Page 75 of The Summer Request
The door popped open and Arthur appeared, as if tumbling out of her thoughts.
“Don’t mind me,” he said, pretending to shield his eyes. “Just dropping off these mushroom and garlic aioli tarts, in case anyone wanted them hot out of the oven.”
“Thanks, Art,” Michelle said. He winked at her before disappearing.
“So.” Lisa crossed her arms. “Arthur’s still around?”
Michelle stared down at her plate. “He is. We’ve started seeing each other and – ”
She was cut off by Val and Lisa’s squeals.
Oh well. She looked up and laughed at them. There was no use fighting it.
They gabbed on for hours and Michelle had to interrupt to talk about the tip she’d gotten earlier in the day. “A pod of resident orcas was spotted heading north from Puget Sound a few hours ago. They might be making their appearance here soon.”
“Have they been back to the island yet this summer?” Lisa asked.
“No,” Michelle shook her head. “Not yet. It may be a false alarm.”
Val clapped her hands together. “Or maybe not! Let’s get going. We can’t miss their return!”
They got into Michelle’s car and there wasn’t a moment of silence until they pulled into the Lime Kiln State Park parking lot. Michelle was surprised to see it wasn’t terribly busy, and there was a quiet peace amongst the trees.
They walked down the winding path into the park, past the grand Madrona trees, before spilling onto the rocky trail overlooking the ocean.
Michelle loved this view. It felt like the world opened up, the sea endless and vast.
They continued walking up the trail, excitement bubbling between them, until they got to the lighthouse and settled into a picnic table.
A group of twenty-something young women walked by, waving a hello. They waved back.
“Look, Val,” Lisa said once they’d passed. “Your future students.”
“Ha, I know. Impressionable young minds, huh?”
Speaking of impressionable young minds…
Michelle turned to her. “Are you still talking to Chloe?”
“I am.” Val paused. “She’s found some interesting information about Lou.”
“Oh?” Michelle didn’t want to encourage her, but on the other hand, she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t at all interested.
Val pulled her hat off and fluffed her hair. “I’m not going to drag you into it this time, but it seems Lou has some financial crimes to answer for.”
“Financial?” Michelle paused. “How many homes will you need to break into to prove this?”
“None,” Val said with a laugh. “I can tell you about it later. Where are Justine’s ashes? I don’t want it to get too dark.”
Michelle dropped the subject and pulled the urn from her bag. The three of them found a spot on the rocks, overlooking the water, and took a small handful of ashes.
“Love you, girl,” Michelle said, throwing her handful into the sea.
“Always,” Lisa added.
Val’s handful was rapidly disappearing from her fingers. “And forever.”
They were standing there, admiring how the sunlight danced on the water, when the first fin appeared on the horizon.
