Clare stepped forward at the same time Mason did. They bumped shoulders. She laughed. He didn't move away immediately. Neither did she.
For one second, they were too close. Mason looked at her. Clare stopped breathing normally. Then Lily's voice came from down the hall. Committee meeting.
Mason stepped back. Saved by procedure. Clare smiled, but the warmth stayed after the elevator doors closed. So did the question. Mason had been wearing Rachel's ring for 3 years.
Clare knew who it belonged to now. She still had no idea why he could not let it go. Rain arrived the next evening with enough enthusiasm to cancel almost everything in Bar Harbor. The whale tour closed first, then the carriage roads. By 6, the inn had moved its outdoor movie into a conference room and renamed it family cinema, which Lily said sounded like something invented by adults who hated fun.
That plan ended when Lily appeared outside her room wearing a yellow raincoat. The kids group is watching the movie. And you're telling me because Lily smiled. Dad needs supervision. Mason sighed.
Go watch your movie. They ended up in the inn's small lounge beside a window blurred by rain. Someone had lit the fireplace. Clare had tea. Mason had coffee he kept forgetting to drink.
For a while, neither mentioned Rachel. Clare had learned that silence around Mason did not always need rescuing. Eventually, his hand moved to the chain beneath his shirt. Rachel used to leave coffee cups everywhere. Bathroom counter, bookshelf, once in the linen closet.
She hated instructions, too. Furniture, appliances, directions. She believed manuals were written by people with trust issues. Clare laughed. She sounds difficult.
She was. She also cheated at cards. You can cheat at cards. Rachel could cheat at anything. What did you play, Rummy?
Clare raised an eyebrow. That is a very aggressive widow story. Mason nearly choked on his coffee. The laughter faded, but the room stayed warm. Clare noticed that he did not talk about Rachel like a saint.
He talked about her like someone who misplaced mugs, ignored instructions, and annoyed him on ordinary Tuesday mornings. So why the ring? You don't have to answer. Rain tapped against the glass. After Rachel died, Lily was six.
She understood what death meant mostly. He turned his cup slowly between his hands. One night, she asked me if people disappear twice. She meant once when they die and again when everyone stops talking about them. I told her no.
A few weeks later she found Rachel's ring in a drawer and asked me to keep it somewhere safe. So you wear it at first for her. At first Lily asked me something else that year. She asked if liking someone too much could make them disappear. What did you tell her?
That it doesn't work that way. Did you believe yourself? No, it was not guilt about loving Rachel. It was fear of loving anyone after her. I dated twice after she died.
Nothing serious. Lily met one of them. How long were you together? 3 months. That's not very long.
Not to me. To Lily, it was enough. So, you stopped dating. I stopped bringing anyone close enough for her to care. That sounds lonely.
That wasn't the goal. No, just the result. Mason smiled without humor. Clare looked at her tea. My trip isn't as brave as I made it sound.