This Is What Happy Looks Like(45)
Author: Jennifer E. Smith

“I don’t think they’re particularly sad either.”

“I do,” Graham told her. “They’re endings, and endings are always sad.”

“They’re the beginning of the night,” she said. “That’s something.”

“Yeah, but everyone knows that nights are scarier than days.”

Ellie laughed. “Maybe we should turn around then.”

“How come?”

“Nothing’s all that scary if you can see it coming.”

Still, they didn’t move. The sun continued to set at their backs, slipping toward the trees and the houses and the whole town of Henley, while before them, the water was busy with boats returning to the harbor. They watched as an enormous sailboat approached, the wind whipping its great white banners. Graham closed his eyes.

“My parents aren’t coming,” he said, and Ellie stirred in his arms.

“For the Fourth?”

“I thought they would,” he said, then shook his head. “That’s not really true, I guess. They never go anywhere. But I’ve also never asked before.”

“Are you close?”

“We used to be,” he said. “Before.”

“Before all this?” she said, and he nodded, knowing what she meant. They both fell silent, charting the progress of the boat, and then Ellie took his hand again. “They’re missing out.”

“They don’t understand it,” he said. “All this movie stuff.”

“Can you blame them?”

“I guess not,” he said quietly. “I don’t even understand it myself half the time.”

“At least you’ve got Wilbur,” she said, and he laughed.

“That’s true.”

“And me.”

He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. “That too.”

The boat had started to darken into a silhouette against the gold of the water, and a warm breeze lifted the hair from Graham’s forehead.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” he said, though he was still thinking of his own.

It took her a moment to respond. “I never used to mind,” she said. “I got really lucky with my mom. But it’s been tougher than usual this summer.”

“Because of me?” he asked, but she didn’t answer. Instead she pulled away, swiveling around to face him fully, her eyes shiny and determined.

“He’s in Kennebunkport for the long weekend.”

Graham gave her a mystified look, wondering what this had to do with anything. “Where’s that?”

“Just north of here,” she said, her jaw set. “He’s there with his family, and I’m gonna go up and see him tomorrow.”

“That’s what you were planning before?” he asked. “Does he know you’re coming?”

She shook her head.

“And you haven’t seen him since you were little?”

“Right,” she said with a nod.

“And does your mom know?”

Ellie bit her lip. “No.”

Graham sighed and rubbed at the back of his head. “Do you think this is a good idea?”

“Aren’t movie stars supposed to be reckless and irresponsible?” she said, attempting a grin, but it was quick to falter.

“I just don’t think—”

“I don’t care,” she said, her voice infused with a flinty resolve. “I’ve already decided.”

Graham hesitated for a moment, and then he nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Then I’m coming too.”

She looked surprised. “No, you’re not.”

“We’ve got the day off shooting, and I’ve got nothing to do on the Fourth anyway,” he said. “We’ll make a road trip out of it.”

“You’re way too conspicuous.”

“I’ll blend in.”

In spite of herself, she laughed. “Not possible.”

“I promise,” he said. “I’ll wear a cowboy hat. And a fake mustache.”

“That’s not the slightest bit melodramatic.”

“Occupational hazard,” he said with a grin.

“How about this?” Ellie said, rising to her feet, the towel still slung around her shoulders. “I’ll sleep on it.”

“Fine,” he said, standing up too. “But I’ll start getting my costume ready just in case.”

As they began to walk up the beach, he reached for her hand. They were quiet, the rocks crunching beneath their feet, the waves rushing up to the shore behind them.

Three more days, Graham was thinking.

He didn’t want to miss a single one of them.

“So are you done for the day?” Ellie asked without looking at him, her head bent as she picked her way over the uneven terrain.

“I am,” he told her. “You free tonight?”

“Oh yeah,” she said, and he could almost hear the laughter in her voice. “I figure we could take a stroll through town, go to the Lobster Pot, maybe make out a little on the village green…”

“Very funny,” he said as they reached the little bank that separated the beach from the trees, and together, they scrambled up the slope. “How about a picnic? We can meet right back here later.”

She nodded. “That sounds perfect.”

It was darker in the grove, where a bluish dusk had settled into every pocket of space, and Graham allowed himself to be led by Ellie, stumbling a bit as they felt their way toward the street. There was something dreamlike about it, with only the grumble of their footsteps and the sound of their breathing, her smaller hand in his, guiding him along. The beach was only a few yards behind them and the road only a few yards ahead, but right here amid the trees, it felt like they were a million miles away from anything. So when the first flash went off up ahead, it took a moment for him to realize what it was.

If he’d been in Los Angeles or New York, or even just up the road in the middle of Henley, his mind would have moved faster, but here in the gathering dusk, emerging from the solitude of the beach, he was slow to understand the implications. In front of him, Ellie had come to an abrupt stop, dropping his hand. But even as the second light went off and the scene took on a fumbling clarity—the glint of a motorcycle, the flurry of footsteps, another flash—all he could do was stand there, blinking.

“Graham,” came the first shout, and beside him, he could feel Ellie stiffen. “Graham, can you give us a smile? How about a kiss?” There were only three of them, but it felt like more; it felt like they were surrounded.