Summer Island

What she needed was a plan. She needed to attack the problem with Ruby aggressively-there was no other way to deal with her.

There would be no second chance; she knew that. Nora had one week-six days, now-to crack through the hard shell of the past.

But how?

“Okay,” she counseled herself. “Pretend this is a reader letter. ”

Dear Nora:

Years ago, I walked out on my marriage and left my children. My younger daughter has never forgiven me. Now she tells me that she forgotten all memories of me. How do I make amends?

She took a deep breath, thinking it through. If Nora had received a letter like this, she would have taken the woman to task for her unpardonable behavior; would have told her it was no surprise that her daughter hated her.

“Hypocrite,” she hissed. No wonder shed lost her career.

Anyway, after moralizing for a few sentences, she would have said . . .

Force her to remember you.

The answer came easily when offered to a stranger.

Nora smiled. If she forced Ruby to remember the past, they could possibly find their way into the present. . . maybe even peek at a different future.

It wouldnt be easy, she knew. Or particularly pleasant.

Probably excruciating, in fact.

But it was the only way. Right now, it was easy for Ruby to hate Nora-she only remembered the horrible choices made that summer. Would it be so easy ifRuby remembered the good times?

Behind her; the screen door squeaked open. “Nora?”

Nora wheeled around, smiling brightly. “Hi, honey. ”

Ruby frowned. “Youre awfully chipper for eight in the morning. Do you want a cup of coffee?”

“No, thanks. Ive got some. Why dont you get a cup and join me out here? Its beautiful. ”

Ruby ran a hand through her spiky, sleep-molded hair and nodded. Wordlessly, she went back inside, then came out a few minutes later and sat down in the rocker.

Nora stared down at the beach. The silence between them was strangely companionable, not unlike a thousand other mornings, long ago, when theyd sat together out here.

She took a sip of her coffee and glanced out at the point. “Remember the Fourth of July barbecues we used to have out here? Your dad was always gone fishing and the three of us girls would load up on firecrackers. ”

Ruby smiled. “Sparklers were my favorite. I couldnt wait for it to get dark. ”

“We wrote things in the light, remember?” Nora said, watching Ruby. “I always wrote: I love my girls. ”

Ruby curled her hands around her coffee cup, as if she needed a sudden infusion of warmth. “Caroline always scrawled the name of whatever boy she was in love with at the time. Remember when it was Alexander Jorgenson? It took two sparklers to spell his whole name-she was in a panic. ”

Nora smiled. She pictured Eric and Dean, standing around the grill, laughing. Theyd had impeccable timing, those boys. They never missed a meal. There was a sudden lump in her throat, and so her voice was soft when she said, “You only wrote Dean’s name. Year after year. ”

Ruby sighed. ”Yeah . . . He and Eric always showed up right when you put the salmon on the barbecue remember?“ She looked up. ”Caroline tells me youve stayed in touch with Eric. How is he?"

Nora had known this moment was coming; shed thought she was prepared for it, but she wasnt. She released her breath in a slow sigh. There was no way to honor Erics wish for privacy, not with Nora unable to drive. Sooner or later; she would have to elicit Rubys help, and when she did, Ruby would learn about Eric. But how did you tell your daughter that one of her best childhood friends was dying?

“Mom?”

Nora casually wiped her eyes and metRubys expectant gaze. "Eric has cancer.