Chapter 9
Julie frowned at her reflection in the bathroom mirror as she dusted finishing powder on her cheeks.
She’d forced herself to put makeup on, just as she’d forced herself to get up earlier that day, eat breakfast, and try to get some work done.
She needed to find some sort of normalcy in the world, but it wasn’t working very well. The makeup, she knew, was only a mask.
Her phone chirped excitedly as it rattled against the counter. She grabbed it just before it sent itself pitching over the edge. Molly’s name danced across the screen, requesting a video chat, and she eagerly swiped it. “Hey, honey.”
“Hey, Mom.” Molly was sitting in her dorm, her neatly made bed just behind her. She looked bright and happy as she grinned at her mother, but her face fell as she looked at her screen. “What’s wrong? You look sad.”
Julie had never been able to hide her feelings from her daughter.
Anytime she was going through her own private anguish, over work or challenges with Molly’s father, she’d done her best not to make Molly feel like she was responsible for those feelings.
But Molly had always been perceptive, even as a child.
She was never content to just let Julie brush it off, either. Not then, and not now.
She was sad about Will, though. How could she tell her?
Actually, Julie knew she couldn’t tell her at all.
The Brighams and those like them had hidden their identities away for their whole lives, passing the need for that secrecy down generation after generation.
It’d worked, too, and Julie couldn’t betray them.
Fortunately, depending on how she looked at it, Julie was sad for another reason. “Well, I’m getting ready to take Stacey’s kids to a Christmas tree lighting. Stacey and Dylan had been invited to an adults-only party by one of their friends, so I offered to go do something fun with the kids.”
“That sounds great, Mom. That’s just the thing you always would’ve enjoyed when I was a kid, so why would it make you sad?” Molly leaned forward expectantly, studying her mother through the phone.
Julie had to laugh a little. “Should you be studying psychology instead of architecture?”
“There’s a rather interesting link between the two fields, actually, but that’s not the point,” Molly replied.
“I know,” Julie sighed. “The thing is, I’m really excited to take Vivian and Elijah to this event.
It promises all those warm holiday feelings but also reminds me of how things were when you were younger.
Seeing you grow up and start your own life is quite an adjustment.
I’m so proud of you, and I love seeing all the things you’re achieving.
It’s just sort of a grieving process for me. ”
Molly frowned. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“No, don’t be sorry,” Julie said quickly. “It’s just a part of growing up, for both of us. I’m a little sad, but it also makes me really happy to know we have the kind of relationship that makes me miss you.”
“I miss you, too, Mom. I get it from my own perspective, at least. I’m having a lot of fun and learning so many new things.
I’m getting to go places I never dreamed I’d visit, and it’s like everywhere I look, I’ve got new doors opening for me.
But there are also nights when I wake up in a new room and I think, ‘Man, I wish I could just go back home to my own bed.’”
Julie smiled at her beautiful daughter. “It’ll always be there for you whenever you need a place to land.”
“Thanks. I’ll try to find some time to come home when I can.” Molly turned away from the screen as a muffled voice sounded elsewhere in the room. “I’ve gotta go, Mom. I’ll call you again closer to Christmas. I love you.”
“Love you, too.” They hung up. Julie touched up her makeup just below her eye, where a tear had just barely spilled over. It was time to go. She could only support Molly from afar, but she had two kids right there in the house waiting for her.
“Wow,” she said a short time later as she drove slowly through the thick traffic in the SUV she’d borrowed from Stacey and Dylan for the occasion. “I guess this must be a popular event. Have you come to this before?”
“No. I think Mom said this is the first time they’ve ever done it here.” Vivian stretched and strained in her seat. “I think there’s a spot right there!”
Julie gritted her teeth. Vivian was right.
The parking lot itself was full, but cars were pulling over into the fields on either side of the road.
This vehicle was a lot bigger than her compact car, and she sure as hell didn’t want to come back with a big dent in the side of it.
Julie swung to the right and just barely wedged the car between two others.
“Be really careful when you open your doors,” she cautioned.
“Did you know Christmas trees used to be illegal in Massachusetts?” Elijah asked as they followed the crowd making their way toward the Highland Lighthouse.
“I didn’t, actually,” Julie replied. She knew Elijah was smart for his age, and Stacey had warned her that he’d been absorbing and spouting all sorts of facts now that he’d found easy access to documentaries, but he’d truly surprised her.
“Yeah, the Puritans said they were unholy, and anyone who put up decorations would get in trouble,” Elijah added.
“I’m glad we don’t have to deal with that. Everyone here would be in trouble, including me.” In fact, there was some sort of greenery or bows on just about anything it could be attached to. Fences and mailboxes were all fair game. Even the grilles of a few cars had wreaths or red Rudolph noses.
He skipped along happily, looking pleased that someone was listening to him. “Do you know how long Christmas trees have been around?”
“Not really. I know I’ve heard about them coming over from Germany. Maybe a few hundred years ago?” Julie guessed.
“Even longer ago than that!” Elijah enthused. “They even had them in ancient Egypt and Rome! They didn’t look the same, though. Oh, and there’s a tree over in P-town that’s entirely made of lobster pots! It’s not really a tree, I guess, but they put bows and lights on it.”
“Then I imagine the Puritans wouldn’t have liked that, either,” Julie mused.
“Shut up, Elijah.” Vivian, who’d been floating along on Julie’s other side, always on her tiptoes, paused her delicate ballerina moves to snarl at her brother. “This should be exciting and romantic. No one wants to hear about lobster pots.”
Julie tucked her mouth behind her scarf to hide her smile.
She’d only ever had Molly, so sibling rivalry hadn’t been an issue in their household.
It likely got annoying as hell after listening to it for a while, but her short exposure made it amusing.
“I’m sure we can all find our own ways to enjoy tonight. Oh, look!”
As they rounded the lighthouse, it was easy to see where the main festivities were taking place.
Near an observation platform that looked out over the beach, a tree towered over the crowd.
A brass ensemble played carols, and a booth to the side was handing out big cups of hot cocoa.
Julie immediately brought the kids over to get in line.
As they waited, she eyed a few other booths set up nearby.
There was one from the historical society, with information about the lighthouse and various other events and notables in the area’s past. A charitable group was running a food drive.
Julie hadn’t brought any canned goods, but she could always give them a bit of cash.
Music, hot drinks, history, and charity.
Julie felt the Christmas spirit rising in her for the first time in a while.
With cocoa in hand, they gathered with the rest of the crowd as a man stepped up to a microphone.
The audio was a bit fuzzy at first, but someone fixed it shortly after he began speaking.
“Thank you all for joining us. Once we realized what a good spot we had for a tree, overlooking the water just as our lighthouse has for the last few hundred years, we knew this was an opportunity we couldn’t miss. ”
Elijah tugged at Julie’s hand. “It’s not the original lighthouse.”
“Oh?”
“The first one was wooden, and George Washington was the one who ordered it,” the boy said proudly. “Then they knocked it down and built another one, but then they knocked that one down and built this one.”
“Very interesting. I didn’t know any of that,” Julie admitted.
“Julie!” Vivian was excitedly tugging on her coat. “They’re about to light it!”
The man at the mic beamed at the crowd. “And now, without further ado, the Highland Lighthouse Christmas tree!”
The audience oohed appropriately as the tree was plugged in and hundreds of tiny white lights flashed to life.
Half of them went out immediately, triggering a collective sigh of disappointment and a few laughs.
A few seconds ticked by, and then the tree reilluminated once again.
The crowd laughed and cheered all over again as the brass ensemble once again struck up a tune.
Right on cue, in a way that couldn’t have been better planned, fat flakes of snow began drifting down from the sky.
The kids each celebrated in their own way.
Elijah tried to catch the snow in his hot cocoa.
Vivian arced her arms above her head, leaping and dancing as the shimmery little crystals caught in her hair.
Julie was also celebrating, simply by watching and being a part of it.
“That was fun!” Elijah said breathlessly when they piled back into the car a while later.
Vivian nodded enthusiastically as she buckled in. “Mom and Dylan are going to be bummed they missed it.
“They’re probably having fun at their party,” Elijah pointed out, taking his turn as the know-it-all.
His sister shot him a look but shrugged her shoulders. “Well, whatever. I guess all that really matters is that everyone is having a good time. What about you, Julie? Did you like it?”
“I loved it,” she replied honestly. “Thanks for taking me.”
“You took us!” Elijah protested.
Julie laughed as she waved the vehicle next to them to go ahead.
If they left first, then that was one less car she could hit as she backed this behemoth out of its spot.
“I drove, yes, but I wouldn’t have gone at all if it hadn’t been for you guys.
” That line was one she’d always told Molly when she was little, knowing that her daughter was her true motivation for many things she did.
“There’s a lot of other fun things to do here,” Vivian volunteered. “We don’t even have to go anywhere for them.”
“Like what?” Julie was a bit distracted as she waited to pull out onto the road, but she liked chatting with Stacey’s kids and wanted to keep it going.
“We get to go out and play on the beach whenever we want,” Elijah supplied. “We can even build sandcastles in the winter.”
“And Dylan’s family is always throwing parties,” Vivian added. “They do big bonfires out on the beach all the time, especially when it’s warm. Everyone is really nice, too. Even when they hardly knew us at all, they treated us like family.”
“I’m sure it can be hard to adjust to a new home and a new family, but I’m glad it’s going well for you.” Julie finally pulled out onto the road and joined the long line of cars heading away from the lighthouse.
She could hear Elijah fidgeting with his seatbelt. “It’s not even scary that they turn into animals.”
Julie’s hands tightened around the steering wheel. Of course, the children had to know. How could they not, if they were living right there amongst the Brighams? It was strange to hear it from them, though. “Good,” she managed, not knowing what else to say.
“Ruby’s actually a lot of fun to play with,” Vivian said. “She likes to be in her animal form and always wants us to chase her.”
Hm. The kids were telling her how nice, fun, and not-scary the Brighams were.
Had Stacey put them up to this? Surely not.
She wasn’t the kind to use her kids like that, even if there was a legitimate message she was trying to share.
Sometimes, she knew, it was easiest to just be direct when it came to kids.
“I’m surprised you’re telling me all this, especially since I know you’re not supposed to talk about…
what the Brighams are.” It was hard to let the word shifter roll off her tongue as though it were a part of her typical vocabulary.
“We saw how scared you were at the party,” Vivian said quietly. “We were scared, too, when we first saw some of them on the beach. We just felt bad that we hadn’t been able to tell you about it before so you wouldn’t have to be afraid.”
Julie’s heart felt like it’d been dunked in one of those big cups of hot cocoa. Dear, sweet children! “It’s okay. I understand. I know how important it is to keep quiet about it.”
“But there’s really nothing to be scared of at all,” Elijah reminded her. “And now we can talk to you about it since you already know.”
Not that she would’ve known if it hadn’t been for a pure accident.
More than once, Julie had wondered if Stacey or Will ever would’ve told her if it hadn’t been for Ruby’s enthusiasm at that party.
It’d bothered her at first, but she was quickly coming to understand that this wasn’t about her at all.
It was about keeping their friends and family safe, and that had to be the priority.
“That’s true. I guess it’s become our secret now, too. ”
Vivian’s head bobbed in the rearview mirror. “That’s exactly what Mom said when we found out.”
“It’s kind of a nice secret,” Elijah theorized.
Julie started to ask him what he meant by that, but she didn’t need to.
‘Secrets don’t make friends’ was a phrase that was often uttered on the playground as she grew up, and she had a feeling that hadn’t changed much.
It was just a nosey person’s way of butting in, mostly, but it made a secret seem like a shameful thing.
Vivian and Elijah knew, with the honesty of their youth, that the Brighams weren’t bad people.
As she navigated back to Dylan and Stacey’s house, Julie reminded herself that she also knew that.
She was hurt. She was shocked. She didn’t quite know how to process this kind of information.
Julie still felt like a fool for hooking up with Will when she didn’t know about this side of him, but at least she was beginning to come to terms with the fact that not all people were humans.