“What’s your problem?” Eli asked, putting a red chip in the slot. “You don’t have to be such a jerk. And I won,” he added.
Jax stood up from the couch, knocking over the game. “My problems have nothing to do with you. NOTHING.” He stormed up the ladder and into the loft, where he could be alone. He was mad. Angrier than he could have imagined a few days ago, when he and his brothers and the Galindo girls had been having a picnic on the beach, bodysurfing and digging giant holes, laughing until his eyes streamed tears over Alex’s never-ending puns. He gulped and burrowed his head in his pillow until only his ears showed. He grabbed another pillow and pulled it on top of his head. He didn’t want to hear or see anything anymore.
Jax had almost fallen asleep when Papa came up and sat on the bed. He gently put a hand on Jax’s back.
“You under there somewhere?” he asked.
Jax shrugged, making the pillows move.
“Want to talk about it?” Papa said.
Jax shrugged again. He didn’t, not really. He wasn’t sure how to talk about it…how mad and embarrassed he was, how mad he was at Papa and Dad, because they couldn’t possibly understand. Finally he spoke.
“Why aren’t there any black people on Rock Island?” he asked. As soon as the words were out he wished he had just shut up. He didn’t really want to talk about this. He spoke again, quickly. “Never mind. Forget it.”
Papa carefully moved the pillows until he could see Jax’s face. Jax tried to look away, but Papa put a hand on his head.
“That’s a good question, and a fair one. I mean, there are some folks of color here, but you’re right, it’s pretty homogenous. You know what that word means, right? It means everyone’s alike.”
Jax nodded. He wished he’d never said anything. It’s not like their family didn’t get singled out or noticed. Jax was used to people asking why he had two dads, or why he didn’t look like them. But he wasn’t used to being looked at like a criminal. And he hated it.
“I guess the real answer is ‘I don’t know,’ ” Papa said, and his voice was quiet. “I want to know, but I don’t, and I really hate not being able to answer your question. I know a lot about what it’s like to be me—to be a white man, to be Jewish, to be gay, to be a dad. But even if I try, I can’t really know what it’s like to walk in other people’s shoes. Not yours. Not black families who choose not to vacation here, not that jerk businessman Sheldon’s. I’m afraid I’m not much help.” He sighed, a big, deep sigh.
Jax felt even worse. He hadn’t meant to make Papa feel bad, even if he was kind of mad at him.
But Papa gave his shoulder a squeeze. “One of the reasons we chose Shipton for our home is because there are all kinds of folks there. Dad and I wanted to feel at home, but we also wanted our growing family to feel at home too, and never feel like ‘the only ones,’ whatever ‘one’ that might be. But Rock Island…well, we never chose it, really. I came here when I was really little, and we just kept returning. It’s a pretty special place, and it has a lot of family history. But you’re right. It might not be a place that’s as welcoming as we’d want.”
“I still like it here,” Jax said. “I don’t want to stop coming. I just…wondered. I mean, part of me feels like I belong here, because we’ve been coming forever. But I don’t know.” Jax’s face started to burn at the memory of the look Sheldon had given him. “Now I kind of feel like I don’t belong.”
Papa nodded and held him tight. “Figuring out where you fit in the world is hard for anyone, and maybe harder for you than most. But you belong anywhere you want to be, Jackson David Fletcher. You belong on Rock Island, where your great-grandparents came on vacation a hundred years ago, and you belong in the Minority Student Alliance at Shipton High School, when you get there, and you belong at that crazy-loud church that Elon and Lucy brought us to in New York, and you belong in Mimi and Boppa’s synagogue, though I admit it’s incredibly hard not to fall asleep during Rabbi Belstein’s sermons. That man…well, that’s beside the point. He means well. And the Sukkoth was really cool, at least.”
Jax laughed a little, remembering Mimi poking Papa in the back when he had dozed off during services last year. He felt a little better.
“I’m not going to pretend it’s easy. Heck, being a human being isn’t easy. And you’re a young black man, Jax, which means some moronic and bigoted people will make assumptions about you before they know you. As you grow up you will face more people who judge you, and I’d be lying if I said skin color doesn’t matter. But you have every reason to be proud of who you are and what you look like. And you definitely belong on Rock Island, a place you love and that’s in your memories as far back as you can remember. You belong here way more than that slime weasel ever could.”
Jax snuggled into Papa. He felt a little better, hearing Papa say those things. Not all the way better, not better enough to totally forget how it had felt standing there, but better.
Papa squeezed him hard, one last time, then let him go. “When you get a chance, talk to Elon about this. He’s traveled all over, and he probably has some thoughts about being a black man in the world.”
Jax nodded, unfolding himself from the bed. “Can I ask you one more thing?” he said, heading toward the ladder. “What’s Frog talking about? The lighthouse being gone next year? Is he just being his usual weird self?”
Papa looked down at his lap. “I don’t know, buddy, to tell you the truth. Frog’s story is a little odd, but he doesn’t tend to lie.”
Jax stared at his father. “Are you nuts? He told people we had a baby brother named Connecticut!”
Papa smiled, but it looked forced. “Well, true. But that’s different. He makes stuff up, but he doesn’t lie.” He sighed, a big, sad sigh.
Jax felt cold. “What? What’s going on?” he asked.
When Papa spoke, his voice was quiet. “Today’s paper had a story about the lighthouse. It seems the foundation, and even the soil beneath it, is very vulnerable. The surveyors aren’t sure it can be saved without spending a ton of money. And Kark is getting ready to close the sale, and he was just quoted as saying that he ‘would make the best of a difficult situation and leave it to the experts.’ ”
“What? Says who?” Jax said. His heart sank, and for a second, he felt like he was going to be sick.
“Says the construction and surveying firm that did the inspection. They’re a big Boston-based company, and they do a lot of this kind of work. So the town pretty much has to accept their findings.” Papa sighed, then stood up.
“Let’s go, my son,” he said, resting a hand on Jax’s head and brushing his fingers through Jax’s hair, which was starting to get thick again. “This day is turning into a tough one. Lucy and Elon are coming in tonight on the late ferry, but I think we should head into town early, meet Sam after his rehearsal, and have dinner at the Sisterhood. We deserve it.”
Jax paused on the ladder. Part of him didn’t want to go back into town, back to where people would be watching him, maybe thinking things about him. But he didn’t want to stay here either, staring out the window through the rain at the lighthouse. He was glad Lucy and Elon were coming. Lucy always made them feel better, with her cupcakes and giant hugs. And Elon…he was just cool. Jax couldn’t help being a little bit excited. Between the cupcakes and the magic tricks, things had to get better.
Clambering down the ladder, Jax saw that Frog, Eli, and Dad were laughing at the kitchen table. Dad looked up.
“Oh good! You guys have to see this! It’s hilarious.” He moved over to make room for Papa and Jax.
Jax slipped in next to Eli, who scooted over and patted his back as he peered over Dad’s shoulder. Jax gave him a smile. “Sorry I was such a jerk,” he mumbled.
Eli waved him off. “It’s okay. Sometimes I’m a jerk too. Today was just your turn.” He pointed to Dad’s laptop. “Check this out. Val sent it yesterday, but Dad just opened his email. And no, she didn’t say anything about them leaving the island
. It’s weird. But anyway, you have to see this.”
Dad pressed Play, and they all watched a video of Frog and Sam and Lili in the cove. Val had edited it and added a funny, bouncy song about surfing, and the whole thing looked totally professional. Jax couldn’t help grinning, then laughing out loud as Val zoomed in on Sam’s freaked-out face as a bee buzzed near him. It ended with a wide shot of the cove, the rocks, and the beach around them, looking exactly like a video postcard of Rock Island. The whole thing was just a few minutes long, but it felt like they were watching a real movie.
“Val really is talented. We have to show this to Captain Jim. And frankly, Thalia Levee would love this too,” Papa said. “I’ll send them the link.” He clicked around on the keyboard, leaning over Dad’s shoulder, then straightened up.
“Now! Hopefully that helped put a few smiles on some Fletcher faces. Let’s take that good mood and head to town for ice cream, Sisterhood, and Lucy!”
“LUCY! I forgot!” Frog bounced so hard on Dad’s lap that he fell off. Picking himself up without comment, he kept bouncing. “Will she stay with us? Can I stay in a tent with her?”
Papa went to get his big yellow rain slicker, which made him look, Jax thought, like Big Bird. “Lucy’s staying at the Inn until we take off next week,” he said. “She and Elon want a little more privacy than an air mattress in our living room. He’s psyched to finally see the island, after hearing about it for so long.” Papa laughed a little and gave Jax a wink. “Elon on Rock Island…this is going to be good.”
—
As they slowly wound along the rain-covered road toward town, Jax’s mind was racing. He stared out the window at the wind-churned dune grass and, in the distance, the ocean’s whitecaps. They had almost reached town when a huge white SUV careened around a curve, taking it way too fast, and nearly ran into them.
Papa swore and swerved to the side, narrowly missing the wooden fence and lurching hard into a low ditch.
“What kind of a—” Papa ranted, swearing loudly and repeatedly while peering over his shoulder.
The white car, already just a blur in the distance, soon disappeared.
“What kind of a fool driver is that? He’s bound to kill himself! Are you boys all okay? You, Froggie?” Dad asked, turning around to make sure they were fine.
Jax nodded, but his heart was beating crazy-fast, like it did when he fell off his bike. It was scarier after it happened.
“That was Kark’s car,” Eli said quietly. “Big surprise.”
Papa snorted. “That man. He needs to get OFF this island.”
Jax couldn’t have agreed more. He thought about Elon, and about how he always said the secret to his trick was deflection—getting people to look at his left hand while his right hand was reaching into their pocket, or behind their ear.
“Dad, Papa,” he said, leaning forward in the car as Papa maneuvered the van back onto the road, cursing under his breath. “I have to ask you something. I know you don’t want us spying anymore—”
Dad started to break in, but Jax spoke over him. “—and I won’t. But I’m begging you! Can’t you guys look into this dude? Something is seriously sketchy about him! And if he’s somehow messing with our lighthouse…” He trailed off.
Dad looked at Papa. “We can do some basic asking around, I suppose,” he said slowly. “What exactly do you think he’s doing, Jax?”
Frog spoke up. “I heard him! He wants to sell containers for millions of dollars! And he said it’s in the bag!”
Dad and Papa exchanged bemused looks. “We’ll take a look,” Papa said finally. “But remember, boys, this is likely not going to yield much. He’s a fool and a terrible driver—”
“—and he wears awful shorts. Just…there’s no excuse for those shorts,” Dad interrupted.
“—but that’s not criminal behavior. Chances are we aren’t going to find much of interest,” Papa finished. “And assuming we don’t, you need to let this go.” His voice softened.
“Look. I know this is hard. It’s hard for us too. I’ve been watching that lighthouse from my bedroom window for as long as I can remember. It’s been a constant part of our lives.” He sighed. “But things do change, whether we want them to or not. And some changes are good, while others might break our hearts a bit. But either way, remember the wise words of the wonderful Theodor Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss.”
“I know him!” Frog interrupted.
“He said, ‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened,’ ” Papa went on. “And that might be a pretty good way to think about our time with the Rock Island lighthouse.”
The car fell silent as Papa drove on along the twisty turns of the shore road, windshield wipers pushing against the driving rain.
At least the sun had come out, Eli thought. If he’d had to stay cooped up in the house for one more day with his whole grouchy family he would have lost his mind. Lucy and Elon had helped, of course, coming over and playing games and, in Elon’s case, doing some excellent magic tricks. But the Nugget was a small house. And when six Fletchers, Lucy, Elon, Sir Puggleton, Zeus, and Lili were all inside, it felt like an explosion waiting to happen. It didn’t help that every time Elon laughed his big, deep laugh, Sir Puggleton would start barking wildly. Eli was ready for a break.
Finally the sun came out, and after a perfect day of waves at the big beach, he and Jax had brought Lucy and Elon to the cove for an afternoon paddle. Jax and Elon had started paddling toward the far rocks while Eli and Lucy pulled farther ahead, the late-afternoon light turning the water into a glorious, glittering web.
“I am impressed!” Lucy said, shaking her head in pretend disbelief. “Your papa said you had nailed this, but I admit, I was prepared to take extraordinary measures and tow us both in to shore. Instead, you’re schooling me! Whoa!” In her excitement, Lucy swung her arms up and the boat lurched to the side.
“Careful!” Eli called, laughing at the expression on her face. “Yeah. Once I fell out of the boat, it really made a difference.”
They paddled in companionable silence for a while, enjoying the sun and the water. Then Lucy spoke up.
“So what’s been going on this summer? I mean, other than the terrible lighthouse stuff. Someone’s finally back in the big captain’s house, huh?”
Eli nodded. “Yeah. The Galindos. But we don’t know where they are! They’ve been gone for a few days, and we don’t have their phone number or anything. It’s weird. Anyway, they’re pretty awesome, though at first we thought…well, we thought Val, the older one, was a total pain. She had a friend visiting…this totally annoying girl. And the two of them were all ‘Sam’s so cute! Boys!’ until I thought Sam would punch them. But once Janie left, Val actually turned out to be pretty cool. She wants to make movies—well, she’s the one who made the video of Lili swimming!”
“I loved that! She’s pretty talented,” Lucy interrupted.
“Yeah. So anyway, the other Galindo kid—that would be Alex—is cool. A lot like Jax, always messing around with snakes and crabs and stuff, or wanting to play sports. But here’s the thing: she has really short hair, and always wears huge old T-shirts and stuff. She even wears board shorts and swim shirts at the beach. And her name is Alex! Well, actually, it’s Alexandra, but we never knew that. So…”
“So…what? You thought she was a boy? No! Was that totally embarrassing?” Lucy asked, forgetting to paddle.
“Kind of. We were at a fancy brunch and she came in wearing a dress. Jax nearly died.” Eli laughed at the memory.
“Anyway, they’ve been really fun. Especially since Sam’s been…well, he’s busy, you know. With the play and all.” Eli fell silent. He didn’t want to say that this summer, while pretty good, didn’t feel like any of their old summers. The lack of the lighthouse, the Galindo girls, Sam always rushing off to rehearsal…it wasn’t like it used to be.
As though reading his mind, Lucy spoke. “You know, you guys are so lucky to be a gang of four. There�
�s always someone around to play with. I mean, when I was little and Jason went away to camp, that was it. I was bored senseless until he got home.” She was silent a minute. “But even so, the older you boys get, the more you’re going to each develop your own things. Your own interests, your own activities, your own friends. But that doesn’t mean you won’t have each other.”
Eli nodded quickly. “I know,” he said. “I know that.”
Lucy smiled. “I know you know. You’re a pretty smart dude. But what you might not know is that I think—my hypothesis, if you will—is that you guys will always have each other as touchstones, and places like this will bring you together, even if some of the details change over time.” She looked over her shoulder at Eli, who had slowed. “Does that make sense? WHOA!” she cried as she wobbled again.
Eli laughed a little, then sighed. “Yeah. I just…want things to stay the same, I guess.” He sighed again. “I was so sure we could save the lighthouse. I had it all worked out that we could do a bunch of fund-raisers and get the whole town involved and make a ton of money. But…I don’t know. We all got kind of fed up. Or discouraged. Or…just distracted, I guess.”
Lucy looked back at him. “You know you can’t blame yourself for this, right?” she asked. “I’m not saying it wasn’t a good idea. But putting the pressure on yourself and your brothers to raise a half a million dollars…that’s not fair.”
Eli nodded. “I know.” He did know, but it felt good to hear Lucy say it. A tiny worried part of him loosened, just a little bit.
He looked up toward the horizon, where the sun was getting low. “We should turn back. I wonder how far Elon and Jax went,” he said, expertly paddling the kayak in a wide circle.
Lucy followed. “Probably nothing too ambitious. Elon wasn’t too sure about this whole kayak thing….He’s never been in one. Still, the man can balance on the edge of a wall, pull champagne bottles out of thin air, and disappear from a room. I’m pretty sure he can handle a kayak.”
The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island Page 14