Page 50 of Trick of Light

Just as swiftly as it had come, her jealousy dissipated. She stood and stuck out her hand. “Let’s promise to be good to each other during this divorce. To keep everything out in the open.”

Nick stood and shook her hand. “Agreed.” He seemed surprised, as though he’d expected Bethany to fly off the handle at the admittance of a mistress. But they’d gone through too much for such theatrics.

Bethany wondered if this was because her love for Nick had officially dried up years ago.

“Before I go upstairs,” Bethany said, flinching, “I have a question.”

“About Ceri?”

“No,” Bethany said. “About your last surgery. Before you went to the hospital, I suggested you use that new technique. The AI method was minimally invasive. The one we’d learned about in that informational video last summer.”

Nick’s face was pale. “You did.”

“It’s been eating me up inside,” Bethany said. “Was the incident on the operating table a result of that technique? Did the patient nearly die because of my idea?”

Only now that she said it aloud did the massive weight of fear fully remove itself from her chest.

Slowly, Nick shook his head. “I didn’t use the technique.”

Bethany raised her eyebrows with surprise. “You didn’t?”

“No. I resented you for telling me what to do,” Nick said. “Turns out, I botched the surgery all by myself, without your help. Like usual.” He sighed. “Don’t worry. You had nothing to do with it.”

Bethany thanked Nick and practically floated upstairs to start another round of packing. Over and over again, her mind echoed with the truth—that it wasn’t her fault. None of it was. Not Nick’s botched surgery, not her failed marriage. But she had to open her heart to the next chapter, which would assuredly be filled with other failures and stories. She couldn’t wait to let it all unfold.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Bethany’s final drive from Savannah to Nantucket felt like a revolution. With her car packed with as many belongings as she could stuff inside it and her heart in her throat, she dropped her foot on the pedal and headed north—stopping again in Virginia halfway for a good night’s sleep before proceeding to New England.

That night at the hotel restaurant, she sat with a glass of wine and texted Rod, who announced that Felix was “doing very well” and “wanting to play outside much more than he’s allowed.” Bethany’s heart felt warm.

BETHANY: Make sure he rests! Cover him with plenty of kisses! He’s so brave!

ROD: Can’t wait till you get back. It’s still August. We have plenty of summer left to enjoy.

It wasn’t lost on Bethany that this was around the same time she’d broken up with Rod back in 1997. It was as though, in returning to him now, they were able to relive that summer again. They could take it all back.

“You’ve been here a lot recently,” the bartender at the hotel said as he wiped down the counter beside her. “It’s rare that I get a regular at a hotel like this.”

Bethany smiled and set down her phone. The bartender was perhaps her age, with a red bowtie the hotel demanded he wear and one crooked tooth that made him look charming.

“I’ve been in the process of moving my life from Savannah to Nantucket,” she admitted, grateful for the ability to say it aloud. It made it real.

“Wow. Nantucket!” He shook his head. “It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.”

“I was born and raised there. It feels like such a privilege, looking back. And now, I get to raise my children there.”

“How many do you have?”

“Three.”

He smiled. “I have four!”

Bethany laughed. “Ages?”

“Twelve, ten, eight, and four. My wife likes to call that last one a happy accident, but I always, always wanted four kids. I just like the chaos of it all. The fascination they have for the world.”

“I’m one of four, too,” Bethany said. “It was always a blast.”

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