The Parsonses
Christmas was a magical season, but this early December night was especially magical as people all over the world made holiday plans and bought presents online through a million miles of telecommunication cables laid on the sea floor.
Most people thought their words were sent through satellites high in the sky, circling the earth, but in fact internet and phone messages were transmitted by speedy, tiny bits of code through cables lying deep in the ocean.
Florie and Daniel were happily and precariously snuggled together in one of the twin beds in Florie’s room.
Her parents had given her twin beds when she was in elementary school so she could have friends sleep over.
Florie wanted to sleep with Daniel’s warm, romantic body next to hers, so she scooted to the side, managing to balance on about three inches of mattress so that Daniel could lie behind her, spooning her, his arm over her waist, her hand on his arm.
When Florie heard Daniel snore, she knew he was in a deep sleep. Carefully, trying not to wake Daniel or fall out of bed, Florie reached up to her bedside table and pulled down her phone.
—
Brick Three sat in his home office, holding his cellphone. He was still trying to speak to his father. He’d called his father’s landline several times during the evening, got voicemail, and left a brief message, asking how Brick Jr. was doing.
He tried again.
Finally, Beatrice answered.
“Hello, dear.”
Brick Three took a deep breath.
“Hello, Beatrice. I’m just checking in. I know that Lucas’s announcement upset Dad.”
“He’s fine.”
“Could I speak to Dad?”
“He’s watching an old movie with me and he seems relaxed finally. He has been extremely stressed out.”
Brick Three counted to ten, then surrendered. “Well, okay, then. Give him my love, please.”
“Of course.” Beatrice ended the call.
With a sigh, Brick Three clicked his phone back to the opening page, or whatever the hell it was called.
What a night it had been. Such an emotional high, being with all his family again, but what a personal low after hearing that Lucas was choosing to be a nurse instead of taking over the insurance company.
His father must have been even more shocked and saddened. If Brick Jr. wouldn’t even talk on the phone now, well, that made it seem that Brick Jr. was angry at Brick Three for allowing his son to insult their business by choosing another career.
What an insult to Brick Jr. And yet, Brick Three realized that his father was slowing down. He’d stopped attending company get-togethers. He didn’t keep up with notices about unsettling changes in insurance laws. He no longer attended Select Board meetings.
Maybe his father wasn’t angry. Maybe he was simply tired.
Dear Dad, he texted, Just checking in. Hope you feel okay. We’re looking forward to seeing you and Beatrice at our Stroll party tomorrow night. Hope you can make it. Love, Brick Three.
—
Jane was lying in bed, waiting for Brick Three to come up.
She was leaning against several pillows, with a pillow on her lap to help support her phone.
She was playing solitaire. Sometimes she scrolled over and opened the jigsaw app.
These two electronic games were a kind of mental Valium and she wondered if the FDA knew about this.
It regulated real drugs. Were computer games drugs? Of course they were. Invisible drugs.
Her mind was all over the place recently.
She was excited about Christmas and thrilled to have all three of the children gathered together in the house again.
She’d expected some surprises but not the enormity of surprises Lucas and Florie presented.
Florie getting married and living in Milwaukee?
Lucas becoming a nurse? And what about Sheila?
Jane liked Sheila, but she was older than Lucas by several years.
Not that Jane was so inflexible she couldn’t accept new ways of life.
She loved Taylor Swift. That counted for something, didn’t it?
She was tired. She had a lot to do to get ready for the party tomorrow. She’d play one more game of solitaire, then put down her phone and try to sleep.
—
On the other side of town, Jari was in the shower. Lydia lay in the wide hotel bed texting a quick message to Rose.
Jari really likes Nantucket. He says he could live here. But could I?
Lydia. Get a grip. Jari hasn’t been there for even one entire day. He is also socially inept. I don’t think he means he wants to live on the island. I think he was trying to make you happy, trying to compliment the island, but a man like him isn’t going to live there.
You’re right. Of course. I’m jumping to conclusions. Thanks.
The moment the text ended, Lydia’s cell vibrated.
Florie.
Lydia answered. “Hey, babe, what’s up?”
“Lydia, I need your advice.”
“Can you talk louder? I can hardly hear you.”
“I’m in the closet. Daniel’s asleep. Lydia, I met some of his friends today.
They’d won a prize to come to the island, and, Lydia, they are all so sophisticated and gorgeous and they made me feel like a mouse.
Daniel was so happy to see them, especially this girl Peaches who got all up in my face and said Daniel is the best kisser ever. They totally ignored me.”
“Did Daniel introduce you to everyone?”
“Of course. He told them we’re engaged. He said we were going to move to Milwaukee after the winter semester. He tried to keep me involved, I know, but there was such a bunch of them, such a club and I didn’t belong.” Florie sniffed back her tears. “Lyd, what am I doing wrong?”
Lydia smiled. “What did you have to drink?”
“A Mudslide. Just one. So good but so rich. Dangerous. But the others all drank a lot. I mean, not Daniel. He mostly sat and listened to them. They were pretty lit. And they say we’ll see them at the Stroll.”
“Did you talk to Daniel about it afterward? How you felt?”
Florie sighed. “No. I was too embarrassed. I don’t want to be whining all the time. I don’t want him to think I can’t handle moving to a new place…and I can. I just worry about moving to his place, where everyone knows him and no one knows me.”
“It’s only natural to get nervous before such a big move. But you did so well when you went off-island to college. You’re pretty and smart and kind—what’s not to love? I think you’ll do just fine.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Florie, I’ve seen the way Daniel looks at you. He loves you. You and Daniel will make your own life together. It might be hard and imperfect, but that’s just life. Talk to him about it. Don’t keep your anxiety to yourself. He seems to do well with emotions.”
“Maybe I will. I don’t know. I’m afraid of those girls. I want to run away.”
“Florie Parsons, stop this right now. You’ll have a business management degree in a few months.
You must have had courses on negotiation and how to deal with intimidation.
Those women are just mean girls grown up.
And you’re grown up! You can’t be pretty little Florie anymore.
You dreamed of working for a company that sends you all over the world.
You’d have to be able to deal with all types. ”
“I suppose.” Florie sniffed loudly.
“Hey. Remember those rules I gave you when you first went into high school?”
Lydia could feel Florie’s smile over the phone.
“Yeah. Of course. Take the high road. Kill with kindness. Think before you react.”
“So, there you are. If you could deal with that evil little Robin Marshall, you can deal with anyone.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right. Lydia, thank you. How am I going to be able to get along without you?”
“I’m only a text away,” Lydia said. “Good night, sweet pea.”
—
Florie quietly left the closet and slid back in bed next to Daniel. He was still out for the count, snoring like a bear. She lay on her side and held out both hands, her phone in one, her ring in the other.
Even in the dark room, her engagement ring twinkled in the moonlight.
Florie tried to move her hand so that the ring caught the light in different angles, but she also tried not to move it too much because she didn’t want to bother Daniel.
It was difficult, but she managed to snap many good shots of her ring and send them to ten or twenty of her friends.
Because she did have ten or twenty friends, and she was going to grow up and move to Milwaukee and make more friends.
—
Lydia ended the call and stretched out in bed. It was so easy to give advice to her sister. So hard to give advice to herself.
Jari came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist. Jari. Tall, muscular, and reserved. If she could give advice to her sister, she could give advice to herself.
Coming up on one elbow so her nightgown revealed her breasts, she said, “You look like you’re ready for some fooling around.”
“This is an expression I do not know,” Jari said. He dropped his towel. “But I would like to learn.”
—
Lucas was in his childhood bedroom, tapping away at his phone and trying to prevent himself from grumbling and crumbling with regret over the way the evening had gone.
After the deer was hauled away in the Ram truck with the liftgate, Lucas and Sheila checked out the Jeep, which was dented but fine, so they’d continued on to ’Sconset.
Sheila’s friend Darleen, who had crazy hair and a matching personality, squealed with joy and hugged Sheila and kissed Lucas right on the mouth even though they’d never met before.
The mood lifted and the three had spent a great evening in town.
They’d held their own contest for best Stroll window, walking around the streets twice, making lists on their phones, and after they’d chosen the winners, they’d stopped in at the Brotherhood for wine for the ladies and a beer for Lucas and a basket of their excellent curly fries for them all.
They’d walked over to the house where an old school friend was hosting a casual party with tubs of beer in ice and bowls of chips and guacamole everywhere.
Lucas had leaned against a wall, catching up on the news of high school friends and nursing (nursing!) one can of beer because he was driving and he didn’t want to get drunk and be stopped by the police, most of whom he knew, and given a drunk test and fail it, when he wanted to become a nurse.
Darleen did drink too much. Lucas drove back to ’Sconset with Darleen perched in the backseat with her head out the window in case she barfed.
It was totally not a romantic evening. Sheila and Lucas laughed all the way back to town about the things drunk Darleen had said.
Then, like a good guy, Lucas drove Sheila to her house and gave her a chaste kiss good night before going to his own home to be with his family.
By then, it was midnight and everyone else was in bed.
Even the lights on the Christmas tree had been turned off.
Lucas brushed his teeth and pulled on his pajamas and tried to sleep.
He woke in the middle of the night with a pounding headache. His neck hurt. He hadn’t had too much to drink. It was that damned deer, he thought. The crash had slammed Lucas back against the car seat, his neck bouncing like a crash dummy’s in a seatbelt ad. He needed aspirin and water.
He slipped out of bed and went to the hall.
It was after midnight. Doors were shut, lights were off.
His parents had an en suite bathroom and he never went in there.
He and his sisters shared a large old bathroom at the back of the house.
At the bottom of the stairs was a small guest bathroom, which was never used by the family because of the fancy monogrammed linen hand towels that were so small they were useless.
But the mirrored medicine cabinet was stocked with the usual over-the-counter pills for headaches, bee stings, and sore throats.
Lucas went down the stairs as quietly as he could, given that the house was almost two hundred years old and creaky.
He slipped into the guest bathroom and shut the door before turning on the light.
He opened the medicine cabinet doors, found the bottle of aspirin, took three, and tossed them back.
A small paper cup holder was attached to the wall.
He filled a cup, drank the water, crumpled the cup, and dropped it in the trash basket.
The little cup, decorated with daisies, landed on top of a small cardboard box almost completely covered with tissues. Curious, Lucas leaned down and pulled the box out of the basket. It had been flattened, but the words on the side of the box were clear: Prenatal Vitamins.
Prenatal Vitamins!
Lucas grinned. One of his sisters was pregnant.