The Shadow Box(51)

But he wouldn’t sit. “It’s the car that’s wrecked, not me.” He glanced over at Griffin, who was talking to Wade, as if he thought his father wouldn’t approve of an ambulance. Wade had his arm around Ford’s shoulders, one hand on Griffin’s shoulder. I could see our neighbor was defusing the situation, and I turned back to Alexander.

“I would have done the same thing,” I said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to hit the animal either.”

He didn’t reply but sank to sit on the ground, as if standing took too much effort.

I called 911, then sat down beside Alexander to wait for help to arrive. I thought of the big cat Alexander had swerved to avoid and the myth of mountain lions—somewhere in the woods between Catamount Bluff and Hubbard’s Point, amber-eyed shadows more sensed than seen.





28





SALLIE


When Sallie got home, Dan’s car was in the driveway—he had left work early. She entered the house, found him sitting in the living room. Not reading, not watching TV, just sitting there. Maggie was curled up at his feet, but she bounded to the door to greet Sallie. Sallie scooped her up and held her.

“I want to ask you where you were,” he said, “but I don’t want to hear the answer. Maybe you were with Edward. Maybe you were with Ford. What I’m most afraid of is that you’ll tell me you were with a client.”

“I wasn’t with anyone,” she said. “I went for a drive.”

“That’s a good excuse too,” he said. “Right up there with how you’d always say you were working. When really you were with one of them. Now I want to know, and you’ll tell me the truth for once. Where did you take the drive?”

She took a deep breath. “To the Chases’ house.”

“Griffin Chase?”

“Yes. I wanted to let Ford know what he’d done—how wrong it was to come here.”

“Did you see him?”

“No, he wasn’t there. Just his brother and parents. I just wanted to set him straight and ask him . . .” She trailed off, regrouped. “Maybe it was a mistake to go at all.”

“Yes, it was a mistake for you to go there. You have no idea who Griffin Chase really is.” He closed his mouth tight; Sallie thought he looked scared.

“Dan, I’m so sorry,” she said.

“One thing we’re not going to do is sit here while you apologize. There’s no point in that.”

“Okay,” she said. She stared across the room at Dan, sitting in one of the armchairs flanking the fireplace. His expression was nearly blank, as if he were feeling no emotion at all. “But I have a question for you too,” she said. “Who is Ellen Fielding?”

“What’s the difference? She has nothing to do with us,” he said.

“Maybe she does! Ford mentioned her when he was here. And another girl who drowned.”

“A case of Griffin’s,” he said.

“No,” Sallie said. “He made it sound like something long ago—spring break. Was he talking about you? College?”

“Look, don’t try to change the subject—you had an affair.”

“And you haven’t been honest with me! Don’t you think that might be part of what’s wrong between us?”

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he said, ignoring her question. “I’m going to get the boat ready for tomorrow. Buy the provisions, get them aboard. You’re going to pack for the weekend. Everything the kids will need for three days.”

“I was planning to do that anyway,” she said. “But I’m not going. I’m sure that will be a relief to you.”

“Yes, it would,” he said. “It one hundred percent would be a gigantic relief to me. But you are going, Sallie. For the kids’ sake. Did you see their faces last night? Did you see how destroyed they were?”

“Yes,” she said, her eyes filling. She held Maggie even closer. “And I’m so sorry. I can’t even begin to tell you how bad I feel.”

“That’s nice,” he said. “But you saying ‘sorry’ and feeling bad won’t help them. That’s why we’re going on vacation as planned. They’re going to see Mommy and Daddy together, being happy and having fun. They’ve been looking forward to this, and we’re not going to take it away from them.”

Sallie buried her face in Maggie’s fur. She didn’t love Dan, but he was a good father; she knew he’d do anything for their children.

“I can’t,” she said, looking up.

“You will, though. Feel whatever you feel—stay in bed all day today—I don’t care. As long as you’re up and waiting for the school bus. And as long as we all have dinner together. And tomorrow we will leave for Block Island.”

Maggie barked. She wanted to go out, so Sallie put her down and followed her into the kitchen. She opened the back door, and Maggie ran into the yard. Sallie looked around at the flower beds, the swing set, the garden shed—signs of a happy suburban family.

There was no point in arguing with Dan. She’d do everything he asked. The idea of being confined on the Sallie B was almost unbearable. She couldn’t stand the idea of being so close to Dan—having him look at her with this blank stare.