Two Weeks in August (24 page)

“Hazy,” Nina said coldly, “you’ve got to get up. You’re sitting in water, you know.”

 
Hazy turned her shadowed face Nina’s way and her voice reeked of sarcasm. “Of course I know I’m sittin’ in water. Do you think I’m an idiot? Oh, s’cuse me, of course you do, otherwise you wouldna have pranced around in your little shirts and panties, breaking the heart of an honest, hardworking—”

“Hazy,” Nina pointed out petulantly, “you’re not making sense. Just get out of the water so I can go to bed.”

She grabbed Nina’s forearm so hard that pain shot through to her shoulder. “Yes, go to bed, pretty Nina, I’m sure your Miss Charming waits there f’you. Hey,” she added. “Instead of you payin’ me, I should’ve paid you. It was a nice roll in the hay, too, worth a good price.”

 
Nina was so angry her body felt numb. Shaking off Hazy’s hand, she leaned and put the weight of her entire body into a forceful shove to Hazy’s chest. The strength of the push knocked the taller woman backward, causing a great splash of water as she fell onto the lower planking.

“Drown, damn you, see if I care!” Nina cried.

She moved rapidly toward the safety of her cottage.

Hazy was fast on her heels, amazing Nina with her speed considering the state of her inebriation.

Nina tried to slam the door shut but she was too close behind and threw her body against the door.

“Damn it, get away,” Nina growled as she strained to close the barrier.

“Nay, I’ll be in, this is
my
place and I’ll do as I blasted well please,” she replied through clenched teeth.

With a sudden burst of strength, Hazy managed to pop the door from Nina’s hands and Hazy, Nina and the door all flew into the room with a mighty crash.

Nina was the first to gain her feet and she stood before Hazy, chest heaving and fists clenched. Breath rasped through her lungs.

“Damn you, Hazel Duncan. I wish I’d never set eyes on you and your blasted cottages!” she shouted.

“Aye, a sentimen’ I agree with,” Hazy replied weakly. “You’ve messed up my life enough. Go on back to the…”

 
Nina watched Hazy, who was sitting on the floor, weave back and forth. She was poised and ready to flee should Hazy renew the attack. But the exertion of chasing Nina had taken its toll. Hazy fell backward onto the carpeted floor and promptly passed out.

Trying to regulate her thudding heartbeat, Nina examined the damage while keeping one eye on Hazy, just in case she was pretending to be unconscious.

The door was mostly whole but the hinge ends of the facing were splintered and would probably need replacing. Muttering to herself Nina set about straightening as much of the mess as she could.

As Hazy continued to lay insensate, Nina’s anger and boldness increased. She passed closer to the supine form, even roughly pulling parts of the doorknob assembly from under her limp body. The memory of Hazy’s asinine behavior led her to place a swift kick to the woman’s thigh. Though she jumped back nervously, remorsefully, afterward, Hazy still didn’t move.

After locking the screen door and leaning the main door against the portal to keep out some of the night air, Nina retreated to her bedroom and crawled into the bed.

Angry thoughts plagued her for many hours and she suddenly realized what she needed to do. Thus resolved, she was able to drift into an uneasy sleep, very aware of Hazy’s presence in the next room.

Chapter 35

Hazy woke feeling as though her body had been hit repeatedly with a sledgehammer.

Her mouth was bone-dry. Smacking uncooperative lips and trying futilely to wet them with a dry tongue, she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. The second thing she saw was Nina’s angry face above her.

“I said get up,” Nina repeated loudly as she nudged Hazy’s ribs with the toe of her sneaker. “If you think I’m going to let you lie around on my floor all day, you are sadly mistaken.”

Hazy squinted at her as she tried to make sense of her predicament. “Where am I?” she asked finally, her voice a harsh whisper.

Nina had moved into the bedroom and her voice was muffled. “Guess. By the way, just for the record, you were pretty obnoxious last night.”

Hazy sat up, a movement that caused her head to pound unbearably. “What did I do?” she whispered.

Nina entered the living room, fully dressed and holding a cup of coffee. “Aren’t you gone yet?” she asked in a scathing tone. “I have things to do.”

Anger sparked in Hazy and she was actually grateful when an outboard motor coughed to life outside the cottage, reminding her of her duties. She wasn’t sure what to say to Nina and thought it better if she simply left.

Slowly she rose to prop herself on unsteady legs. Her head began pounding anew and her body felt sorely bruised and battered. A small moan escaped her but sheer willpower helped her hobble to the door.

She turned and looked sadly at Nina when she spied the broken door. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Nina stood at the kitchen counter, her back to Hazy. Upon hearing the question, her back stiffened. “No, just a little bruised.”

Hazy nodded sagely. Making sure she was not observed, she left the cottage.

Nina released the breath she had been holding. She felt sorry for Hazy but could not let it show. She had to be the strong one, making certain both their lives weren’t destroyed by this infatuation.

Wearily she walked into the bedroom and pulled her suitcase and overnight bags from the closet. Most of her clothing was already stacked atop the bed and she mechanically loaded the items neatly into the suitcase. She fetched her toiletries from the bathroom and a few odds and ends she had stacked on one of the bureaus.

Packed last was her work; the Shaner manuscript, the computer and the notebooks she worked in. These were stacked neatly in a canvas bag.

With great sadness, Nina took a few moments to study every familiar corner of the small cottage. She would miss being here. She would miss Hazy and the possibility of who they might have been together.

Hazy had sat at that kitchen table when she conversed with Martha and Rhonda. She’d been waiting on that side of the sofa when Nina returned from the visit with Mrs. Loreli.

And it was on that bed they first made love.

Closing her eyes from the pain stirred by the powerful memories, Nina stood in the center of the living room. Tears broke free and cascaded over her cheeks. Swiping angrily at her face, she grabbed her emotions with a strong mental hand and lifted her handbag from the kitchen table.

She left an envelope with Hazy’s name on it in the center of the table. It held the money she owed for the week’s rental, the money Hazy had so angrily refused when Rhonda was here.

After pushing the broken door wider so her luggage could get through, Nina left as she had arrived. She knew she was much changed. She would never be that happy, carefree person again.

Chapter 36

After several cups of strong coffee, a light breakfast, and a hot shower, Hazy stood on the wide landing of the dock and stared out across Assateague Channel.

A strong sea breeze ruffled her hair and she made a mental note to get a haircut sometime soon. As always, her eyes were drawn to cottage number eight. This time the sight of the leering door made her wince and shame flooded her. How could she have done something like that? She was often angry but violence had never been a part of her nature.

She couldn’t remember all the events of the previous evening but she knew she and Nina had shouted at one another and ended up in actual combat. Hence the broken door.

She sincerely hoped Nina had not been hurt. Her own temper could be fierce but she had yet to hurt a woman physically.

The cottage was very still and Hazy noted that Nina’s car was gone. A sense of loss filled her and she wondered how she was going to continue life without Nina when the woman moved into her grandfather’s house.

How quickly Nina had entered her life and snared her love. In a mere two weeks Hazy had realized the depth of emotion possible to her, and now she had lost the only person who seemed capable of making her feel those emotions.

Thoughtfully, she watched a small flock of ducks wind their way across the channel toward Assateague. It was almost September. Winter was just around the corner.

Dumping the last of her coffee over the railing into the rollicking seawater, Hazy knew the autumn of her life was also just around the corner. And she had been mostly alone for almost twenty years, never sharing or receiving in more than the most superficial of ways. It was time she grew up and went after the things that made life worth living. And those things included Nina.

Rhonda be damned, Mander be damned. Mama New be damned. Nina was hers to love. And as soon as Nina returned, she would tell her so.

Many hours later, when Hazy was sitting down to a meal prepared by Mama New and Heather, there was a knock on the door of the cottage. Heather ran to answer it, her pink shorts billowing as she raced across the room. Hazy followed at a much slower pace and was surprised to see Mander Sheridan standing there bantering gaily with Heather.

“Hello, Mander,” Hazy said guardedly. “What can I do for you?”

“Do you know where Nina Christie is?” Mander asked.
“
I came to tell her the house is ready for her to start moving in but she’s not there. The door’s broken too. Do you think she’s all right?”

Hazy felt her color rise but answered quickly.
“
I saw her this morning and she seemed okay. I figured she was out at the house with you.”

“No, she never came by,” Mander said, running her hands through her hair in a worried gesture.
“
What about that door though? Suppose someone took her or something?”

“No, I broke the door myself by accident. I’m waitin’ on Manny to bring my toolbox back so I can have a go at fixin’ it. I wonder where she is though, no kiddin’.” She frowned as several possibilities entered her mind.

“Well,” Mander sighed. “I’ll be going then. Just tell her the house is ready whenever you see her. I left my key in the pantry.” She smiled boastfully and leaned close to Hazy. “I’ve gotta go—hot date tonight with Ally Charling. She’s such a babe.”

“But I thought you and Nina...I guess she chose the other one.” Hazy said, mostly to herself.

Mander shrugged.
“
I don’t know. I guess we just never hit it off. Not for lack of trying on my part, though. Maybe it’s for the best. Ally’s a local, easier to get on with.”