19. Caleb
NINETEEN
Caleb
We stood on the porch. I looked down at Margot’s hand in mine. Her knuckles were white from squeezing against me so hard.
“Ouch. Grip.” I chuckled. “Have you ever entered a thumb-wrestling contest?”
“Sorry.” She tried to shake free, but I held on.
“I’m teasing you. But relax. They’re going to love you.” I kissed the top of her head. “And even if they don’t, I do.” I chuckled.
“Hey.” She pushed against my chest. “That’s not helping. The last time I had dinner at someone’s house I ended up almost ruining vintage linen. I made an enemy, and ruined my chances to hang out with the cutest kid I’ve ever rescued. I’ve got a little anxiety about this night, okay? My track record isn’t the best around here.”
“I think it’s cute you’re nervous. But I promise my parents are harmless. They are laid-back and easy-going. You’re going to get along great.” It was time to go in before my mom pounced on us at the front door. “Can’t say the same for my brother.”
“Jacob’s going to be here?” Her eyes widened and we crossed over the threshold.
“Yeah, he just texted me—” Before I could warn her Jacob gripped me in a huge bear hug.
“Damn, you haven’t been back in the gym with all your time off.”
I punched him in the arm. “Says who?”
Mom poked her head around the corner. “I thought I heard you.” She smiled warmly. “Margot?”
“It’s so nice to meet you.” I thought I saw Margot’s fingers tremble when she shook my mom’s hand. God, I wished there was a way to make her less nervous. I knew the dinner at Carrie’s was fucked up, but this was nothing like that.
I tapped Margot’s shoulder to remind her I was carrying the gift she had brought my parents.
“Oh right. I brought something for dinner.” She took the bag and handed it to my mom.
“What’s this? You did not need to bring a single thing. We just wanted to meet you.”
My mom loved gifts. She loved getting things, whether it was a magnet for her fridge, an ornament from someplace I had visited, or flowers. It didn’t matter. Gifts always lit her up. I laughed inwardly, knowing she was putting on a performance for Margot. She unwrapped a bottle of wine and a cork in the shape of the lighthouse.
“Oh, this is fantastic. You would think I’d have one of these, but I don’t.” She twirled the lighthouse bottle topper in her hands. “Something about living here makes me less inclined to buy the things I really like the most. I can’t explain it. But this is adorable. Thank you.” She hugged Margot.
Jacob laughed. “Come on, let’s get a beer. Nice to see you again, Margot. How have you been with all the excitement this week?”
I rolled my eyes at Jacob. There was always joking between us. I didn’t know if Margot was ready to be thrown into the deep end of the pool yet. She needed to wade in and adjust to the depths.
We followed Mom into the kitchen. The table was set. I hoped it put Margot at ease that this was nothing like dinner at Carrie’s. There was no fine china, or crystal. And definitely no tablecloths that cost a thousand dollars.
Mom stopped and reached up to cup my face in her hands. “How is that cut? Do you need something for it?”
“I’m fine, Mom. Really. Medical has been all over it. Several times.”
She sighed. “I don’t like that you’re hurt. You know that.”
The underlying current of this dinner was that my parents wanted to act normal and have a regular family dinner, but with it being on the heels of the attack they were going to fuss and worry.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Margot asked.
Mom and wiped her eyes after she stepped away from me and began chopping vegetables. “How are you at peeling carrots?”
Margot smiled as she picked up the vegetable peeler. “Pretty good, I think.”
Jacob grabbed a few beers out of the fridge and handed one to me. “Should I open the wine?” he suggested.
Mom pointed to the cabinets near the sink. “Wine glasses are up there. Pour two.” I saw her wink at Margot.
“Where’s Dad? Is he watching baseball?” I hadn’t noticed his truck in the driveway, but my attention had been on Margot.
“No. He’s not home yet. He went down to the boatyard. He’s looking at a new boat.”
“Oh no,” I moaned. “Another one?”
“I just stay out of it,” Mom commented. “You would think we have enough boats, or we had enough, or he would be tired of buying and selling them all the time.”
Jacob drank his beer. “I think he doesn’t know what to do since he retired, Mom. It’s his hobby at this point.”
The carrot peels piled up while Margot sliced over the carrots. “I guess boats are your thing,” Margot commented.
Jacob laughed. “You saying we have a problem?”
Margot shook her head. “Never.”
“If Dad wants a new boat, why get in his way. Imagine if he told you you had too many books, Mom?”
Oh shit. Those were fighting words. “I own a bookstore, Jacob. I can’t have too many books.”
He laughed. “Mom, you fall for it every single time.”
She sighed, exasperated with her older son. Margot smiled. It was nice to see her at ease in my family’s kitchen.
“So, Jacob, you don’t miss the Coast Guard?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Maybe if I hadn’t been stationed all around the country I wouldn’t have minded so much.”
“What do you mean? I thought you were all stationed here. This is your base. You don’t go anywhere but Marshoak Island.”
He looked at me as if I could explain her question.
“We can get orders to go anywhere,” Jacob stated. “I’ve been to Virginia, Rhode Island, Maine. You name it, if there is a base, we can get orders to go there at any time.”
I wished I had stopped him before he answered. I saw the alarm flash in her eyes.
“Hey, hold on. That’s not how it works,” I warned him with my tone. I looked at Margot. “We have some say and pull. And not everyone wants to come to Marshoak because it’s remote. So those of us from here and with legacy heritage get first dibs. Right, Jacob?”
His eyes widened. “Yeah. That’s true. I was ready to go somewhere else. Should have said that first.”
I wasn’t sure if Margot’s shoulders had relaxed yet or not. She had a death grip on the carrot peeler.
Mom interrupted. “I think the salad is ready for the carrots. Could someone call Dad and see where he is? I’m about to take the chickens out of the oven.”
“Sure,” Jacob volunteered. “My phone’s in the other room.”
He headed out of the kitchen, and I made my way over to Margot. “Look, he says all kinds of shit. He wanted to leave Marshoak and he put in an orders request. I’m staying right here.”
She nodded. “I guess I thought it was a permanent station.”
My mom’s back was to us as she opened the ovens. I pulled Margot into my arms. “I’m not going anywhere. Don’t let my brother be the one to scare you, okay?”
“Okay.” She smiled. “Where’s that wine?”
I laughed. “Looks like he got out of doing that job. I’ll get it for you.”
For the next few minutes, I struggled with the cork, Mom inspected the chickens, and Margot filled the water glasses for dinner. Jacob strolled in announcing Dad was on his way back from the boatyard. We didn’t have to wait long.
Mom seemed less irritated, but when Dad walked in the kitchen, he didn’t look happy.
He had grease on his hands and his shirt was stained.
“Adam, what is that?” Mom shrieked, pointing at the floor. He had tracked grease in on his work boots. The kitchen floor was dotted with oil shoe prints.
“Sorry.” He walked backward to the kitchen entrance, and took his boots off. He walked back in. He spotted Margot.
“Dad, this is Margot.”
“Hi, there. I’d shake your hand, but I’m afraid I’d get this all over you.” He grinned. “I’m already in trouble,” he whispered to her.
She laughed. “It’s okay. I’m just glad I’m not the one who made the mess in the kitchen,” she teased.
Dad laughed and nodded at me. “She’s funny.”
“Are you going to get cleaned up before dinner?” My mother asked him.
“Headed up now. You can start without me.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what we’re going to do. We’ll wait. But hurry.”
“Aye, aye.” He saluted Mom before turning to Margot. “Glad you’re here.”
Jacob laughed. “That is going to be the quickest shower he’s ever taken.”
It wasn’t long before my father joined us at the table. He kissed Mom on the cheek before sitting down. I knew she was annoyed not only because he was late, but also because of the boats. They consumed his time. I wondered if it was how she pictured their retired life playing out.
“All right, Margot. You’ve got my full attention now.” He passed around the platter with the roasted chicken. “How do you like Marshoak Island?”
She took a sip of wine. “Honestly?”
“That’s what I want at the dinner table. Give me your honest opinion.”
“Well, when I first got here it wasn’t the greatest. I’m not sure if you know much about the Blue Heron, but my Uncle Walt left me with a huge mess to deal with. Being here after living in New York City for so long was a culture shock.” She laughed.
“And now?” Dad pried.
Her eyes drifted to mine. I saw the beautiful smile on her lips that I had fallen in love with over and over.
“Now, I love it here. I’m going to stay. I’m going to fix up the Blue Heron. I think this is home. It feels like home. I don’t want to go anywhere else.”
My parents stared at her then exchanged a look. Shit. I knew that look. It was the look of people who wanted to be grandparents. Who wanted to tell their friends there was a big island wedding to look forward to. That was the look of a woman who was already planning on making baby quilts with her friends.
Dad raised his beer. “Well, I think that calls for a toast.”
I could see my brother shaking with laughter. He had seen it too. He knew how our parents thought. As the older sibling, he’d been subject to more pressure than I had about getting married and having kids.
Margot was falling right into the trap. She joined Dad in raising her wine glass. “What are we toasting?”
“We are toasting a new local on Marshoak Island.”
She blinked. Her mouth opened. I grabbed her knee under the table and squeezed it. I had to reassure her. I had to give her something steady. Because now she knew exactly what my dad meant. I had to hold on to her and keep her from bolting out of here.
“To the new local,” Jacob echoed. I could have punched my brother across the table. He was enjoying it too much.
“I’m just glad you moved here, honey.” Mom smiled. “I’d like to see the Blue Heron when you get some work done on it. It’s been years since I’ve been over there.”
“I’d like that too.” Margot drank the wine, and I took a sip of beer. I released my grip on her knee. The atmosphere felt steady again. “Did Caleb tell you about the benefactor?”
My heart almost stopped. “No. I hadn’t told them.”
“Benefactor?” Dad asked.
“Yes, I seemed to have a fan on the island or at least someone who wants the Blue Heron to succeed. Have you ever heard of a group called the Island Stewards, LLC?”
My mouth went dry. I reached for the beer.
“Can’t say that I have.” Dad shook his head. “What are they funding the renovation?”
“Not the entire renovation, but enough to get the marina back on its feet,” Margot explained. “Whoever the group is, I’m just grateful. It’s really the reason I get to stay.”
“I think that’s wonderful, honey.” Mom cut into the chicken and passed a basket of rolls around the table.
After dinner my parents tossed us out of the kitchen. They wanted to take care of the dishes.
Mom slid her arm around me. “How is Gabe? How was your visit with him today?”
“He’s good. Awake.” I smiled at her. “He’s going to be groggy for a while. He’s under concussion protocol. He really doesn’t remember a whole lot about what happened. The doctor said it might come back as his brain heals. But he’s going to be okay, Mom.”
“That’s the best news. Maybe when he gets out of the hospital, he can come for dinner too.”
I nodded. “He’d like that.” Gabe was like my parents’ third son. I had a feeling my mom would take a break from work to visit him in the hospital now that he was awake.
“Why don’t you show Margot the house?” Mom suggested.
“Yes, I want to see everything.” Her eyes lit up.
“Okay. Let’s take the grand tour.”
I led her from the kitchen to the living room. It was simple. I had never thought about what my childhood home would look like to someone else. For the first time I was seeing it through someone else’s eyes. Margot’s eyes.
She admired the paintings of Coast Guard ships on the wall and the framed family portrait from when Jacob and I were in elementary school.
“I don’t know if I would have guessed that was you,” she teased me about my braces.
I shrugged. “Those were not my best years. But look at Jacob’s hair.”
She continued down the row of pictures and spotted the display my mother had arranged on the piano. There were more family photos. My grandparents. Days at the beach. Birthdays. She picked them up and examined them before setting them down again.
Then she grabbed one. Shit. Shit. Shit.
I didn’t know it was out. I didn’t know my mom had kept it.
Margot held it and stared at the couple in the photo. “Is this you and Josie Queen?”