Free Sound of the Tide by Emily Bold

exhausted to make a big deal out of it.
    Jenna returned, and with her oversized rubber gloves she looked like a character straight out of a comic book. “Show you friendship, show you kindness, and where does it get me?” she complained, and I tried to hide my laughter in Kevin’s chest. He kissed the top of my head, both of us laughing as Jenna glared at us.
    She started mopping, and once the floors were clean and she was taking off her rubber gloves, she asked, “So, how about it, Smokey? Are we calling it a night before Piper makes me scrub her toilet, too?”
    I smirked. “The toilet! I almost forgot! Good thing you mentioned it! Do you think you could—”
    “No way, sweetie!” she said, putting her foot down. “I’d rather freeze to death out there than go anywhere near your damn toilet.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot impatiently. “So, Smokey? Are you coming?”
    Reluctantly, Kevin got up off the sofa and looked me in the eye. “Piper?”
    He still seemed to expect a reply. His presence here made it easier to handle Daniel’s death, but it felt wrong somehow to seek comfort in his arms. I shook my head.
    “Go on, drive Cinderella home before the evil stepmother can think of another dreadful task to torture her little princess.”
    Jenna stuck her tongue out at me, and slipped into her dark-red cashmere coat and rummaged in her pocket for a pair of matching gloves.
    I raised my eyebrows. She didn’t have that coat on when she was moving my boxes earlier. She must have brought it along.
    “I haven’t given up on Dr. Palmer just yet,” she explained. “You should see him sometime in his blue scrubs. They really enhance his eyes—it’s madness! All the nurses are in love with him. Even the old bag at reception drools every time he walks by!”
    Kevin snorted.
    “Dr. Palmer? That weird guy from next door? Do what you want, Jenna, but let me tell you one thing. Any guy who is that good-looking and still single at his age, there must be something wrong with him!”
    I nudged him in the side and gave him a wide grin. “Like you, you mean?”
    He got up and reached for his own jacket, even though he showed not the slightest inclination to put it on.
    “So you think I’m good-looking, do you?” he teased.
    “And don’t pretend you don’t know it!” I retorted. “So, what’s wrong with you , Kevin? Why are you still available? Out with it!”
    He kissed me on the cheek and followed Jenna to the door.
    “What’s wrong with me?” He turned and gave me an intense stare. “I’m a fool, hoping for something that’ll never happen.”

    Late that same night, I finally finished unpacking the last of the boxes and sat down on the couch, exhausted. I had avoided turning on the overhead light—the light Daniel had wired that awful day—and had lit some candles instead. On the little table beside me was a plate of the cookies Catherine had baked fresh that morning, accompanied by a steaming pot of tea.
    I heard the quiet, swooshing sound of the waves breaking against the rocks below and closed my eyes.
    I tried to imagine Daniel sitting beside me.
    “Hey, babe,” I could hear him say.
    “There you are.”
    “I am always with you. Always.”
    It was as if he was putting his arms around me. In my mind I snuggled up to his chest.
    “I miss you,” I whispered, and I could almost feel his breath on the back of my neck.
    He didn’t reply.
    “Do you hear the sea? It sounds so fierce today. The cold is making it angry, I think.” I kept my eyes closed. “I’m angry, too, Daniel. I’m so angry with you, and with the entire world. Doing this all by myself, this wasn’t the deal.”
    I wiped away a tear and listened to the surge of the waves.
    “This wasn’t the deal,” I repeated quietly and raised my eyelids. Daniel was gone, and I suddenly felt very cold.
    The candles were flickering, and dark shadows were dancing on the freshly painted walls. To stop my hands from