Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Nantucket Island
It was five days after the Solstice Party at the White Oak Lodge, and as though the universe wanted to remind her how unglamorous she really was, Janie was now up to her elbows in suds.
The restaurant was closed for the night, and their dishwasher had quit out of nowhere—literally throwing in his towel and forcing Janie and Chloe to take over the scrubbing.
It was good, honest work, and it allowed Janie plenty of time to think about that gorgeous hotel part—and Alexander Whitmore, that handsome man who mystified her.
As she scrubbed and scrubbed some ketchup off a dish, she thought back to the last moment she’d seen Alexander that night.
She’d gone inside to use the bathroom, bubbly with new love, and emerged to find him soft-spoken and peculiar.
His personality was entirely different. Nervous that he’d suddenly decided that he didn’t like her, she’d said she was going to grab a ride back home.
“Don’t do that,” he’d said quietly. “Come to the water with me.”
Janie had walked with him quietly, watching his face. The party was far back behind them by the Lodge, music and laughter, and clink after clink of drinks. She’d felt as though it was just her and Alexander, leaving the rest of the world behind.
Under his breath, Alexander had breathed, “I heard Chloe talking to someone near the Lodge.”
Janie had tilted her head. She’d realized that she hadn’t seen Chloe in a while, her new friend who’d brought her to the party in the first place. She felt a surge of worry. “Is she okay?”
“I don’t know,” he’d admitted. “But my father is angry with her.”
“Angry? Why?” Janie had wavered on the sand.
But after that, he’d made an excuse and fled, telling her that he’d call her as soon as he could. But something had rattled him.
When Janie returned to the party, she’d learned that Chloe had taken a taxi back home and left Janie behind.
Janie had felt vulnerable and exposed. She’d taken a cab but had stayed up all night in bed, her heart throbbing.
I met my husband tonight, she’d thought.
Then she thought, Janie, don’t be ridiculous.
Now, as Janie scrubbed the dishes, Chloe entered the kitchen, wearing that beautiful and sneaky smile of hers.
Since the party, Janie hadn’t felt brave enough to ask Chloe about why Alexander’s father might be mad at her.
If Chloe didn’t bring it up, Janie guessed it wasn’t her business.
Again, they were new friends, and Chloe was much older than Janie.
Janie wanted to be respectful, especially of Chloe’s past.
“What a night, huh?” Chloe began drying the dishes, shaking her head as she complained about the dishwashers quitting out of the blue. It was typical restaurant talk. Janie embraced it and searched Chloe’s face for some sign that something “real” was wrong.
Suddenly, there were voices at the door to the kitchen. Masculine voices. When Chloe’s face drained of color, Janie cut the water and focused up. It was their boss and someone else.
“Just let me talk to her,” another man said. “It’ll only take a minute.”
Chloe looked petrified. Janie had never seen her like that.
And then, a man Janie recognized as Alexander’s father, Benjamin Whitmore, stormed into the kitchen, his face red and blotchy, his eyes urgent.
He stopped short and put his hands on his hips, as though he was stunned speechless.
Chloe took a tentative step toward him. Janie was reminded of magnets, drawn together.
Janie knew that Benjamin Whitmore didn’t see her. More than that, she guessed he wouldn’t know who she was. I was nobody, anyway, she remembered. Alexander hadn’t visited her at work. He didn’t know her number to call, so maybe she’d never see him again.
Benjamin Whitmore slid his fingers through his messy hair and asked, tenderly, “Can we talk?”
Chloe looked like she was shaking. Under her breath, she said, “I have to clock out.”
Chloe knew that, without having to ask her, Janie would take over her tasks for the night. It was what any good friend would do. Janie bowed her head and returned to her dishes, listening as Chloe grabbed her things and left with Alexander’s father.
What the heck? Janie thought.
But the following day and the one after, Chloe didn’t mention Benjamin, and Janie didn’t ask again.
It was blisteringly hot, and they did what they could to survive it by going to the beach, flirting with random tourist guys, eating ice cream, and going to work.
Janie assumed it would be just another summer.
She thought that maybe she wouldn’t even come back to Nantucket next year.
Perhaps she’d work in Florida this winter and go somewhere else after. Like Alaska. Or Washington.
And then, Alexander appeared, and everything really did change.
Janie was at a small bar near her restaurant, reading a novel and drinking diet soda. Alexander stopped halfway up the steps to the bar’s porch and gazed at her, as though, before this moment, he’d decided he’d made her up in his mind and that she didn’t exist.
“Hi,” he said, his voice wavering.
“Hi,” she said. She closed her book.
The air sizzled between them.
After that, it was off to the races.
Nobody in the history of the world had ever fallen in love as quickly.
That night, Alexander and Janie talked till dawn, when Alexander had to hurry off and open the White Oak Lodge for the morning.
Janie grabbed a few hours of sleep before her restaurant shift.
The minute they were off, they met at a mostly empty beach and kissed and shared lite beers.
When Janie looked at Alexander, she saw her entire future, a future she hadn’t initially imagined for herself.
She saw babies. She saw safety. It had been ages since she’d lived correctly somewhere.
Wouldn’t it be nice to pick out paint colors?
Wouldn’t it be nice to sleep in the same bed every night?
She’d thought she’d be a vagabond for a few more years. But what if she didn’t have to?
Alexander didn’t mention how freaked out he’d been the night of the party, and Janie didn’t bring up the Benjamin situation with Chloe or Alexander.
Chloe still hadn’t figured out that Janie was dating Alexander.
She came to work and disappeared after, and didn’t seem keen on hanging out anymore. Janie was too busy anyway.
Was Chloe having an affair with Benjamin?
Something in Janie told her that, if that was true, this wasn’t the first time.
Maybe two weeks after Alexander and Janie got together properly, Alexander had a surprise day off.
“I don’t know. I looked at the calendar, and it said ALEXANDER OFF, and I’m not going to question it,” he said as they drove too fast down an island road, the wind whipping through the open windows and making their hair fly.
“I figured we have to go sailing. When else will we have a full day to ourselves?”
Janie laced her fingers through Alexander’s.
She already knew her family expected far too much from him.
They refused to let him leave the island and pursue the career he wanted.
A part of her wanted to tell him to do it anyway—to flee—because we only have this one life to live.
But she knew Alexander’s loyalty was a difficult thing to overcome.
“I just have to pick something up at the Lodge,” Alexander said, kissing the back of her hand. “You can come in if you want. I know my mom wants to meet you.”
Terror gripped Janie’s heart. But she knew, tied up in what Alexander was saying was a request for her to join the messy ecosystem of the Whitmores. It wasn’t a test. Well, she didn’t think it was, anyway. Her heart pounded.
“I’d love to meet your mother,” she said.
Alexander parked, cut the engine, and hurried around to guide her from the passenger side to the side entrance of the hotel.
It was nearing the end of July, and the grounds swarmed with beautiful and wealthy guests, some in swimsuits, others in ornate outfits that looked overly complex in this heat.
They entered the air-conditioned Lodge and walked past the front desk, where two of Alexander’s sisters were speaking with a guest that Janie recognized from television.
The guest wanted a separate room for his Pomeranian, but Alexander’s sisters couldn’t accommodate him, and there was an edge of chaos to the scene.
They found Francesca Whitmore in the kitchen, talking with the chef about the evening’s menu and the new batch of strawberries, which looked sensational, like candy jewels.
Alexander plucked one from the bowl, washed it, and handed it to Janie.
Francesca followed her eldest son’s movements, and her eyes landed on Janie.
“And who is this?” she asked, ignoring the chef.
“Mom, this is Janie Dresden,” Alexander said. “Janie, this is my mother.”
Francesca’s eyes glinted as she draped a hand between them.
Janie shook it, feeling foolish and less than.
What if this is my future mother-in-law?
she wondered. Vaguely, she remembered that Chloe had said terrible things about Francesca.
But maybe that was only because she was in love with Benjamin.
Ugh. What was she getting herself involved in?
Suddenly, Benjamin strolled into the kitchen, adjusting his cuff links. “Francesca? I need you.” He stopped short in the doorway, that handsome smile playing across his lips.
“You’re just in time,” Francesca said. “We’re meeting Alexander’s new girlfriend. Isn’t she lovely?”
Janie watched Benjamin’s face for clues that he recognized her. Sure enough, his smile flickered, and fear darkened his expression. He knew her from the restaurant kitchen. He knew she knew he’d come to that kitchen for Chloe.
He looked at her like she was a snake bound to bite him.
But Janie was all smiles. Benjamin followed suit, transforming his expression to one of curiosity and joy. He took Janie’s hand and said, “It is a pleasure, my darling. Welcome to Nantucket. Tell me, what brought you here? I know everyone on the island, and you’re brand-new!”
Janie’s laugh was false. Was it possible that he was buttering her up, trying to draw her on his side so that she wouldn’t tell Alexander about Chloe?
“I’m from Florida,” she said. “But I’ve spent the past few years working all over the place. Nantucket felt like the right choice.”
“And? What do you think? Was it fate that you came here?” Benjamin asked, speaking too fast.
“I don’t know if I believe in fate,” Janie said.
“A smart woman,” Benjamin said. He clapped Alexander on the shoulder. “I wish the two of you a beautiful day. We’ll be seeing each other soon, I hope.” After that, he fled the kitchen, as though he’d forgotten why he’d come in there in the first place.
Francesca arched an eyebrow. It was clear she’d noticed something amiss in Benjamin as well, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
Alexander shrugged and said they’d better go.
But hours later on the sailboat, after Alexander had dropped anchor and popped one of his family’s bottles of champagne, Janie sat cross-legged between his legs and considered the monstrosity of secrets.
She didn’t want to enter into a relationship with Alexander, hiding anything.
So, she took a breath, twisted her neck, and said, “You remember when we saw your father earlier? In the kitchen?”
Alexander’s smile dropped. He nodded.
“It wasn’t the first time I’d seen him lately,” she said softly.
She touched Alexander’s shoulder, willing him to remain calm.
“Remember what you said the night of the party? About your father being angry with Chloe? Well, he came to see her.” She swallowed.
“I don’t know much. Chloe hasn’t told me, and I haven’t asked.
But my guess is that Chloe came back to Nantucket specifically to see your father.
She’s been gone for years. I can’t help but wonder, why now? ”
Alexander was quiet for a long time. But rather than pull away from her, he abandoned his empty glass of champagne and wrapped both arms around her, burrowing his face into her right shoulder.
She felt his pain. She felt his anger. But she knew she couldn’t do anything but sit and help him through it.
“Thank you for telling me,” Alexander murmured. “I’m so glad I can trust you.”