An Island Christmas Read online

  “Um, isn’t Felicia there with her fiancé?”

  “Yes, but unfortunately, Archie hit his head when he broke one of the chairs. He’s on his way to the hospital for stitches. I think he’ll be out of commission tomorrow.”

  “Sorry to hear that. Is he okay?”

  “He’s fine. Just needs a day of rest. I think Felicia will be going over with me,” Jilly added enticingly.

  “Let me check something.” After a moment, Steven said, “The weather should be good tomorrow. The wind will be just fifteen miles per hour. So, great. Of course I’ll go.”

  “You’re an angel!” And I’m a bit of a devil, Jilly thought as they made plans for which ferry to take. “See you tomorrow.”

  But as she carried the antique hand-painted porcelain tureen back into the kitchen, a kind of guilt itched at Jilly’s heart. She dialed Nicole’s number.

  “Can you talk for a moment?” she asked her friend.

  “Of course. Are you okay?” Nicole asked, sounding worried.

  “I feel so terrible, Nicole! Poor Archie actually cut his head and is on his way to the hospital to have stitches! Thank heavens we haven’t had a dinner party since I bought those antique chairs. I had no idea they were so fragile.”

  “I’m sure Archie will survive. He’s a rough tough outdoors guy. Could he stand up?”

  “Yes, he walked and everything. But I’m going to go to the Cape tomorrow to buy some sturdy dining room chairs.”

  “Excellent idea, Jilly. I’ll go with you. I have some last-minute things to buy.”

  “Fabulous!” Now she only had to convince Felicia to come with her, and Jilly could chat with Nicole while Felicia chatted with her dear old high school buddy Steven.

  “How’s the stew?” Nicole asked.

  “Keeping warm on the stove. We’ll eat in the kitchen when everyone returns. I know those chairs are safe. I’d better finish scrubbing up the blood.” Jilly laughed, rather wildly. “That’s not a sentence I ever thought I’d say.”

  She put on an apron and rubber gloves. She carried in a big pail of hot water, a new roll of paper towels, a plastic garbage bag, and a scrub brush. As she cleaned, she sang Christmas carols at the top of her voice. Soon all signs of blood had disappeared. She emptied the pail, double-checked the stew, then made herself a cup of tea and sank into a kitchen chair.

  A noise made her turn her head. Rex slunk out of the laundry room, a pair of George’s boxer shorts hanging from his tail.

  “Rex, you silly boy!”

  Rex jumped on her lap and butted her chin, the way he did when he wanted her to pet him.

  “Sweetie,” Jilly said, laughing and stroking the cat’s head, “you do look fetching in these boxers, but cats don’t ordinarily wear clothes.”

  Rex didn’t even notice when she gently pulled the boxers off his tail. He allowed her to pet him, then turned around a few times and curled up in her lap. He purred, and the purr was like a kind of calming om, a universal soothing mantra that vibrated through her body and smoothed out her racing thoughts. Jilly closed her eyes and relaxed.

  8

  Felicia decided to join her mother and Nicole on their day trip to Hyannis. Archie would be fine in her father’s company, and she had so many good memories of shopping orgies like this one. On the way over, she and her mother and friends would enthusiastically list all the treasures they were going to discover at the Cape Cod Mall, because Nantucket didn’t have a mall or a CVS or a Marshalls, Macy’s, Talbots, Gap, or any chain store—they were not allowed on Nantucket. During the three or four hours before the fast ferry home, they would each scurry off their separate ways like desperate cavewomen foraging for hides and furs to keep them warm in the winter. On the return trip, they’d show each other their prizes, eat food they’d bought from the forbidden McDonald’s, and arrive home exhausted and totally happy.

  The morning was frosty and bright. A line of passengers waited on the cobblestone wharf to board the boat, and Felicia, Jilly, and Nicole were there, too. It was like old home week as neighbor greeted neighbor, but Felicia was surprised to see Steven Hardy stroll up, very GQ in his black wool coat and fedora.

  “Steven!” Felicia exclaimed, delighted. “Are you going to the Cape, too?”

  “Didn’t your mother tell you I’m coming over with you?” Steven flashed his gorgeous smile. He looked incredible, with his dark hair neatly cut and combed, his intense dark eyes and hawkish nose.

  “I’m so glad! Tell me everything. Mom says you’ve moved back to the island.” Felicia flung her arms around her old friend’s neck. Even in her excitement, she didn’t miss the way her mother nudged Nicole.

  “I have. With my computer, I can do my stock brokerage business from my house or anywhere.”

  “Fantastic! Did Mom tell you I’m engaged? I’m going to marry Archie Galloway on Christmas Day.”

  Jilly poked Felicia, perhaps more brusquely than she intended. “We’re boarding. Get your ticket ready.”

  “Mom. I have my ticket ready. I’ve only done this a million times.” She linked her arm through Steven’s. “Let’s find our own booth and catch up on everything.”

  The waiting crowd filed up the ramp and into the large cabin where they spread out in booths and on blue benches and chairs. As the Hy-Line catamaran sped over the waves to Hyannis, its passengers read, snoozed, and gabbed during the hour-long trip.

  Felicia and Steven sat in a booth behind Jilly and Nicole, so they could hear Jilly describe in rapid-fire excitement the events of the previous evening.

  “Rex has been with us for only a week and you know how quietly we live. It must have seemed to him like a bomb went off. I talked it over with George and we decided that during the Christmas season, Rex will be allowed to sleep in our room. And do you know, last night, he crept up on the bed and curled up next to me.”

  Felicia leaned forward over the table and said softly to Steven, “My mother’s turning a moment’s crash into a Hallmark miniseries.”

  Steven grinned. “Mothers have a way of doing that.”

  Felicia reached out and took her friend’s hand. “How are you, Steven? You were in New York for what, five years? And you’ve made a ton of money? Are you married or anything? Did Mom tell you about Archie?”

  Steven laughed. “Which question should I answer first?”

  “All of them!”

  “I’m great,” Steven told her. “New York, five years. Yes, tons of money. No, not married—yet. Yes, your mother mentioned Archie. I’m happy for you, Felicia.”

  As she talked with Steven, Felicia flashed back to the night of their senior prom, when she had been his date. He had held her close as they swayed dreamily to a slow dance. She had nestled her cheek against his chest, inhaling his clean male scent. Their legs had touched all up and down as they moved, making her aware that Steven was not merely her friend, he was a boy. Almost a man. She hugged him closer, affectionately melancholy about the end of high school, the beginning of their new lives. She was pretty sure she felt him kiss the top of her head.

  “Steven—”

  Jilly interrupted them. “Nicole’s brought a homemade coffee cake to eat on the way over. Want some?”

  Nicole piped up, “Having something in your stomach prevents motion sickness, and it’s good to fuel up before a day of high-pressure shopping.”

  “Sure, I’ll have some,” Steven said.

  Jilly patted the empty space on the bench next to her. “Come sit with us for a minute.”

  Steven settled next to Jilly. Felicia settled next to Nicole, who broke off a piece of cake rich with walnuts and honey and handed it to Felicia.

  “How’s Archie?” Nicole asked.

  Delighted to have a chance to talk about her fiancé, Felicia said, “He’s fine, with five stitches in the back of his head. They had to cut some of his hair to reach his scalp but it doesn’t really show.”

  “I’ve never seen a man with so much hair!” exclaimed Jilly. “He has so much en
ergy, too.”

  “I’m looking forward to meeting him,” Nicole said. “Steven, tell me what shops you need to hit today.”

  Felicia relaxed back in her seat. She closed her eyes. She was grateful to Nicole for changing the subject away from Archie’s catastrophic tumble, which was, after all, her mother’s fault for having such fragile chairs. As the ferry continued to speed over the waves, she replayed last night’s scene in her mind.

  It hadn’t taken long for the emergency room doctor to stitch up Archie’s scalp. By the time she, Archie, and her father returned home, Jilly had had a chance to calm down. The four of them sat around the kitchen table enjoying the delicious stew.

  Jilly had taken the calendar down from the wall in order to point out precisely what parties they were invited to. She wanted Felicia and Archie to know they were invited to all of them but not expected to attend all of them. Whatever they felt like. They also discussed the arrival of Archie’s mother, who would be coming for the wedding, but who insisted on staying at a hotel.

  “My mother often likes to sleep late,” Archie explained.

  “She’s probably exhausted from cooking for you while you were growing up,” Jilly joked, looking Archie up and down.

  “Mother!”

  “It’s all right, Fill,” said Archie. “She’s said exactly that many times herself.”

  After dinner, Felicia’s father and Archie insisted on doing the dishes and tidying the kitchen, allowing Jilly and Felicia the opportunity to make grocery shopping lists. They were all in good spirits when they retired for the night.

  So perhaps it was going to be okay, Felicia thought. They had survived the breakage of a valuable chair. Anything else would be minor. And she had to give her mother credit for apologizing about the chair instead of fussing over the loss of her cherished antique.

  Rubbing the condensation off the wide window, Jilly watched as they glided past waterfront houses, boatyards, and wharves and arrived at the Hyannis dock. “We’re here!”

  The group gathered up their purses and empty duffel bags—the bags would be filled by this evening. They carefully walked down the ramp from the boat to dry land, shivering as the frigid air hit them.

  “Let’s hurry,” Jilly urged. “We want to get one of the taxis.”

  “No need,” Steven told her. “I’ve hired a car and driver for the day.”

  The three women stopped dead in their tracks and stared up at him.

  “You what?” Felicia demanded.

  “Over there.” Steven pointed to an enormous black SUV, white smoke steaming from the exhaust pipe as it waited by the curb. “Jilly said she needed help moving some chairs to the boat, so I thought I’d better hire something big. The driver will take us to all the furniture stores and anywhere else we want to go. Oh, and I’ve made lunch reservations at Bleu in Mashpee. It will be a twenty-minute drive, but worth it.”

  Felicia hugged Steven and kissed his cheek. “You’re an angel!”

  Jilly smiled complacently. “Yes, Steven, you certainly are.”

  It was dark when the group finished their shopping. Steven and the driver helped load their Christmas loot and six new dining room chairs, carefully packed, onto the baggage carriers.

  “I’m flying back,” he told them. “I’ve got some plans for this evening.”

  The flight to the island took only fifteen minutes, but was expensive, while the fast ferry took an hour, a perfect time to relax.

  Jilly was disappointed Steven wouldn’t be with them for another hour, but she hid it well. “Thank you for this marvelous day!” Jilly told him. She was so restrained she didn’t even ask him if he had a date, and who it was, and if they were serious, and where they were going tonight and …

  Felicia hugged him and kissed his cheek again. “Steven, it’s been so great spending time with you. Thank you for everything.”

  They went their separate ways. The women boarded the ferry, collapsed in a window-view booth with a long table between two padded benches, set their bursting duffel bags on the floor, and plopped their shopping bags on the table. Jilly used her cell to phone a friend with a pickup truck who promised to transfer the chairs from the luggage rack to her house.

  “There,” Jilly said, “that takes care of the chairs. His cab’s too small for all of us, though. George is coming, anyway.”

  Nicole suggested, “Let’s have some hot chocolate.”

  Jilly and Felicia thought that was a brilliant idea. The warm drink gave them the energy to rave about the marvelous presents they’d discovered, the amazing sales, the adorable new wrapping paper, and the Christmas trinkets they’d bought for themselves. And how handsome Steven was. How sophisticated. The car and driver! The French restaurant with wine! His adorable sense of humor.

  “Don’t you just love him?” Jilly prompted Felicia.

  Felicia answered truthfully. “I’ve always loved Steven.” She saw her mother shoot Nicole a meaningful glance.

  As the ferry entered Nantucket Harbor, Jilly said, “I wonder what George and Archie did today.”

  “I’ll bet Dad took Archie to one of the beaches,” Felicia said. “It’s a sunny day, perfect for a long walk.”

  Jilly frowned. “I’m not sure your father is up to a walk, especially in this cold weather.”

  “Mom,” Felicia said, “Dad is still a young, healthy man. You two act like you’re ready for your rocking chairs.”

  “I’m certainly ready for one now,” panted Nicole as they made their way down the steep ramp with duffel bags and packages in their hands.

  Jilly peered at the crowd waiting on the wharf. “I don’t see George.”

  “Let’s walk to the intersection,” Felicia suggested. “Maybe they wouldn’t allow him to drive the car down here.”

  They struggled along until they came to the corner of Main and New Whale Street. No sign of George. Jilly flipped out her cell phone and hit George’s number. “It goes to voice mail,” she told the others.

  “He’s probably on his way,” Felicia said. “Let’s wait a while.”

  But the wind that had been so lazy during the day was waking up, blowing harder on the island than it did on the mainland, chilling the backs of their necks, flipping their hair into their eyes, and making the December darkness seem even colder than it really was.

  “Enough,” said Nicole. “I’ll call Sebastian to come pick us up.”

  Her husband arrived within five minutes. The women scrambled into his car, grateful for the warm air from the heater. Chestnut Street was only a few blocks away. They all talked at once, telling Sebastian about their day, but they went silent as they pulled up in front of the Gordon house. No lights were on. George’s SUV was not in the drive.

  “That’s odd,” Jilly said.

  “They’re probably down at the wharf waiting for us.” Felicia laughed. This sort of thing had happened before.

  The women kissed and said goodbye. Sebastian helped carry the duffel bags and other packages up to the house and waited while Felicia turned on some lights.

  “Thanks, Sebastian.”

  “Let us know if you have any problems.” Sebastian didn’t need to finish his thought. Jilly was clearly worried about where her husband had gone.

  Like her mother, Felicia dropped her packages in the front hall. She trailed Jilly to the kitchen.

  “George always leaves me a note on the Peg-Board,” Jilly murmured, as much to herself as to Felicia. “I’m sure he wouldn’t have—oh, look, he did leave a note!”

  In George’s blunt block printing, the note read: Archie and I have borrowed Ed’s boat and gone off for a little exploring. See you at dinner.

  Felicia breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that explains it. They should be back any moment. More than anything, I want a hot bath.”

  “Are you kidding?” Jilly’s voice was strained. “It’s eight o’clock at night. It’s been dark for hours. I don’t have any messages on my voice mail. Do you?”

  Felicia scrol
led through her phone. “I don’t have any messages from Dad or Archie.”

  “I’m going to call Ed Ramos and see if George brought the boat back.” Jilly picked up the phone book and found Ed’s number. She punched it in. “Ed, I’m so glad I reached you. Has George brought the boat in yet?”

  Felicia didn’t have to hear Ed’s words to know what his answer was. Her mother went completely white and sat down hard on a kitchen chair.

  “All right, Ed, call me if you hear anything.” Jilly stared at her daughter with frightened eyes. “Archie and George took Ed’s boat out from Madaket Harbor around ten this morning. He hasn’t heard from them since.”

  Felicia nodded calmly, thinking fast. “Okay, Mom, let’s not panic. Let’s think this through. I’m going to run upstairs to see if Archie left his cell phone here. He hates carrying it. You look for Dad’s cell.”

  Felicia found Archie’s phone just as she thought she would, lying on the dresser. She hurried back downstairs to the kitchen.

  “I found George’s phone on his desk in his study.” Jilly tossed the device onto the kitchen table. “What did he think he was doing, going out on the water without his cell phone?”

  At that moment, Rex strolled into the kitchen, obviously awakening from his nap in the laundry basket. He rubbed around Jilly’s ankles, purring.

  Jilly picked him up and held him against her for comfort. “Oh, Rex, if only you could talk and tell us what you overheard. Where did they think they were going?” Helplessly, Jilly looked at her daughter. “What should we do?”

  The landline phone rang. Jilly set the cat on the floor and snatched up the receiver. “No, Sebastian, we haven’t heard from them. They left a note saying they were going out on Ed Ramos’s boat but they haven’t returned it. How long do you think we should wait before contacting the Coast Guard?”