Page 45 of A Change of Location
Isobel set down her napkin and asked Hannah, “Would you like to go with Julia and me? He can easily add a third ticket to our booking.”
“I appreciate the invitation, but I should savor the countryside while I can. I’ll be back in the heart of big, busy Boston soon enough.”
“You live in the city?”
“In Cambridge. Across the Charles River.”
“I traveled to Boston some years ago. But we had no opportunity for sightseeing.”
“Martin told me.” Hannah toyed with her knife. “You and he have a very close relationship.”
“He was so young when we lost his father. And I was too bereft to resist when the Latimers advised me to send him back to Eton, though I hated doing it. We always spent his half-term with my parents, or in Scotland with Julia. Rufus invited us to come here, of course. Without Richard, we both found staying at Stanwell quite hard. During my illness and treatments, Martin was my rock, and afterwards he supported my decision to move to France. We both cherish our privacy and our independence and prefer pursuing our interests without interference. He’s stubborn. I have a temper. But we get over our little quarrels fairly quickly.”
“I’m an only child, too. But I hardly ever see my parents.”
“That’s a pity. They must miss you.”
“If I’m not off scouting somewhere on my birthday, Mum drives down to Boston and takes me to lunch.” She withheld the fact that she usually tried to form advance plans with her circle of friends in order to stave off the visit. Not from pettiness, or vengeance, but as a means of self-preservation. Even her fleeting trips to Bear Knoll dredged up a resentment dating from the day of Chase’s arraignment, which had escalated throughout his trial. Because she loved Mum and Dad, despite her tumultuous feelings, she hadn’t entirely cut herself off from them. “I try to get home for Christmas. Although when the weather’s too snowy or icy, they don’t want me on the roads.”
“Perfectly understandable.”
Hannah stood up. “I suppose I ought to let them know where I am. And when I’ll be Stateside again.”
In moments of honest reflection, she could acknowledge that her ingrained habit of avoidance was damaging to herself. She’d considered seeking therapy, since her longstanding grievances were unlikely to miraculously vanish, but her travel schedule was an obstacle.
Maybe, she mused, having Chase back in Falmouth will help me find my way home.
He’s the one I need to talk to, she realized. More than Mum and Dad.
His voicemail was full, either because he didn’t bother to retrieve messages or wasn’t rigorous in deleting. She searched online for the Penobscot Nation and found the link to Indian Island’s volunteer services.
“You want Chase? I’ll check the schedule,” said the woman on the opposite shore of the Atlantic. “Okay. I see he’s in Community Recreation. Hang on, I’ll connect you.”
She waited, heart pounding, trying to decide on her opening line.
“This is Chase Ballard.”
“That’s who I asked for. Although I could’ve said I wanted to speak with the darts champion of Falmouth, Maine.”
“Hannah-Banana?” Astonishment rang clear across several thousand miles. “What’s up? Everything okay on Bear Knoll?”
“Far as I know. I’m still in England.”
“When’ll you be home?”
Where was that, really? Cambridge, or Falmouth? “Less than a week. Before my next gig, I’ll have some free time.” Plenty of it, since she hadn’t a clue where she’d be working—or for whom. “I can drive to Old Town.”
“Helluva long way from Cambridge.”
“After ten years, totally worth it.” The prospect of seeing her hadn’t elicited the expected enthusiasm. “I’ll give fair warning before I head your way. I’m sure you’re busy.”
He didn’t reply immediately. “I’d figure out how to make time for my favorite niece.”
“You haven’t got another one.”
He cleared his throat. “Coupla weeks ago, Pop came by. Talked about you almost the whole time, Han. ’Cept when he complained about the cost of fuel and the selling price for bugs.”
It was good to hear his lobsterman’s lingo. Knowing Chase’s chronic dislike of interrogation, pre-dating his legal issues, she didn’t ask whether he’d return to Falmouth. More than ever she hoped he would, because it could help to ease her emotional separation from her parents and reconnect her to Bear Knoll in a healthy and lasting way.
