Chapter 7
“Have you talked to Claire about us yet? Does she know how serious we are?” Warren gently brushed a stray hair off Marsha’s forehead.
They were lounging on his plush leather sofa, sipping wine and watching TV.
Marsha had dropped Claire and Lily off at the house after dinner and popped over to Warren’s for a quick visit.
It was an adjustment to go from seeing each other almost every day and all weekend to a few hours here and there.
“I mentioned that we were dating. Claire approved. She likes you.”
Warren met her gaze and sipped his wine slowly, then set the glass down on the coffee table and put his arm around Marsha’s shoulders.
She instinctively leaned into him. “I didn’t tell her that we were about to move in together. I didn’t want her to feel like she’s a burden. She’s going through a lot right now. I’m disappointed in Ellis. I liked him.”
Warren looked disappointed too. Marsha knew he understood, but it was frustrating for both of them.
They’d been excited to move in together.
Warren had a lovely home with a water view, and she enjoyed spending time there, but they were both ready to stop the back and forth.
Marsha’s house was bigger with a better view, and it made sense for him to go there.
He didn’t plan to sell his house. He’d keep it for when his children and their families came to visit, and he could easily rent it out during the summer months.
They’d been good friends for years, and now she enjoyed Warren’s company more than any of her friends, even Carol.
She’d never thought of him as more than a friend until a little over a year ago, when something shifted between them.
They’d started going to dinner more often, and she found herself wearing a bit more makeup and taking more care with her outfits.
She looked forward to those evenings out and found herself startled one night when Warren’s hand brushed against hers, and she felt a tingle she hadn’t felt in years and never expected to feel with Warren.
She sensed something different on his side too, and at the end of their next night out, he pulled her in for a hug, as usual, and then surprised her with a quick good-night kiss.
Everything changed after that, and it was understood that they were together.
But as serious as things were now, Marsha thought it would be best to postpone Warren moving in.
“Maybe once everyone is settled, when Lily is doing well in school and Claire is on her feet again, then we’ll see. The house is big enough for all of us, even when the baby comes.”
“I agree there’s no need to rush moving in. But maybe I could come around more often, possibly stay the night every now and then?”
Marsha smiled as she leaned over and kissed him.
“All in good time. I want you around more too. I think Claire would be fine with it. I just want Lily to get settled in her new school. It’s a huge adjustment for her.
For both of them, actually. Claire never expected to be pregnant again or to be a single mother. ”
“I’m sure. But she’s lucky to have you around.” He grinned. “Did I ever tell you that I’m good with kids too? It’s great to be a grandfather. You get all the fun part of being a parent—playing with the kids, spoiling them—and then hand them back to their parents and go home.”
Marsha laughed. “That’s true. It will be nice to have a little one in the house again. And I bet Lily will enjoy having a younger brother or sister too.”
“Another nice thing about being our age—we don’t have to worry about accidentally getting pregnant, and we still get to have all the fun.” He winked, and Marsha laughed. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was still early.
“Well, I don’t have to be back home for a few more hours…”
Lily had a relaxing day on Sunday. They visited her great-grandmother at her retirement home. Lily always enjoyed Grammy. She was tiny and feisty, and she was keen to hear all the tea on Lily’s father and his new girlfriend. She also told Lily not to be nervous about starting at a new school.
“It’s like a blank slate. Just be yourself, and you’ll gravitate to new friends and settle right in.
I changed schools at your age, you know.
We moved here from Boston, and I was furious.
I hated the idea of going from the city to a tiny remote island.
I didn’t know any better, and I’d never been here before.
” She paused for a moment to take a bite of her cherry-topped cheesecake and a sip of her chamomile tea.
“I didn’t love it right away. It was a huge change from city living, as you can imagine.
But once I got over myself and out of my own way, I made some friends and settled in.
And then I met my Harvey.” Her eyes lit up at the memory of her husband.
Lily thought of the conversation as her mother drove up to the high school Monday morning and pulled her in for a goodbye hug. “Have a great first day, honey. I’ll pick you up later this afternoon.”
Lily hugged her mother tight, then stepped out of the car and walked into the school. She went to the guidance office, where the counselor welcomed her and introduced herself as Susan Beasley. She handed Lily a sheet of paper.
“There’s your schedule of classes. Your mother had your transcripts sent over and let us know a bit about your history. She said you enjoy English and music.”
Lily nodded.
“We are known for our performing arts department. That includes two choral groups, the Accidentals and the Naturals, and every year, we do a musical. And of course there’s a focus on instruments if that’s of interest too. Do you play anything?”
“Just the piano, but mostly I like to sing a little in chorus.”
Susan Beasley beamed. “Excellent. Your last class today is music, so you can get a feel for the program and go from there. Your first is math, followed by English. If you need help with anything, you can find me here.” She handed Lily a stack of textbooks, showed her to her assigned locker, and pointed her in the direction of the math class.
Lily grabbed the books she’d need for the morning, then set off down the hall.
She found the room and sat in an empty seat in the back corner where she could observe from a distance.
Lily noticed a few curious glances as she walked to the back of the room.
There were about fifteen students in the class.
She knew from her online research that Nantucket High School was similar in size to Eleanor Roosevelt High School, which she’d attended in Manhattan, with over five hundred students.
As the class was about to start, a girl flew through the door, looked around the room, spotted the empty seat in front of Lily, and flopped into it.
She was very pretty, with sun-kissed blond hair that fell to her shoulders in a mix of tousled curls and ringlets.
Lily also noticed that her cute button nose was suspiciously red, and her blue eyes looked damp and also red rimmed.
Her cheeks were rosy, but Lily didn’t think it was all blush.
The girl turned Lily’s way to pass her a handout that the teacher was sending around the room and introduced herself.
“You must be new here? I’m Kenzie.” She smiled and sniffled a bit.
“Lily.” She instinctively reached in her bag, pulled out two tissues, and handed them to her. “I have allergies too,” she said so that it wouldn’t be awkward.
Kenzie took the tissues gratefully and gave Lily a long look. “Thank you. It’s not allergies though. I just had my heart broken. Stomped on totally.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. I’m mad that I’m actually crying over this. It’s so silly. I mean, we only dated a month.” She looked thoughtful. “Do you know anyone here yet?”
“Not a soul,” Lily admitted.
Kenzie grinned. “Well, you know me now.”
Class got underway, and they didn’t have a chance to talk again until the bell rang.
Kenzie turned to her again, and all traces of tears were gone. “Look for me at lunch. I usually sit at the center table.”
Lily nodded, grateful for the invite. She stood and gathered her things. Kenzie was already on her way out the door.
Lily’s next two classes were uneventful, and then it was time for lunch.
She had dreaded navigating the lunchroom, but now that she’d met Kenzie, she felt the tiniest bit less nervous and scanned the room for the familiar face.
Kenzie was just sitting down at the center table and waved her over.
There was another girl sitting next to her and three very hot guys sitting across from them.
Kenzie patted the seat next to her, and Lily sank into it.
She introduced the other girl, who was named Sarah.
She had short dark hair and resembled the boy sitting across from her, Jeremy, who turned out to be her brother.
The other two guys were Luke and Conner.
“They’re all on the football team. Did you know that Nantucket has one of the state’s top football teams?” Kenzie said proudly.
“And Kenzie is one of our best cheerleaders,” Luke said.
It was immediately apparent that he had a crush on Kenzie.
Lily wondered who it was that had broken her heart.
It clearly wasn’t anyone at the table. Lily was sorry that she’d have to wait until next year to see them play.
Luke and Conner both had sandy blond hair.
Luke’s was slightly curly like Kenzie’s.
They could almost pass as brother and sister.
Jeremy had the same dark hair as Sarah, and they both had green eyes.
“They’re twins,” Kenzie explained.