The Identicals(116)

They are talking about her now, but at least she’s cast as the sympathetic victim.

Sadie scrutinizes the photo on Facebook a little while longer. She shifts her focus from Harper to Billy. Sadie had always liked Billy Frost. He had come over to replace some fixtures at the shop way back when. But thinking about this leads to thinking about Harper coming into the store to buy her father a lobster pot pie. Harper had come into the store! Had she been sleeping with Reed then? Yes, she had. By his own account, their affair had started in October, and Harper had come into the store in March or April. She had been screwing Sadie’s husband for six months, but she had seen nothing wrong with stopping in to get Billy a pie. Probably she had been checking Sadie out.

And what, Sadie wonders, had she thought?



But then one day Sadie wakes up, and she doesn’t feel wretched. She actually feels pretty good. It’s a beautiful day. She can walk right across the street to Grange Hall, where they hold the farmer’s market. She finds herself craving egg rolls from Khen’s. And while she’s at it, she’ll grab some gladiolus, a bottle of Nicky’s olive oil, and some lemon ginger honey from the Martha’s Vineyard Honey Company.

The first person Sadie bumps into inside the Ag Hall is Dorrit Prescott, Patti Prescott’s mother. Dorrit’s face lights up in direct proportion to Sadie’s spirits sinking. It’s not that Sadie doesn’t like Dorrit; Dorrit is a wonderful person. It’s just that since Patti’s death, however many years ago it was, Dorrit has become intense; she doesn’t believe in small talk. She likes to get heavy, deep, and real, even while standing in front of the jelly table at the farmer’s market.

“Sadie!” Dorrit cries.

“Hi, Dorrit,” Sadie says. She grabs a jar of hot pepper jelly from the table. She suddenly finds herself ravenous after not having had an appetite for weeks. The delicacies of the farmer’s market have been within a softball’s throw of her house, but she has had no interest in them until today. Now she wants a little of everything—a popover with raspberry butter from Kitchen Porch, a mango lassi from Mermaid Farm, Eidolon cheese from Grey Barn, Vineyard Sunshine granola from Little Rock Farm, rugelach from Beth’s Bakery. She doesn’t have time for a therapy session with Dorrit Prescott.

Dorrit grasps Sadie’s forearm. Here it comes, Sadie thinks. She’s going to ask about the affair and about Reed leaving. She’s going to ask how Sadie is “doing.”

“How’s Franklin?” Dorrit says. “I heard through the grapevine that he was dating someone from Nantucket. Is that true?”

Franklin? Sadie isn’t prepared for a question about Franklin, although it makes sense that Dorrit would ask, since Patti was Franklin’s girlfriend and he hasn’t dated anyone seriously since Patti killed herself. Sadie can’t believe that the one person he does have feelings for is Harper’s twin sister. It’s the most insidious of ironies, the most nefarious of plot twists.

“I hope you tell me it’s true,” Dorrit says. “All Turk and I want is for Franklin to find someone he loves. He’s been through so much. He deserves it.”

Sadie nods her agreement. Franklin does deserve it. Back when Patti died, Sadie worried that he would never recover. And then plenty of times in the intervening years Sadie wondered if he would ever fall in love again.

“I’m not sure what’s going on with Franklin’s love life,” Sadie says. This is a bold-faced lie. Sadie does know what’s going on with Franklin’s love life: nothing. Sadie told Franklin he had to choose between her and Tabitha, and he dutifully chose her, his sister, his family, because that is the kind of solid, loyal person he is.

I am a bitter, miserable ogress, Sadie thinks. Franklin deserves love just like anybody else. More than anybody else.

“It was good seeing you, Dorrit,” Sadie says. “I’m going to get some rugelach.”

“You need it,” Dorrit says. “You’re too thin.”



Sadie gets the rugelach and a fresh-squeezed OJ from Good Tastes, then she steps into the sun. She’ll sit outside and enjoy this feast, then she’ll go back in for a popover and a big box of sea-salt caramels from Enchanted Chocolates to take home. Why not? She is too thin.

At that instant, she sees Tad Morrissey sitting in the grass by himself with what she recognizes as a nitro cold brew from Chilmark Coffee. He waves her over.

“Come sit with me,” he says.



Later, after Sadie puts a dozen gladiolus in water and takes a shower—she’s meeting Tad for pizza that night—she sends Franklin a text. It says: Go be with Tabitha. You have my blessing.



Reed Zimmer sees Franklin Phelps standing in line at the snack bar on the inter-island ferry, and he wonders if Sadie has sent Franklin to follow him. Why else… honestly, for what other possible reason would his brother-in-law, Franklin Phelps, be heading to Nantucket?

Reed waits until Franklin is engaged with the girl behind the counter, then he hurries up the stairs and finds a seat in the sun on the upper deck. He leans his head back against the molded plastic chair and promptly falls asleep.



Franklin has brought nothing with him for his trip to Nantucket except his wallet and his guitar.

The wallet provides money with which to buy two beers; he’ll have no more than three, he decides. Traveling by ferry to the other island to track down the woman you love is only a grand romantic gesture if you’re clear of eye and pure of heart.