Old Whaling Church (Edgartown)
Flying Horses Carousel (Oak Bluffs)
Grange Hall (West Tisbury)
Dike Bridge (Chappaquiddick)
Ocean Park Gazebo (Oak Bluffs)
Menemsha fishing village (Chilmark)
White lighthouse (Edgartown? East Chop?)
While I couldn’t tell exactlywhichlighthouse the watercolor was—Edgartown’s and East Chop’s were practically identical—only one location was still a true mystery.
Tractor Polaroid (???)
Hmm, I mused and straightened up in my seat, determined. I was going to piece this story together one way or another.
* * *
Lo and behold, my dad turned down Pearl Jam (still notmyjam, but at least he’d tired of Tool) when we finally made it to Woods Hole, home of the Steamship Authority! “Holy crap,” I said to no one in particular, unbuckling my seat belt so I could move up front, near the center console. I wanted a better view; this place was bustling like a busy airport. “Are they going to give us a map?”
There were people everywhere, a blend of preppy Lilly Pulitzer and Vineyard Vines meets granola T-shirts and Birkenstocks, and cars upon cars were parked in numbered lanes facing the harbor. It looked like they were waiting in line to willingly drive into the ocean. Jeep Wranglers, Suburbans, Range Rovers, Subarus, and even an eighteen-wheeler Stop & Shop truck. How wasthatgoing to fit on the ferry?
My dad carefully circumnavigated the swarming lot beforeparking in lane three. An Amazon truck was in front of us. “Okay,” Erica said once my dad had cut the ignition. She unbuckled her seat belt. “Time to stretch our legs!”
Today’s blue sky and puff-pastry white clouds were straight out of Andy’s room inToy Story, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d smelled such briny sea air. My stepmother led the way across the parking lot, toward a cedar-shingled restaurant called the Leeside Pub. It looked like they had a revolving door of customers, probably all hoping to grab a bite before their ferry. “Do they have clam chowder?” Bryce asked.
“Yes,” Erica answered. “But their fish-and-chips are better, B. Remember the last time we were here?”
Bryce nodded, but Maisie looked at me confused. “When was that again?”
“Three years ago.” I tickled her. “You were seven!”
Erica had taken the twins to Martha’s Vineyard while my dad and I’d gone on an Alaskan cruise together. Annie had booked it a year earlier, as a girls’ trip for the two of us, but when the cruise had finally come around…
“Liv, wait a second,” my dad said before I could follow Erica and the twins into the restaurant. I let the door swing shut behind them.
“What’s up?” I asked after we’d moved off to the side.
“I wanted to thank you,” he said.
“For all the driving I did?”
(I’d volunteered; he’d said no.)
My dad chuckled. “No,” he said, “for turning a corner and being so upbeat about this trip.” He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I really appreciate it, and so does Erica.”
“Well, of course.” I smiled. “Annie told me the Vineyard’s magical, and she would know, so…” I shrugged.
“Mmm.” He nodded. “I still can’t remember for the life of me when she would’ve come here.” He considered, but before I could mention the Polaroids, he wrapped me in a hug. He smelled like Irish Spring soap and cold brew coffee. “I know you’re going to miss her.”
So much, I thought, but I reminded myself it’d be okay. My plan was to call her every couple of days. She didn’t often pick up the phone anymore, but I’d spoken to the Finlay House nurses to schedule a standing call.
“I love you, Liv,” my dad whispered.
“I love you too,” I whispered back. “You’re the best dad ever.”
