Organized dinner invitations with suspiciously even numbers. Barbecues where someone's cousin happened to be single. One Christmas, Daniel seated me beside a dental hygienist from Delaware. What was wrong with her? Nothing.
She was lovely. That sounds terrible. She flossed recreationally. Clare laughed hard enough to spill coffee onto her hand. Evan handed her a towel.
That's what I mean. Everyone thought the problem was that I hadn't replaced the relationship. Clare wiped her fingers. And you didn't want to. I wanted people to stop asking.
The rain softened slightly. Evan glanced toward the deck. That boat was supposed to give me one summer where nobody asked whether I'd met someone. Clare considered that. And instead, you met someone who took the boat.
Exactly. I'm beginning to see why you resent me. I've been very clear about it. You keep showing up. That remains under investigation.
Clare looked down at her coffee. I bought her for almost the opposite reason. Evan waited. Clare exhaled. My life got very efficient.
That sounds awful. It was. She smiled. Good job. Good apartment, good clients.
I knew which grocery store was fastest on Tuesdays. I booked flights 3 months ahead. I had a dentist appointment scheduled before I knew what I was doing for my birthday. That is unsettling. I know.
She looked toward the companion way. One day, I realized I hadn't done anything in years that made me nervous in a good way. So, you bought a 32- ft sailboat. I may have overcorrected a little. I wanted something I couldn't organize completely.
Evan glanced around the cabin as the radio crackled for no reason. You succeeded. Clare smiled. He studied her for a moment. So, I was trying to get away from people and I was trying to get back into the world.
That feels inconvenient. For whom? Evan looked at her. The rain began to stop. Still under investigation.
The next weekend, Clare proposed a real trip. Define real, Evan said. Far enough that you can't pretend we're testing a hinge. They sailed south toward a small Chesapeake town with a narrow marina and a seafood place Clare had photographed years earlier. By noon, the sky was clear.
By one, Clare had renamed Blue Heron. No, you haven't heard it. I heard the tone. Blue disaster. Evan looked offended.
She is not a disaster. Clare raised an eyebrow. We replaced half her personality. That is maintenance. Blue drama.
No, her majesties. Absolutely not. Clare smiled. I'll keep working. At the town dock, Evan tied the stern line while Clare checked the knot.
He noticed. Don't. I didn't say anything. Your face did. They walked to a seafood shack overlooking the harbor.
Clare ordered crab soup. Evan ordered fish tacos. When the waiter returned with two glasses of iced tea, he glanced between them. Separate checks? "Yes," Evan said.
"Either is fine," Clare said. They both stopped. The waiter looked down at his pad. Clare turned slowly toward Evan. "Well," she said.
"That was revealing." Evan picked up his tea. "I like financial clarity. You sounded frightened. I was decisive."