He thought about that for a moment. “I think I did, though I didn’t always realize it. I worked in the kitchen doing everything, and then went off to college for a business degree. But when I graduated, the thought of working in an office wasn’t appealing. I couldn’t wait to get back to the kitchen. I’ve been at it ever since. What about you? I don’t think you mentioned what you do?”

Bella looked uncomfortable for a moment and hesitated for so long that he wondered if he’d blown it and said the wrong thing. She clearly didn’t want to talk about work.

“Listen, never mind. We don’t have to talk about work stuff. Besides, you’re on vacation. Work is probably the last thing you want to talk about.”

“Thank you. Yeah, it’s been a stressful year. I’ve had some health challenges. Nothing too serious. Are you familiar with Lyme disease?”

“When you get bit by a tick?”

She nodded. “Yes. Sometimes when you get bit there’s a bulls-eye pattern rash and if you see the doctor right away, it’s not an issue. You take medicine and it clears right up. But not everyone notices a rash. I didn’t even know I’d been bitten and had no idea how long ago it was, but suddenly I was sick and couldn’t figure out what it was. After lots of testing, they determined it was Lyme and I’ve been off and on treatment for the past year. It clears up, but then any kind of stress can trigger a flare-up and it’s been a stressful year, so I finally put my foot down and decided to take two months off totally and just relax.”

“That sounds hard. Will you be able to avoid stress after the two months are up?” He wondered what was so stressful and figured it tied into her job, whatever that was. He was starting to understand why she didn’t want to talk about it, if it made her that stressed.

“I’m going to try. I’m making changes in how I work and hopefully that will help.”

“I hope so, too. I hate to think of you feeling sick. You look so happy and relaxed right now.”

Bella smiled. “I am happy and relaxed. I am loving Nantucket so far. It’s just beautiful here and everyone is so friendly.”

“We try! I think most of us, in my family anyway, feel lucky to have grown up here and to be able to work and live here year-round. A lot of my friends ended up moving off-island after college. Opportunities can be more limited here.”

Bella smiled. “Unless you work in hospitality or retail?”

“Right. There are professions, too, just not on a scale of what’s available off-island.”