Chapter 2 #2
“I’ll do it,” Sydney said, her jaw set with determination. “I’ll go.”
“Are you sure you’re up to that, honey?” Linda asked.
Sydney nodded. “Who better to make the first move than someone who’s been there and done that?”
“No one,” Maddie agreed. “What’ll you say?”
“I’ll tell her I understand because I’ve been through my own hell. I’ll let her know there’s a wonderful, special community of people here who’d love to get to know her and make her feel at home.”
“That sounds perfect,” Linda said. “I had a feeling you all would know what to do.”
“I don’t know about the rest of you,” Grace said, expelling a ragged deep breath, “but I really, really need to see Evan right now.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Maddie said. “About Mac, of course.”
“Ditto,” Stephanie said. “Grant.”
“It’s certainly a reminder that life is short and we need to make the most of every day we’re given,” Linda said. She noticed her niece still had tears rolling down her face. “Laura? Honey, are you all right?”
Laura reached for a napkin and dried her eyes. “I’m sorry. Jenny’s letter brought it all back. That awful day when we didn’t know where Adam was.”
“Yes,” Linda said. “It gave me some rough moments. I’m sure it did for Big Mac, too, which is why he didn’t tell me about Jenny’s letter until after he began to worry about her being out there all alone.”
“Adam was there?” Maddie asked. “How have I never heard this?”
Linda nodded, her heart squeezing the way it always did when she thought of that nightmarish day when she’d thought for a few hours that her darling boy could be gone.
“He’d just graduated from college and was working at his first job for a computer company in lower Manhattan.
He’d only started the week before, so we didn’t have any way to contact him there yet.
His cell phone went right to voicemail for hours. Hours and hours.”
“We found out much later that afternoon that he wasn’t even in the city,” Laura said. “He was at a client’s office in New Jersey. Cell service was nonexistent for days, but he finally managed to call around five o’clock. By then, we were so sure . . .”
“Best phone call of my entire life,” Linda said, her voice catching as she relived a day she’d spent more than a decade trying to forget. That was another reason she’d been so determined to reach out to Jenny after she read the letter.
Laura wiped new tears from her face. “Listening to what happened to Jenny . . . I’ve been so caught up in my litany of troubles, but really, when it comes right down to it, I don’t have any troubles. My life is blessed.”
“I’m sure we all feel that way after hearing Jenny’s story,” Linda said as she drew Laura into a hug.
“She won’t want our sympathy,” Sydney said. “She’s here for a fresh start, not to relive her nightmare with all new people.”
“That’s understandable,” Linda said. “You’ll let us know when you’ve seen her?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you, honey,” Linda said. “I appreciate your willingness to reach out to her.”
“I’m not making any promises,” Sydney said. “She might prefer to be alone. We can’t force her out of her shell if that’s where she wants to be.”
“We forced you out of your shell,” Maddie said with an affectionate smile for her old friend.
“That you did,” Syd said, laughing. Looking around at the others, she said, “I have no doubt this peaceful place saved my life.”
“Maybe it can save dear Jenny, too,” Linda said.
“While I have you all here,” Maddie said tentatively. “I wondered if you might be willing to help with another project?”
“What kind of project?” Steph asked.
“I’d like to plan a benefit to assist the summer help who live here year round. With most of the hotels, restaurants, bars and marinas going dormant for the winter, there’re a lot of people on the island who really struggle until the tourists come back in the spring. I used to be one of them.”
Linda still experienced an occasional pang of shame whenever she thought about the unflattering rumors she’d once believed about her now-adored daughter-in-law. Maddie had made Mac so very, very happy. There wasn’t much Linda wouldn’t do for her. “What do you have in mind, honey?”
“How about a big island Thanksgiving dinner where we supply the turkeys, everyone brings a side dish and we collect donations to go toward a fund for people in need?”
“How would the funds be distributed?” Grace asked.
“I haven’t gotten that far, but I suppose we’d set up a system so they could request assistance and then we’d provide whatever we can to help out.”
“I like it,” Stephanie said. “I’ve worked tourist jobs for years myself, so I know how the off-season can be tough, especially in a high-rent place like this.”
“Speaking of high rent,” Maddie said with a shy smile, “I should also mention that I’ve petitioned the town council to use the property Mrs. Chesterfield left to the town as a site for affordable housing. I’ve contacted Habitat for Humanity about possibly building the homes.”
“How do you have time to take care of a new baby and be an activist, too?” Sydney asked playfully. “You’re amazing!”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Linda said. “What a marvelous bunch of ideas. I’ll give Big Mac a heads-up about your petition so he’s prepared to vote for it at the next council meeting.”
“Only if he thinks it’s a good idea,” Maddie said.
“He’ll love the idea. He’s all about giving back to the community. I’ve had to rein him in a few times so he wouldn’t give away every cent we had.”
“I can so see that,” Laura said, smiling. “Let us know what we can do to help. I love all your ideas. I swing a pretty mean hammer, too.”
“That’s good to know,” Maddie said. “I’ll be recruiting everyone to help out if it actually happens. Mac has agreed to oversee the construction of the houses if we get approval.”
“It’s brilliant, honey,” Linda said. “All of it.”
“Thank you,” Maddie said, clearly pleased by the approval. “I’ll keep you posted.”