Walking out of his office into the late afternoon air, I can't shake the feeling that this meeting was never really about a signature at all.
CHAPTER 27
TARA
Posey chatters easily with the other children in the storytelling room. Cameron would love to see it. Once refreshment time ends, I take Posey's sticky hand in mine. "It's been a long afternoon. Ready to go?"
Before we reach the doors, a neatly dressed woman with a scarf steps out from behind a reference desk.
"Miss Posey," she says, her voice carrying the cultured accent of old Nantucket families. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Then she turns to me. "Hello. I'm Gladys Webster, director of the Nantucket Atheneum. I heard about our young storyteller and wanted to welcome her personally."
"I'm one of her nannies, Tara Thompson."
"You heard my story about Salty and the whale?" Posey asks.
"I did indeed. But I also wanted to give you a VIP tour. Your family has extraordinarily deep roots in this institution."
I'm unsure where this is leading, but I sense something significant.
Posey's face lights up. "Can we take the tour, Tara?"
"Of course we may."
We follow Ms. Webster through marble hallways, stopping before an imposing portrait of a stern-faced couple in formal 18th-century dress.
"Your great-great-grandparents helped establish this institution in 1834. These are your ancestors." She points to the brass nameplate. "The name is right there—Abernathy."
"They don't look very happy," Posey says. "Why aren't they smiling?"
"People didn't smile much in those days when their image was recorded," says Ms. Webster. "Now, let's move forward.
Ms. Webster leads us deeper into the building. "Here we are—this is the Abernathy Wing."
Posey pauses mid-step. "Wing? What does that mean? Does it fly?"
I suppress a smile at her literal four-year-old logic.
"We call it a 'wing' when part of a building has been added or dedicated," Ms. Webster explains. "Usually because someone made a generous donation."
"I want to do that when I grow up."
"Well, you already have this wing," Gladys says with a gentle smile. "But you're welcome to add another someday."
"So this is my wing," Posey declares. She spins around, taking in the grand space with obvious delight.
"What are these pointy things?" Posey asks. She presses her nose against the glass case, leaving a small smudge.
"Arrowheads," Ms. Webster replies. "They've been discovered all over Nantucket through the years."
"Did the Indians give them to us?"
"Well," Gladys says carefully, "by the time most of these were collected, many Wampanoag people had already left the island. Some artifacts may have been gifts. Most were found during the construction of houses, schools, and churches."
"What were arrows used for?" she asks, turning those curious blue eyes toward me.
"Um... well, before there were grocery stores, people had to hunt for their food."
