Girls of Summer

by Nancy Thayer

“Okay!” Jim Snyder, one of the local firefighters, approached them. “Thanks for coming. Here’s how we’re doing it. We’re making a bucket brigade. So there’re four of you, good. Harry, you stand here and lift the sandbags off, and, Lisa, you stand here, take it and pass it on to this young woman here, and she’ll pass it on…” He positioned the recent arrivals so they linked in with several others waiting to hand the sandbags to the battalion of firefighters, police officers, DPW workers, and twenty other people, their identities obscured by their rain hoods.

  “Damn, these are heavy!” Juliet yelled at the man she passed a sandbag to.

  He nodded but didn’t reply. She realized he was out of breath, saving every breath for the job of passing along the sandbags.

  In a few more minutes, she was out of breath, too. The sandbags were heavy, but the real problem was the force of the wind. She stood like the others, with her legs spread for stability, and she stopped talking. She stopped thinking really, as her arms received the weight of the sandbag and passed it along and the wind screamed and the rain soaked through her raincoat and down the back of her sweater. About thirty feet away, she saw guys stacking the sandbags against the side of the building. She saw three physical therapists from Jo Manning’s office and grinned to think that after this, they’d need physical therapy, too. Her mother’s best friend, Rachel, was there, and Juliet’s high school math teacher.

  And suddenly, Ryder was there, too.

  “Let me take your place in line,” he said.

  For a moment, Juliet stalled, confused and amazed. Ryder was in jeans and a flannel shirt, with no rain gear except for rubber boots. He was already soaked through and water dripped off the bill of his scalloper’s cap.

  “You came,” she said, smiling.

  “Of course,” he said. “Now, let me take your place in line.”

  “I’m staying right here,” Juliet said. “But you can take my mother’s place.”

  Ryder nodded. He spoke to Lisa, who let him in the line. Lisa joined the others who were taking a break inside the building as newcomers arrived to take their places. Ryder was tall and strong and long-limbed, and he passed along the sandbags as if they were filled with feathers.

  No one was talking because they didn’t have the breath in them, and besides, the wind whipped away their words. But Juliet was so happy she was crying, unabashedly, and her tears mingled with the rain.

  thirty-one

  He’d been an idiot to attempt to drive even partway into town. The line of cars stretched from Main Street down to Flora, with more cars joining the line every minute.

  “You idiots!” Theo yelled, even though the windows were rolled up and no one could hear him. “You should be driving up toward higher land!”

  Possibly, he thought, they were all trying to get to someone they cared for, to take them to safety.

  The line didn’t move. Main Street was probably packed bumper to bumper, too.

  Frustrated, he pounded his hands against the steering wheel. The wind shrieked as it forced itself between the houses on Union Street. Above him, trees bowed and shook with the wind. Something cracked, and a limb crashed down from a maple, barely missing the car in front of him.

  Anger coiled with fear in his chest. The fear was because of the storm, this freak storm that no one had predicted, that was battering the island, invading the island like a battalion of crazed monsters with giant waves as shields. But he was sure they’d get through this. Of course there would be loss of property, but he was certain there’d be no loss of life. Lives were lost because of storms farther south, in Florida, in the Carolinas, even in Rhode Island, but not here on Nantucket.

  Not yet.

  A thought hit him in the gut so hard he gasped. Everyone was talking about the ocean these days, all the plastic in it, all the trawlers overfishing, the disappearance of entire species of fish. A photo from Facebook haunted him: a polar bear, so starving its fur hung down around its empty belly, standing alone on an ice floe not much bigger than the bear. That animal, uncomprehending. Hungry.

  And Theo thought that the ocean was angry. It was enraged at what humans were doing to it, and it was fighting back. People gave the ocean’s actions the rather gentle phrase “rising seas,” but the seas were not just rising, they were charging, they were destroying, they were at war. All the myths Theo learned in high school about Poseidon flooded back into his mind. Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea. When Odysseus blinded Cyclops, Poseidon’s son, Poseidon took his revenge on Odysseus with such furious storms that Odysseus lost his ship and his companions.

  Maybe Poseidon, or whatever god ruled the seas, was taking its revenge on them, at least all the people living on the coasts or making their living in the seas.

  Theo didn’t believe this, of course. But he didn’t disbelieve it, either, not right now when the winds sent tempests of rain charging over the harbor and into the town.

  Still the line of cars didn’t move. Angry with himself for sitting there doing nothing, Theo suddenly jerked the steering wheel of his car and pulled into the driveway of a house belonging to no one he knew, but he didn’t care. He slammed the car door shut behind him and began to run down the sidewalk toward town and Easy Street. Where Beth was, he hoped.

  As he ran, he realized he had thought of the Greek gods because he wanted to be Beth’s hero. He even wanted to be her husband, and that was a terrifying and challenging idea.

  His legs were strong. His core was strong. He had surfing to thank for that. He passed the stalled line of cars on Union Street, turned right, slipped between the stalled line of cars on Main Street, and raced down Cambridge Street, which was already a river of water being driven by the crazed winds into town.

  Easy Street was explosive as the narrow harbor funneled the powerful waves up and over the bulkhead, into the street, against the buildings, and up the side streets toward the library garden. Beth’s office was only one building away from Cambridge Street, and as Theo looked, he realized he was being lifted up by waves. Here, the water was almost four feet high. He half-slogged, half-swam toward the OM office. Already he could tell the lights were out, so maybe Beth had gone, or maybe all the power in town was out. He couldn’t call her. His cell was in his jeans pocket, and his jeans were in four feet of water.

  It was an eerie scene, this street where people usually sat on benches licking ice cream cones while watching the cute ducks waddle on the little beach and paddle in the calm waters of the harbor. Normally the parking spaces would be filled, parallel to the curb. Now, no cars. No people. Not even a duck, Theo thought, and wondered where they went just at the moment he saw Beth being lifted up by a wave and sucked backward over the bulkhead. She disappeared as the wave crashed down.

  Theo dove. Walking was too slow. He was a strong swimmer. He headed for Beth—he was certain it was Beth—and his torso grazed the top of the wooden bulkhead as he swam over it. Water rushed over his eyes, water tugged him down and pushed him sideways, but he swam as hard as he ever had toward the form that he was sure was Beth. It was Beth. He grabbed hold of her with both arms, a stupid but instinctive action, and for a moment they both sank down, but then he held on to her with his right arm and swam with his left arm and kicked hard with his legs. He reached the surface and gasped for breath, and he looked at Beth, who was also gasping for breath but smiling, and he yelled, “I’ve got this.”

  And he watched for the next wave to gather itself and rise and rise, he pulled Beth with him into the channel of the wave and it carried them all the way over the bulkhead and onto the street. He swam to Cambridge Street, still clasping Beth with one hand. Water was already massing on North Beach Street, but he could stand. Beth could stand.

  They stood on the brick sidewalk with waves slapping their ankles and Beth started to speak. Instead, she leaned forward and vomited out a stream of water. Her entire body shuddered. She stood u
p, wiping her mouth with the tail of her wet shirt.

  “Theo!” she cried. “I love you!”

  “I love you, too,” Theo said.

  He took her in his arms and held her tight as she broke down and sobbed with relief. His fractured humerus hurt like the devil but Theo held Beth tight and wouldn’t let her go.

  “I’m okay now,” Beth said.

  “Let’s get out of here. I’ll hold on to you. Tell me if I’m pulling you too fast.”

  Theo grasped Beth’s hand and began slogging through the high water. Beth kept up with him, but several times she was seized with a furious cough that shook her body.

  They reached Union Street, where only an inch of water covered the bricks, and hurried to Theo’s car. Once inside, Theo set the heat to high. A line of cars still clogged the street heading into town. They had to wait until ten cars passed before someone let them out onto the street.

  Theo looked over at Beth. Her hair was plastered against her face. He gently removed a small leaf from her cheek.

  “I need to go to Ryder’s garage to get some dry clothes,” Beth said.

  “And there it is, my favorite sentence in the world,” Theo muttered, not joking.

  “Theo, Ryder doesn’t ever come into the apartment. He’s letting me use it so I don’t have to make it impossible for my dad to have your mom over for…dinner.”

  “I still don’t like it,” Theo said, staring at the cars in front of him.

  “Really?” Beth cocked her head and made her eyes wide and innocent. “I can’t imagine why.” Her hair was plastered against her face and she was shivering.

  “Because, I told you, I love you,” Theo said.

  “Oh, Theo,” Beth began, and then sneezed, a long, involved sneeze that made her shudder.

  They parked in Ryder’s drive, as close as possible to the garage, and Theo followed Beth up the steps and into the apartment. Theo scanned the place for signs of male habitation, but the rooms, although attractive, were spare.

  “I’ll be right out,” Beth called, shutting the bedroom door.

  “You know that with your clothes sticking to your skin, I’ve got a fairly good idea of what you look like,” Theo called. “Why don’t I come in and help you change?”

  Beth laughed from the other side of the door. “No, thanks. You’re all wet yourself. Want to borrow a sweatshirt of mine?”

  “Right,” Theo said. “Because it would fit so well.”

  Beth came out of the bedroom wearing a baggy sweatshirt and jeans. “I should take a shower and wash my hair, but we need to get you to your house for dry clothes.”

  We, Theo thought. She’s thinking of us as a couple. He touched her cheek affectionately.

  Beth pushed him away lightly. “Dry clothes.”

  “Yeah,” Theo said. “That would feel good.” He glanced at Beth. “It won’t take long. Will you come with me?”

  Beth reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Of course I’ll come with you.”

  Her touch, that gentle touch, broke something open inside him. He drove to his house very carefully, swallowing his emotions, working to keep his breathing light, but something mixed with fear and hope kept punching his heart.

  He parked on the street so his mother could have the driveway. He left the engine running. He turned to Beth.

  “Did you mean it when you said you love me?” he asked. Doing this took more courage than riding the fiercest wave.

  “Of course I meant it. Don’t you know? Haven’t you always known?” Beth’s eyes shone like jewels as she spoke. “I loved you in high school, but I was afraid of upsetting Atticus, and you were dating so many awesome girls.”

  Theo shook his head impatiently. “But now. Not love in a high-school-crush way, but in a grown-up way? Because, Beth, I love you. In a very grown-up way.”

  “I love you like that, too, Theo.” Leaning forward, she kissed his lips solemnly.

  Then she pulled away. “You know, you are still wet and you smell a bit from the water.” Seeing his expression, she smiled. “But if you want to make out right now in the car, I don’t mind getting damp.”

  “No,” Theo said, “I’ve got to shower and change, but I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want not to be with you every second.”

  Beth touched his cheek. “Tell you what. I’ll stand right outside your shower door.”

  Theo thought of his bedroom, which was, as usual, a chaotic mess. His dirty laundry was flung in one corner of the room, his work pants tossed over a chair. “Maybe just wait in the living room?”

  “Fine.”

  No one else was in the house when they entered.

  “I’ll make coffee,” Beth said as Theo went up the stairs.

  Theo quickly washed his hair, showered, and dressed, not in work clothes but in khakis and an old button-down blue cotton shirt.

  He found Beth sitting at the kitchen table. She handed him a mug that was wonderfully warm on his hands, and the hot liquid slid down his throat, smoothly reviving him.

  “I used your landline to reach Juliet and your mother,” Beth told him. “They’re safe. They were piling sandbags at the Island Home.”

  “Look, Beth,” Theo said in a rush, “I’m glad they’re safe, and I’m sure your father is, too, but can we not talk about anyone else right now? Because I have something to say and if I don’t say it now, I might lose my nerve.”

  “Okay, Theo.” Beth folded her hands in her lap and looked at him questioningly.

  “Beth.” Theo started to sit down, but stood up again. He was too nervous to sit. “I was thinking in the storm…I’ve been in love with you for years. And you have been in love with me, too, right? So, the thing is, I want to be with you.” Pacing around the table, because his nerves wouldn’t let him stand still, he said, “I want to be with you every day. I lost you when you went with Atticus, and I almost lost you again in the harbor, and I want to be with you all the time, and I don’t want you living in another man’s apartment, and I promise I’m capable of settling down—you should ask your dad! He’ll tell you I’m a reliable worker.”

  “He already has told me that,” Beth said softly. “He’s said—I think these are his exact words—that you’re a good, strong, congenial employee.”

  “He said that? Man, that’s brilliant. You know, Beth, your father is the best. He’s patient, and he’s got a sense of humor, and he doesn’t mind showing me what to do, and—”

  Beth cocked her head. “I thought we were talking about you and me.”

  Theo stopped pacing. “We were. Well, I was. I wasn’t very smooth about it, and I’m not really sure what I mean.” He stopped talking fast and took a deep breath, gathering himself. “I love you. I’ve loved you for years. I want to live my life with you. I want you to be the last thing I see every night and the first thing I see every morning. I want to take care of you when you’re sick. I want to stay in bed with you on Sunday afternoons in the winter and, well, you could read and I could watch football. What I mean is, could we…move in together? And maybe someday, if you don’t think I’m a total slob, we could get married?”

  Beth rose and faced Theo. “Wow. This is a lot. Living together…” Beth paused and studied Theo with an appraising look. “Theo, I like the thought of living with you. I can imagine coming home at the end of the day and telling you about the highs and lows, and hearing about your day, too. And sleeping with you all night would be heaven. But I don’t want to get into the whole making a nest thing. I don’t want to choose a china pattern and decide on the color of our sheets. I’ve worked hard getting my master’s degree, and I want to start a career, accomplish something, do work I love—like working on Ocean Matters. Getting married, keeping a house, all of that homemaker stuff isn’t what I’m interested in now.”

  “I totally get that, Beth. I’ve got to con
centrate on work, too. Your dad knows so much I want to learn—”

  Beth interrupted. “And living together is full of practical stuff, like buying toilet paper and taking out the trash.”

  “I can do that,” Theo said.

  “Can you cook? Can you agree to make dinner half the time?”

  Theo frowned. “I’ve pretty much microwaved over the past few years.” Seeing Beth’s face, he added, “But I can learn. I will learn. And you know what? I’ll do half the cooking, and I’ll make you such fine dinners you’ll be glad to live with me.” His eyes lit up. “I made an amazing meatloaf for my mom the other day. Just ask her.”

  Beth laughed. “I have a feeling it’s going to be an adventure, living with you.”

  “So you want to do it? Move in together?”

  Beth smiled. “Of course I do.”

  Theo swept Beth up in his arms and swung her around in a circle. Beth folded her arms around his neck, leaned back her head, and laughed. Their eyes met, and they kissed for a very long time, then pulled apart, expecting the door to open any moment.

  “We’ve got to get our own place,” Theo said.

  “And soon,” Beth agreed. Softly, she added, “But let’s go to my place now. For a while.”

  Theo looked puzzled.

  “So we’ll be all alone.” Beth gave him a look.

  “Yes,” Theo said, his voice husky. “Let’s go.”

  thirty-two

  After the sandbag brigade was dismissed, Ryder and Juliet went to Ryder’s house on the harbor. He showered and changed clothes in his bedroom, and Juliet showered in the guest bedroom and wrapped herself up in the big white fluffy robe hanging on the shower door. The shawl collar of the robe warmed her neck, making her feel cozy and cared for.

  She went down the stairs to the den where Ryder had started a fire. His family’s summer home was a typical old Nantucket sprawl, large and drafty with old sofas, threadbare Persian carpets, sweet old appliances, and a sense of comfort and welcome.