Page 49 of The Book of Summer

“Well, this is uplifting,” Bess mumbles to Evan, who is now beside her.

He replies with a snicker, an almost-secret laugh, like he doesn’t want to be caught.

“Constructs like these,” Schempler continues, “protect only the land immediately behind them, with no protection offered to the fronting beach. Ultimately, this causes ever more erosion and you’d have to keep building more walls to buttress the beaches. The beaches would continue to worsen, therefore necessitating—you guessed it—more walls. It’s a vicious cycle and the long-term costs would far exceed the funds of any public or private sponsors. I won’t bore you with a bunch of scientific gobbledygook as the formula is really quite basic. Hard structures plus water equals no beach. Thank you for your time.”

Morton folds up a piece of paper, then tucks it into the back of his Dockers before advancing straight out the door. He’s not going to stick around, because what could anyone say? The look on his face is this: Either you’re with him, or you’re dumb as a seawall.

Approximately ninety seconds later, the selectmen dismiss the public from the meeting. Everyone files outside.

In front of the building, islanders exchange hellos. Cissy makes a snide comment about Morton Schempler’s skin tone and throws her car keys at Bess. She’ll hoof it the eight miles home, through the mist and the chill. She needs time to think.

Back at the Public Safety Building, away from the eyes of the townsfolk, the selectmen sit down to vote on the Sankaty Bluff Storm Damage Prevention Project, revetment version. They’ve promised to announce the decision by midnight. Bess doesn’t even stay up, because the result seems clear. Poor Cis. If your own daughter won’t buy what you’re selling, it doesn’t look good.

22

Island ACKtion

TOWN SELECTMEN KNOCK DOWN HARD ARMOR PROJECT

May 21, 2013

Well, damn it. Cissy Codman couldn’t work her magic. There’s a first for everything.

After a year’s worth of work, a year’s worth of research, and hired experts, and God knows how many millions of dollars, the Board of Selectmen struck down Cissy Codman’s Damage Prevention Project by a vote of 4–1.

Both sides presented compelling cases. There was charm and history and storied homes on one hand, erosion on the other. The proposed measures will do more harm than good, a geologist told the group. And so the no’s prevailed.

“Sounds like one seawall really means two, which means ten or more,” says one selectman, who wishes to remain anonymous. “Where does it end?”

Where does it end, indeed. According to Cissy, not here.

“The battle isn’t over,” she says. “There are other options.”

More options. Fantastic. Can we go back to reporting on celebrity sightings and white parties?

As for Cissy, rumor has it she will finally move out of Cliff House, within the next twenty-four hours no less. It’s a temporary situation, she claims, until she has a chance to relocate the home a few yards off the bluff.

To date, we here atIsland ACKtionhave not expressed a viewpoint on the proposal but let’s say this. We love living in a place where a fired-up Cissy Codman exists. But it does seem like the most logical conclusion was reached. RIP Cliff House. You will be missed.

ABOUT ME:

Corkie Tarbox, lifelong Nantucketer, steadfast flibbertigibbet. Married with one ankle-biter. Views expressed on theIsland ACKtionblog (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, et al.) are hers alone. Usually.

23

The Book of Summer

Harriet E. Rutter

June 30, 1941

The Venerable Cliff House

I found this darling book today as I brambled about Cliff House, waiting for Ruby to conclude some verbal dust-up with her little brother, the erstwhile “Topper.” They were haggling about the war or some such. Those two. Like twins, without the telepathy or mutual understanding.

I’ve had grand fun ticking through these pages, reading about guests past. It’s so quaint, so charming, so very New World. It makes me adore these people all the more. I hope they write in this book for a hundred years to come.

Anyhow, these days everyone’s all a-flutter about the upcoming 4th of July theatrics. There’ll be no fireworks this year, more’s the pity, but I suppose enough bombs are going off for now. Instead they’ll host some sort of water carnival and a sky parade. The paper said they plan to drop animals, clowns, and fish from a plane. Clowns from a plane? This must be a typesetter’s error but oh how I pray that it’s not!

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