Sunlight poured in through the thin glass window. The girl behind the counter stared out, looking into the bright sunshine of this Sunday afternoon. As always during the summer, many men felt no need for a good drink. Only the really heavy drinkers came in at this time of year. How could anyone possibly want to get rid of problems that were nonexistent?
She wished that she could be out there, sitting on a warm bench, watching the small children play. Kate would be teasing Hugh, Samantha and Grant would be watching happily, giggling in spite of themselves, making them feel foolish and giddy both at the same time.
But no. Today was a day to work.
Finally, the bell over the door clinked as it was opened, reveling a man.
"Griffin! Can you please…? I want to go out and play! I can feel like a kid again. Without the complexity of now, I can be free of lost love!"
Griffin, surprised at being greeted this way, could only nod.
"Oh, thank you!" Muffy ran out from behind the bar, hugging the man. She quickly ran outside.
Griffin sighed and shook his head. "What does that girl get into when she doesn't have work? It because she wants to go out with a million different men that she has that 'lost love' feeling. What was that old saying again? Oh, yes. Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. That's it.
Muffy walked outside, her excitement dimming, because her body was focusing on shielding her eyes from the pure, bright sun. She thought of a time long ago, when her heart had burnt the most. She didn't want to remember, but it suddenly came flooding back to her. A tragic night.
It was dark, and a younger, darker-haired Muffy lay on the beach. Her day had gone almost perfectly. NOT.
She was sobbing into a handkerchief. The handkerchief had a story, too, that was related to this one. A man had given it to her, right after he had broken her heart. But she made a mistake. She gave him another chance. Then, on this very night, that man did it again. And this time the wounds could not be mended.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps in the soft sand behind her.
"Muffy… I… I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that I was with someone else… I thought you wouldn't understand. But you do, right? Can you let this go? I can't help that Lumina is my true love."
Muffy shook her head. How could he think she could let this go? Their love had been innocent and good, but apparently it hadn't been real. Jack and Lumina's love was not so innocent, and it had been going on this whole time.
Now Lumina was pregnant with Jack's child, when she was only eighteen! Jack had been twenty-three. Yes, she would forgive Lumina. But not Jack. Not ever.
She stood and didn't look at him.
He tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but she grabbed it and nearly flipped him.
"Muffy!" He was now in front of her, his back to the ocean.
"You lied to me, Jackie. And now you will pay."
Muffy grabbed Jack's head with one hand, shaking it hard, until his neck almost broke. Then she pushed him away. His head hit a sharp rock, but he still survived. Then she put him on a boat, unconscious. She rowed out far at sea, until she could no longer see the Inner Inn. Then she dropped him off into the deep, deep water. No more.
Muffy came back to the present, shivering. Tears came into her eyes,and she ran to the farm. It was no longer occupied. It was almost like it never had been. Muffy wiped her eyes.
She delved farther into this past. She went over the fence and took her shoes off, letting her feet drag in the cool grass.
She walked into the tool shed, and suddenly made a decision. If Jack didn't want her, then no ever would.
She grabbed the axe.
That one night on the beach had been the beginning of the end.
