Chapter seven: Aster's plan to become pregnant has hit a snag. Is it a small obstacle or a roadblock? Can she use her womanly wiles to get what she wants?
photo by ldyck
Chapter eight
Aster sailed back to Vancouver the next day. She sailed back alone on the first available ferry. She sailed back without seeing Kenneth James’ property. She’d seen enough of those bug-infected woods. She’d seen enough of that i—.
A couple claimed the bench directly across from Aster. They kissed and cuddled and she found it hard to pull her eyes away.
Her mind filled with Kenneth James holding her and kissing her and—. But their weekend had been cut short; their romantic weekend was ruined because... because... She knew it was because of that island. She just wasn’t cut-out for that place. And he knew that. Why had he demanded that she go there with him? Why had he demanded that she change, adjust, try to become someone she wasn’t?
She liked what she liked and there wasn’t anything wrong with that. There was nothing wrong with her. But for him, she had tried to get used to that island. She had tried. He thought she hadn’t but nothing could be further from the truth. She tried and tried and tried. It simply didn’t work. And that wasn’t her fault.
And besides... Their jobs were in Vancouver. They lived in Vancouver. That didn’t need to have anything to do with that island. He could conduct his research somewhere else—somewhere more suitable.
The young couple continued to enjoy each other. It made Aster sick. Honestly acting that way in front of everyone. Didn’t they have any sense of common decency?
***
The following year Kenneth James started building on his Mayne Island property. Every year after that he left for the island in May and returned to Vancouver in August. And Aster always found some reason not to join him. She reminded herself that it was healthy for couples to have separate interests.
