always heard about the Gulf Islands,” Sally said, “but this is the first time I’ve ever been on one.”
“You’re such a ski fanatic,” Sarah said, “you forget there are things to do on your own two feet.”
“What made you decide to come here?” Sally asked Karen.
Karen shrugged.
“Peggy said she thought some of your people were from around here,” Sarah said.
Not family but people; Peggy would have put it that way. She had tried very hard to make Karen exotic, worthy of her taste.
“I just like it here,” Karen said. “That’s all.”
Sarah skidded on a mossy rock, and Sally offered a steadying hand which Sarah then kept in hers. There was nothing really scandalous about two young women holding hands as they walked along the shore, but it made Karen uneasy. The only house they crossed in front of belonged to Henrietta Hawkins, a woman unlikely to jump to conclusions, but Karen cared about Henrietta’s good opinion. Why didn’t Sally and Sarah understand that this holiday territory for them was now home to Karen? She didn’t want it polluted with innuendoes about herself. Surely one of the few rewards of living alone should be the end of defensive secrecy.
“What’s the hurry?” Sarah called.
Karen had put a hundred yards between herself and them by the time she was scrambling over the rocks on the beach below Henrietta’s house, and she kept right on going, pretending to be deafened by the wind. When she reached the sloping rock shore of the park, she climbed up to a bench where she could sit and wait for them.
Out across the strait, Mount Baker glinted in the sun like a huge helping of ice cream.
“Well, I’m glad there’s some place to sit down!” Sarah said, collapsing next to Karen.
A black puppy with large feet appeared on the grass verge above them and began to bark. When Sally laughed at it and clapped her hands, it came skidding down the rock, tail wagging. Just as it reached Sally and rolled over on its back, Red appeared above them, calling, “Blackie! Blackie!” But the pup was far too enamored of its new friend to pay any attention. Red shrugged and came down slowly over the slippery surface.
“I didn’t know you had a puppy, Red,” Karen called to her.
“Only got her yesterday,” Red said.
“These are friends of mine from town, Sally and Sarah.”
Red nodded to them and turned back to Karen. “You wouldn’t know anything about training a dog, would you?”
Karen, who had never had pets, suddenly wished she did know something about them. She had to shake her head.
“I know a bit,” Sally said, as she played tug-of-war over a piece of bark with Blackie. “She’s still too young to learn much.”
“I want her to be a good dog,” Red said earnestly. “I want her to be responsible.”
As Sally settled to discuss a training program, Sarah withdrew her attention and focused instead on Karen.
“Well, have you gotten over Peggy by now?”
“She wasn’t a disease,” Karen said, trying for a lightness of tone.
“Not everyone would agree with you,” Sarah said wryly.
“So bad-mouthing Peggy is still a local sport.”
“She certainly never deserved your sort of loyalty.”
Blackie, suddenly bored with the conversation between Sally and Red, bounded over to Sarah and Karen.
“I wonder if I should get one of these,” Karen said, reaching down to the tumbling puppy. “Maybe Red and I could learn together.”
“Are you interested in her?” Sarah asked in surprise.
“Interested?” Karen repeated. “I like her. On this island, friendship isn’t a lost art.”
These people were no more friends of Peggy’s than they had been of Karen’s. If she hadn’t yet made real friendships here, at least her connections with people like Red and Hen were based on the good opinion she had of them.
“Dogs have always been more reliable than lovers,” Sarah said, amused.
“Milly,” Henrietta said, putting down her coffee cup, “what have you got
“You’re such a ski fanatic,” Sarah said, “you forget there are things to do on your own two feet.”
“What made you decide to come here?” Sally asked Karen.
Karen shrugged.
“Peggy said she thought some of your people were from around here,” Sarah said.
Not family but people; Peggy would have put it that way. She had tried very hard to make Karen exotic, worthy of her taste.
“I just like it here,” Karen said. “That’s all.”
Sarah skidded on a mossy rock, and Sally offered a steadying hand which Sarah then kept in hers. There was nothing really scandalous about two young women holding hands as they walked along the shore, but it made Karen uneasy. The only house they crossed in front of belonged to Henrietta Hawkins, a woman unlikely to jump to conclusions, but Karen cared about Henrietta’s good opinion. Why didn’t Sally and Sarah understand that this holiday territory for them was now home to Karen? She didn’t want it polluted with innuendoes about herself. Surely one of the few rewards of living alone should be the end of defensive secrecy.
“What’s the hurry?” Sarah called.
Karen had put a hundred yards between herself and them by the time she was scrambling over the rocks on the beach below Henrietta’s house, and she kept right on going, pretending to be deafened by the wind. When she reached the sloping rock shore of the park, she climbed up to a bench where she could sit and wait for them.
Out across the strait, Mount Baker glinted in the sun like a huge helping of ice cream.
“Well, I’m glad there’s some place to sit down!” Sarah said, collapsing next to Karen.
A black puppy with large feet appeared on the grass verge above them and began to bark. When Sally laughed at it and clapped her hands, it came skidding down the rock, tail wagging. Just as it reached Sally and rolled over on its back, Red appeared above them, calling, “Blackie! Blackie!” But the pup was far too enamored of its new friend to pay any attention. Red shrugged and came down slowly over the slippery surface.
“I didn’t know you had a puppy, Red,” Karen called to her.
“Only got her yesterday,” Red said.
“These are friends of mine from town, Sally and Sarah.”
Red nodded to them and turned back to Karen. “You wouldn’t know anything about training a dog, would you?”
Karen, who had never had pets, suddenly wished she did know something about them. She had to shake her head.
“I know a bit,” Sally said, as she played tug-of-war over a piece of bark with Blackie. “She’s still too young to learn much.”
“I want her to be a good dog,” Red said earnestly. “I want her to be responsible.”
As Sally settled to discuss a training program, Sarah withdrew her attention and focused instead on Karen.
“Well, have you gotten over Peggy by now?”
“She wasn’t a disease,” Karen said, trying for a lightness of tone.
“Not everyone would agree with you,” Sarah said wryly.
“So bad-mouthing Peggy is still a local sport.”
“She certainly never deserved your sort of loyalty.”
Blackie, suddenly bored with the conversation between Sally and Red, bounded over to Sarah and Karen.
“I wonder if I should get one of these,” Karen said, reaching down to the tumbling puppy. “Maybe Red and I could learn together.”
“Are you interested in her?” Sarah asked in surprise.
“Interested?” Karen repeated. “I like her. On this island, friendship isn’t a lost art.”
These people were no more friends of Peggy’s than they had been of Karen’s. If she hadn’t yet made real friendships here, at least her connections with people like Red and Hen were based on the good opinion she had of them.
“Dogs have always been more reliable than lovers,” Sarah said, amused.
“Milly,” Henrietta said, putting down her coffee cup, “what have you got
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