Page 59 of The Magic of Sea Glass
“What kind of duty?”
“I have no idea. It makes no sense that he’d marry her if he didn’t love her. Except maybe that’s what was expected of him. His parents were very wealthy and tough on him.”
“When did they separate?” she asked.
“They were married for years before she finally left him. Once, when I was a teenager, they were staying at our house while they got some plumbing work done. I was supposed to be asleep, but I could hear them talking downstairs. My grandmother finally asked him point-blank why he never loved her when she’d done everything right. He told her that it wasn’t her. And that he was sorry. But he left that night. He didn’t come around much after that.”
“I’m so sorry that you had to hear their struggles.”
He shrugged and looked out at the black of night, the fizzing of the waves as they hit the shore the only sound between them. “My dad was just the same. My mother told me once that she wished he’d open up to her, but he never would.”
“I wonder, didsheever open up to him about how she felt?” she asked, realizing how much it had helped her to tell Brody about her loss.
His face crumpled in confusion. “Why would she need to open up about anything?”
“If your father didn’t have the best role model, maybe he might benefit from a little coaching?”
“I don’t know if coaching of any kind would help my father.”
“But there could be hope for them. Your mom still loves him, right?”
“Yeah. I have no idea how.”
“He could change.”
“I doubt it.”
“Look at your grandfather. He did finally admit his mistakes at the end of his life—your mother told me. And your grandfather was friends with Joe, right? That shows that deep down he was a good person. He couldn’t have been so bad if Joe liked him. Joe seems so wonderful.”
“I’ve always wondered how they really met, but I never asked Joe. I don’t know how the two of them even struck up a conversation. My grandfather was quiet and introspective, and Joe was always talkative and ready to help someone.”
“Maybe that’s exactly why,” Lauren said. “Your grandfather needed him, and Joe was able to help him,” she said. In a way, she understood his behavior because it had been Brody’s kindness that had started to make her see things differently.
She thought back to her old life, and it already felt like a lifetime since she’d lived it. Brody had definitely helped her. Now, she enjoyed the slower pace and the kindness of the people around her. And, just as Mason had predicted, Lauren wondered if she would ever want to leave…
* * *
Fall, 1960
Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
The map of North Carolina that Phillip had bought at the state line was spread across the passenger seat of his car. He’d been driving all night and was exhausted, but his optimism for finding Penelope had kept him going. He had no idea where she was, but he knew the name of the town, and that he had to find her. He just hoped that she’d hear him out.
His dark green Packard Hawk paralleled the coast. The angry gray sea crashed onto the empty shore beside him, mirroring his emotions. But he pushed his anger at his parents out of the way and focused instead on Penelope’s kindness and charm. He missed her so much.
On the drive, he decided that he was ready to give it all up for her—his inheritance, his university placement, everything. She was worth it. And then he would spend the rest of his life making up for his absence that day in Fairhope.
When he got to the town of Kill Devil Hills, Phillip pulled into the only structure within miles, a small country store, and went inside to see if anyone knew her.
“Excuse me?” he asked the shopkeeper, a grizzly old man whose weathered face looked as if he’d spent all his days out on the ocean. “Do you happen to know where I could find the home of a Miss Penelope Harper?”
The man stared at him for longer than he felt comfortable. “Yes, but do you meanMrs.Penelope Barnes?”
Phillip’s breath hung between his open lips as he processed what the man was implying. Then he snapped his mouth shut, swallowing against his dry mouth and taking a minute to pull himself together. “Yes,” he said, clearing his throat, praying there was some kind of misunderstanding. His hand in his pocket, he gripped the sea glass bracelet.
The man gave him the address, and as Phillip left, the man called out, “Please tell Mr. Barnes we’ll be thinking of them.”
The comment made no sense to Phillip, but he was too busy trying to keep his cool. She’d gotten married. And he’d proposed to Alicia. And now, his impromptu plans were crumbling in front of his eyes. Two minutes ago, he’d been ready to call off his wedding, to change his entire life, and spill all of his innermost thoughts to Penelope, but now, he knew he couldn’t do that.
