When he was gone, Alix turned to leave the airport and saw that a number of people were smiling at her. Not the tourists who traveled in packs and had a frantic look in their eyes, not the summer people in their linen and bracelets. These were the Nantucketers, the men and women who lived and worked there. The real people. The people who mattered. The women smiled and the men nodded to her—just as she’d seen them do to Jared. It was almost as though his public kiss had been an announcement that Alix was now … What? she wondered. Somehow related to the people who’d settled the island? That she belonged?
Alix couldn’t help returning the smiles. As she walked outside toward the truck, a man loading luggage nodded at her. Word was spreading outward.
The next morning Toby showed up asking Alix if she’d like to see some of Nantucket, and she readily agreed.
Toby drove around the island, to beaches and moors, altar rock, and the oldest house with its beautiful herb garden. They walked behind the lovely old house to Something Natural to have lunch.
They drove back to Kingsley Lane, parked, and walked into town. Since Toby hadn’t been born on the island, she had a clearer idea of what was unusual about it. “Everything is named Nantucket—the town, the island, the county.” She went on to say that Nantucket had recently been given the dubious honor of being declared the richest county in the U.S. “Although a lot of us are struggling to put food on the table,” she added.
Alix couldn’t believe such a predicament was true of Toby. She had an air about her that could only be described as elegant. Her clothes were the best quality, but understated. She didn’t wear a dozen bracelets or a gold necklace as big as a horse collar, like the off-islanders did. And no cute little hat with an upturned brim that you knew cost a normal person’s monthly salary. With Toby, everything was simple and refined. By the end of the day, Alix found herself standing straighter and vowing to toss out her oldest pair of sweatpants.
Later, Lexie showed up at Kingsley House with a bag full of fresh vegetables for dinner, just harvested from her boss’s garden. “Heaven knows he never picks any of them. He just likes to watch the girls bending over and weeding.”
Toby and Alix looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
“What does Roger wear while he’s watching the girls?” Alix asked.
“As little as he can lawfully get away with,” Lexie answered.
Toby and Alix smiled at each other. It was a nice image.
After dinner the three women sat in the living room and finished off a bottle of wine. As usual with Lexie, she got right to the point. “So how are you and Jared getting along?”
Alix was very aware that Lexie was Jared’s cousin, so how could she tell of her worries about his departure? “Great. Fine,” she said.
“Anything we can help with?” Toby asked. Obviously she wasn’t fooled by Alix’s bravado.
“It’s just a matter of time,” Alix said, then took a breath. She did have worries and her best friend wasn’t here to talk to, so cousin or not, she needed to get h
er thoughts out into the open. “I know Jared likes my designs and my work ethic, and the sex is truly great, but I think he’s happy the way he is. And …” She took a breath. “He has a life in New York as well as here, so maybe I won’t fit into his world there.” She looked at Lexie. “Why are you smiling?”
“Because Jared isn’t like you think he is. He isn’t the famous public guy that people see. Here on Nantucket is the real him.”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Alix said. “Okay, that’s more than enough soul searching from me. I want to know about you two. What are you looking for in life?”
Lexie grimaced. “My problem is that I know my future and what my life will be like. I’m sure I’ll marry Nelson within the next couple of years. I know where we’ll live, even the house we’ll live in. All of it. Everything.”
“Who is Nelson?” Alix asked. She’d seen no man near Lexie except her boss, and it was clear that she wanted nothing to do with him.
“He’s my Eric.”
“But I was dumped by him,” Alix said.
Toby nodded. “If Lexie doesn’t marry him soon he’s going to drop her.”
Lexie took a drink of her wine. “I just want a life where I can’t see straight down the road. I want some hills, mountains even. I want an adventure. Actually, I’d settle for something that’s merely out of the ordinary.”
Alix turned to Toby. “What about you?”
Lexie spoke first. “Toby has more than boyfriend problems. She has a mother.”
Alix looked at Toby in question.
“My mother,” Toby said, “was—is, I guess—obsessed with being … I don’t know how to explain it, but the most accurate thing to say is that she wants to be considered upper class. You see, my dad is …”
“Blueblood,” Lexie said. “Or as close as America can get. Golf clubs, private schools, a family tree back to … What is it?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Toby looked away, embarrassed.