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“It was certainly a different experience,” Stan said with a laugh. “I never thought I’d live anywhere but my shack, alone. And then, suddenly, I was living alongside all these women at the Lodge! Keeping to myself, of course. Even still, so many of them welcomed me and asked me about myself. I had many emotional conversations about my life and, well, about what happened in my past, here at the Lodge. But these women, they weren’t judgmental. I learned so much from them.”
Nancy reached out to take Stan’s wrist, which she squeezed gently, overwhelmed with what he’d said. It was rare for Stan to discuss what had happened in 1996, even in round-about terms. Speaking this way was perhaps proof that, slowly but surely, he’d begun to heal.
* * *
Kostos agreed to come to Elsa’s barbecue whole-heartedly. “I’ve spent so much of my time here on the island alone! A party is beyond my wildest dreams.”
A true gentleman, Kostos picked Nancy up from the Remington House and drove her down the road to Elsa’s new place, which she and Bruce had had built as a sign of the strength of their new-ish relationship and the next era of their lives together. Nancy had made potato salad and brought a bottle of chilled rosé, which she cracked open immediately on the back porch, perhaps due to nerves about her family meeting Kostos.
But she shouldn’t have worried. Kostos was incredibly social, shaking everyone’s hands, asking them about themselves, and congratulating Elsa and Bruce on their gorgeous new home. Unsurprisingly, Susan Sheridan was already seated at the porch table— the daughter of the woman Stan had been having an affair with— and she raised a glass to Nancy, smiling. Susan was Bruce’s partner at the law firm, a truly unique and powerful woman on the island. Although officially the Sheridan’s had forgiven Stan, Nancy knew it wasn’t so simple.
“How are you, Nancy?” Susan asked.
“I’m fantastic,” Nancy said just as Kostos came up beside her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and leaned forward to shake Susan’s hand.
“I’m Kostos!”
“Susan. Where are you from? Greece?”
“Guilty as charged,” Kostos said.
“And what has brought you to Martha’s Vineyard?”
“Dreams of a better life in America!” Kostos said, faking bravado. “But I have a hunch something else will keep me here.” He turned slightly to lock eyes with Nancy, who blushed.
“It’s a magical place filled with magical people,” Susan assured him. “I lived away for twenty-five years before I came back.”
“That’s a very long time to be away from home,” Kostos said somberly.
“Too long,” Susan agreed.
Carmella came up the back porch steps, her hand over her pregnant stomach, although she was hardly showing. “Nancy! Can you believe the latest development with the Venice scavenger hunt?”
Kostos perked up. “You haven’t told me!”
Nancy laughed. “Apparently, the next clue involves a secret society in Venice. At least, that’s what Alyssa thinks. I was on the phone with her this morning, and she gabbed and gabbed about what she’d learned so far about this secret society.”
“What has she learned?” Susan asked. “It’s not every day I learn about a secret Italian society!”
“Apparently, they were founded back in 789 A.C.,” Nancy explained, still flabbergasted at the year. “They sought control in their communities, their religious sects, and within their relationships, and they probably turned to religious texts for guidance. Apparently, there are rumors of secret rituals that they conducted in order to speak to God himself, although Alyssa couldn’t find specifics.”
“It sounds like a movie,” Susan said.
“Right? I was thinking that,” Kostos said. “But I’m from Greece! Thousands of years ago, we had hundreds of gods! So, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised about what my neighbor country was up to.”
Everyone at the table chuckled. Elsa floated out onto the back porch with a pitcher of lemonade, asking if anyone needed anything as Kostos cuddled Nancy closer. Her nostrils filled with his smell, and her heart felt weightless and soft.
“Well, it sounds like it’s all been a wonderful distraction,” Carmella suggested, clearly speaking of Lucy.
“I think it has been,” Nancy offered. “Alyssa begged me to come out to Venice to continue the hunt with them.”
“Oh! You should go!” Elsa’s eyes widened. “How often in life do you get an opportunity like this?”
Kostos’ face was stony in a way Nancy couldn’t fully read.Was he jealous?
“When would you leave?” he asked, his voice wavering.
Nancy felt flustered. “I haven’t booked anything yet.”
