it be like to live in a lighthouse, and what was there to do on Gansett Island? Now? She didn’t care. Today was just another day to get through on her way to being reunited with her precious son. That was what she cared about—being with Lewis again and ridding herself of the terrible, desperate ache she lived with every minute of every day. Until that day, she put one foot in front of the other and functioned at the most basic level possible.
They drove off the ferry into an area where people, cars, cargo and bikes converged into a much busier scene than she would’ve expected for a small island in the middle of nowhere.
Oliver put down the window and asked one of the uniformed employees where the ferry office was.
He pointed at a small shingled building on the far side of the parking lot.
“Thanks.” Oliver drove to the building, where a tall man with gray hair waited with a petite blonde woman. “That’s him.” Oliver pulled into one of the few available parking spaces and got out of the car to shake hands with both of them.
Because the window was up and the AC on, Dara couldn’t hear them getting acquainted and made no move to get out to join them. A tap on the window had her putting it down.
“Hi, Dara, I’m Linda McCarthy. I wanted to welcome you to Gansett.”
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you.” She went through the motions, shook the woman’s outstretched hand, did what was expected. That was the easy stuff.
“We’re going to show you the way to the lighthouse.”
“Sounds good. Thank you.”
Oliver got back in the car, and they followed Mr. McCarthy’s pickup truck out of the busy downtown area to a far more rural road that wound around the island.
“It sure is pretty,” Oliver said.
She hadn’t noticed. “Uh-huh.”
A short time later, they drove through an open gate and down a long drive that led to the lighthouse at the edge of the coastline. The property was apparently open to the public, which no one had bothered to mention as far as she knew, and the lighthouse itself was a lot smaller than she’d expected it to be. Although, what did she have to compare it to?
Dara got out of the car, took a look around, hoping she might feel a spark of anything, but like always, there was just more nothing.
Linda handed her a set of keys. “The big one is for the gate, which is one of the few official duties the lighthouse keepers have. You’re also asked to report the weather conditions to the Coast Guard twice a day and interact with the visitors as you see fit.”
“That last part isn’t required, is it?”
“Of course not. You can do whatever you wish. No one will be checking. Well, except for the Coast Guard for the weather.”
“That’s fine,” Dara said.
“Come in and let me show you around. It’s the cutest place.”
Dara followed Linda into the circular building.
“This is a mudroom of sorts. You’re welcome to use the beach chairs and anything else that’s been left by the previous occupants. Some of our good friends have had this job in the past, and they absolutely loved it.”
Linda went up a spiral staircase to the first floor, which housed a galley kitchen and a living room. “The bedroom and bathroom are up there,” she said, pointing to the stairs that led to a second floor.
Trying to be polite, Dara went up the stairs to check out the accommodations and noted the king-sized bed and bathroom with a standup shower. It wasn’t fancy, but it would do. As she headed for the stairs, her eyes were drawn to the panoramic view of the island and the ocean. She went for a closer look and found herself interested in something for the first time in longer than she could recall.
The view was stunning. From this vantage point, she could see there was a beach at the bottom of the cliff and wondered if it was accessible.
“It’s something, isn’t it?” Linda asked.
“Sure is,” Dara said. “The beach down there… Can we get to that?”
“There’s a set of stairs that take you right to it.”
Dara nodded and turned to face Linda.
“If there’s anything at all that you need, you only have to give us a call.” Linda handed over a slip of paper with several numbers on it. “We want you to feel at home here.”
“I’m not sure it’s possible to feel at home anywhere