The Bottom of the Sea

Epilogue

"Walking when the tide's out is a lot trickier with a four-month-old on your back."

"Tell me about it," I said. "Give him here." Jake paused and leaned down so I could take the baby out of the fancy blue backpack, adorably called the Happy Trails Child Carrier. This kid had been on plenty of trails and hikes so far, and he wasn't even six months old yet.

"Come see Mama." I lifted Samuel out and planted a big kiss on his chubby cheek. He yawned, his sweet little mouth opening wide like a baby bird. "Somebody's tired. I think the baby needs a nap too." Jake pulled the straps off his back and stretched. He still walked with a bit of a limp, something that distressed me, but his physiotherapy had gone well, and he was just about back to normal.

I hugged the baby to me and rocked from side to side. He snuggled his face into my neck and sighed. I smelled the sweetness of his hair and skin, breathing deep. Warmth filled my body like blinding sunshine. Before I had Samuel, I never knew this kind of happiness existed.

The sun was low in the sky, but the wind was warm. "Tell me again how we're going to picnic on the mud flats? And how long until the ocean comes rushing back in?" I still wasn't sold that Jake's plan for a picnic on the bottom of the ocean could work.

"No worries, we've got about five hours. I've got a waterproof beach blanket. It's sort of a tarp but it can also be a ground sheet for our tent." He set everything up for the picnic and I took a seat with the baby nearly asleep on my shoulder. I shifted so he and I were both more comfortable.

"Here's his blanket," Jake said, handing it to me and I made a little nest for him on the tarp with the fluffy, thick fleece. I wanted to feed him before he fell asleep, but the fresh air knocked him out every time. He was such an easy baby.

"This is really nice," I said, looking around. It was more than nice, but I was never good at expressing myself with words. The sea air, the beginnings of a watercolour sunset, a content, sleeping baby and a gourmet feast spread set out before me from the man I loved. It wasn't nice, it was perfect.

Just about.

There was no one around for miles, but I could feel someone there. I looked ahead to the house, but the window was empty. I hadn't seen or heard much from Elva since that night with Shane. It was like she had gone into hiding or something. I was grateful for the peace, but the house felt kind of lonely when she wasn't making her presence known. I hope she knew how grateful I was for her presence

The hair stood up on the back of my neck and my arms and I shivered. Someone was staring at me. "You cold? Take my jacket." Jake held it out to me. "Are you OK?"

I turned the opposite way and watched Shane in the distance as he paced. He looked older and more frantic than he did the night he attacked me. He couldn't see me but I could see him every time the tide was out, far off in the distance. He was usually out near the horizon when the tide was out, walking back and forth, ranting and tearing at his hair. Behind him like a demented companion was the dark shadow man.

Sometimes when the sun was setting and I was in the baby's room rocking Samuel, I saw Shane across the road. He stood there, staring up at the house with a look of absolute fury on his face. I'd stop rocking for a moment and lean forward, waiting for him to cross the street and come up the driveway but he never did. Something told me as long as Elva was here, it was the closest he'd ever get to us.

The ground shimmered in the late summer heat and I shaded my eyes and squinted. Just like that, he was gone.

"Honey?" Jake was still looking at me, his eyes concerned. Such light eyes, startling and beautiful against his dark complexion. Samuel was born with thick, silky black hair and the dark colouring of his French ancestry. He had no trace of Shane in him that I could see, thank God and people mistook him for Jake's child when we were out. It was something Jake didn't mind at all, in fact he welcomed it.

Samuel had black hair like my dad, and his eyes were blue like me and my mom. He was one hundred per cent Brusseau, and now so was I. All of my articles at the paper now had my correct byline: Sara Elizabeth Brusseau.

I smiled at Jake, so handsome in the late-day sun. Golden hour. "I'm good. Couldn't be better."

"Sleep well little man." Jake smiled down, cradling the baby's face in his large hand. "So, when are you going to marry me, anyway?" He turned back to me with a serious look.

"Is this your plan, to take us out to the bottom of the ocean floor and talk me into getting married?"

"Sara, hear me out. I'm living in a house; you're living in a house. No need for the two of us to be paying a mortgage. Let's combine forces, it just makes good economic sense. I'll even live in your haunted house." He raised his eyebrows at me. "What do you think?"

"I'm fine for money. And I own my house, I don't have a mortgage remember? Plus, I already have a roommate."

He sighed. "You still believe in Elva."

"I wouldn't be writing her life story if I didn't," I said, nibbling a piece of cheese and pouring myself a glass of wine. She had stopped being 'the ghost' to me. She was so much more than that. The book was going to be based on her life, but fictionalized. I wanted to re-write her story so that her husband and children survived, and she spent her whole life in that house, surrounded by friends and family, including lots of grandchildren.

I had finally gotten everything I wanted. I would create the same life for her.

It was easy for the cops to find me once I started using my own name at the paper. After being missing for months, Shane had been declared dead. The police said he was engaged in criminal activity and even implicated in several murders. They had reason to suspect his death wasn't entirely unexpected, given the company he was keeping. Apparently, he had double-crossed a drug dealer, one who was notorious for making people disappear, and he confessed to the murder. I was suitably shocked, and distraught when they told me.

I was genuinely surprised when I learned that I was Shane's sole beneficiary. His estate included proceeds from the sale of his condo, his life savings, investments and pension. Samuel and I would never have to worry about money.

The first thing I did was purchase the house from Missy, outright. It was mine now. We were neighbours, both in the home of our dreams and neither of us was going anywhere.

"Would you really move in with Samuel and me?"

"Sure. I have no attachment to my house. I know you love yours," he said, shrugging. "I don't care where we live, I just want to be together."

"See, how can I marry a lawyer? I'll never win an argument," I teased. He covered my hand with his own.

I never told him what happened back at the house. I couldn't tell him. Where would I start?

When I finally returned to the house after Jake was attacked, there was no trace of Shane. True to the giant's word, the entire house was put back together and the kitchen was gleaming. When I ventured upstairs, I was shocked to see the window was repaired, even the stained-glass was replaced. It was as if none of it ever happened.

That part of my past was over. It was time to turn the page.

I took a sip of wine and breathed in the salt air. "How about next month."

"Next month for what?"

"Let's get married next month."

Jake dropped his sandwich. "Are you serious?"

"I don't want a big wedding. I have no family to speak of. We can invite your family, Missy and Simon and have the ceremony in the backyard. It'll be small and cheerful."

He said nothing for a moment, just grinned and leaned in for a kiss. I laughed and kissed him back, wrapping my arms around him.

The grand house stood tall and elegant in the late-day sun. The curtain in my bedroom moved slightly, and the figure of a woman drifted slowly out of sight.

The end.