Page 97 of Summer Reading

“No, but you look just like Tony,” she said. “That Gale DNA is unmistakable.”

I nodded. This was true. “So, you know my father?” I asked, thinking this would give us an opening to mentioning the picture.

She didn’t answer, instead she studied me and frowned. I sensed she was having an internal debate. “I just made tea. Would you two care for some?”

She waved her hand, indicating that we should follow her.

Moira disappeared into her studio and we followed. The work space had an open floor plan. It was oneenormous room, packed with shelves full of sheets of metal of varying sizes, industrial-looking machinery, and tools for which I didn’t even have names.

A large art piece stood in the center of the space, and I studied it. The metal had been shaped into what looked like a spiral of copper fire, and on the inside the voluptuous silhouette of a woman had been formed, also in copper but with a rich teal patina. Given what Ben had told me before about her evocative art, I wondered if this was Moira’s representation of the female orgasm. I didn’t think so. Despite the curves of the woman, it didn’t give off a sexual vibe.

A large wooden worktable was littered with other bits and pieces, and at any other time I would have been curious about her work. As I took in the muscular biceps Moira was rocking, I decided those questions could wait.

She led us through the building to a stone patio outside. The view was breathtaking. A lush rolling hill descended into a line of trees that surrounded the pond. Just beyond which I could see a narrow line of sand, separating the pond from the sea.

It was exactly the sort of spot where you’d expect to find the studio of a renowned artist. She gestured for us to sit in the padded chairs that surrounded a rectangular glass table. There was a glass ashtray sitting in the center with what looked to be the nub of a joint in it.

“Make yourselves comfortable. I’ll go get the tea,” she said.

She disappeared back into the studio. I sat down and Ben took the seat beside mine. My leg jogged up and down. I could hear the birds singing, feel the warm sun on my face, but it didn’t help my nerves. I had the feeling a confrontation was coming and I really didn’t like those. I did everything I could to avoid them, in fact.

The briny smell of the ocean was carried ashore on the breeze, and I took a deep breath and held it, releasing it slowly. I wasn’t calm but it took the edge off. The urge to run was still there just under the surface, and I wondered for a second if I could make it to my car. Before I could act on this impulse, Ben put his hand on my knee.

“Samwise, relax, it’ll be fine.” he said. His low voice plucked that chord right in my belly, making me shiver in a good way. “Hey.”

I turned to look at him and he leaned over and kissed me. I expected something swift and sweet. It wasn’t. He cupped my face with both hands and kissed me with a thoroughness that left me breathing heavy and forgetting my name.

The door banged open, breaking the spell. Ben leaned back from me as Moira stepped out of the studio with a tray, bearing a teapot and three china cups. Ben rose from his seat and reached out to take it from herand she let him, casting a speculative glance between us. Okay then.

“Fortunately, I brewed a large pot before you arrived. You’re saving me from overcaffeinating myself, so your timing is excellent,” she said. Her smile was forced and it didn’t reach her eyes.

I suspected this was the pep talk she’d given herself in her studio and not how she really felt about a stranger turning up in her driveway. She was a formidable presence, and I was grateful for the tea that Ben handed me, as my throat was coated in anxiety and very dry.

Once we were all seated with our tea, Moria turned those oh-so-familiar blue-gray eyes on me. She didn’t say anything. Just stared like an owl. It was unnerving.

I waited for Ben to say something, to mention the picture, but he didn’t. My extroverted self, the part of me that charmed everyone to distract them from my neurodivergence, took the wheel.

“You have a lovely place here.”

Moira said nothing. Just sipped her tea. Ben had set his cup on the table and wasn’t drinking. The tension between them was like a fourth guest, and I almost offered to pour it some tea.

“I imagine it must inspire your incredible work,” I said.

This was a statement of fact not a suck-up move, I swear. Still she said nothing but stared past me out atthe ocean. Ben had called her guarded. Spectacular understatement, that. My need for Ben to say something was suddenly at war with my desire to get the hell out of there. I decided to give him a conversational nudge.

“You’re probably wondering how Ben and I became friends and why he brought me here to—” I began, but she interrupted me.

“I’d say you’re more than friends with my son,” Moira said. Her face was impassive. I had no idea how she felt about that.

“Moira.” Ben’s tone was a warning. My face grew warm. So he had told her about me? What had he said? How should I respond? Moira gave me nothing to work with, but Ben stepped into the arena like a gladiator.

“Martha’s Vineyard is small,” he said. “I imagine you heard that Sam and I have been spending time together from someone on the front porch of the Chilmark General Store?”

Moira’s eyebrows lifted. She didn’t say anything, and I took that to mean that Ben’s guess had been accurate. I almost sagged with relief. I disliked the thought of him talking about me to his mother because, frankly, she was terrifying.

He’d told me his childhood was unconventional, but I hadn’t appreciated how not full of rainbows and puppy dogs it had been until I met her. I glanced at Ben. Thesun shone on his dark shoulder-length hair. His close-trimmed beard framed his full lips and accented his cheekbones, but it was his eyes that drew me, rolling me in like a seashell on an incoming tide.

He looked tired, not from lack of sleep, but rather from a soul-deep weariness. This battle with his mother over the identity of his father was taking a toll on him. It hurt my heart to see it and it made me mad.

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