Then the image of that brought on another shriek. “What will I wear?” She practically sprinted toward her armoire.
Stephen looked at Grandma—his new best friend—and said, “You should have seen her the first time a boy asked her to the prom.”
Maddie stopped, redirected her footsteps over to them, hugged Grandma first then Stephen, and shooed them from the room. “Go back to whatever you were doing. I have things to do.”
Once the older duo was out of sight, she started prowling through her closet. Though she would have loved to don the beaded skirt, she decided it wouldn’t fit over her belly now. She needed something less revealing. After all, Rex had been through a lot; she didn’t want his homecoming to be about her. Not yet.
Two hours later, with clothes strewn all over the bedroom, she settled on a loose shirt—the same blue as her eyes—her stretchy pants, and a multicolored wool cape that should help mask the evidence.
She sucked in a breath and texted him.
WHAT TIIME WILL YOU GET INTOBOSTON? SOICAN MAKE SURE THE PLANE LANDED SAFELY!
Happy and exhausted, she crawled into bed and promptly fell asleep before he replied.
Early the next morning, she pulled on her warm robe and slippers, then checked her phone. He’d returned her text after midnight, nine o’clock California time:
LANDING ATLOGAN AT3:00.
Wonderful, she thought. That would allow plenty of time for her appointment. Maybe she’d have a quick lunch first in the hospital cafeteria—unless she was too excited to eat. She started to respond with a heart emoji, then changed her mind and sent a thumbs-up instead. She didn’t want him to feel pressured by their relationship (whatever it was or would be) before he was on island ground.
After making her bed, she headed to the kitchen for tea. Which was when she realized she had no idea how she was going to get to Dr. Mason’s, let alone the ferry terminal. It had been weeks since she’d totaled her car, but she—and her father—had been too busy with bookshop distractions to hunt for a replacement.
At eight o’clock that morning, Stephen was at the kitchen table, one hand holding a bagel with cream cheese, the other poised over his laptop, quietly scrolling through the news headlines before he headed to the boat.
Maddie had set her alarm so she’d be awake to say good-bye.
“What will you do about the car situation?” he asked. “I can’t believe we got so wrapped up in working that I forgot about it.”
She stared at him blankly; she couldn’t believe that she’d forgotten, too. “So did I.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Forcing a laugh, she said, “Don’t worry, Dad. If that’s the only thing we’ve forgotten, it will be a miracle. I’ll take care of it. I’ll call Joe after you leave.” But the pained look on his face told her that her father felt responsible. Of course he did. “Let’s look on the bright side,” she said, as she gave his shoulder a quick squeeze. “At least I can walk to work!”
Then she glanced at the clock. “Speaking of leaving, you’d better get going, Dad. They want you in queue an hour before departure, and it’ll take you thirty minutes to get there.” He sighed, closed his laptop, and gathered his things, while she nibbled on a bagel and drank half a cup of tea.
When he was ready, they hugged. “Safe travels, Dad. And, please, don’t worry about me.”
“Oddly, my daughter,” he replied, “I rarely have.”
Sad to see him go, but so glad that he’d been there, she hugged him once more, then headed for the shower as he headed out the door.
After showering and dressing she added a little makeup, not that it would last long, but it made her feel like she looked her best, which boosted her spirit, though Rex coming home was all the boost she needed. Then she put on the silver bracelet with the shiny oval of wampum that he’d given her for Christmas. The last thing she did was toss her makeup into her purse so she could reapply it before seeing him.
For a pregnant woman on the cusp of telling the baby’s father that they were expecting, Maddie thought she was remarkably calm. Until she called Joe.
“You’re where?” she asked.
“Hyannis.”
“But that’s on the Cape.”
“Correct. Nancy was running low on a special kind of ash bark she uses for her baskets. So we came over to buy more at the woodworking shop.”
“I thought she never left the island.”
“She doesn’t. She usually orders her supplies. But this time she refused to wait for a shipment.”
