“I mean, sometimes I think we’re really, truly in love,” Katrina said. “And other times, I suspect his mind is elsewhere. Like maybe he’s not ready for the intensity between us.”
Ada’s palms were sweaty. She glanced at the clock, urging it forward.
“What makes you think his mind is elsewhere?” Ada asked breathily.
Just ask what his name is. Just get it over with.But she couldn’t. She was too afraid. The room was closing in. Could Katrina see how panicked she was?
“It’s hard to explain,” Katrina said. “He’s always looking at his phone, or he goes quiet and contemplative and stares out the window. Sometimes he can’t eat the dinner I’ve prepared him, even if it’s his favorite food, because he says his stomach hurts. I wonder. Is it possible that he’s afraid of what we have? Is it too much for him?”
What’s his favorite food?Ada wanted to ask, although she knew that wasn’t the kind of thing a therapist should ask. However, Peter had a wide range of favorite foods. Steak. Tacos. Dessert. Any answer might send Ada on a crazy downward spiral. All men liked steak, probably.
“Oh, but we’re going out of town together,” Katrina said. “Later this month. I couldn’t believe when he proposed it. It’s like he wants to step up and be what I need him to be.”
“That will be wonderful. It’s always good to get away with someone and see what they’re really like in other contexts,” Ada said automatically. “Where are you off to?”
“We’re going to the Caribbean,” Katrina said dreamily. “For an entire week! I’m over-the-moon excited. We’re going to go sailing and snorkeling, and we’re going to drink cocktails and eat decadent meals every night. It feels like the vacation I deserve after everything that happened last year.”
Ada breathed a sigh of relief. If Peter were going out of town for a week, she’d know about it by now. He’d have told her. He’d at least have made something up.
Katrina talked at length about the hotel suite her boyfriend had sprung for and the weather they’d enjoy on the island. “It’s been a long, hard winter!” Katrina laughed.
“What does your boyfriend do?” Ada asked, feeling a metaphorical needle in her chest. “If you don’t mind me asking.He sounds like he’s well-off.” Of course, being well-off was sort of a given in a place like Nantucket.
“He’s in sales,” Katrina answered. “He doesn’t like to talk about it, which I get. He says he hates manipulating people into doing what he wants, but he’s good at it. I guess you can’t fight what you’re good at!” Katrina laughed and added, “I told him if he’s manipulating me into loving him, I guess I don’t mind.”
Ada smiled and didn't say, “Wasn’t your husband manipulative as well? Is this really the kind of man you want to be with?” They didn’t have time to get into it during this session. Next week!
All at once, mercifully, the hour was finished, and Katrina was on her feet, talking about the day ahead. She wanted to weed her garden after all the rain they’d had. She also wanted to have some of the Salt Sisters over for wine, gossip, and maybe some light bites. “What’s a good hors d’oeuvres I could make?” she asked as she followed Ada toward the door.
Ada considered her daughter’s graduation party and the stuffed mushrooms she’d made. They’d been a hit, disappearing off their tray within a half hour. And maybe because she was now totally sure that Katrina’s boyfriend wasn’t her husband (99 percent sure), she offered up the recipe easily, texting the list of ingredients directly to Katrina’s phone.
“You’re a lifesaver, Dr. Wagner,” Katrina said, pocketing her cell as she swept toward the lobby. “My life has really opened up since I started seeing you. Looking forward to next week!”
Chapter Twelve
The first week of summer was exhilarating. Bright blue skies towered overhead, and tourists streamed onto the island from all over, suntanned or sunburned, eating ice cream cones and crowding up the sidewalks and restaurants. Ada and her family celebrated the weather and freedom from school responsibilities with gorgeous barbecues on the back porch, swims in the sea, movie nights with the projector flashing against the side of their house, and plenty of frozen desserts.
But by the time Friday arrived, Ada and Peter had announced what needed to happen: Hannah was to get a job, any job; Olivia was to attend day camp; and Kade was to attend sports camp. Their kids flourished with summertime activities, which helped both Ada and Peter know they had something to do during the day while they were at work. (Always, they harbored fears around what was coming onto the island, drugs or other forms of chaos brought in with the tourists, and how their children might be affected, but they didn’t ever say this aloud, not even to one another.)
Hannah got a job the very next day as a server at a fish restaurant near the harbor. Olivia opted for theater camp on the opposite end of the island, which required her to memorizeShakespearean plays and learn how to make her own costumes. Kade threw himself into basketball and running, shooting hoops in the driveway as the sunlight dimmed.
The following weekend, after a week of camp and Hannah’s new gig, Peter and Ada sat on the back porch with a bottle of wine. Olivia was upstairs, performing Shakespeare to her mirror, and Kade was running sprints up and down the beach. Hannah was at work, where, Ada was pretty sure, she already had a crush on one of the other servers, a nineteen-year-old boy who’d come to the island for the summertime.
“Summer romance!” Peter said, his eyes illuminated. “Our little girl’s all grown up.”
Ada’s chest heaved. “I hope he doesn’t hurt her when he leaves.”
“I’m sure he will,” Peter said with a sigh. “But by then, Hannah will be off to Vassar, and she’ll forget all about him.”
Ada smiled and watched the sunlight play across her glass of wine.
“How’s life in the teeth business these days?” she asked, when she realized too many moments of silence had passed.
“Life in the teeth business is lucrative,” Peter said with a wink. “I think we’d better plan a family vacation for later this summer. Something to make Hannah miss us.”
Ada laughed. “Where should we go?”
“Maybe we could go to Alaska,” he said. “Or Europe!”
