Chapter 3
Chapter Three
I da had spent the majority of her sail back to shore in a trance, hoping and praying as the little boat surged over the waves that whatever had happened wasn’t that bad. Unfortunately, it was worse.
The yacht that had taken the Grayson family out for their yearly dinner cruise was back at the dock far before their scheduled midnight return. Two ambulances were parked near the docks, and paramedics were hunkered directly beside the entrance of the yacht, carrying what looked like a stretcher. Ida tied up the motorized raft and leaped onto the dock, hurrying down to where Shelby and a group of Nantucket Sunset Cruisers watched, their hands over their mouths.
Ida’s footsteps shook the dock. Shelby turned and gaped at her, then threw her arms around Ida and shivered.
“What happened,” Ida breathed.
“It’s Mrs. Grayson,” Shelby breathed. “I don’t know everything yet.”
Four paramedics carried the sixty-something Mrs. Grayson from the yacht. The very rich and very handsome and very, very formidable Mr. Grayson hobbled behind them, pale-faced, calling Mrs. Grayson’s name. “Cheryl! Stay with us!”
It was heartbreaking.
It was also terrifying.
If an accident happened on board, Ida thought , we’re liable .
She reminded herself of their powerful insurance package. But this was brought down a notch immediately with the memory of how much cash the Grayson family brought to the company year after year. There was no telling how many clients they’d recommended the Nantucket Sunset Cruisers to, nor how many clients would turn their backs on them after the as-yet-unnamed incident.
Maybe it was a health emergency. Perhaps it has nothing to do with us at all.
Shelby said, “There was an accident. They confirmed it when they radioed in.”
Ida’s heart sank.
Ida understood why Shelby needed her back. It was better that Mr. Grayson saw both of them at the docks, both faces of the company. No matter what happened, he would blame them for it. Shelby couldn’t take it alone.
The paramedics rushed past and placed the stretcher in the ambulance before getting in themselves. Mr. Grayson barreled toward Shelby and Ida, gasped, and staggered to a halt. He then cast Shelby and Ida the most ominous face Ida had ever seen, an expression that meant I’ll deal with you later. After that, he hobbled into the ambulance to take his wife’s hand.
The ambulance doors closed, and the ambulance roared to the hospital.
“Did she look conscious to you?” Shelby muttered.
“Her eyes were closed,” Ida said meekly. “And she looked really pale.”
“We have to get the story from the crew,” Shelby said.
“Yes. As soon as possible.” Ida hurried forward to collect two caterers and a skipper. The rest of the Grayson party poured from the yacht, clutching their exquisite handbags, adjusting their suit jackets, and giving one another looks that were difficult to read. Did they care for Mrs. Grayson? Or were they just along for the wild ride and disappointed that the night had ended so swiftly?
It was often hard for Ida to believe that the super-rich actually cared about one another beyond the bottom lines they could bring one another.
Ida and Shelby led the skipper and two caterers into their office. Ida felt breathless. The memory of her father’s birthday party out on the water seemed like a dream she’d had months ago rather than something still happening.
The caterers and skipper sat across from them at the massive desk Shelby and Ida shared—Ida’s computer on one end and Shelby’s on the other. Ida and Shelby had gifted themselves beautiful office chairs for Christmas two years ago, ones meant for better posture and less pain despite hours of sitting. Ida and Shelby sat down and crossed their legs the same way at the same time, which might have been funny any other time. We’re like twins, they’d said so often even though they looked nothing alike. But they thought alike. That was what mattered in a business setting.
Ida spread her hands out across her thigh. “Okay. Who wants to start?”
“I was serving champagne when it happened,” said one of the caterers, a woman in her late twenties with blond highlights. “Mr. and Mrs. Grayson were in the middle of speeches.”
“So many speeches,” the other caterer, a man a bit older than his colleague, muttered. “You wouldn’t believe how many people they needed to thank.”
“Which required a lot of champagne,” the woman explained.
“Sure,” Ida affirmed. They’d drilled it into their caterers early on to keep the guests well-fed with full glasses of whatever they wished for.
“They just went down like that,” the skipper announced, snapping his fingers. “I heard the crack and ran out onto the deck. Mrs. Grayson was on the floor.”
“We don’t know how the ice bucket fell,” the female caterer said, her eyes going side to side. “We needed so much ice. It’s a hot night, you know?”
Ida winced. She could imagine it: water in a puddle across the floor with ice peppered across it.
“Mr. Grayson and Mrs. Grayson were dancing immediately after the speeches,” the male caterer explained. “And she slipped in the water and fell back and hit her head on the railing.”
Shelby bowed her head and pressed her forehead with the tips of her fingers. Ida needed a drink suddenly and terribly. A stiff one.
“Maybe we can check the cameras,” the female caterer suggested. “Maybe we can see who spilled the ice bucket?”
Shelby’s eyes widened. “That’s right. Maybe it was someone in their party?”
Ida shook her head. “Even if somebody in their party spilled it, they have us on negligence. We should have mopped it up immediately.” Her heart thumped.
“We did the best we could,” the female caterer said, sniffing. “We really did. We were hustling. Every drink was filled. The hors d’oeuvres were flowing.” She snapped her fingers.
Ida raised her hand. She was tired. She’d heard enough. “It’s okay. Thank you for coming in and explaining.”
“It wasn’t me who spilled the ice,” the female caterer said.
“It wasn’t me, either,” the male caterer said. He glanced at the skipper ruefully and said, “The crew are always knocking things over, though.”
“Hey!” the skipper cried. “Don’t throw the crew under the bus.”
The male caterer threw up his hands. “I’m just calling it like I’ve seen it. I’ve worked here six years.”
“And I’ve worked here nine,” the skipper said.
“Which probably means you’ve spilled your share of ice buckets,” the male caterer snarled.
“Guys, come on,” Ida said. She was suddenly on her feet, her breath rapid. “Why don’t you head back? The boat needs to be cleaned.”
The caterers and the skipper slunk out of the office and clipped the door closed behind them. Ida had her hands in fists and fell to the chair behind her. She checked her phone to see three missed calls from Mr. Grayson and a text message that simply read: You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.
“What a mess,” Ida breathed.
Shelby got up and walked to the window to peer out at the yacht. “I’m so sorry about your dad’s party.”
“Don’t worry about it. This is more important.”
Shelby opened her hands. “I thought he’d want to talk to us when he got back.”
“I think he wants to throw his lawyer at us.” Ida turned her screen around to show Shelby.
Shelby wrinkled her nose. “He didn’t waste any time, did he?”
Ida groaned. “I just hope she’s okay. Maybe if she comes to quickly, he’ll be lenient?”
“Maybe.” Shelby sounded doubtful.
“I’ll give the insurance a call right now,” Ida said, rubbing the back of her neck.
“Why don’t I do that?” Shelby said.
Ida raised her eyebrows. “Why?”
Shelby put her hands on her hips. “Because you’re needed elsewhere.”
Ida gaped at her. It took her ages to remember what Shelby was referring to.
“Ah. My father’s birthday.”
Shelby nodded. “Your father’s birthday. Nothing else will happen here tonight.”
“I’ll have to pretend nothing’s wrong, I guess?”
“Aren’t you really good at that?” Shelby joked.
Ida bowed her head, remembering how it always was with Sophie. Ida was the eldest; Ida was the one with nothing wrong; Ida was the perfectionist; Ida never cried. Sophie was the crier. Sophie was the problem child. Ida was fine. Ida was always fine.
“You’re right,” Ida said.
Shelby waved her hands. “Only if you want to go back. If you’re too exhausted—”
“No. You’re right.” Ida got up and hugged Shelby, dropping her chin heavily on Shelby’s shoulder. Hugging her best friend of nearly thirty years always felt like coming home—nearly like Rick, but different. “Thank you for calling me. And thank you for doing this business thing with me. Year after year. This won’t take us down. Nothing has before.”
Shelby squeezed Ida’s arms. “We’re invincible.”
But Ida was a control freak. She couldn’t help it.
After Shelby left to tend to the crew outside, Ida grabbed her phone and called the insurance company herself—just to make sure it was done, just to make sure it was finished correctly during this frantic time. That’s just the way I am. She walked briskly back to the motorized raft, listening to the brrrring of the phone. Ida hasn’t dealt with the insurance company in quite some time; Shelby had taken over that a couple of years ago. But Ida was friendly with one of the women who handled their contract; they’d gone to college together. It was this woman she left a message for when she couldn’t reach anyone.
“Hey, Sally. It’s Ida Benson from Nantucket Sunset Cruisers. We had an incident on one of our vessels tonight, and the client was one of our high rollers. We talked to the staff to see what happened, and I’m pretty sure we’re liable.” Ida sighed deeply. “Anyway, that’s what insurance is for, right? Give me a call when he makes the claim, and let me know what happens next. Thanks. Talk to you soon.”
Ida cranked the engine of the raft and sped back to the yacht in the distance. Behind the vessel that carried the people she loved the most in the world was a pink, blue, and black sky dotted with stars. It looked like a Lisa Frank folder she’d had back in grade school. Or had that been the folder Frankie or Nellie had had? Her memories were blurred together with theirs now.
When they heard the motor, her family hurried to the edge to wave out at her. Rick, Nellie, Frankie, her mother, and her father were there. If she wasn’t mistaken, her father had a bit of icing on his cheek. But that was okay. It was his birthday, after all. He could eat cake messily. He could get it everywhere.
Rick helped her back on board with a big kiss. “I hope everything’s okay?”
Ida waved her hand, sensing her other family members’ eyes upon her. “Everything’s fine.”
Rick gave her a look that meant I don’t believe you for a second. It was true she couldn’t lie to Rick, not anymore. He knew her too well.
She was pretty sure her daughters knew her too well, too.
But everyone had to give her a pass tonight. It was a party, after all. Somebody turned the music back up, and Aunt Oriana handed her a slice of cake.
“You looked so beautiful coming across the water like that,” Sophie said. “Like a superhero coming back from saving the island.”
“Ha.” Ida rolled her eyes back and smiled.
“What happened?” her father asked. “Care to share the juicy details?”
“Oh, it’s fine,” Ida said, waving her fork from side to side. “I’m just so pleased to have Shelby in my corner.”
“She’s a good egg,” her father said, reaching for another slice of cake.
“I’ve always wanted to ask,” Aunt Oriana said. “What’s the story of the Nantucket Sunset Cruisers? How did you get your start?”
“Our Ida was always going to be somebody,” Katrina said, then blushed and glanced at Sophie.
“It wasn’t so clear after college,” Ida reminded her, leaning back onto Rick’s chest. She could feel Frankie’s eyes heavy on her. She hoped this story would help her out a little bit and remind Frankie that Ida understood the complexities of being twenty-three.
“Oh, but you got that job in event planning immediately after graduation,” Katrina said. “Don’t you remember? They whisked you all over the place. That’s where you met the guy who sold you his first yacht.”
“For a steal,” Rick said proudly.
“That was so many years later,” Ida said. “Shelby and I didn’t start the company till about fifteen years ago.”
“But where did Shelby come into it?” Aunt Oriana asked. “Was she a part of the event planning company, too?”
“Shelby was Ida’s roommate in college,” Katrina said, taking over. “Ida’s friend in high school wanted to room with her, but Ida insisted on living with a stranger. We thought it was ridiculous. But she was always brave like that. Our brave little girl!”
“And it was fate,” Rick said. “Because the college dormitory paired her up with Shelby.”
“They complement each other,” Katrina said. “Ida’s outgoing, beautiful, and sure of herself; she gets the clients, she gets the television commercials, and she gets the people in the doors. Shelby takes care of the details. The math.”
“The bills,” Ida said with a laugh. “Thank goodness.”
“Ah! She takes on the headache,” Aunt Oriana joked.
“We’ve talked about hiring someone else to handle that side of things,” Ida admitted. “But the thing is, we only really get business during the late spring, summer, and early autumn. We have to save as much as we can. And Shelby says she doesn’t mind doing that side of things.”
“And Shelby wouldn’t lie about something like that,” Katrina said. “She genuinely loves it. She has to.”
Ida laughed. “I’m sure she has headaches every now and then.”
“She’s only human,” Aunt Oriana agreed.
“I brought Shelby home the summer after freshman year,” Ida said. “She fell in love with the island immediately.”
“Like everyone,” Grant said.
“We started talking about opening up a place that summer,” Ida said. “We weren’t sure exactly what it would be. Something that showcased the beauty of the island. Something unique. We never imagined it would be a reality.”
“Going on forever,” Katrina added. “You two are the kind of dreamers who make things happen. Those are rare.”
The Benson yacht pulled back into the docks a few minutes before midnight. The Coleman family was shimmering with moonlight, stuffed with cake and delicious food and still laughing, having drunk nearly as many bottles of champagne as the catering staff had stocked away for them. Ida hurried off the boat first to hug her family members and thank them for joining the party. The caterers and other staff members got to work on cleaning the top deck, exchanging tired smiles, knowing they’d be aboard for another hour or more. But Ida knew they had days off tomorrow so they’d be able to rest for their next sunset cruise in a day or two. She’d also reserved marvelous tips for them, all of which were secured in envelopes in the office.
Her father and mother hugged her hard and thanked her, choking up. Grant’s eyes glinted with tears.
“I don’t think I’ve had a more special birthday,” he announced. “Thank you, honey.”
Ida’s heart swelled. “Let’s do it again next year!”
“It’s a deal,” her father said.
Frankie, Nellie, and Rick were the last off the boat. Nellie yawned so wide she showed all of her teeth, and Frankie looked grumpy and sorrowful, with big bags under her eyes.
“Why don’t you three head home?” Ida suggested.
“What about you?” Rick asked.
“I have a few things to finish up here,” Ida said. “But I’ll be right behind you.”
Rick gave her a look that meant you better not be lying. It meant I want you home safe.
“I promise,” Ida told him now, lifting on her tiptoes to kiss him.
Ida watched her family flicker out across the parking lot and dive into their vehicles. She heard the engines and watched them drift out into the night. Now, the only voices were those of the caterers and staff members who were still aboard. Many of them had heard about the incident with the Grayson family and were gossiping about it; a few of them had “suspicions” about who might have spilled the ice. But Ida didn’t care who spilled the ice. What was done was done.
Ida walked to the office. Her arms and legs felt heavy, and she was already daydreaming about the sleep awaiting her at home and the breakfast Rick would inevitably make for her and the girls in the morning. Ida adored those beautiful mornings with her family. It was almost as though everyone was a little bit younger, as though Nellie and Frankie were still living at home as teenagers.
Ida entered the office and immediately forgot what she was planning to do. What was it? She sat down at her desk and activated her computer, checking her email before she did anything else. Curiously, there was a message from the woman she knew at the insurance company—the same woman she’d left a voicemail with earlier that evening.
The email read:
Hi Ida,
I was surprised to hear from you this evening regarding your insurance contract. We were under the impression that you no longer wanted coverage from us. In fact, we assumed the business went under a few months ago due to a lack of funds.
Please let me know how you wish to proceed. We can reactivate your insurance as soon as you provide us with the missing funds starting in April.
Ida’s heart slammed to a stop. She gaped at the message, unable to fully comprehend it. April? May? June? July? Missing funds? Her hands were clammy, and she wiped them across her thighs.
This was obviously a mistake.
Always, always, always, the Nantucket Sunset Cruisers had paid their insurance on time. They’d always been reliable, ensuring safety above all.
Ida grabbed her phone and tried to call Shelby, but Shelby was asleep. It was understandable. Shelby planned to be in the office tomorrow by six thirty in the morning to handle a “breakfast cruise.”
Ida decided to write back to the insurance company immediately.
Hello,
Thank you for your email. There’s obviously been some sort of mistake. We’ve had insurance with your company for nearly fifteen years and have no interest in switching.
My business partner and I will contact you via phone tomorrow to clear this up.
Ida Benson
Ida decided the email struck the right tone. It was formal. It was clear.
We have insurance. We’ve always had insurance. We wouldn’t send people out on yachts in the open ocean without it.
Ida got up and stretched her arms over her head. Adrenaline rocketed through her, and she knew it would be difficult to sleep.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Ida sprang to answer it and discovered one of the caterers from her father’s birthday. He smiled at her and said, “Thanks again for this opportunity. We had a blast with your family.”
Ida tried to fix her face but struggled to smile. “Thanks again for everything!”
The caterer continued to look at her as though he were waiting for something.
It took Ida a moment to realize, Of course! They want their tips.
Ida had prepared the envelopes before the birthday party even began. She hurried to the other side of the desk and hunted for the envelopes in the second drawer. But the drawer was empty, as was the one below it and the one above. Ida gaped at the darkness, where thousands of dollars should have awaited her. She then raised her chin. The caterer peered back at her.
“Um? Do you mind if I get those envelopes to you tomorrow?” Ida asked.
The caterer looked caved in. “Oh.”
“Yeah. I thought I had them ready,” Ida said. “But it’s been a crazy night.”
Didn’t I put the envelopes in the drawer? Didn’t I stock them?
“Yeah. We heard what happened,” the caterer said, wringing his hands. “I’m sorry about that.”
Ida heard herself repeat it. “That’s what insurance is for, I guess.”
“Right. But the Grayson family! I mean,” the caterer continued, shifting his weight. “That’s a huge client.”
Ida felt it like a punch to the gut. “Accidents happen,” she said.
The caterer continued to look at her as though he expected her to procure an envelope filled with cash. As though she were a magician who could draw things out of thin air.
“Well, I’d better get going,” Ida said finally although she remained on the other side of the desk.
“Good night,” the caterer said, ducking away from the doorway and heading back into the night. Ida could imagine the conversation he and the other caterers and staff members would have. Can’t believe she doesn’t have our tips? What’s gotten into her? Do you think there’s something wrong with the company? We’ve worked here for so many years. Nothing like this has ever happened.
Ida shook out her thoughts, gathered her purse and car keys, and fled into the night. Very soon, she’d be fast asleep. She’d kick off the nightmare of this day and rise to a new dawn.