Page 74 of Summer Light on Nantucket
If you don’t like it,Blythe wanted to say,go sleep at Serena’s.She should be ashamed of this petty revenge, but it wasn’t as if Miranda and Brooks were eight and Blythe could call Brooks’s parents.
“Yeah,” Holly added, grinning. “I guess Mom’s not so worried about you sneaking into Mir’s room.”
“Holly!” Daphne nudged her younger sister. “Don’t say that.”
Sitting in the middle of her huddle of children, Blythe felt a small, guilty joy at making Brooks feel left out. He was still a kid, really, and she didn’t want to be cruel. Well, she did want to be cruel, but not in front of her children.
“There’s fruit in the refrigerator,” she told Brooks.
“I’ve eaten,” Brooks said. “But thank you.”
“We’re watchingTwisters,” Holly informed him. “It’s super cool. You could have watched with us, but it’s almost over.”
“Thanks,” Brooks said. “I think I’ll go on up to bed.”
“Good night!” Blythe called, and Daphne, Teddy, and Holly called good night, too, and Brooks turned away from the happy little group and went up the stairs alone.
Whose shoulder could Brooks cry on?Blythe wondered. Now sympathy for the boy washed over her. He had no siblings. And no one in this house loved him.
—
After the movie, the kids went up to bed. Blythe’s phone pinged and her heart jumped.
Was the hospital calling about Celeste?
But it was Nick, and his voice erased the sadness of the day. She relaxed on the wicker swing on the back porch as they talked.
“How has your day been?” Nick asked.
“Well, Nick, I’d be laughing hysterically if I had any energy left.”
“What’s going on?”
“How much time do you have?”
“All the time in the world, for you.”
“Oh, damn,” Blythe said as she began to cry. The warmth in his voice undid her. So many people depended on Blythe. She was trying to remain strong…and shewasstrong. But how good it felt to have someone support her, simply take the time to be her friend.
She told him about her poor Holly, who had been with Celeste when she had a heart attack, and how she felt she’d spent this entire day trying to gather a flock of wild cards scattered in the storm of their fear—Celeste, Kate, Bob, Teri, Roland, and Holly—and then to come home to find Miranda brokenhearted. And Brooks, just another example of faithless men, and yet, also a boy.
Nick listened. He asked questions. How was Celeste? How was Miranda? How was Blythe?
“I’ve gone hoarse,” Blythe croaked. “You talk. Tell me about your day.”
He didn’t speak, and Blythe waited while he gathered his thoughts. She assumed he would tell her about a golf game, or fishing at Great Point, or taking Sandy and Hugh to dinner.
Nick said, “I missed you. That’s what happened today.”
His concern made her heart open. A sob rose in her throat. She reached for a tissue and wiped her tears. “I missed you, too, Nick. It’s so nice to hear your voice.”
“Would you like me to come over?”
“Oh, yes, but no, it’s too late. I have to go to bed. I’m exhausted and tomorrow will be crazy. But thank you.”
“I hope you’ll call if you need any help.”
“I will. I promise.”
