Sound of the Tide Read Free Page A

pushed me toward the tiny bathroom and started filling the tub with hot water.
    “Roast chicken?” I asked, still feeling a little low, as he sniffed at the various bottles of bubble bath.
    “Don’t be silly!” He poured so much Relaxing Lavender Honey into the tub that there was going to be as much bubbles as water. “Let me surprise you. Weren’t you wondering if we’ll be fine? We will be fine.”
    I had no doubt that he was right, and the lovely scent of lavender was starting to have its soothing effect.
    I nodded and sidled up to him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I immediately felt better.
    “Of course. I have no idea what’s gotten into me. But doesn’t it bother you that you’re still her little boy, even at thirty?”
    Daniel kissed me tenderly and started opening my pants.
    “She’s just being so clingy because I won’t be here much longer. That’s what she’s afraid of.”
    Like my pants before it, my top landed on the pile of dirty laundry on the fluffy bath rug, and before I could protest, he lifted me up and into the fragrant water.
    “Jesus, Daniel! Why are you still defending her? She won’t stop making me feel like I can never be as perfect as she is. I’ve had it with her constant meddling! It’s not like you’re dying or anything! We’re moving out, that’s all.”
    “Enjoy your bath, you emotionally unstable, hormone-driven zombie.” He turned the music on and breathed a kiss on my forehead. “Who knows what we’ll be like when our kid has grown up.”

S OUND OF THE T IDE
    November
    E verything in my life had lost all permanence. All I knew was that I was alone. It felt as if nobody cared that I was sitting here—alone in the dark, hungry, and cold. All my friends (not that I had that many) had expressed their sympathies during the past two months and tried to behave appropriately. They had called to see how I was, checked in on me, and brought food, which eventually found its way into the trash unopened. They had also offered their help with whatever I might need.
    I scoffed at the thought of those offers.
    I was sitting here in this freezing cold house—a building site, more like it—the house in which the man who was my life had lost his, and now I was alone.
    Of course I could call one of them, and they would be here on the spot, their eyes full of pity, but what good would that do?
    Eventually they would have to say their good-byes, return to their own lives, and be relieved that they didn’t really need to share my fate. They would probably think about how terrible I looked, how much I was letting myself go—or perhaps how dreadful this all was.
    Thanks, but no thanks! That was something I could easily do without. I knew how awful I looked, how much I was letting myself go (I could smell that), and how horrible this all was.
    And so I stayed. In the dark. In the cold. Alone.
    The baby was kicking against my ribs, and I tried to find a more comfortable sitting position. Crap, my butt had fallen asleep. I scrambled to my feet and stretched my limbs and my whole body. Breathing more easily, I stepped over to the door to the back porch and looked outside. The moon illuminated the frothy waves below and bathed the rocks by the beach in a silvery shine. This was the reason we had bought the house. The view was breathtaking, and I wished Daniel would stand behind me right now with his arms wrapped around me, like he did back then, on the day the real estate agent showed us around.

    “Of course, there’s a lot of work left to be done, but at this price you won’t find another property this size and in this location,” the agent gushed, swollen with pride, as he showed us around the bright rooms.
    “Take your time and take a good look. I will wait for you outside.”
    Then the agent left, a little stiffly, the folder with the property details firmly clutched under his arm, and gave us time to talk.
    As soon as the door closed behind him, we both lost the