Page 17 of A Nantucket Wedding

Nantucket had many fabulous stores along the brick tic-tac-toe grid of the main town and also along the wharves in boutiques that had once been fishermen’s shacks. They surrendered to a shopping mania, drunk on color and fabric and glitter and style. At Murray’s Toggery, Alison bought Felicity and Jane clever little tops and capri pants and some Jack Rogers sandals, which, Alison said,everyonewears. Felicity found tops at Vis-A-Vis that were loose and flowing, very romantic, with lace or embroidery, not at all the blue-and-white-striped things that screamedI own a yacht. Both girls found silk shirts and light jackets at Zero Main. Alison noted with satisfaction that Felicity didn’t make any kind of a fuss about trying on such gorgeous clothes.

They drove home in the late afternoon. When they walked into the house, they stopped dead, as if in a trance.

“Bread!” Jane cried. “Ethan’s baked the bread!”

They dropped their shopping bags and hurried into the kitchen. Ethan was there, huge and masculine in board shorts, a T-shirt, flip-flops—and an apron.

“This is every woman’s dream.” Jane sighed. “A handsome man in the kitchen.”

“Good to know,” Ethan joked, and he flashed a glance at Jane, who blushed.

Alison’s radar pinged. What was happening to her serious, sensible daughter? She stepped between them. “It smells like it just came out of the oven.”

“It did.” Ethan dried his hands. “I took the butter out of the refrigerator a while ago to soften it. And I made fresh lemonade. With real lemons.”

“Can we keep him, Mom?” Jane joked. “Maybe chained in the basement?”

“We’ll let him out to cook for us,” Felicity added, sliding around the table to gaze down at the crusty loaf.

They sat at the table eating the warm, crusty bread, almost incapable of conversation. Afterward, Felicity and Alison went upstairs to nap after their hard day of lunching and shopping.

“I’m going down for a swim,” Ethan said.

Alison paused with her hand on the bannister, waiting to hear what Jane would say.

“Have fun,” Jane said. “I think I’ll read for a while.”

“That’s boring. You can read anytime. But a day like today is rare. Come on. Swim with me.”

Jane hesitated. She’d told him this morning she was married and would not betray her vows. And after all, he was only inviting her to go for a swim. But the thought of them together in the silky water, buffeted against each other by the waves, their bodies bare except for the merest strips of clothing…she was appalled at how much she wanted to swim with him.

She stood up. “Actually, I think I’ll take a nap. All this sun and good food is acting like a tranquilizer. Enjoy your swim.” She left the room. She almost ran.

—

In the early evening, they all piled into Alison’s Jeep and headed out to Madaket. Felicity rode in the passenger seat, with Jane and Ethan in the backseat. Alison kept checking on them in her rearview mirror.Stop it, Alison told herself.They’re adults.

She focused on her younger daughter. “Felicity,” Alison said, “I want to know all about my grandchildren. How are they? Details, please.”

Felicity brightened. “Well, Alice is, as you know, finishing first grade. She’s an excellent student and she has lots of friends, and at home she’s intolerably bossy!”

Alison laughed. “First children often are.”

“I can hear you!” Jane reminded them.

“And as for Luke! He likes running and yelling at the top of his voice.” Felicity reached into her shoulder bag. “Here. I’ve got new photos on my phone. I took them before I came.”

“I’ll look at them when we’re settled on the beach,” Alison said. She steered the Jeep off the main road onto a narrow lane blocked by a railing and a gigantic sand dune. “Girls, Ethan, here we are!”

Alison parked the Jeep at the end of the road. “Everybody has to carry something,” she said, clicking the hatch door open. “I’ll take two beach chairs. Ethan, can you get the others?”

“Got them.”

“I’ll take the coolers,” Jane said, reaching in for two blue and white plastic containers.

“Um, I’ll take the picnic basket,” Felicity said unhappily, because she was stuck with the most cumbersome object.

“It’s too heavy for you to carry alone,” Ethan told her. He tucked the beach chairs under his arm. “I’ll take this end.”

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