His First Love, My Last Goodbye novel · Chapter 13 of 24
Chapter 13: Nobody
The sign was still hand-lettered.
"Please knock softly. Someone is always sleeping."
Matthias read it twice in the gray light and left his phone in the glove compartment of the car.
It was ten to six on Tuesday morning, and the sea below the hill was the color of pewter.
He had driven an hour with the heater off, because he had not wanted to be warm.
On the long porch an old man sat in a plaid blanket, laying out cards on a board across his knees.
He had a white crew cut and ears like open car doors.
He did not look up.
"You're early," the old man said. "Or very late. I can't tell which with your sort."
"I'm looking for Esme Thornley."
"I know who you're looking for."
"Are you the lighthouse keeper?"
"Was." He turned over a queen. "She told me about you. Surgeon, tall, couldn't open a pickle jar."
"She said that?"
"She said the pickle jar and she said fool, both in one breath."
The old man looked up at last.
His eyes were small and blue and missed nothing.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of His First Love, My Last Goodbye are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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