‘Do you not find it lonely?’
‘A bit, lately,’ Henry said. ‘But my girlfriend, Mandy, lived here with me until six months ago. We broke up.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Emer said, embarrassed she’d put her foot in it.
‘Yeah, that was pretty bad,’ he said. ‘She cheated on me and ran off to another man on the mainland.’ He took a big gulp of wine. ‘But I’m over it now.’
The last thing Emer wanted was to get into a therapy session about a bitchy ex-girlfriend. It had happened to her too many times before. She changed the subject. ‘I still can’t believe you have one of my sister’s paintings on your wall!’
‘I know, it feels like more than a coincidence, don’t you think?’ he asked her, putting a hand on her knee.
‘I guess,’ she said, wondering whether to shift her knee. Not sure if she wanted him to touch her or not.
Maybe he sensed her wariness, because he got up. The aroma of pumpkin pie had filled the room, sweet and spicy. Emer’s stomach groaned. She was very hungry.
‘That pie should be ready. Don’t worry, it’s all vegan,’ he said. ‘Made sure of that. I’ve got oat cream too. Want some of that with it?’
Had he planned all along to bring her home for pie? She suppressed the idea: it made him seem a little presumptuous. He was being sweet, that’s what it was. To think ahead like that, just in case.
The pie was amazing, melting in her mouth. She ate two slices, along with another glass of red wine. She hadn’t enjoyed food in so long, not even all those vegan snacks she’d bought in the store when she first arrived. Since Orla had died, she’d been eating to live, not for any kind of enjoyment. It had felt wrong to have any kind of pleasure. It dawned on her. That was why she and Lars were doomed: because she couldn’t allow herself the intense pleasure that came from being with him. Even though just thinking about him made her feel such longing for his touch.
‘So, are you single?’ Henry suddenly asked her.
‘Yes,’ Emer said, despite her instincts screaming, No, no, you love Lars!
‘Your friend who visited,’ Henry persisted. ‘Isn’t he your boyfriend?’
‘No,’ she replied. ‘We had a thing,’ she said, ‘but it’s over now.’
Henry nodded, pouring her another glass of wine. ‘Well, that sure makes me glad,’ he said, giving her a wide smile.
She was beginning to feel a little fuzzy from all the wine and pie.
‘Shouldn’t I be getting back?’ she said, looking at her phone. ‘It’s getting late.’
‘Don’t think I should take the boat now,’ Henry said. ‘I’ve drunk too much. Wouldn’t be safe. Lynsey’s staying over with Susannah, right?’
‘Oh yes,’ Emer said, feeling a little ambushed. With a jolt, she realised she hadn’t even telephoned to say she would be late. She’d been so distracted by the house, by Orla’s painting. ‘I’ll give her a call. Let her know.’
‘Sure,’ Henry said. ‘But maybe don’t tell her you’re here. You know we have history, right? She could get weird.’
‘Okay,’ Emer said, feeling a little uneasy.
‘Say, why don’t you tell her you took the ferry to Rockland for the night, and you’ll be back in the morning.’
Emer didn’t like lying, but Henry was right. She didn’t want to get on the wrong side of Lynsey. Whatever might happen in the future, she needed her job right now. Henry showed her to the phone, and she made the call. Lynsey told her everything was fine. Susannah had gone to bed, and she’d see Emer the next day bright and early. She needed to get back to Salem for Halloween.
Back in the main room, Henry was opening another of bottle of wine.
‘All okay?’ he asked her.
‘Yeah,’ she said, collapsing on the couch. ‘She’s cool.’
‘Let’s put on some music,’ he said, handing her a glass of wine. ‘One of the good things about living on your own island is you don’t have to worry about the neighbours.’
After complaining that his ex, Mandy, had stolen some of his best vinyl, Henry put on Astral Weeks by Van Morrison. It was music that Emer and Orla had used to listen to non-stop as teenagers. Another coincidence.
‘Hey,’ said Henry, as he settled back down on the couch next to her. ‘Fancy some grass?’
It had been years since Emer had smoked any grass, but a part of her craved to let go of everything.
‘Why not,’ she replied.
They talked for hours. She told him all about her childhood in midlands Ireland, and what happened to her mam. Henry told her about his childhood on the island. His father had been a lobster fisherman, and an alcoholic.
‘I swore I’d never fish,’ Henry said. ‘It’s tempting, mind you. Buddies of mine make a ton of cash. But I saw what it did to my dad. If he wasn’t fishing, he was in The Sand Bar getting drunk. It’s no life.’
Henry explained that all of his siblings had long since left the island, and both his parents were dead. ‘I’m the only one left,’ he said.
‘Will you stay?’ she asked him.
‘If I find the right girl,’ he said, giving her a look so meaningful that she blushed. ‘I love running the restaurant in the summer – and don’t you think this would be a perfect place for kids? Their own island to roam, safe but free.’
‘Oh yes,’ Emer enthused, feeling heady from the joint. She could almost see all the little children running through the pine woods. Could hear the laughter. ‘Your island would come alive.’
She wasn’t sure how they came to be kissing on his bed. Her head was spinning with wine, and she was stoned, too. There was a distant voice in the back of her head telling her not to. She was still in love with Lars. He had her heart. She shouldn’t be with any other man. But a kind of wildness had possessed her. Besides, she’d led Henry on. He was all over her, and
