Page 55 of Light of Day
“No, no, it’s fine, sorry. Gabby’s okay, we found her and she’s in good shape.”
Amy Lou released her grip on the chair she’d grabbed; her knuckles were white from clenching it so hard. “My goodness. The way you phrased it…”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you…anyway, I’m actually here with a historical question. I figured, why not go straight to the experts?”
“Best make it quick. We have a meeting starting in about ten minutes.”
“I will. It’s a simple question. When was Sea Smoke Island first settled?”
Amy Lou’s expression turned wary. “Well, it depends on what you mean by settled. The Aucocisco was the primary group of Native Americans that inhabited this bay. They’re a branch of the Eastern Abenaki, with a strong maritime culture. They came here in the summers for the fishing. They’d come in their canoes and set nets and then dry the fish they caught for winter usage, but they wouldn’t have lived here permanently. ”
“Do they still come?”
“Well…no. The island is mostly private property now. No one wants a fish-drying camp set up on their land. The Abenaki live modern lives now, though I think a few maintain their ties to this area. A tribal leader came out and gave a talk about it a few years back. Once the Europeans arrived, there was some intermarrying. I’m sure there are people on the island today who have some Abenaki in their bloodline.”
Heather shivered. She’d never liked the word “bloodline,” probably because for her it meant “prone to alcoholism.”
“So when exactly did the Europeans arrive? Were they the first permanent settlers?”
“Quite likely, yes.”
That seemed like an odd response. “Don’t you know? Isn’t there archeological evidence?”
“Well, a little. Most of what we have dates from the time of the hotel construction. There have been a few other finds—well, like that button of yours.”
Heather perked up at the mention of that loose end. “Does it mean something to you?”
“I’d have to look at it again, but to me it looked like a style of button that was used in the late eighteen hundreds, post-Civil War. A very elegant, expensive type of button that would have belonged to a wealthy woman.”
“Is that why you seemed startled when you saw it?”
Amy Lou checked her watch, which doubled as a dainty gold-chain bracelet. “People will be filtering in soon.”
“I promise I’ll leave by then. Tell me more about that button,” she urged. “Why was it on the shell beach?”
“I don’t have all the answers, but I have heard that on some of the islands out here, women made ends meet by taking in laundry. It was a hard life out here, with very few ways to make a living. But that button was from the Victorian era, before the hotel was built.”
Chills ran up and down Heather’s spine. This was the feeling she got when she was making progress on a story. “That would imply that someone did live here before then.”
“Possibly. Or maybe a hotel guest in the nineteeen-twenties lost her antique button. The only real records we have say that the island was empty before the hotel was built.”
Amy Lou’s gaze strayed to the front door, as if she was hoping for a rescue.
“If there were people living here, what happened to them?” Heather asked. She thought about the image of the coffins being loaded onto the dock, and snapped her fingers. “There must have been people living here. There was a dock! I saw a photo from nineteen-eleven, and it definitely showed a pier. It looked different from the one we have now, but it was in the same location.”
Adjusting her scarf—this one had a pattern of gray whales over blue—Amy Lou shook her head. “That doesn’t mean there was a community here. Sea Smoke has always been the jumping-off spot for servicing the lighthouse. Lobstermen and other fishermen used the island as a safe haven during a storm. My understanding is that a group of fishermen all chipped in their time and labor to build the first pier sometime around eighteen-seventy.”
That made sense…and yet, did it? Sure, a pier was convenient for tying up short term, and for loading and unloading. Wouldn’t it be a cheaper option to anchor in one of the many coves and row to shore?
Too bad there weren’t any hundred-and-twenty-year-olds on the island who might remember these details.
Islanders were beginning to arrive for the historical society meeting, so Heather thanked Amy Lou for her time and headed across the green, skirting the flagpole and the rows of geraniums, to the Bloodshot Eyeball.
She needed some food, and she wanted to see her mother. Gabby’s words about “legacy” hadn’t left her. The only other surviving member of the McPhee family was Sally. She might know more than she realized about their family history, and why it might be considered “dirty.”
Also, she just wanted to see her. Family really was funny, wasn’t it? One minute they drove you crazy, the next you just wanted to lay your eyes on them. She and Sally were connected in a visceral way, and always would be.The sins of the father…
The phrase echoed through her mind and made her shiver. Generational trauma was a thing, she knew that from Gabby. Was there also generational trauma right here on Sea Smoke Island? Maybe in her own family?
