Page 99 of Summer Light on Nantucket

Someone screamed.

“OH NO!” Holly cried in the family room. “Pause it! Pause it!”

Honestly, Blythe thought, how does anyone with children ever have the chance to have a conversation, let alone a love affair?

“Goodbye, Aaden,” Blythe said firmly. And she ended the call.

She walked to the family room.

“You dumbhead,” Teddy yelled.

“That scared me,” Holly argued.

“You didn’t have to toss your Skittles on the floor.”

Skittles?Blythe wondered. How did her children have Skittles?

“I didn’t mean to. I was scared.”

“Pick them up so we can restart the movie.” Teddy sounded exasperated with his younger sister, but after a moment, he relented. “I’ll help you pick them up.”

“Don’t eat any of them. They’re mine.”

“I don’t want your gross carpet Skittles.”

A few moments later, ominous music blared from the television.

Blythe wanted to laugh and cry. Her glamorous, romantic life, filled with fighting children and carpet Skittles and Minecraft and coding and everybody always wanting something, a jigsaw puzzle life where she was always scrambling to find the piece that fit—that was the life she chose.

And she wasn’t done yet.

slanting light

In late August, the sun came through the windows at a slightly different angle. The sky was blue, but huge gray clouds sped over the sun, blocking the light in a flashy, premeditated manner, as if signaling that change was coming.

Blythe pulled her ancient L.L. Bean vest on over her shirt. It wasn’t cold, really, but instinctively she craved a sense of protection. Leaving for the summer on Nantucket always made her family excited, exuberant, carefree. They were headed for the beach! Sun! Ice cream!

Returning to home felt less hopeful. They were facing school, rules, schedules, and responsibilities. The children looked forward to seeing their Boston friends again, and Miranda always enjoyed buying new clothes. Once they were settled back in their routines, all would be fine, but until then, Blythe thought they were like small animals peering out from their burrows to see what was waiting for them.

Recently, without fanfare, Miranda and Brooks had reconciled.Now they seemed like extremely good friends. They spent every possible minute together, walking around as if they were joined at the hip, inclining their heads toward each other as they whispered. Blythe waited for Miranda to explain this new relationship, but that never happened. Miranda was laughing, eating, sleeping, and that was really all Blythe needed to know. Miranda was a junior this year, and soon she’d be eager to start looking at colleges and planning her own life away from home.

Blythe was eager to start her new life, too. Teaching. Spending time with Jill and other city friends.

Spending time with Nick.

She settled on the back porch with her first cup of coffee, inhaling the fragrance of flowers, listening to the birds gossip.

Her front door slammed. She assumed it was Brooks. He’d left a message on the board that he was having breakfast in town.

To her surprise, Holly rushed in, still wearing her summer pj’s, her hair frizzed into a halo.

“Mom! Mom! Mom! Something terrible—”

The front door slammed again and footsteps thudded down the hall. Daphne charged out to the porch, grabbing Holly by the elbow. Daphne was dressed, her hair was combed, and Blythe would have bet money her teeth were brushed. Daphne was her orderly, sensible child. But telltale red blotches gave away her distress. “Holly! Shut up! She worries too much and she can’t fix it!”

Blythe’s heart triple-timed.

“What’s going on?” she asked, trying to sound rational, helpful. “Daphne, let go of Holly. Girls, sit down and tell me calmly.”

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