LITMIR.BIZ

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dinner. Meegan was upstairs, sleeping soundly, the heat of the day making her more tired than usual, so it was just the two of them sitting down to eat which was a rare occurrence. Usually Isla would take advantage of such a situation and light candles and open a bottle of wine, but there was no ceremony for the meal. Just two plates of meat loaf.

      ‘So how is the case coming along?’ she asked between mouthfuls, but then looked away as though she didn’t care for the answer.

      ‘It’s…interesting,’ Aiden admitted, more interested in what was troubling his wife.

      ‘Mmm,’ Isla gave a non-committal response.

      ‘I think it has the potential to get a lot messier than I anticipated.’

      ‘Uh huh.’

      Isla would normally jump on such a comment, demanding to know the ‘messier’ details. Something was definitely wrong with her. Aiden put down his cutlery and looked her square in the face.

      ‘What’s wrong?’

      ‘What?’ Isla feigned surprised.

      ‘You’re behaving oddly, what’s the matter now?’

      The inclusion of the word now seemed to irritate Isla and her eyes narrowed.

      ‘I’m fine.’

      ‘Seriously, what’s wrong?’ Aiden pushed.

      ‘I’m fine.’

      ‘Isla, I’m not an idiot. I know that when a woman says she’s fine she means the exact opposite!’

      ‘I’m really fine.’

      ‘Can we just skip to the part where you tell me what’s wrong, please?’ Aiden sighed, feeling drained from the argument he’d previously witnessed at Samuel Fern’s mansion and not wanting to enter into one of his own.

      ‘It’s just,’ Isla picked absently at the remains of her dinner as she tried to find the words.

      ‘Just what?’

      Aiden was tired himself. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with whatever issue his wife currently had. In an ideal world he’d be able to just go up to bed and sleep. But Isla would only be unbearable the following day if he did that. Aiden ran a hand through his hair and wondered if he was heading in the same direction as Samuel Fern, if one day all that would remain in his marriage would be bitterness.

      ‘I don’t think I can stay here any longer,’ Isla told him, her voice rising slightly from nerves. ‘I know you like it here, and I know you think it’s best for Meegan for us to remain here, but I get a vote too and I’ve given the rural life a try and it’s not for me.’

      Isla thought of the note, now torn up with the trash. As much as she wanted to ignore the notes, she couldn’t help but agree with their sentiment; that it was time to leave.

      She seemed to relax a little after delivering her statement. Aiden was quiet as he took in what she’d said. He’d felt this moment was coming, ever since they had first arrived in Avalon, but he was too tired to deal with it.

      ‘You just need to give it time. Once you make friends you’ll feel more settled here.’

      ‘I’ve given it time!’ Isla shot back angrily. ‘I’ve given it months of my time, of Meegan’s time, but nothing changes. This isn’t where I want to be, Aiden! We don’t have an infinite supply of time; I’m wasting my life being here! Everyone here hates us and wants us gone! I’m completely alone here!’

      ‘You’re completely alone? So what, you’re saying you don’t have me?’ Aiden asked, his voice cold and tinged with spite. It wasn’t like him to be so hostile, but his increasing fatigue had stolen from him what little reserves of kindness he had left.

      ‘That’s not what I’m saying,’ Isla stammered out the words, visibly shocked by Aiden’s reaction.

      ‘Of course I’ve got you. I just don’t want to be here. Don’t you care about my happiness?’ she asked, sounding hurt.

      Guilt settled upon Aiden’s shoulders; a heavy, unwanted weight that he wasn’t in any state to carry. Had he been so blind to his wife’s happiness? He always thought that each protest she made, each whinge of despair, was just part of her nature to be overly dramatic and she had a spoilt streak a mile long. He’d hoped that living in Avalon would help curb that, make her more humble. What if he’d been wrong and all he was doing was making her suffer and that she’d never change?

      ‘I care about your happiness,’ he told her earnestly, reaching across the table so he could hold her hands.

      ‘Good,’ Isla sniffed tearfully. ‘I want us to be happy.’

      ‘Me too!’

      Without warning the image of Brandy appeared in Aiden’s mind. Reminding him of his heart’s desire which he chose to ignore. He pushed her face away, determined to focus on the moment, on his family.

      ‘Are you really hating it here so much?’ he asked gently.

      As much as Aiden liked Avalon, there was perhaps a time when, if Isla had protested enough, they would have relocated back to Chicago. But not now, the city was no longer an option for them. Because Brandy was now there, which would make life difficult. Which would cause Aiden conflict. He thought of her enough when she was miles away. If she was in the same city, if he risked bumping in to her on his morning commute, he wasn’t sure how he’d cope.

      ‘It’s just getting unbearable,’ Isla admitted, glad that her husband was finally taking her anguish seriously. ‘Something happened today that made it worse.’

      ‘What happened?’ Aiden asked, alarmed, instantly fearing that Buck Fern had been around stirring up trouble.

      Isla internally groaned and wished she’d not been so hasty in tearing up the note. Without evidence Aiden would be less likely to believe her. She’d have to fob him off with something else for the time being. Besides, she was certain that there would be more notes, no matter how zealously she tried to ignore them.

      ‘I’d gone to the grocery store,’ Isla began. ‘Meegan was playing up with the heat so I thought it would be nice to get myself a treat, you know, something to cheer me up. So I went to have a look through the magazine section.’

      ‘And?’

      ‘And I had a look for a copy of Vogue. You know how it’s always been my favourite.’

      ‘Right,’ Aiden was unsure where the story was headed.

      ‘Well, it wasn’t there. No surprise, right? As if anyone in this hick town cares about fashion. All their clothes are from the flea market!’

      ‘So you’re upset because you couldn’t find a copy of Vogue?’ Aiden asked incredulously.

      ‘No, not just that. I went to the guy at the register and asked if they ever have a copy in.’

      ‘Okay…’

      ‘And he was like, “no, let me ask Ralph”, this other loser working there. So he asks Ralph or whatever his name was and they both started laughing at me. These two spotty high school drop-outs were laughing at me! I’ve never been so outraged in my whole life! I mean, what sort of a shit stain of a place is this that they don’t have Vogue!’

      Isla exhaled, her cheeks reddened with fury as she relived the encounter.

      Aiden watched her closely, waiting to see if she was joking only to sadly realize that she was being completely serious.

      ‘You know you can just order Vogue online, right?’

      ‘That’s not the point.’

      ‘Then what is the point?’

      ‘This place! It isn’t me. I care about fashion, about designers, about the latest trends. The people here

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