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Nancy laughed and waved her hand. “It’s bizarre to be there by myself. Stranger, too, when I think about when I first was dating your father. He brought me there, and I just couldn’t fathom how enormous it was. Now, all those rooms are mine?” She shook her head. “It doesn’t feel quite right. In fact, if it weren’t for Alyssa and Maggie and the approaching babies, I’d consider downsizing.”
“You’re going to need plenty of space,” Carmella affirmed.
“That house is ready for another generation,” Elsa said. “It’s what Dad would have wanted.”
Nancy sipped her rosé, stirring with a mix of sorrow and longing. Throughout her marriage to Neal, he’d never once met Janine or her grandchildren. She felt as though she’d lived many lives, none of which connected.
“You’ll never guess what happened today,” Carmella began, her eyes dancing. “Another near-acupuncture disaster!”
“Oh no!” Elsa cried.
As Carmella explained what had happened during a session with a particularly impatient woman, Nancy’s eyes roamed from the table toward a man a few seats away. He was maybe a few years older than she was, with olive-tone skin and dark green eyes, and he was staring at her in a way that made her stomach twist into knots. Nancy forced herself to blink away, to focus again on what Carmella said. But when she checked on him again, she found that his staring had grown even more intense. There could be no mistaking it. She was all he could look at right now.
Nancy cupped her hand over her mouth and spoke very quietly. “Carmella? I’m sorry to interrupt.”
“What’s wrong?” Carmella frowned.
“That man over there is staring at me?” Nancy breathed.
Before she could stop them, both Elsa and Carmella twisted around to gaze at the man a few tables away. Caught red-handed, the man smiled at them, showing too many very white teeth. He then raised his glass of red wine toward them and said, “Good evening.”
“Evening!” Elsa raised her glass in return while Nancy kept hers on the table.
“This is a fabulous hotel,” the man said, his accent lilting. It was clear he wasn’t a native English speaker, although Nancy couldn’t have said where he was from. Maybe somewhere in Europe? Italy?
“Are you staying here?” Carmella asked.
“I’m not,” the man said. “I rented an entire house on the coast a little ways from here. Although I must say, it’s a bit lonely, being in that house all by myself. Maybe I should have rented a hotel room instead.”
Carmella flicked her gaze back toward Nancy. “Is it your first time on Martha’s Vineyard?”
“It is,” the man went on.
“I can’t place your accent,” Elsa said.
“I hail from Greece, originally,” the man said.
“Oh! Greece. Wow.” Carmella cupped her hands together. “And how are you enjoying our island?”
“It is gorgeous,” the man said, his hand over his heart. “I’m exploring very slowly, taking many breaks for plenty of food and good wine.”
“I think you’re doing it right,” Nancy heard herself say, surprising herself with how forthright she was.
“You three are from the island?”
“We are,” Elsa said, gesturing toward Carmella.
“I’m from Brooklyn, originally,” Nancy explained.
“Oh! But you came here to raise your daughters?” the Greek man asked.
Carmella and Elsa laughed gently.
“I’m not their real mother,” Nancy explained. “I married their father, but he, unfortunately, passed away.”
A shadow passed over the Greek man’s face. “I am sorry to hear that. I do believe it’s a wonderful thing that the three of you still laugh together like a family. I suppose you’ll always be family.”
“It is special,” Elsa said thoughtfully.
