"Do you think it would be possible to start over ?"
She looked at him curiously. "You were the best friend I ever had, Allie. I'd still like tobe friends, even if you are engaged, and even if it is just for a couple of days. Howabout we just kind of get to know each other again?"
She thought about it, thought about staying or leaving, and decided that since heknew about her engagement, it would probably be all right. Or at least not wrong.
She smiled slightly and nodded.
"I'd like that."
"Good. How about dinner? I know a place that serves the best crab in town." "Soundsgreat. Where?"
"My house. I've had the traps out all week, and I saw that I had some good ones cageda couple days ago. Do you mind?"
"No, that sounds fine."
He smiled and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Great. They're at the dock.
I'll just be a couple of minutes."
Allie watched him walk away and noticed the tension she'd felt when telling himabout her engagement was beginning to fade. Closing her eyes, she ran her handsthrough her hair and let the light breeze fan her cheek. She took a deep breath andheld it for a moment,feeling the muscles in her shoulders further relax as she exhaled.
Finally, opening her eyes, she stared at the beauty that surrounded her.
She always loved evenings like this, evenings where the faint aroma of autumn leavesrode on the backs of soft southern winds. She loved the trees and the sounds theymade. Listening to them helped her relax even more. After a moment, she turnedtoward Noah and looked at him almost as a stranger might.
God, he looked good. Even after all this time. She watched him as he reached for arope that hung in the water. He began to pull it, and despite the darkening sky, shesaw the muscles in his arm flex as he lifted the cage from the water. He let it hangover the river for a moment and shook it, letting most of the water escape. Aftersetting the trap on the dock, he opened it and began to remove the crabs one by one,placing them into a bucket.
She started walking toward him then, listening to the crickets chirp, andremembered a lesson from childhood. She counted the number of chirps in aminute and added twenty‐nine. Sixty‐seven degrees, she thought as she smiled toherself. She didn't know if it was accurate, but it felt about right.
As she walked, she looked around and realized she had forgotten how fresh andbeautiful everything seemed here. Over her shoulder, she saw the house in thedistance. He had left a couple of lights on, and it seemed to be the only house around.
At least the only one with electricity. Out here, outside the town limits, nothing wascertain. Thousands of country homes still lacked the luxury of indoor lighting.
She stepped on the dock and it creaked under her foot. The sound reminded her of arusty squeeze‐box, and Noah glanced up and winked, then went back to checking thecrabs, making sure they were the right size. She walked to the rocker that sat on thedock and touched it, running her hand along the back. She could picture him sittingin it, fishing, thinking, reading. It was old and weather‐beaten, rough feeling. Shewondered how much time he spent here alone, and she wondered about his thoughtsat times like those.
"It was my daddy's chair," he said, not looking up, and she nodded. She saw bats inthe sky, and frogs had joined the crickets in their evening harmony.
She walked to the other side of the dock, feeling a sense of closure. A compulsion haddriven her here, and for the first time in three weeks the feeling was gone. She'dsomehow needed Noah to know about her engagement, to understand, to accept it‐
‐she was sure of that now‐‐and while thinking of him, she was reminded of somethingthey'd shared from the summer they were together. With head down, she pacedaround slowly, looking for it until she found it‐‐the carving.
Noah loves Allie, in a heart. Carved into the dock a few days before she'd left. Abreeze broke the stillness and chilled her, making her cross her arms. She stoodthat way, alternately looking down at the carving and then toward the river, untilshe heard him reach her side. She could feel his closeness, his warmth, as shespoke. "It's so peaceful here," she 'said, her voice dreamlike.
"I know. I come down here a lot now just to be close to the water. It makes me feelgood."
"I would, too, if I were you."
"Come on, let's go. The mosquitoes are getting vicious, and I'm starved."
The sky had turned black, and Noah started toward the house, Allie right beside him.
In the silence her mind wandered, and she felt a little light‐headed as she walkedalong the path. She wondered what he was thinking about her being here and wasn'texactly sure if she knew herself. When they reached the house a couple of minuteslater, Clem greeted them with a wet nose in the wrong place. Noah motioned heraway, and she left with her tail between her legs.
He pointed to her car. "Did you leave anything in there that you need to get out?"
"No, I got in earlier and unpacked already." Her voice sounded different to her,as if the years had suddenly been undone.
"Good enough," he said as he reached the back porch and started up the steps. Heset the bucket by the door, then led the way inside, heading toward the kitchen. Itwas on the immediate right, large and smelling of new wood. The cabinets had beendone in oak, as was the floor, and the windows were large and faced east, allowingthe light from morning sun. It was a tasteful restoration, not overdone as wascommon when homes like this were rebuilt.
"Do you mind if I look around?"
"No,go ahead. I did some shopping earlier,and I still have to put the groceries away."
Their eyes met for a second, and Allie knew as she turned that he continued to watchher as she left the room. Inside she felt that little twitch again.
She toured the house for the next few minutes, walking through the rooms, noticinghow wonderful it looked. By the time she'd finished,
it was hard to remember how run‐down it had been. She came down the stairs,turned toward the kitchen, and saw his profile. For a second he looked like a youngman of seventeen again, and it made her pause a split second before going on. Damn,she thought, get a hold of yourself. Remember that you're engaged now. He wasstanding by the counter, a couple of cabinet doors open wide, empty grocery bagson the floor, whistling quietly. He smiled at her before putting a few more cans intoone of the cabinets. She stopped a few feet from him and leaned against the counter,one leg over the other. She shook her head, amazed at how much he had done.
"It's unbelievable, Noah. How long did the restoration take?"
He looked up from the last bag he was unpacking. "Almost ayear." "Did you do it yourself?"
He laughed under his breath. "No. I always thought I would when I was young, and Istarted that way. But it was just too much. It would have taken years, and so I endedup hiring some people.., actually a lot of people. But even with them, it was still a lotof work, and most of the time I didn't stop until past midnight." "Why'd you work sohard?" Ghosts, he wanted to say, but didn't.
"I don't know. Just wanted to finish, I guess. Do you want anything to drink beforeI start dinner ?"
"What do you have?"
