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Esme dismissed herself, hurrying from the room. At that, the veterans erupted with questions and conversation. Ben turned to look at Rebecca, and his cheeks were slack. “I don’t understand,” he breathed.
“It’s not fair,” Rebecca said. “A place like this should remain open indefinitely.”
“And there’s nothing we can do?” Ben asked.
“My sisters and I have been brainstorming. Maybe we can pinch together enough pennies to keep it open another year, maybe two. But that work might be so exhausting that it won’t even be worth it.”
Ben nodded and palmed the back of his neck. He looked devastated. Rebecca didn’t know what to say. She headed for the table and collected more plates, urging the veterans to save room for dessert. Nobody seemed interested, though. Nobody wanted to talk about anything but saving the Sutton Book Club.
One after another, the veterans left. They shook Esme’s hand and told her they would do everything they could to keep the place open. Esme nodded and thanked them. They all knew the veterans could do very little. One of the purposes of the Veterans’ Dinner was to support them—not the other way around.
Ben and Doug were the last to leave. Again, Rebecca allowed herself to hug Ben. She had the startling realization that she wouldn’t see much of him after this. Very soon, she would return to Bar Harbor and welcome Chad home from basketball camp. She would have to pick up the pieces of her adult life and figure out what was next.
Chapter Twenty-Three
That night, a chill overtook the island. Raindrops flattened against the windowpanes, and gusts of wind surged against the old house. Bethany placed logs in the fireplace and built a cozy fire, which the four Sutton women gathered around. They burrowed under blankets and watched the flames lick at the stones of the fireplace.
“Oh, but it was such a nice night,” Esme repeated for the fourth time as though she wanted to assure herself of it. “I think it’s good we told the veterans about our money troubles. It would have been wrong to close without warning them.”
“There’s no reason you can’t have smaller Veterans’ Dinners here,” Rebecca pointed out. “Those people love you, Mom. They want to be around you.”
Esme nodded. “I just don’t know what I’ll do with all of my father’s books. I suppose I could sell them. Some of them must be worth something.” Her eyes flickered with the light from the fire. She clearly wasn’t pleased with the idea of selling her father’s things.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Esme leaped forward, but Rebecca stood first. “I can get it,” she said.
“I don’t know who would be out in this weather,” Esme said.
Bethany and Valerie watched Rebecca like a hawk. Slowly, she unlocked the door and opened it just a bit. There, on the front stoop, stood Victor Sutton. He carried a massive plastic box, and raindrops painted his glasses.
“Dad!” Rebecca was amazed to see him after so much radio silence. She stepped back to allow him into the foyer. Upon entering, he placed the heavy plastic box on the rug, and Rebecca closed the door quickly.
Esme, Valerie, and Bethany were on their feet. They looked like soldiers, ready to defend their home. Victor removed his raincoat and hung it on the coatrack. To Rebecca, he looked smaller than ever as though the public’s sour opinion of him had belittled him physically.
For a long time, nobody spoke. Rebecca wanted to throw her arms around him but held herself back. Who was this man? This stranger? Was he anything like the father they’d had before Joel’s death?
“Where have you been?” Esme asked. She sounded breathless.
“We heard it had something to do with your divorce,” Valerie said.
Victor blinked toward the ground. “It’s true that I went to Providence. But it wasn’t necessarily about the divorce.”
“We read the article,” Bethany breathed.
Victor’s shoulders slumped.
“Did you know it was going to come out?” Bethany asked.
“I had a hunch,” Victor said. “Bree was quite angry with me. She might have said a few things about my past to the wrong people.”
“What did you do to Bree?” Valerie demanded.
But Victor just shook his head, clearly exhausted. “We were married for a long time. We had many trials and many happy times. But over time, something happened, as it sometimes does. I found myself falling out of love with her. The fact that this coincided with nightmares about Joel is difficult to explain. I woke up so often, sleepwalking through my house in Providence. I finally realized I was looking for him.” His eyes were heavy.
Esme took a small step forward. “Oh. Victor…”
But Victor was too overwhelmed to look at her. Instead, he dropped to his knees and removed the top of the plastic box. “I went to Providence to get something from storage. I hadn’t thought of these books in years.”
Delicately, Victor removed each book one at a time. He then spread them carefully across the living room rug. There were eleven of them, each thicker and more alluring than the next. Each of them was beautifully illustrated, from Germany, and so well-preserved that they were probably worth a fortune.
