Page 62 of Harbor Lights

“I doubt that.” But Con felt she’d missed out on the community event. Joey and Tierney, and their families, made her feel more included than she ever had in her village on the mainland. She’d always be on the periphery there. But it gave her a warm feeling to know she was part of this little group of friends.

“How was Cambridge?”

“Same old, same old. Majella was pleased to see me. But Audrey’s hard work.” She clasped her hands in her lap. “I’ve told Majella I’m not going over there for every vacation anymore.”

She looked up to see Joey’s reaction.

Their face broke into the widest smile. “Oh, well done.” The smile faded a little. “How did Majella take it?”

“Not amazingly. But it’s her life. She needs to live it. And I need to live mine.”

“So, what finally made you act?” Joey’s eyes widened. “Is it Shiv?”

“Maybe a little.” She had to be honest, with herself as well as Joey, if she was going to navigate her way through these uncharted waters. “A lot. But I should’ve done it years ago, regardless.”

“Well, whatever the reason, I’m pleased for you.” Joey clinked their mug against hers. “We can start planning your next vacay.”

She chuckled. “Let’s just get through to the new year first. What are your plans?”

“Sorting oysters tomorrow morning. Kasia’s got a load of bookings for new year, so I need to deliver as much as I can. Ferry’s running tomorrow. Get yourself over, and we can gather at the Waterside. I’ll invite Shiv.” They winked.

Con rubbed her forehead. “I’ll speak to her. But first I need to decide what I want to say to her.”

Long after Joey had headed back, Con sat nursing her cold mug of tea. What she wanted wasn’t in question. She wanted it all; a future with Shiv, where she was certain Shiv would never cut and run once she found Con too old and stuck in her ways. But life didn’t work like that. So, what could she realistically hope for? And would that be enough?

TWENTY

Shiv staredout over the choppy sea. The winds weren’t strong by island standards, but there was enough of a breeze to set the white horses rolling out in the open water.

It was a milder southerly wind, common at this time of year, Joey had told her. It blew across the island from behind her, and over the cliffs, out into the wide blue yonder. It didn’t have the usual bite of the westerlies, so she was enjoying her perch on a rock, watching the waves.

She hoped the fresh air would shake off the weight on her shoulders from the call she’d just had with her old friend, Bernie. She’d missed another planning meeting for revealing the leader of the Iron Sons as the brother of an elected politician.

“Does anyone really care, anymore, Bernie?” She’d let her frustration that their work achieved less than they hoped spill over, and Bernie had let loose, telling her exactly what her friends thought of her.

“Even the Iron Sons think you’ve given up. Our source said there was talk you might’ve died. What’s happened to you, Shiv?”

She’d rubbed her head and decided to be honest. “I think I’m just tired of it all, Bernie. No one can accuse me of not giving it everything for a lot of years. Perhaps I just need a break, and a chance to live my own life for once.”

They’d ended the call with Shiv agreeing to remove herself from their online groups and forums. She knew she’d find all the passwords changed and she’d be locked out almost before the call ended. Her friends couldn’t afford to take chances with anyone who wasn’t fully committed.

While she was relieved it was finally all over, she also felt a sense of grieving her old life and it took the shine off the excitement she’d felt since she got the text from Con last night saying she was coming home early. Now she wondered at the change of plan. Had Con’s visit been so unbearable she had to leave? She hoped she hadn’t had an unhappy Christmas.

She didn’t understand Con’s sense of duty that made her spend time somewhere she didn’t want to be, but why would she? She’d never had to be dutiful to anyone. She was just an itinerant troublemaker who went where her own priorities took her. And eventually she let everyone down.

She shook her head. Better to focus on the here and now, and getting to see Con later today.

She returned her attention to the sea, allowing the negativity to blow away on the wind. A noise distracted her. A fragment of sound, like a shout. She looked around. The kids were off school, and it was a dry day, so there was a chance the sound of playing was blowing up the island from the playground, but the park was over a mile away. She heard it again. It was coming from her left. She stood and peered toward the cliff on the other side of her tiny bay, but no one was in sight.

She put it down to her imagination and sat back down on the rock.

A clearer shout made her jump up again. A tiny, black hulled rowing boat appeared around the cliffs. It was the type some of the fishers used for checking pots inshore. But who would be out today in the open sea north of the island? No one kept pots out there in the winter; it was too exposed.

Frustrated with the limits of her vision, she ran back to the cabin and grabbed the binoculars hanging by the door. She paused to locate her cellphone and shoved it in a pocket. She ran as close to the cliff edge as she dared. Locating the boat again, she focused the viewfinder. Three young people were in the boat. One of them was wrestling with an oar. The other oar clip stood empty. Had they lost it?

The figure in the front of the boat wearing a red jacket turned in her direction. She could make out the face of a boy in his early teens. He must’ve seen her, too, standing on the cliff top, because he stood in the rocking boat and started to flail his arms.

“No, no, no!” She waved her own arm in a sitting down motion, but it was too late. His frantic movements dangerously rocked the boat. The other two figures grabbed the gunwales to steady themselves, but the standing boy lost his footing and launched over the side with a scream Shiv could plainly hear.

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