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Mark shook his head. “I didn’t know.”
“Why would you know? You haven’t cared about anyone since Timothy died except yourself. You let Elle twist in the wind for this.”
Mark glanced down at his bare feet. He supposed he had. He was having trouble focusing. “But you slept with her. When we were still married. She was my wife.”
“She was mourning. I was, too. He was my nephew. We didn’t plan it, Mark. It wasn’t a grand scheme. She needed comfort. That’s all. I’m sorry for that. I should never have done it. But I wasn’t thinking straight, and I’m sorry. I am.”
Mark felt a bit of his chest loosen. Here was the apology he’d been waiting for so long.
“You were supposed to be there for me. That was the worst time of my life.”
Edward looked guilty as he glanced out over the water. “I know. I’m sorry.” He turned back to Mark. “It might not mean much, but I’m here now. I want to help you. I know what this race means to you. Let me help you race in it.” He kicked some sand by his toe. “I know I wasn’t there for you before, but let me be there for you now.”
Mark looked at the sand by his feet. He realized in that moment he didn’t have much choice. After all, if he wanted to sail the Timothy in that race, his brother would be the only one who could help him.
Edward took a step closer. “We don’t have to be friends, okay? And after I help you with this, you can go back to hating me just like before. Just let me do this. Please.”
Part of Mark wanted to fight, but then he realized that all the fight had drained out of him the minute that storm had wrecked the Timothy. Maybe he could stomach Edward being here, for now. Suddenly, he realized that some things were more important than grudges. Like winning that race. Like racing the Timothy.
Mark nodded. “Fine,” he said.
The two brothers walked back to the patio, where Laura was waiting for them, arms crossed.
“Have you two made up?” she asked, her eyes still a little red from tears.
“Sort of.” He wasn’t sure he was ready to fully forgive his brother just yet. But, he supposed, letting him work on the Timothy was a start. “And…I’m sorry,” he murmured. “For what I said to you.”
“Good. You should be.” Laura sniffed.
Mark grabbed hold of her and pulled her into a hug. He inhaled traces of her lavender-scented shampoo. She melted into him a little, leaning her head against his chest.
“I was grumpy. Not used to be woken up so rudely,” he joked, referencing the very first time they met.
Laura chuckled into his shirt.
“Okay, Mr. Noise Pollution,” she joked, and then he knew she’d forgiven him. Mostly. In that moment, he felt for the first time since the storm that everything might really work out.
* * *
IN A WEEK, the Timothy was as good as new. With Edward’s help and Tanner Boating supplies, a new mast had soon replaced the old one, and now he was ready to sail. The race was postponed so that racers could get their bearings and get back to the island if they’d evacuated for the storm, not to mention, it gave time for the floodwaters to recede.
Laura had to cash in a bit more of her 401(k) to stay, and even as she did, she worried about the future. Her waistline was growing a bit, as far as she could tell, and the morning sickness just kept getting worse. In fact, they should call it morning, noon and night sickness, because it wasn’t just when she woke up.
“Are you sick again?” Mark asked, knocking on the bathroom door after a particularly strong-smelling calamari Mark brought home from a local restaurant made her sprint to the bathroom. They’d finished taking down all the boards over the windows and now the condo was full of sunlight once more, but the warm light didn’t help her upset stomach.
“I’m fine,” she said, running the water loudly. “Nothing to worry about.”
“But it’s been going on all week,” he cried, knocking harder. “You sure you don’t need help?”
“Fine,” she called. Laura wondered how long she’d be able to keep up this charade. He’d find out soon, she just knew it. First, she’d been able to claim seasickness when they’d taken the Timothy out for a test run. Then she said it might be food poisoning, but now, he was going to get suspicious.
She splashed cold water on her face and willed her body to get it together. No more hurling, little one, she scolded her own belly. She looked down at her shorts, unbuttoned at the waist because her waistline had grown too much.
Despite the fact that she couldn’t keep much down, she’d still managed to gain a little weight, her shorts becoming tighter. Soon, she’d really have to think about finding a doctor and having a checkup. She’d called her old ob-gyn and had her call in prenatal vitamins to the local pharmacy. Laura had also promised to get checked out as soon as she could.
