Tidal (28 page)

“No, he has quite a few,” Daniel said.

But she didn’t need him telling her that. She’d barely even dug into it and she’d already found dozens of pictures of Bernie and his wife. Both of them appeared very young, and Harper guessed that Bernie couldn’t have been more than twenty-two.

Their wedding picture was particularly gorgeous. Her dress was exquisite, and she was absolutely breathtaking. Her long blond hair had a few simple curls, and her smile was radiant. Bernie stood next to her, a young man who’d never looked happier or more dapper, but she stole the whole picture. It was almost as if the camera couldn’t focus on anything else but her.

“She was so stunning.” Harper admired a picture of Bernie and his wife in a modest 1950s-style bikini, then held it out for Daniel to see. “Look at her. And look at how handsome Bernie was. They were so happy.”

Since she was holding it out, she could see their names scrawled on the back:
Bernard and Thalia McAllister—Honeymoon, June 1961.

“And Thalia,” Harper said. “That’s such a beautiful name. I always forget it, but it’s so pretty.” Something occurred to her, something she couldn’t quite place. “Does that name sound familiar to you?”

“No, I can’t say that I’ve ever known any Thalias.” Daniel shook his head.

“You say you found all this in the attic?” Harper asked.

“Yeah. This box was the only thing I found up there, other than mouse droppings.”

“Strange,” she said. “I wonder why he hid this.”

Harper set the picture aside and started digging deeper into the box, where the pictures gave way to papers. Old love letters, news clippings of their wedding announcement, even one with an article about Bernie buying the island with money he’d inherited.

“What happened to her?” Daniel asked. He leaned forward, trying to read the papers upside down.

“I don’t know exactly. She had an accident,” Harper said, then she discovered the clipping with Thalia’s obituary. “Oh, here. It says she fell off a ladder while trimming her rosebush and broke her neck. She was only twenty-four.

“They’d been married for two years,” she said sadly. “That’s so horrible. Can you imagine? Thinking you have your whole life together, and then … this. It’s tragic.”

“Well, Bernie seemed like he did all right,” Daniel said, trying to alleviate some of Harper’s unhappiness. “He had a pretty good life, up until the end.”

“Yeah, he did.” She nodded. “He loved that cabin. You know he built the whole thing just for her? He said that her love inspired him.”

“
Pfft
,” Daniel scoffed, causing Harper to look up at him. “That cabin’s not so great. I’d build you an entire castle. With a moat.”

“With a moat?” She grinned. “I must really be special.”

“You certainly are,” he agreed.

He smiled down at her, but something felt off. His smile didn’t actually reach his eyes, and the flecks of blue that normally sparkled in his hazel eyes were dull. It was like he was holding something back.

Harper had been about to ask him about it when the phone rang.

“Don’t worry, I got it!” Marcy called from the office. “You two just keep flirting. I’ll work and eat yogurt.”

“I think she’s kinda freaking out that I’m leaving,” Harper said.

“I can’t say that I’m too thrilled about it, either,” Daniel admitted.

And that was what she decided he must be holding back. He was getting a little upset about her leaving, but he didn’t want her to know. Because what else would Daniel be keeping from her?

“I could always—” Harper began, but he immediately cut her off.

“No. I know what you’re gonna say, and no. I’ll miss you, but I’ll survive. And so will you.”

“Edie called,” Marcy said as she came out of the office, empty yogurt container in hand. “She claims she’s having some kind of car trouble. But she’ll be here in ten minutes. She apologized for the terrible inconvenience.”

“I’m gonna go put this stuff back with my purse.” Harper put everything back in the box and put the lid on it. “I don’t want to forget it, and I don’t want to give Edie another reason to talk about marriage.”

“Ha! I told you it was annoying,” Marcy said, sounding victorious.

Harper walked to the office. “I never disagreed with you.”

Marcy pushed her glasses up, and then turned to face Daniel. “What’s up, hot cheeks?” she asked, completely deadpan.

“What?” Daniel asked as he laughed.

“I told Harper that I’d keep an eye on you while she’s gone. I figured that without her, you’d be missing the flirty banter, so I thought I would step in and try it out. That work for you, stud muffin?”

He smirked. “That sounds great, four eyes.”

“Four eyes?” Marcy was taken aback. “Really? That’s the best you can come up with?”

“I don’t know. I panicked.” He shook his head. “Four pretty eyes?”

“You need to practice more if you’re going to start flirting with me,” Marcy warned him.

“Okay. What did I miss?” Harper asked as she came in at the end of the conversation.

“Just the beginning of an epic love affair.” Marcy made a
rawr
ing gesture at Daniel, who managed to look both startled and amused.

“Anyway,” Harper said to Daniel, instead of addressing Marcy, “my boss will be here soon, so you should probably head out.”

“All right. Sounds good.”

“Thanks for bringing the box, though,” Harper said. “And I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yep. I’ll be over to help you pack.”

She leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him good-bye, and he seemed to hesitate a second before leaning down himself. Then, when he did kiss her, his lips barely even touched her before he pulled away.

It was one thing to get a quick peck on the lips, but Harper wasn’t even sure it had lasted long enough to qualify as a peck.

Daniel said good-bye to Marcy, then walked out of the library, acting as if nothing weird were going on. And maybe nothing was. Marcy was right there watching them, so maybe he didn’t want to have any PDA. Or maybe he was just upset about her leaving tomorrow and he was pulling away.

Harper couldn’t say for sure what was bothering him, but by the time Daniel had disappeared down the street, she was positive that he was keeping something from her.

THIRTY

Separation

With Harper leaving tomorrow, Gemma wanted to try to show her that she and Brian would be able to handle things without her. Even without all the siren business, Gemma knew that Harper would be freaking out about leaving. So Gemma wanted to put her mind at ease as best she could.

She’d spent all day doing the chores her sister normally did. Theoretically, Gemma was supposed to share the load, but Harper usually got to them before Gemma could.

Brian arrived home from work shortly before Harper did, and he went out back to start the grill. The end of summer was approaching, and he wanted to have a cookout for their last real family meal together.

He cracked a beer open, then stood out back, flipping burgers and brats. Harper sat outside with him, talking about her plans for the future, and that gave Gemma a chance to finish up a few of the tasks she’d left undone.

All day long she’d been working on laundry. The last load was mostly her dad’s clothes, and she went into his room upstairs to put them away. Brian’s room wasn’t off-limits. He left the door open almost all the time, but Gemma hardly ever had any reason to go in there.

The curtains were drawn, so his bedroom was rather dark. The bed was made, and Gemma wasn’t surprised to see the same bedspread he’d had for the past ten years. Nathalie had bought it before her accident, and though it was getting worn and ratty, Brian had never bothered to replace it.

Gemma sat the laundry basket down on his bed and opened up the closet. Most of the clothes inside were his—the few nice shirts he had, old T-shirts, and flannel. But a couple things that belonged to her mom still hung there.

She pushed Brian’s stuff to the side so she could get a better look at Nathalie’s. The wedding dress hung in a clear plastic bag that was supposed to protect it, but the train looked yellowed. Some of the pearls in the bodice had come loose.

The blue dress that Nathalie had worn in
A Streetcar Named Desire
hung without protection, and Gemma reached out to touch it. The fabric felt rough but thin. She pulled it out and held it in front of her.

The only mirror in the room was above the dresser, and Gemma turned so she could see how it would look on her. Nathalie was taller than Gemma, so the dress was a little long, and Gemma was a bit thinner. Otherwise, it looked about right.

“Gemma!” Brian called from downstairs. “Supper is done!”

“I’ll be right down!” she shouted.

She took another minute to admire her reflection with the dress, and wondered what her mom would make of all this. If Nathalie were around, would Gemma have become a siren? Would Harper have become so neurotic? Would everything have turned out so much better?

Those were questions that Gemma could never know the answers to. So she hung the dress back up, closed the closet door, and left her dad’s clothes on the bed.

“We’re gonna eat inside tonight,” Brian said when Gemma came into the kitchen. “I was planning on us eating out in the backyard, but the heat is ridiculous. The dog days of summer are really here.”

“Yeah, it’s been really hot the last few days,” Harper said as she set bottles of ketchup and mustard on the table.

For the next few minutes they got settled and loaded their plates up with meat and potato chips. Brian took long drinks from his beer, while Harper and Gemma sipped their soda, none of them saying anything.

“Are you all ready for tomorrow, then, Harper?” Brian asked, breaking the silence.

“Not completely. But almost,” she said between bites. “I still have packing to do, but I should be done by tomorrow.”

“Good.” He nodded. “I thought I would take a half day tomorrow, help you get everything loaded up, then all of us could drive up to Sundham and make sure everything gets squared away.”

“That sounds good,” Harper said. “I know that Daniel had wanted to come. Do you think it’d be okay if he rode back with you guys? He’d ride up there with me.”

“Um, yeah.” Brian thought for a minute, then nodded. “Yeah. That should be fine.” He looked across the table at Gemma. “Does that sound okay with you? You’ll have to sit with him in the truck.”

“It’s fine by me,” Gemma said. “Daniel doesn’t bite.”

“I should hope not,” Brian said, almost under his breath.

“So…” Harper said when they lapsed into silence again. Gemma was barely touching her food, preferring to munch on chips instead of really eating. “It’s the last family dinner. For a while anyway.”

“Yep.” Brian smiled at Gemma. “It’s just me and you now, kid. Think you can handle it?”

“Yeah.” Gemma smiled back at him.

“I think we’ll manage,” he assured them with a lopsided grin.

The conversation ran dry again. While they weren’t the most chatty family on the planet, they usually talked freely. The tension of things to come was bearing down on them, though, and it was hard to make cheerful small talk.

“Part of the reason I wanted this dinner tonight was because Harper is leaving tomorrow,” Brian said, his eyes fixed down on his half-empty plate. “But that’s not the only reason. I knew this was my last chance to talk to you girls together for a while, and, um … I needed to talk.”

“What’s wrong?” Harper asked. “Is it cancer?”

“
Harper!
” Gemma said, appalled. “Why would you even ask that? Why is that the first place your mind goes?”

“Calm down.” Brian held up his hand. “It’s not cancer. I’m not sick. Everybody’s fine.”

“Sorry,” Harper said. “Just when I hear ‘sit down and talk,’ I immediately think bad news.”

“Well … stop that. Everything can’t be bad all the time.” Gemma leaned back in her seat, then turned to Brian. “What is it, Dad?”

“I’m divorcing your mother,” Brian blurted out.

Harper and Gemma instantly fell silent and just stared at him.

“Why?” Gemma asked, and once she spoke, the questions came out rapid-fire.

“What about Mom’s health insurance?” Harper asked, leaning forward on the table.

“The accident was almost ten years ago,” Gemma said. “Why would you stay married to her for so long just to divorce her?”

“Where is she gonna live?” Harper asked. “You can’t leave Mom out on the street.”

“Is this because Harper is going to college?” Gemma asked.

“If you can’t afford her insurance and college, you don’t need to give me any money. I already told you not to,” Harper said.

“Why did you go see her? Did you already know you were going to divorce her?” Gemma asked.

“How long have you been planning this?” Harper added.

“You both need to stop talking,” Brian said calmly but firmly. “I’ll explain everything to you if you just listen.” He waited until they were both quiet before continuing. “Thank you. I love Nathalie. Or I did. The way I feel about her is very complicated, but … we’re not a real married couple anymore. She’s not a wife.”

“She’s
your
wife,” Gemma said pointedly.

He shook his head. “I can’t talk to her.”

“Yes, you can,” Gemma persisted. “We talk to her. We see her every week.”

“I can talk to someone who looks like my wife and sounds like my wife, but she isn’t,” Brian said sadly. “I can’t tell her about you, or about my job. I can’t ask her questions. I can’t share my worries or concerns. I can’t laugh with her.”

“But Dad, she hasn’t changed in years,” Harper said, her tone softer and less accusatory than Gemma’s. “She’s been like this for a really long time, and you knew that. Why now?”

“I stayed married to her partially for you,” Brian admitted. “I knew it would upset you if I divorced her, and I didn’t want to abandon her. She’s sick. I know she is, and I didn’t want to be the guy that left her or couldn’t hack it.”

“But you can’t hack it,” Gemma said, and Harper shot her a look.

“No, there’s nothing to hack, Gemma,” Brian said. “This hasn’t been a marriage for a very long time. She is still family. She’s your mother, and she will always be a part of this family. That will never change. We just won’t be married.”