“Do they expect you to marry and live in England?” Dora pressed on, realizing how little she knew about the pressures her younger sister faced. She had always assumed Harper was living quite the charmed, carefree life of a wealthy urbanite.
“Granny would love it, of course. Whenever I visit she throws elaborate parties to introduce me to all the eligible young bachelors. Not unlike you, Mamaw,” Harper gamely added in Mamaw’s direction.
Mamaw feigned shock. “I have no ulterior motive. I only want you to feel at home here!”
Harper laughed lightly. “You are the dearest. But you’re fooling no one. I’d rather find my husband on my own terms, thank you very much.” Her tone grew wistful again. “He’s out there somewhere.”
“That all sounds very romantic,” Dora said. “But tick-tock, sister. You’re not going to find him sitting here by your lonesome. You haven’t gone out on a date since you’ve arrived.”
“Well, look who’s suddenly Miss Lady Out on the Town!” Harper remarked playfully.
“True, true,” Dora said with a laugh. “But seriously, you’re so young and so pretty.”
Harper sat straighter in her chair, lifting her chin. “I’ll know him when I meet him,” she said. “I’ve always dreamed when I do, it will be a thunderbolt. I’ve heard of such things happening, haven’t you? You look into a stranger’s eyes and boom, you just know.”
Dora thought of how she shivered whenever she looked into Devlin’s eyes. She spoke as much to herself as to her sister.
“I never thought of you as a romantic,” she said with a short laugh. “That’s the stuff of fairy tales. What you’re referring to is plain lust. Marriage is another thing altogether. Thunderbolts are fun, but a husband has to be a good provider. And in your case, your man has to have a long and illustrious pedigree.”
Mamaw turned in her chair to look askance at Dora. “When you talk like that you sound like your mother,” she said drily.
Dora paled and brought her hand to her mouth. “I do, don’t I?” She turned to Harper. “Oh, hell, don’t listen to me. What do I know? Look at the mess I’ve made of my life.”
“You’re doing just fine,” Harper said. “Let’s forget about me,” she said, deflecting the attention from herself back to Dora. “I’m glad to see you going out for a change.”
“As should you,” Dora replied, tossing the spotlight back to Harper. “You’re becoming an introvert,” Dora argued, “only talking to people on the Internet. That’s not good.”
“But it is good,” Harper said insistently. “For me. My whole life, even as a girl, I was on a treadmill, always pushing toward some goal.” She paused, then said evenly, “Mother was very good at setting goals.”
Dora snorted in an unladylike manner. “I get that.”
Mamaw set her book down again and looked at Dora.
“Dora, you might need people now,” said Harper. “But I need solitude.”
“Solitude is different from isolation. I isolated myself in Summerville even though there were lots of people around me, and let me tell you, I was lonely. I can understand seeking moments of peace, but be careful that you are not hiding out.”
“I know the difference,” Harper said defensively. “It’s hard to explain. I didn’t realize it when I first arrived here in May. I thought I’d come in for Mamaw’s weekend party, then be on my way. Of course”—she looked sheepishly at Mamaw, catching her eyes and smiling—“it didn’t turn out that way. Since I’ve been here, though, it’s like my whole body has slowed down. I’m paying attention to the minutiae that suddenly loom so large. And I like it. I’m off the treadmill. I don’t have set goals, I don’t feel I have to live up to someone else’s expectations. I can just be.”
“That’s the magic of being at Sea Breeze,” Dora said. “But it’s not real.”
“Isn’t it?” Harper asked rhetorically.
“No. You’re on vacation,” Dora persisted.
Harper let her gaze sweep the vast wetlands that stretched across the vista. “Mamaw, you never made me feel like I had to measure up to some standard here. Quite the opposite. As far as you were concerned, I was family and all that was required of me was my occasional presence.” She glanced at Mamaw with a wry grin. “That and good manners.”
Mamaw made a face.
Harper stared down at her sweet tea and stirred the ice with her finger. “It sounds escapist, I realize that,” she said. “But when I come here to Sea Breeze . . . I don’t know how to explain it.” She looked back out at the Cove. “I feel so far away from that other world. It’s truly different here. Time is inconsequential. My internal clock is set by the sun and the moon and the tides. I feel unfettered. And, if I stay long enough, in the stillness I sense something’s opening up inside. Something important.”
A short silence fell as Harper continued staring out at the vista.
Harper looked back at the two women and shook her head, seemingly embarrassed for the confession. “I’m sure that all sounds very New Age or whatever. I’m okay, really I am,” she said evasively.
There followed another momentary silence. Dora looked at Mamaw to see her studying Harper.
“Girls,” Mamaw said, her eyes gleaming. “I’ve just had the best idea.”
Eager for a change of subject, Harper brightened. “I’m all ears.”
Mamaw set her book aside and leaned forward, closer to the girls. “Dora, you love gardening and know a lot about it. Harper, you want to learn how to garden. Why don’t the two of you take this poor pitiful garden on as a project? It’s something to work on together. I’ll supply the plants. I’ll even pull out my garden gloves and help you. What do you say?”
“Mamaw,” Harper said with enthusiasm. “That’s a splendid idea!”
“I don’t know,” Dora said, dragging her heels on the idea. She already had so much on her plate. “Do you have any idea how much work is involved? And how hot it is out there?”
“But, Dora,” Mamaw said, a bit put out. “You love gardening. It doesn’t have to be a massive project, like your garden in Summerville. It won’t take that much time if you keep it small. Besides, isn’t gardening supposed to be good for the soul?”