Chapter 3 - The Town by the Ocean
Amy arrived in Newport, Oregon, two days later.
The rain was soft.
The ocean was gray.
The town smelled like saltwater, coffee, and wet cedar.
It was nothing like Manhattan.
There were no black cars waiting beneath canopies.
No photographers.
No board meetings.
No people asking whether Daniel Harrison would attend the next charity gala.
The room above the harbor bookstore was small, warm, and quiet.
There was a narrow bed beside a window overlooking the marina. A faded blue chair sat near a bookshelf. A tiny kitchen held mismatched mugs and a kettle that whistled too loudly.
Amy loved it immediately.
Not because it was perfect.
Because no one expected anything from her there.
Silas, the bookstore owner, was seventy-three and wore thick glasses that made his eyes look permanently surprised.
“You must be Claire’s friend,” he said when Amy arrived.
“Yes.”
“She said you needed a place where nobody would ask questions.”
Amy nodded.
Silas handed her a key.
“Then I won’t ask any.”
For the first month, Amy lived quietly.
She helped organize old books.
She drank tea on the window seat.
She attended prenatal appointments at a small clinic twenty minutes away.
She bought baby clothes from a local shop, choosing simple white blankets and soft yellow sleepers.
She did not tell Daniel where she was.
At first, his calls came constantly.
Then his assistant called.
Then attorneys.
Then Margaret.
Amy did not answer.
Eventually, Daniel sent one message through her lawyer.
I know I do not deserve an answer. I only need you to know that I found the ultrasound. I know about our baby. I am sorry.
Amy read the message once.
Then she placed the phone face down.
Sorry was not a bridge.
Sorry was only the beginning of understanding what had been broken.
By the fifth month, the baby began kicking.
Amy would sit by the window at night, one hand on her stomach, feeling the small movements beneath her skin.
“I’m here,” she whispered.
For the first time in years, she believed it.
May you like
Not because Daniel was beside her.
Because she was beside herself.
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