“Everybody back in the car.”
Mason groaned.
Ava asked why.
Vanessa said, “Because plans changed.”
I nearly corrected her.
The plans had never been approved.
But I let that one go for the children.
Her mother carried one of the smaller bags back toward the vehicle.
Vanessa stayed on the porch another moment.
“This is going to change things,” she said.
“Yes,” I replied.
I think she expected me to sound afraid.
I wasn’t.
Maybe that was when she finally understood that something really had changed.
She walked away.
I stood on the porch until the last suitcase went back into the car.
Before getting into the passenger seat, her mother looked toward me.
She did not wave, but she gave me a small nod.
I never learned whether it meant agreement, resignation, or merely goodbye.
The car backed out of the shell driveway and disappeared toward the road.
When I went inside, Lily was standing in the kitchen.
She had made tea.
Two mugs waited on the counter.
For several seconds neither of us spoke.
Then Lily said, “You actually did it.”
“I said no.”
“I know.”
She smiled faintly.
“That’s what I mean.”
My hands began shaking then.
Not while Vanessa was yelling.
Not while Ethan was on the phone.
Afterward.
I sat at the little kitchen table where David used to spread tide charts and hardware receipts, and I wrapped both hands around the warm mug.
Lily sat across from me.
“I feel terrible about the kids,” I admitted.
“They’ll be okay.”
“I know.”
“You didn’t strand them.”
“I know.”
“You told her before they left.”
“I know.”
Lily let me repeat it until I believed it.
Later that evening Ethan called again.
He apologized.
Not for Vanessa.
For himself.
“I should’ve dealt with it when she showed me the text,” he said.
“I knew you meant no.
I just figured if I stayed out of it, you two would work something out.”
“That usually means someone else does the uncomfortable part for you.”
“I know.”
It was the first time I had ever said that to my son.
It was also the first time he did not defend himself.
He told me Vanessa and the others had found accommodations inland.
It was more expensive and less convenient than she wanted.
