Page 58 of Nantucket Dreams
ChapterTwenty-Two
Off-stage, Harlow, Evie, Nora, and Sarah collapsed upon rickety chairs, drinking water and closing their eyes as laughter rolled over them. Alana and Greta could do nothing but grin and watch them celebrate arm-in-arm as the crowd settled in front of the stage. The performance hadn’t been perfect, but it had been one of their better runs. Given the heat, their nerves, and the occasionally overzealous crowd, Alana couldn’t have been happier.
“Honey,” Greta began, tugging Alana back a bit from the girls.
“What is it?”
Greta stuttered, seeming nervous. “Watching you direct that performance was one of the greatest pleasures of my life. I had this funny idea that, well…” She trailed off.
“Mom. What’s up?” Alana half-laughed.
“When we first got our start with The Copperfield House, we operated mostly by applying for grants. That was how we supported our artists. Perhaps you could apply for a grant and start your own little community theater company? You could even run it out of the residency halls of The Copperfield House.”
Alana’s lips parted with surprise. All at once, she danced through so many images from her past: audition after audition for lotion; another call from her agent, saying the acting gig was no longer interested; the first time she’d stepped on stage as a teenager, ready to take on the beauty of building a fictional world for a wide audience.
“I don’t know why I never thought about it before,” she whispered. “Since modeling fell through, acting has been it for me. But that industry is so cruel.”
“The industry is cruel,” Greta corrected. “But the art itself is not.”
The truth of Greta’s words fell over Alana’s heart. Alana closed her eyes, overwhelmed with a mix of nostalgia and hope. And midway through this wave of feeling, a horrible yell came from the crowd, directed toward them.
Alana’s eyes opened swiftly to discover the ex-football jock, Jeremy Farley, as he barrelled from the crowd. His eyes burned with anger as he approached, stomping across the pavement. When he reached them, he pointed a finger at Alana and demanded, “Who do you think you are?”
Alana struggled to understand what he meant.Was this something to do with the cookies she’d brought him? Or the fact that she and Julia wanted to dig into their father’s case at all? What was it?She staggered back, genuinely frightened.
But suddenly, Sarah leaped up from her plastic chair and called out, “What are you—”
Then, Jeremy turned on Sarah, his finger pointed. “Did you know about this? Did you do this on purpose, just to mess with me? What? Tell me, Sarah. I’ve spent my whole life trying to figure you out. Is this just you, torturing me?”
All the color drained from Sarah’s cheeks. She stepped back, as though she’d been slapped, then turned on her heel and ran away from this volatile man. Throughout, Alana couldn’t breathe. Immediately after, Evie, Harlow, and Nora followed after Sarah, calling out her name.
Jeremy looked as though he’d been smacked square in the face. He stumbled back, his hand across his cheek.
Very slowly, the realization sunk into Alana.
This man wasn’t just Jeremy Farley.
He was Jeremy Farley, Sarah’s father.
“Jeremy, I didn’t know.” Alana sounded passionate and hurt, her voice edged with sorrow. “She never told me who her father was.”
Jeremy sputtered in disbelief.
“Please, Jeremy. You have to believe me,” Alana continued to explain, her hands cupping her elbows. It occurred to her that Jeremy was a terribly broken man. The accident had been the first affront. After that, there was no telling what had happened to him.
Somewhere along the line, he’d had a child.
And somewhere, long after that, that child had struggled so much with her self-worth that she’d tried to starve herself to death.
Jeremy fell into one of the plastic chairs and placed his face in his hands. As he muttered to himself, another middle-aged man placed a hand on his back, offering support. Alana blinked up at this nearly familiar face, incredulous.
“Hi, Alana,” he said.
“Todd?” Alana breathed.
Todd shrugged. “I came with Jeremy.” He said it as though that cleared everything up.
Alana sat in another plastic chair across from Jeremy. Greta dismissed herself, sensing that they needed time alone. Her eyes were heavy with sorrow. The empathy of that woman was incredibly powerful, something Alana always aspired to.