"Mommy! Dad's island is on the news!"
"Why? Did somebody grow a giant cabbage or something? Come sit at the table for breakfast Addie or you will be late for school."
Addison's mother set the cereal & juice on the table but Addison remained glued to the television. One the screen images her mind couldn't make sense of kept repeating. There was smoke everywhere but it didn't look like there was a fire. Emergency workers were shown carrying people covered in soot. Reporters were questioning a woman with short purple hair but she just shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
"The small island of Castanet has never seen a tragedy of this scale. What caused the mine collapse is unknown but we do know that people are still missing."
"Hey, you okay? You look a little sick." Gill's words brought Addison back to the present. She did feel sick but it wasn't from the rocking of the ferry. She gazed out the window where the view was no longer just water, in the distance she could see the dock of Castanet becoming larger & larger as they approached. There was no turning back now.
"I'm fine. I just haven't got much sleep." Addison lied, still keeping her eyes on the approaching dock. She had a feeling if she looked Gill in the eye he would see right through her lie.
The ferry's horn sounded their arrival as they pulled into the dock. There were few people left in the upper level now as the truck drivers had all returned to their trucks to make their deliveries. Not far from them a fishing boat was leaving the dock. Another boated rocked gently in the docks, empty, with a big sign on its side reading 'Daily rides to Toucan Island'. Addison was surprised by how much bigger & busier the island seemed than the last time she had been there. She wanted to go straight to Town Hall, sign the papers & leave as quickly as possible but her growling stomach had other ideas.
"Let's get some breakfast," Gill suggested, who couldn't help but grin at Addison & her grumbling stomach.
"You had four donuts, how could you really be hungry? I don't need to eat I just want to get this over with."
"We have to wait a couple hours to talk to my father anyway, no need to be hungry. Let's go." Without waiting for an answer Gill took Addison by the wrist & led her down the dock. People hurrying to load their produce & livestock onto the ferry were pushing past them. Shouts, animals calling out to each other & the sounds of wagon wheels being pulled across the dock fill the air. The lingering scent of fish was making Addison feel even hungrier.
"I don't remember there being so many people here," Addison commented as they made their way off the docks.
"It is a tough thing really. On one hand more people is really good for the shopkeepers here. But the island is only so large. More people are trying their hand at growing crops & raising livestock. For a while everything was okay but now the soil is suffering. When that happened in the past the farmers would just move & let the soil recover while they plowed new plots. Now they don't have room to do so & the overall crop quality is dropping. That is dangerous, if all the famers leave then the shopkeepers won't have any customers & this island could collapse. Even the mines are suffering, so many people have come searching for ores & a quick dollar that the people who used to make their living there are struggling."
Addison flinched at the mention of the mine. The memory that had surfaced on the ferry was still fresh in her mind. Gill's news about the island changing was both saddening & a relief to her. On one hand she had enjoyed this island very much as a child but on the other hand the island was hardly recognizable & dulled the nostalgic ache she felt for it. She was so wrapped up in her conflicting thoughts that she ran right into Gill's back when he stopped.
"I'm sorry," she muttered, slightly flush with embarrassment. In front of them stood a yellow, homey looking building with bright green doors & a striped yellow & red awning hanging over the entrance. The scent of bacon & eggs floated out of a small blue window.
"You're either really tired, really hungry, or just a bit of a space cadet. Hopefully one of the first two, because we can't do anything about the third," Gill teased as he held open the door for her.
"I think…I think I remember this place." Addison said as she looked around, taking in her surroundings. Faded bricks made up the walls of the building flowing into dark stone floors. The crowd from the docks flowed over into the bar filling the wooden tables, chatting & laughing over large plates of food. In the corner sat a piano upon a small raised, checkered stage. Gill led Addison over to two free chairs at the wooden bar where they could hear bacon sizzling & metal on metal scraping as eggs & pancakes were being made. It reminded Addison a lot of the diner she worked at back home although she never got to just sit & enjoy the food, she was always running around trying to serve the rush of customers.
"You probably have. This is the Brass Bar. It used to only be open in the evenings but with so many people coming here now Hayden started keeping it open all day on the weekdays. The inn couldn't keep up with all the customers coming in from the docks & ferry."
"Gill, good to see you! And who is the lovely lady with you?" Hayden called out from behind the bar. Hayden was a large, burley looking man with a baldhead & full brown beard. He was dressed in denim jeans, a white shirt & brown leather vest. He had a loud & commanding voice yet still sounded welcoming.
"This lovely lady is Addison Jensen." Hayden stopped what he was doing & stared at Addison in surprise. A few people prepping food stopped & turned around to look at her, as well as a few other customers enjoying their breakfast beside them. Addison noticed their eyes on her & wished she could melt into the stool away from their gaze.
"We're happy to have you here, it has been quite awhile since we had a Jensen on this island." Hayden said somberly.
"I'm not here for long, I just need to sign the papers to sign over the land & then I'm on the next ferry home," Addison responded, burying her face in the menu to hide from the looks & whispers around her.
Hayden nodded, "Well, still glad to have you here. Anything you like is on us."
"That really isn't necessary," Addison tried to argue but Hayden had turned back to cooking before he heard her.
"Why do people know who I am & why do they even care?" Addison whispered to Gill. She hadn't expected anybody to recognize her especially after her father had been gone for so long.
"Your father was a very respected man on this island, he had a lot of friends here. So did your mother actually. My father told me everybody was shocked when your mom took you & left for the mainland because everybody thought they were such a perfect couple. Your father's death impacted a lot of people here."
Addison tried to remember a time when her parents were happy together. The parents she remembered didn't seem happy, they were simply coexisting. Her father would work on the ranch most of the day while her mother cleaned the home & worked making jams, butters, fabrics & other goods. She did remember that her mother never seemed quite as happy as her father. Before her mom had taken her from the island they spent quite a lot of time fighting. Addison did remembered many times where her mother would fall asleep on the couch & her father would beg her to come to bed but she never would. Over the years Addison had tried many times to ask her mother what happened between them but had never gotten any answers.
Looking at the faces around her Addison realized how many people in the room knew her father better than she did. This made her feel both sad & angry. A part of her wanted to talk to them, to ask all them all the questions her mother only responded to with anger. Instead she turned her attention back to the menu. She ordered a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast & hash browns. To her surprise Gill also ordered a plate of eggs & a large stack of pancakes.
"Who is that?" Addison gestured toward a girl lingering in the corner of the kitchen. She looked like she belonged on a ranch rather than a restaurant. Her brown pants were decorated with brown leather fringe at the waist below her belt & turquoise accents at the bottom hanging over her leather boots. She wore a yellow button up shirt covered by a denim vest & red bandana tied at her neck. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Addison didn't know anything about her but could still see sadness brewing in her green eyes. For a moment she was reminded of herself.
"That is Kathy. She is Hayden's daughter, helps out around here. She used to only help out in the evenings but with this place getting busier he has needed her around more."
"She doesn't seem very happy about it," Addison observed.
Gill shook his head, "Up until a week ago she was engaged. I'm surprised she is even here, would have thought she would have taken some time off."
"What happened? Why did they break up?"
"No clue. Neither one of them has said anything. All I know is both of them are moping around about it."
"Seems a bit dumb doesn't it?" Addison mused, "If they are both sad why not just talk and work things out?"
"Things aren't always that easy, relationships can be complicated you know?"
Addison nodded, but in truth she didn't know. Her dating experience was severely limited. It wasn't like she hadn't wanted to date and plenty of people had been interested but since she was old enough to get a work permit her focus had been on bringing in money to help her family. Her mother never kept a job very long, she was always sleeping in too late or getting into fights with coworkers or she would just stop going. Addison had built up a lot of resentment towards her mother through the years after having to miss so many things.
In an ideal world she would have gone on dates, spent evenings out with friends, joined the school swim team and attended dances and sporting events like everybody else. As much as she loved her brother she spent a lot of time feeling lonely and left out. People stopped trying to make friends with her after awhile – she didn't blame them though, it was her mother she blamed. Why would anybody want to be friends with somebody who never had any time to devote to friendship?
Their food was dropped off and Addison quickly dug in. The flavors surprised her, everything tasted fresh and was bursting with flavor. The bacon was thick, crispy, and delicious. Addison found herself licking the juices from her fingers as to not miss out on any of the flavor.
"God I forgot how good food tasted here," Addison exclaimed as she finished her last bit of toast.
"There are plenty of markets around you that carry Castanet products, don't you ever buy any?"
Addison shook her head, "Nope. It always cost three times more than other food, we've never been able to afford it."
"Well if you were to stay here you could eat food like this every day," Gill commented. He said it very nonchalantly but he was well aware that it was a big risk to drop a comment like that. A risk that was, unfortunately, not rewarded.
"Don't. Do not even try that," Addison slammed down the cup of water she was sipping from, "I am here to sign papers. That is it. Don't bait me. You think I don't see what you're doing trying to use my father and trying to appeal to some nostalgia to get me to reconsider selling? I'm not stupid Gill. I've kept my mouth shut because I figured you were nice and your attempts were innocent enough but I'm telling you now to stop."
Before Gill had a chance to respond Addison jumped down from her seat and stormed out the door, rudely pushing by a couple trying to come inside. Gill was left with his mouth open in surprise, gazing out the door after her.
"What did you say to make her so mad?" Hayden asked Gill after observing Addison's abrupt exit.
"She really just doesn't want to be here. Maybe I made a mistake bringing her here. I could have had her sign the papers last night and been done with it, I just really thought if she came back she might change her mind."
Hayden put his hand on Gill's shoulder supportively, "Just give her time. The more you push her the more she is going to want to run away. Her being willing to spend a weekend here is already a big move on her part."
"She thinks she is only staying a day. She doesn't know there isn't weekend ferry service," Gill groaned, with his head in his hands, "I was hoping that wouldn't matter."
Hayden laughed a large, hearty laugh, "I sure am glad I'm not you boy. You better go tell her before somebody else does."
Gill hung his head in defeat. He left some money to cover his tab and headed out after Addison. He didn't have to look far, he found her across from the restaurant leaning on the railing looking out over the sea. The ferry horn blasted as the ferry departed back to the mainland for the last time until the following Monday. Gill cringed at that knowledge. He approached Addison and stood by her, not sure what to say.
"I'm sorry I was a bitch," she muttered as he approached.
"You're not a bitch," he replied, taken aback by her apology.
"Not always, but I can be. Especially when I'm in situations I don't like. I don't like this. So can we just get this over with? Please?"
Gill nodded and the two walked in silence to the Town Hall. Addison sat down at a small table and waited for Gill to return with the papers. A sudden anxiety filled her as the weight of what she was about to do became clear to her. Would her father have wanted this? He never said anything, at least not to her. She was sure her mother probably had an idea of what he would have wanted but she would never tell. But it didn't matter in the end. There was nothing for Addison or her brother here. She didn't know what to expect in terms of money from the sale but she knew for certain it would be more than they had to start with.
Gill returned looking solemn with a large stack of papers. Addison's stomach knotted tighter but she forced herself to ignore it.
"Before we do this, there is one more matter to attend to." Gill tried not to feel hopeful but this was his last ditch effort to make Addison change her mind. Hiding his excitement was a struggle as he laid down a paper in front of Addison.
"You might not know this but the Jensen Ranch was incredibly successful, one of the best on the island. It was quite profitable. As the only next of kin, what remains of that profit is rightfully yours." Gill explained, pointing to a number at the bottom of the bank statement he had placed before her.
Addison's heart dropped. Her eyes were seeing the amount written on the paper but her mind wasn't processing it. In that single second everything she had known about life changed. Tears sprung to her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hand, "This is a joke right. That can't be mine."
"Yours and only yours," Gill responded as he rested his hand on her shoulder. She didn't pull away this time but instead buried her head in his chest as the tears overtook her. As her tears left her body they took with them years of fear, years of stress and years of uncertainty. As he looked down at her Gill finally saw her for what she had become once she left the island all those years ago, an adult forced to live in a child's body for far too long.
"I'm sorry," she managed to choke out as she pulled her face away and tried to brush the tears away with her hand.
"Don't worry about it." Gill responded. He laid down another stack of papers before her, "This is the offer that is pending on the land. You don't have to take it, the man wanting the land wants it bad and would probably go higher if you tried."
Addison shook her head, "This is more than I ever expected to have. This is a blessing. I won't push for more."
With one stroke of a pen Addison signed away everything Gill had been hoping for and holding on to. He started at her signature on the paper as if he expected he could will the ink off the paper.
"I need to go home. I need to tell my brother and get him out of that hellhole of an apartment. Where does the next ferry leave?"
Gill avoided making eye contact, "About that…"