Page 88 - Where the Dream Ends ebook

Marc Erdrich

It was a stinging remark, but Liam opted to ignore it. He
knew from the start this wasn’t going to be easy, but staying on
island by himself was something he had been thinking about
all summer; for years, if the truth be known. He was deter-
mined not to let her stop him now.

“You just go on back to the city by yourself,” he ordered
her. “I’ll be fine.” He turned and opened the door as if to go
outside.

“What is it Liam?” Edith asked, getting up awkwardly. She
was still an active woman despite her age, but her body ached
from crouching and she held her side with one hand as if to
support herself.

“It’s nothing, Edith. I just want to be alone for a while,
that’s all,” Liam said. He didn’t look back. “I just want to be
alone.”

The screen door crashed shut with defiance, following the
mental script Liam had written weeks before. He stomped
down the path and made his way up the boardwalk toward
the beach.

* * *

In the dream, Liam was alone, or so he thought, on the
great expanse of boulevard between the bay and the ocean.
There were only a few vacationers left on the island and many
of the houses were boarded up for the winter. He peered up
and down the crosswalks at all the beach houses, unfettered by
the tall beach grasses that hid them from summer view. They
looked so naked, Liam realized. Then, as if the very thought of

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