Seventeen
Everyone wanted to ride to dinner in Theodore Roosevelt’s blue Bronco. Nick was wearing a thrifted three-piece tweed suit with a red tie but had given his look a nineteenth-century spin by adding TR’s famous glasses. They had two lenses, but they reminded me of a monocle because they didn’t have arms that extended behind the ears. “The style is calledpince-nez,” Nick—who’d also gelled his hair and shaved his stubble so that he had the shadow of a mustache—told Maisie. She too had gone full Americana as Rosie the Riveter, wearing her favorite denim jumpsuit (ICONwas tastefully bedazzled on the back) with her beloved black patent leather Doc Martens. Her hair was tied up in one of Peggy’s red polka-dot cloth napkins.
“What’s so special about Nick’s car?” Luke-masquerading-as-Albert-Einstein asked. His white lab coat and wacky wig were hilarious, but his mustache kept falling off. “I have the better playlist!”
“Bryce and I will go with you, Luke,” Lilly Pulitzer—I mean,Erica—said. Her brown hair was up in a bouffant, andher green-and-white shift dress was vintage. I thought her hoop earrings and bright pink lipstick were a nice touch.
Meanwhile, my brother had dressed up as Davy Crockett. I couldn’t say his coonskin cap—I had no idea where he’d gotten it—was very cohesive with Erica’s Palm Beach uniform.
My dad offered to drive everyone who couldn’t fit in Nick’s and Luke’s cars; I rode squashed between Teddy and Finn in the backseat. They were both in togas, while I was trying to pull off Princess Diana’s iconic running-errands outfit. Black spandex, white midcalf socks with sneakers, and Charlie’s oversized HARVARDMEDICALSCHOOLsweatshirt. He’d also let me borrow his black Ray-Bans, and I’d slipped on Annie’s amazing sapphire-and-diamond ring. “You look incredible, Olivia,” Sage/Amelia Earhart said, and I’d grinned.
Though I admittedly felt underdressed for dinner.
Once we rolled into Edgartown, our Expedition circled for a while. Cars not only lined Main Street but also all its offshoots. “Howdid he find something?” my dad said, incredulous, when we spotted Nick and everyone in his car strolling along town’s brick sidewalks.
“Connections,” Ashley said. “The Foxes have a reserved parking spot behind the Old Whaling Church. He charmed its location out of Andrew one night.”
“Why am I not surprised?” My dad chuckled as my mind drifted to the Foxes, and Connor, who had driven over to Paqua Farm for dinner earlier. How much fun was he having?
We scooped up a spot by Espresso Love about ten minutes later. It was only yards from a cedar-shingled building with a white clapboard storefront and double-decker porch. Patriotic bunting hung from the second floor’s white railing, andALCHEMYwas painted across the front windows in gold script.Three…two…I waited for everyone to be stunned when we walked through the front door.One…
The hostess didn’t bat an eye. “Carmichael?” she confirmed, and after Ashley smiled and nodded, she gestured to the stairs. “The rest of your party’s up on the side balcony.”
I was keenly aware of the restaurant’s other patrons either raising their eyebrows while sipping their cocktails or setting down utensils to applaud when we walked by—something told me they were somehow in on the joke—so I was relieved to discover our table was sequestered from the rest of the restaurant. It ran the length of the balcony, whose twinkly lights made everything cozier. “Perfect for people watching…” Beth joked when my dad commented on the view.
“Good evening, everyone!” Our waiter appeared seconds after I opened my menu. He looked dapper, as Annie would say, in a white button-down, navy-blue vest, and a cream-and-navy striped tie. “I’m Dylan, and I’ll be taking care of you tonight.” He paused. “Are we celebrating something special?”
Nobody answered at first, but then I heard none other than Erica clear her throat. “No, Dylan,” she said. “Whyever would you think that?”
The table burst into laughter. “That was good, Erica,” Jay said, wiping his eyes. Topper nodded in agreement. “Really, really good.”
Erica smiled, and I noticed her sit up a little straighter in her seat.
I could almost hear Annie’s voice in my ear:She makes a wonderful Lilly, doesn’t she?
Yes, I thought, feeling a pang of something like pride.She does.
* * *
Alchemy didn’t leave us wanting for dessert, but Teddy and Nick threatened to mutiny if we didn’t swing by Mad Martha’s before driving home. And me, admittedly. My stomach rumbled in agreement, suddenly craving two scoops in a waffle cone.
Would you like anything from MM’s?I texted Connor as we weaved through people on the sidewalk. My heart skipped at the thought of seeing him later.
Gray dots popped up in our chat, but before Connor’s response appeared, I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder. My dad. “You have a minute to talk?” he asked, which had always been his way of saying,We need to talk.
“Yes.” I quickly locked my phone. “What’s up?”
“Maisie told me you went out to breakfast with Connor today? That’s why you weren’t at the house this morning?”
I grimaced, already feeling guilty enough. When Connorand I’d gotten back from Vineyard Haven, Bryce and Maisie had quite literally dragged me into the spacious garage, where twelve gingerbread houses were on exhibit. “Christmas in July,” Maisie explained as I admired the twins’ creation. Instead of a pitched roof, it had a flat one with gumdrop solar panels.
“You should’ve been there, Olivia,” Bryce said. “Nick and Charlie squirted frosting at each other, and Aunt Beth kept licking the candy canes.” He giggled. “Swede stole one of the gingerbread men…”
“I’m sorry,” I told my dad weakly. We were standing outside a sophisticated boutique, having fallen behind our fellow historical figures. “I didn’t realize it was mandatory. Connor and I—”
“Seem as thick as thieves lately,” my dad noted, then tilted his head. “Anything I should know about there?”
I felt my cheeks warm. “He’s helping me retrace Annie’s steps.” I quickly told him about discovering the sketches and photos. “I want to visit each place she did while she was here.”
