That night, Ivy sat in the galley with the lamp turned low, the faintest thread of music drifting in through the porthole. She knew it was from the pub, carried across the water like smoke from a fire. Sometimes she caught the beat of a bodhrán, sometimes the bright trill of a whistle. But mostly she heard fiddle, two fiddles, one steady as a river, the other quick and fierce. She didn’t need to see to know which bow belonged to Theo. The storm in his playing was unmistakable.

She rested her elbows on the table, notebook open but blank, pencil idle between her fingers. The coal crackled in the stove, warming the kettle she hadn’t yet poured. The rhythm of the day lingered in her chest: the crush of the market, Meg’s laughter at the pub, the old fiddler’s bow, Theo’s eyes glancing across the crowd. She could almost hear her father’s voice folding it all together. A marketplace shows you the soul of a place. A pub tells you how the people breathe. And the music—ah, the music shows you what they dream of.

She smiled faintly, tapping the pencil once before setting it aside. Belonging still felt like a language she was only beginning to learn, but tonight she believed she might one day speak it.

The next morning, she woke to a knock on the cabin side. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and peered out to see a man in a high-vis vest standing on the towpath. He carried a clipboard and looked equal parts apologetic and official.
“Morning, miss. Notice for you.” He handed her a folded paper, his accent clipped and practical. “Canal works ahead. Lock repair. You’ll need to move one up. We’re closin’ this section for a few days.”
Ivy unfolded the notice, heart sinking a little at the bold lettering. She glanced back at her boat, then at the towpath. “When?”
“Today. Best get movin’ by afternoon. They’ll drain the pound overnight.”

She nodded, thanked him, and shut the cabin door. Her father had always said the canal made its own plans, and you either had to shift with it or find yourself stranded. Still, the idea of moving the boat, managing lines, gates, and the heavy rhythm of a lock set her nerves jangling.
By midmorning, she had tied her hair back and stepped onto the stern, windlass in hand. She wasn’t alone. Theo stood on the towpath a few boats down, violin case strapped across his back, line coiled in his hand. He caught her eye and gave a wry smile.
“Looks like we’re evicted,” he said. His accent softened by humor, a note of challenge tucked in it.
“More like conscripted,” Ivy replied, adjusting her grip on the tiller. “One lock up, they said.”
“Better than ten.” He stepped closer, boot scuffing the gravel. “You handled your boat yesterday. You’ll manage fine.”

His easy confidence annoyed her and steadied her all at once. She braced herself as the engine coughed to life. Together they moved toward the lock, the boats easing forward like reluctant animals being coaxed along.

At the lock, water shimmered between stone walls, gates swollen with age. Ivy wrestled with the paddle gear, arms straining as she turned the windlass. Theo stepped in without comment, his own weight adding momentum until the mechanism gave way and water rushed in. The sound thundered against the stone, spray dampening their faces.

They worked in rhythm, he on one side, she on the other, calling across the chamber, lines swinging, engines humming. Once or twice their eyes met, and something passed unspoken: acknowledgement, respect, the faintest flicker of camaraderie. By the time both boats were settled above the lock, Ivy’s chest heaved with exertion, but her smile came easier.

“Not bad,” Theo said, looping his line with casual precision. “Can’t say the same for your hair, though.”
She laughed despite herself, brushing damp strands from her cheek. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

They moored just beyond, side by side on the pound above the repaired section. The notice had been right: they would be stuck here until the works were finished. Two days, maybe three. Ivy looked at her boat, then at Theo’s, close enough that the gap between them felt smaller than the water allowed.
“Guess we’ll be neighbors,” she said.
“Guess so,” Theo answered, settling his case on the roof. He stretched, shoulders loose for the first time she’d seen. “Could be worse company.”

The canal settled around them, lines taut, water lapping gently. Ivy felt the moment hang as an enforced pause, a stretch of time neither had asked for but both were bound to share. Her father would have called it canal logic: sometimes the water decides you need stillness together, and the only choice is how you use it.

She leaned against the cabin rail, watching the sky widen above the lock, and wondered what this enforced pause might reveal.