Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Present Day
Two days after the disastrous phone call with her ex-husband, Isaac, Nora had all the wallpaper removed from her kitchen, new paint colors picked out for the kitchen, bathroom, and guest bedroom in an online shop, and a horrible gut feeling that she was doing everything wrong.
Standing in her kitchen with a mug of coffee, she scowled out the window at the glorious blue-skied day and wondered if she’d made a horrible mistake.
Had divorce really been the only option for her and Isaac?
Couldn’t they have bonded over their loss of Paul rather than losing themselves in the process? Guilt gnawed at her.
She might have crawled back into bed and pulled the covers over her head were it not for the spontaneous phone call from Hilary Salt.
“Join us, darling!” Hilary called, joie de vivre in her voice. “We’re going sailing. Meet us at the harbor at eleven. Bring something with bubbles and a nice hat. That sun is hot today.”
Nora told herself not to go. She told herself to stay home and grovel.
But the more intelligent side of herself, the side that needed human connection and optimism, forced her lips to say, “Yes. I’ll see you there!
” And she was off to the races, picking out a nice sailing outfit, putting on sunscreen and lipstick, and heading to the store to find some champagne to share.
When she spotted herself in the mirror behind the cashier, she was surprised to see a reflection that reminded her of the sailing women who’d come to her aunt and uncle’s parties all those years ago.
She’d grown up to become a wealthy sailing type. What would Max say?
She laughed to herself and paid too much for a bottle of champagne. She knew it would be divine, and Hilary Salt would once again be impressed with her selection.
At the harbor, Nora parked and got out of the car to find five of the Salt Sisters preparing an iconic twenty-foot sailboat for a day at sea.
Hilary was clearly their leader, joyously directing people on which tasks to do and when.
Nora had never forgotten her early days of sailing on Nantucket, and she was eager to prove herself.
Sliding the champagne into a bucket of ice, she got to work, chatting with Stella and Tina about the previous few days and what they’d been up to.
When Nora told them that her ex-husband had called, their eyes went wobbly.
“Tell us everything,” Tina said conspiratorially.
Nora groaned. She knew that the Salt Sisters exchanged stories to better themselves.
The idea was that you had to let your bad news out to help everyone feel better about theirs.
But was she willing to share what had happened with Paul?
She was terrified of anyone knowing that she’d failed so desperately as a mother that her only child didn’t want to talk to her anymore.
Hers was a unique story in that respect.
She’d lost her parents, yes. But she’d grieved them, and it was long ago in the past. Now, she was grieving her child, who was still alive and living somewhere she didn’t know.
“Wait till we’re out on the water!” Stella said. “We don’t want the others to miss it.”
Tina nodded furiously. With Hilary’s instructions filling the air, they untied the boat and swept out into the turquoise blue, drawing the sails and hurrying away from dry land.
Nora felt the winds in her hair and the salty water spitting against her cheeks.
She heard the other Salt Sisters’ laughter and half imagined herself talking about this with Isaac later, telling him that she was broadening her network and “getting out there,” so to speak.
But then she soured at the thought. She and Isaac shouldn’t speak on the phone, not often. It hurt too much.
When they finally dropped the anchor and gathered for glasses of bubbly and strawberries and cream, Hilary turned to Nora. “You’re a knowledgeable sea-woman.”
Nora was surprised that she’d noticed. “I’m just good at following directions.”
Hilary laughed. “Don’t be modest. I can see that you know what you’re doing. Did you learn when you were younger? That mysterious time you spent on Nantucket?”
Nora tried not to let her smile dim, although she sort of hated that she’d told the Salt Sisters that she’d not been able to get Nantucket “out of her system.”
“I learned here, yes,” she said, remembering those strange and exhilarating afternoons on this very sea. “It’s easier to learn things when you’re younger. I wish my brain were as malleable as it was then.”
“I used to be able to learn new languages like that,” Hilary agreed, snapping her fingers. “But everything’s a little less sticky these days.”
“But your sailing came back to you quickly,” Stella pointed out to Nora.
“I sailed a few times with my husband over the years,” Nora said.
“Ex-husband,” she corrected before it got away from her.
“He liked that I took charge of the situation. He had never spent much time on the water. But we rented a house in the Hamptons a few times. Friends were always doing that. Leaving the city and spending a month or so out there. It reminded me a bit of Nantucket. But Nantucket has its own charm.”
“And your memories,” Hilary pointed out.
“Well, I imagine you wouldn’t want to return to the Hamptons,” Tina offered. “That’s where you have your memories with your ex-husband.”
Nora felt a stinging in her heart. “Yes,” she realized, surprised.
Because she remembered, now, in a rush of images that poured out of the back of her mind, that she and her husband had thrown a grand party for Paul and Cleo at their rental in the Hamptons, one meant to celebrate their upcoming wedding and their many years together.
At that very party, she and Isaac had discussed becoming grandparents one day.
Maybe, they’d considered, they would buy a house in the Hamptons, one where they could bring the grandkids.
Maybe there, Nora could teach their grandkids how to sail while Paul edited his documentaries in the house and Cleo practiced the clarinet.
Paul had always been more of an indoor kid, which was nothing Nora had ever wanted to change about him.
He’d never wanted to learn how to sail. But kids were not doomed to like what their parents did.
Because Nora had lost her parents so young, she’d had all sorts of theories about how to be the best possible parent. Goodness, she’d failed.
Nora had gone quiet. The other Salt Sisters, realizing that she’d gotten trapped in her thoughts, were quick to distract her.
“Have you heard about this book signing later?” Stella asked, her voice higher pitched. She searched Nora’s face, clearly hoping that she was all right and could rebound.
Nora shook her head. “I haven’t.”
“It’s this new book we all read a few weeks ago,” Rose explained, reaching for the bottle of champagne and refilling everyone’s glasses.
“It’s a thriller, sort of, but so well written.
It takes place here in Nantucket, and it’s got this lush, poetic prose.
I wanted to swim around in all that language. ”
Hilary laughed. “That’s not all you wanted to do.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “The writer is pretty handsome. That’s true. We all agree on that. But I’m a married woman, Hilary. So are you.”
“I’m only going to the book signing because of my love of literature,” Stella teased.
“That’s a lie if I ever heard one!” Gale giggled.
“You mentioned you’re a big reader?” Stella continued to give Nora a worried look.
“It’s part of the reason I wanted to move to the beach,” Nora admitted. “In the city, it felt like there was always something going on, always somewhere to be and someone to meet. I pictured myself living in my little bungalow on the beach, reading to my heart’s content.”
“It sounds like we pulled you away from your books today!” Hilary laughed.
Nora shook her head. “Honestly, I love it. But it’s been a little bit too much Tolstoy. I can see why so many of his characters went insane. Maybe I’m on the brink myself.”
“You should come to the book signing!” Tina suggested. “The writer’s going to give a reading and then answer questions about the book and his process and all that. We’ve already gathered our questions.”
“You think it matters that I haven’t read the book?” Nora asked.
“No way.” Stella shook her head. “And you know, as much as I love Tolstoy and all the other old, dead guys who wrote important works, we have to support modern authors. This writer is still living. He’s still writing.”
“We can grab dinner after,” Hilary suggested. “Make a night of it.”
Nora wasn’t sure how to get out of it. Besides, she hadn’t been to a literary event in years.
Most of the word-related events she’d been to in the city had involved the magazines she’d worked for, most of which had churned out progressively worse stuff during the years she’d worked there.
They’d sold fewer magazines and wrote more listicles like “Which Shoe Is Best For Your Astrological Type?” She’d gotten into the business of words because she’d wanted words to matter.
But they mattered less and less, it seemed.
“What’s the book called?” Nora asked as they later pulled up the anchor and turned their boat back to shore.
“It’s called Secret Nantucket Society,” Tina said, wagging her eyebrows.
“Is it about cults?” Nora joked.
The Salt Sisters cackled. Hilary touched her shoulder. “You know, there are hints of cults in all groups of people, don’t you think? Especially when those groups of people are powerful.”
“There’s always a leader who dictates how things go,” Tina said.
“For better or for worse,” Rose said.
Nora was vaguely intrigued. As she assisted Hilary on their sail back to the mainland, she tried to push herself to accept the book they were preparing to celebrate, even if the book was not up to her standards of “good literature.” They were right about one thing: they needed to support modern writers.
Nora was willing to do her part. If she hated the book, she could always give it to a secondhand shop and be done with it.
She wouldn’t tell the Salt Sisters how much she hated it, though. She didn’t want her new friends to think she was snobby.
Maybe, as her new life moved farther and farther away from Manhattan, emotionally as well as physically, she would become less and less snobby herself. Maybe that would be a relief.
The bookstore was a ten-minute walk from the Nantucket Harbor, so the six Salt Sisters available for the evening’s excursion headed out, shaking out their salty curls and laughing about how beautiful their day had been.
Nora was grateful that nobody had asked for more details about her past or her ex-husband.
She found herself telling them about the wallpaper fiasco and how it had activated her “bad back,” which she had from an old injury.
“Back pain is the absolute worst!” Tina cried. “Maybe I can put you in touch with one of my doctors.”
Nora grimaced. She didn’t want to tell Tina that she’d seen more than eighteen specialists over the years. When the pain came, it came, but it always receded. At least, so far it had.
It wasn’t till they reached the bookstore that Nora realized what she was getting herself into.
Immediately, shock made her stop in front of the ornate porch that wrapped around the old colonial building that housed the bookshop itself.
Tina and Rose stumbled into her, surprised.
“Are you all right?” Tina asked, sputtering.
But Nora couldn’t speak.
To the right of the green door was a large poster with the author’s face and name on it. It read “MAX SPADER, in conversation about his book, Secret Nantucket Society.”
“What’s going on?” Hilary asked, glancing from Nora’s face to the poster and back again.
But Nora couldn’t believe it. After all these years, here he was. He’d written his book. Finally.