She grabbed her laptop and wrote a quick email. The telephone approach was clearly not working, and even though he was far less responsive with emails, it seemed like a good idea to change tack.
Dear dad,
I called a couple of times but haven’t heard back, which I assume means you’re making the most of the Greek weather and boating with Vladi! Chantelle’s been asking whether you’ll come for Christmas. I know you made it clear that you didn’t want to fly, especially not to somewhere as cold as Maine, but please do consider it. You know you’re her favorite person in the world!
All my love,
Emily.
She hit send and realized her cheeks were wet with tears. She wiped them away.
As she put her laptop away, she heard the sound of the inn door closing. It was probably Lois coming to start her short shift on the reception desk, or Bryony to set herself up in her usual work station in the guest lounge and work on their winter advertisements. But then she heard footsteps coming up the stairs, heavy and fast, and recognized them as Daniel’s immediately.
“Mogsy! Rain! Off the bed!” she said hurriedly, trying to shoo them away.
Too late. The door flew open.
“Hey honey!” Daniel cried, grinning from ear to ear.
“What are you doing home so early?” she asked, happily surprised but also guilty.
As if he hadn’t a care in the world, Daniel waltzed in and sat on the end of the bed, idly petting Rain.
“Jack’s in the woodshop this evening,” he said as he ran his hand across her long ear. “We’ve had a huge order in for a fairy princess staircase for a bar mitzvah and, well you know Jack, any excuse to be at work rather than home.”
“That whole retirement thing isn’t really working out for him, is it?” Emily laughed, her gaze falling to the dog, then snapping back up to Daniel.
“Nope,” Daniel chuckled in response.
Mogsy whined for attention, and he cupped her face in both his hands and kissed the dog on the crown of her head.
“Good thing you’re opening your own shop soon,” Emily said, still a little disconcerted that Daniel hadn’t scolded her for letting the dogs on the bed. “Have you told him yet?”
“Not yet. But I honestly don’t think he’ll mind. It will give him an excuse to tell his wife that he has to go back to work. She might think of me as a villain for a while but Jack will probably be very grateful!”
“Please let’s not be like that after thirty years of marriage.”
Daniel chuckled. “No way. I can’t see either of us ever retiring. Can you?”
“Good point,” Emily said. She narrowed her eyes then, still unsure what was going no. “You’re in a very good mood.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. You haven’t even mentioned the dogs on the bed.”
Daniel startled then as if he hadn’t even realized they were there. “Oh!” But he just shrugged. “It’s time to collect Chantelle. Do you want me to do it? If you’re not feeling so good?”
“No, no, I want to come,” Emily replied. “Who knows how many school pickups I’ll miss once Charlotte’s born. Think of Suzanna and Baby Robin. I hardly ever see her these days. I want to make the most of things right now, as they are.”
He helped her to her feet. Emily felt very groggy, like her nap had achieved nothing.
They headed downstairs, Daniel holding Emily’s hand for her as she took careful steps. It was amazing how much more daunting it felt to negotiate a large staircase now that she was fit to burst. To think not that long ago she’d been trotting up and down these steps with ease! Now they looked very steep.
Outside the weather was even miler that it had been that morning.
“How was the trip with Amy?” Daniel asked as he helped her into her seat.
“Great. She didn’t like any of the three gorgeous houses we saw now any of the extraordinary wedding venues. But, that reminds me, she’s found this babymoon spa for us in Quebec. I know you probably won't want to go but maybe we could think about it.”
“What's to think about?” he exclaimed. “Let's do it!”
Now Emily really was surprised. Usually Daniel took a bit of convincing. She’d clearly caught him in a great mood.
“Are you feeling okay?” she asked, only half joking.
“I’m feeling just fine,” Daniel replied, laughing. “I’m just happy to have been given a little bit of extra time with my wife this evening, that’s all.”
“That’s very sweet,” Emily relied, touched that her presence could cause him such happiness. “So you really want to go on a babymoon?”
“Sure,” he said, shrugging. “As long as Chantelle doesn't mind. Hey, how about we take her out on the boat this afternoon to soften the blow? It is 60 degrees after all!”
“I thought Clyde, Stu and Evan were working on the island today. Don’t they have it?”
Daniel shook his head. “They’re using the hire trawler today. They’ve taken it along the coast to Beals. There’s a great building supply company there but the materials are far too heavy for the cuddy cabin. Which means it’s free for us.”
“In that case we’ll have to,” Emily agreed. She loved boat trips, too, and any chance to see the island was welcome considering the weather could turn at any moment. It did seem like a stroke of luck that the opportunity had presented itself. Emily would be a fool to turn it down!
They made it to the school, parking up in the lot before getting out the truck. A moment later the doors burst open and children hurried down the steps. Chantelle appeared, her eyes scanning the parking lot for Emily’s car. But instead she found the pickup truck, and by her expression, it was clear that she was thrilled to see her father unexpectedly picking her up. She ran towards them.
“Daddy,” Chantelle cried, barrelling into his open arms. “What are you doing here?”
“Taking my special girl on a boat trip to our island, that's what,” Daniel said. “What do you say to that? Want to go on a boat trip?”
“YES!” Chantelle exclaimed, jumping up and down.
She quickly ran back to the playground to say goodbye to her friends, before bolting back to the truck and jumping in.
“Wow, that was quick,” Emily commented. She patted her stomach. “I miss being able to run like that!”
“Poor mommy,” Chantelle said. “Not too long now. She’ll be here before Christmas. Ooh, that reminds me. Did you speak to Papa Roy about coming for Christmas?”
Emily felt a jolt of anguish in her chest. What was the best thing to tell the girl? She didn’t want her to worry unnecessarily.
“I sent him an email,” Emily told her. “But why don’t we try to call him when we’re on the island?”
Chantelle nodded and settled down for the rest of the journey to the harbor.
When they arrived, everything was very quiet. In spite of the calm weather, most people had already packed up their boats for the winter. It was only because of the island renovation work that Daniel’s boat was still out at all. It had been a stroke of luck, or fate aligning, that meant they’d been able to sail it so regularly.
Daniel jumped down into the boat first, before helping Chantelle and Emily in. Then they set off, cutting through the sparkling water in the direction