Page 2 of Harbor Lights

Putting the brakes on her morose train of thought, Con scoured the parking lot on the quay. There was no sign of Joey’s white refrigerated van, with its instantly recognizable lobster logo emblazoned along the side. She hoped they wouldn’t be long. She wanted to offload about the wedding so she could put it behind her.

She reached the bottom of the hill and stopped to catch her breath. If walking downhill had this effect on her, she was in for a treat on the way back up. She really had to do something about her fitness. She was too young to feel this old.

When she reached the door to Tina’s café, the O’Hara’s Lobsters van was pulling up across the street. Warmth filled her at the sight of her dear friend. Joey pulled their long frame from the cab of the van and turned.

“Hey, Doc, how’s it going?” Their smile was as wide as her own. Joey wasn’t one to hide their feelings. They crossed the street and pulled her into a warm hug.

“It’s okay, this is my delivery jacket. It only smells slightly of seafood.”

“I don’t care how you smell; I’m just pleased to see you.” She pressed her face into the fleece of Joey’s coat to hide the tears that whelmed up.

“Hey.” Joey pulled back and held her at arms’ length. “Seriously, are you okay? You’ve only been gone for four days.”

She sniffed and pulled herself together. “I’m fine. It was just a lot, you know?”

Joey led the way into the cafe. “You should stop agreeing to attend every family gathering if it gets you down.”

“I know, I know.”

Joey was right, but it wasn’t as easy as that. “It’s become kind of the done thing. I’m expected to be there.”

“Two teas please, Tina,” Joey said to the woman behind the counter. They turned. “Unless you want coffee?”

“Tea’s fine for me. I don’t need another reason to be wide awake all night.”

Joey led her to a table in the back room, away from the group of fishers chatting among themselves. The friendly greetings and nods Joey received were very different from the muttered “Afternoon, Doc” aimed at her. But she was used to it. She’d had it all her life. From the moment she left to go to boarding school. Probably before, but she’d just been too young to notice how separate her family was from the rest of the community.

“So, how was it?” Joey pulled their chair close, as though recognizing Con wouldn’t be keen for the locals to overhear her worries. To them she was the GP, and the odd woman who lived in the big house. She didn’t need them to know how much of a mess her life was.

She waited for Tina to deliver the tea and a jug of milk. “Thanks, Tina.” She watched her walk away.

“Oh, I don’t know.” She turned back to Joey. “On the surface it was grand. The wedding was in one of the university college chapels and it was all beautiful. Stephen and Maria looked blissfully happy. A lovely family occasion. What have I got to complain about, really?”

Joey’s gaze didn’t waver. They wouldn’t push for her to expand, but she needed to get it out. “But it’s not my family, is it? Catherine’s baby isn’t my grandchild. It wasn’t my stepson getting married.”

“But you and Majella never wanted kids, did you?”

“That’s what we agreed when we were young. But she seems pretty fucking happy with her new family now.”

“Hardly new, Doc. They’ve been together for a decade.” Joey sipped their tea.

“Don’t I know it.” She rubbed her face, trying to think how to explain logically how she was feeling. “But every time I’m there, it just reminds me how much they’ve all moved on. Stephen was a teenager when Majella and Audrey got together. Now he’s married and about to start his own family. Vanessa, the youngest, is finishing college.”

“And you’re still sitting here, grieving your relationship?”

Con shrugged. That was a little close to the truth. “I’m here stuck in the same old routine.”

“Why did you never tell Majella how badly she hurt you? How much you’re still hurting. If you did, maybe she wouldn’t be so quick to push you into every family event.”

Con shook her head slowly. “It’s a little late now. It should’ve been said ten years ago, when she left me with a ring in my pocket, and I said I understood.”

Joey squeezed her arm, then downed the rest of their tea. “I hate to rush off, but I’ve got to get back to pick up Denny from the childminder. Mari’s not back till later in the week.”

“Hey, it’s fine. I know you’ve got a lot to juggle. I appreciate you making time for me.” She stood and gathered their mugs, trying not to show her lack of enthusiasm for returning home alone.

She paid Tina for their drinks then followed Joey outside.

“Is the surgery back open tomorrow?”

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