Page 88 of The Summer We Started Over

“Bobby and I are head over heels in love with you,” Eddie told Jeff.

“Me, too,” Jeff said.

Dove would remain in her room, sleeping. Eddie woke her in the afternoon, appearing at her bedside with a strong cup of sugary coffee and a chocolate croissant. Dove would shower and dress andslowly make her way to the back porch. Bobby would take a nap up in the room that was now their bedroom. Afterward, William sat with Bobby in the Book Barn. Sometimes William read to Bobby, and just as often, William worked on his laptop while Bobby, who was a champ at playing by himself, sat at a smaller table, coloring or reading or building with the carpenter set or the Lego set William had bought him, talking and singing to himself.

Dove said she was feeling better, stronger. Sometimes she went for a short walk, but it was brutally hot and humid, and she always returned quickly and went to her room to rest. Eddie would take Bobby and sometimes Dove for a swim at one of the beaches, and then to Bartlett’s or Stop & Shop for groceries. Even though Dove hardly ate, there were five people to feed, and Eddie enjoyed trying new recipes, especially if she could coax Bobby into eating something new.

One day Dove, seeming energetic, even hopeful, took Bobby to an afternoon showing ofRally Road Racersat the Dreamland. William and Dinah were both in town, and Barrett was at her store.

Eddie sat in the Book Barn for a while, but no one came, and people seldom did in the hot afternoons. She went into the house and was seized by the need to clean up and make order. Wearing headphones playing her favorite mix, she zoomed through the house, changing sheets and towels, vacuuming, dusting, moving what seemed like dozens of glasses from tables and bureaus.

Eddie finished cleaning, took a glass of iced tea out to the back porch, and sat in the wicker rocker. She thought about how she had returned home, and then Dinah had come, and now Dove and Bobby, and it seemed that this house, like the island itself, had a kind of mystical, invisible allure that pulled people to it, and kept people wanting to stay.

She closed her eyes and listened to the quiet. Did she miss the city and its frenetic glamour? Was she sad not to wear expensive dresses and glitzy, painful heels? Maybe she was just in a summer mood,listening to the sparrows chirp from their hiding places in the lushly leaved trees. Maybe she was different, more relaxed, here with the salty ocean and the rose-scented breeze cooling her bare, tanned arms.

She’d planned to stay a month and she’d been here over two months. Barrett’s shop was doing well, and Barrett was ecstatic about that, Eddie was deeply happy that she was helping her sister by taking care of their father, and in a way Dinah. She was glad Dinah was here, feeling safe, writing every day, and often having dinner out with friends.

And now, Dove and Bobby.

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Barrett’s shop was doing better than she’d ever dreamed. It kept her furiously busy and the only reason she stayed sane was Janny working afternoons five days a week and until nine on Friday. She was charming with customers, efficient with paperwork, and always glad to run an errand or buy Barrett an iced mocha cappuccino. When the shop was quiet, she helped Barrett dust and organize the shelves, and she’d chat about her various boyfriends and how she was never going to get married, because the wedding would be great, but after that, where was the fun?

How different this young woman is from Dove,Barrett thought.How fortunate Janny is.

One afternoon, Janny said, “You know, Barrett, my brother really likes you. I meanreally.”

“I like him,” Barrett answered, keeping her tone pleasant.

Janny continued, “He’d like to come down here more often, but work is killing him. I mean, you can’t imagine.”

“I don’t eventryto imagine,” Barrett said dryly.

Once in a while, Barrett would steal a quiet afternoon when Janny was working. She and her father took Bobby and Dove somewhere special, kayaking in the shallow waters at the end of the harbor, building sandcastles at Surfside, swinging and climbing on the playground at ’Sconset. In the evenings, when Eddie arranged for everyone to havedinner together, Barrett insisted on helping in the kitchen, not only because she felt guilty with her sister doing so much work, but because it was a pleasure to talk while working side by side. It would be heaven, she thought, if Eddie moved back to the island for good.

Thursday evening, Barrett was finishing a sale when Eddie walked in.

“Thanks,” Barrett said to her customer. When the woman left, Barrett said, “Well, this is a surprise.”

“I know.” Eddie handed Barrett a cookie. “I made these today. Had to hide a couple so Bobby and Dad didn’t eat them all.”

Barrett rested against the back wall. “Umm. Delicious. What’s the occasion?”

“Nothing, really.” Eddie crossed her arms on the counter. “I was just feeling the need for a little sister time. So much is happening. We haven’t had time to talk.”

Barrett nodded. “I know. But it will be calmer when summer’s over.”

“Will it?” Eddie gestured around the shop. “Look at this, Bare! You’ve made your dream come true. You’ve created your own world. And it’s only the beginning. You could have this shop for years.”

“I know. I mean, that’s what I hoped would happen, but I haven’t had a chance to think past tomorrow.”

“You really like living on Nantucket.”

“I do. It was hard when Dad moved us here and Mom was gone and of course Stearns…I don’t think I’ll ever have one day when I don’t think of Stearns. And Dad was getting odder and odder. As if he was trying to hide from life behind all those books. Eddie, when you came here, it was as if you changed gears for us, fromidletogo. Like you reset our lives. Like now we are truly starting over. God, Eddie, what will we do when you’re gone? Plus, you can’t go with Dove and Bobby here.”

Eddie said softly, “Oh, Barrett.” She looked at her phone. “It’s four forty-five and it’s starting to rain.” She went to the door and turned the sign fromopentoclosed. “Let’s go in the back room.”

“Want an iced tea?” Barrett asked. “I keep bottles in the refrigerator.” Barrett unfolded a canvas chair for herself and another for Eddie.

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