"You, sir, are an intractable ass!"
"And you, Madame, an insufferable –"
"Enough!" Martha stood in the doorway, broom in hand. "The children will be back from the beach in less than half an hour. I've already packed their bags, and as soon as they've bathed and eaten, we'll be leaving for Boston."
"Boston? Martha, what on earth are you talking about?" Carolyn glanced at the ghost.
"Why, you'll do nothing of the sort –" the Captain looked at Carolyn, then wagged his finger angrily at the housekeeper.
"We're meeting your parents, Mrs. Muir. They've chartered a small yacht for friends and family, and I expect Jonathan and Candy will love the chance to watch Fourth of July fireworks from Boston harbor."
Carolyn opened her mouth then closed it.
Martha nodded. She turned to leave, but hesitated, hand on the doorknob.
"And I suggest the two of you figure it out while we're away. Every day's like the Fourth of July around here."
She shook her head, and left, the stairs groaning under her heavy footsteps as she headed to the kitchen to make a late lunch for Candy and Jonathan.
Carolyn stared, wide-eyed at the door. She forgot all about the Captain. So that's what all of those late-afternoon telephone calls from Philadelphia were about. The kids weren't talking to Grandma as their mother typed blithely away upstairs – Martha was.
"Figure what out? How dare she –"
"Hush, Daniel." Carolyn needed to think. For once, her mother wasn't trying to set her up with some snooty Boston financier. She rubbed her temples, but the headache of defeat quickly set in. Sighing loudly, she kicked her shoes off and lay down on the bed, facing the wall.
He stood helplessly at the telescope. Mrs. Muir never rested on the bed during the middle of the day.
"They're right," she said at last, and rolled back over to face him. "About fireworks. It seems like all we've done the last several months is argue. And bicker. No wonder Martha and my mother want to get the kids away."
"I'm not so sure, my dear," he said, stepping way from the instrument. He sat on the edge of their bed and ran his eyes down the curves of her body. "Martha suggested we figure it out. They're giving us time."
Carolyn stared at the lack of indentation where Daniel sat. He was a ghost, without weight. An illusion.
"For what?" she asked quietly. "All we can do is stare dreamily before I rest in your arms at night, in a dream of your making. I wish we'd never told anyone about you."
"I'm not so sure I should have revealed myself to either you or the boy. I was so damned full of myself, and of my rights to a house I no longer possessed. So smitten the instant you walked in the door."
"Me too."
"Absolutely sure?"
"Sure I'm sure, except I'm unsure as to where you're headed with this."
"Straight ahead, at full sail, my dear. The dreams you have, the dreams we share – I can make them a reality, but not here, not in this plane of existence. Somewhere deeper than even dreams, somewhere from where there is no returning, really."
She reached for him, but her hand met with no resistance.
"No, Madame. I might be able to hold a sherry glass for brief instances in time, but I cannot touch you here and now. I can, however, take you with me at night in other ways that will leave you exhausted in the morning."
"Fireworks at last?" Carolyn arched her eyebrows. She blushed this time. "I mean –"
"Yes, " he said gently. "But you will never belong fully to this world again. Our realities would intermingle where others cannot see. It is not a place I would visit with you lightly."
"My heart is with you, in every dimension." Carolyn sat up. "I want you regardless of the cost. To raise our children, enjoy the world we've created for ourselves at Gull Cottage, and lie with you at night – fully, and completely."
"I does not mean I cannot fully, completely, and vehemently disagree with most of what you say during your waking hours, Mrs. Muir!"
"Did you have to ruin the moment?"
Downstairs, they heard Jonathan dump his lunchbox loudly on the hall floor.
"No, Jonathan did."
He smiled. Carolyn sat up, smoothing her hair.
"As long as you don't explode then fizzle wherever it is we're going."
"I promise plenty of fireworks on the fourth."
"We've been in Gull Cottage almost a year now. Why did you let this go on so long?"
"Perhaps you will understand in the moment of combustion."
Her body burned. She ached with desire. Her deep sigh did not escape his notice.
"Let's go down, and bid farewell to the children, Carolyn."
Martha was too savvy to react to Carolyn's dazzling smile as she entered the kitchen. She couldn't wait to describe it to Mrs. Williams, though.
As she ushered the kids into the station wagon, the Captain leant through her window.
"Please tell your real employer I've figured out how to light fireworks."
This time, it was Martha who blushed.