Free A Dream Weekend: A Tale From Blythe Cove Manor by Lorraine Bartlett

1
    A Dream Weekend
    I t had not been just a quiet ride from Albany, New York to the ferry dock in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, but a silent one. Paige Campbell hadn’t spoken a word to her husband of fifteen years, and he hadn’t said a word to her, either. Paige turned on her e-reader as soon as they’d pulled out of the driveway of what now seemed like their enormous and empty home, and hadn’t once let her gaze stray to the left side of the minivan where Alex sat behind the wheel.
    The trip was nothing but an exercise in futility. The fact was they were headed for divorce, and a weekend stay in a high-end bed-and-breakfast in hoity-toity Martha’s Vineyard wasn’t going to eradicate the horrific tragedy that had torn their lives apart.
    The square white envelope arrived two weeks before. At first, Paige thought it was a wedding invitation, yet as she opened it she couldn’t think of who among their family and friends might be heading for the state of holy matrimony. So she was surprised to find an engraved certificate for a free weekend at Blythe Cove Manor on Martha’s Vineyard. Paige couldn’t remember ever entering a sweepstake with that as a prize, and neither could Alex. She’d quizzed their friends and family, but no one admitted to submitting their names for such a contest.
    Paige called the inn and spoke with its owner, one Blythe Calvert, and was assured that, yes, she and her husband had indeed won the free weekend at the two hundred year old bed and breakfast.
    Paige had checked out the website and if the photos didn’t lie, Blythe Cove Manor was a lovely old inn that overlooked the eastern shore of the island. She’d studied the pictures of each of the rooms and hoped they’d be placed in one that overlooked the sea. Since they’d won some silly contest, it was more likely they’d be housed in the inn’s worst accommodation. Considering the state of their marriage, Paige would not have complained if she and Alex were assigned a room with twin beds. It had been a long time since they’d been intimate. She never expected the two of them to make love ever again. Sex—maybe. Love? Never.
    “Looks like we got here right on time,” Alex said, interrupting her thoughts. His voice sounded rusty after so many hours without use, and yet Paige could detect a modicum of excitement there, too. Something she hadn’t heard in a long time.
    Paige looked up to see that the line of cars on the dock was already snaking into the multi-decked ferry. Should she allow herself to feel that same sense of excitement? That would be a betrayal and she couldn’t bear the thought. What was the use anyway? The reality was, their lives were in ruins and nothing they could do or say would take back the worst year of their lives. Nothing could change what had happened. Nothing and no one could ever heal the wounds of loss they’d experienced.
    “I’ve never been on a ferry before,” Paige admitted and turned off her e-reader.
    “Neither have I,” Alex said and allowed the minivan to slowly roll forward.
    When they got close to the boat, a workman held out his hand to collect the ferry pass that had accompanied the invitation to Blythe Cove Manor. Whoever had supplied the prize seemed to have thought of everything.
    Alex drove onboard and parked the van. He cut the engine and turned to Paige. “What do you want to do?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You can either sit here and stew for the forty-five minute ride to the island, or you can get out and go up on deck. I don’t intend to sit here, but you can if you want.”
    Was that a challenge?
    “It’s a beautiful day. Why would I want to sit down here in the dark and stare at the horrible little car parked in front of us for the better part of an hour?”
    Alex shrugged. He grabbed the Canon camera that sat on the floor between the bucket seats and opened the driver’s side door. “Lock it up,” he said, as if she needed that reminder.
    Paige stowed her e-reader