A lovely woman in her forties sat behind a desk. Her long brown hair was piled in a messy bun, she wore blue-framed glasses over her brown eyes, and such a pretty shade of lipstick that Ari wanted to ask her what it was.
The woman rose and held out her hand. “You’re Ari. I’m Poppy Marshall. Cleo told me you were coming. She’s my cousin. Have a seat.”
Ari shook the other woman’s hand and settled in a chair facing Poppy’s desk.
“You’re a Marshall, too.”
“Oh, yes. There are several of us involved with Beach Camp. Calvin, awful name, for the camp he goes by Cal, is our cousin. He runs the camp. This is his third year and he’s excellent and very chill. Now, I need some information from you, and you have to sign some forms.”
As they went through the paperwork, Ari noticed how the office walls were covered with framed and slightly wrinkled drawings of flowers. Red flowers, obviously poppies.
Poppy noticed Ari noticing. “I run a preschool in Arlington. Massachusetts, not Virginia,” she explained. “I have about seventy skillion paintings my kids have given me, so I brought some down here.” She took Ari’s papers, slapped a staple through them, and put them in her in-box.
“You know where Jetties Beach is, of course,” Poppy continued. “Be there Monday morning, a little before seven-thirty, so you can introduce yourself to Cal and he can fill you in on the day’s plan.” She tapped something on her desktop. “It’s supposed to be sunny all day Monday, so it will be an easy day. Here, take this folder, we give it to all parents and counselors. And have fun! It’s nice to meet you, Ari. Welcome aboard.”
For a moment, Ari would have sworn a big yellow light shone right out of Poppy, surrounding Ari in a glowing warmth. Poppy was truly beautiful, and Ari liked her immensely.
She left the office feeling slightly high with happiness, and the feeling stayed with her as she drove to the Stop & Shop. She went up and down the aisles, filling her cart with food she knew Eleanor would like, and also with a small Tupperware box to hold a sandwich and a plum for Monday. Her 4Ocean non-plastic water bottle was in her luggage at Gram’s.
She carried her groceries to her car and headed out to ’Sconset. She couldn’t wait to tell her family about her new job.
—
That evening, as the family had done almost every year before, they celebrated the arrival of summer on Nantucket with a lobster dinner prepared by Alicia and Phillip. Cliff set the table, bought and poured the wine, and Ari was in charge of putting small porcelain ramekins of melted butter in front of each plate.
They sat out on the deck because the air was warm and the wind was low. Uncle Cliff regaled them all with inside info on the tastes of Boston celebrities whose homes he’d sold. Ari’s mother watched Cliff adoringly, eager for this kind of gossip, Ari’s father carefully and maddeningly dissected his lobster as if performing an operation, and Eleanor gazed out at the ocean, occasionally tuning in to the talk. Ari cleared the table and tidied the kitchen while the rest of the family gathered inside around the dining room table to play Clue.
Ari had told them about Beach Camp when they first sat down to dinner. Her mother had reacted predictably.
“Ari, couldn’t you find a job in a clothing store? That would be so much more fun.”
Uncle Cliff had smoothly intervened. “Sis, stop it. You know Ari’s all about childhood education.”
Alicia sighed and focused on her food.
Eleanor had patted Ari’s hand. “It sounds just the thing, darling. Tell us more tomorrow.”
Ari smiled and nodded. Her parents and her uncle were leaving tomorrow, so she knew there would be no time to talk about Ari’s job. They played the game in high competitive spirits, because Eleanor had kept track of who had won all the times before. At eleven o’clock, Ari’s father and Uncle Cliff wanted to watch the news. The three women said good night and went off to bed.
—
Sunday morning, the family went, all together, as was their custom on the first Sunday of summer, to church. Ari sat between her mother and father as she had for years, admiring the Tiffany stained glass windows and the carved wooden pillars. Being in St. Paul’s felt like coming home to Ari—the hush, the rituals, the music, the congregation turning toward each other as they said, “Peace be with you.”
Afterward, they walked to the yacht club for a buffet lunch. Ari’s mother was in her element here, greeting old friends, making dates for tennis, lunch, and committee meetings. Eleanor also was surrounded by friends returning to the island for their traditional Nantucket summer, and Cliff moved from table to table, shaking hands, laughing, flirting with almost every woman there. Ari was glad to sit quietly next to her father.
“So,” Phillip said, after sipping a tall Bloody Mary, “are you all right, Ari?” When she hesitated, he clarified, “About Peter, I mean. Sad thing, breaking an engagement.”
“I’m fine, Dad.” Ari put her hand on his. “Please don’t worry. I don’t know if I was ever seriously in love with Peter. We were close because we’d met in camp and again here on the island and at university. It seemed kind of destined, but all last year I was filled with dread. I don’t know why I let it go on so long. I guess I didn’t want to disappoint Peter…and Mother was so happy about it all.”
“If you think you’ve done the right thing, then I think you’ve done the right thing,” her father said.
“I love you, Daddy.” Ari kissed his cheek.
Before they could say another word, Ari’s tennis friends came flying over, like a
