Page 10 of Against the Current

After the song, Jeremy excused himself inside and left Jackie to her own devices. Grabbing a glass of water from the bar, she watched Trisha’s family hunkered over their separate tables on the opposite end of the lawn, swinging around their bottles of beer and talking all over each other. Trisha was in their midst, her expensive dress especially glossy next to their ratty clothes. What had Ryan seen in Trisha when they’d first met? What told him she was the one?

Josh sidled up with a glass of beer and a big smile. “Penny for your thoughts?”

Jackie breathed easier with her husband beside her. “I was just trying to remember exactly when Ryan and Trisha got together.”

“It was a few summers back,” Josh said. “They met on that sailing trip, right? I remember Ryan talking about how impressive she was as a sailor. He said she was different.” Josh raised his chin. “I knew at that moment he wanted to marry her. When a man says a woman is different, it’s good to pay attention.”

Jackie suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Josh could sense her hesitance and put his hand on her shoulder, rolling his thumb down the taut muscle until she closed her eyes.

Under his breath, Josh added, “They’re just kids. Let’s give them a chance.”

“I have this horrible idea that her family is inside the house, trying to steal anything they can get their hands on,” Jackie said a little too loudly.

Years later, she would remember this moment as one that changed everything.

“Excuse me?” Rhonda appeared on the dance floor, not two feet away. In her right hand, she carried a full glass of bubbling champagne, and in her left hand, she carried an empanada. Her face was drained of color.

Jackie stuttered. In Rhonda’s eyes, she saw pain and anger. It was clear she’d heard Jackie. It was clear that now she knew exactly what Jackie thought of Trisha’s family.

Rhonda took another dramatic step forward. Now, the tip of her nose was about two inches away from Jackie’s. Sweat bubbled on the back of Jackie’s neck.

What have I done?she thought. She searched her mind for an excuse—a way out of this. But there was nothing.

“Do you want to repeat what you said?” Rhonda bellowed.

Jackie’s smile felt fake and thin. “Rhonda, I—”

“Hey, Tommy! Trisha! Do you want to know what your new mother-in-law said about us?” Rhonda called across the crowd.

Jackie felt her soul dry out and fade away. At the family table, she could see her mother, her face pained, her eyes like two black beads. Dana had wanted Jackie to stop the marriage before it had begun. She hadn’t wanted Jackie to triple the Sutton family’s embarrassment.

Later, Jackie knew her mother would make her pay for this.Why can’t you keep your mouth shut, Jackie? Or did you forget that you were around people? Did you forget we’d invited three hundred of our closest friends and family and peers to this godforsaken wedding?

Time felt like it was moving too slowly. Jackie closed her eyes, willing it to jump to evening. But when she opened them again, Rhonda was even closer, ready to spit vitriol.

Josh was trying to talk her down. “Rhonda, I really think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“Do you want to explain to me exactly what your wife said?” Rhonda bellowed. “Do you want to explain why she always looks at me like I’m a piece of trash? Does she think we Reeds don’t earn our money the same way as everybody else? No, we didn’t ‘inherit millions,’ the way you Suttons always seem to. But we fought our way from nothing. We moved to Nantucket to make it, and heck, we’ve made it.”

Jackie felt woozy. “You have a wonderful family,” she tried. But it sounded limp.

“Don’t,” Rhonda ordered.

Suddenly, there was a cry of alarm. Jackie recognized the sound immediately as her mother’s. She whipped around, preparing herself to see her mother’s anger. But instead, Dana’s face echoed only shock. She was staring down at the ground, and then she disappeared, dropping to her knees.

“Is there a doctor here?” somebody cried.

Jackie’s heart stopped beating. Abandoning Rhonda, she barreled through the crowd to find her father, her big-heartedand wonderful and kind father, her father with soft hands and solid promises, keeled over on the grass. His hand was over his chest, and he struggled to breathe.

“Call the ambulance!” Jackie called. But somebody already had.

Jackie was on her knees beside her father. Dana was on the opposite side, speaking to him calmly as though it was morning and the two of them had just woken up.

“Jeremy, it’s Dana. It’s me. Can you hear me?” Dana whispered.

“Dana, honey?” Jeremy sounded confused and inarticulate. He let himself fall to the grass and put his head down. “It hurts, honey.” His eyes searched the cloudless sky until Dana helped shift his face toward hers.

The way Jeremy looked at Dana now split Jackie’s heart. He looked at her as though Dana was the only sunshine he’d ever known. He looked at her as though he’d never known anyone or anything else. With the hand he didn’t have on his chest, he squeezed two of hers. His face was losing color. In the distance were the razor-sharp sounds of the ambulance. A crowd circled them but kept their distance, wanting to give Dana and Jeremy space.

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