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Ella, Julia, and Alana howled with excitement. A few rows in front of them, an older Nantucketer asked his wife, “Who is that new running back?”
“I heard he was related to the Copperfields in some way,” his wife whispered back, just loud enough for Ella to hear.
“Well, if he has any of Bernard’s talents, let’s hope he robs Oak Bluffs of this win,” the guy said.
Ella’s shoulders dropped. Around her, the crowd quieted as the football players set back up on the field. To Ella, it seemed that the players whispered secrets to one another immediately before the “play.” Would Ella ever understand what went on down there? Maybe she was okay, staying in the dark.
About ten minutes into the clock (which equated to about twenty-two minutes of actual time), the other team called a time-out. Ella, Alana, and Julia glanced at one another, then laughed at how serious they all looked.
“I guess we’re really taking this seriously,” Julia said.
“Who knew that the Copperfields could ever care about sports?” Alana offered.
Ella sipped her cider, which had grown lukewarm. On the field, both teams huddled, discussing the game as though it was war.
“I talked to Will on the phone the other day,” Ella said suddenly, surprising herself. It wasn’t like her to share the news of her heart.
Both Julia and Alana turned back to face her, their faces marred with shock.
“Did he call?” Julia asked.
“Finally,” Alana interjected. “You’ve only moved his daughter into college and put his son into a safer school. The least he could do was call.”
Ella grimaced. “To tell you the truth, it was so good to hear from him. At first.”
“Uh oh,” Julia moaned.
“It was just like old times. He talked about the tour and even mentioned some memories we shared while making music together. For a little while, I could pretend like we’d never broken up,” Ella continued. “And then, I decided to ask him about Marcia Conrad.”
Julia and Alana’s eyes widened.
“Apparently, she contacted him last year about using the song on her new film.” Ella’s voice broke. “And the two of them hit it off. Marcia came to their show out in LA recently, and afterward, the two went out together.”
Julia and Alana looked stricken. Out on the field, the players had begun to line up again for another round.
“You’re telling us that Marcia Conrad went on a date with your husband?” Alana muttered, her voice venomous.
“We never got married,” Ella interjected, saying it instinctually.
“That doesn’t matter,” Alana coughed. “Marcia knows exactly what she did.”
Ella now wished she hadn’t brought up the Marcia Conrad situation. It felt too heavy to carry just then. Plus, neither Julia nor Alana was invested in the football game any longer. Both clearly wanted to return to the matter at-hand: revenge.
“Let’s just talk about it later,” Ella whispered, suddenly exhausted.
“It just adds fuel to the fire,” Julia said. “She’s being so obvious about it.”
“We have to take her down.” Alana smashed her fist in her opposite palm.
“Yeah. Maybe by then, Will and Marcia will have already gotten married,” Ella said ruefully, surprising herself yet again with how eager she was to share her thoughts with her sisters.
Julia touched Ella’s shoulder delicately. “Ella, that just won’t happen.”
Ella’s eyes flashed. “Crazier things have happened.”
Neither Alana nor Julia knew what to say to that. Out on the field, Oak Bluffs’ football team managed to make a field goal, which, as Ella now knew, gave them three points. Nevertheless, Nantucket remained in the lead by ten. Ella crossed her fingers for a Nantucket victory and tried to shove all thoughts of Marcia Conrad from her mind. Marcia couldn’t taint this night, too.
That night after the football game, Bernard and Greta made a fire out on the sand. The orange light licked at the impossibly dark sky and taunted the volatile ocean. As Ella, Danny, Alana, and Julia approached, Bernard waved a sturdy hand in greeting and said, “Danny, I want a play-by-play. Get on over here.”
