Page 54 of Nantucket Dreams
Alana smiled at her with tears in her eyes. “You look like the queen of Fourth of July.”
Julia waved a hand as she approached, dropping down on the couch beside Alana. Greta flashed the first page of the divorce papers in Julia’s direction. Julia gripped Alana’s hand and held it for a long time. She was her strength in the middle of the tumultuous storm.
“Honey, it’s going to be okay,” Julia breathed. “Once it’s over, you’ll be rid of him. Forever.”
Greta sat on Alana’s other side and stroked her hair gently, the way she had when Alana had been little and had a nightmare. When Alana closed her eyes, she could half-imagine herself back in the warm embrace of a much younger Greta, telling her that everything would be all right.
“Don’t let him ruin this day for you, Director Alana,” Greta whispered.
How Alana wanted to howl:Nothing I do matters now. I’m nothing without him.
But she kept her lips shut.
Alana scrubbed herself clean and donned a navy-blue dress and wrapped a bandana around her head. In the mirror, she set her jaw and attempted an internal pep talk but came up dry. From downstairs, a familiar voice howled, “Hello!” as the front door screamed open and whipped closed.
Ella.
Alana hustled down to discover her youngest sister, the indie-rock darling, Ella Copperfield. On either side of her were Ella’s teenage children, Laura and Danny, who she shared with her bandmate, Will. Greta nearly melted at the sight of her grandchildren. Within seconds, she gathered them in the kitchen for cookies, milk, and conversation about their summers so far.
Ella looked just like Ella always did: all black, thick eyeliner, her dark hair cascading down her shoulders. Julia tackled her from behind, wrapping her arms around her as Ella peered up at Alana, who remained on the staircase.
“Asher served me papers today,” Alana said with a shrug.
“What a douche. He never deserved you,” Ella shot back.
Alana’s smile stretched wide. She hustled down and joined the three-sister group hug, her heart pounding with a mix of sorrow and gratefulness. Sometimes, the emotions of life pressed too heavily upon her. Sometimes, she thought she might die from simply feeling too much.
“Ella. Where have you been?” Julia cried as she stepped away from the hug, wiping her fingers beneath her eyes hurriedly.
Ella shrugged sadly. “Life keeps getting more and more complicated, it seems like.”
“You’re telling me,” Julia affirmed.
“How’s the work on Dad’s case going?” Ella asked.
Julia and Alana locked eyes.
“You won’t believe who’s standing between us and the court files,” Julia said under her breath.
“You’re right,” Ella joked. “I probably won’t. I can’t believe anything this family goes through.”
Alana crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “Only the person who hates me more than any other person on planet Earth.”
Ella lifted her eyebrow coyly. “You’ll have to be more specific, Alana.”
Alana tossed her head back with uproarious laughter.
Ella waved a hand, giggling. “No, no. I know. It’s Jeremy, isn’t it? Jeremy Farley?”
“How did you guess that!” Julia cried.
“That was Alana’s last big drama here on the island before she left,” Ella said with a shrug. “I put two and two together.”
“She’s a thinker, our little sister,” Julia said, nudging her with her elbow.
The three Copperfield sisters held the silence for a moment, listening as Danny and Laura jumped through a story about something from Brooklyn, explaining the dynamics of the city they called home. Ella’s eyes scanned the living room, the freshly painted walls, newly hung bookshelves and the vintage rugs, vacuumed just that morning by Greta.
“It looks like The Copperfield House in here,” Ella murmured, incredulous.