Page 4 of The Hampton Beach Café 3
Lucinda trailed off as she caught the look on her friend's face. Frances didn't mean to glance at the phone...but she couldn't help it.
"I'm really ok, look, I'll call my mom while I tidy––that lady will not hang up for a minimum of forty-five minutes. She can keep me company until our favorite artist graces us with his presence."
Frances nodded. "That sounds good. Sorry, I just...you know."
Alex didn't know, and Lucinda had made it clear she didn't want him––or Vincent––to know what she'd told Frances the week before. He smiled and waved bye to Lucinda as they exited the café and headed towards the beach. The warm evening air was starting to cool off with the sea breeze.
Her phone buzzed, the café email inbox showed a new message and she tapped it to see what it was.
"You're that worried about the intruder?"
"What?" Frances asked, confused. "No...it's not that."
The email was taking ages to load but the subject line was weird and Frances felt her stomach drop.
Don’t be so sure you’re right that you end up broken
She read and re-read the subject line trying to figure out what it could possibly be talking about.
"So...?"
“Uh…it’s kind of complicated,” she said, staring at the screen and willing it to load.
You’re smarter than thinking you’re the first, it read,and you’re not going to be the last.
The text under the single line was blue and underlined––a hyperlink.
Damn, phishing emails were getting worse every day.
Her heart lifted and she felt like she could breathe again. She flicked the email away to spam and turned her attention to Alex’s question.
They walked silently for a few moments as Frances carefully thought about what she would say next. She took a deep breath in and savored the smell of the ocean that was rolling in by the time they had crossed the main road to walk along the footpath that led along the beach. July was ramping up and they already had to dodge tourists as they rollerbladed, skateboarded, jogged, and power-walked along the way.
"Look, I won't break confidence…" she said, "…but Lucinda is struggling with something and I don't love leaving her on her own."
"Okay..." Alex said, trying to leave room for Frances to fill him in.
"I'm not really comfortable saying more. It's not my story to tell."
Plus, she didn't really know what the whole story was. Lucinda had admitted to her that she'd struggled with a gambling addiction––poker mostly––but hadn't really given her any details. Just that she was in recovery but lately, it had been harder to stay away from the game. The number of times she could recall Lucinda leaving her phone behind in the car, at the house, and even in Frances' handbag once had all made sense when she explained that she mostly played online...Which did not make Frances feel better about leaving her there alone with her phone.
"Well, that's fair. I won't push," Alex said. "If she wants to tell me, she will."
"Don't ask her about it!" Frances said quickly. "She'd kill me!"
"Hardly. She adores you," Alex said. "I wish I had friends like that."
Frances stopped in her tracks, earning a startled yelp of disapproval from the roller skater behind her.
"You do have friends like that," she said, her voice betraying her feelings.
Why was she feeling them so strongly right now? She and Alex weren't really close anymore...it had been years since high school and she'd only been back two months.
He flashed her a half smile. "You adore me, do you?"
"Of course! How could anyone not adore you? Come on, I'm hungry."
She was talking too quickly, and she could feel her face burning. Why did she always have to open her big mouth and be so awkward. Alex was laughing at her. He always knew how to poke and prod at her.
