Elin Hilderbrand - Winter Storms

They all clink bottles. Cheers.

“I want to know what’s going on in your lives,” Margaret says. “Little stuff, big stuff.”

“Let’s start with the overlooked, underappreciated middle child,” Kevin says. “Isabelle and I have set a date for our wedding.”

“Hold on,” Ava says. “I thought you were going to wait until Bart got home.”

“Yeah,” Patrick says. “You should wait, man.”

“I can’t wait,” Kevin says. “It’s not fair to Isabelle. Or to Genevieve.”

“But…” Ava says.

“Ava,” Kevin says. “We don’t know when Bart is coming home.” He stares at his turkey sandwich. “We don’t know if Bart is coming home.”

They all sit in silence with that for a second and Margaret thinks about how incredibly gracious it was for Kelley and Mitzi to host her and Drake’s wedding when their son is still missing. Back in December, with the news that William Burke was still alive, the family’s optimism peaked, but Burke still isn’t far enough along in his recovery to shed any light on the location of the other soldiers.

“When is the date?” Margaret asks, laying a hand on Kevin’s arm.

“Christmas Eve,” Kevin says. “Isabelle’s parents will fly in from France.”

“A Christmas wedding,” Margaret says. “It’s a beautiful idea. Have you told your father?”

“Not yet,” Kevin says.

“He’s not going to like it,” Ava says. “He’ll probably think you’re giving up on Bart. Mitzi most definitely will.”

“I’m sorry, Ava,” Kevin says. “I mean no disrespect to Bart, but I have to consider the women in my life.”

“Drake and I will plan to come for Christmas, then,” Margaret says. She takes a bite of her sandwich, then wipes her mouth and says, “And who knows? Bart might be home before that.”

Ava looks like she’s teetering on the knife-edge of tears. “Another wedding,” she says.

Margaret says, “Potter certainly was a lot of fun.”

Ava shrugs.

Kevin nudges her. “Yeah, maybe Potter’s the one.”

“I’m taking some time alone,” Ava says. “No Nathaniel, no Scott, no Potter. No wedding on the horizon for me. Everyone is just going to have to love me for who I am.”

“Oh, honey,” Margaret says. “We do love you for who you are. We always have and we always will.”

“Speaking of Scott,” Patrick says, “Jenny said he tried to talk to you at the Bar the other night.”

“Yeah,” Ava says.

“Scott was at the Bar?” Margaret says. “Was he with Roxanne? Was she drinking? That seems pretty risky for a pregnant woman.”

“He was alone,” Ava says. “I refused to talk to him. But Shelby called me this morning to tell me that Roxanne miscarried.”

“Oh no!” Margaret says. “I’m so sorry for her.”

“Are you sorry for her?” Kevin asks Ava.

“Of course I’m sorry for her!” Ava says. “I’m sure Scott is crushed. He was put on this earth to be a father. And now he and Roxanne have broken things off.”

Margaret takes a bite of her sandwich. She wonders if that means Ava and Scott will start seeing each other again, but she knows better than to ask. In the former matchup between Nathaniel and Scott, Margaret was on Team Scott. Scott is responsible, solid, steady, and clearly besotted with Ava, whereas Nathaniel seems a little more like Peter Pan and a little more cavalier with Ava’s affections. Margaret had frankly been shocked when Scott started dating the hot-to-trot English teacher.

Patrick says, “Well, I have some news, but it’s not very good.”

Kevin says, “Paddy, man, this is neither the time nor the place.”

Patrick shrugs. He lifts his sunglasses to the top of his head so Margaret can see his whole face. There are crow’s-feet around his eyes; he looks old. And if her child looks old, what does that mean for Margaret? Nothing good, she’s sure.

“What is it, honey?” she says.

“Jennifer is addicted to pills,” Patrick says. “Oxy and Ativan.”

“Oh, Paddy,” Margaret says. Immediately, Margaret flashes back to this past December, Stroll weekend, the lunch at the Sea Grille after Genevieve’s baptism. Jennifer had become completely unhinged, and Margaret had thought-hadn’t she?-that Jennifer seemed like she was on something. Her behavior had reminded Margaret of Kelley back in the late eighties when he was snorting cocaine night and day.

“You’re kidding!” Ava says. “Jennifer? I always thought Jennifer was… I don’t know… perfect.”

“That’s the problem,” Patrick says. “Everyone always thought both of us were perfect. Then I proved I wasn’t, and Jennifer-well, she’s human too. She needed something to help her cope. Her friend Megan, the one who had breast cancer, gave her a couple of Ativan to take the edge off, then a couple of oxy to pep her up. And when those were gone, Jennifer found a dealer.”

“A dealer?” Ava says. “I can’t believe you just used the words Jennifer and dealer in the same sentence.”

Margaret noticed Kevin bow his head.

“It gets worse,” Patrick says.

Margaret finishes the first half of her sandwich. She’s not sure she wants to hear about worse.

“Her dealer is Norah.”

“Norah?” Ava says. “Norah Vale? ”

Good God, Margaret thinks. She closes her eyes and wishes she were back on the porch of her and Drake’s romantic, rose-covered cottage in Sconset, enjoying blissful ignorance.

Columbus Day marks the end of the busy season and Kelley plans a leaf-peeping trip for Mitzi to take her mind off the fact that ten months have passed and not only has there been no new information about Bart but the doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center are reporting that Private William Burke is suffering from memory loss. Kelley would like to quiz the doctors himself. How much memory loss? Can he answer the most basic of questions: Are the other soldiers alive? Will his memory ever come back? Has he handed over any intelligence about where he was being held? Hasn’t modern medicine advanced enough that the doctors can tease information from Private Burke’s mind? Isn’t there some kind of sophisticated, secret mind-reading software?

Bart!

Kelley and Mitzi read the news about Private Burke’s amnesia together, Kelley scanning Mitzi’s expression, searching for a clue to her reaction.

She is quiet for a while, then says, in a matter-of-fact tone that shocks Kelley, “It might have been so awful he blocked it.”

Together, they sigh.

Mitzi’s general demeanor has improved by leaps and bounds since she moved back in. The time in Lenox with George proved to her how much she loved Kelley. When Kelley was given a clean bill of health, Mitzi began living in a state of sustained gratitude. She now practices yoga daily, engages with the guests, and is willing to leave the inn to go on dates and outings with Kelley. They have hiked Sanford Farm; they have slurped oysters at Cru; they have gone swimming at Steps Beach; and Mitzi has even relaxed her no-red-meat rule and enjoyed a couple of Kelley’s expertly grilled burgers.

But will Mitzi be okay with leaving the island for a vacation?

Kelley gives the planning everything he’s got, both strategically and financially. He rents a Jaguar, the height of luxury (and fast, Kelley thinks). They will drive to Boston, have dinner at Alden and Harlow in Cambridge, and stay at the Langham, Mitzi’s favorite hotel-then in the morning, after breakfast in bed, they’ll drive to Deerfield, Massachusetts, and meander through the three-hundred-year-old village. From Deerfield, they’ll head to Hanover, New Hampshire, to have lunch at Dartmouth (Mitzi’s father, Joe, played basketball for Dartmouth in 1953 and Mitzi has always felt an affinity for the place), and then they’ll drive to Stowe, Vermont, and stay at the Topnotch, a resort.