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The next one is purple. Purple, she reasons, is practically blue.
Gigi has always loved watching fireworks shot off over the water—lights in the sky, lights reflected off the surface of the ocean. She pours herself some more wine, eats the buttery truffled popcorn. What would Matthew think if he could see her here, sitting three people away from his wife? Would he be angry with Gigi for stalking Hollis or angry at himself for creating a situation where Gigi would want to stalk Hollis? Would he be amazed that Gigi is still here?Matthew,Gigi would like to tell him,you were married to a remarkable woman.
Malik is proud of the grand finale. He heard that the lady who hired him was some kind of famous food blogger—Malik’s mother follows her—so he threw in a couple of extra kits for free. He lights them with precision not only for safety but for perfect timing until there’s one sustained blowout of light and color, spirals and blossoms, rings and crowns, whistles and bangs.Pop-pop-pop-pop!Malik loves the sounds, he loves the smell of cordite, but most of all, he loves hearing people ooh and aah—and seeing their briefly illuminated expressions of wonder.
That’s it,Brooke thinks, Dru-Ann thinks, and Tatum thinks when the sky goes dark.It’s over.
They head inside, carrying empty popcorn bowls and wineglasses.
Tatum shakes the blankets out and folds them. In less than twelve hours, she’ll know.
On the deck, Gigi starts stacking dirty plates and tossing pizza crusts into the empty guacamole bowl.
“No!” Hollis shouts at her. “Stop it!”
Hollis’s voice is so sharp, sofierce,that Gigi nearly drops what she’s holding. Very gently, she sets the plates down.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
The other women have frozen in place. Brooke takes in Hollis’s livid expression; her eyes are clamped on Gigi.
“Holly?” Dru-Ann says. “Are you okay? Gigi was just trying to help.”
Gigi’s guts turn to liquid.Here it comes,she thinks. The big dramatic confrontation at the end of the weekend. The real fireworks. The grand freaking finale.Don’t defend Gigi!Hollis will say.She was screwing my husband! She was his mistress! They met in Atlanta! San Francisco! Madrid! Rome!
Instead, Hollis seems to snap back to her senses; whatever force was holding her loosens its grip. “Forgive me,” she says. Her eyes fill with tears. “I’m just not ready for this to be over.”
“I don’t know about everyone else,” Brooke says. “But I’ll remember this weekend for the rest of my life.”
“You spoiled us, sis,” Tatum says. “Thank you for letting me live like a summer person for a few days.”
“It was exactly the escape that I needed,” Dru-Ann says. “Thank you, Holly.”
Gigi wants to offer her own tribute to Hollis, but she’s too afraid to speak. When it’s clear she’s not going to say anything, Brooke jumps back in.Thank God for Brooke,Gigi thinks,and her aversion to awkward silences.
“You must be so proud of yourself, Hollis,” Brooke says. “It all went so smoothly!”
The ladies drift off to their rooms in the opposite order that they came into Hollis’s life. Gigi excuses herself first. (Hollis can’t deny the relief she feels when Gigi says good night.) Brooke retires soon after. Then Dru-Ann hugs both Hollis and Tatum good night, and Hollis blinks. What kind of magic happened aboard theEndeavor? she wonders. Those two seem almost like… friends?
This leaves Hollis and Tatum alone.
We end where we started,Hollis thinks. She and Tatum dry the wineglasses and set them back in the cabinet; Hollis wipes down the countertops and sets up a fresh pot of coffee to brew in the morning.
She says, “Kyle told me about the biopsy, Tay. When you went to the bathroom during breakfast yesterday.”
Tatum nods slowly. She isn’t surprised, Kyle McKenzie hasn’t managed to keep a secret once in his entire life. “Yeah,” she whispers. “I just… I’m scared… I don’t want to end up like my mom. The diagnosis, the chemo, and then… well, and then I’m dead.” She looks at Hollis; she’s frankly too terrified to cry. “I don’t want to die, Holly.”
Hollis gathers Tatum up in her arms. “You aren’t going anywhere, Tatum McKenzie, do you hear me? I know you’re scared, but you won’t be alone. I’m staying on Nantucket through the fall this year. I’m thinking about selling the house in Wellesley and moving back permanently.”
Should Tatum let herself get excited about this? She imagines calling Hollis to go see a movie at the Dreamland in the middle of February. She envisions Downyflake breakfasts and afternoons lying by Hollis’s bougie-ass pool. Hell, Tatum will even take up yoga if she can have the greatest friend of her life returned to her.
“Really?” Tatum asks.
“Really,” Hollis says. “Does Kyle have any room for me on the McKenzie Heating and Cooling softball team?”
“As a matter of fact,” Tatum says, “we need a pitcher.” She laughs and shakes her head. “I’m going to bed. I find out the biopsy results in the morning.”
“Will you be able to sleep tonight?” Hollis asks.
