Daddy had given me fortitude. Fortitude wasn’t nothing. It was huge. I would’ve withered and died without it. There was a reality about sticking things out for a better day to dawn that was not a cliché, but honest-to-God good advice that we should all weigh and consider.
Miss Angel and Miss Mavis tiptoed across my mind. Those two. They had made me see things differently and from a kinder and more forgiving point of view. And they reminded me of so many important things—that the past carried value and explanations. If my momma had lived, and she had divorced Daddy, which probably should have happened, would Momma have been like them? Would anyone have cared about her? I think I would have.
Oh! Didn’t everyone you loved rub off on you a little, leaving a soapy residue of their best self? They did. And through them, you might become somebody with your own residue worth leaving around. Although my life would never change the world like Gandhi or somebody like him, I decided my life still had significance. I was just going to keep working on my tiny piece of the planet.
Time would tell about Arthur. Although, I was in love with him. Oh, who was I kidding? I was really as far down the rabbit hole with him as Emily was with David and Daddy was with Lucy. Maybe there was something in the water supply.
What was funny about it was that I wasn’t afraid. Too much time in my life had been spent being afraid. Worrying. There was no rush. No. No reason to rush anything.
“I’m home, Momma!”
Emily, her tired voice, calling out to me. She said she was home. Our home. That alone was enough to carry my spirits for a long while.
“Good, baby! See you in the morning!”
Emily. My girl. Arthur. Crazy wonderful Arthur. Everyone. All of them.
I pulled my covers up around my shoulders, pounded my pillow for the sake of positioning my tired head, and squeezed my eyes shut. For a moment I wondered what the morning would bring, and then . . . then I decided to just let the spirits of the Lowcountry and the Isle of Palms work their legendary magic. Oh, Lord. If I had ever learned anything, I had learned I could rely on that. Yes. I could definitely rely on that. If people only knew about this place . . . But logistically, it was probably a good thing that they didn’t. The Isle of Palms wasn’t big enough to hold everyone—maybe the rest of the world would have to change a little. It would be such a good world to live in if everyone could just change a little bit. Oh. It wasn’t up to me. It wasn’t. I was doing my part.
What? Sorry. I nodded off. I was dreaming that it was tomorrow and that you were back in my chair.
Well, these are some of the things I had wanted so badly to tell you. That there were so many things worth the struggle. And that, eventually, even if taking a risk scared the daylights out of you, life would bring risk to you dressed up so fine you’d accept the invitation, even if you didn’t know quite how to get where you were supposed to go. It’s all about that first step. First you stand up and then you take that first step. It isn’t right to live anybody’s life except your own.
I can see it all now. Tomorrow you’re gonna show up at the salon, desperate to have us blow out your hair for a holiday party. I’ll give you a glass of tea or an espresso or something. You and I will run our mouths about the party you’re heading to and what you’ll be wearing. We’ll rehash our lives since the last time we’ve seen each other and laugh over this and that. Then, you’ll get in my chair, I’ll do your hair for you, with pleasure, and you’ll look in the mirror. Your hair will look fabulous and you’ll be happy. And because you always do, you’ll probably take a moment to fret about your color and I’ll say, No, darlin’. Your roots aren’t showing—mine are.
Author’s Note
I AM dee-lighted to report that I am the recipient of a ton of friendly email. Mostly they say something like, “I read your last book in two days! When’s the next one?” Ahem. Writing takes so much longer than reading that it’s not funny. I wish I could write faster and I’m trying to figure out how to do that, but I don’t think there’s an easy solution. Anybody out there got a clue? Tell me!
Then there are some other questions people ask me over and over again. Reference to the Gullah culture and its language leaves a lot of people baffled. I am no expert in this field and the linguistic experts would probably argue with me on different spellings. I grew up speaking it from the time I could make my first words, that’s all. What do I know? In this book I have used quite a few so I offer this little glossary hoping it will help you understand.
GULLAH
Now, having offered this in print . . .
... I know I gwine catch the debbil from all dem folks tha’s down in de weeds, jus’ waiting on my own self to mess up dis ’eah t’ing. Humph! Ain’ easy, chile, trying to bring Lowcountry fuh all He chillrun to see fuh true, ’eah? Shuh. All I be fuh know is dat I been make a Geechee from Gawd’s hand. I gone be waiting fuh you, ’eah?
Anyway, you get the point. There are any number of good books around that will explain the Gullah culture and language at length. It is not an aberration of English nor is it slang. It is one of six Creole languages still spoken in this country. My usage of it is designed only to heighten awareness of yet another distinct feature of the Lowcountry. Gullah is a language of love, taught to little white barefooted island brats like me by loving women descended from slavery. Please use it accordingly.
READERS GUIDE FOR Isle of Palms
Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the role of motherhood in the novel, especially how Anna’s loss of her own mother at such a young age may have contributed to her own tempestuous relationship with her daughter Emily.
2. Douglas has many difficult relationships with the women in his life: his late wife, his domineering mother, and his daughter. Who is Douglas really and what changes to bring about the giddy happiness he finds with Lucy?
3. How does the setting play a role in the novel, especially Anna’s quest to move back to the Isle of Palms? Though just separated by the span of a bridge from Mt. Pleasant, where she lived for years, what makes the Isle of Palms different?
4. Friendship plays an important role in all of Dorothea Benton Frank’s novels. In Isle of Palms, old friends play an especially important role. Discuss how Jim and Frannie are essential in Anna’s life.
5. One of the ironies of Anna’s return to the island is that she moves next door to Miss Mavis and Miss Angel who took care of her when her mother died. Have these ladies changed in the intervening years? What does Anna learn from them?
6. How has moving next door to Lucy changed Anna? And not just her daddy’s relationship with Lucy. What qualities does Lucy bring to Anna’s business and life that completely shakes them?
7. What is the nature of revenge and the power it holds over us? How does Anna deal with the issue of revenge in her life? Does she actively participate at first or is she swept along by the passion of her friends’ feelings?
8. The theme of “women recreating their lives” runs through all of Dorothea Benton Frank’s novels. How does Anna go about doing this? By the end of the novel do you think she’s succeeded and to what extent?
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