Page 24 of Sunkissed Memories
Ada laced her fingers through Peter’s and thanked her lucky stars for him.
The following Monday, Katrina was back at the office, bubbling with excitement about her upcoming trip with her boyfriend.But Ada deftly steered the conversation back to Katrina’s mother and childhood problems, eager to avoid talk about the salesperson who was definitely not Peter. Couldn’t be Peter. When the session was over, she checked her calendar and realized that she had most of the afternoon off, just in time to pick Olivia up from theater camp. She left right away.
By five that late afternoon, Ada, Hannah, Kade, and Olivia were aboard the family sailboat, whipping across turquoise waves. Peter was still in surgery, wrapped up in a face mask and a hairnet and gloves, fingers-deep in someone’s mouth. But when Ada had returned home with Olivia and Kade to find Hannah watching television, with the day off from the restaurant, she’d insisted on a family hang. “We have to work hard and play hard,” she’d said.
When they reached their favorite swimming spot, they dropped anchor and swam around the boat, laughing and racing one another. Ada was grateful for how strong her limbs felt and how open her ears were to her children’s joy.
Back on board, Ada opened a bag of trail mix and handed it to Hannah. Kade and Olivia were still splashing around, unable to resist the allure of the waves.
“How’s the job?” Ada asked.
Hannah crunched on a peanut. Her nose popped with freckles.
“You know, don’t you?” Hannah said then, her eyes flashing. “You always know.”
Ada’s jaw dropped. “What do you mean?”
“You know about Quintin,” Hannah said, rolling her head so that her wet hair dropped down her back. “I know you know because I mentioned him a few times, by accident, and now you’ve put two and two together. I’m in love with him.”
Ada barked with laughter. Her daughter’s eyes were bright and alive.
“I don’t know anything, honey. I only know what you’ve told me, which is nothing,” she said.
Hannah groaned and wrapped her arms around her legs. “I met him a week ago! And he’s all I can think about!”
Ada smiled and touched her daughter’s shoulder. She wanted to say, “You aren’t in love with him. It’s hormones. You’re just smitten.” But she knew how intense these teenage emotions could be. All encompassing. It was difficult to see anything else.
And she was grateful that Hannah wanted to open up to her.
“What do you like about him?” Ada asked.
Hannah groaned. “I like everything about him. He’s going to Yale, so he’s crazy smart. And he’s studying literature, which means he’s really poetic, and he, like, reads, which nobody does anymore. He’s also cute, sure. Yes. I’m not blind.”
“Of course you’re not. Does his family have a connection to Nantucket?”
“They spend summers here,” Hannah said. “We figured out we met last year at a bonfire thing. I didn’t stay long because, back then, I felt like I had no friends, and I felt uncomfortable. But yeah. We met.”
“And he remembers,” Ada said, her chest warm at the fact that her daughter had friends now. (It was true that last summer, Ada had been frightened about her daughter’s social life, but she hadn’t mentioned it.)
“He asked me to hang out soon,” Hannah said. “Maybe we’ll get food, or something.”
“You should go out with him,” Ada said. “What do you have to lose?”
Hannah’s eyes flickered. “I figured you’d tell me not to bother. To focus on work and prepare for school.”
“Why would I say that?” Ada asked. “Is that what mothers are supposed to say?”
Hannah shrugged and groaned again, dropping her forehead onto her thighs. “I just really like him!”
“Oh, honey.” Ada slid over and wrapped her daughter in a hug. “I know.”
“You’re going to like so many people in your life,” she didn’t say because maybe it wasn’t true. There was no way to tell what would happen next. There was no way to tell where your heart would lead you. Ada had thought she’d be an opera star without a husband or a family, but now, look at her. She was a full-on wife and mother. Opera was deep in the past.
By the time they pulled into the harbor at eight that night, the four sailing Bushners were starving. After Ada and Kade finished securing the boat with the final knots, Ada checked her phone to alert Peter about their plans to eat out, while her kids squabbled over which restaurant to go to. It was clear that Hannah wanted to go to the restaurant where she worked, presumably to check on Quintin, but Olivia and Kade insisted on burgers and fries.
“We can walk past your restaurant and see how busy it is,” Ada said to Hannah as they breezed down the dock. “But you don’t want to eat a swanky fish meal right now, do you?”
Hannah admitted she didn’t. “Burgers will be fine.”
