Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Nina
June 2025
T he day after Amos’s big confession at the White Oak Lodge, Nina packed up the kids and drove them the five hours back to camp. To mirror what had already happened—just a couple of weeks ago, when she’d decided to go on this wild goose chase—she agreed to Will’s hopeful demands and stopped at a fast food place on the way. They ate french fries and burgers there and laughed when Will got ketchup all over his face. “I love fast food!” Will howled. “You can’t stop me from loving it!” Nina knew she’d have to fix that when they were done with camp. But what could a burger or two really hurt?
Now that she was taking the first steps to getting divorced because she saw her marriage for what it really was, Nina alternated between moments of euphoria and moments of devastation. She assumed it would be that way for a long time. But with her children, she wanted to put on a brave face. She tried to find reasons to laugh.
It was what she’d wished Francesca could have done for her after the lodge had burned.
It was what Great-Aunt Genevieve had wanted to do, maybe. But she’d been too old, too angry, too tired. Nina had to raise herself to be strong.
When Nina pulled into the summer camp, the kids playing by the lake perked up and ran in their swimsuits to see what was going on. When they realized it was Will and Fiona returning after a brief hiatus, they bellowed with excitement and threw their wet arms around them to welcome them back. Fiona burst into tears with one of the girls, saying, “I never want to leave you. You’re my best friend.” It was the kind of drama that belonged to ten-year-old girls. Nina was glad that Fiona was allowed to have it.
Nina helped carry their bags into their rooms and put clean sheets on their beds. She felt reverent and soft and hoped that they’d think of her at least a little before they fell asleep at night. In the office, she explained to the camp counselor that her ex-husband had checked the kids out without her permission, and that she would like to be called before such a decision was made again. The camp counselor looked annoyed but understood. She was probably used to dealing with divorced parents who couldn’t agree.
Nina had never wanted to be like them. But here she was.
Maybe Daniel would get the hint to leave them alone forever.
Nina hugged and kissed her children goodbye and promised them she’d be there to pick them up as soon as camp was over. They were sad for about ten seconds before they split off to play with their friends. This left Nina feeling momentarily bereft. But when she got in the car, cracked the windows, and sang the songs on the radio, her heart opened. She had more mysteries to solve. She had Amos to get back to.
She had Nantucket.
Right before she turned north, Nina spontaneously turned into her old neighborhood to fetch a few things from the house she’d recently shared with Fiona, Will, and Daniel. It felt so familiar to pull into the driveway, so much so that it was ludicrous to imagine they’d probably sell the house soon. As she wandered up the walkway, she thought about the plants she’d put in the soil, the lawn she’d mowed hundreds of times, the closets she’d painted and reorganized. She and Daniel had bought the house with the idea, she’d thought, of being there till they were old. Now, she felt like a thief for going inside without telling him.
In the bedroom they’d shared until recently, Nina rifled through her closet to find more swimsuits, extra sundresses, and a couple of hats to block out the sun. It was about to be full-blown summer on the island, and she wanted to look beautiful, sun-kissed, and ready for anything. It was a far cry from her life as an anthropologist, when she’d worn grubby clothes and moved through the world with her ears open and her pen raised.
Just before she left, Nina climbed onto the bed she’d shared with Daniel for years and closed her eyes, half imagining it was a year ago, and she was still sure that she and Daniel would get tenure at the same time. Their children were in the yard playing, and Daniel was whispering into her ear, “ I love you, I’ll always love you .”
People lied to one another all the time. But Nina resolved not to be like the rest.
She packed up the rest of her things, locked the door behind her, and got in the car. She didn’t look in the rearview as she drove away.
When she got on the highway, her lawyer called with news. “After thirty years in the divorce business, this is a new kind of story for me,” she said. “The courier reached Daniel’s hut in South America and delivered the divorce papers. He’s been served!”
Nina said, “Wahoo!” but felt her heart shatter all over again.
“I’m thrilled with how well he listened to reason,” the lawyer said. “It was smart to tell the dean about what was going on. Princeton is stronger and more powerful than any old-money dude like Daniel. And there’s no way he wants to ruin his tenure just to get back at you.”
No way he wants to destroy his tenure with some fake underground fortune, Nina thought darkly.
“It’s funny. I thought when he got tenure before me, my life was over,” Nina said.
“Turns out it was a blessing. It gave you the perfect move,” her lawyer said. “Celebrate today, won’t you?”
Nina promised she would. But as soon as she got off the phone, she called Amos. It felt like an instinct, a reflex. She wasn’t sure why.
“Hey! How’s it going?” Amos sounded happy. Nina guessed he was relieved after sharing all those secrets from twenty-seven years ago. He’d carried them around alone for too long.
“Oh, you know. Just wading through unknown territory and praying I make it out alive,” Nina joked.
“Ha. I feel you.”
In talking to Amos, in feeling his spirit on the other end of the phone, Nina felt an expectation within her heart that she didn’t want to fully name.
Don’t get ahead of yourself , she thought.
“I’ll be back around seven,” she said. “I was wondering if you wanted to swing by Seth Green’s place tonight.”
“No rest for the weary, huh?”
“Absolutely not,” Nina said. “When I’m on the hunt, I don’t stop.”
“I’ll be ready at seven,” Amos said. “Pick me up?”
Nina agreed.
Nina stood on the top deck of the ferry with her eyes on Nantucket Island and her heart in her throat. The sun was an orange coin in the evening sky, and the ferry burgeoned with newcoming tourists, far more than had graced the ferry she’d first boarded a couple of weeks back. Tourist season was full speed ahead. As she listened to the families chatter, the little bickerings between married couples, and the giggles of children, she allowed herself briefly to consider Daniel and Angie in that South American mountain hut, Daniel stewing with rage about what had happened here, and Angie none the wiser about why. Get out while you can, Angie , Nina wanted to say to her. But Nina knew that in life, people had to make their own mistakes. There was no saving them.
There had been no one there to save Nina, either.
Nina drove from the port directly to Amos’s house, where Amos was waiting for her in a light blue button-up and a pair of dark jeans. If Nina didn’t know any better, she’d have thought he was dressed for a date. But then she remembered that on the ferry, she’d redone her makeup, smeared on an extra coat of lipstick, and triple-checked her eyeliner in the mirror of the ferry bathroom. Who am I kidding? Nina thought with a smile. I’m into this guy.
It wasn’t like she had to run out and marry him.
She just wanted to get to know him. It was a sign of hope within her soul—proof that Daniel hadn’t broken her down completely.
It was more than she could have asked for.
Amos got in and smiled at her. “How was the drive?”
“I had plenty of time to think, and I needed it,” Nina said.
“I imagine so. Listen, I’ve been thinking about it all day, and I hope you aren’t too angry with me about what happened.”
Nina shook her head. “Why would I be angry with you? You were a kid. You were being taken advantage of. And I hate that my Tio Angelo—my beloved uncle—was the one who was doing that.”
Amos looked reflective. “He was kind to me in ways I didn’t know were possible.”
“He also ruined your life.” Nina pulled the car out of the driveway.
“Maybe I’m to blame for that, too,” he said.
Nina thought Amos was probably right about that. We can only blame other people so much before we have to take responsibility for what happens in our life.
Amos gave Nina directions to the address Ralph had written out for them and pulled up in front of a two-story beach bungalow with a gazebo on the edge of the beach. The bungalow was quaint and unassuming, so much so that Nina almost suggested they bail and go out to dinner. Whoever Seth Green was, he wasn’t Jack Whitmore. This was a silly detour. A distraction.
Maybe there was nothing else to find.
But that was when she saw there was a car in the driveway. Someone was home.
“Whatever this leads to,” Amos said, reaching for Nina’s hand, “we’ll keep going. I promise you that.”
Nina thanked him and got out. Her legs were shaking so much that she found it difficult to get herself up the walkway and all the way to the front door. Amos was there, ready to steady her if she stumbled. Up on the porch, she pressed the doorbell with all her strength and listened, waiting for some sign that someone was in there. But after fifteen seconds, there was nothing.
“I don’t think the doorbell works,” Amos said finally. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Nina’s heart nearly burst. She tried again and listened hard. Amos was right.
“Anti-climactic,” she joked.
But before Nina could say another word, Amos raised his fist and smashed his knuckles on the door. The sound echoed through the house and practically made the windows rattle. Immediately, Nina heard footsteps.
Was I about to see my brother for the first time since he faked his own death?
Was I about to understand the secrets of my family’s past?
Don’t be silly, Nina. Don’t get your hopes up.
The door cracked open. Nina and Amos stepped back as a waft of feminine perfume came out onto the porch: jasmine and another flower Nina couldn’t place. Not my brother, Nina thought at once. Her sorrow nearly knocked her over.
“Hello?” A raven-haired woman in her forties wearing a purple dress and a headband appeared before them. She was tan and olive-skinned and practically a portrait of Francesca Whitmore from so long ago.
Nina grabbed Amos’s arm to keep from falling to her knees.
“Charlotte?” she cried. “Charlotte, is it really you?”