Safe Harbour by Christina Kilbourne

Author:Christina Kilbourne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn
Published: 2019-11-15T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

DESPITE ALL THE serious warnings Lise gave me about the approach of winter, the one thing she forgot to tell me about was second summer. So when I wake up one morning in my winter coat and snow pants, soggy with sweat, I’m confused. I claw the sleeping bag away from my face and for the first time in weeks I can’t see my breath. My nose isn’t cold and the air doesn’t bite at my fingers or cheeks. There’s no condensation dripping from the top of the tent. I crawl outside behind Tuff and the grass is dry. There’s no dew, no frost, no ice on top of the water dish I found in the Dumpster behind the Sally Ann.

“Was that it?” I ask. “Is winter over?”

Tuff cocks his head, the closest thing he has to a human shrug, then barks.

My heart warms at the thought of Lise coming back to join me in the ravine and the leaves growing on the tree branches. I ache for my campsite to be hidden again and spending lazy afternoons lying in the sun with Tuff watching the clouds.

I pick up my phone and text Lise: Summer is back!

She replies: Wont last. Gotta make the most of it. Meet me at the waterfront.

I throw some supplies into my backpack, hide my tent as well as I can with leafless branches, and head south along the bottom of the ravine. The trail is busy with cyclists, joggers, and people walking their dogs. Tuff trots along happily and stops to meet each dog with a friendly sniff and tail wag. I haven’t seen him so upbeat in days. The people I pass also seem different. They’ve shed their winter coats and scarves. There are more smiles than I’ve seen recently, more hellos and comments like gorgeous day today, eh? It’s the kind of day when people would be happy to throw spare change at homeless kids, maybe even a few bills. I don’t know what’s going on, but the city is happy and warm again, and I feel alive.

I find Lise sitting with her feet dangling over the side of the bridge, the one that spans the little harbour by the bandstand. I knew that’s where she’d be without having to ask. There’s only one boat left, a lonely yacht tied up to the dock, rocking gently in the soft sunlight. My heart contracts with the enormity of all that I’ve left in Florida.

“What’s going on?” I call out as I approach the bridge.

“Second summer. Comes in the fall like this every year. A few warm days before the serious cold sets in.”

“Oh,” I say, a little disappointed. I didn’t really believe winter could be over, but it was a comforting fantasy while it lasted. “I meant, what’s going on today. Why are we here?” I sit down beside her and swing my feet in the empty space below the bridge.

“We should go over to the island while the weather’s good,” Lise nods out at the lake.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.