by Lise Saffran
Jenny groaned and then couldn’t help laughing helplessly because, of course, Peg was absolutely right.
Peg smiled. “You know that Mary Ann is prepared to step in for Frankie on Thursday night if she wants out. She’s learned the lines for all three of you.”
“No, no. Frankie is determined to be in this play.”
“Okay then.”
Thursday night. In just three days they would be riding the ferry to Orcas with their costumes and props, their sleeping bags and their tents. From Orcas they would be taken by private boat over to Waldron, where the entire population of the island, all one hundred or so people, would come to the show. Afterward they would have a bonfire and spend the night. The following week they would perform on Shaw, in an actual community theater, for several nights, and everyone would be there: the design people, the costume people, and all the musicians. Lopez Vineyard followed and then, finally, the first of a series of big performances on San Juan Island. Frankie couldn’t wait. Theresa had promised to deposit Phoenix at Anacortes for the big opening on San Juan. Jenny and Frankie would pick her up in Friday Harbor that afternoon and then she would stay the night at their cabin.
The trees thinned as they approached the lighthouse. Yellow grass covered the tip of the island, from the last stand of trees to the cliff. At the edge stood a small, white, clapboard building with a red roof and then, perched just beyond, was the short tower of the lighthouse itself. The sun was beginning its approach to the water and the slight breeze from earlier had kicked up into an actual wind.
Jenny chugged from her canteen and offered water to Dale and Peg, who each took a swig before handing it back. She set it on the ground at her feet and slipped into the long-sleeved T-shirt she had tied around her waist. By the time she had slung the strap of her canteen back over her shoulder, the group in front (Lilly, Frankie, Ariel, Miranda, Ferdinand, and a few others) had broken into a run. Trinculo and Chad jogged after them.
“Whales,” exhaled Jenny.
Dale brightened. “I heard J pod was back in the Sound.”
“Well, let’s get a move on then.” Peg lifted her walking stick up onto her shoulder and the three of them picked up their pace.
The last part of the trail sloped downward toward the drop-off and so from hundreds of yards away Jenny, Peg, and Dale could see the others spread out along the cliff facing out to sea. Beyond were the whales themselves, cresting and diving and expelling air in echoing fountains of spray. Peg, Dale, and Jenny joined the others on the edge of the cliff and the group rippled like one organism in response, shifting their bodies to make room. Nobody spoke. There were twenty-five individual orcas in this pod that lived between the Sound and the sea and there were twelve awestruck humans watching them from the shore.
“That’s Ruffles,” said Dale, pointing at a large male swimming on the outside of the pod, on the shore side.
“Shhh,” scolded Frankie.
Dale zipped his lip with the exaggerated wide eyes of a mime.
A midsize whale leaped out of the water and the splash carried for yards.
“Ahhh.”
“Ohhh.”
They were like a crowd watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. The intermittent echo of the blowholes was soothing and seemed to come from every side of them at once. Most of the large animals made no sound at all as they circled each other in the water. Jenny glanced at the people beside her, taking in the row of faces bathed in golden sunlight and wonder, the smooth cheeks and bright eyes of her children and Trinculo’s lock of windblown hair. Frankie seemed fine. She relaxed and turned her attention toward the orcas in the water.
She wondered if the summer visitors knew how something like seeing a family of whales at sunset could draw you in for life. How it could lead you to sell your house in the city and whatever possessions would be cumbersome and take up residence in a hillside cabin warmed by a woodstove, within walking distance to a ridge where you could see the beach.
Suddenly, as if sensing her presence beside him, Trinculo turned his head and let his eyes meet hers. His face was full of joy. She felt it, too. They stared at each other for a long moment before each of them, smiling, turned back to the sea.
On the hike back, when Trinculo saw her walking alone and lingered to fall into step beside her, Jenny made no attempt to get away.
He ran his hand through his hair nervously before speaking, doing the last of the job the wind had started. “Jenny, I … About the whole naked thing. With the girls … I don’t know what to say other than …”
“You don’t need to say anything,” said Jenny.
The orange light of the setting sun and the graceful falling leaps of the whales had reminded Jenny that sometimes intuition could guide you where logic and rationality could not. She didn’t know what the future would bring, but then who could have ever imagined that she would have ended up living the life she led, in a northern world so very unlike the broad, hot streets of Sacramento?
“I really think I do.” A look of embarrassment flitted over his face. “Getting excited around a teenage girl requires some kind of explanation, in my book.”
Jenny smiled. “Two teenage girls, actually.”
Lilly glanced over, but instead of hanging back to join them as Jenny might have expected, she jogged forward to catch up with the others.
Trinculo winced. “Damn, Jenny, I …”
Jenny raised her hand to graze his cheek.
He tilted his head toward her palm and closed his eyes. “I just didn’t want you to think that I … Lilly is a great kid, but …”
Jenny let her hand fall and Trinculo opened his eyes.
“Do you think I’m a bad mother?” she asked.
He reached for her hand again and pulled it in between both of his own. “Are you kidding? I think you’re a fantastic mother.” He tugged her toward him until their faces were just inches apart. The salt on his skin mixed with the salt in the air and his breath had just the faintest hint of cinnamon. “I think you’re fantastic.”
Down at the dock the captain blew his horn to signal he’d arrived. Jenny stood with Trinculo on the path and did not move. She might not be as young and peachy as Lilly and Miranda, but her body was strong and healthy and it fit her well. She was standing on the rocky path of a tree-covered island, under a bright summer sky, and an interesting man was holding her hand.
“Do you think I’m a cad?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “You’re beautiful.”
He touched her lips with the pad of his finger. Ever so slightly, she opened her mouth. His fingers slipped inside and then gently, very gently, spread the wetness to her lips.
The horn blew again and she took a step back and turned toward the harbor. Her heart was pounding and she was almost panting. She took off in a jog toward the boat.
Trinculo ran after. Jenny was a good hiker and was used to the trail. It was all he could do to keep up.
Jenny made sure the girls had their hoodies and canteens and climbed onto the boat. She was aware of Trinculo watching her and she was aware as well of new undercurrents traveling between the players, like the ripples on a pond after a thrown rock has disappeared. There were electrical charges between Chad and Miranda and Dale and Peg and Sally and David and yes, even between Ferdinand and Ariel, as Caliban had predicted. Their time on Stuart Island had altered their little dynamic in a number of subtle and not so subtle ways; Waldron would likely alter it still more.
The boat bobbed on the open water and most of the company huddled inside to stay out of the wind. Jenny lingered out back and watched the wake fade into bubbles behind them. Sporting a sunburn on her shoulders, Lilly made her way to the rail beside her mother.
“I saw you guys talking on the trail,” she said. “You and Trinculo.”
Jenny reached for the rail. It was cold and wet with spray. Her pulse beat in her throat. Had Lilly seen him holding her hand? She remembered the taste of Trinculo’s fingers in her mouth and her
knees almost buckled.
“Were you talking about me?” asked Lilly. She looked up hopefully into her mother’s face.
Jenny shook her head.
Lilly zipped her jacket and glanced quickly toward the cabin where Trinculo and the others were listening to an explanation of the GPS system. “Did he say whether he liked me?”
“Oh, Lil.”
She reached out and pulled her daughter close. She knew she should tell Lilly what had happened between her and Trinculo, but something more than the fear of hurting her oldest daughter held Jenny’s tongue. It was the fear that Lilly’s knowing might somehow prevent what might happen still. And she wanted Trinculo. She was ready to acknowledge this finally to herself, if not to Lilly. She wanted him so badly that it made her ashamed.
Lilly shivered and Jenny rubbed her hands up and down on the girl’s back to warm her. It was her job, she knew, to keep Lilly away from Trinculo and Trinculo away from Lilly, but what, exactly, was her obligation beyond that? Was she supposed to keep him away from herself, as well? She imagined what Sue would say, or Theresa, or any number of other mothers if she asked them: It would be best. The engine kicked into gear and the two women rocked on their feet. The wind whipped around the cabin and howled past their ears.
CHAPTER 10
Waldron: In Three Acts
The Scene: [The dock on Waldron] The boat carrying the company arrives. Late June.
ACT I, Scene I
A small boy in swim trunks runs the length of the pier and cannonballs into the water.
Boy 1: Geronimo!
Boy 2: Watch this. Bombs away! (Splash.)
Captain Jack: Look out kids, we’re coming in.
Peg: Listen up, everyone. As soon as we dock you can fan out and find a place to sleep tonight. The beach will be available after the performance. There’s a pasture on the east side of the house and then the Burtons have offered a pull-out sofa and a guest bed.
Frankie: I call the bed.
Jenny: Your sister will sleep there with you.
Lilly: Mom! You’re even going to micromanage where I sleep?
Jenny: Yes.
Lilly: Typical.
Jenny: You both brought your toothbrushes, right?
Frankie: Sure. But oh, crap. I can’t believe it.
Lilly: What? What did you forget?
Frankie: The plastic garlands. For Miranda’s and Ferdinand’s hair during the wedding scene.
Peg: We’ll just have to use real flowers. We have about an hour and a half before we need to assemble on the beach. Esme will give you some string.
Jenny: Why don’t you look in your bag, Lilly? Could you have them?
Lilly: No. Oh, shoot, I …
Peg: What now?
Jenny: Did you forget something, too?
Ariel: Like your diaphragm?
Lilly: Very funny. And it’s none of your business anyway.
Dale: If it’s your weed, Lil, no need to worry. They have plenty of pot on the island. Or didn’t you know that Marcus has a hydroponic greenhouse?
Lilly: Wow. You’re all so nice and helpful. I’m really looking forward to being trapped on a barely inhabited island with you for the next twenty-four hours.
Captain Jack: Esme! Take the rope?
Esme: Sure!
Ties up boat.
A small boy comes racing down toward the end of the dock.
Boy: Duck and cover!
Lilly: Bryce! You got me wet!
Ariel: Point me to the nearest café and I’ll see you all in an hour.
Sally: Ha. That’s very funny.
Trinculo: No services on Waldron at all, right? No electricity or garbage collection or police?
Jenny: No crime.
Caliban: Now this is the life for me. Far away from the backbiting of New York. No smell of urine on the pavement. No honking horns.
Ariel: No black people.
Ferdinand: What if someone gets hurt? Are there doctors on the island? Is there a clinic?
Dale: Clinically speaking, we’ll be in isolation.
Peg: All right. Here we are. Watch your step everyone. Take a look around, actors. This beach will be your stage.
Miranda: So where do I hide before coming out the first time?
Ariel: Oh, coming out is a bitch that first time, no doubt about it. Right, Ferdinand? But the good news is that once you’re out, you’re out.
Peg: You’ll be behind this rock, Miranda. And Caliban, you’ll hide over there, behind that one. Ariel, over here.
Frankie: (Lifting a piece of driftwood up to Lilly.) What do you think of this as a loaf of bread?
Lilly: I’m not eating it.
Frankie: For the Spirits’ Feast, silly. We can use seaweed for a salad. And some cedar bark for pasta.
Trinculo: The audience sits where?
Dale: They’ll bring blankets and chairs and pillows and sit on the sand.
Peg: With their backs to the water.
Trinculo: With the tide coming in, they might wish they went back-to-the-land.
Esme: Welcome everyone. Who wants to come up to the house? Some neighbors brought snacks over and I can show you the various places to sleep. Remember when choosing a spot that the moon will be full tonight. It will be bright enough to cast shadows out in the open.
Lilly: (To Trinculo.) Do you want me to take you up to the house?
Jenny: Go with your sister, Lilly. Put your stuff by the bed.
Sulking, Lilly heads off with the rest of the company toward the house. Jenny and Trinculo meander slowly on the path through the woods.
Trinculo: Wow. Look at that.
Jenny: What?
Trinculo: That tree over there. It’s been broken in half somehow. Lightning maybe? And there’s a round boulder balancing on top.
Jenny: It’s Raven’s. He has sculptures all through the woods here.
Trinculo: And check this out. A mobile of driftwood and clamshells. How cool. What a place! Waldron Island.
Jenny comes to look over his shoulder. He turns abruptly and kisses her.
Jenny: Don’t.
Trinculo: But we’re all alone, Jenny. In the deep dark woods.
Jenny: I know, but …
Trinculo: You act as if it’s wrong of you to want to be with someone. You’re an adult woman. You’re single.
Jenny: Lilly is in love with you. Or hadn’t you noticed?
Trinculo: Lilly is a kid. You don’t think I’m interested in her, do you?
Jenny: You wouldn’t be the first.
Trinculo: I like women a little older than that. Late thirties. (Raises an eyebrow at her, questioning.) Forty?
Jenny: (Smiling.) Forty-two.
Trinculo: (Leans in to kiss her again.) Forty-two. Exactly. (Steps back.) You don’t trust me.
Jenny: Well, you are an actor.
Trinculo: Hmm. So if I were, say, a carpenter, I’d have a better chance?
Jenny: Stop that. David is just a friend.
Trinculo: Is it Monroe then? Is that the reason? I guess a guy like that might ruin a woman’s trust in men.
Jenny: (Stands still and stares at him.) What do you know about Monroe?
Trinculo: Just what Lilly told me. That he was an asshole.
Jenny: Lilly told you that? What else did she say?
Trinculo: That she went to see him once. In Seattle.
Jenny: She went to see him? She went to see Monroe?
Trinculo: She said he was living in a dingy apartment downtown. And that he asked her for money.
Jenny: She’s confiding in you, and Lilly doesn’t do that often, believe me. This is a big deal, Trinculo. This is serious. (She places her hand on his shoulder.) And you have to put a stop to it right now. Tell her, in no uncertain terms, that you are not interested in her. She won’t believe me. She just thinks I …
Trinculo: You what?
Jenny: (Resumes walking.) Never mind.
Trinculo: You like me?
Jenny smiles.
&nbs
p; Trinculo: (Twirls.) She likes me. She really likes me.
Jenny: Talk to her.
Trinculo: If I do, will you sneak off with me tonight? After the show?
Jenny: (Blushes.) We’ll see.
Trinculo: I’ll do it. I’ll do it tonight.
ACT I, Scene II
The Burtons’ private beach on Waldron. An hour before sunset.
Enter Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo.
Stephano: Tell not me. When the butt is out, we will drink water—not a drop before; therefore bear up and board’em. Servant-monster, drink to me.
Trinculo: Servant-monster? The folly of this island! They say there’s but five upon this isle; we are three of them; if th’ other two be brain’d like us, the state totters.
Stephano: Drink, servant-monster, when I bid thee. Thy eyes are almost set in thy head.
Trinculo: Where should they be set else? He were a brave monster indeed if they were set in his tail.
Laughter from the audience. Peg steps out.
Peg: (To the audience.) I’d move your stuff a foot or two if you don’t want to get wet.
More laughter.
Peg: Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Stephano: My man-monster hath drown’d his tongue in sack. For my part, the seat cannot drown me; I swam, ere I could recover the shore, five and thirty leagues off and on. By this light, thou shalt be my lieutenant, monster, or my standard.
Trinculo: Your lieutenant, if you list, he’s no standard.
Stephano: We’ll not run, Monsieur Monster.
A surge of water hits the beach.
Audience members: Damn!
Get the blanket!
My pillow!
I thought that was part of the play!
Trinculo: Nor go neither; but you’ll lie like dogs, and yet say nothing, neither.
Jenny: (Whispers to Lilly.) Did Trinculo speak to you earlier?
Lilly: About what?
Jenny: He said he wanted to talk to you.
Lilly: Tell me you didn’t ask him to.