Lydia
She was so confused.
Jari liked Nantucket? He’d been here exactly one day and thought he could live here? Before coming, he had no doubt scoured the internet for information about the island. And it was true that he could work anywhere with his laptop.
What did that mean about their relationship?
Did that mean he wanted to marry her? He didn’t say so.
She knew Finns were famous for being inscrutable, but this was excessive.
He’d been so sweet at the library, saying it gave him a cozy feeling, a warmth.
But was that only his way of complimenting the town?
Would he ever be able to talk intimately about his goals, his worries, his fears, the depth of his love?
People expressed their love in different ways. This was the first time Jari had talked openly about his home life, and it sounded pretty lonely.
They strolled down Main Street until they arrived at the bright noise and spangle of the shops along the wharves.
A tent had been set up in the parking lot of the Harborside Stop & Shop, and the enticing aroma of hot chocolate and mulled cider wafted through the air.
Along Swain’s Wharf, Old South Wharf, and Straight Wharf, small shops transformed from fishermen’s shacks glittered with lights, their doors wide open.
It seemed that everyone in the crowd was talking at the same time, and an occasional cry of delight shot up into the air like a firecracker.
The extravagantly decorated shops sold Nantucket sweatshirts and sweatpants, and Aunt Leah’s chocolates in gorgeous gift tins, and Jewel in the Sea displayed windows dazzling with gold jewelry with pendants shaped like the island or whales’ tails or lightship baskets or lighthouses.
Lydia and Jari walked along the boardwalk, past the berth for the Hy-Line fast ferry and out along the longest pier.
Here they gazed up at the few yachts resting in the cold harbor waters, all of them decorated with bright lights.
One of them displayed a larger-than-life Styrofoam dummy dressed like Santa Claus but wearing a white-and-navy-blue captain’s cap.
All the light reflected, shimmering, in the water.
Families and lovers walked along the pier, exclaiming with delight at the yacht that had a great blazing star at the top of its mast. Several children thundered along the wooden boards, giggling and screaming. Their mother ran after them, imploring them not to fall into the harbor.
The night, the crisp air, the joy radiating from the crowd, the aroma of chocolate, the golden tones of the church bells broke her heart open.
There was so much here that she loved. But what about her work?
She’d always worked in hospitality. Nantucket had several posh hotels.
She could probably find a position with one of them.
But could she live here? Could she return to her childhood island, which she’d considered rural and boring, and be happy?
Yes, she thought immediately. If she was with Jari, she would be happy.
Immediately she hated herself for being so traditional, for wanting to be with a man, this particular maddening man, wherever he was. Her mind yelled at her heart. But her heart sang with hope.