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With dinner ready, Greta insisted that they all sit together and feast before the night’s rag-tag performance of Nantucket Dreams. Throughout, conversation flowed easily, with the teenage girls asking vibrant questions about Alana, Greta, and Bernard’s times in Paris, plus Julia’s career in publishing (which they found equally fascinating). Obviously, after so many hardships, the Copperfield family was overjoyed to converse about the brighter times of their lives— so much so that Greta and Bernard became overwhelmed as they told a story of getting lost in the streets of Paris in the rain. Greta’s eyes, there at the table, were damp with tears, and soon after, Bernard had to excuse himself to the bathroom, where he mopped himself up, too.
The girls ate heartily and spoke quickly, filling themselves with much-needed energy. When they finished, they made their way into the living room with the script, discussing the first few paragraphs as Alana, Julia, and Greta cleaned up. As Greta scrubbed a plate, her cheeks burned red with embarrassment.
“Mom,” Alana whispered. “This is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? Your stuff is getting read again.”
Greta bit hard on her lower lip. “It’s just intense for me, Alana. I never imagined it would happen.”
Harlow rapped on the doorframe of the kitchen and announced that she planned to head back to her parents’ house to make four copies of the play. “That way, we can read through it easier.”
Alana thought that the disappearance of Harlow would result in distraction and, ultimately, the decision to read the play another day. She was surprised when Harlow returned in fifteen minutes with four copies in hand. Breathless, she entered The Copperfield House and declared them “ready.”
Alana, Julia, Bernard, and Greta sat around the living room with the four teenagers in front of them, the scripts lifted. They’d decided on parts, with Sarah playing Lucretia Mott, Nora playing Elizabeth Coggeshall, Harlow playing Eunice Ross, and Evie playing Lucy Stone.
As the play unfurled, the listeners learned about the dynamic histories of these four women. Lucretia Mott, who’d challenged the beliefs of seventeenth-century America and thought that women should be allowed to own property and businesses. Elizabeth Coggeshall had been an outspoken women preacher involved in the Quaker movement, building female independence on Nantucket while the men were out at sea “whaling” for periods of up to five years. Eunice Ross had been an African American woman who was allowed entry to Nantucket High School all the way back in 1847, while Lucy Stone had been the first woman to earn a college degree in Massachusetts.
The play had it all: emotion and intrigue, a story that mastered its material, and gorgeous speeches that allowed the viewer to feel the trauma of past women who weren’t allowed to pursue their dreams.
The four teenage girls before them read their lines with passion and made few mistakes. Their performance left the Copperfield family speechless before they finally erupted with applause. Greta had to leave the room for a full five minutes before emerging, her cheeks caked with tears.
“You were incredible,” Greta breathed, captivated.
“Really,” Alana affirmed, jumping forward to give Sarah a big hug.
The girls beamed and glanced at one another, both embarrassed and pleased.
After a long pause, Bernard finally spoke.
“Why don’t you perform this play at the Fourth of July Festival?”
The air was instantly sucked out of the room. Alana and Julia caught one another’s gaze, genuinely surprised.
“Oh, I don’t know about that…” Sarah began.
“Why not?” Bernard asked, looking from one girl to the next.
“It was just a read-through, Bernard,” Greta told him. “Nothing more.”
“Come on. It’s a tragedy that the play was never put on,” Bernard pushed. “Alana, you could work as their director. Wouldn’t you like to hear feedback from an actual working actor?”
Alana longed to protest, to tell everyone that her mid-tier career as an actress was nothing to write home about. But the girls suddenly looked so bright, so hopeful.
“Come on, Alana,” Bernard coaxed. “Isn’t being a director every actor’s dream?”
Alana held the thought in her heart for a long, quiet moment. It seemed outlandish, even silly. But would it really hurt for her to call the Fourth of July Festival organizer and simply inquire about the possibility?
Wasn’t all of life just one possibility after another? And didn’t she always regret not chasing after possibilities with potential beauty?
Alana shrugged and glanced back at the teenage girls, who eyed her with rapt attention. “If you girls are up for it, I don’t see why we shouldn’t try.”
The teenage girls shrieked and huddled together. The windows of The Copperfield House quaked in their frames. All the while, Alana held Greta’s eyes with gentle curiosity, so grateful for this experience. She would help to bring her mother’s vision to life.
