Surfside Sisters(17)
She thought he was being honest with her about how being at college opened up the world. Nantucket was small and isolated and at the same time endlessly fascinating. It was a natural lab for science geeks. The ocean, the sheltered harbor, the growing population of sharks, the increase of snowy owls, anything connected with nature brought experts from all over the world to study and photograph and write about. You could live here all your life and never be bored.
Keely never felt detached from the rest of the world, although she did often feel provincial. The seniors she knew were exhilarated and terrified at the prospect of living off-island, and she could understand that. She wanted the beauty of the island but she also wanted the excitement of the city—she wanted it all. At least she thought she did.
So as much as she knew her heart had been well and thoroughly broken by Sebastian, she also understood with the tiny rational part of her brain that what he had said was true.
And then there was Tommy. And Isabelle. Keely’s heart was heavy. In one day, it seemed, she’d lost them both. She’d lost the chance to talk to Isabelle about Sebastian. She couldn’t talk to Isabelle, period.
She took her homework out to the back patio and sat at the table, taking comfort from the bright low sunlight, the crisp air, the changing colors of autumn, the birds too busy with their own lives to notice her. She shoved her homework to the side, folded her arms on the table, put down her head, and cried.
Why was life so difficult? What had she done, turning down Tommy Fitzgerald? Isabelle was angry with her simply because he’d asked Keely to the dance, so she should have gone with him, Isabelle couldn’t get angrier! Should she phone Tommy and say her plans had changed? Did she even want to go to the dance with Tommy? Could she just give herself a minute to appreciate the reality that Tommy Fitzgerald had asked her to the homecoming dance? Really, it was remarkable. If it didn’t exactly mean he liked her, at least it meant he noticed her. If she had accepted his invitation and gone to the dance, Isabelle would have told Sebastian, and then Sebastian would know he wasn’t the only guy who liked Keely. And what did “like” mean, anyway?
No wonder women became nuns!
“Keely.”
Keely lifted her head.
Isabelle stood at the edge of the patio, wringing her hands together like someone from Macbeth.
“Keely, can we talk? I want to apologize. You’re such a good friend to refuse Tommy. I’m sorry I was so mean. It does break my heart, and I do feel hideously jealous that he asked you instead of me. But I know it’s not your fault.” Isabelle was crying now, tears running down her face and her mouth quivering as she spoke. “You were a good friend, and I behaved like a bad friend. I’m sorry.”
Keely sat up straight. She wiped her eyes and gave a quavering smile. “I guess I understand. Anyway, I don’t want to fight over any stupid male. Our friendship should mean more than that.”
Isabelle came up on the patio. She slid into a chair. “It does mean more than that, Keely. It does. I can’t believe how nice it was of you to refuse him because of me. I guess I lost that fact in the total misery that he had asked anyone but me.” She stretched her hand across the table. “Sorry, okay?”
Keely took her hand. “Okay.”
Isabelle said, “I am so over men.”
Keely said, “Me, too.”
The autumn afternoon grew chilly as the sun sank in the sky. They went into the kitchen to search for a snack, something comforting more than nutritious. Keely made hot chocolate from scratch and topped their cups with fat marshmallows. They went back outside, the better to enjoy the warm sweet treat in the cold air.
Keely turned her marshmallows over and over, melting them slightly. Isabelle was doing the same thing, gazing down into her cup. “So what was Sebastian doing at home?” Keely asked casually.
“He had to get some of his warmer clothes. Winter coat and stuff. It gets cold on the mainland earlier than it does here. He’s already left.”
“Ah. Good. I was afraid he’d gotten kicked out of college.”
Isabelle laughed. “Sebastian? Sebastian the Good kicked out of college? Never!”
Sebastian emailed me, Keely wanted to say. He told me I’m beautiful. Then he forgot I exist.
“So Jeff Morton asked me to the homecoming dance,” Isabelle said. “I bet Jasper Childs will ask you. He’s Jeff’s buddy and he’s always staring at you.”
“I don’t think I can go to the dance,” Keely reminded Isabelle. “I told Tommy I had to do something with my parents.”
“So you don’t want to hurt Tommy’s feelings?” Isabelle rolled her eyes. “You think he has feelings? Tommy’s after sex like a shark after meat.”
“You’re gross.”
“I’m right.”
“Why are you in love with him, then?”
“Because love is so irrational,” Isabelle moaned. “Come on, let’s find a way to go together. Pleeeeeeze?”
“Sure,” Keely agreed. “If Jasper asks me.”
* * *
—
The Whalers won the homecoming game. Tommy Fitzgerald, the quarterback, drilled the ball right to the running back three times in a row. People in the bleachers screamed themselves hoarse. Tommy was mobbed at the end of the game, and the school was wild with victory. The dance at the school gym was insane. When it slowed down, half the crowd congregated at Surfside Beach. Someone built a bonfire. Someone else blasted Queen’s “We Are the Champions,” from his iPod. Lots of people brought coolers of beer or flasks of something stronger. Up on the cliff, authorities were watching, the kids knew that, and they knew that most of those police had been students here just like they were now. They knew that if there was a problem, the police would rush in. They knew the police watching them understood what it was to be young, and silently shared in their celebration.