Chapter 11
Sometimes, when Annie had too much of her own muddle to think about, she resolved nothing. So the following day, she decided to take action on behalf of someone else: her brother. She began by hunting down Francine after breakfast, which wasn’t hard, as she was in the kitchen.
Bella was on her play mat, busy with her yarn-haired dolls and a new teddy bear that had made the trip from Minnesota. Perhaps Francine’s aunt had bought it.
Annie squatted down and touched the bear. “What’s this? You have a teddy bear! He is very handsome, isn’t he?” The bear was mocha colored and sported a bright turquoise bow.
“It’s Mr. Bear,” Bella replied with her sweet smile. She handed him to Annie. “Say ‘hello, Ammie,’ ” she instructed him.
Annie hoped it would be years before Bella learned that Ammie wasn’t the right way to pronounce her name. The little girl had come up with that pronunciation on her own, and each time she said it, Annie wanted to hug her.
Fluffing the bear’s ears, she said, “Hello to you, Mr. Bear. It’s very nice to meet you.” She paused, then handed him back. “He says he’d rather play with you right now, okay?”
Bella nodded; Annie kissed her forehead and stood up.
“I need a favor,” she said as she carried a few plates from the counter to where Francine was loading the dishwasher.
“Oh, no!” Francine said with a laugh. “Not another favor!” She was kidding, of course, because Annie rarely needed her to do anything. The young woman always was a step ahead.
“It’s about Bella. May I take her up-island to Winnie’s today?”
“Don’t you have soap to pack? A book to write? A wedding to plan?”
“Yes, yes. And yes. But I need a break. Please?”
“Winnie plays with clay,” Bella announced.
“Do you want to play at Winnie’s today?” Francine asked and Bella nodded several times. “Okay, then. Be off with both of you! Leave the pregnant lady all alone, I don’t mind.”
“We’re going to leave you with some peace and quiet.”
Francine grinned. “Since you put it that way . . . Jonas is going to paint at Katama Bay today, so maybe I’ll hang out here and look for baby stuff online.”
“Great,” Annie replied, and gave Francine a hug. “While you’re at it, you might want to register somewhere for gifts.” She went into the mudroom and fished out Bella’s quilted jacket and her hat and mittens; it reminded her of when Bella had been an infant and Annie had lugged her up-island to Winnie’s along with a heap of diapers, formula, and blankets. Thankfully, that added baggage was no longer needed.
“While you’re gone,” Francine said, “maybe I’ll ask Rex if he has any suggestions for your wedding food. I don’t know what you’re planning, but because there’s a real chef at our disposal, maybe we should pick his brain.”
Annie and Claire had contemplated a menu, but they’d decided to wait until after Thanksgiving to nail one down. The reception wouldn’t be extravagant—no more than sixty or seventy guests. Annie had invited Murphy’s husband, Stan, and their twin boys, but they’d be spending the holidays in Pasadena, where Danny, the older twin, was at Caltech, finishing his PhD in astrophysics. Annie’s agent, Louisa, and Trish were the only others from Annie’s off-island world whom she’d invited. Louisa had already replied that she’d attend, so if Annie’s editor couldn’t make it, at least her agent would.
But as for Taylor’s brother contributing menu ideas, Annie didn’t know what to tell Francine. If he was still on the Vineyard at Christmas, she supposed they should invite him, at least.
“Let’s wait, okay?” she said. “I’m not sure how Kevin will feel about that. As it is, I think he’d be happier if Rex went back to Boston. Today.”
Francine’s large, soulful eyes narrowed. “Really? Why?”
Annie gave a half laugh. “Let’s just say my brother isn’t too thrilled about the man. He still doesn’t know why Rex is here, or if Taylor wants him hanging around. I’m trying to stay out of it.” Which Annie thought sounded rather noble.
Closing the dishwasher, Francine said, “Maybe you should ask Winnie about him. She knows pretty much everything about the island people, doesn’t she?” Then she scooped Cheerios into a small baggie, put string cheese in another, and took a juice box and a container of water from the refrigerator. She gathered a few crayons and a workbook with stickers, a yarn-haired doll and Mr. Bear, and zipped everything into Bella’s pink backpack.
“Good idea,” Annie replied, as if she hadn’t already thought about that, as if that hadn’t been one of the main reasons she wanted to drive up-island. “If Winnie didn’t know Rex when he lived here, she might have heard something about him. If there was anything to hear.” She’d also decided to ask Winnie if she knew Rose. And if she knew of any connection Rose might have to someone who reminded her of Rex.
What would be the harm in that?
* * *
Winnie was busy doing what Annie should have been doing—preparing her wares for the Holiday Fair. She mostly showcased her pottery for Christmas; she’d once told Annie that spending time at the kiln helped keep her warm when the days began to cool, and it gave her a chance to shore up her inventory. She also offered her authentic wampum jewelry—bracelets, earrings, and stunning necklaces—crafted from the white-and-purple interiors of true quahog shells that she, then her children, and now her grandchildren collected on the beaches of Aquinnah. Winnie’s wonderful art represented one of the many ways she adhered to Wampanoag traditions.
“Tell me if you know anything about Rex Winsted,” Annie said after Winnie took a break and they sat down at the long table in Winnie’s family kitchen, which was nearly as big as the house in Boston in which Annie had grown up. Annie had lost track of how many of Winnie’s extended clan lived in the rambling, homey place.
