“That’s one word for it.”
“But why didn’t anyone tell you? Didn’t Grandpa know?”
So she told him that, too. “I don’t think anyone was trying to be malicious. When your grandparents got married they moved to Green Hills, where he was already teaching. Apparently my mother had planned to explain it all to me when she thought I’d be able to understand better, but then the accident happened. Grandpa also said that once I was told, she was going to share her culture with the people in Green Hills.”
“Wow,” he said again. He leaned forward as he’d done earlier, eager to absorb every morsel. “So where do we go from here? Is there like a next step or something we should do to let the tribe know that we’re here?”
Maddie grinned. Her son was wonderful.
“You have the kindness of a Native American,” she said. “And I’ve been wondering if your affinity to care about the environment and all its ‘critters,’ as you like to call both humans and animals, also comes from your twenty-five percent.” Then she had a thought. “Rafe, if you want to find out more about the tribe, about their background, their traditions, or anything, I know the perfect man for you to meet.”
“The guy you were with today?”
She hadn’t expected that. “No,” she said. “No, that’s Rex. He has a cabin not far from here, and he owns a fabulous restaurant in Edgartown, but . . .”
She realized that, like Owen, she was about to start prattling. She had no idea how to shape Rafe’s opinion of Rex. Or why it mattered.
“Anyway,” she cut off her rambling thoughts, “not him. But your grandmother had a brother, a half brother, actually. His name is Joe Thurston. He lives on tribal land, and I think he’ll be more than glad to spend time with you. I don’t know how long you can stay, but I think he’ll make you a priority.”
Rafe smiled. “Cool. And like I said, I don’t have to be back to school for two more weeks.”
Though the hour was late, Maddie called Joe.
Then she and Rafe stayed up until long past midnight, going through her grandmother’s mementos. Before going to bed, Maddie turned Isaac’s portrait to the wall so Joe wouldn’t catch a glimpse.
Later, she slept peacefully.
* * *
And at nine o’clock Friday morning, Joe knocked on the front door. At least it wasn’t five thirty. And Maddie was already up and dressed.
Joe and Rafe shook hands. Then Joe leaned closer and gave Rafe a hug.
“Nancy would be so amped,” Joe said, as if he were Rafe’s age. Then he asked how Rafe felt about kayaks and if he wanted to paddle around the ponds.
Rafe nodded enthusiastically. “Every summer I work with a crew that helps keep our river clean.”
Joe said, “You’re one of us, all right.” His eyes twinkled the way the stars had done the night before. Maddie wondered if her grandmother’s spirit was at work.
Making her way into the kitchen, she left Joe and Rafe to talk while she limped around on one crutch, repacking leftovers from her picnic with Rex and putting them into the cooler. Surely the kayakers would like sustenance while they were out to sea. It was marvelous that already they didn’t sound like strangers to each other. On a spiritual level, perhaps they weren’t.
Finally, she gave Rafe the cooler with the crab cakes, lobster sliders, mozzarella salad, and two bottles of iced tea that Rex hadn’t opened.
“Make sure you wear the life vest,” she instructed.
“I know, Mom,” he said with an eye roll that sadly reminded her of Owen. Then he looked back to Joe. “When I’m at the river, we use both kayaks and canoes. So I know my way around water. Fresh water, anyway.”
Maddie grinned, unashamed of having slipped into her Mom role. “Okay,” she said, “you’re set to leave. Do you have sunblock?”
His eyes rolled again.
Joe said, “I keep it in the kayaks. For my fair-skinned guests.”
With that, the males jaunted off on their journey into Rafe’s heritage. Her son seemed to be walking on a cloud. Cloud nine, in fact. She pressed her fingers to her mouth, holding back joyful mom tears.
Buoyed by Rafe’s happiness, Maddie returned to the mess they’d made the night before while rifling through her grandmother’s papers. She reorganized it into the three piles in less than an hour. Not long after that, Brandon called.
* * *
