A Nantucket Affair

by Pamela M. Kelley

  She was worried about him recently, though. He and Andrew unexpectedly lost their mother over the holidays, and Tyler had taken it hard. They’d both been very close to her. Tyler needed long stretches of time for his writing, but they usually saw each other almost every night. And he still seemed to be very down. He was quiet anyway, and she knew that sometimes he was just in his head with his book, trying to work out a plot problem and dreaming about the rest of the story. But something seemed off lately. She was surprised that he was still so withdrawn and distant. And he pushed away her attempts to help. She’d suggested a week ago, not for the first time, that he might want to talk to someone, a therapist or grief counselor. He’d immediately dismissed the idea.

  “I don’t need a grief counselor. I’m fine. Just sad sometimes, but I’ll deal with it.”

  She wasn’t going to see him tonight because the girls were coming over, but she was planning to make a lasagna and figured she’d make two and bring a tray over to him. The girls were all bringing the appetizers and a salad. She glanced at the clock, and it was a quarter to four. She was going to quit for the day at four, but it had been such an unproductive session that she decided to call it a day, and went to the kitchen to start on the lasagna.

  Her mother had stopped by the day before for a visit and dropped off a big container of sauce and meatballs, which Kristen put to good use with the lasagna. She mixed together the ricotta cheese, parmesan, spices and an egg and layered it between sheets of curly-edged pasta, sliced mozzarella and sauce. She’d serve the meatballs on the side. After she slid the two trays of lasagna in the oven, she jumped in the shower to clean up.

  By the time she was dressed and finished blow drying her long hair, which took a while, the kitchen smelled incredible. A short while later, she could tell by the smell that it was just about time for the lasagna to be done. She checked, and they were bubbling and golden brown on top, perfectly done. She carefully slid them out of the oven and set them on the stovetop to cool. It was almost five-thirty, and the girls were coming around six. She should have time to run some lasagna over to Tyler. She was looking forward to seeing him for a few minutes, too. She loved spending time with him. She didn’t want to just drop by, though. She hated when people did that to her as once she was interrupted, it was difficult to get back into the same artistic zone again.

  At a quarter to six, when the lasagna was slightly cooler, she called Tyler. He didn’t pick up right away. She thought it was going into voice mail, but then he answered.

  “Hey, there.”

  “How’s your day going? I just made some lasagna for the girls and I have an extra tray. I could bring it over for your dinner.” She knew Tyler loved all pasta and thought he’d be thrilled, but he surprised her.

  “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. I figured out a plot issue and I don’t think I’m going to break for a while. I’ll probably fall into bed after that, I’m beat.” He did sound exhausted.

  “Oh, okay. Totally understand. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  Kristen hung up and felt bad that she’d clearly interrupted him while he was working. But, he didn’t usually work this late in the day. Tyler tended to be an early writer, getting most of his words down first thing after he woke. But sometimes, he did go back for a second session toward the end of the book. He said that’s when the words always came faster. But, she’d thought that he was in the early stage of a new book. Oh, well. She could bring it over to him tomorrow and they could have dinner together. Lasagna always tasted better the next day when the flavors sat overnight.

  She put a sheet of foil over the extra tray of lasagna and moved it into the refrigerator. The girls should be arriving any moment, so she opened two bottles of wine—a Josh cabernet and a Bread and Butter chardonnay. She loved both, but would be having red with the pasta, and she knew Angela and Abby preferred white.

  They’d all kind of adopted Angela since she moved to the island. She was the youngest of the group, at twenty-nine, but as an orphan who had grown up in the foster home system, she had an old soul, and Kristen had felt like she’d known her forever. She was so glad that Angela took over the cleaning for her mother. She said that she actually enjoyed cleaning, which Kristen couldn’t imagine, but she’d said that she found it calming and satisfying to bring order to clutter and chaos.

  She also cleaned once a week for Tyler, which was working out great. He had a tendency to let things pile up and then complained that he was blocked. Kristen suspected that having a clean, calm environment helped to free up the mind to be more creative. But she had to laugh because they were both the same in that when they were deep into their work, they managed to be quite messy. Kristen always cleaned up immediately after a session, but Tyler tended to put it off, and sometimes needed Angela to come twice weekly when he was going fast and furious with his writing.

  Abby and Beth arrived at the same time. They were best friends. Beth had stopped by her house after work, and they drove over together. Everyone was thrilled that Chase had finally come to his senses and realized that Beth was the one for him. It had been obvious to everyone else, and Beth had been pining for him for years—and he had no clue. Men could be so oblivious at times. Angela arrived a few minutes later and then Kate was last, came rushing in and apologizing for being late.

  “I’m so sorry. I lost track of time and burned the first batch of cookies. Well, I actually left them for Jack, as he said he doesn’t mind when they’re a little black on the bottom. But the second batch came out much better.” She set another bottle of Josh and the container of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies on the kitchen counter.

  “That means the writing was going well?” Kristen hugged her sister hello.

  “Yes! Finally. The past few days have been slow, but it’s picking up speed again. What did everyone else bring?” Kate was the foodie in the family and loved to cook as much as their mother did.

  “I made my mother’s clam dip recipe,” Beth said. She took the lid off a bowl of creamy white dip studded with bits of clam and dusted with chopped parsley.

  “You made the clam dip?” Abby asked. “That is so good. I didn’t think I was going to like it the first time I tried it, but wow.”

  Kristen was curious to try it, too. Like Abby, if she had to be truthful it didn’t really sound all that good. But maybe she would be surprised.

  “I made guacamole and homemade California-style salsa. I hope you all like cilantro.” Angela laughed as she set her bowls on the counter.

  “I made the garlicky white bean hummus again, with lemon and parsley. You all seemed to like it last time we got together.” Abby had a platter with chopped fresh veggies and pita chips in a circle around a bowl of vibrant green hummus.

  “Oh, good! I loved that. And it’s sort of healthy, right?” Kristen joked as she dipped a pita bread into the hummus. It was smooth and rich and lemony and garlicky at the same time. “What does everyone want to drink?” She took their orders and poured wine for everyone while they brought all the food over to her big kitchen table, and they spent the next few hours chatting and snacking on all the appetizers.

  Beth told them all about the newest house that she and Chase had found to flip.

  “It should be a good project. It needs more work than the others we’ve done, but I don’t think it’s anything Chase can’t handle, stuff like a new roof and opening up the living room.”

  “So it opens into the kitchen? I love open concepts,” Angela said.

  “Yes, exactly. Everyone wants that these days. It’s going to be a fun one to decorate as we are redoing it all—new bathrooms, a totally new kitchen, the works.”

  “That sounds expensive,” Kate commented as she dipped a chip into the clam dip, trying it for the first time. Kristen hadn’t ventured in yet either and waited to see what her twin sister thought. They often liked the same things. Kate’s surprised smile indicated a thumbs up and she confirmed it. “This is so much better than I expected. Sorry, Beth. I was
a little apprehensive of clam dip, but this stuff is addicting.”

  Beth laughed. “That’s the typical reaction. The key is to chop the clams up small, use plenty of the juice, which really just gives a salty flavor, and lots of cream cheese, sour cream and Worcestershire sauce.”

  Kristen followed her sister’s lead and had to agree. “This is really good.”

  Beth went back to Kate’s comment about the project sounding expensive.

  “It is our most expensive renovation to date, but we think we got the house for a good price and should still see a good profit at the end.”

  “I can’t wait to see it when it’s all done and decorated. Will you do an open house, like the others?” Angela asked.

  For the past two flips, that had been exactly what Beth and Chase had done. They’d worked with Lauren as their realtor, and as much as Kristen disliked her as a girlfriend for Chase, she recognized that she was an excellent and savvy realtor. Lauren had suggested the strategy of holding an open house the first weekend the property was on the market. They held a private realtor open house the week before and said that no showings would be held until after the open house.

  Once they saw the house and the gorgeous renovation job, the realtors had all scrambled to bring their best clients to the open house, and Chase and Beth received multiple same-day offers. Kristen hoped the same thing would happen with this house. The thought of spending so much money made her nervous, though. Kristen was the most conservative one in the family, as she’d had to learn how to make her money stretch in between sales of her paintings.

  Beth nodded. “Yes, I’ll let you know once we schedule the open house. We’re aiming for just before or after July Fourth.” The island was always packed that weekend, so assuming all went well, they should have plenty of traffic for the open house.

  “Angela, how is everything going with your business?” Kate asked. Once Angela had decided to stay on Nantucket, she put all of her energy into finishing up her last few college courses online and building her cleaning business.

  “It’s going better than expected, actually.” She grinned. “I never would have imagined that studying marketing would help me to do cleaning full-time. I do love it, though. I’ve hired a few more cleaners, both full and part-timers, and I’m planning to target the summer market, the people that are here in their huge, gorgeous homes for the season or even just a week or two. I can help them get the houses all cleaned and ready for them when they arrive.”

  Kristen was impressed. “That’s a great idea. And I bet there’s a big need for it.”

  “It seems like there might be. I talked to a friend of Rhett’s that runs a placement network of sorts. He fields calls from hotels and restaurants mostly, looking for people. But he said he also gets calls from visitors looking for private chefs or house cleaners and he can’t always service them. So he may send some referrals my way. And it gave me the idea to reach out and target those people directly, too.”

  Kate looked intrigued. “That’s brilliant. Are you using Facebook ads to do some of your marketing?”

  “I’m starting to. So far, I’ve mostly just visited local realtors and given them my business cards. I may want to pick your brain a bit as I know you’ve done a great job for the inn.”

  “I’m happy to show you what I’m doing. Let’s get together soon for coffee and I can walk you through it.”

  Angela looked grateful. “Thank you, I’d love that.”

  “How are things going with Tyler?” Abby changed the subject. Kristen suspected that the business talk bored her.

  “It’s going pretty well. He still seems to be dealing with his mother’s death, mostly by keeping to himself and focusing on his writing. Which isn’t a bad thing, I suppose. It gives him something to direct his energy toward.”

  Abby frowned. “That doesn’t sound overly healthy. I’ve seen Andrew out and about, and he seems to be doing well. He’s always so upbeat and friendly.”

  “Andrew is the complete opposite of his brother. He’s all light and sunny, while Tyler is more dark and moody. Tyler’s a much better fit for me, though.”

  “Oh, I know he is. I didn’t mean to imply anything. I like Tyler, too. It just seems like maybe he should talk to someone. Has he been to a grief counselor or anything like that?”

  Kristen shook her head. “No. I suggested it, but he wants no part of going. I think it’s a guy thing, maybe. They think it’s a sign of weakness. I’ll suggest it again, though, when it feels like the right time to bring it up. He shut me down fast when I mentioned it just a few days ago.”

  “Maybe he just needs some time to get used to the idea.” Something flashed across Angela’s face that Kristen couldn’t decipher. The expression was gone seconds later, though, and she wondered if she might have imagined it. It was probably nothing—but everyone also knew Tyler’s history. He was a recovering alcoholic and so far, as long as Kristen had known him, he’d successfully stayed on the wagon. But she’d worried about the possibility of a relapse and what she would do if it happened. Could she handle that? And how could she support him? Hopefully it was a non-issue, though, as it had been nearly six months and she imagined that if his mother’s death was going to trigger a relapse, that it would have happened already.

  Later on, after they’d all had their fill of lasagna and the delicious cookies that Kate had made, everyone eventually called it a night. Angela was the last to leave, after jotting down her guacamole and salsa recipe for Kristen. Kristen loved cilantro and wanted to make it the next time she had Tyler over for dinner.

  “Thank you. Has Tyler been having you come twice a week lately?” she asked as Angela handed her the slip of paper with the handwritten recipe.

  Angela smiled. “Yes. He’s needed it, too. He apologizes for the mess each time I come, but says it’s because the story is consuming him.” The same expression Kristen had noticed earlier flashed across her face again, but was instantly gone as Angela looked down for a moment. Kristen felt a sense of unease, and a worry that she was missing something with Tyler.

  “Have you noticed anything different lately when you’ve cleaned?” Kristen wasn’t really sure what she was asking, but something seemed off with Tyler unless this was just him going through the stages of grief, his own way.

  Angela hesitated and looked like she was debating whether to say anything. Finally, she just smiled. “He’s messier than usual. I do think maybe he’s still having a hard time with something. I mean with his mother’s death, obviously. I would definitely try to get him to talk to someone. That helped a good friend of mine in San Francisco, when he was…” She paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “When he was going through a hard time.”

  “Okay, thanks. I was planning to keep on him. I don’t want to be too much of a nag, but I think it’s important.”

  Angela gave her a hug. “I think you’re right to be concerned. I hope that he gets the help that he needs.”

  Chapter 6

  Sue slept in Sunday morning and when she rolled out of bed a little before nine, she was surprised to see that Curt was already up and dressed. She was half-awake as she padded downstairs to the kitchen, made her first cup of coffee and raised an eyebrow as Curt gathered his briefcase and coat.

  “Where are you off to? We have lunch with Mom today.”

  “I’m heading to the office to meet Brandi and a few others on the committee for A Nantucket Affair. It’s the only day that worked for everyone and we have a lot to do. I thought I mentioned this to you last week.”

  He might have. Sue didn’t pay close attention to all the different charity things that Curt was involved with. She was happy to write the checks for them, as she knew they were all for good causes and good PR for the agency. But Curt loved getting involved and A Nantucket Affair was his baby. He’d chaired the committee for the past few years, and Sue had to admit that he and his team always did a great job. The event was held in the middle of July, a catered affair on the bea
ch, with music, usually a celebrity guest or two and a silent auction.

  “I’m sure you did, and I just forgot.”

  Curt smiled and his dimples popped as laugh lines danced around his eyes and mouth. “Give Mom a kiss from me.”

  “I’ll tell her you said hello. Have fun.”

  “You, too,” he said as he walked out the front door.

  Sue sighed. Lunch with her mother was usually anything but fun.

  * * *

  Her mother was waiting on the front porch of Dover Falls, the high-end retirement community. She was dressed in her Sunday best, one of her many Talbots outfits—gray tweed skirt, matching jacket and a cream-colored silk blouse, the pearls that she always wore and a gold Nantucket basket brooch pinned to her lapel. Her one casual concession was her favorite pink sneakers instead of the patent leather pumps she usually wore. Sue knew that meant that her feet were bothering her again. She was prone to painful bunions. Sue felt her mother’s pale blue eyes assessing her as she approached the porch steps. She gave her a quick hug and sat in the empty chair next to her.

  It was a lovely retirement home, and her mother was on the assisted living side. She didn’t need a lot of help, but stairs gave her difficulty. Two of her friends lived there and had enticed her to join them.

  “You look like you’ve put on a few pounds.”

  Sue sighed. “Hello to you, too, Mom, and I’m the same weight I’ve been for the last few years. Curt sends his love. He couldn’t make it today.”

  “Hm. Well, you look a little soft, dear. Do you still go to that fancy gym?”

  “I haven’t been in ages,” Sue admitted. “I’ve been meaning to get back there. Curt has been going. He’s lost over twenty pounds.” Although it was frustrating that it seemed so easy for him, she was proud that he’d done it.