Not for the first time, Shannon tried to guess what she might have done in her mother’s position. What if she’d fallen in love with and married and had children with someone who’d had a stroke? Shannon found it difficult to say aloud and had avoided it thus far. But it was really as though Fred Peters was dead.
Suddenly, Shannon’s phone rang. Assuming it was her mother, maybe needing a ride from wherever she was, Shannon reached for it, then nearly dropped it when she read the name: RUSSELL.
She hadn’t heard from Russell once since she’d come to Nantucket. She wondered if it was possibly a mistake. A buttdial, maybe. But she kept staring at the name, waiting for him to hang up. When he didn’t, she answered it and held the phone next to her ear.
“Shannon?” Russell’s voice sent a shiver down her spine.
“Hey.” Shannon stood, then sat back down again. The fireworks above her were finally fizzling out.
“Are you in Nantucket?” Russell asked.
“Yes,” Shannon said. “Can you hear the fireworks?”
Russell laughed gently. “I can hear them. How are they?”
“They were pretty spectacular,” Shannon said. “They always go all out. You know how these Nantucketers are. They can’t resist a big show.”
Shannon could hear Russell’s smile in his voice. “Who can blame them?” He paused before going on. “Um. I’m sorry to call like this. It’s just, wow, yeah. I’ve missed you, I guess.”
Shannon closed her eyes tightly. “I’ve missed you a lot.”
She couldn’t believe how open she was with him, now. She supposed it had something to do with being by the ocean; she could unfurl her feelings without second thought.
“You know who called me?” Shannon went on, her voice breaking.
“I think I can guess,” Russell said. “Was it Mimi?”
“Yep.” Shannon smiled wider, willing herself to be happy for him. “How’s that going?”
“What do you mean?” Russell asked.
“I mean, you’re back together now. Right?”
“No way.” Russell laughed. “I mean, we got together and talked about our relationship. In the past tense, that is. She apologized a lot. I told her she needed to stop saying sorry; it was getting to be too much. I told her that people grow apart; it’s normal. Especially in college.”
Shannon hadn’t realized she’d stopped breathing. “Oh. Wow,” she said. “That sounds heavy.”
“I was nervous about it, but it was healing, sort of,” Russell said. “I can’t believe you thought we got back together. Why did you think I would do that?”
Shannon gazed into the darkness over the water. The fireworks were now over, leaving gray smoke. She imagined that everywhere, all over the island, all over the country, was celebrating, except for her.
She didn’t know what to say, so she kept quiet.
“Listen,” Russell said. “I need to see you.”
Shannon was caught off guard.
“I think we should talk in person,” Russell said. “About a lot of things. But also, I found something. Something I need to give you.”
“What is it?”
“I can bring it tomorrow,” Russell said. “But I’d rather not describe it over the phone. It’s delicate.”
Shannon was tired of secrets. She was tired of mysteries. But she decided to give Russell the benefit of the doubt. “I’ll be here,” she said. “Come whenever you can.”
The following afternoon,Shannon, Arietta, and Fred were on the veranda. Arietta and Shannon were playing Scrabble, their eyes protected with sunglasses, their lemonades recently refilled. Shannon had told Arietta that she had a friend coming to visit, but she hadn’t gone into specifics. She guessed Arietta knew who it was. Shannon had revealed much more about Russell than she’d planned the last time the Salt Sisters had stopped by.
There was a glow about her mother now, as though whatever had happened with Jasper had reignited her soul. Shannondidn’t dare ask. She understood that some things were better left unsaid. It was better not to spoil them with conversation. It was better not to pick them apart.