Page 38 of Return to Whitmore
“I hate that you have to leave early,” Charlotte said as they escaped the city.
“I know. But the gallery doesn’t let me have any time off,” Kathy said. She was currently the gallerist of a cool and up-and-coming spot in Greenwich. It was the job of her dreams and something she wanted to succeed at. “But Seth’s right. We have to celebrate your new doc and your engagement and everything else. Maybe it’s the reason you got so tired, you know? You have to learn to take a break and celebrate the wins.”
“We’re celebrating your new gig, too,” Charlotte said.
They kept driving. It felt like the most remarkable road trip, just two best girlfriends, speeding north to that fantastic island on the Nantucket Sound. Charlotte was in charge of the CDs, and she swapped them out deftly, curating a playlist that had them both singing at the top of their lungs.
About two hours outside of the city—at nine o’clock in the evening—they stopped for dinner at a fast-food place, where they grabbed burgers, fries, and diet sodas and perched on the back end of Kathy’s car to eat before heading on. They figured they’d get close to Hyannis Port by midnight or so, where they’d spend the night in the same hotel the guys were at before moving to Nantucket in the morning. Jack had written the name of the hotel down for Charlotte, promising they’d be there.
“They’ll probably be hammered by the time we get there,” Kathy said, rolling her eyes. “Playing pool and making friends with everyone at the hotel.”
“It’s their way,” Charlotte agreed.
“You know, sometimes I wonder if Seth and I have a thing,” Kathy said, shifting her weight. “Sometimes I catch myself thinking about him. He’s so cute and fun. I remember when youfirst brought him around three years ago. He seemed like such a stray dog. But he’s come into himself.”
Charlotte couldn’t imagine anything better than her best friend with her little brother! She took Kathy’s hand and gasped, “I would love it! You have my blessing!”
Kathy laughed. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“What are you going to wear for the wedding?” Charlotte asked. “Can I be the flower girl?”
Kathy whacked her playfully. “Come on. Give it a rest.”
“You should ask him,” Charlotte said, her tone shifting. “As far as I know, he hasn’t dated anyone in a few years.”
“Maybe he doesn’t like anyone. Some people just never get attracted to anyone,” Kathy said.
But Charlotte remembered Jack’s high school girlfriends, plus the odd girls he’d mentioned from his stints in Nantucket, stints during which he’d looked for Tio Angelo, for signs.
“Seth likes women,” Charlotte affirmed.
Kathy sighed and lay back across the top of the trunk and gazed at the night sky above them. Charlotte had the sudden sense that this was the last day of their youth, the last day when they could dream about the future without actually living it. It scared her.
When they got back in the car to drive the rest of the day, Charlotte tried to recreate the same magic, swapping out CDs and looking for songs on the radio. But they were exhausted. Charlotte half considered pulling over at the nearest hotel and calling ahead to the Hyannis hotel to explain to the guys they’d meet them in Nantucket in the morning. Right before she prepared this speech for Kathy, however, the traffic tightened around them and forced them to stop.
“What’s going on?” Charlotte asked, trying to peer around the truck in front of them.
“I think I see cops up there,” Kathy said. “Maybe an ambulance?”
“Shoot.” Although Charlotte was sorrowful for whoever was involved in the accident, she considered them only briefly before she mourned the loss of time for their vacation. The more time they spent in traffic, the less they were able to as a group of loving and passionate friends in both Hyannis and Nantucket. She reached under the seat to grab a bag of snacks and opened a chocolate bar, passing Kathy a square. They sat in silence, eating and waiting for the traffic to clear.
It was another two hours before they passed the accident site—proof of how dismal the scene truly was. At first, Charlotte saw two cars in the ditch, both flipped over and with their wheels in the air. Three cop cars remained parked on the side, with one of the officers outside, waving them through. Charlotte’s heart pounded. She gripped her knees and, because she couldn’t stop herself, glanced at the vehicles, trying to see what kind they were.
It was then she realized one of the cars was Jack’s.
Charlotte gasped. “Stop the car!”
Kathy stomped her foot on the brake. “Why? What?”
But already, Charlotte scrambled from the vehicle and ran over to Jack’s. She felt as though she were living in an alternate timeline. None of this could be real.
“Ma’am, you need to get back in your vehicle!” one of the cops called, rushing over to her. Anger marred his face.
But Charlotte was touching the corner of the car and shaking violently. “Where are they?” she demanded, gasping.
Kathy was hot on her heels, having abandoned her car, which now had the single lane completely stopped. Cars were smashing their horns, confused at the blockage.
When the cop finally got the hint that Kathy and Charlotte knew the people who’d been in the car, the people who’d flippedover, his face grew pale. “They went to Victor Huffman Hospital. It’s about ten miles from here.”
