Why didn’t being “adventurous” feel as good now? Was she out of practice?
It took her days to drive to Key West. When she reached the new island so far south, she parked downtown and strolled the beautiful, pastel streets, walking up to restaurant owners and asking about waitressing jobs until she secured one. It was as easy as ever, although she knew that wouldn’t last as she got older. As she left the restaurant, which also sold fish and smelled similar to the one in Nantucket, she peered across the street and, lo and behold, spotted Chloe Essex, her hands on her hips, her face glowing in the sunshine. Janie called her name, and Chloe bounded over to her, scooping her into a hug. Janie felt like it was a wonderful sign.
But that afternoon, as Chloe helped Janie move her few belongings into Chloe’s one-level bungalow not far from the beach, Chloe explained that she wasn’t going to stay in Key West for long. “My soul is itchy,” she said. “Too much happened, and I have to find a new identity, a new way to get through.”
Janie knew she was alluding to Benjamin Whitmore, to Nantucket. “What happened between you and Benjmain, Chloe?” she asked, her voice small.
“I was asked to do something I never would have done if I’d been older and wiser and more thoughtful,” Chloe said. “I went back to Nantucket last summer to try to mend it, but there was no way to do that. I suppose I’ll never see any of them again.”
But Janie had never seen Chloe like this: well-dressed, sophisticated, almost as though she’d come into money. What had happened to her since last autumn? She discovered that the bungalow itself was fully paid for, and Chloe told her that she could stay as long as she wanted. This mystified Janie.
“You bought property?” she asked.
Chloe shrugged. “I’m older than you.”
But it still didn’t add up.
It was suddenly October, then November. The good times in Key West were beginning, with people from all over the world swarming in for the good weather and beautiful people. Janie worked almost every day at the restaurant, made a few friends, and created a routine for herself. But every night, she dreamed of Nantucket and Alexander. She hadn’t managed to shake that hollow feeling she’d first felt when she’d left him. What if she’d made a mistake?
Chloe left at the beginning of December, saying she wanted to explore new opportunities and needed to figure out a new story for herself. Janie hugged her close and told her to come back soon. She understood that Chloe needed her privacy, although she wanted to beg for answers.
“Take care of yourself, Janie,” Chloe said. “And don’t let yourself get dragged back into that family.”
Janie knew what family Chloe meant.
Christmas in Key West was bizarre: warm, sunny, and not very cozy. It felt like any other day. She worked at the restaurantthrough the afternoon, went to the beach, finished reading a novel, and considered going to a friend’s party. But she didn’t have anything to bring. Deciding at the last minute to attend, she walked herself down to the liquor store to buy a bottle of wine for the occasion, knowing how rude it was to appear empty-handed and eat everyone’s food. But as she stood on the corner, waiting for the light to change, a familiar car stopped in front of her, and Alexander got out.
Janie nearly collapsed with surprise.
Alexander looked different from how she remembered. He’d dropped weight, maybe twenty pounds, and there were hollows in his cheeks. His clothes hung on him, and he was paler than any person she’d seen on the island in the past three months. It felt like seeing a ghost. A part of Janie wondered if she was going insane. Maybe she was lonely and seeing things.
“Alexander?” she whispered. “Are you all right?”
Her love for him, which had never really left her, gushed through her chest, and she hurried to hug him and guide him back to the car. The party was forgotten because she had to make sure Alexander was all right. She had to make a Christmas feast, just for them.
Janie did what she could with the time she had. She hurried into the liquor store to buy bottles of wine, then entered the only grocery store still open on a holiday to purchase a ham, potatoes, onions, beans, and Christmas candy. She was shaking when she paid at the register. What was he doing here? She kept checking out the window to make sure he was really there.
She guided Alexander to Chloe’s bungalow and carried the groceries in, insisting that he sit on the sofa and make himself comfortable. He still hadn’t said much. She threw a blanket over him and turned on the television. It wasIt’s a Wonderful Life, a story about the importance of family despite everything else, so she turned it off and put on an album instead.
She filled two glasses with wine and sat beside him. It was nearly six in the evening, and she knew Alexander was hungry because, well, look at him. She took his hand and whispered, “You’re here. Why are you here?”
Alexander turned to look at her. “I love you.” They were the first words he’d said since he’d arrived.
Janie burst into tears but soon calmed down, asked more direct questions, and got the story out of him. She soon discovered that Alexander had gotten into a terrible fight with his father.
“I couldn’t stand it anymore,” Alexander said. “I know he’s carrying all these lies around with him. He doesn’t want to admit the truth to any of us kids. Finally, I got drunk at Thanksgiving, cornered him, and asked him about Chloe Essex. He got so angry and told me to mind my own business. But then, I asked him about Charlotte’s real dad, about whether he and my mom are even happy, about so many things.” He hung his head. “I feel like a fool.”
Janie stroked his hair and thought of Chloe. Should she tell him that this was Chloe’s bungalow, that Chloe’s still her best friend in the world?
“He insulted me,” Alexander said. “He told me it wasn’t a surprise that you left me. That I’m nothing.”
“He was angry,” Janie said. “He doesn’t mean it.” But she couldn’t fathom why a father would say such awful things to his son.
When Alexander was too exhausted to speak, Janie got up and cooked their Christmas feast. It didn’t take long; the ham was pre-cooked, and the potatoes just needed to boil. The beans were in a can and heated up easily. It was the strangest Christmas feast anyone had ever had. But as Janie spread it out on the table between them, her heart swelled with pride. She was taking care of Alexander when nobody else would. She’d runhalfway down the globe away from him, and he’d come after her, because he couldn’t live without her. Maybe that was the only thing on this earth that really mattered.
The year 1998 began with a bang. Janie had six shifts a day, and Key West swarmed with tourists, so much so that Alexander said it was busier than Nantucket in peak July. By the second week of the year, Alexander had regained some of the weight and began going out with Janie, meeting some of her Key West friends. Everyone really liked him. Janie adored seeing Alexander in a different context and had started to think that, all this time, the Whitmores had been holding him back. Late in bed one night, she traced a finger down his shoulder and said, “Have you thought anything more about flight school?”
Alexander smiled in the darkness and said, “I have a few applications in my backpack. I’m going to start sending them out this week.”
