Page 27 of Before the Storm

Chapter Nine

December 2008

Nantucket Island

It wasn’t a surprise to any Nantucket local that Winnie was the star of the Christmas pageant. At six years old, there wasn’t a lot, performance-wise, that Winnie couldn’t do. She could sing. She could dance. She could address a crowd better than Josie ever could, her eyes sparkling, her voice filled with pizzazz. Neither Josie nor Tara knew where it came from. Maybe Donnie’s side of the family? It certainly wasn’t from theirs.

At the pageant, Josie sat next to Tara, who sat beside Donnie. Together, they watched their little girl, their Winnie, as she whisked across the stage in a bright red velvet dress Josie had made herself on the sewing machine. The crowd applauded every time Winnie did anything, and in the end, Donnie, Tara, and Josie were the first on their feet, calling out Winnie’s name.

“That’s my little girl!” Donnie called out. “That’s my Winnie!”

Tara and Josie breathed sighs of relief. The two of them had run lines with Winnie, who’d helped her memorize the solos and the dance moves. Josie could feel the movements in her feet as Winnie performed them. Winnie hadn’t forgotten a thing.

The crowd spilled into the aisles, but Josie, Tara, and Donnie worked themselves upstream to get to the stage. There, Donnie presented Winnie with a bouquet of roses, which Josie had picked up that afternoon because Tara was too busy with a client. Of course, it seemed like Donnie was the one who’d bought the flowers, and Winnie gushed at how beautiful they were and thanked her father over and over again. Josie decided not to care. She just wanted Winnie to be happy. And Donnie loved Winnie, too. He was just forgetful and bad about showing it.

Tara squeezed Josie’s hand. “Are you still going out after this?”

Josie laughed nervously and scanned the auditorium. “We were supposed to meet after the show. Maybe he forgot?”

“I don’t think he forgot,” Tara said, nodding toward the corner, where Mike stood with his ex-wife and two children, both of whom had been in the pageant. “He’s a good dad,” Tara said. “And a good guy.”

“Does anyone know why he and Felicity broke up?” Josie asked.

“They kept that a tight secret,” Tara admitted. “But that’s proof of how much they respect each other, don’t you think?”

Josie grimaced. “You’re right. Why am I so nervous?”

“Maybe because you haven’t been on a date in years?”

“Neither have you,” Josie said.

Tara rolled her eyes. “I’m married!”

Josie wanted to say that Donnie should take Tara out more often. She wanted to point out that just because you were married didn’t mean the romance had to die.

But she didn’t, because she didn’t want to make Tara sad. Tara still loved Donnie, she was pretty sure, despite everything.

After Mike hugged his children and ex-wife goodbye, he spotted Josie and ambled through the crowd to get to her. He gave her a simple side hug and then high-fived Winnie. “You were fantastic, kid!”

Winnie blushed and held her daddy’s hand. “Thank you very much.”

Josie liked that Mike had congratulated Winnie. He was a gentleman. He respected women and children.

“Where are you two off to?” Tara asked.

“Not sure,” Josie said. She felt skittish and strange. “But I’m starving.”

“Me too,” Mike admitted. “We’ll make it up as we go along.”

Josie and Mike said goodbye to Donnie, Tara, and Winnie and left the auditorium. Snow whirled from ominous purple clouds. They decided to walk to a local burger place, but when they got there, it was too packed with school parents and kids, so they decided to walk someplace else. They ended up at a bar and grill, sharing a seafood platter and having a couple of beers. Josie hated how nervous she still felt. She could tell Mike was anxious, too. He even admitted it was his first date since his divorce.

“Does Felicity know we’re out together tonight?”

“She does,” Mike admitted. “I wanted to get in front of any gossip.”

“That’s kind of you.” Josie considered telling Mike that this was her first date in many, many years, but she figured he knew that. They weren’t strangers.

Josie really struggled to know what to say. She ended up talking too much about Winnie and what they did together, and Mike talked about his kids, too. Maybe it wasn’t the most romantic of conversations. But it killed time. And anyone whosaw them through the window of the bar would say those people were on a date, and there were no awkward silences. It was a win, she guessed.

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