Page 19 of Lost Dreams

Aurora suddenly found herself trapped in a dusty old classroom, learning about business proposals and strategies and marketing plans. It was hard to fathom that, only a year ago, she’d met Sebastian. Only a year ago, she’d floated through her life as though in a dream.

9

Present Day

Lorelei was alone in the suite upstairs when Roberto stormed in. His cheeks were blotchy, and there was a line of sweat around his collar. She hadn’t seen him all day, and he reminded her of a wild boar. But then, he collapsed at the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do with her,” he said.

Lorelei sat beside him and put her hand on his back. Always when he was this upset, it had something to do with Aurora. She guessed that he’d finally told her his views about everything: that she needed to go back to Rome to finish her business degree, that she was in danger of “not meeting her potential.” Lorelei guessed the conversation had not gone the way Roberto had planned.

“She doesn’t understand,” Roberto muttered. “Everything is on the line right now. She’s still young, twenty-two, but twenty-two becomes thirty like that.” He snapped his fingers. “I’m worried she’s going to waste her life, running around Nantucket Island, hanging around with those American boys.”

Lorelei removed her hand from her husband’s back. She thought back to that summer three years ago, when Aurora had called from Berlin and told Lorelei that her boyfriend had been in an accident, that they were breaking up and Aurora’s heart was going to explode with sorrow. Lorelei had stopped at nothing to get to Aurora as quickly as possible. The daughter she’d brought back to Rome had been a shadow of Aurora’s former self.

But had business school really been the only path forward for Aurora? Roberto had been convinced of it at the time. But Lorelei had seen firsthand the way business school had chipped away at Aurora’s soul, removing all her artistry and her belief in beauty and replacing it with spreadsheets and practicality, to a point.

“Everything was going so well,” Roberto said. “I got her that wonderful internship last semester. It’s like she doesn’t even care about it. I’m not even convinced that she completed it!”

It was true that Aurora hadn’t mentioned her internship with one of Roberto’s ex-colleagues and another top restaurateur in Rome. But it was also true that Lorelei and Aurora hadn’t spoken much since they’d come to Nantucket. Aurora seemed like an island unto herself. She wanted to be left alone.

Roberto and Lorelei sat in silence for a while, each of them stewing in their private sorrows. In his pocket, Roberto’s phone buzzed and buzzed, presumably with messages from his mistress or multiple mistresses. Lorelei bit her tongue to keep herself from asking him. Then again, was her inability to ask him about what was going on getting in the way of her own happiness?

“She’s going to be on the plane with us,” Roberto said nervously. “She has to be.”

Lorelei took a breath. “Maybe she could stay a little bit longer.”

Roberto turned to gape at her. “What are you saying?”

“I’m not saying she shouldn’t graduate from business school,” Lorelei said, getting up and stepping away from her husband. He seemed like a vat of molten lava. “I’m saying that it’s only June, and the summer on the island is just beginning. She needs a break from Rome of some kind. And maybe…” Lorelei trailed off, trying to fathom what she was doing. “Maybe I need a break from Rome, too.”

“You’ve already taken a break from Rome,” her husband said darkly. “You were gone for most of the year, remember that?”

“My mother had cancer,” Lorelei shot back. “She needed me.”

Roberto’s gaze dropped to the floor in shame. Lorelei wondered if there was anything he could say, anything at all, to make her come with him. Could he still be sweet with her?

She dared herself to ask him if their marriage was over. She dared herself to ask him about his mistresses or whether they made him happier than she ever had. But she couldn’t. She was a coward.

“I’m going to stay a little while longer,” Lorelei said delicately. “I’ll keep an eye on Aurora, and I’ll help my siblings and my parents with the Lodge. But I’ll have Aurora back in Rome before her final semester starts. Mark my words.”

Roberto shook his head and turned away from her. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Lorelei couldn’t stay in that suite with her husband a moment longer. She quickly got dressed, grabbed her purse, and went downstairs to find Allegra and Charlotte at the front desk, going over some paperwork for the Lodge. At the sight of Lorelei’s face, Allegra said, “I think it’s time we head back to that wine bar?”

“I think it’s time,” Lorelei agreed, feeling breathless.

This time, all the Whitmore siblings were in attendance: Alexander, Lorelei, Allegra, Charlotte, Jack, and Nina. Their parents couldn’t make it. They had plans with old friends. Of their partners, only Charlotte’s boyfriend, Vincent, could come, and when he arrived, he glanced around the table and said, “Shoot. I feel like I’m crashing a Whitmore party.”

“You’re always welcome!” Allegra said.

Lorelei was grateful not to have to discuss her own difficult life and instead could focus on the fun she had with her siblings. Wine was poured, and snacks were brought out, and they chatted about the difficulties at the Lodge and how excited and strange it was to see the Nantucket summer begin to bloom again. Nina announced that the Lodge was nearly fully booked “for the year,” and that they already had brides-to-be inquiring about having their wedding there in two summers. “2028!” Nina cried, shaking her head. “Can you believe it?”

“We never thought it would reopen,” Alexander said. “Now, it’s like there’s nothing that can stop us.”

“But you’re heading to Rome soon, aren’t you?” Vincent asked, turning toward Allegra and Lorelei.

“I’m going to stay for the summer,” Lorelei announced, surprising even herself with how sure she felt. “Aurora wants to be here, and I love Nantucket in the summertime. Rome is boiling all summer long.” She laughed, as though this all had to do with the weather.

“We’ll love having you around!” Jack said.