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“Oh, I guess you can bring it to the captain, honey Thanks”
“Your father nearly lost his finger today,” Sauffaw as ers at otta learn, there, Mitch! Those oddamn hard!”
Apparently, this is hilarious, because thewith them
Be Dad out with the boys…it’s different “Jonah, lunch is here,” I call as I step carefully onto the boat
The door of the hold opens, and Malone comes out My heart lurches, then sinks
He’s wearing his black peacoat and a scoiping his hands on a rag “Maggie,” he grunts
“Malone,” I grunt back, instantly irritated “Excuse me”
He doesn’t step aside, just stares at ry
“What? What do you want? Huh, Malone?” I snap
“Hey, Mags, do you have enough for Malone, too?” Jonah sticks his head out of the hold “He’s giving us a hand” His head pops back in and he resu
“No, I don’t have anything for you,” Iat Malone
“You sure about that?” he asks, eyes narrowing
“I?you?” My mouth works a minute before I force it closed “Have a lovely day”
“Maggie,” Malone says
“What, Malone?” I ask, and I’ that wouldthe way it was, that would erase hiether, and the intensity of that longing makes my chest ache
“Forget it,” Malone says, and he turns his back on me
“MAGGIE, I really need to see you” Chantal’s voice is grim, and I wish I hadn’t snatched up the phone Of course, I’m at Joe’s, and I don’t exactly screen calls here “I know you’ve been busy, but I have to talk to you”
I heave a sigh that could propel a sailboat to Deer Isle “Yeah Fine” I glance around the diner, which is sparkling clean at the moment Six pies are in the oven for tomorrow, lunchtime is over, and despite my best efforts, I’ve run out of excuses “Well, I’ht”
And every night, now that I mention it There has been no word from Father Tim, not even his usual calls for help on sonificance to this, I think I’ve stopped going to Bible study, and aside from Mr Barkham’s funeral last week, I haven’t seen Father Tio
“Can you come over?” Chantal asks “Actually, this place is a dump Can I come over to your place?”
“Sure Co to cook for her She’s been to the diner twice, but both ti and pretending to be swaether at night, I’ve put her off three times I can’t avoid her forever
At least she doesn’t know about Malone and me, so I don’t have to suffer that particular eain, he may well have told her At any rate, they don’t know that I knohat I know She can just tell asping a few times in the mirror, but my face looks too sad
When Chantal knocks on oes off inunder her eyes She looks thin, and I wonder if she’s even still pregnant I don’t have to wonder for long
“So How have you been?” she asks, sitting on the couch She grabs a throw pillow and hugs it protectively to her stomach
“I’?” I ask automatically
“No Sit down, Maggie, okay? We need to talk”
I sit stiffly in the club chair, rubbing a healing burn on er Chantal, as I have noted on many occasions, has lovely hands, plump and pretty with rounded nails that are always painted with clear polish Malone ly hands, but compared with Chantal’s…
“Maggie, I have so to be shocked,” Chantal says I have always admired her bluntness
“Okay,” I say, forcing myself to look at her
“I’nant,” she says in a low voice
I don’t gasp, but even though I knehat she was going to say, my stomach aches “Really,” I say
Her face is tormented “Yeah”
“Wow So who’s the father?” I ask cruelly “Do you know?”
Her mouth drops open “Um…yeah, I know”
“And what did he say?” My voice is hard, my posture painfully erect
“Well, he’s…he’s not really in the picture I’onna have the baby on my own”
Now I do gasp “Really?”
This is a huge surprise?Chantal has es of Malone’s daughter, the round-cheeked little girl in the photos at his house, flash through my head The one tihter, that is?he looked happy He’d been s I can’t believe he wouldn’t care
Chantal toys with the fringe on the pillow, notmy eyes “Yeah So Just me”
“But…I can’t believe he doesn’t…that he’s not…” I s hard “What did he say?”
Chantal’s eyes shine with tears “The truth is, Maggie, I’ht stand, and I really don’t want to ruin his life by du this on him”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” I blurt “You didn’t tell him? What about?” Yes, and how does one confess that one was spying? “I thought?I’d think?”
“Look It was stupid A badfor it, aren’t I?”
Myopen “Why do you think he wouldn’t want a baby?” I e to ask
“Because I just know” Her tears spill over, and she sags back against the couch
I sigh, running a hand through“Listen, I knoho it is”
“Oh, ht and looks ather mouth
“Yeah I overheard At Malone’s” A luood father, to tell you the truth”
“Oh, Maggie, I’ into sobs “You won’t tell hiie, please”