Page 37 of The White Oak Lodge

Nina hated this. She hated it so desperately. But all she could do was press the 9, showing it to Daniel. Daniel was rigid. He hadn’t expected her to go on. She went for the 1. Daniel jumped to his feet, reaching for her phone, but she whisked away from him just in time. “I’m going to call them,” she said, her voice steely. “I’m going to tell them you broke in. Nancy and Amos will back me up. They’re islanders. They’re known.”

Daniel seemed to roll through her threats, weighing them up. Finally, he reached for his suitcase and stomped to the bedroom door. “Kids?” he called in a singsong. “I’m going out for a little while. Come say goodbye?”

Will and Fiona opened the door to hug their father.

“Are you going back to South America?” Fiona asked.

“He is,” Nina said.

“Wow! Will you bring us a present?” Will exclaimed.

“I’m not going just yet,” Daniel told them. “I’ll be nearby. You remember my phone number? Call me whenever you need me. Okay?” He bent to kiss them on the forehead. “I love you.”

Nina remembered the thousands of times he’d told her he loved her. She wondered if all of those times had been empty,or if the love had slowly faded away, as it did in so many other “normal” marriages. (Although, now that she thought about it, she wasn’t sure “normal” marriages existed.)

She wondered if there was any shred of truth to him saying he loved his children now, or if he said it only as a way to manipulate her.

Daniel opened the door to find Amos on the front stoop. “Your guard dog and his guard dog are out here!” Daniel called back to Nina. “Make sure to feed and water them, okay?”

Nina didn’t say a thing. She didn’t want to give him the pleasure of knowing how frightened and angry she was. With a thudding heart, she watched as he rolled his suitcase back to the car he’d parked a full block down the road, so far away in order to surprise her when she’d come home. Had he parked directly by the cabin, she would have recognized his car.

Every step of Daniel’s life had been preconceived and planned. He’d been manipulating her, and, in many ways, he’d been manipulating their children. But it was over now. She had to find a way to make things permanent.

When Daniel drove away, Nina beckoned for Amos to enter. Monty rustled in and greeted Fiona and Will with happy licks to their cheeks. They shrieked with pleasure. They’d always wanted a puppy, but Nina and Daniel had always been too busy with university responsibilities, with their research papers and their research trips. They didn’t have time to bring in another being to love and care for.Maybe after the divorce, Nina thought to herself. Perhaps after we leave Princeton for good.

But where would they go?

“I’m shaking,” Nina told Amos.

“Sit down,” Amos told her. When she did, Amos filled a glass with water and told her to drink. The kids went into the yard with the dog and threw sticks for him to chase, and Amosand Nina spent a full ten minutes of silence, watching them peacefully, both reeling after the events of that morning.

It was then that Nina got up the nerve to call Caitlin from Princeton University, tell her what was going on, and ask for her advice. The first thing she said when she’d heard everything was, “You need to have your lawyer contact the dean.”

Nina was taken aback. It hadn’t occurred to her to fully go after Daniel’s career as an anthropologist, especially so soon after he’d received tenure. But Caitlin told her it was the only place where Nina could strike Daniel that would really hurt him.

“But what should I have my lawyer tell him?”

“She should say that Daniel has been making threats against you, that he broke into your vacation rental and left his university-sponsored research trip to South America to stalk you. Of course, these charges haven’t officially been raised against him, but they look horrific on paper. Maybe you could say you’re thinking of going to the newspapers. There’s nothing more frightening these days than bad press.”

Nina felt a form of clarity she hadn’t since first learning of Daniel’s tenure.

“I want to leave Princeton,” she told Caitlin.

“I knew you were going to say that,” Caitlin said. “Keep in mind that your tenure is probably coming up fast.”

“I don’t care about that,” Nina said softly.

“No. I imagine you don’t.” Caitlin sounded disappointed. “Are you applying elsewhere? Or are you taking a break from teaching?”

Nina looked down at the letter on the table, her father’s cube handwriting that forced her to take a peek at at least a dozen family mysteries. There was so much of her life she didn’t fully understand yet.

“I need to take some time to think,” Nina said.

“Nobody can blame you there. I’m going to miss you, lady. Let me know what else I can help you with and keep me updated on the lawyer stuff. File those papers ASAP!”

Nina laughed as tears ran down her cheeks. Amos, noticing she was crying again, looked on edge, but she flashed a smile she hoped meantit’s okay. It’s going to be okay.

“You tried to warn me, Caitlin. You knew he was lying to me,” Nina said.

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