Chapter 5
Chapter Five
R eese woke up at five thirty on Monday to go for a run. Outside in just his shorts, sports shirt, and sneakers, he felt free and open-hearted. Wind surged off the Vineyard Sound and ripped through his shirt, and he ducked off the beach and onto the street until the wind died down a little bit and his strides felt looser, easier. He’d been a runner since the age of twelve, and the healthy obsession had always invigorated him and helped him collect his thoughts.
Reese usually took the same route every morning—down the beach by their place, up along the empty gravel road, past the sweeping pitch pines and white oaks, along the berry bushes, and back out onto the crystalline white beach. It occurred to him as he went that he wasn’t far from Joel’s new place, and he ducked back down the beach to see what it looked like this early in the morning, with the fresh pink light cascading over it like a dream. He and Oriana had spent the better part of the weekend festooned at the three-bedroom, two-bath beachside rental, removing things from boxes, taking care of the children, making food, and helping Joel, Lauren, Tyler, and Peter settle in. During several moments of tension, Lauren had stomped out of the room without a word, but much of the unpacking was already finished. Reese was grateful. He wanted to give Joel a head start.
Reese stalled outside the house and stretched down to touch his toes, weighing up his urge to knock on the door to see if anyone was awake for a cup of coffee. Maybe he and Joel could share a few nice moments together before they dove into their first day of work. Or maybe Reese was pushing this too quickly. Maybe Joel needed more space. He hesitated and dropped back, prepared to take the route home.
That was when he spotted Lauren.
Lauren ducked out of the side door of the house wearing a pair of shorts, a tank top, and a silk robe that fluttered out behind her. She moved gracefully, like a gazelle. Reese hesitated. He knew he needed to call after her and tell her he was here. He didn’t want to seem creepy. But she was moving so quickly that there wasn’t time. Reese couldn’t look away. Suddenly, someone else was there. A man lurked beneath the white oak. He wore black jeans and a black jacket, and he shifted his weight as Lauren approached, tying her silk robe to cover herself up.
Reese checked the time. It was ten minutes after six. A little early for a rendezvous with a man who wasn’t her husband. What are you up to, Lauren?
Lauren bent her head and spoke to the man. Her blond hair rushed forward like a curtain. The man responded louder. Reese could feel the texture of his voice but couldn’t discern what he was saying. Lauren’s shoulders shook like she was crying. The man touched her shoulder but then immediately removed his hand. Reese staggered away from the scene, suddenly frightened. What if Lauren turned around and spotted him? What could he possibly say? With haggard breaths, he shot down the beach and ran back home as frantically as he could.
It seemed clear to him that Lauren was having an affair.
But it didn’t make any sense. Lauren and Joel had just moved. Was it possible this guy had followed them to Martha’s Vineyard from Providence? Was he here to try to convince Lauren to leave her family?
Go ahead, Lauren, Reese thought cruelly. We’re all waiting for you to go.
Reese had sweated through his sports shirt. He ran upstairs for a quick shower and sat on the porch with a cup of coffee and a slice of toast. His thoughts ran in circles as he considered what Lauren was up to and how he could bring it up to Joel. Then again, Joel kept his own secrets from Lauren regarding his recent job loss. Reese dropped his face into his hands.
Reese knew secrets could get out of control, especially in a marriage. What started out innocuous could morph and change into a monstrous secret; a secret apt to destroy you and everything you’d built.
Oriana had lied to Reese just last year about someone trying to blackmail her over the nature of a two-million-dollar art sale. The piece was a forgery, but Oriana hadn’t known until it was too late.
And Oriana had kept Reese out of the blackmailing situation to “protect him,” apparently. But he hadn’t appreciated that.
It was just last year that Oriana’s sister Meghan learned her husband had once been engaged to a woman who later went missing. Why had Hugo kept that from Meghan? Because he couldn’t face it himself.
Reese rubbed his eyes until he saw black spots. It was all so complicated: marriage, parenting, family relationships, friendships between fathers and sons. No rule book could help you through it.
But Reese couldn’t help but think Lauren and Joel had been doomed from the start. Maybe this was a necessary step to break them up fully. Maybe he and Joel would look back on this later and say, Isn’t it crazy that Lauren used to live here? We never think about her at all.
In the kitchen, Oriana prepared for yet another drive to New York City. She hustled with a vibrant energy as she packed a few healthy snacks and filled her water bottle. “I should be home by Wednesday,” she explained as she stuffed her medication into her purse. “But if all goes well with this other client, I might have to stay for another day.”
“You’re unstoppable, Oriana,” Reese remarked.
He decided not to tell Oriana what he’d seen. Not yet. He didn’t want to distract her from her NYC mission and the enthusiasm that brimmed between them. She touched both of his cheeks and grinned. “I just can’t believe they’re all here! On the island!”
Their children. Their grandchildren. Their love.
Reese kissed Oriana goodbye, put on a pair of jeans and a green button-down, and prepared himself for Joel’s arrival. The downtown Oak Bluffs office wasn’t open till midweek, and he and Joel had agreed to work in Reese’s office until then. Reese shivered with anxiety and considered stress-eating another piece of toast.
The bell rang, and Reese hurried to open it. On the other side was Joel with a bag of bagels and cream cheeses from the local shop. “Good morning.”
“That’s the best sight in the world,” Reese said.
They set up their bagels, cream cheeses, and more coffee on the center table of Reese’s office and talked shop for a half hour, diving into the specifics of the aquarium app and discussing a schedule for the next ten weeks of work. Reese had reached out to even more clients to make sure there was enough work for two people, and now they were more or less swamped—with the potential to roll in cash by autumn.
Joel puffed his cheeks. “This is great. It’s almost as much as I was making before.”
“And you’re your own boss here,” Reese said. “You can make your own hours. Sometimes I take nice afternoons off to hang out with Benny or go fishing.”
Joel smiled, and his dimples were just as deep as they were when he was a kid. Reese felt the urge to tell Joel about the mystery man from that morning rise up in his throat, but he swallowed it back down. With his fingers on the keys, he began to code, and once he got into it, time drifted past without him noticing. Before he knew it, it was one thirty. Joel announced he was starving. He still had the metabolism of a teenager , Reese thought.
They sat out on the porch with homemade potato soup and diet sodas. What had begun as a sparkling day now had clouds drooping over the horizon and spitting rain. Joel wore a sweatshirt for the Boston Red Sox. It was Reese’s team, too. He’d taught Joel to love them.
“I guess we won’t get much of Mom’s cooking when we move to the downtown office.”
Reese smiled. “I made this, actually. Yesterday evening.”
Joel’s eyes widened the slightest bit. “Right. I always forget you’re good at this stuff.”
“Cooking?”
Joel raised his shoulders. “House stuff. You’re a very modern man. Lauren won’t even let me wash the dishes. She says I don’t do it right.”
Reese’s lips drooped, and he scooped more soup and contemplated what to say. “I guess we always had you mow the lawn rather than do household chores. Maybe it’s our fault.”
Lauren is cheating on him. Just tell him. Just say it.
“Is Lauren settling in okay out here?” Reese asked instead.
A shadow passed over Joel’s face. He tapped a napkin over his lips. “She’s homesick. Like I said, she loved our life in Providence.”
“But look at this place.” Reese felt impatient as he waved his arm toward the great expanse of the shifting oaks and the bright green lawn and the frothing Atlantic. “How could you look at this and want to go back to Providence?”
Joel grimaced. “I think she didn’t have the easiest time here before we left. Maybe it’s bringing up old memories.”
“You were just kids,” Reese offered.
Joel gave him a look made of stone. “Yes. Exactly. We were just kids.”
The words landed like a bomb between them. Shame crawled up Reese’s gut and made his cheeks hot. He took a big bite of soup and nearly choked on chunks of potato. Get a hold of yourself.
Joel’s face was ashen. “Do you mind if I work from home the rest of the day?”
Reese thought he was going to throw up. “You can stay here. I won’t get in your way.”
“Lauren has a lot more unpacking to do, and I want to make sure she has time to herself away from the kids,” Joel explained. “I can code while the kids watch TV or play outside.” He arched his eyebrow. “And you said we can make our own schedules.”
Reese’s heart felt bruised. He bowed his head and cursed himself for thinking it could be so easy. “Do you want to come back tomorrow?”
“We have that call tomorrow morning,” Joel remembered. “I’ll be here at eight.”
Joel scraped through the rest of his soup, retreated to the kitchen, and scrubbed his bowl thoroughly like he had something to prove. After that, he stepped onto the porch. “Thanks for the soup. See you tomorrow.” His tone was as stiff as wood.
Reese took his time cleaning up after that. He felt slow and sad. It was now exceedingly clear that Reese couldn’t mention anything about what he’d seen that morning. Even asking questions about Lauren was akin to walking through a field of landmines. Anything could set Joel off.
The past was grotesque and alienating. Reese had to hold on to the present and hope they survived.