Tears came to Darcy’s eyes. “Oh, thank you.” Impulsively, she hugged Peggy and for a moment the two women clung to each other, thinking of Nash and his brother and the past and the future.
Peggy and Allen left for Amherst the next morning. They were a busy couple, sitting on several important boards, belonging to a bridge group and book clubs, and taking luxurious cruises in the winter. Darcy and Nash discussed their visit and concluded it had been a success. A few days later, a packet arrived for Nash, wrapped in yards of tape and heavily insured and requiring Nash’s signature. Inside, Nash found his grandmother’s engagement ring, a large, clear diamond surrounded by eight smaller diamonds.
I thought you might like to have this, Peggy Forester had written.
“Let’s try it on you,” Nash suggested, taking Darcy’s hand.
“Wait. Not so fast. You have to ask me a question first,” Darcy told him, smiling but not quite joking.
“What?” Nash frowned, then understood. He dropped to one knee, holding Darcy’s hand in his. “Darcy, will you marry me?”
“I will.” She surprised herself as she suddenly burst into tears. “Sorry,” she told him, “I didn’t know I’d get so emotional.”
He slipped the ring on her finger. They kissed, a light, friendly kiss. They settled on the sofa together, discussing details, while Darcy admired her ring. Darcy wanted a church wedding with a reception and all the trimmings, partly because when she’d married Boyz, it had taken place in a nursing home with very few guests. This time, she wanted something more celebratory, more of a fabulous occasion.
“We’ll have a proper wedding,” Nash said. “And a proper wild reception.”
“Shall we pick a date?”
“May eighth,” he answered without hesitation.
“May eighth? Why?”
“That’s the day we stopped eyeing each other and actually talked.”
“Oh, gosh, you remember the date? How romantic!”
Nash arched an eyebrow. “Don’t you remember the date?”
“I remember the day, the place—we were at the beach with the gang, and I approached you. I remember I asked you over for some lasagna.”
“And I said I’d come over if you offered me a bowl of cereal.”
Darcy melted. “Gosh. You remembered that.”
“How could I forget?” Nash pulled Darcy into his arms and kissed her soundly.
“But is that too soon? Nantucket’s such a wedding destination, everything gets booked months in advance.”
“No one gets married here in May. The weather’s too iffy. Besides, you and I know a few people. That’s got to be one of the advantages of living here.”
And, yes, amazingly, May eighth was available at St. Paul’s Episcopal church. With Christina Hall’s help, they booked their reception at the White Elephant ballroom with the Brant Point Grill to cater. When the amazing Gypsy band Coq au Vin signed on, they knew things were headed toward fabulous.
After that, life became one perpetual party. They gave a party at their house to announce their engagement, although Darcy had phoned Jordan about two seconds after Nash proposed. Then it was Christmas with Stroll parties and Christmas Eve parties and New Year’s Eve, and Darcy was glad when January arrived. This month the island lived up to its nickname, “the Gray Lady.” Wind, snow, and cold blasted the island. The heavy seas made traveling difficult and sometimes impossible. Usually this was Darcy’s favorite time of year. It gave her lots of long dark evenings for reading. But somehow this year was different.
This year it was wonderful, because Nash was there, reading by her side in front of the fire. Muffler had adopted him and frequently sat on his lap.
She and Willow had been texting about once a week. In January, Willow announced that she had a boyfriend. She told Darcy about Justin in her texts, and when her parents took her to a posh ski resort in February, Justin was invited along, staying, Willow told Darcy, in a separate room. Willow promised Darcy she’d come for a week in the summer and bring Justin, but Darcy doubted if that would happen. In April, Willow phoned Darcy to announce that Autumn had given birth to a beautiful baby boy who looked just like Boyz. Darcy asked Willow to congratulate her parents and smiled at Autumn’s good luck. After that, Willow’s texts came less frequently. Clearly the girl, now fifteen, had a baby brother and a gang of friends and a full schedule. Still, Darcy invited Willow to their wedding, both informally via email and formally with a handsome invitation. For a few weeks, Willow didn’t respond. Darcy was secretly sad. But she had always known that Willow was going to blossom into full adolescence, and she told herself to be glad the girl was happy, so she sniffed back her tears.
In late April, Darcy checked her cell and found a new text.
I am SO going to be there! Can I bring Justin? You have got to see him! Can we stay with you? We can sleep on the living room floor. Do I have to wear a hat? We’ll take the ferry and just walk to your house. Will you let us have champagne at the reception? Just kidding. Not. What do you want for a present? It can’t cost more than twenty dollars. Just kidding. Not. Can’t wait!
Darcy laughed out loud and quickly texted back.
SO glad! Bring Justin. You sleep in our guest room, Justin on the sofa, no hat required, no champagne allowed—you are fifteen! No present required—your presence is the present!
Susan Brueckner sent Darcy a gorgeous snail mail Christmas card trimmed with red velvet and covered in sparkles, framing a photo of the Brueckner family on Nantucket. The entire family, all dressed in white, stood together on the beach, a calm blue ocean in the background, Otto’s arm around Susan and the three boys clustered in front of them, smiling their gap-toothed smiles. Darcy sent a holiday card to the Brueckners, and she and Susan each scribbled on their card that they would write soon with all the news, but somehow that never happened. When Darcy ran into a real estate agent while she was in Nantucket Pharmacy eating one of their delicious grilled cheese sandwiches, Elton, the agent, told Darcy that she hadn’t heard from the Brueckners. Another family had rented the house for the summer.
Still, Darcy sent Mr. and Mrs. Otto Brueckner an invitation to the wedding. Unfortunately, they couldn’t attend.
Mimi and Darcy kept in touch over the winter via emails and once or twice, Skype. In early January, Mimi phoned Darcy to explain why she wasn’t coming to Nantucket for the summer. Clive couldn’t come; he was busy with other matters, and Mimi, almost ninety, couldn’t come by herself. When Darcy told Mimi about the wedding, Mimi said, “Oh, child, I’m so happy for you!”