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Herb raised his chin with surprise, and his face went slack. Eloise turned, expecting to see one of the Copperfields in conversation with Bernard. But instead, two people popped from the back porch of The Copperfield House— first Anna and then a woman Eloise didn’t recognize, perhaps in her late forties. The woman had dark hair and a beautiful smile. And she raised her hand and waved it excitedly at Herb, who could do nothing but raise his hand in return and wave back.
Suddenly, it was as though ten rocks had dropped into Eloise’s stomach. She felt as sure of this as she had the day of the fire, when, the moment she’d smelled it, she’d known it was her farm aflame.
“Herb,” Eloise breathed. “Don’t tell me that’s her.”
Eloise was suddenly terrified. Slowly, Herb dropped his chin in affirmation, and Eloise closed her eyes against the pain.
Eloise’s knees nearly gave out beneath her. For a long and terrible moment, she stared at Herb, who couldn’t look at her. Off to the right, the woman who was, impossibly, her daughter and Anna were walking toward them through the sand, and Eloise had the sense that everything in her life was about to explode.
“Dad, what are you doing out here?” The woman was all smiles. When Eloise finally forced herself to look at her, to really look at her, she realized that she looked every bit the way Eloise had about sixteen years ago. There was no mistaking it.
But how could this be?
“I couldn’t do it, Eloise,” Herb breathed, his eyes very small and filled with certainty. “I couldn’t give her up for adoption. I fought your father tooth and nail, and I finally won.”
Eloise returned her gaze to the woman before her as her heart thudded with terror. Bit by bit, the woman’s smile fell from her face, as though she recognized the weight of this moment. Anna soon caught up to her, and almost immediately, her smile dropped, as well.
“Hi, Aunt Eloise.” Anna’s eyes turned from Herb to Eloise to Eloise’s daughter, incredulous. “This is Harriet Thornburg. I’ve been interviewing her for the article I’ve been writing about the Nantucket Daffodil Festival.”
“Harriet Thornburg,” Eloise repeated, extending her hand to Harriet’s.
Harriet smiled nervously and took Eloise’s hand. Perhaps she, too, had sensed the resemblance, even if she didn’t fully understand why. “How do you two know each other?” Harriet asked, her voice breaking.
Herb brought his fingers through his hair and seemed at a loss for what to say. In the strange silence, the realization formed in Harriet’s eyes, and her lips formed a round O.
“It can’t be,” she whispered.
Beside Eloise, Herb nodded gingerly. “I had no idea she’d be here, honey. Nor that you’d be here, at The Copperfield House.”
Harriet gasped into her hands and gazed at Eloise. Eloise had never been looked at like that before— as though she was the answer to somebody’s prayers. It suddenly occurred to her that for every day she’d spent thinking about her daughter, her daughter had been thinking about her, too.
It seemed miraculous.
“Wait.” Anna took a step back from the three of them, her face marred with shock. “Wait…”
Eloise raised her hand and placed it on Anna’s shoulder. “There’s a lot about the past that I find difficult discussing.”
Anna’s eyes were heavy with tears. She slipped her hand around Eloise’s and whispered, “I’m going to make you three tea. Or coffee?” She stuttered with disbelief, then said, “What do you need? What can I get you?”
To this, Harriet laughed gently.
“Anna, we don’t need anything but time,” Harriet said.
Eloise slid her hand into Harriet’s and felt the skin of her palm sizzle. There was such intensity in her daughter’s gaze.
“Harriet, my name is Eloise,” she heard herself say. “I never imagined I would ever get to meet you. Yet here you are, after so, so long.”
“Right back at you,” Harriet whispered. “I don’t even know what to say.”
ChapterNineteen
After a stunted and strange hour of tea, it was decided that Eloise and Harriet needed space to roam the beach alone as mother and daughter— to finally have time together after decades apart. Herb remained on the back porch of The Copperfield House, his face a mix of fear and joy. He raised his hand at his daughter and his ex-love as they walked back down to the sands, where the wind roared in their ears. Anna busied herself, clearing the teacups and plates of untouched cookies, her face matching Herb’s nerves.
“This has been quite an afternoon,” Eloise said. She then immediately burst into laughter, feeling that what she’d said was just about the silliest thing anyone could say. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m saying or doing.”
“Neither do I.” Harriet’s laughter joined Eloise’s, and Eloise thought it was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard.
For a moment, they walked in silence, their hands shoved in their jacket pockets.
