But another world of mauve and starlight like the one on the night Tristan had kissed her, hung in the east She felt caught between. When the fire was roaring, Kelsey and Dhanya joined the others around it.
?Are we going to sing songs?? Kelsey asked as everyone sat down. ?We?re sharing memories of Tristan,? Will answered quietly, ?talking about the kind of person he was and the things he did.?
?That?s kind of depressing, isn?t it?? Kelsey said, then her face brightened as she looked toward the dunes ?Oh, hello!? Everyone turned to follow her gaze. Guy was walking toward them.
?I got here as soon as I could,? he said when he was close. ?Who invited you??
Will demanded. ?I did.” Ivy replied. Guy kept his eyes on her. ?I brought you some flowers.?
He held a bouquet wrapped in florist paper behind him, as if uncertain about offering it. Ivy smiled and stood up, holding out her hands. ?Oh!? She looked from the roses to Guy, tears stinging her eyes. ?They?re lavender.?
?I did the wrong thing,? Guy said, quickly pulling them away. Ivy reached for the flowers, her hands catching and holding his.
?No! No, they?re perfect.? She looked into his eyes. ?How did you know thatthat I love lavender roses?? He shrugged. ?They just seemed right for you.?
?They?re beautiful. Thank you,? Ivy said, cradling the flowers in her arms.
?My parents gave me lavender roses for my sixteenth birthday,? Dhanya interjected. ?I get a different color each year. And always the number of years I am.?
?Before Princess Dhanya tells us the details of each of her very special birthday celebrations,? Kelsey said, ?grab a soda, Guy. Let’s get this wake going.?
Ivy made room on her blanket. Guy sat next to her, across from Will and Beth.
Will spoke about Tristan as a top?rated swimmer and Ivy recalled the day Suzanne and Beth had dragged her to her first school meet to watch him compete. ?Can I look at the pictures you brought?? Dhanya asked.
Beth passed the album, and Dhanya started turning pages. ?Hey, who?s this gorgeous guy?? She carried the book over to Ivy, placing it on her lap and squeezing onto the blanket next to her. ?Gregory.?
Ivy heard Beth draw in her breath. Will dropped his head and stared at the fire.
?The murderer? Let me see,? Kelsey said, scooting sideways and leaning over them. ?He doesn?t look like a murderer.?
?What does a murderer look like?? Beth replied sharply. ?How can anyone tell??
?For one thing,? Kelsey said, ?there should be cruelty in either his eyes or his mouth. I can?t see them in these little pictures.?
?Ivy, that?s you — in that cheesy dress!? Dhanya exclaimed. ?Tell me you didn?t choose it.?
?I didn?t. This is Tristan,? Ivy said, pointing to a photo of a table of wedding guests, which Tristan happened to be passing. Guy leaned closer to study the picture, but she saw no flicker of recognition on his face. ?The Tristan?? Dhanya asked. “But he?s just a waiter!?
Ivy laughed and told them about her mother?s wedding and Tristan?s short-lived catering career. ?I think it was love at first sight for my little brother, if not for me.?
Guy pointed to her brother in another photo. ?Philip. I recognize him.? Ivy?s heart skipped a beat. Then she remembered they had met at the hospital.
?He?s a cute kid.” Kelsey said, returning to her own blanket and flopping back to stare up at the darkening sky. Dhanya turned the page. ?Beth, your hair?s different. I like it better now.?
Dhanya was looking at the picture of Beth, Tristan, and Ella. ?I gave Ella to Tristan,? Ivy explained to Guy. ?I had to give her up and Tristan answered my ad. He knew nothing about cats, but he assured me he?d take good care of hersaid he?d ?wash? and feed her.? Guy smiled. ?That was just a ploy to see you.?
?Yes. But he soon got attached to her,? Ivy replied. ?Where?s Ella now?? Guy asked. ?Gregory hanged her,? Beth said.
Dhanya gasped. Kelsey let out a low whistle. Will threw a stick in the fire.
?Any which way he could get you/? Guy remarked.
?Yes, if it hadn?t been for Will, Gregory would have succeeded. Will risked his life for me. He saved me.? Will stared into the flames. Rising to her feet, Ivy went to him. Kneeling close, she put her arms around him. For a minute, he rested back against her, laying his hand over hers.
When Ivy looked up, Guy had shut the album and was watching them from across the bonfire. Dhanya sniffled loudly.
Kelsey sat up. ?Dhanya, you?re crying for a cat and a guy you don?t even know.?
?I know Ivy and Will,? Dhanya replied.
?If somebody doesn?t get cheerful around here,? Kelsey said, ?I?m leaving.? No one said anything cheerful. ?All right, boys and girls, I?m out of here. You coming, Dhanya??
Dhanya shook her head no. “I’ll go with you,” Beth said, standing up. Will and Ivy looked at her surprised. ?It’s over. Tristan is gone.” Beth told them, tossing her bouquet of salvia into the fire.
It flared, flames leaping skyward: far a moment, then dropped back. A shower off sparks, darkening to cinders, made Ivy think of falling stars.
“Rest in peace, Tristan,” Will said softly.
All of them went to bed early, and Ivy slept solidly until three a.m., when she was jolted awake. Opening her eyes, she became instantly alert, as if someone had called to her.
She sat up, listening intently. Beth, Dhanya, and Kelsey remained asleep. Ivy knelt by the window, pressing her face against the screen, but she neither saw nor heard anyone outside.
Rising to her feet, she slipped on her T?shirt and jeans, then picked up her shoes and wallet, and tiptoed down the steps. Outside the cottage the full moon was high, silvering the garden. Ivy paused only a moment to take in the quiet night, then walked to her car with purpose, as if she had planned hours ago to return to Race Point.
She coasted in neutral with her headlights off until she reached the paved road, then flicked them on and drove. There was a part of Ivy that stood outside herself, wondering at her own actions.
This feeling of being called — had it come from a dream? All she knew was that whatever had awakened her, it was something beyond herself.
Ivy left her car in an empty lot at Race Point and walked toward the sea. The rich colors of sunset and bonfire had burned away. The landscape of dune and ocean, bathed in the light of the moon, seemed otherworldly. ?I knew you?d come.?
At the sound of Guy?s voice. Ivy?s heart stopped. Guy had followed her from the path through the dunes. In the moonlight his fair hair was tarnished silver.
??Did you? How??
?I couldn?t sleep, and I kept thinking. She?s going back. I have to be there.? He stopped six inches from her. ?What made you return?? he asked.
?I don?t know. I felt like I was being called.? They walked together to the fire pit.
Ivy had left a single lavender rose on top of the buried fire. Picking it up, she touched its velvet petals with one finger. ?He brought you lavender roses,” Guy said. ?You knew that??
?When I saw the expression on your face, I knew.? Ivy dropped her eyes. ?I was trying to help,” Guy told her. ?I?m sorry if I made you hurt more.?
?You didn?t. It felt like — a kind of miracle — getting those roses. It felt like… a message from Tristan.?
Guy reached for her hand. ?Come here. I found a good place to sit.? He led her to a sheltered spot between sandy knolls that rustled with beach grass. Sitting on the sand, they rested their backs against a bleached log.
?When you and Will were talking about Tristan,? Guy said, ?I felt like I knew him.? Ivy gazed into Guy?s eyes hopefully. ?How did Tristan die?? he asked.
?Gregory cut his car?s brake line,? Ivy replied. ?We were driving on a winding road, and there was a deer, and
