Page 28 of When We Believed in Mermaids

I laughed and stuck to my made-up story. “I grew up on the west coast of British Columbia. Vancouver Island.”

“Hard to take the island out of the women,” she said, nodding. “I saw you at the exhibit. Which one is your favorite?”

“Vanessa, completely. That earth mother vibe. I want to go live in her farmhouse. You?”

“Duncan. I’m madly in love with him, of course. I know exactly why Vanessa loved him.” She licked her ice cream. “I’ve been to that farmhouse. You can feel her in every room. I wrote a dissertation on the farmhouse itself, as a design idea.”

I fell right under her spell. We talked art and artists, then books and writers, all the way back to our respective homes, hers only four blocks away from mine, and we’ve been fast friends ever since.

This morning, she’s waiting for me in our usual spot, near the water. Her long blonde hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, and she’s wearing a tank and NorShore leggings that show off her long, lean figure. “Earthquake this morning—did you feel it?” she asks.

I give a curt nod. No one outside my family knows how badly I react to tremors. “Did you hear where it was centered?”

“Offshore.” She gestures at the water sudsing restlessly, splashing hard against the land.

“Good.”

“Mm.” We set off at a brisk pace, hands swinging. Sometimes we can walk a long way without talking, but today my news is so momentous, I can’t wait. “So we bought a new house.”

“Already! The last project was only finished last week.”

“Right. But Simon heard through the grapevine that Veronica Parker’s sister died.”

She stops dead, her mouth open. “No.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Yes. You are looking at the new owner of Sapphire House.”

“You’re joking.” Her face is both blank and blazing.

“No. It’s done. He bought it outright.”

“Good God. He’s even wealthier than I thought.”

I take her upper arm and move her body toward the trail that circles up a mountain on the north head of this finger of land. “His father still owns great gobs of land.”

“Oh my God!” she cries. “You know I love herso much. You have to take me inside!”

“Of course. I want your help.”

“When can we go? Not today. I have tons of work to do. But this weekend?”

“Yes. Absolutely. I told the kids we could go over there too. You can come with us.”

“Are you flipping it?”

“No.” I pause as we start walking up the hill. The sun is bright and hot on my shoulders. “We’re going to live there.”

“No, you can’t!” Gweneth flings her arms up. “I need you here.”

“It’ll take a while.”

“Oh, but then you’ll be way over in Mount Eden, and I’ll never see you anymore.”

“No. We’ll make a date and meet in some fab coffee shop in every neighborhood in Auckland once a month.”

She takes a sip of water from her bottle. “All right. And you’ll have to have grand parties in that house.”

“I will. I promise.” We start to climb seriously and focus on our breath while we acclimate.