This story was inspired by a picture I saw on my vacation -- I got the
idea instantly, and have been trying to piece together the story ever
since. Thanks to Denise G. and Kathy for their suggestions (and
laughs!) and help ... Susan G.

The Summerhouse

"Captain Gregg, for your information, I am merely going for a walk,
BY MYSELF, along the cliffs. I do not intend to wear a skirt, as it
does not appear to be an easy walk!"
Daniel studied the beautiful woman standing defiantly before him.
Over the past months since meeting her, he had come to realize that she
was a confusing, exciting collection of contrasts. At times she was so
unconsciously erotic that sweat popped out over his brow and his groin
ached at the sight of her. Other times she seemed so fragile and
vulnerable that he wanted to clasp her protectively in one arm and slay
sea monsters for her with the other. She was strong and crackling with
her vitality in one instance, soft and vulnerable to pain in the next
moment. She would give and give, then take in a challenging manner, as
if she expected him to protest her right to grasp anything for herself.
Unlike any woman he had ever known, she met him head-on, with a spirit
that refused to bow or be conquered. She was such a feisty and spirited
little thing, the Captain thought. And so beautiful when she was
angry. Her skin flushed a becoming pink, her lovely green eyes flashed
with vibrancy. Just now she was glaring at him. She planted her hands
on the curve of her hips, with her shoulders squared.
He mocked her stance and clamped his brows down tight. He suspected
her destination and would much prefer it if she were to steer clear of
that place. In a stern voice, he growled, "Under no circumstances do
ladies of quality go about unaccompanied, and wearing a man's trousers!
You are begging a blackened name. I FORBID it!"
"You ... you FORBID it?" Carolyn covered her eyes with one hand and
leaned against the door, shaking her head. "I never realized how much
the poor women of your time were to be pitied. Look, the days of
requiring a chaperone are long gone. Besides, I AM grown up, and a
widow at that! For your information, things have changed. So have
fashions. The sooner you get used to that idea, the better!"
"I do not need to get used to any new ideas! You are now sharing MY
quarters!" the Captain roared, frustrated. How DARE she not listen to
him? She must not venture to that part of the property! By the powers,
she was too curious by half! Blast that storm for felling some of the
trees hiding that building! He refused to even acknowledge the fact
that the storm had been of his own making.
Carolyn stamped her foot in her fury. "I am NOT sharing them with
you! In point of fact, I am sharing them with Martha, Jonathan, Candy
AND Scruffy. You are .... just an extra." Carolyn stopped as she said
this, thinking it over after the words left her lips. An extra?
Inwardly she rejected that word as totally inappropriate. Never could
Captain Gregg be considered an extra in Gull Cottage. An added
attraction, yes. Frustrating, aggravating, overbearing though he was,
he was still a definite bonus! But she would bite out her tongue before
she ever admitted that openly when he was in THIS mood!
In the last few months, Carolyn had come to realize that her initial
strong attraction to Captain Daniel Gregg had grown into a love all the
more intense, perhaps, because of its ethereal state. She knew that
her feelings were reciprocated. But neither had ever said anything
directly to the other. What would be the point? They had skirted the
issue, made light of the subject, contented themselves with long looks
... both knowing that they were part of two very different worlds that
could not physically overlap. Yet for all its unpropitious nature, both
sensed the permanence of their profound love: passionate, boundless and
indestructible.
The recent spring storm had broken branches from the trees north of
Gull Cottage, and toppled two of the four evergreens which had stood
close together. While out on the balcony this morning, Carolyn had
noticed a bit of a roof sticking up out of the brush, very much like a
light house, or the tower of Gull Cottage. Not having suspected that
another building was so close to her new home, she had decided to go
exploring. Jonathan and Candy were at school, Martha was grocery
shopping, and Carolyn had the morning to herself. But now this
infuriating Captain Gregg was wasting what precious little free time she
had!
Tossing her head, Carolyn said, "No doubt if I were as gullible as
... as your Vanessa, I would take your word as law, but in my century
women are taught to think for themselves, Captain Gregg."
The Captain ignored her words. His face had been wiped clean of
expression when she had told him he was an ‘extra'. An extra! After
giving her the shawl so gracefully, and acknowledging that he much
preferred the present to the past, yet she still brought up Vanessa
after all these months! Very well. He would allow her to do her
exploring. And she would even think she was alone. But he would keep
an eye on her. A very careful, watchful, reluctantly admiring eye.
Carolyn fought her way through the thick shrubbery, over the fallen
trees, and managed to get closer to the large, circular building. It
appeared to be a sort of gazebo or summerhouse, with large, multipaned
glass windows on most sides. The wavy old glass was still intact, which
meant Carolyn had to get up close before she could peek inside. The
building appeared empty except for a few window seats around the edges.
The hardwood floor gleamed with the rays of weak sunlight which managed
to find their way in through the canopy of trees. Seeing the door part
way around the building, Carolyn realized she would not be able to
struggle through the tangle of thorn bushes and tree branches without a
hatchet or a handsaw.
Squirming out of the dense brush, she hurried back to Gull Cottage
and found a rusty saw in the garden shed. As she attacked the mass by
the summerhouse, she could not help but remember when she had had the
Captain's Monkey Puzzle tree cut down. Now here she was, again cutting
down something against his will. Yet he had not mentioned this place
specifically, railing instead about her clothing! She had come to know
him well, however. This summerhouse meant something to him, and he was
not pleased that she had discovered it. Wishing he would materialize,
explain what the building was and help her in, Carolyn kept working at
clearing a path to the doorway.
At last she was close enough to try the glassed door. The handle
wouldn't turn, and for a moment Carolyn felt her heart sink with
disappointment. She really didn't feel that she could break in. She
rattled the handle a bit more, then pressed her hands and face against
the glass to peer in again. A sudden shivery feeling passed over her,
and instinctively, Carolyn drew back. Catching her breath, she watched
as the handle creaked, then slowly and almost mysteriously the door
swung open towards her, breaking off a few more branches close to the
ground. Carolyn stood still for a moment, her heart in her throat,
realizing instantly that something or someone was there letting her in,
welcoming her. It didn't feel like the Captain and she knew he did not
want her there. An icy finger seemed to trail down her spine, but a
warmth beckoned her forward.
Hesitating on the doorstep, Carolyn jumped as the Captain appeared at
her side. He scanned the room with narrowed eyes, a scowl on his face.
"C-Captain?" Carolyn's voice trembled, and she clenched her fists and
steadied it before continuing, "Did you build this place?"
"No." His voice was harsh as he took a step further in so that
Carolyn could edge past him and stand fully in the strangely quiet room.

Noting that the outside sounds of surf and gulls had ceased, Carolyn
was aware of the almost deafening silence. A feeling of anticipation,
waiting for something to happen, was almost tangible. Her eyes swept
over the highly polished hardwood floors, and for a moment she wondered
if her sight could be playing tricks on her. It
seemed as if faint, shadowy figures, dressed in party clothes of a by-
gone era, were dancing past.
"Who ...?" her voice cracked again, and after swallowing, Carolyn
whispered, "Who did this place belong to?"
With a grim expression on his face, the Captain finally spoke. "This
was built on the Evergreen House grounds -- the man who owned it was my
Captain when I first went to sea as a cabin boy. The house has long
since disappeared, of course. I purchased the grounds, built Gull
Cottage on the opposite corner of the property to the summerhouse and
purposefully allowed the bushes to surround and almost bury this place."

At Carolyn's questioning glance, he reluctantly admitted that the
original owner was Vanessa's father. Dances had been held here. He
used to meet Vanessa here regularly. It was here that they had
discussed marriage.
Carolyn caught her breath. For a moment she thought she could see a
young, beautiful girl hovering demurely beside the debonair figure of
the Captain. She blinked, and the image receded. Then Carolyn demanded
the whole story.
For a moment, Carolyn thought the Captain was not paying attention to
her, then he deliberately turned away from the apparition which had
again appeared at his side. Once more the girl faded slowly. The
Captain studied Carolyn as if trying to decide how much he should tell
her, then at last he began speaking in a low voice. "Vanessa's mother
died when she was two, and her father hired my aunt to be his
housekeeper and to raise Vanessa. I myself was an orphan living with my
aunt Florence, which meant I also came to Evergreen House at the age of
four. When I was thirteen, I shipped out with Captain Jennings as cabin
boy, and remained as part of his crew for three years. The Captain
unfortunately died while we were at sea, but I was taken under the wing
of the first mate who had assumed command of the ship until we returned
to port. I wrote to Vanessa often, enclosing her letters with my
aunt's. I visited them both in between voyages for the next four
years. That is when dances were held here in this summerhouse. It had
been a tradition with Captain Jennings to have parties while in port.
Yes, Vanessa and I spent much of our time here." He paused for a
moment, then a faint smile crossed his face. "Vanessa adored me," he
said, a trifle smugly.
Something tightened inside Carolyn, but she refused to allow him the
pleasure of knowing of her jealousy. Her eyes held his steadily as she
listened, becoming captivated by his story.
After a moment, the Captain continued. "However, she grew more and
more frustrated when I stayed away on long trips. When Vanessa was 18
and I was 20, Aunt Florence passed away. I am still glad I happened to
be in port in time to say goodbye. Following the funeral, Vanessa
begged me to quit the sea and marry her. I was considering it."
Carolyn couldn't control her start of surprise at this. The Captain
grinned at her. "Unbelievable though it sounds, yes, I WAS considering
it. However, I was called to sea for what would probably be my last
long voyage -- as first mate. It was a great honour for me, as I was
still quite young. I simply HAD to take it on. Vanessa cried and
complained and begged me to refuse, but I was adamant. Leaving her in
the care of an elderly cousin, I went back to sea." Now the Captain's
eyes swept around the room, and Carolyn wondered if he, too, saw the
misty apparitions she did. Or perhaps they were as real to him as he
was to her? "I wrote to Vanessa daily, using the flowery, romantic
words I knew women love. I picked up little knickknacks in every port
that would please her, as well as some clothing, as you know, filling a
sea chest I bought especially for her trousseau."
"The one in the attic." Carolyn said, softly.
"Aye." he agreed.
"But you never gave it to her! Why not?" she asked.
He stroked his beard pensively, reliving the past. Carolyn waited
patiently at his side, and finally he carried on with his story, not
immediately answering her question. "All the time I was away, with
every letter I received from her, I noted the growing bitterness and
resentment Vanessa was portraying. Finally she confessed that she no
longer was sure she wished to marry me."
Carolyn gasped, "How COULD she? She told you by LETTER?"
"How else? I was still at sea. Oh, she assured me that I was a
wonderful person, but wrote that she could not envision herself married
to a seaman who, like her father, would be away at sea so much of the
time, and who was risking his life every time he set sail. At last I
received a final letter, demanding that I come home immediately, or she
would marry one of the young men hanging around her. The one she wrote
about in such glowing terms was a shopkeeper, one who could afford to
keep her in fine linen and lace for the rest of her life. She would
never have to lift a finger to do any work. She wanted to know if I
could take care of her in the same manner."
Again the Captain paused. Feeling his pain, Carolyn almost put her
hand over his which was clenched at his side. She stuck her hands in
the pockets of her jacket, hoping he hadn't noticed her involuntary
movement towards him.
"I wrote back after a week. A week where I spent hours planning my
future, considering my dreams and hopes. A week where I gradually
realized that I was still searching for my one true love. Until I found
her, I could never be happy away from the sea. Instead of going home, I
sent Vanessa a letter wishing her well in the future, and letting her
know with finality that I was a seaman now and forever. I shredded the
love letters she had sent to me, allowing them to scatter over the open
water."
"You said they were lost at sea." Carolyn interrupted.
"Aye. Lost, as my life seemed at that point. Instead of returning
home after that voyage, I shipped for the South Seas. It was over eight
years before I returned to Schooner Bay, now the proud young Captain of
my own ship. Vanessa had married and moved away, her elderly cousin had
died shortly after her marriage, and the Evergreen House had fallen into
disrepair. Truthfully, it had been decaying since Captain Jennings'
death. Now older and desirous of putting down roots somewhere, I
decided to purchase the property, tear down the old house and build Gull
Cottage. It took many years, but I persisted, and had the best artisans
in the area. Eventually I finished Gull Cottage, the home of my
dreams. It became a showpiece in Schooner Bay. As a Gregg, one of the
founding families of Schooner Bay, I took my place in the community.
That is, I did when I was home. I made it a point to find our family's
artifacts and gather everything in one place. There is a lot of history
stored in the wheelhouse at Gull Cottage. Even I have not read all of
it. Up there I also placed the sea chest with Vanessa's trousseau.
Occasionally I would go up and open it, and gaze at her picture and try
to imagine her sitting beside me. The pain of her rejection had worn
off, and I only remembered the joy I had felt in her presence."
Carolyn stirred restlessly. Again it seemed as if she could see the
faint shadow of a young girl in front of the Captain, hands out
imploringly. Carolyn looked away, her lips tightening, and stared out
the windows at the leafy tangle. She did not notice that Captain
Gregg's gaze was on her, not the illusory figure before him.
"It was THEN that I began to realize that I had only loved the person
I thought she was ... I had built her up into someone she was not." Now
the Captain's voice dropped. Carolyn's eyes were drawn to his again as
he continued in a low, velvety tone. "I began dreaming of the woman I
COULD envision as the mistress of Gull Cottage, and searched for her as
I sailed into various ports. But I never found her. She would be
beautiful -- that was a given! -- and strong. No simpering miss, who
fainted at the thought of touching a man's hand. I never stopped
looking for the woman to share my home with me, but I never found her.
No longer was I willing to settle for second best, as I realized Vanessa
to have been. I met several Captain's wives, and knew the type I wanted
-- one who would sail with me or keep the home lights burning until I
returned ..."
Then his voice ceased. Carolyn came back to the 20th century,
feeling dazed by the spell woven in the old summerhouse. She felt as if
she had been living there, with him, feeling all his emotions as he told
her about Vanessa. He was a good story teller. She had always known
that.
"I never found her," the Captain repeated. "The one destined for me
remained elusive throughout my lifetime. I never gave up my search nor
my dreams, but I never found her ... until you came, my dear." he
finished, his tone significant, his meaning clear.
Carolyn swallowed the lump in her throat, her eyes wide as she gazed
at him. "Oh, Daniel ..." she breathed, uttering his name for the first
time. Without thinking, she reached up and cupped his face in her
hands, her heart full of her love for him.
Once, while a lad playing on the beach, a wave had sucked the Captain
under. He recalled the moment now with brilliant clarity. The wave had
possessed an otherworldly force. Its curved hollow had felt like the
inside of a clenching fist as it snatched him and swept him under,
drawing him down to the gray depths and holding him there. The wave had
tumbled him round and round in a rolling motion so that he had no idea
which end was up. The universe had pulled the world out from under
him. He remembered the chest-squeezing panic, the sense that everything
was spinning out of control.
He felt the same way now. Only this time it was not a force of
nature that tilted his world almost beyond recognition. It was Carolyn
Muir. She had voluntarily and most amazingly touched him! He felt the
unspoken love flowing between them, and could not trust himself to
move. He knew that once he did, he would not be able to refrain from
pulling her into his arms and kissing her as he had longed to do since
he first saw her.
Once again, Carolyn noticed the silence in the room. She missed the
constant boom of the sea on the rock shore. There was something
different, almost magic, about this place. Drying leaves and old roses
spiced the air with a faint, evocative scent even as the new buds
burgeoned on the branches. The spring air was softened as it filtered
through tree and glass, faint strands of mist resolved into figures then
melted away. Carolyn was immobile, lost in the blue depths of the
Captain's eyes. Swirling around them, both sensed the presence of love:
past, present and future. Then Carolyn became aware of the phantoms of
the Captain's past urging them closer. She suddenly felt, for the first
time, the Captain's whiskers tickling the palms of her hands.
Carolyn trembled, her hands dropped to her sides. How could she have
touched him? How was it even possible? Her mind was dizzy with the
questions that arose. Then she heard his groan of surrender as his arms
slid around her, clasping her tightly, and other emotions took over.
Good heavens, to be this close to him was HEAVEN! Carolyn wanted to
wrap her arms around his neck and merge with him. Her intense
attraction to him was nothing short of astounding. If he had any idea
at all what his proximity was doing to her ...
"What is one kiss between friends?" his voice was husky.
Before Carolyn could beg him not to touch her, he lowered his head
and extracted a kiss from her astonished mouth. He had meant the kiss
to be playful and teasing, but once there was contact, the nature of the
fun changed. Like a bolt of lightning out of nowhere, desire shot
through her body. Suddenly their kiss deepened, igniting her passion.
Everything began to spin out of control.
Shocked and somehow humiliated by her own uninhibited response to an
illusion, Carolyn struggled to break free of his embrace. To her
mortification, she had to clutch his arm for a moment while she swayed
on unsteady legs to regain her equilibrium. Still her logic screamed at
her that it was impossible to feel his support. She had to be losing
her mind! During that millisecond before his eyes shuttered against the
light, she thought she glimpsed fire in their impossibly blue depths.
Carolyn was so shaken by their physical encounter that she could
hardly pull herself together. She should never have touched him, he
should never have kissed her. Now she would ache for things she could
never have. Something told her she would now go through the rest of her
life wanting him even more desperately than she had before. What had
she done? She had thought her emotions and her desires long past after
the death of her husband. But Daniel had somehow managed to get under
her guard and he had aroused her to the point that she was no longer
sure of anything. She fought to remain logical, but feared it was a
losing battle. She was inwardly terrified at falling in love with an
illusion, a spirit. This had to be a dream. There could be no other
explanation.
"Friends?" she couldn't even recognize her own voice.
"Are we not friends?" came the silky question.
Shuddering, Carolyn shook her head. "No. Yes. I mean, so much MORE
than friends, Daniel ... But, I don't understand. Why can I touch
you? Are you real?"
"I am no different than I am in Gull Cottage. Truthfully, my dear, I
am at a loss as to why I can feel your smooth skin when I touch you
here," and his calloused fingers gently stroked her cheek. "It must be
this place, the magic, the memories ..."
"Daniel, no ... we can't do this," she whispered fervently, her
breasts rising and falling rapidly. Yet even as she spoke, she was
cupping his face again with her hands, and pressing more kisses on his
cheek. Dream or not, she could no longer resist him.
He pulled her closer, and passionately took her mouth. She responded
with equal fervour, losing herself in the wonderful sensations his lips
engendered. But once more common sense eventually surfaced through the
primitive urges. She eased away from the kiss even as he did. Still
entwined, he leaned his forehead against hers.
"I'm sorry," he finally spoke.
"It's very gallant of you to try to shoulder all the blame, but ..."
her fingers smoothed over his chest and shoulders again, then she pushed
regretfully away.
"I do not feel gallant." he said. "What a word. From my century,
not yours."
Carolyn winced. Was he trying to rub in the age difference again?
"It's apt. But we DO have a problem. We're attracted, and we both have
lots of reasons why we shouldn't be giving in to it."
"Hmm." his eyes met hers again for a long moment, and both silently
acknowledged the chasm of time between them. In that spell of
vulnerability, Carolyn felt their souls meet, and in spite of what her
logic told her, she knew that neither time nor distance nor death could
ever part them again. They were meant to be together.
At last, Carolyn looked away. Their time was not now. She backed
towards the door. "Martha will be home, wondering where I am ... I must
go."
"Aye, my dear. It is for the best."
The shadowy host about them had gathered closer, and Carolyn noticed
that even the young girl was beckoning for her to remain, or come
closer. A feeling of sorrow and longing rose collectively from the
crowd, coloured by a hint of reckless desire. Unsure of herself and
diffident about having put on a show, as it were, for those of the
Captain's past, Carolyn felt like shrinking into her jacket. Instant
understanding wafted to her, and again the summerhouse was vacant except
for herself and Captain Gregg.
Carolyn looked fully at him again. "We can't touch in Gull
Cottage." Her soft words revealed her yearning.
"No." his voice was flat.
"I didn't think I missed it." now she sounded bewildered and
hesitant. "But ..."
Suddenly she turned and scrambled through the door. The cool wind
buffeted her, the raucous cries of the gulls and the ceaseless pounding
of the waves assaulted her ears. Cognizant of the enfolding silence in
the summerhouse, Carolyn realized that it had to be a place outside of
time. For the sake of her life with the children and Martha, her
so-called normal, mortal life, she MUST forget about this morning's
magic interlude! Somehow, though, Carolyn knew that was an impossible
feat. For in the summerhouse, she had found love again. Unattainable
right now, but love awaiting her return ... waiting forever.
Over a lunch which Carolyn never even tasted even as she went through
the motions of eating, her mind kept trying to encompass the events of
the morning. Martha tried talking with her, but gave up in disgust at
the distracted comments coming from her employer. As she noisily washed
pots, Martha muttered about writers and weird old houses.
Upstairs, Carolyn sat staring at the blank page in her typewriter.
She had no idea how much time passed, but she jumped when the Captain's
voice sounded in her ear.
"Are you not going to finish your article?" he demanded, leaning over
the side of her desk to peer at the blank page, then at her.
Resting her chin on her fist, Carolyn eyed him curiously. She still
wondered if it would be possible to touch him here in Gull Cottage.
Remembering the rough texture of his jacket, she took them both by
surprise when her hand reached out to finger his lapel. He remained
immobile, but as Carolyn's hand passed through him, meeting no
resistance and feeling only a faint tingle, he spoke softly.
"My dear, I DID warn you ..."
Tears gathered in Carolyn's eyes, but she blinked them back,
tightening her lips against the pain she was feeling at the loss ... the
loss of something she had never really had in the first place. The
interlude this morning must have been a dream. There could be no other
explanation.
With a muttered curse, the Captain vanished. Carolyn dropped her
head in her hands and fought to conquer the agony coursing through her.
She WOULD triumph! She would NOT allow a silly dream to destroy her
life here in Gull Cottage. She knew Captain Gregg was a spirit, she
knew there could be nothing physical between them in this present
existence. She would accept this as she had before, and she would be
happy here. And she inwardly vowed that she would never return to the
summerhouse, or ever mention it again.
Carolyn felt defenseless, vulnerable. She was confident the Captain
would never knowingly hurt her, but circumstances certainly could. They
had before. Then, Carolyn had built a wall around her emotions: a wall
so easily breached at Daniel's first touch. What could she do now?
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Another fierce storm raged through the area in the early hours of
the next morning. Carolyn jumped awake at the first crack of thunder.
She wondered if the Captain had conjured it. Somehow it fit her mood
exactly as bits of the dream she had had floated through her mind. HAD
it really been a dream? For some reason, she was having a hard time
believing it. Her palms tingled with the memory of touching the
Captain's face. Memory or dream? Reality or illusion? She lay in bed
listening to the wind howling and the rain lashing the windows. It
seemed only seconds between the brilliant flashes of light and the
tremendous claps of thunder that shook the house.
Candy and Jonathan crept timidly into her room, and she welcomed them
with a smile. The three huddled in her bed.
"The Captain won't knock down Gull Cottage." Jonathan stated
positively. "He loves it too much."
"Oh, Jonathan, you and that stupid ghost. Well, too bad. You can't
frighten me any more." Candy was about to say something more when, with
doubled ferocity, an explosion of lightning and thunder rent the air.
"Wow! That was close! I bet it hit something, Mom!" Jonathan was
out of the bed in an instant.
"Jonathan, wait!" Carolyn grabbed at him, but he ran to the French
doors and wrenched them open, ignoring the stinging rain which drenched
him immediately. He rushed out on to the balcony and leaned over the
balustrade, looking up and down the road.
Carolyn lunged after him. The last cacophony had seemed to be the
finale, as the thunder now merely rumbled in the distance. But the wind
and rain didn't let up, and Carolyn shivered as she stood barefooted in
the doorway, dripping with icy water. "Come inside NOW, Jonathan!"
"But, Mom, look! The last of those trees fell over there!" he
pointed in the direction of the summerhouse.
Carolyn had to look. She was beside him in an instant. Yes, the
trees were down. The roof of the summerhouse was no longer visible.
Carolyn wondered if the trees had crushed the place, leaving nothing but
rubble. She still did not know if the Captain had caused the storm or
not, and she did not WANT to know. Suddenly sure that the events of
yesterday had NOT been a dream, Carolyn worried that they may never be
able to return to the dangerous magic they had found in that private
retreat. Yet it was for the best, she argued with the part of her
mourning the loss. She had already promised herself never mention it
again. Nor would Captain Gregg, she was sure. Some things needed to be
ignored, or her life could become too unbearable. She was rather afraid
of the summerhouse now. She couldn't help but wonder if the Captain
would always be tangible there. Carolyn could see part of her willing
to forego her so-called normal life in order to spend every minute with
the Captain in that special out-of-time trysting place. Her practical
side rejected that scenario. Yet if, by some miracle beyond her
understanding, the summerhouse with all its possibilities WAS still
reachable, all her denials could not lessen the consummate triumph of
hope and everlasting love that its very existence embodied. Perhaps if
she worked a little bit at a time, she could eventually clear a path
back to the building ... and to the Captain. The summerhouse seemed to
be, to her, a symbol of the obstacles that stood in their way before
finally being able to be together.
Heedless of her son's questioning glance, her daughter's wild
gesticulating at the window, or the rain numbing her body, Carolyn
smiled faintly at her own foolishness. She could never forget the
summerhouse. The memory, the dream, and the Captain's love were hers
forever.