TEN
The horn sounded outside of Graham’s window. Two short bursts, and then another two. And then more followed. Ships passing in the sea. He groaned and reached for his phone to turn off his alarm clock. He hadn’t even made it to six o’clock. He was exhausted—both mentally and physically. The long holiday weekend had turned into one he would love to forget. However, with his brother, Grady, still in a medically induced coma and his mother holding a vigil at Grady’s bedside, the memories would never fade. Graham lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. How has life ended up this way? he wondered. And what was the breaking point for him and his family? For Grady?
Graham stretched, and his muscles protested—some strained and caused him to ease up. For the past few days, he, along with Rennie, had slept in the waiting room, despite Johanna telling them both to go home. Graham wouldn’t leave his mother, and for whatever reason, Rennie wouldn’t leave Graham. And he loved her for it. All weekend, she had been by his side, being the voice of reason and the person he could lean on, and when the police showed up, Rennie took over—no questions asked. Graham didn’t know where he or his family would be right now if it weren’t for her.
He finally rolled out of bed and set his bare feet on the cold wood. He shivered and reached for the pair of sweatpants he had left on the floor. Somewhere, he had slippers but had yet to dig them out of his closet because he didn’t want to admit that winter was upon them. He hated the cold and often longed for the warmth of California, even though some winter days were chilly in San Jose. There were very few of them.
A full day of worry and work faced Graham. Thankfully, Krista Rich, Graham’s only other full-time server/bartender, filled in for him over the weekend and had made sure the Whale Spout stayed fully operational in his absence. Since he had taken over, he had yet to take a vacation, and while the idea of going away for a week or so excited him, he never took the opportunity. Spending the last four days in a hospital waiting room wasn’t the kind of escape he longed for.
Graham braved the cold floor and lumbered downstairs to his bathroom, used the facility, and hopped into the shower. His mistake was forgetting to turn on the water pump. He stepped out of the shower, walked out of the bathroom free as the day he was born, and went into the kitchen to flip the switch, having forgotten the blinds were open.
His neighbor Shari was at the end of the dock, and she happened to turn at the right moment. Graham waved like he had done every time he had seen her since she moved in. Her mouth dropped open, and Graham stared, wondering what she was doing. He stood there for a long minute before realization sank in. His mouth plummeted to the ground, and he covered it in horror and then concealed himself as much as possible as he ran back to the bathroom.
He muttered a string of obscenities as he ducked into the shower. He was mortified and hadn’t accounted for anyone being near his end of the dock. His next encounter with Shari was going to be mighty awkward. He could see it playing out in his mind. Blushed cheeks and garbled hellos as they passed by each other with little to no eye contact. He wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to muster a friendly wave after what had just happened.
When he finished, he dried off, wrapped the towel around his waist, and peeked out the bathroom door, angling to see who, if anyone, was near his windows. With the coast clear, he hightailed it up the stairs, slipped on the hardwood floor, and tumbled down to the ground. He smacked his knee and thigh and finally came to rest on his ass. Out of breath, he huffed, “Just call me Grace.”
Graham took a moment to compose himself. He was flustered and needed to get his head straight. He blamed Grady. Everything wrong in his life was Grady’s fault. It seemed rude to blame his brother, and deep down Graham knew he could’ve made changes. No one ever told him he had to stay in Cape Harbor. He did out of obligation, and it was easier to blame Grady than to accept Graham had given up.
He dressed in boxers, jeans, and a band T-shirt from the early ’90s. He put on his socks and his “date” boots, grabbed his phone, and went back downstairs and into the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror and noticed for the first time in his adult life that he had bags under his eyes and had no idea how to get rid of them. Graham picked up his metal container of hair cream, scooped a blob onto the palm of his hand, and rubbed his hands together and then through his hair. Since Rennie’s return into his life, he’d started caring about the way he looked. She made him want to care.