Page 102 of Summer Light on Nantucket

“That’s sad,” Daphne pronounced, folding her arms over her chest in the way Blythe knew she did to keep her sadness inside.

“Well, Dad, why don’t you take a plane?” Teddy suggested. “You’ll get there before she does. You can meet her boat.”

“Thanks, Teddy, I’ll do that.” Bob smiled at the crowd in the hallway and stepped out onto the path to the driveway.

Kate stopped her car, opened the door, and got out. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“I need you to drive me to the airport,” Bob said.

“Where are you going?” Teri asked as she stepped out of the passenger side of the Volvo.

“Teri!” Daphne yelled.

“You came back!” Holly cried.

“Let’s all go inside,” Celeste suggested.

This time, they gathered in the living room. Celeste sat in an armchair, but the others all stood.

“I need to talk with Teri,” Bob said. Holly was leaning against him possessively. “Alone,” he clarified.

“Not yet,” Blythe said. “There’s something else.”

Kate stared daggers at Blythe. “This is not about you.”

“Actually, Kate, it kind of is.” Blythe folded her arms over her chest, hoping this would help her stop trembling. “I don’t want to keep one more secret. It’s exhausting.”

Celeste spoke up. “If it’s about the man Teri was kissing, I told Kate.”

“What?” Teri asked.

“What?” Bob had gone an unhealthy shade of purple.

Don’t let him have a heart attack,Blythe thought.

Blythe said, “Before we left for Nantucket, I was lunching at the mall with Jill. We saw Teri kissing another man. Um,reallykissing.”

“Are you kidding me?” Teri almost shrieked.

“Not kidding,” Blythe said. “We can phone Jill and she’ll back me up.”

“Wow.” Teri threw her hands in the air as if she were swooshing away a flock of birds. “I can’t believe this.”

Turning toward Bob, she said, “It wasonekiss. With Damon, my high school boyfriend. We ran into each other unexpectedly in the mall. I hadn’t seen him or even been in touch with him for years.” Sudden tears spilled from her eyes. “I was feeling hopeless about ever having children. Damon was divorced, and he said he still loved me, and we kissed. For a moment, it was like being in high school again, you know?” Teri slid her fingertips on her cheeks, wiping away the tears. “And then I told him I was living with a guy, and I loved him and I loved his children.”

“Aw, Teri, that’s so nice.” Holly went to Teri and hugged her around her waist.

Daphne whispered, “We love you, too.”

Miranda gawked. “Yourhigh school boyfriend.”

“But you’re so old,” Teddy said, looking confused. Then, seeing Teri’s reaction to his words, mumbled, “Sorry.”

“I wish you’d told me.” Bob stood frozen.

Blythe knew that right at this moment, Bob was struggling to deal with all this information and the emotions it caused, and sympathy pinched her heart.

“It’s hard to keep secrets in this family,” Blythe confessed.

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