said. “For both of us.”
Daniel nodded in agreement. “I promise I’ll talk about my feelings more from now on, okay?”
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Emily frowned. It was very late and the staff wouldn’t usually disturb her in the night. She got up and unlocked the door. Chantelle was standing there.
“Are you okay, honey?” Emily asked. “Can’t you sleep?”
Chantelle rubbed her eyes. Emily let her into the master bedroom and she got up onto the bed, snuggling beside her father. Emily climbed in the other side.
“Daddy was just telling me about how he’s a bit scared about when the baby comes,” Emily told her.
Chantelle looked surprised. “Daddy doesn’t get scared,” she said.
“I do sometimes,” Daniel told her. “About things that really matter. Like how you’re feeling about having a sister.”
Chantelle looked down, as though ashamed. “I don’t want you to love her more than me,” she said.
Emily and Daniel both hugged Chantelle tightly.
“We’ll love you both the same,” Emily said. “Just like how I love Daddy the same as I love you. And how I love Papa Roy just as much.”
“So there won’t be less love to share?” Chantelle asked.
Daniel answered this time. “Nope. There’ll be more. The more people you love in life the more love you feel. It’s the only thing in math that makes no sense.”
Chantelle giggled. She was a math whiz so the analogy sat well with her. “So love is multiplied,” she said. “Not subtracted.”
“Exactly,” Emily agreed.
Chantelle seemed very satisfied with the explanation. They snuggled together in bed. Emily was relieved they’d all finally had the chance to hash out their feelings. She could tell by the way both Chantelle and Daniel fell asleep so quickly that their minds were also unburdened and at ease.
For the first time in a long time, Emily felt as if the tide was turning for the better.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Emily felt significantly better the next morning, waking beside Chantelle and Daniel. They went down to breakfast happy and smiling.
Emily went to collect the mail and returned with a thank-you letter from the bride whose wedding had been saved by Roman’s guest appearance and the last-minute catering skills of her friends. She folded it back up, satisfied.
They cooked a hearty breakfast and had just sat down to eat when Daniel received a call. He looked up at Emily as his phone continued ringing.
“This is work. Okay if I take it?” he asked.
Emily nodded in agreement and Daniel excused himself to take the call. When he came back, he was grinning.
“I’ve hired new contractors to replace the firm who didn’t show up,” he said. “They were just confirming to accept the job. Hopefully everything will get back on track at Trevor’s now, and I’ll be able to get back to doing up the spa.”
“Yay!” Chantelle cried, punching the air.
Things seemed to be looking up, at last, Emily thought.
Just then, Chantelle’s eyes widened with surprise. “I’ve worked out the clue!”
Emily looked at her curiously. “What clue?”
“From Charlotte’s time capsule,” Chantelle said. “I thought she meant it was somewhere on the beach or on an island nearby, but maybe she meant that it was buried in the outhouse, in the old swimming pool.”
Emily considered what Chantelle was saying. The renovation work had taken place during their childhoods, so it was conceivable that Charlotte would have been able to hide the second time capsule in the cement before it dried over.
“I think you might be right!” Emily exclaimed.
They all stood and hurried to the outhouse. Much of the cement flooring had already been dug up, though Daniel had had to abandon work there to take over at Trevor’s. His tools still lay strewn around the place.
“If she said you’d have to swim, then it will be this end, right?” Chantelle said, pointing to the furthest part from the door.
Daniel grabbed his pickaxe and hard hat then hurried over and started cleaving out the ground. The cement came out in chunks, in big slabs.
“Let me have a turn!” Emily said.
It looked very therapeutic. Digging up the old, the bad memories, ready to replace them with something new entirely.
“Are you sure, pregnant lady?” Daniel asked.
Emily nodded. Daniel transferred the hard hat from his own head to Emily’s. Then she took the pickaxe in her hands and brought it down hard against the floor. She felt a satisfying crack as the ground disintegrated in the spot she’d hit.
“Oh, that felt good.” She grinned.
“Can I do it?” Chantelle asked, excited.
Daniel put the hard hat on her next and Emily handed her the pickaxe. Chantelle wobbled a little under the weight of it, but managed to beat it down on the cement and cause a shard to separate from the main part.
“Look!” Emily cried, seeing that Chantelle’s blast had exposed a foreign object in the cement.
“A tin.” Chantelle beamed.
Daniel took over with the final work, releasing the tin finally. He handed it to Emily.
This time as she took it in her hands, she didn’t feel surprised or shocked or grief-stricken. She felt happy, as though Charlotte had somehow known to bury her time capsules so that Emily could one day find them and draw comfort from them.
They took the time capsule onto the porch and opened it up. The first thing Emily saw lying on the top was a toy telescope, one they’d played with as children. Then she fished out a necklace that had all the trademark signs of having been made by Roy. She handed it to Chantelle.
“What do you think—a Papa Roy original?”
Chantelle clutched it in her hand. “Oh yes, definitely. Can I wear it?”
“Of course,” Emily said.
She helped affix it around the child’s neck as Chantelle continued rummaging in the tin.
“Look, Mommy,” she said, holding up a small pink, woolen hat. It wasn’t a child’s hat, nor a doll’s. It was a hat for a newborn baby.
A jolt struck Emily’s heart. It was as if Charlotte had known that one day she would be having a baby girl in the winter. The thought of putting this little woolen hat on newborn Baby Charlotte’s head filled her to the brim with emotion.
They spent the afternoon looking through all the wonderful things inside the box. Of course, Charlotte hadn’t stopped at two. There was another clue for another time capsule. Emily smiled to herself, treasuring it, looking forward to the time when it too could be unearthed. What other premonitions had Charlotte made about Emily’s future and life? What other signs had she left for her sister to find all these years later? The thought no longer spooked her, but comforted her.
Because Emily was absolutely certain that Charlotte was with her, smiling at her, encouraging her to live her life to the fullest.
And she just couldn’t wait for the next sign.
*
The time came for Emily to collect her blood test results from Doctor Arkwright. She and Daniel discussed him attending, but decided in the end that it would be better for him to continue working on the spa. Emily was glad they were able to have an actual conversation about it and come to an agreement. It was what she’d wanted all along.
Doctor Arkwright welcomed Emily into her office.
“It’s all good news,” she said. “The tests are fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Emily let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m glad you came alone, actually,” Doctor Arkwright said. “I noticed you and your husband were in a tense place last time. I wanted to find out how your stress levels have been.”
Emily smiled. “There was a rocky patch but we’ve worked through it now.”
“I’m glad to hear that. And your job? You said it was very busy at the moment.”
“I’m going to hire some more staff,” Emily said. She’d decided it was worth the extra expense if it meant more time to relax and take care of herself. Lois, too, needed some more help around the place. She’d been working like a trouper; it was only fair.
“Wonderful news. Well, in that case, I won’t need to see you again for four weeks.” She checked her schedule. “Ah, that falls on Labor Day weekend, so we’ll meet up a little after that.” She booked something in and handed Emily the appointment slip. “Do you have anything fun planned for the long weekend?” she asked.
“I do,” Emily said. “My friend is playing a concert in Portland. He’s a local musician and is launching his new album that weekend.”
The doctor raised her eyebrows. “That sounds exciting indeed.” Then a flicker crossed her eyes. They widened. “This is probably a silly stab in the dark, but it’s not Roman Westbrook by any chance, is it? I read he moved to Maine recently and his album is being released on Labor Day.”
Emily laughed. “Yes, it is.”
The usually composed and professional Doctor Arkwright looked completely stunned, like she’d seen a ghost. “I’m a huge fan,” she spluttered.
It amused Emily to see her turn into a giggling fangirl. To think she’d ever found Doctor Arkwright imposing!
“I’ll see if I can get a copy of his album for you,” Emily said. “For our next appointment. I’m sure he won’t mind signing it.”
“Thank you!” Doctor Arkwright exclaimed.
Emily left the office and returned home. When she got there, Daniel was already sitting on the porch reading a book with Chantelle. They’d made a picnic and laid it out on the table.
“What’s all this?” Emily asked, smiling as she drew closer.
“The new contractors are amazing,” Daniel explained. “They’re a new, local company, run by a couple of fresh college graduates. They’re so efficient I didn’t need to supervise them at all today, so the work I wanted to get done in the spa today is done. I thought we could spend a relaxing evening together.”
Emily was so touched. Daniel had really taken their conversation to heart and she could tell he was going out of his way to make it up to her. Chantelle, too, seemed to have returned to her usual sweet self.
Emily came and sat with them. She noticed as she did that all the foods were completely plain. Plain rice. Plain bread. Plain chips. Plain fries. And of course, a large jug of water, non-sparkling, and not a drop of juice in sight. She laughed, delighted.
“This is so sweet!”
“That’s Chantelle’s special non-alcoholic cocktail recipe,” Daniel said, pouring her a glass of water, which he topped with a mini umbrella.
“It’s two parts water with an equal amount of water, but a splash of water at the end,” Chantelle said. “Stirred, of course. Not shaken.”
Emily dissolved into giggles.
Daniel dished her out a portion of the blandest foods and she began devouring it happily.
“So how were the test results?” Daniel asked.
“It’s all good,” she said. “Doctor Arkwright was really happy. My blood pressure is fine now as well.”
“That’s great news,” Daniel said.
“Are you ready for dessert?” Chantelle asked.
Emily hadn’t been able to tolerate anything sugary so couldn’t begin to imagine what could substitute as a bland dessert.
“Sure…” she said curiously.
Chantelle grinned and ran inside. When she came back, she was carrying a plate. On it was a single rice cake, which she’d cut in quarters.
“Cake!” she exclaimed, giggling.
Emily took her piece, thoroughly amused and touched by the whole evening. Then she kicked back and smiled, breathing in the ocean air. The end of summer was already in sight, and she could hardly believe it.
But she felt, overwhelmingly, that everything was going to be OK after all.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
4 WEEKS LATER
Emily dove into a breakfast of eggs, toast, and bacon, with ketchup on the side and garlic fried mushrooms. Her morning sickness had finally passed, and she was making up for lost time by eating everything Baby Charlotte demanded.
Her bump was visible now, an
d she’d had to invest in a maternity wardrobe. She’d stocked up on floral maxi dresses for the last days of summer, and warmer cotton ones for when fall arrived.
“I’m so excited for Roman’s concert tonight,” Chantelle said.
“Me too,” Emily replied. “A limo journey to Portland sounds like just the kind of relaxing way to spend my time that Doctor Arkwright ordered.”
“First,” Daniel said, “we’ve got the beach celebrations for Labor Day. We’re meeting Amy and Harry down there.”
“Yay!” Chantelle exclaimed. “Will it be just as fun as the Fourth of July was?”
“I’m sure it will,” Emily told her.
They finished eating and headed down to the beach, strolling very slowly as Emily now did.
Amy and Harry were already there, along with lots of other Sunset Harbor residents. Chantelle ran off with her friends to play in the water. Daniel and Emily sat down opposite the happy couple on one of the picnic benches.
“So what is your plan?” Emily asked Amy. “Now that summer is over? Are you going back to New York City?”
Amy looked at Harry. “We thought maybe I could stay a little longer.”
Emily was surprised to hear it.
“I mean, it worked out so well for you,” Amy added, and she eyed Emily’s wedding ring subtly as she spoke.
Emily knew exactly what Amy was trying to tell her. Harry was the One. Her summer in Sunset Harbor had confirmed it. She wanted the ring.
A spark of excitement set Emily alight. Could Amy really be considering settling down? She stood suddenly. Daniel looked up at her and frowned.
“You okay?”
“Yes,” Emily said hurriedly. “I just remembered that I wanted to show Amy something. On the beach.” She searched her mind for an excuse. “A washed up jellyfish.”
Daniel looked perturbed. Amy was practically wincing from how obvious Emily’s lie was. Even Harry seemed to have worked out that Emily was just trying to get her friend away from the men for a romance conversation. He smiled faintly and shook his head.