A Nantucket Affair

by Pamela M. Kelley

  “Wouldn’t that be nice?” With all the unexpected expenses, Beth was hoping to just break even. Anything more would be a very welcome bonus. And multiple offers would give them a better chance for a good profit.

  “A few more flip houses, and then we might want to start thinking about taking some of that money for a down payment on our own dream house.”

  That was the first time Chase floated the idea of them building a house together, and Beth saw he was watching her closely to see her reaction. Her heart filled. They hadn’t actually talked about marriage yet but since they were living together, she’d assumed that eventually they’d get there.

  “I love that idea. Assuming there’s some profit left on this one.”

  “There will be. I’m feeling better about it now. It’s a great house.”

  They’d just ordered dessert and when the waiter brought the cheesecake with cherries to the table for them to split, Chase surprised her by standing up, and then getting down on one knee. The air in the small restaurant seemed to still and Beth was vaguely aware of other tables turning their way.

  Chase held up a small black velvet box.

  “Beth, when I asked you to move in, I knew that this day would come because there was no doubt then or now that you’re the person I want to spend forever with. And even if we fight now and then, I want us to always come home together and to make up. The making up could be fun, actually.” He smiled and opened the box. An absolutely gorgeous princess cut diamond was surrounded by smaller ones on a pretty gold setting.

  “What do you think? Want to get married—to me?”

  Beth felt a rush of emotion overwhelm her and couldn’t speak for a moment. She could see that her hesitation was unexpected and there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes. And then the words came out in a rush.

  “Of course. I’d love to.”

  Chase stood and slipped the ring on her finger. It dazzled, even though the restaurant lighting was soft. She couldn’t stop staring at the ring. He’d surprised her totally. She certainly hadn’t expected a proposal today.

  He kissed her, then sat back down and admired the ring on her finger.

  “It looks good on you.”

  “It does. You did well.” She grinned. “Your mother is going to be thrilled.”

  “That she is.”

  Chapter 20

  On Sunday, as usual, Sue went to visit her mother at Dover Falls. When she walked in the door, her mother was dressed in her Sunday best, and was sitting at a round table playing cards with three other residents. She smiled when she saw Sue, then looked around the table.

  “Ladies, looks like I won’t be taking any more of your money today. Time to go visit with my daughter.” The women all said hello to Sue as her mother gathered up her pile of dollar bills.

  They went into the dining room and found a sunny table by a window. Over a delicious lunch of chicken pot pie and mashed potatoes, her mother filled her in on all the goings on since she’d last seen her.

  “So, Ethel and Harry just got engaged! At their age, can you imagine? Ethel’s never been married, though, so I guess why not, right? Harry’s a nice enough guy. Donna wasn’t happy about that, though. Not at all. She set her cap on Harry months ago, but he never took any notice of her.”

  “That’s great. Good for Ethel.” Sue thought it sounded romantic to finally find love in her eighties and to get married.

  “Well, enough about me. Let’s talk about you. Where is that husband of yours?”

  “He’s off-island picking up a new car. They called this morning and told him it was ready, so he was going to head over and pick it up.”

  “I didn’t realize he needed a new car. Did he get another Honda?”

  Sue smiled. “Not exactly. He still has the Honda. He got a bright red Mercedes convertible.”

  Her mother laughed. “What on earth does he need that for?”

  “He doesn’t. He just wanted it. He says it will make him look successful and the agency, too.”

  “Oh, that’s just silly. He wants to be seen driving it all over the island. He’s clearly going through a mid-life crisis.”

  “That crossed my mind, too.”

  “What about that young blonde girl in the office, Barbi something? Is he still spending too much time with her?”

  “It’s Brandi, and they are on a committee together. We talked about it, actually. I told him people have commented and he said that’s ridiculous, that there’s nothing to comment on. I’m really not worried about Curt.”

  “No, I don’t suppose you should be. He’s not the type, I don’t think. Besides you have a wonderful, happy marriage so nothing to worry about.”

  Sue was quiet and her mother raised her eyebrow. “Everything is fine, right?”

  “Yes, it’s fine. I suppose.” She sighed. “Though we don’t spend as much time together as we used to. I work from home now and Curt’s so busy with work at the office and so involved in so many social things, like the Nantucket Affair event. They keep asking him to chair it.”

  “And Brandi’s on that committee? And works with him? So, she’s seeing him almost as much as you are?”

  “Well, in a different way, but yes, I suppose so.”

  “So, she’s giving him the attention he’s not getting from you? When was the last time you two had a date night?”

  Sue laughed. “We go out with friends all the time. You know I’m not much for cooking.”

  “That’s not what I mean. When was the last time you went out for a romantic evening? Where you both got dressed up and had a lovely dinner and conversation and maybe even some dancing?”

  “Gosh, I don’t remember the last time we did that. Maybe a year or so ago when we spent the weekend in Boston and went to the theater.”

  “Maybe it’s time to see a show,” her mother suggested.

  “I’ll think about it. The next month or so is really busy.”

  Her mother sipped her tea and glanced out the window before turning back to Sue with a serious look.

  “A good marriage takes work to keep it good. To keep the romance going. If you don’t make the effort and spend too much time apart, it will just get harder to find your way back. Trust me on that.”

  “What are you talking about? You and Daddy had one of the best relationships I’ve ever seen.” Sue’s father had been gone for just over five years now, and as far as she knew her parents had always been madly in love.

  “Your father was the love of my life but we went through a rough period, when you and your brother were in middle school. You kids got most of my attention then and work got most of his. We stopped going out for date nights because we were both so busy and tired.” She was quiet, and her eyes grew dark for a moment before she smiled and said, “But fortunately, we realized we needed to make time for each other. We started the date nights again and the magic came back. It never left after that.”

  Sue guessed there was more to the story than her mother was willing to share, but that was okay. She got the point. They moved on to other topics until after a few lively hours of conversation, her mother started to look tired. When she couldn’t fight back a yawn, Sue stood and stretched.

  “I should probably head home. A pile of laundry is calling my name.”

  “A nap might be calling mine.” She stood too and walked Sue to the door.

  “Next time Curt comes with you, tell him he has to drive that fancy new car and take me for a spin!”

  “I’ll tell him. He’d love that.”

  It was still light out when Sue got home and she was looking forward to seeing Curt’s new car. She expected him back before it got dark, so when six o’clock rolled around and there was no sign of Curt, she called his cell. But he didn’t pick up and it went to voicemail. She didn’t leave a message. She figured he’d see the missed call and call her back. That’s what they usually did for each other, unless it was urgent and a message was needed.

  At six-thirty, he finally called and sh
e was torn between being worried and annoyed.

  “Where are you? I thought you’d be home by now. Did you get the car?”

  “I did and it’s a beauty. Wait til you see it. I’m just leaving the Club Car now. I met up with Tom and John for a drink. I’ll be home soon. Sorry I missed your call. My phone was dead and I had it on Tom’s charger.”

  “Have you eaten yet? I was thinking we could go grab dinner, maybe.”

  “Shoot, I wish I’d known you wanted to go out. I just had a burger.”

  “Oh. I guess I’ll heat up a frozen pizza or something.”

  “Okay, see you in ten.”

  In exactly ten minutes, Sue heard the sound of a car pulling in the driveway. Curt was home. But it was too dark out to see the new car well. She walked outside to take a look, anyway.

  “So, what do you think?”

  “What I can see of it looks nice. I’ll get a better look tomorrow.”

  Curt followed her inside. She’d just taken her pizza out of the microwave right before he got home and settled back in her seat at the island to continue eating. Curt leaned against the counter while she ate.

  “How was your mom?”

  “She’s good. I told her about the car. She said she wants a ride.”

  He liked that. “Excellent. I’ll drive next time we go see her and take her for a spin.”

  “How was the Club Car? Anyone else there we know?”

  “Yeah, Paige and Peter were there, actually. Paige gave the car a thumbs up. And Brandi was there with a friend, sitting at the bar.”

  Of course she was. Brandi was always out.

  “I suppose she loved the car, too?”

  He nodded. “Everyone did. It’s a great car.”

  “How are Tom and John?” They were Curt’s best friends. Sue was friends with Tom’s wife, Linda. John was very much single. He’d been divorced for just over five years and wasn’t in any hurry to get serious with anyone again. But he loved to date.

  “They’re good. Tom and Linda just booked a cruise to Bermuda. And John is John. Tom and I actually left at the same time, but John stayed to have another drink with Brandi and her friend. I can’t imagine Brandi would be interested in someone his age, but maybe her friend is.”

  Sue just smiled. For a relatively smart man, Curt could be dumb sometimes.

  “John is a handsome man, and well off. Plenty of women like that and don’t mind dating an older man.”

  “Maybe.” He still looked doubtful.

  “So, remember our trip to Boston last year? I was thinking it might be fun to do something like that again soon. What do you think?”

  “Sure, though might be good to wait a month or so, after A Nantucket Affair. We still have a lot of work to do to get ready.”

  “I’ll keep an eye on what’s coming and maybe we’ll book something after that.”

  Curt yawned. “Sounds good. I’m going to go watch some golf on TV for a while.”

  He headed off to the living room while she finished her pizza, then went upstairs to change into her pajamas and read in bed for a while. She thought a lot about what her mother had said earlier, and as she drifted off to sleep, an idea came to her.

  Chapter 21

  Tyler adjusted fairly quickly to the environment at Murphy House. It was similar to the first rehab he went to, so he knew what to expect. The first few days were the hardest, because the physical craving for alcohol was fierce. But he was kept busy with lots of different counseling sessions, some were one-on-one and others were group sessions. And they got a lot of physical exercise, which helped burn off frustrations.

  The ages ranged from eighteen to mid-fifties and several of the guys, like Tyler, had been through the rehab process before. As they went around the room sharing their stores in group sessions, one thing that stood out was the shame they all felt from relapsing and disappointing the people they cared for. Some of them had triggers like Tyler—a loved one dying unexpectedly, a divorce, or a job loss. But others couldn’t pinpoint any trigger in particular beyond a strong desire for a drink that they tried to resist until it was impossible and they gave in.

  One of the guys, Ben, was a successful bond trader and spoke about how his life really couldn’t be better and he still screwed up.

  “I just got engaged a month ago, to a great girl from a good family. Her dad actually owns the financial services firm that I work for. And work is going great. I’m one of their top traders. But expectations are high and there’s a lot of pressure. I think I worry sometimes that I don’t deserve to be so successful and that it could all disappear at any moment. Amy could realize I’m not the guy she wants to spend the rest of her life with. It just got to the point where the little voice calling for a drink got louder every day.”

  Tyler could relate to that, too. He thought he’d been handling his mother’s death okay and he had Kristen, who was amazing. He should have been able to resist, and it scared the hell out of him that he’d fallen. He wouldn’t blame her if she bailed like his wife did. Who would want to sign up for dealing with this? The fear of that happening again had only made him crave another drink even more. The alcohol numbed everything and let him put his head in the sand and just not deal.

  But he was feeling stronger after two weeks at Murphy House. Kristen was coming this Saturday for a visit, and he was both nervous and anxious to see her at the same time. He knew it was asking a lot of her to stick with him. It was helping to talk everything through, and to be in an environment where alcohol wasn’t an option. And he wouldn’t be going home until his counselors and he both felt that he was ready and able to resist temptation.

  He’d done it before, and he knew he could do it again. As long as he just didn’t take the first drink again, he’d be fine. He envied Kristen and all his other friends who could have one drink and call it a day. His off button was missing, so the only option was to never turn it on.

  * * *

  Andrew picked Kristen up and they drove onto the slow boat, which was the only option for taking a vehicle off Nantucket. Once they landed in Hyannis, they drove another forty minutes or so to Falmouth. Kristen didn’t really know what to expect, maybe more of a hospital setting. But when they arrived, it was actually a large, Victorian house with lots of land around it that was nicely landscaped.

  They met Tyler in a sitting area full of sofas and comfy chairs. He looked good. His hair was getting a little long, but she’d always liked it best right before he got it cut, when the waves touched his collar bone. He was freshly shaved and his face had more color than it usually did.

  “You look good,” Andrew said immediately. “Have you been outside much?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been running with a few of the guys and playing some pickup basketball in the afternoons when the weather is good.” That explained his rosy cheeks. Normally, Tyler was holed up inside and didn’t have the best eating habits, especially when on a writing—or a drinking—binge.

  “You guys look great, too. Is that a new sweater?” Tyler glanced at the periwinkle blue soft sweater Kristen had actually bought just a few days before.

  “Yeah, it is new. I’m glad you like it.”

  They chatted about easy stuff, mostly. Tyler told them all about the place and what his days were like. Kristen hadn’t realized it was so structured and with so many kinds of counseling.

  “It sounds like you’re too busy to get much writing done.”

  He smiled. “Oddly enough, I’m more productive this past week than I was before I came here. I’ve had to fit the writing in, so I’ve been getting up earlier and getting the words in first thing. They seem to come easier when I’m not fully awake, and then I’m mostly done for the day.”

  “Oh, that sounds good then.” She paused and then asked the question she and Andrew really wanted to know. “How are you feeling? Will you be ready to come home in two weeks, do you think?”

  He nodded. “I will be. This has been really good for me. Just talking to the counselors an
d the other guys, too. Everyone is going through different stuff, but it’s helpful to just talk it out. I have lots of good reasons to stay sober, and I don’t want to mess that up again.

  “I’m sorry that I drank around you. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

  But Tyler grabbed her hand and looked her in the eye.

  “I don’t want you to do that. You having a glass of wine has nothing to do with me being here. I’m totally okay around other people that are drinking. It’s my issue, not theirs. The only reason I didn’t want to go to that dinner party was because I was already drinking—when I’m sober, it’s not a problem. I can have a non-alcoholic beer or just soda water.”

  “Okay. Well, we won’t worry about that then.” But Kristen was going to cut back when she was around Tyler, at least until she was really sure that he was fine and not likely to relapse again.”

  A little while later, Andrew excused himself to use the rest room. Kristen guessed he wanted to give the two of them a little privacy.

  “I miss you,” Kristen said simply. “I’m glad that it’s going well here, though.”

  “You have no idea how much I miss you. I worried that I might have lost you. That this was all too much.” He looked away for a moment, then added, “I wouldn’t blame you if it was. It’s a lot.” By the frown lines on his forehead, Kristen sensed that he’d been worrying about this a lot and she tried to reassure him.

  “I’m not going anywhere. We can get through this. You getting better is the most important thing. And you have a good support system, between your brother, me, my whole family and your sponsor.” Scotty sounded like a good guy. Kristen hadn’t met him yet, but Tyler obviously thought highly of him.

  “Scotty’s the best. I know I’m lucky to have all of you on my side. It really is going well. I feel better and stronger each day. I’m working through some stuff in the counseling sessions. It’s all helping. Hopefully, you’ll never have to come here again.”