Page 444 of Seasons of Love
“Come on, follow me,” he said.
We walked in silence through the reception area of the building toward a landscaped garden. I wanted to hold his hand so bad. I held the strap of my backpack with one hand and put the other hand in my pocket.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“My favorite place…well, second favorite place.”
“What’s your favorite place?”
“Your house.”
“You mean our house.”
I looked at Jake to see his reaction to my words. He blushed and met my eyes briefly.
“I like that…I like that a lot,” he said.
“I’m serious, Jake. Any place that is mine and Mal’s is also yours.”
He didn’t say anything, so I matched his pace out of the garden onto a graveled path. We had the beach on our right and a grassy area to the left.
The main building of the resort was behind us, and all I saw were smaller buildings, which I guessed served as storage areas or for laundry.
I remembered Mal mentioning once that the laundry house was always away from the main resort because of the constant noise of the washers and dryers.
We walked past only one other member of staff going toward the main building. Otherwise, the area was deserted.
The graveled path gave way to a wooden deck.
“Uncle Frank made this deck for the staff to hang out during break times, but most people stay in the dining area because it’s closer to the resort,” Jake said. “That’s why there are no chairs or tables here at the moment.”
“They have more time to enjoy their break, but they don’t get to enjoy the view.”
“Yeah. The part-timers have shorter breaks because they work fewer hours and the full-timers spend too much time on their feet to do the walk.”
We sat at the edge of the deck with our feet on the grass, and Jake took his shoes off immediately. It looked like something he did without even thinking. I did the same.
The grass was soft, the ocean was calm, and there wasn’t even a small breeze in the air. It was a perfect day. And I had the perfect company for an alfresco lunch.
“Elena baked these rolls especially for us. They’re filled with prosciutto, pesto, and parmesan,” I said, opening my backpack and taking out the box I’d borrowed from Elena so the rolls wouldn’t get squashed in the bag.
“Wow, sounds delicious. I love her bread,” Jake said.
I took out two sodas and closed the bag again so sand wouldn’t get inside.
“So, why is this your second favorite place?” I asked.
“Because it’s peaceful. I like watching the small waves kissing the shore, the seagulls having conversations about whose lunch they’re going to steal. But mostly, it’s because here I feel like I’m at home, right between the sea and the resort.”
I stared at him in awe. The way he’d put it made so much sense. I’d always felt Jake had a very special connection to the island, but I never thought it ran so deep.
A dark thought filled my mind. I wanted to banish it, but it refused to leave me.
One day when Mal’s time at the resort came to a natural end, we’d move somewhere else. That was the way. Our life. What we’d chosen.
But what about Jake? Would he come with us if we had to move? Could we make him follow us? Could we live with ourselves if we had to make him choose between his home and his roots? His heart?
“Hey, what’s on your mind? You look like you went somewhere unpleasant.”
