Later, when Regina could no longer be trusted to be at home, they moved her into a memory care wing at a retirement facility. This was not only easier on Arietta’s father but also on all of them. Something Arietta had hated about this, of course, was that her father had immediately begun dating. When she’d accused him of moving on too quickly, her father had pointed out, “Regina hasn’t been Regina in three years, honey. I’ve felt lonely. I haven’t been myself.”
Arietta was so struck by his honesty that she didn’t know how to respond.
One evening, Arietta, Fred, and their daughters went to Regina’s care home for dinner. It was immediately clear that Regina wasn’t having a good day. She lashed out at Fred, at first thinking he was her husband, Arietta’s father. She said, “I know what you’re up to! I know you’re seeing someone else!”
Fred had given Regina a look of such panic that Arietta had begun to doubt her marriage.
Was Fred seeing someone else?
“That’s Fred, Mom,” Arietta said calmly. “That’s my husband, your son-in-law.”
Shannon, Felicity, and Isabelle sat on the sofa, watching them, panic in their eyes. Only Shannon finally got up to fetch her grandmother a glass of water and help out. When Regina wouldn’t stop yelling at Fred, Fred finally raised his hands in defeat and left the room. Regina calmed down, then sat in front of the television and turned on a game show. An announcer cried out in joy as yet another contestant won something. The music coming from the old TV was high-pitched and plastic-sounding. For the rest of the night, they ate dinner on metal trays and watchedJeopardyandWheel of Fortune. Fred texted to say he’d walked down the road to a chicken spot.
FRED: Take your time. I love you.
Arietta felt a strange spasm in her heart.
What if her mother was right? She allowed herself, if only momentarily, to wonder. But when she looked into her mother’s eyes, she saw emptiness. She no longer saw the woman she loved so much.
12
The morning after Shannon learned her lab report was missing, she called her mother to check in. Arietta answered with a false happiness in her voice. “Hi, honey,” she said. “How are you?”
Shannon felt a shiver run down her spine. “I’m all right,” she lied. “What’s up there?”
“Nothing much, really,” Arietta said. “Oh, I met up with a few Nantucketers last night. Women who live here on the island more or less full-time.”
Shannon lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling, allowing relief to wash over her. This meant that her mother wasn’t alone. This meant that she was making friends.
“That’s incredible,” Shannon said. “What are they like?”
“Oh, they’re nosy.” Arietta laughed. “But everyone wants something to gossip over, right?”
Shannon sighed inwardly. “Sure. I think you’re right.”
“But it was pleasant enough,” Arietta said. “The food and wine were fantastic. Hilary Salt was the woman who threw the party. She comes from wealth, but wealth beyond your father’s wildest dreams. Her mother was that actress. Helin?”
Shannon had never been up on her film knowledge, so she pretended to know who Hilary Salt’s mother was and said, “Wow. That’s crazy.”
“I suppose so.” Arietta sounded tired.
“And how is it going with Dad?” Shannon asked in a meek voice.
“Your father’s fine,” Arietta said. “I think he likes seeing the ocean every day. It does us both good.”
Over the next ten minutes, Shannon pestered her mother with more questions about her comfort in Nantucket, whether she was eating enough, and whether she needed Shannon to come back to the island to check on things. Arietta insisted that everything was fine. Shannon knew better than to believe her. But just now, she had things to tend to here. She had to redo her lab and secure a High Pass grade (at the very least!).
After getting off the phone, Shannon packed her things and walked the fifteen minutes to the lab. On the way, she considered the steps of the experiment, practicing them in her head so that everything would be seamless when she had the various tubes and solutions and pipettes before her. But when she reached the lab, she yanked at the door to find it was locked. A sign off to the left read: CLEANING - CLOSED TODAY AND TOMORROW.
Shannon groaned. She’d wanted to rectify this mistake as soon as possible. But this was the only lab on campus, and she wasn’t authorized to use any other lab. She was stuck.
Rather than mope, Shannon called Russell to tell him what was up.
“Let’s get brunch,” Russell suggested. “I just ran ten miles, and I’m starving.”
“Why on earth are you running that much?” she gasped.
“I don’t know. I think I’m trying to run away from my problems,” Russell said with a laugh. “That, and I’m terrified torun into Mimi soon. It would be great if I could look better, not worse, when we first meet. You know?”