Mom says it’s great to have a man about the house again, Kate gushed. Remember the leaking tap in the kitchen sink? Well, Matt fixed it for us! Mom was so pleased.
Susannah closed her eyes for a moment and pictured the kitchen in the house in Vinalhaven, with the old electric stove and the big sink they’d bathed in as babies. That tap had dripped for years. It was the sound of their home. She felt annoyance at the fact an outsider had come in and fixed it, which was dumb of course, but she couldn’t help it. Of course Mom and Kate didn’t think Matthew Young was an outsider. They thought he was the best thing ever. She’d tried to like him, for Kate’s sake. But during those last weeks of summer before she’d left for Harvard, Susannah had really grown to dislike him strongly. She didn’t like the way he patronised them all, talking down to them just because they were women. She particularly disliked how he called Kate ‘baby’ and ‘little bird’, and how he addressed their mother as ‘Judith’ rather than ‘Mrs Olsen’. Susannah was certain if there’d been a man about the house, Matthew Young would not have taken such liberties sitting down at the head of their table and eating the biggest slice of pie every night. Worst of all, he took Kate away from her all the time. Whenever Susannah had suggested she and Kate go bathing in one of the old granite quarries or picking berries again, Kate would invite Matthew too. Once, she had even asked Susannah if she wanted Silas to come and was surprised by Susannah’s vehement, ‘No way!’ The only time they had free together was when Matthew was out lobstering. Most of the other fishermen, including Silas, went to bed at four in the afternoon so they could get up early, but not Matthew. All summer he had seemed to be fuelled on so little sleep. Kate had confided he said being with her made him feel rested, but Susannah knew it was a game he was playing. His only real competition for Kate was not another boy, but Susannah. Her theory had been proved correct when Kate had complained in her letter that Matthew wasn’t spending as much time with her as he had during the summer. The darker mornings meant he needed to get to bed good and early. But Susannah knew it was because she was out of the picture. Or so he thought.
Susannah sighed and opened her eyes. She looked at the clock on the wall. It was time to go. She was babysitting for the Whittards tonight, as they were going to a cocktail party and it was Gertrude’s night off. Besides, the boys had asked for her. They both loved their books and she was looking forward to reading the next instalment of Treasure Island to them.
Outside, the wind had intensified, sending the fallen leaves into aerial whirlpools of gold and red foliage. She buttoned up her coat, pulling on her gloves before wrapping her blue scarf around her neck. It was already getting dark and she berated herself for being so slow getting her things together. The Whittards were expecting her and she didn’t want to make them late for their party. Just as she was about to cross the road, her scarf blew up into her face. She should have stopped, but she was in such a rush she stepped off the sidewalk all the same. She heard the screech of brakes and felt a strong jerk as someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Losing her balance, she dropped all her books on the sidewalk and fell over onto her backside. The car she had just missed walking into honked loudly before taking off again.
‘Are you okay?’
She saw the girl’s eyes first. So dark, almost inky blue-black.
‘What happened?’ Susannah asked shakily as the girl helped her up.
‘Well, you nearly got run over,’ the girl said, picking up her books. She was shorter than her, but Susannah could see strength in her body as she piled up Susannah’s library stash. ‘I pulled you back just in time.’
‘Oh, thank you,’ Susannah said. ‘I wasn’t thinking straight…’
‘Yeah, lots of students get knocked down, especially round exam time!’
Susannah tried to pick up her books, but her arms felt weak and her legs were wobbly.
‘Hey, take it easy, you’ve had a shock.’
‘I’ve got to be somewhere. I can’t be late.’
‘I can help you. I’ll carry your books and you tell me where we’re going.’
Susannah was amazed by such generosity from another girl. A boy might help you in the same way, but then usually he’d be looking for a date.
‘Say, what’s your name? Mine’s Ava Greenman.’
Straight dark hair with bangs framing her eyes, the same colour. Mouth ever so slightly open, smiling. Susannah had never seen a girl like her before.
It had stopped raining, although it was still gusty, which made it easier to talk. Ava was
