It turned out that ocean waves did sound like Roman remembered them from his childhood. He was walking on the shore of a beach he didn’t recognize, his no-slip work shoes still sliding in the sand as he made his way toward the surf. Dark clouds hung heavily above him and the water was a steely gray, making Minnie’s pink hat even more visible as he got closer.

She turned as he approached and he was struck by how healthy she looked as she smiled. “Roman!” she exclaimed, reaching out to take his hand in hers.

Her mitten was soft, and he wondered why he hadn’t thought to wear his own gloves. But the joy of seeing her pushed the thought out of his mind. “I made it,” he said, pulling her close.

“I can see that,” Minnie said as she stepped back and looked him over, her gaze as sharp as it had ever been. “Roman, what on Earth were you thinking?”

Her loving disapproval sent a flicker of guilt through him, but the way she squeezed his hand sent it away and all he could do was laugh at himself. “Turns out I’m not that smart,” he admitted.

Minnie blew a raspberry and again, Roman marveled at how healthy she looked. “Darling, you’re perfectly smart,” she said. “You’re just also impulsive and thick.”

There was no arguing that fact, so instead, Roman moved to stand next to her and look out over the waves. They were small despite the high tide, crashing into the shore with little fanfare before pulling back out, creating little rivets in the mud around his shoes. He watched as the waves hollowed out the rivets, deepening and widening the tracks until they collapsed into muddy flatness.

He looked back out over the water. There were no boats, no gulls, not a single sign of life beyond the two of them standing here. “Did you get me out?” he asked Minnie.

“No, dear,” she said, also looking off into the seemingly endless stretch of ocean in front of them. “I had nothing to do with it, but it is nice to see you again.”

He had nothing to say to that, so he just took her hand again and looked out into eternity.

—————————-

Roman blinked awake, the wooden beams of the Countess’s guest bedroom gradually replacing the thick coastal clouds of his dreams. His chest ached and his mouth was dry, but he stayed where he was for a long moment, thinking vaguely about what he’d just seen.

Whether it had been a normal dream or not, it felt good to talk to Minnie.

He thought about that beach and how much a part of it Minnie had seemed. She hadn’t been buried there. The last he’d heard, her ashes were interred with her husband Jim in a cemetery in Truro, the small town on Cape Cod where Jim had grown up. But Roman had a small bag of them tucked deep inside his bedroom closet back home. And now that he was out, he should scatter them, shouldn’t he? Her will hadn’t said specifically to do that, just to do whatever Roman thought was best. And now, lying here with his functioning heart thumping steadily in his ears, that seemed like the best option.

—————————

Celine arrived at the Countess a couple hours after Roman woke up. He was sitting in bed, reading a shockingly boring mystery novel when the guest room door opened and she walked in with Aidan on her hip.

“How are you?” she asked, leaning in for a kiss and depositing the baby into Roman’s arms.

“Good,” he answered honestly, tucking Aidan under the quilt with him.

Aidan immediately nestled into Roman’s side, his chubby hand gripping the soft shirt Roman had worn to bed the night before. Roman’s throat caught as Aidan rested his head against him and closed his eyes, popping a thumb into his mouth.

“Busy morning,” Celine said. “Abby is at daycare for the next few hours and he’s tagging along with me today.”

“Why isn’t he there?” Roman asked, as though he wanted the baby anywhere but exactly where he was right now.

“Threw up yesterday,” Celine said casually. “It was from too many cookies, but rules are rules. He can go back tomorrow.”

Roman looked down at Aidan, who looked angelic in the face of his crimes. “Too many cookies, hmm?” he said, running a hand down Aidan’s hair. “Was this a team up with your older sister?”

“You know it,” Celine said, setting down her bag and sitting in the squashy chair they’d moved between the bed and the window.

“You know where Minnie Jensen’s ashes are, right?” Roman said suddenly, his mind still half on the dream he’d had.

Celine paused, then nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “But you aren’t driving to Truro right now.”

“You told me you don’t read minds,” Roman muttered, hoping he didn’t sound quite as much like a sullen teenager as he thought he did.

Celine laughed. “I told you, I don’t want to know what sick things are in there,” she said. “I think it’s a great idea, but Truro is three hours from here on a good day. When you’re feeling up for it, though, I can drive you.”

Roman was about to accept her offer, but then he paused. “Thanks,” he said. “But I think… I don’t know. I feel like this is something I should do by myself. Even if it takes a little longer.”

Celine’s response was interrupted by Aidan sitting up and cupping one hand over the palm of the other. He twisted the cupped hand twice as he stared fiercely at first Celine, then Roman. Roman laughed. “Absolutely not, my man,” he said. “Mom already told me what happened with yesterday’s cookies.”

Aidan glared at him, but curled his little toddler body back against Roman and closed his eyes. Roman leaned back against the pillows, knowing full well that there were cookies on top of his mini fridge and that Aidan was going to eventually get exactly what he wanted.

————————

Are you enjoying New Winslow? Please consider supporting the serial with a monthly Patreon or a one time Ko-fi donation. It’ll help me support Enfield Arts and write even more!

————-

CONTINUE TO EPISODE 31 

————-