Nancy rushed for the wine rack, grabbed another bottle, and then stomped out the door. Carmella clacked her way out the doorway as well but stepped leftward toward the driveway. In a moment, there was the jangling of her keys. Clearly, she had made up her mind to run away from the situation again. This was always her way.
Now, alone in the silence, Elsa replayed her own hurtful words in her mind. How immature she had been to feed into such pettiness.
Why did she always revert back to her teenage self when Carmella was around?
Why couldn’t she overcome the past?
She drew her teeth over her lower lip as another memory flung through her.
Karen had been her ultimate enemy and she still lingered on, even so, many years after Neal had cut her from their lives for good.
Chapter Sixteen
24 YEARS EARLIER
IT WAS ELSA’S TWENTY-first birthday. She was an Aries baby — although her younger sister, Carmella, frequently liked to say Elsa was nothing but a Taurus. “You’re so boring. All you do is stay home. You always want to know what will happen next. You’re so predictable.” Carmella, a typical Scorpio, was always ready for an argument. It had always been this way, at least, since Colton’s accident and their mother’s death.
They hadn’t seen eye-to-eye since.
But still, Elsa was firm in her belief in the beauty of family. She had a two-year-old son, Cole, whom she now balanced on her outer hip, even as her eight-month pregnant belly protruded dangerously out under her summer dress. Her husband, Aiden, drew open the door to her father’s house and balanced the cake with his sturdy right hand. His eyes found hers as a smile inched across his face.
“Twenty-one years old. We’d better go out partying tonight, right, baby? Hit up all the clubs? You’re finally legal!”
“Ha.” Elsa rolled her eyes back as she sauntered, belly-first, into the house she had grown up in. “It’s up to you to take me out when our little girl comes out of me. This summer, we’re going dancing, Mister. You promised.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Aiden dropped a kiss on her cheek as he led her deeper into the house.
“There they are.” Karen, Elsa’s stepmother of the previous year, stepped out of the kitchen. She wore a highly fashionable apron with little frills across the shoulders, and her dark black bob highlighted the sharp contours of her face. In the years since Elsa had met the woman, she’d hardly delivered a single smile.
And even now, it seemed, she forgot to say happy birthday. How marvelous.
“Carmella is helping me with the tortillas,” Karen announced. “She just ran out to pick up more wine from that new little wine shop.”
“Great.” Elsa tried her darndest to feign a smile, but it still faltered. “Isn’t she, um, only eighteen?”
Karen waved a hand flippantly. “I’m friends with the owner. She set aside the wine for Carmella to pick up. And in my mind, you know, I spent so much time in Europe, abroad. It’s silly not to let Carmella have a few glasses of wine with the rest of us. She’s eighteen — not eight. It’s really just silly, the way this country handles some things like that.”
Perhaps from anyone else, this might have seemed like logic. Elsa just bristled at everything Karen said, regardless. She longed to say something like, Well, why don’t you move back abroad and leave us all the hell alone? But she kept those thoughts to herself. She was a lady. She was her mother’s kind and considerate soul.
Aiden took Cole from Elsa, stating he would change him in the other room. In truth, Elsa knew that Aiden felt strange in the company of Karen. He wanted to escape. “The woman is cold as ice,” he’d said when he had first met her. “I don’t know what your father sees in her. He’s the warmest man on the planet.”
It was true. The only answer Elsa had for this was that maybe, opposites attracted? It was difficult to say. Karen had begun work in acupuncture at the Katama Lodge and Wellness Spa. Neal had fallen for her beauty and her wit. She was the direct antithesis of Elsa’s mother, Tina, who had passed away five years earlier.
When Neal had remarried, Elsa had been initially happy for him. After all, she felt that everyone deserved second chances. Everyone deserved happiness.
But this woman? What kind of joy could she possibly have brought into this house?
AN HOUR LATER, ELSA and Aiden sat out on the back porch table, across from Neal. Neal lifted his glass of wine toward Elsa and beamed. “I can’t believe that my first child came into this world twenty-one-years ago today. Where did the time go? And now, you’re a mother yourself— almost twice over. Your own mother would be so proud of you, you know. She always knew that you would grow into such a beautiful, wonderful woman.”
Elsa blinked back tears. “Thanks, Dad. That means a lot. I miss her so much.”
“She’s still here,” Neal said softly. “Sometimes, when I’m out here alone at night, I feel like I can see her walking along the water. She always loved to run through the waves. Remember that? You and Carmella and Colton, all out there together. My perfect little family.”
Neal grew wistful. Elsa’s throat tightened so much that she found it difficult to breathe.
At that moment, Karen bolted through the screen door and arched an overly-plucked eyebrow. “Carmella and I are nearly finished with dinner. Is everyone ready for it?”
“Of course.” Elsa put on her happiest, brightest voice. “Thank you so much.”
Karen smirked as she dropped down to kiss Neal’s cheek. Neal made no motion to return it. Instead, he turned his eyes back out toward the water, as though still in the midst of picturing his deceased wife and son.
The homemade tortillas and taco fixings were remarkable. There was salmon, shrimp and crab and beef toppings, along with onion, salsa, guacamole and tiny sliced-up limes. Elsa tried to catch her little sister’s eye to say thank you, but Carmella seemed to avoid her every try. Mid-way through dinner, Cole managed to smear a huge thing of refried beans across his cheek. Elsa chuckled and stood up to take him into the kitchen to clean up.
“Baby, you don’t have to do that,” Aiden said, mid-way through his taco.
“Don’t worry. I’m full,” Elsa said with a smile. “I’ll be right back.”
When she entered the kitchen, she found Carmella at the sink, filling up a glass of water. She turned, surprised to find Cole and Elsa there. It had been a long time since the two sisters had spent any time alone. Carmella stepped up and squeezed Cole’s chubby baby arm.
“He’s getting so big,” Carmella said softly.
“And so am I.” Elsa gestured toward her baby bump and winked.
Carmella lent Elsa a rare smile as Elsa placed Cole on the counter and reached for a paper towel.
“I can’t believe how long it’s been since I saw you,” Elsa finally said. “The Lodge has been so busy lately, and juggling a toddler with the pregnancy has made me feel a bit strung out.”
“No worries. I’m busy with senior year, anyway.”
“How is that going?” Elsa felt that her own senior year at Edgartown High School was something like a million years ago — not three. How quickly the time had gone.
“Oh, fine. You know. Prom is next weekend. Whatever.” Carmella’s face told another story — one of excitement for this prominent event in a young woman’s life.
“Do you have a date?”
Carmella dropped her eyelashes over her cheeks. “I do. But don’t tell Dad.”
“Tell me!” Elsa cried.
Carmella chuckled. “It’s just this guy in my math class. He drives me insane. He confessed that he’s liked me all of high school. I can’t believe it’s taken this long for him to finally tell me.”
“Guys can be so shy when it comes to girls,” Elsa returned. “But it’s complicated, isn’t it? Since you’re headed to college next year? I guess you can have a nice little summer romance beforehand.”
Carmella’s face shifted the slightest bit. She turned back toward the dishwasher and crossed h
er arms over her chest. “Actually, I decided not to go to college next year.”
Elsa’s heart pounded strangely. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not like you went to college.”
“I was pregnant pretty immediately and had other things on my mind. But you know that I’ve been taking night classes for the past year, right?” Elsa bristled at Carmella’s sudden attitude. “Getting an education is so important, Carmella. Mom would have wanted it for you.”
Carmella’s eyes darkened at the mention of their mother. “Mom didn’t care about what was best for me. You know that.”
A lump formed in Elsa’s throat. Here it was again—Carmella’s endless story about how their mother had never forgiven Carmella for what had happened to Colton.
Of course, what had happened to Colton wouldn’t have happened without Carmella there.
That was true.
But nobody pointed it out any longer. Nobody demanded any kind of apology or sacrifice.
“Mom loved you, Carm,” Elsa said softly. “There’s no way around that.”
“Sure. Because she had to,” Carmella insisted. She stabbed her finger on the counter formidably, then added, “Karen showed me this program in the southwest. I can learn to do acupuncture there. It’s like a three-month thing, and you travel around and learn from all these instructors. I think it’s perfect for me.”
Elsa stiffened. “You’ve never spoken about this before— never in your life.”
Carmella shrugged. “I mean, I think what Karen does is insanely cool. It’s like drugs, but without all the bad side effects. She really opens people’s minds. I could do that.”
“I mean, there’s nothing saying you shouldn’t do that eventually. I just think you should follow your original plan of going to school,” Elsa returned.
Shadows formed beneath Carmella’s eyes. “I don’t know why you’re pretending to be Mom right now because you’re not even remotely close to her.”
Elsa heaved a sigh. “I’ve just talked to you about what you want for the past three or four years. I thought we had a pretty clear strategy.”
“Karen says that you want to live out your fantasies through me. She says that because you didn’t get to go to school, because you got knocked up, you want to put all this pressure on me. Well, I’m sick of it.” Carmella lifted her chin angrily.
Elsa gave all her strength not to roll her eyes as far back into her skull as she could. Of course, yet again, Karen had attempted to draw a huge line between the two sisters. Throughout her marriage to Neal, she’d drawn Carmella closer and closer and shoved Elsa further and further away. Neal had even admitted that he had sensed it once, although he’d struggled to speak ill of his new wife.
It was natural that he didn’t want to admit the fact that he’d chosen so poorly.
“Can’t we just talk about this?” Elsa asked as she slid the paper towel over her son’s cheek. He buzzed his lips up at her playfully. He hadn’t any idea her and her sister’s relationship was in the midst of a strange, dying gasp.
“There’s nothing to talk about. I’ve made up my mind,” Carmella returned. “And I’m sure Dad will give me the money to go once I tell him.”
“Great. It sounds like you have a perfect, new strategy for your life. Be an acupuncturist, like Karen before you.” Elsa struggled to hold back her sarcasm. “I’m sure Mom would be so proud.”
“Oh, don’t you dare! I don’t care what Mom thinks,” Carmella blurted. “It’s a waste of time living in the past. You’re going to pop out another baby soon and I’m going to go find myself out west. Elsa, we’re different, so different that there’s basically no use in fighting about this. Karen thinks that the sooner we separate ourselves from one another, the sooner we can heal.”
Anger flashed across Elsa’s face. “What did you just say?”
Carmella shrugged flippantly. “You heard me.”
Elsa let out a strange laugh. “You can’t let that woman get between us.”
“That woman? That woman happens to be my mother.” Carmella sneered at her sister.
“Oh, here we go...” Elsa rolled her eyes back, then. “She’s been around like five seconds, and you’re putting all your eggs in that basket —”
“I’m pretty sure Dad married her. Pretty sure we were both there for that legally binding ceremony,” Carmella returned.
Elsa finished up Cole’s cheek and lifted him back into her. “I don’t want to fight with you on my birthday,” she snapped. “But just so you know, I’m going to talk to Dad about your future, and he’s going to hear about Karen’s little attempt to break up our family. Is that clear?”
“Now, who sounds like my mother?” Carmella blurted.
SEVERAL DAYS LATER, Elsa drummed up the courage to head into her father’s office to discuss what Carmella had told her about Karen, along with Carmella’s less-than-stellar plans for her future. When she stepped into her father’s office, Neal had his face in his hands and his shoulders hunched. Sunshine streamed in through the window just behind the desk so that he was bathed in light. But he looked like a portrait of a defeated man.
“Dad?”
When Neal lifted his eyes toward Elsa’s, Elsa’s heart dropped. Strangely, the baby then smacked her foot against the base of her belly, as though she’d sensed the shift in mood, too.
“Hey honey,” Neal said. “Why don’t you sit down?”
Elsa did. It wasn’t like she could stand for long, given her current state, anyway.
“I wanted to talk to you about Karen,” Elsa finally whispered.
And then, the pregnancy hormones fought against her, and she promptly burst into tears as she explained herself. “I just don’t know about this woman, Daddy. I don’t understand why you married her. And now, she’s telling Carmella that I don’t have her best interests at heart and that I don’t love her, and Daddy, I do love her, she’s my sister for Gods sake, but you know how complicated it is to love Carmella, sometimes. You know!”
When Elsa lifted her head once more, she found her father’s face filled with its own round of tears. He reached for a handkerchief and flung it to the side to collect them, then pushed the handkerchief back in his pocket.
“I regret almost everything right now, Elsa. Almost everything.” His eyes finally found hers; they were soft and earnest. “But I don’t know what to do about it.”
Elsa’s throat tightened. She tried to speak, yet she failed.
“I will tell Karen it’s over soon,” he finally whispered. “But Carmella will be heartbroken. The girl loves Karen more than I can really understand. I hear them whispering and laughing together deep into the night. I have no idea what they’re talking about and I can’t help but think that Karen has poisoned Carmella far more than even you or I can sense. Still, I suppose it’s better to cut it off while we still can. Hopefully, her infectious behavior won’t spread too far.”
Elsa nodded. She reached across the desk and gripped her father’s hand. To the side, she spotted a framed photograph of Neal and Karen on their wedding day. In other times, that same frame had held a photograph of her mother and Neal on their wedding day — twenty-two years before.
Apparently, Karen had decided to switch the photos.
It made Elsa’s heartburn with rage.
“She was never a Remington. Not really,” Elsa blurted out as she lifted her chin. “I know we can recover from this, Daddy. We’ve fought through everything else.”
“I sure hope you’re right,” he whispered, as his dark blue eyes stirred with longing and sorrow.
Chapter Seventeen
MALLORY YANKED LITTLE Zachery’s polka-dotted swim trunks high up so that they grazed past his belly button and made him look like Steve Erkle.
“He just needs a pair of suspenders, and he’s all set,” Alyssa teased as she patted his stomach gently.
Mallory cackled and tossed her head back. Mallory, Maggie, and Alyssa sat, all in gorgeous bikinis, with their full tresses
billowing out in the sea breeze. They looked like cousins, completely and totally instead of the step-cousins they actually were. Throughout the previous days of Maggie and Alyssa’s stay, the three of them had latched on to one another remarkably, sharing secrets in Maggie and Alyssa’s guest bedroom and taking little Zachery around with them everywhere. He had already been featured prominently in Maggie’s social media channels and as Maggie was something of a Manhattan socialite, a number of incredibly famous Manhattan-ites had written her to exclaim, “What a beautiful baby! Who is that little thing?” Maggie had just written back, “The most adorable baby on Martha’s Vineyard — my first cousin, once removed.”
Elsa sat back on her own towel alongside Janine and Nancy. Nancy lifted her chin toward the blue sky above, and as Elsa viewed the full breadth of this woman’s beauty, an airplane trickled across the reflection of her sunglasses.
“Every day is so perfect here,” Janine breathed as she stretched her shoulders back. “And I’m so glad we took today off. I was getting burned out. I hate to admit it.”
“It’s only natural. We give so much to the women at the Lodge. We have to keep something back for ourselves, too,” Nancy said.
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