Page 24 of The White Oak Lodge

The ferry reached Martha’s Vineyard. Amos drove them down the ramp and out of Oakland and into Chilmark, one of the wealthier districts of the Vineyard, where, it seemed, Ralph had decided to build his last and forever home. It was his post-restaurateur home, the home that illustrated how dramatic and charmed his life had been thus far. When Amos and Nina pulled up in front of an iron-laced gate, Amos heard Nina take a dramatic breath.

“Wow,” she said.

It was one of the most immaculate mansions Amos had ever seen. As the gate cracked open and brought them deeper into Ralph’s world, Amos’s anxiety simmered. This was certainly nowhere he belonged. And because Nina was no longer really a Whitmore—not really—this was far beyond what she knew, as well. Amos cut the engine and looked at Nina, half expecting her to say they should bail. But she’d already gotten out of the truck and swept her hair behind her shoulders. Amos followed.

Before they reached the front door, a man Amos recognized as Ralph careened outside wearing nothing but swim shorts. Hewas tan and long-limbed and smiling. “You’re early!” he said although Amos knew they were right on time.

Nina smiled and laughed openly and said, “I’m terribly sorry. Are we interrupting?”

“Of course not.” Ralph seemed not to mind that they’d caught him in swim trunks. Maybe this was how he entertained all of his guests. “You’re Nina? And Amos?” Ralph’s handshake was firm. “Follow me out to the veranda. We’ve got ourselves quite a view.”

What little Amos saw of Ralph’s home made him realize just how bonkers Ralph’s taste was. He had money to spend on things like a six-foot-tall statue of the red candy M&M man and a signed poster of Pamela Anderson. Nina avoided Amos’s eyes, and Amos let himself believe it was because she thought they might burst into laughter.

On the veranda, Ralph made no motion to put on a shirt and folded his hands on his chest. “Nina, you said on the phone you’re a Plymouth? Any relation to the Jersey Plymouths?”

Nina smiled. “My husband is Daniel Plymouth.”

Ralph snapped his fingers. “I know his parents, I think. Deborah and Mike?”

“My in-laws!” Nina declared in a fake way. “Small world!”

“It really is,” Ralph said. “What brings you to the Vineyard? Calvin said his pal Amos was one to watch out for.” Ralph looked at him and added, “He said you’re a blast and a half.”

Amos had been known to go out with Calvin for beers, but nobody would have ever referred to him as “a blast and a half” unless they were trying to amp up his reputation for a reason. Calvin wanted Ralph to think Amos was truly great. He wanted to help him.

“Calvin can’t drink to save his life,” Amos quipped.

Ralph cackled and smacked his leg. “Speaking of, shall we?” He snapped his fingers, and a drink cart was rolled out to meetthem. The woman behind it looked exhausted in a way that Amos understood in his bones. Wanting to be a blast and a half, Amos ordered a cocktail, while Nina stuck with white wine. Ralph copied Amos’s drink and raised it to cheer them.

“It’s so good to be out of the restaurant game,” Ralph said, “but I have to admit, I get bored. The stress has completely gone out of my life. What am I supposed to live for?”

“You can have my stress, if you want it,” Amos said, trying to buzz with the personality Calvin had said he had. “It’s for sale.”

“I don’t know if I can afford it!” Ralph said, cackling again, because it was clear he could afford anything and everything he could want in the world.

In the pickup, Nina and Amos talked about laying the foundation of friendship before Nina pulled out the photograph and revealed herself as a thief and a Whitmore. For more than an hour, they talked about Ralph’s restaurants, Nina’s career in anthropology, and Ralph’s decision to leave Nantucket. After another half hour, Nina confessed to getting divorced soon, and Amos’s pulse quickened.

“Divorce! Ah, what a tragedy,” Ralph said, shaking his head. “I went through four of them myself.”

“Four! Wow.” Nina’s eyebrows crept up her forehead.

“I know. People asked me why I kept trying. You know why? I’m a romantic to my core. I like making big promises to myself and others,” Ralph said, gesturing to his bartender for another round of drinks.

“Any advice about getting married?” Amos asked.

“I take it you never have?” Ralph asked.

Amos shook his head. “It never came up.”

Ralph laughed. “Lucky man.”

But Amos didn’t feel quite so lucky to have never been married before. It felt like something other people were allowedto do, something “ordinary” people always got around to. He wasn’t ordinary. He wasn’t worthy of love.

“Advice?” Ralph thought for a moment, his eyes pointed at the sky. “I think you have to give yourself over to something bigger. You have to set aside your selfish ideals. I don’t know. I think I was never fully capable of that, which is maybe why none of those marriages worked out.” He shrugged.

Nina furrowed her brow and nodded. “I think there’s something to that.”

Ralph got up to pour them all shots. “Let’s stop moaning about the past and look to the future! Like, you two! You’re a gorgeous couple. A gorgeous, brand-new couple. A new hope.”

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