Page 72 of A Nantucket Wedding

Noah was low-key, drinking a beer and laughing at jokes, acting like a normal human being. Felicity was trying just a bit too hard to be sparklingly appreciative of every word that fell from Noah’s mouth.

Poppy was eating nuts and chips and anything within reach. “I’m a hog. I know. I’m eating for two.”

“For two hogs,” Patrick quipped, and instead of getting mad, Poppy replied, “Yes, honey, and we’re both yours.” And she snorted twice, loudly. So that was a side of Poppy Jane hadn’t seen before!

And Ethan. He sat on the other side of the table, between his father and Felicity.

When her eyes met Ethan’s, she felt a shock of desire so strong, she was surprised it didn’t set the air on fire around them.

She hadn’t heard from Scott since his first text. This silence angered Jane, made her afraid that Scott had decided the marriage was over, and a wriggling little wish for some kind of revenge made her think she would damn well disregard Felicity’s advice and take whatever Ethan was offering.

“Jane,” Alison said, “where do you think Scott is right now?”

Jane stared at her mother. How many times in her childhood and adolescence had Alison done this very thing, zeroing in on exactly what was in Jane’s mind at that very moment?

“Um, well, he’s in Wales,” Jane said, gathering her thoughts. “He wants to hike to the top of Mount Snowdon, which is only about thirty-five hundred feet but it’s a difficult and dangerous climb. The weather changes as you go up. It gets colder and the fog can be so thick you can’t see your hand in front of you. And he’s taking the Watkin trail. Miss a step and you plunge down either side…”

“Stop it,” Felicity said. “You’re scaring yourself. Don’t be so dramatic.”

“No, no, she’s right.” David spoke up. “I had friends who hiked there one summer. They had sweatshirts on, and halfway up they decided to snack on the Snickers in their pockets, and the candy bars were frozen hard. That path you mentioned is highly exposed and slippery, even when it’s sunny down below.”

“So that’s why you’ve seemed preoccupied,” Alison said. “I’ve been wondering. You’re not like your normal self.”

Jane didn’t dare look at Ethan, but she sensed that he was suddenly fascinated with his poker hand.

“Call him,” Felicity said.

“It’s the middle of the night there,” Jane said. “I’m being foolish. Scott’s an experienced hiker.”

“He is,” Jane’s mother agreed. “I’ve been amazed at the places you and he have gone together. I drool over your videos.” Alison looked around the table. “Have any of you ever been to Zermatt, Switzerland? It’s at the foot of the Matterhorn. I’m still reeling from the beauty of the photos you took there, Jane. You and Scott are a fascinating couple, traveling to such astonishing places. Those photos of you both climbing with ropes attached to you and your guide! My goodness, the trust you must have in each other. And yet, when you’re in the city, you both flourish in a completely different environment. You’re so urban and professional, and when you two took me to the fundraiser for the opera, you both looked like movie stars. Scott in a tux? A Ralph Lauren ad.”

Jane laughed. “Mom, I think you’re getting carried away.”

Felicity spoke up. “No, Mom’s right. Scott in a tux is a romance novel fantasy.”

David interrupted, “All right, enough adoration of Scott. You’ve got real men here and we want to play poker.”

Jane glanced down at her cards, but any concentration she’d had on the game had vanished. She couldn’t stop thinking about Scott and what her mother said about the trust Jane and Scott must share. It was true, they had been in places when they had physically relied on each other to ascend, to keep from falling, and whenever they reached their goal at the top of a ridge or open land after a narrow ledge, they’d shared such elation, they’d shouted and kissed and Jane had loved Scott so deeply and she had felt his love in return.

They had each other’s backs in their professions, as well. Staying up late into the night discussing problems at work, giving each other good advice and pointing out the blind spots. They’d flattered and charmed each other’s bosses at parties, they’d shared the effort of giving dinners at home for colleagues. They’d provided excellent sounding boards for each other’s creative thoughts, they’d cheered and drank champagne at celebrations and consoled one another with long talks deep into the night.

They were such good friends.

Never before had they come up against such a bump, a barrier, in the fluid river of their marriage. Their marriage was like a reliable, watertight craft that she had slammed into a rock, and she didn’t know if this vessel would split in two or somehow remain sound.

But she didn’t want to lose Scott. She saw that now; shefeltit. She loved him and believed in his love for her.

“I’m out,” Jane said, tossing down her cards. “I’ve got to make a phone call.”

She left the table, not caring if Ethan watched her go.

In the privacy of her room, Jane tried Scott’s number.

No answer. She didn’t leave a message.

—

Sunday dawned hot and humid. After packing picnic lunches and coolers of cold drinks, the group headed to Coatue, the sandy peninsula of land with five points making five small coves. David sailed his catboat, which wasn’t big enough to take the entire group, so Patrick, who had handled David’s motorboat before, powered them through the harbor. Felicity worried that Noah would feel insulted because he hadn’t been asked to steer the motorboat and she sighed with relief when she saw Ethan hand Noah a lemonade and sit down next to him to talk.

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