A Light Between Oceans Episode 06
Sandy sat at the pine table sipping cold white wine, while Hattie cleared away the now empty bowls of chowder and the remains of the crusty bread and salad.
“How about some pudding?” she suggested. “I have some raspberries and cream.”
“I can’t resist.”
The clock ticked in the silence. They’d been talking about everything imaginable – except the lighthouse.
Finally, Sandy bit the bullet.
“I did some research on Lucas Brook,” she began. “He works for an investment management company.
“I have an awful feeling he has plans to do something ghastly with the lighthouse.
“What if he decides to tear it down?”
“Have you written to him at the hotel?”
“No, but I suppose I must.”
“You could just phone the desk,” Hattie suggested.
“Or we could hand-deliver a letter under cover of darkness . . .”
She raised her eyebrows dramatically.
“That does sound preferable!” Sandy laughed. “I’d rather not discuss it on the phone.”
“That’s settled, then. Heavy disguise at midnight.
“I suppose we could go in the morning and give it to the doorman, but that’s not nearly as much fun.”
Sandy smiled, but the jokey tone in Hattie’s voice had seemed nervous and unnatural.
“I’m not sure I’ll last until midnight,” Sandy admitted. “But before I get too sleepy I’d like to go for a little walk.”
“Would you like company, or would you prefer to go on your own?”
“I think I’d like to go by myself this time,” Sandy replied.
“Take a jacket – it’s chilly,” Hattie advised.
“I will.” Sandy smiled.
Had she ever left the cottage without Hattie reminding her to take a cardi or a jacket?
Sandy made her way down the narrow street and through the labyrinth of lanes that led to the bay.
After a while the cottages began to thin out, then she scrambled up and over the hill that led out towards the headland.
There it was in the twilight – the lighthouse with its pattern of two red bands, and the white cottage beneath it.
She always loved seeing it from this safe distance, away from the crashing waves that frightened her.
She remembered the first time Dad had taken her up into the lighthouse.
It was on her sixth birthday.
His gentle voice had guided and reassured her as they’d climbed the spiral staircase until at last they’d reached the top.
Then he’d cheered, lifting her into his arms, his cheek against hers.
“It’s a guiding light for the ships, and it brings them safely to the land.
“I think that it has a way of guiding us in other ways, too.”
The memory flooded back, clear and strong.
At the time she hadn’t quite understood what Dad had meant, though she loved the sound of the words.
It was the same now. What exactly had he meant?
She wished she knew, for all at once she was sure she’d never felt so lost.
She watched as the last of the day’s sun caught the huge lens of the lighthouse, sending shimmering flashes across the water.
This was where she had grown up.
Where she’d experienced happiness with Dad, and with Hattie, along with the deepest sadness.
Her life, and theirs, had been shaped here, and the lighthouse was a towering symbol of it all.
But it was all going to change, never to be the same again.