Kraken (10 page)

“Where will I find Aiden? I wanted to talk to him.” Will could tell he was going to have to bite back the question he really want to ask; if Aiden had a spare bedroom.

“Sure, he’s just– “

“Ahh, an aficionado!”

A big hand clapped Will on his shoulder, right above Cy’s. He turned to see Mr. Falconer standing behind him.

“Let me steal him away, hmmm, Mr. Keller? You know I’ll take good care of him for you.”

Cy dropped his hand, and Mr. Falconer steered Will away through the crowd, out to the back of the house, where a padded lounger waited. Will felt himself pushed towards it. “Sit, my boy.” It was clearly a command. Will wondered at what point in the last week he had lost control of his life like this.

Mr. Falconer settled himself beside Will, patting his knee with his warm hand. Will shifted uneasily.

“I’m really not into wine. I don’t drink a lot. I don’t drink at all, usually.”

Mr. Falconer nodded thoughtfully.

“So, tell me what you’ve been doing with yourself.”

“You mean for a living? Um, I’m a chemist. An industrial chemist.”

“A
chemist
. Fascinating.”

Mr. Falconer took a sip of his wine, while Will tried not to roll his eyes. He had pretty comprehensive life experience that people did not find chemistry fascinating.

“I wanted to work in the sciences myself, you know. Built a cat’s whisker radio set once. 1918, that was. Used to get reports of the war on it, the Great War. Of course, there was no future for that kind of thing on the island, I can see that now. I was disappointed at the time, of course. I am very keen on your internet, though. All that information, free! People talking to one another about their most intimate secrets. No one seems ashamed of anything anymore. The thought is quite intoxicating.”

“Why didn’t you go to college?”

“Oh, that was never going to happen. I’m glad you got to, though. My parents died when I was quite young. Yes, very young indeed. Things changed a lot after that. But, of course, I got used to it. Change is inevitable, Mr. MacKenzie. Remember to embrace it, hmmm?”

Will took a gulp of his drink to avoid having to think of anything to say.

“And your lovely mother? What does she do now?”

“Uh— “

It had been years, but Will still felt the hot prickle of tears in his eyes. He sat back on the lounge and looked up, fighting to keep them back.

“Ah, say no more, my dear boy. I know that pain. When did she leave us?”

“My last year of high school.”

“I see. That’s quite disappointing. I really thought she might make it. Death is so hard; to keep going, when those we love have left us behind. She was very special, your mother. Lovely girl. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

Will kept his eyes fixed on his glass.

“So it’s just you and your grandparents now, hmmm?”

Will sat flummoxed for a full minute, while Mr. Falconer sipped his drink. He’d said that before: grandparents. The island . . . and grandparents. “Mr. Falconer, at the store, you mentioned my grandparents. It’s not true though: I don’t have any. I lived with just my mother, my whole life. I don’t have grandparents. I’ve never seen any, not once.”

Mr. Falconer looked appraisingly at Will, then raised his glass to the dying light, looking through the liquid. “Well, well. That’s something I didn’t realize. But perhaps Mr. Keller will take you up to their old farm.
Your
old farm. It might remind you of your place here.”

“Farm?” Will was taken aback.

“Oh, it was already old when you lived there. Hasn’t been a working farm since the 1940s, when the last school finally closed. Ah, and look who has arrived. Our newest guests.”

Through the guests Will could see Sina and Parker on the other deck, Parker greeting a tall blond woman with a handshake and a smile.

“Oh no,” Will said, under his breath.

“I asked Mr. Simpson to invite them. New full-time residents injecting a bit of fresh blood. Just what we need. There’s been some overzealous thinning of the ranks, I’m afraid. Nice girl, Miss Faumuina. I understand she’d been prodding Mr. Bennett to move here for some time.” He patted Will’s leg again.

Will gaped at him. “Fuck. I have to— where’s Cy? I have to get out of here.”

Mr. Falconer caught his arm. He spoke in a low tone, as if for Will’s ears only. “I’m sure Miss Faumuina does not wish you harm. And you should meet a few more people. You might find you need friends, here on the island.”

“I’m not staying. I’m just here for the week.” How had he agreed to that?

Mr. Falconer drained his glass, and raised his voice jovially again. “Ah, for the week, now, is it? That’s splendid.”

“Mr. Falconer, I really need to thank the host. Have you seen him?”

“Look, here’s Miss Graye’s partner, the lovely Lou. Sit, my dear, sit. I must be off to refill my libation!”

Mr. Falconer heaved himself to his feet, with a last pat of Will’s leg.

Lou held her hand out. She was in her late 50s, with a thick shock of graying hair. She had on jeans and a vintage-looking t-shirt, with a practical-looking tan leather jacket thrown over her shoulder. Her other hand grasped a tall glass of beer. As Will watched a drop of condensation fell from the base.

“Ella told me all about you.”

“Why— oh, nothing.”

“No, go on. Why is Ella with someone so much older than her?”

“What? No! Oh my gods, no! No. Who would ask that?”

Lou laughed. “You wouldn’t be the first.”

“Even
I
wouldn’t say that. No, I was going to ask, why does Mr. Falconer call you Lou? You’re the first person he hasn’t called by their surname.”

Lou laughed. “Because the first time he called me Miss McFie I promised to throw a plate across the room the second time. His plate. He’s got quite the collection of antiques. His old-school charm is endearing, but I haven’t had to answer to Miss McFie since parochial school in Pennsylvania. I’m not going to start regressing now.”

Will nodded and drained his wine in one gulp, looking around before he realized this was not a restaurant and there would not be a handy waiter to either take his glass, or refill it. He could hear Sina’s voice in the distance.

Lou broke the silence, speaking softly. “I’m wondering what they’re going to do for income. There aren’t a lot of jobs here on the island. There’s a mussel farm with that property, but it’s been hit hard by island misfortune. They may not have realized. New arrivals, full of sunlit dreams. By the time they realize what reality is like they may be too late. We’ll see. ”

“Why do you call it that? Island misfortune?”

Lou smiled at Will. “If the island doesn’t want you here, it’ll make sure you know it. Algal bloom. Lost gear. A sunk boat. It’s no wonder so many of the islanders are superstitious. She’ll be asking Mr. Falconer for work, I imagine.” She shook her head. “She won’t have any luck. Ella gets all the available hours.”

“Hours where?”

“At the store. You didn’t see her this morning? It was pretty hard for a teenage mom on the island. It’s still hard for Ella, even now. A lot of the old folks turn their noses up at her. Giving her work was the least he could do.”

“Ella’s got a kid? She’s so young!” His raised voice accidentally caught Mr. Falconer’s attention from across the room.

“Mr. Keller, my dear man, your friend looks quite parched. And no, I’m sorry, Miss Faumuina, there are very few jobs on the island. That may change in time, of course. Our friend Mr. Simpson’s development will bring a great many new things. I already have the esteemed Miss Graye to help at the store. Come summer we may need another pair of hands, if it’s busy again this year. Hard to tell at this stage.”

Will wasn’t sure if he was pleased or disappointed to hear things weren’t working out for Parker. Pleased, probably. He wasn’t very good at being noble. Cy was at his elbow, brandishing a full bottle. “Lou, will you do the honors?”

Lou dug a multi-tool out of her pocket, flicking open the cockscrew and dealing to the bottle. Cy topped up Will’s glass —all the way to the brim, this time.

“Hold on, Cy. I’ve got to walk home, remember. Well, wobble, at this rate.”

Cy smiled. “I can always carry you.”

“What do you do actually for a living here on the island?” Will asked.

Lou answered him. “Cyrus is independently wealthy. He doesn’t seem to
do
anything.”

Cy snorted. “More like independently poor. And Lou’s the local doctor.”

She nodded. “I’m lucky most people who live here now are elderly. Came here five years ago for a weekend clinic, now I can’t imagine leaving.”

“It’s not like you need to earn a lot,’ said Cy. “You can live off the land if you have to. Plenty of fish. No other predators. Shame there’s no deer left. There’s weasels and rabbits though. They’re a fun challenge. And opossums, of course. We can go spotlighting, at night, Will. Shine a light on them, they freeze and practically beg you to kill them.”

Will choked on his mouthful. That didn’t sound like his idea of a fun time.

Lou continued. “It’s weird how even in the tourist season, there’s not much money to be made. The store’s fairly busy, but for some reason tourism on the island just hasn’t worked out. Or commerce, for that matter. There are no services, not even a bank or a pharmacy. But if you ever need one, Cyrus is a hell of a handyman. There’s nothing he can’t do. Dig and pour foundations, build a porch, re-roof, paint, plaster, tile . . . ”

Will sipped his drink and wondered what Parker would do.
This
was why he couldn’t live on an island.

Ella came up holding two tall icy drinks, handing one to Lou to replace her empty glass. She perched on the lounge armrest, and Lou put her arm around Ella’s waist. A blond-headed kid ran up to Ella, showing her a darkly iridescent bird’s feather cradled in his hand.

She turned him by the shoulder to face Will.

“Will, this is Ryan.”

“Hi again, Ryan. Nice to see you,” said Cy.

“Hello,” Will said. He’d always felt at a loss around kids.

Ryan mumbled something, keeping his eyes down.

“Sorry. He’s usually good with strangers. He practically grew up at the store. Mr. Falconer’s been so good about giving me shifts.”

“How old are you now, Ryan,” asked Cy.

Ryan broke away from Ella, ducking out of sight around a corner.

She smiled at Cy. “Again, sorry. He’s seven. It’s an awkward age.”

“Nonsense,” said Cy. “He’s a lovely boy. And growing up so fast.”

Will knew he was effectively hiding from the party, out on the porch, but he was relieved he didn’t have to go and mingle and run into Parker or Sina. Cy assiduously kept Will’s wine glass topped up. He’d always found it a lot easier to be sociable with some Dutch courage.

Eventually Cy took Will’s upper arm in his grip and leaned down to speak into his ear. “Come on. Time to go.”

Will slowly got to his feet. He wasn’t drunk, but there was a definite . . . unsteadiness occurring. He held onto Cy’s arm as he found his balance.

“Just a quick word before you go, Mr. Keller.” It was Mr. Falconer.

“Go get your shoes on, lovely,” said Cyrus. “I’ll meet you outside.”

Will ambled over towards the door they’d came in. He found his shoes but couldn’t manage to get a foot off the ground to put one on. He was just sitting on the staircase pondering his next move when he realized what was at the top of it. A large bookcase held vintage spines he recognized very well.

He was up the steps without any conscious decision to climb them, pulling books off the shelves. He heard footsteps mounting the stairs behind him.

“Look, vintage sci-fi – all the classics. You read them, Cy?”