Chapter 31 Eloise
It had been a bad idea to invite Clyde to join them for fireworks. Eloise wasn’t capable of being a functional mother with
him sitting so close.
The armrests of their folding chairs were brushing. It was all she could do not to reach over and take his hand.
Eloise could feel eyes on them. Word might get back to Gus. He kept up with some of the Mackinac guys, texting about college
football, or so she heard. Part of her wanted him to know she was seeing someone. But this made her feel terrible, like she
was using Clyde. She wasn’t. She liked him more than she should. A depth between them was forming over tennis and afternoon
tea at the Grand Hotel. Dinners at the Gate House and Woods Restaurant. Sunset strolls along the beach. Evening phone calls
just because Clyde wanted to hear her voice before bed. She’d even let him give her a golf lesson and enjoyed it. (This was
the most jarring. Her distaste for golf was a core tenet of her personality.)
Another part of her didn’t want Gus to find out at all. She wanted Clyde to herself, stashing up private memories to keep
her warm through the winter when Clyde would be back in Scotland and Eloise would be alone sipping tea that was never quite
hot enough, lighting candles that were never quite bright enough.
“If they don’t start these fireworks soon, I’m headed to bed,” Deirdre said, furrowing her brows at the dark horizon. “It
gets later every year.”
“We’re not in a rush,” Fred said, reaching out for his wife. “It’s a nice tradition.”
Deirdre reluctantly sat on his lap and looked a bit mollified. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Yes, what nicer tradition is there than polluting the air with fire when the earth is already burning?” Georgiana chimed
in. “So wholesome.”
“You could boycott,” Rebecca said.
“Wouldn’t do any good,” Georgiana said. “Mackinac doesn’t have a functioning government, as we’ve established.”
“Girls,” Eloise chided, though she really meant Georgiana .
Fireworks always started around dusk. Two displays launched just off the island’s southern coast. Eloise and the others were
watching from Marquette Park.
Islanders were flocking over to see Rebecca. Eloise suspected this was partially a cover to snoop on her and Clyde. It had
taken a while for the murmurings to start, but after dancing on the cruise, the chemistry had given them away. Or perhaps
Deirdre had leaked something.
Clyde was snapping photos, commenting on how everything looked like a postcard. Kids scampering barefoot on the grass, sparklers
and rocket popsicles in hand. Parents slurping homemade Hummers from red solo cups. Dogs yapping, overstimulated before the
fireworks even started.
Clyde turned the camera on Eloise. She ducked her head. “Please don’t. I don’t like pictures.”
“How about we get one together?” Clyde said.
Rebecca overheard and offered to take one for them. Clyde passed her the camera.
“Very cute,” Rebecca said as she took the picture.
Rebecca had told Eloise that she liked Clyde— adored him—but Eloise wasn’t convinced.
What must her daughters think of her dating?
She was supposed to be the role model, the responsible one, and here she was introducing her family to a man who would be gone before she knew it, as Eloise’s mother so kindly reminded her on a regular basis.
“What do you think of our island?” Eloise asked Tom. She was trying to make more of an effort with him, for both Rebecca’s
sake and her own. Tom was a necessary ally if she ever wanted her younger daughter to move back to Mackinac.
“It’s great,” he said with a big smile. “Clyde’s right, it feels like a postcard.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Eloise said. “Perhaps we could have Liam Townsend take you around to show you some properties while
you’re here. Where is Liam?” She looked at Alice, who was seated next to her, sipping a spritzer.
“How should I know?” Alice said, and Eloise was glad to hear her say it. She’d almost thought Georgiana might have been onto
something with all the time they’d been spending together.
“Mom,” Rebecca said, a warning in her voice. “We’re very happy in Traverse City, I’ve told you. Tom has all his clients down
there.”
“People need help with their finances on Mackinac too,” Eloise said. “Not such a large clientele perhaps, but very loyal.”
“Let them be, Eloise,” Alice murmured.
Eloise felt annoyed at her mother, also for how intently she seemed to be watching Eloise and Clyde, as if warding off any
funny business. Eloise couldn’t believe she was being chaperoned at this age. She felt an ounce or more of empathy for Gigi.
“Remember how your father used to be in charge of the fireworks for the island?” Alice said to Eloise. “So foolish, but I
never could stop him. Always something of a pyro, David was.”
Eloise recalled the crackle of summer bonfires in their backyard, the leaf piles burning in the autumn, the roaring fireplace
heating the cabin in the winter. On an island surrounded by water, fire marked the calendar of Eloise’s childhood.
“I like seeing you like this,” Clyde said softly when the others were distracted again.
“Like what?” Eloise asked.
“In your mothering element with both your girls home. I’m getting to see a different side of you.”
Eloise tensed. The more sides she showed, the more likely he was to dislike one of them, maybe all of them. Gus had preferred
Eloise before they had kids, before her worrying side took over in motherhood. She hoped Clyde wouldn’t have a similar reaction.
“I know I’m a little uptight today,” Eloise said. “I just want Rebecca to enjoy herself.”
“You’re doing wonderfully.” Clyde placed his hand on top of hers on the armrest.
Eloise felt the heat of it. She pulled away, clasped her palms together in her lap. “Not now,” she murmured. “I’m sorry.”
His forehead indented, but he nodded. “I understand.”
The first firework squiggled up over the lighthouse. More followed, the noise building, rattling like popping corn. Soon the
sky and Straits were lit up by the kernels of a thousand falling sparks.
Eloise felt her nerves steadying. It was dark. Everyone was watching the show. And even if they saw, what did she really have
to be ashamed of?
She reached back out and took Clyde’s hand.
Clyde’s body shifted under her touch. It made her feel powerful, like a witch. She’d never believed in witchcraft before,
but she believed in this. He interlaced his fingers with hers and gave a squeeze.
Once and then twice, Eloise squeezed back.