Girls of Summer(29)
After college, he bartended all night, surfed all day, had plenty of friends and a batch of sizzling hot girlfriends who also surfed and who did not need a long-term, committed relationship. For a long time, he thought he’d died and gone to heaven.
Then, the wipeout. He felt like the ocean had betrayed him. He was in pain, and he was embarrassed.
And he was grounded. He shared an apartment with a couple of other surfer guys who were much younger than Theo. After his crash, sitting in his pajama bottoms and brace in their dark, crappy, beer-fumed apartment while the two eighteen-year-olds sauntered out in the morning with their boards (“Hey, man”) and came in at night reeking of booze and weed (“Peace, man”) became less and less pleasant for Theo. He began to feel righteously sorry for himself. He studied himself in the mirror and thought he already looked bloated from not getting any exercise. He checked the refrigerator and saw several six-packs of local beer—San Diego was famous for its craft beer—and a moldy chunk of cheese that he ate anyway, because he was so hungry. He could go out and find a friend or he could buy himself breakfast. He wasn’t pathetic but he was acting pathetic and he hated himself for taking OxyContin, which helped with the pain but made him think of Atticus. He vowed not to take it any more, but to rely on Tylenol. Okay, Tylenol and beer. He opened the freezer door and saw nothing but a half-empty bottle of vodka so he drank some because he couldn’t take more Tylenol for another two hours.
He just plain totally wanted his mother. He wanted Nantucket. He wanted to go home.
seven
Saturday afternoon, Lisa asked Juliet to attend a lecture with her. “If you don’t want to come, sweetie, that’s okay. I’ll find someone to sit with.”
“I’ll come, Mom. I’d like to go.” Juliet got dressed and walked down to the library with Lisa.
The lecture was held in the Great Hall of the Nantucket Atheneum. Juliet and Lisa went up the curving carpeted stairs, past the cat’s eye and the figurehead, and into the main room. Almost all the chairs were filled. Juliet and Lisa hurried to take two chairs on the side. Lisa saw Mack and his daughter, Beth, several rows in front of them. How complicated—Beth was home. But how lovely, Lisa thought, smiling to herself—she could look at the beautiful back of Mack’s neck during the lecture.
Sandra Martin, the director of the library, went up the four steps to the stage and the podium. It was a sign of the importance of the speaker that Sandra introduced him, but Lisa let the introduction blur past her because she was thinking of Mack.
“Ryder Hastings has a doctorate in environmental science, specializing in coastal affairs. He has served on several environmental boards, including the Harvard Environmental Science and Public Policy Board of Tutors, the Massachusetts Ocean Management Initiative, and the U.S. Coastal Research Program. He’s here today to speak with us about his new organization, Ocean Matters.”
Lisa straightened in her seat to see the speaker. He was tall and handsome, probably in his thirties. Were there no single men in their fifties?
Ryder thanked Sandra and began his talk with the usual how-nice-of-you-to-come-out-today, allowing Lisa time to stare frankly at the man. After all, everyone else was.
He said, “I’d like to begin my talk with a quote from the National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, Sylvia Earle. Sylvia is a marine biologist and legendary oceanographer whose documentary Mission Blue is available on Netflix.
“Sylvia Earle said: ‘If we fail to take care of the ocean, nothing else matters.’?”
Ryder waited as his audience muttered agreement. For the next half hour, he spoke passionately about how seventy-one percent of the planet was ocean, and how too many creatures and plants in the ocean were dying. How the ocean was the world’s largest carbon dioxide sink. Ninety-three percent of the planet’s carbon dioxide was stored in vegetation, algae, and coral under the sea. But it couldn’t keep up with the carbon that man’s use of fossil fuels was adding to the atmosphere. Added to that was the problem of plastics, pollution, and overfishing.
Ryder illustrated his speech with PowerPoint images, and he ended by listing the ways people could help the ocean. He mentioned his organization, Ocean Matters, and told them how to join up, how to find the website, and the names of several relevant sites.
The applause at the end of his talk was enthusiastic, not a great surprise because he was talking to people who lived on an island. Afterward, people gathered around the hospitality table to pour themselves a paper cup of lemonade and take a cookie or two. Others stood in line to talk with Ryder, including Juliet and Lisa, waiting their turn.
When they reached the lecturer, Ryder said, “Hi, Juliet. It’s great to see you here.”
“Hi, Ryder.” Juliet nodded toward Lisa. “This is my mother, Lisa Hawley. She lives here year-round.”
“Yes,” Lisa said, “and I’m most interested in your ideas and your organization.”
“Let me give you my card,” Ryder said. “I’d like to find someone to head a chapter of Ocean Matters here on the island.”
Lisa took the card. “I’m sorry I can’t do it, because I support everything you said. But I own a shop on Main Street and summer is crazy.”
From behind her shoulder, Prudence Starbuck, an island native in her seventies, spoke up. “I’d be glad to help.”