“Oh, those are the caretakers,” he said, nodding his head in understanding. “My dad told me a couple lived out here and helped with the land. I didn’t expect you to refer to them as neighbors.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“I guess I thought of them more as employees than neighbors,” he said.
“We don’t think of them like that,” I said quietly. I felt a remnant of the anger from my earlier conversation with Luca. “They help us and we help them. That’s how neighbors are.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said. “I heard your dad lets them live there for free, so I assumed they worked for your family.”
“How did you know that?” I asked, confused by how he knew anything about Jason and Dad’s lease agreement.
“It’s a small town and an even smaller parish,” he said. “You must realize you and your family are the focus of a lot of conversations.”
My face flushed red. “No, I had no idea,” I said with shock in my voice. It never occurred to me my family would be the subject of conversation for anyone, especially those we rarely, if ever, spoke to.
“Really?” Thomas said, surprised. “You live in a castle completely isolated from the rest of us.”
“Exactly! Why would people talk about people they never see or talk to?” I said, embarrassed by being the focus of town and parish gossip.
He switched the picnic basket to his other hand. “I guess that’s the reason,” he said. “People talk about what’s mysterious and interesting, and your family, with its large estate and hidden lives, are both mysterious and interesting. Most of us could never imagine having so much wealth, and if we did, I guess we’d flaunt it. But your family doesn’t. Aside from Avila, you’re all fairly quiet. Even your dad, who owns half the town, he’s totally down to earth.”
“Why wouldn’t he be?” I asked, feeling like Thomas was insulting my dad, though he wasn’t. He was simply trying to explain everyone else’s fascination with my family. It wasn’t his fault people talked about us.
“I’ve never been the one to start talking about your family, but I should’ve told people to stop and I didn’t,” Thomas said. “I’m sorry. I guess I was as curious about you and your family as everyone else.”
“Is that why you’re here?” I said with disappointment I couldn’t hide.
He stopped, and I stopped a few paces later and turned back to face him.
“Siena, I’m sorry. The truth is, part of the reason I came out here was because I was curious, but the main reason was because I wanted to get to know you better, and that’s the truth. I swear.”
He stood staring at me, his eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry,” he said.
I started walking again. “It’s okay,” I said, only partially meaning it. What else could I say? I was foolish for not realizing his interest in me had little to do with me.
“I’d probably be curious about you and your family if the situation was reversed,” I said, though that wasn’t true. I rarely took interest in the inner lives of other families.
“Thank you for understanding,” he said. “Though if the situations were reversed, I doubt there’d be much for people to speculate about. My parents aren’t humble and they don’t downplay what they have.”
“I’ve always liked your parents,” I said, thinking of the man and the woman who were always so friendly and welcoming every time I was around them.
“Oh yeah, they’re great,” he said, rubbing his head. “And they totally love you. I just meant that other people knowing they have stuff has always been important to them. So, if we lived out here and had all your family has, people would definitely be aware of it,” he said with a lighthearted tone.
Everything he said was nice, but something about his words and tone made me think that if his parents liked stuff and money so much, their son likely did too.
Perhaps he wasn’t here solely because he was curious or because he wanted to get to know me better. Perhaps there was some part of him—a very small part, I was sure—that was here because of my family’s money.
He smiled at me as we walked. I returned the gesture, hoping his expression was more sincere than mine.
Eight
Wild rosebushes lined the area between the forest and the beach. The aroma of the roses, mixed with sand and salt, evoked a sense of peace.
“This view is incredible,” Thomas said as we stepped onto the beach. It was close to high tide, which meant all that remained of the beach was a thin strip of sand and an even thinner layer of rocks fronting the ocean waves.
“I never get tired of it,” I said, feeling such gratitude for the beauty of the ocean. Its waves gently moved in and out of our tranquil cove.
“I think if I lived here I’d spend all of my time right here, watching and listening to the waves.” Thomas inhaled and exhaled deeply.
“I do spend a lot of time out here,” I said, leading him toward the middle of our cove.
“You’d be a fool not to!” he said enthusiastically. “As nice as it is by yourself, I bet it’s even more fun with friends. I’d definitely have a ton of parties out here,” he said. He pulled his phone from his pocket and took several pictures. “These will look amazing on my feed.”
“Your feed?”
“Social media. I looked for you Sunday, but couldn’t find you. What platforms are you on?”
“Oh, I’m not on social media.” With no friends in real life, I didn’t need to have no friends in a virtual life too.
He stared at me and then blinked. “You are really so unique,” he said kindly.
I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “It’s nice of you to say unique instead of freak.”
He laughed. “You are definitely not a freak. You simply live life differently than the rest of us, which is awesome. Though you should totally throw some parties here. My friends would love it and they’d love to meet you.”
“I never thought of having a party here,” I said, realizing only part of the reason for that was the lack of friends. The other part, maybe even the bigger part, was because this place was special to me, sacred. It’s where my mom and I came almost every day when she was alive, and where I still came almost every day. This beach was the constant in my life; only the worst of weather kept me from it.
“Are you kidding? This is the perfect party beach. Secluded, no one would bother us. It’s awesome.”
“It’s not the easiest place to get to,” I said, the thought of strangers here making me nervous.
“There’s no road?” he asked, turning back to the trees and then to the far end of the property.
“No,” I said. “The trail we took used to be wider so people could drive a wagon or a truck to the old inn. That was a long time ago. The trail we were on is all that’s left of that road.”
“That would make things more difficult,” he said pensively. “But I’m sure my friends wouldn’t mind walking, especially for this,” he said, opening his arms toward the waves.