We walked along the shore for a while in silence. The moon was huge, even though it was waning. The breeze lifted my hair off my neck. It felt good. It felt good to be home again. It felt good to be near Jack again. The artist stopped walking and sat down, patting the sand next to him for me to follow. We were away from the studio now. The only light that illuminated the sand was from the moon. Lowering myself, I sat next to him and tucked my legs close to my body. “Abby, I’m sorry about that. That kind of thing doesn’t normally happen around here.” He shook his head, dark hair falling into his eyes. “That woman has made my life a living Hell.” Carefully, I asked, “Who is she?” I gazed at the waves, watching Jack out of the corner of my eye. “She was a patron, back before I was successful.” Working his jaw, Jack chose his words carefully. “We were a couple for a while, but it didn’t work out.
