Page 31 of Strictly Friends
The heat in her face coursed throughout her body, and she deeply regretted having opened the door to this line of conversation.She clenched her jaw as she fought the overwhelming temptation to get up and run away. She had agreed to pose for Mac, not to share her life story or subject herself to his amateur psychology.
But Mac wasn’t finished. ‘I’ve told you why I’m here. Tell me what brought you to Sorrel Island.’
Ruby took a deep breath to restore her equilibrium. It was obvious Mac wasn’t going to stop probing, and given that she was stuck with him for the next few days, she might as well get this over with. Keeping it brief, she explained the reasons for their trip while Mac listened without interruption, occasionally moving his chair to capture a different angle. It was easier confiding to this near-stranger than she’d expected, and she saw no judgement in Mac’s expression.
‘So, Jake’s met up with his father now?’ he asked when she finished.
‘Yep. We even had dinner at his house last night. It seems to be going well so far and Jake is really happy.’
Well, at least one of us is, she mused. Kenny’s attempts the night before to slip back into old times still felt utterly surreal, and after a restless night, she was no closer to reconciling the resentment she still harboured against him with her desire to make her son happy. What was best for Jake was one thing, but what about what was best for her?
‘And how about you, Ruby?’ Mac’s drawl broke into her mental tussle. ‘You got anyone special waiting for you back home?’
She hesitated, and then she shook her head. ‘Nope. Totally single. I seem to scare men – which is perfectly fine by me,’ she added, in case he thought otherwise.
‘Well, I don’t scare easy.’ Mac looked up and his bright blue eyes fixed her with a challenging stare that caused her to blush again. Feeling like a confused deer in the face of brilliant headlights, Ruby was desperate to change the subject.
‘What about you, then, Mac? What’syourstory?’
‘Me? I’m just an ageing New Yorker trying to keep body and soul together,’ he drawled. ‘I’ve been drawing and painting since I was about Jake’s age. I quit school as soon as I could and then spent a bunch of years working odd jobs until I could make my art pay. Sometimes, I’d sit on the sidewalk and draw quick sketches of people for a few bucks. One day I got lucky and sketched a rich Wall Street guy who asked if I did formal portraits and, of course, I said yes. He paid upfront so I could buy the materials and, lucky for me, he loved the portrait and showed it off to his friends. Those guys all live to outdo each other so next thing I know, a bunch of rich guys are beating down my door wanting to book me to paint them. I guess things took off from there.’
‘What does your family think about what you do?’ Ruby asked curiously.
Mac shrugged. ‘My mom took off when I was ten and my old man spent too much time looking down a whisky bottle to tell me what he thought about anything. I spent most of my teens being moved around the city’s juvenile care system.’
Ruby couldn’t help her exclamation of dismay at what sounded like a horrific childhood, but Mac seemed unperturbed. ‘It could have been worse. I was always tall for my age and pretty scrappy, so I could take care of myself. That’s not true for a lot of kids. See that house way over there?’
He pointed towards a tall building in the distance almost completely shrouded by trees and with only a portion of the roof visible. Puzzled, Ruby followed his gaze and nodded.
‘It’s called Ocean House. It’s Sorrel Island’s orphanage – or at least, one of ’em.’
Ruby looked stunned, and Mac nodded. ‘I know, right? This place looks like paradise on steroids, but there’s an ugly side to everything.’
‘But – but I thought communities out here took care of their own.’
Mac returned his attention to his sketch pad. ‘One downside of this place is there aren’t enough businesses on the island to provide the jobs needed, and Sorrel Island doesn’t yet have a tourist industry big enough to support its population. So, islanders – especially the young ones – often go away to find work and leave their kids with their extended family while they head for the bigger islands or even further afield. If the relatives here can’t cope or they die, the authorities put the kids into places like Ocean House. Sadly, some youngsters go through a hell of a lot before they ever get to an Ocean House.’
Jake suddenly reappeared, crashing noisily through a nearby bush into the tree-shaded clearing, and Mac beckoned him over.
‘Hey, kiddo, I’ve done enough sketches of your mom for today. Are you ready for your first lesson with me?’
Jake didn’t need to be asked twice, and he raced over to Mac’s side while Ruby stretched her arms above her head to loosen the tightness in her shoulders.
Mac’s easy, direct manner and MissIda’s reassurance had erased any qualms Ruby had about letting Jake spend time with the artist. Ten minutes later, with her son absorbed in practising pencil strokes under the direction of his new tutor, Ruby grabbed her straw hat and left them to it. Taking a long, leisurely stroll inland over the grassy dunes to stretch her cramped muscles, she thought about the grim side to life on Sorrel Island that Mac had described. She could see Ocean House clearly through the trees and felt a pang of sadness for the abandoned children living within its walls. Was anything – or anyone – ever really as it appeared? she wondered. Even this beautiful paradise hid a darker underbelly. Shaking off her bleak thoughts, she checked her watch and retraced her footsteps to fetch Jake before heading back to wait for Kenny.
22
By the end of their first week, life on Sorrel Island had settled into a pleasant routine for both Ruby and Jake. Weekday mornings were largely devoted to Jake’s schoolwork, and now knowing he had plenty to look forward to later, his concentration had improved by leaps and bounds. Lessons were followed by phone calls to Griffin and Auntie Pearl, as well as the occasional check-in with Fi, before heading down to the beach to meet Mac.
Kenny was becoming a regular visitor and had taken to stopping by unannounced, driving them sightseeing around the island, often followed by a meal at one of many family-owned restaurants. The cuisine – almost uniformly local dishes featuring large portions of spiced grilled fish, lobster, and seafood as well as rice, beans, and plantains – was unfailingly delicious.
The rest of the time was spent swimming and lounging on the beach, where, to Ruby’s delight, Jake had befriended the family on holiday at Paradise Inn. While her son played sandcastles and splashed in the shallows with young Miles and baby Carrie under the watchful eye of their parents, Derek and Michelle, Ruby would work on content for MissIda’s website on her laptop, while taking scenic shots of the beach and its surroundings to send to Nick.
But, for Ruby, there was still one very large elephant in the room, and that was Kenny. With Jake ever present, there had beenno opportunity to continue the conversation she and Kenny had started in his office, and the emotional see-saw she experienced after each outing with her ex-partner left her feeling drained. Although overjoyed to see her son so happy, the pain of the past continued to bubble up to the surface and the effort required to keep her personal feelings in check when she was around Kenny was increasingly challenging. There was no denying his efforts to forge a relationship with Jake, but while Jake had wholeheartedly embraced his newly rediscovered father, Ruby’s continuing distrust of Kenny left her constantly on edge. She was still unconvinced by his explanation for abandoning them and remained fearful that he could let them down again. Sharing her misgivings with Griffin was impossible as any meaningful conversation was stymied either by Jake’s presence or the patchy phone connections.
Without Griffin to talk to, and having committed to spend time with Mac, Ruby was finding the artist a sympathetic outlet for her conflicted emotions. Mac’s shrewd intellect and straight talk, combined with a surprising degree of sensitivity and insight, made it surprisingly easy for Ruby to confide in him.
After several days and two pads filled with sketches, Mac had finally decided on the pose he wanted Ruby to adopt for the portrait and pronounced himself ready to start work on the canvas. As it was Sunday and Jake was spared lessons, Mac had persuaded an aggrieved Ruby to leave Jake in the care of Derek and his family and join him at the clearing for an early sitting.
