let her go. I?m floating, she had whispered to him.
You?re floating, Tristan had replied, gazing down at her.
Floating… Floating. . Guy was standing over her now and Ivy read it off his lips. She felt Guy touch the tips of her hair that had spread out in the water behind her.
He leaned over her, the sun behind his head making a halo of gold, his face lit by the reflections off the water. His arms surrounded her and lifted her up. It felt as if her body was awakening from a long sleep.
?Ivy.? His mouth formed her name against her throat, then he sought her mouth and kissed her with unbearable sweetness.
The kiss was Tristan?s. Ivy knew it, even if Guy did not. She longed to hold and be held by him. She reveled in the way he brushed her wet hair from her face.
When he kissed her ears and the tip of her nose, she laughed at his playfulness, sure that she felt Tristan?s joy in Guy?s touch.
Ever loyal and always thoughtful Will — was he proving it to her? Ivy chided herself for that thought. He had been through so much with her; he, too, needed this closure.
Maggie and Andrew waited till late afternoon to call, knowing that Ivy would be working most of the day. Now, with all but two couples checked out of the inn, she had the long front porch to herself and sat alone, gazing at the blue horizon, talking to them on the phone. About ten minutes later, Philip called her from his tree house.
?Lacey visited me this morning,? he said. ?She did??
?In church.? Philip giggled. ?She started tickling me.?
?That sounds like Lacey.? ?It was in the middle of Reverend Heap?s sermon.?
?That really sounds like Lacey.?
?He gave me a look,” Philip went on, ?then one of the old ladies who takes care of the flowers started pointing at me and saying ?an angel, an an?gel!??
Ivy laughed. ?She could see Lacey?s shimmer.?
?Then she?s a believer,? Ivy said. ?But other people, like Reverend Heap, could only see me. Mom turned really red.?
?How about Andrew — Dad?? Ivy added, shifting to the name that Philip used.
?He thought it was pretty funny. Anyway, Lacey said she was just checking in because we both missed Tristan. I still miss Tristan.? Ivy got a lump in her throat.
?Mom, Dad, and I looked at pictures of him when we got home.?
?Good idea,? Ivy said, wiping away a tear. ?I think I?ll do the same.” After Philip signed off, Ivy stared at her cell phone for a long time, debating whether to call Guy. Today of all days, she wanted to hear his voice.
On the wicker table next to Ivy sat a jug filled with bright pink roses, freshly cut from Aunt Cindy?s garden. The scent of them carried Ivy back to the last night she and Tristan had together. He had brought her a bouquet of lavender roses.
To Ivy, their unusual color symbolized a once?in?a?lifetime love. And they reminded her of water— water at dawn, water at sunset, the water that gave earthbound Tristan his wings. Tristan, are you with me?
It was crazy, she told herself, believing Tristan had come back to her. It was unfair to Guy, seeing someone else in him. And yet, the feeling was so strong.
Tristan, are you there? The phone rang. Ivy listened to the ringtone for a full minute before answering. ?Hi.?
?Hey, it?s me,? Guy said. ?I was afraid you weren?t going to pick up.?
?I was. . thinking about things,? she said. ?What’re you doing??
?Hacking at tree stumps. And you? Besides all that thinking, I mean.”
?When the weekenders leave we have a lot of cleanup. I did that and went to church, and talked to my family.?
?What?s wrong??
?What do you mean??
?Your voice,” Guy said. ?There?s something wrong.? Ivy fought back her tears.
?Ivy? Ivy; are you there?? he asked, in response to her long silence. ?Hold on.?
She dug into her pockets for tissue. ?Are you okay? Ivy, talk to me!?
?I?m okay.? She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. ?All right. You don?t have to say anything,? he told her. ?Just don?t hang up on me.?
?I won?t.? Finally regaining her composure. Ivy said, ?I?m here.?
?What?s going on?? Guy asked. ?Today… today is June twenty?fifth.?
?Which is a special day,? he replied. Did he know that or was he just guessing?
?Yes, Tristan?s anniversary,? Ivy said aloud. ?He died one year ago today.”
Guy didn?t respond right away. ?I’m sorry. What can I do to help? Do you want me to come over? Do you want to come here? Would you rather be alone??
?Will, Beth, and I are going to have a bonfire at Race Point. Tristan was a terrific swimmer, a racer.?
?Then I think he would be happy to be remembered that way.?
?Would you come?? she asked suddenly. ?Please?? Guy hesitated. ?Um… Sure,? he said. ?I’ll meet you there. What time?? ?Around eight.? After their conversation, Ivy went for a long walk.
A little after six, she returned to the cottage to change into jeans and found Dhanya sitting on the swing. ?How?s it going?? Dhanya asked. ?Okay. Thanks.?
?Will told Kelsey and me about the bonfire. He invited us.? Ivy was taken aback.
?It’s not a party.? ?It’s a wake,? Kelsey said, emerging from the cottage carrying a long slice of pizza that flopped over the edge of her paper plate. ?And wakes are parties for the dead, the best way to honor the dearly departed.?
?His name is Tristan,? Ivy replied, and headed inside. She was angry. Why would Will think she?d like to have Dhanya and Kelsey along? But then, she had invited Guy, and Will would be just as unhappy about her invitation. Be fair, she told herself.
A half hour later, after Will piled firewood, shovels, and a cooler in the trunk of his car. Ivy climbed in the backseat and Beth in the front. Kelsey and Dhanya followed Will in Kelsey’ s Jeep.
During the thirty?mile trip. Ivy kept waiting for the right moment to tell them that Guy was coming, but couldn?t find an opening. Both Beth and Will were quiet.
It occurred to Ivy that Will had invited the other girls as a buffer, to keep things from getting too intense. When the two cars arrived at the parking lot, Kelsey offered to drag the wheeled cooler across the dunes. Will carried the logs and Ivy the kindling. Beth picked up the beach towels and an armful of purple salvia that she had cut from Aunt Cindy?s garden. Ivy entrusted Dhanya with the photo album she had brought.
Large dunes separated the lot from the beach and they walked in slow procession along the main path between the dunes. Ivy liked the effort of walking in the deep sand; the ocean breeze was cool, but the sand felt warm beneath her feet.
Ivy and Will dug the fire pit. Beth sat on a beach blanket holding the album that Dhanya had set down. Kelsey immediately plundered the ice chest, only to discover that no alcohol had been packed.
She and Dhanya played in the shallow foam of the ocean, laughing and splashing each other. When the pit was dug. Will placed the logs and arranged the kindling. Ivy gazed out at the indigo water. Race Point Beach lay along the northern edge of the National Seashore, where the Cape?s long finger curled back toward the mainland. The bend in the beach, like the bend in the horizon, made Ivy feel as if she was standing on a ledge between two worlds. The world she had always known was glowing in the west, gold and rose?colored.
