Page 28 of Waves of Time

“What’s up?” By contrast, Hilary sounded like a frightened cat.

“Do you mind coming into the kitchen with me?” Sophie asked.

Hilary stood, thinking that perhaps, Sophie just needed her help with something party related. Maybe she had to slice vegetables or make mojitos or prepare burger patties. But as Hilary followed Sophie into the kitchen, she felt Sam hot on her heels, and her heart dropped into her stomach. Something seemed very wrong.

Unlike many kitchens, Sophie’s had a door, which she closed now. Hilary remembered Sophie saying that she was grateful for the door, as she’d used it as a wonderful divide between herself and her ex-husband— especially when he’d felt especially emotionally abusive.

As soon as the door was closed, Sophie and Sam turned toward Hilary and crossed their arms nervously.

“What is going on?” Hilary demanded, trying to laugh. “You look like Simon Cowell onAmerican Idolor something. Ready to tell me I’ve been voted out.”

Sam’s cheeks were slack as Sophie inhaled sharply.

“Sam, this isn’t about the chandelier, is it?” Hilary asked. “Because I really am sorry. It was so stupid to fight about that. I just should have told you that I liked it, like any normal sister would have. You know that I get so bogged down by my silly interior design opinions. That I…”

But already, Sam shook her head, and Sophie’s eyes were heavy.

“It’s not about the chandelier,” Sam said.

“Then what is it?”

Sophie sighed, then began. “I was downtown the other night with Patrick, having ice cream. And we saw someone we used to know. Someone who, um, was in the drug world with us. It chilled us to the bone to see him again, of course, because, you know, we’ve fought so hard to get where we are. But I digress. Immediately after we spotted him, he walked right up to Robby’s Crab Cabin. Through the window, we could see him talking to Aria.”

Hilary’s heart thudded with fear. “What are you talking about?” She’d had a hunch that Aria was involved with someone – but Aria had been hush-hush on the subject, and Hilary had had to respect it.

Sophie and Sam remained wordless.

“I mean, he was obviously just a customer,” Hilary added, talking herself and them out of the worst idea imaginable— that her daughter was somehow involved in the horrific Nantucket drug scene. “It’s a restaurant, Sam. People go in and out of there all the time. Probably even people on drugs.”

“But the store was already closed,” Sophie continued, her voice breaking. “Patrick and I watched them for a while. He helped Aria and her friend close up, and then, he and Aria went to his car— not Aria’s— and took off together.”

Hilary’s mouth felt as though it was filled with cotton.

“There has to be another reason for this,” Hilary said.

Sam and Sophie glanced at one another doubtfully, as though, to them, what Sophie had seen was the gospel, and now, Hilary had to deal with the consequences.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Sophie…” Hilary began, although she swam with doubt. Her head burned with questions.How close had Sophie and Patrick been standing? Were they sure that was Aria at all? Had the restaurant even been Robby’s Crab Cabin?There were plenty of restaurants downtown.

“We’re just worried,” Sam said gently. “The drug world on this island is much more menacing than it seems. It takes all kinds of people into its fold. Good kids, too.”

“But not Aria,” Hilary said, her hands in front of her. “I mean, Aria is a very smart girl. She wouldn’t do something like this to herself.”

Sophie’s cheeks were very pale, and Hilary realized what she’d done: she’d insulted Sophie for ever getting involved with drugs.

“Sophie, I’m sorry…” Hilary stammered.

But Sophie continued to stare at the ground as Sam rose to the occasion.

“Being an addict is a disease, Hilary, and it doesn’t pick and choose between ‘smart’ and ‘dumb’ people, nor rich and poor people. It takes as many people as it can, regardless of their background.”

“I know that,” Hilary said, although she still wanted to say:not my Aria.Not my darling girl.“But don’t you think I would know if something was wrong with Aria? We were just in San Francisco together, for goodness’ sake. We had to work a lot.”

“I was a high-functioning addict for years,” Sophie said. “My ex-husband never knew anything was wrong.”

“Neither did any of us,” Sam said.

Hilary closed her eyes and fell against the counter. This was impossible. “I’m going to call Aria,” she said, grabbing her phone and stomping out of the kitchen, through the foyer, and out onto the front porch. Before she could stop herself, she slammed the door behind her, overwhelmed with rage. Most of all, for reasons that made no sense, she was angry with Sam. She had a feeling that Sam felt superior to her at this moment, rubbing this information in. Sam’s daughters didn’t get into cars with drug addicts. They were headed for greatness.

---