For You, Forever

“And other than pirate ships and magic castles,” Harry said, “where will the actual inn parts be?”

“Well, there will be a three-room cabin which we want to start as a sort of writer’s retreat. Tracy is also going to do some yoga workshops on the island, like day-long well-being retreats.”

“It sounds fantastic,” Harry said. “How much do you think you’ll get done over the winter?”

“Depends on the weather,” Daniel said. “It’s a shame it took so long to get the sale through, really. This Indian summer could have given us a head start, but I’m sure it will be over by the time we’ve organized all the machinery and materials.”

Thinking ahead made Emily worry. No longer was the island a fantasy or a dream. It was real. Now everything had to be practical. There was so much to organize and pay for, so many components that had to be in place. They’d barely finished the renovations at Trevor’s. It felt a bit like they’d jumped from the frying pan and into the fire!

But still, Emily was thrilled. She couldn’t quite believe she and Daniel had had the guts to buy the island. Not only had they been brave enough to make a child together, they’d been brave enough to follow their dreams, no matter how crazy they may seem. Emily smiled to herself, knowing that above all else, they were a team, and that together they were indestructible.

“Now, let’s go start a fire,” Daniel said, rubbing his hands eagerly. “Chantelle, can you collect all the pieces of wood on the beach?”

She nodded and hurried off, always in need of a task, always wanting to do her part to help. Then Daniel pulled a package of marshmallows from his jacket pocket. Emily laughed with delight, knowing how happy Chantelle would be when she got back from her trip to the beach to discover Daniel’s plan to toast marshmallows around the bonfire.

“You should have brought your guitar!” Emily said.

But Daniel just smiled and kissed her tenderly. “There will be so many more opportunities for songs around the bonfire,” he said, his eyes going dreamy. “You, me, and the girls.”

Emily gazed at him, awed by the man he was, the gorgeousness of him, and so excited for their future together, for all the adventures that lay ahead.

*

Mouths sticky with melted marshmallow, bellies and cheeks aching from laughter, the small party headed back to the boat. Daniel had called it, saying that the light would soon fade. And besides, there was no plumbing on the island yet and Baby Charlotte had a tendency to kick Emily’s bladder on a regular basis, so she’d be relieved to be heading back within the vicinity of a restroom.

When they reached the main lane, Daniel found their spot in the harbor. There were very few vessels in the water now, though many more than usual at this time of year. Everyone was making the most of the warm weather, eking out as many trips on the water as they could before winter came along and robbed them of that pleasure.

“Thanks for that impromptu trip to your island,” Amy said, hugging Emily farewell. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over how crazy that is.”

Emily smiled at her, tucking loose strands of her hair from her eyes. “When can we hang out just the two of us?” she asked.

Though Amy was often around, they were always surrounded by people. Emily couldn’t actually recall the last time the two of them had gotten together for a good chat, and she could tell that Amy needed someone to talk to right now.

“Chantelle’s back at school tomorrow,” Emily added, “so we’ll be able to find some privacy more easily. How about coffee at Joe’s once we’ve dropped her off?”

Amy nodded and Emily noticed the look of relief in her eyes to know she’d finally be able to offload whatever was on her mind.

They parted ways with Amy and Harry, everyone hugging and waving goodbye, then strolled slowly back to the inn, exhausted from the long day. Even the dogs were dragging their paws.

“I’m tired,” Chantelle said through her yawn as they idled up the driveway.

Ahead of them sat the inn, silhouetted against a deepening blue sky. Its windows beamed out yellow light, looking like twinkling stars from this distance. Emily smiled, content. Seeing the inn always gave her a sense of peace, and made her feel like she was home.

“Let’s have some dinner first and then you can head up to your room,” Emily said. “It’s your first day back at school tomorrow so you need a good night’s sleep.”

Chantelle looked a little sad. “The summer’s over already?”

Emily nodded. “I’m afraid so, sweetie. But don’t worry, you love school! You’ll see Bailey and Toby every single day again. And Gail.”

“Will Miss Glass still be my teacher?” Chantelle asked.

Emily shook her head. “You’ll be in a new class with a new teacher. Does that worry you?”

Chantelle paused, her expression showing that she was thinking about it. “No,” she said, eventually. “I’ll still see Miss Glass on the playground sometimes.”

Emily smiled, then caught Daniel’s eye. He was smiling too.

They went inside the inn, the foyer bright, warm, and welcoming. Bryony was in the side lounge on her favorite couch, surrounded by half-drunk coffee mugs as usual. She leapt up when she saw them, her metal bracelets jangling as she did, and hurried over. Her perfume smelled of spices.

“Guys, I can’t believe it!” she gushed. “An island!” She hugged Emily. “Do you know how few islands there are in the hospitality world? This is going to be a gold mine!”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Emily replied. “Or else it might have been a very expensive mistake.”

Daniel and Chantelle went into the kitchen to make food. Emily decided to head up to the nursery while they were cooking. She wanted to look through another one of Charlotte’s boxes to see whether there were any toys she could pass on to the baby.

She went inside the nursery and sat on the floor beside one of the many boxes that contained her sister’s old toys and clothes, which had been brought down from where they’d been carefully stored in the attic.

This task was always tinged with melancholy. Though Emily felt that Charlotte’s spirit was with her in this house, smiling down on her and the family she’d built, it always felt a little bit like she disappeared more with each day that passed. Time was supposed to make pain lessen but for Emily she felt that the more days that went by without her sister the more she missed her, because the last time they spoke was that little bit further in the past.

She opened up the cardboard box, a smell of dust wafting out with it. Like most of the boxes, this one was filled with cuddly toys. It surprised Emily to see that Charlotte had owned so many stuffed toys. She hardly had any memories of her sister playing with bears or dolls. They spent most of their time imagining worlds and acting out plays. Other than their twin rag dolls and Charlotte’s favorite bear, Andy Pandy, Emily couldn’t recall them ever playing with such toys at all.

But as she reached in and pulled out a faded pink toy, Emily felt a sudden surge of a memory. She turned the toy over in her hands and saw it was a unicorn, its once shimmery sequined horn now dull.

“Sparkles,” she muttered aloud, the name of the toy appearing on her tongue before her mind had even kicked into gear.

Then suddenly she felt a familiar swirling sensation, one she had not felt for a very long time. She was slipping back into the past, into her old memories.

The flashbacks had begun once she’d first returned to the inn. They’d been terrifying at first, frightening memories such as the night Charlotte had died, and the raging arguments between her parents. But then as time had passed, as she processed those repressed memories, Emily had started to experience some of the more pleasant ones. Times when she and Charlotte had played together; had been carefree. This memory filled Emily with a sense of calmness, and she knew it was going to be a nice one.

She and Charlotte were in the attic, in one of the rooms her father had filled with antique items. On the floor beside them was a bronze globe, and Charlotte was spinning it idly with a finger. Sitting next to Charlotte was Sparkles, the beautiful unicorn toy. Brand new, fluffy pink, with a sequined horn.

“Sparkles is sad,” Charlotte told Emily.

“Why?” Emily asked, curiously, hearing a child’s voice coming from her throat.

“Because she’s the last unicorn,” Charlotte explained. “She doesn’t have any other unicorn friends.”

“That’s sad,” Emily replied. “Maybe you should take her on an adventure to cheer her up?”

Charlotte seemed to perk up at the suggestion. “Where do you want to go, Sparkles?” she asked her toy. Then she spun the golden globe and stopped it with a pointed finger. It was a small island to the east of the continent of America. “Sparkles wants to go to an island,” Charlotte informed Emily.

Emily nodded. “In that case, we’d better get in the boat.”

They pulled out old chairs and coffee tables, disturbing the dust and stirring the smell of mildew, then configured them in such a way that satisfied their imaginations that they’d constructed a boat. Then they used a threadbare curtain as a sail and clambered into their boat with Sparkles.

Emily could almost feel the wind in her hair as they sailed across the ocean to a distant shore. Charlotte used a kaleidoscope as a telescope, scanning the room as if searching.

“Land ahoy!” she suddenly cried.